Kyler
Pure mother fucking rage boiled my blood, where, a few moments ago, a different kind of anger had been lighting me up from the inside. Lust fueled with an indignant disbelief and anger. Syd wanted me to fuck her like a one-night stand? Like that was all I was good for, and that would be good enough for her?
What. The. Fuck.
But really, that wasn’t the most pressing issue at the moment. I’d deal with that later.
My gaze traveled over the shattered window, stopping on the upper left corner. There was a tiny hole and the glass fissured out from that point, forming a spider web that spread up to the edge of the jagged shard.
I’d bet my rosy-red ass cheek that there were more little holes on the outside, closer to the fascia and gutter. Someone had aimed a fucking shotgun at the house. Whether or not they’d intended to hit either of us was up in the air. There was no way to control buckshot, but most people could get it to go in the general direction they wanted.
Son of a bitch.
Whoever was responsible for this had to have been out there, watching us for God knows how long. They would’ve seen everything. Syd had been partially exposed.
My hands curled into fists as heat traveled down my spine. I was going to kill someone.
“Is it okay if I stand?” Syd asked.
I nodded, and then glanced over my shoulder as she climbed to her feet. She looked incredibly small standing there, clutching the heavy sweater to her chest with her shoulders hunched over. Anger punched me in the gut, quickly followed by the sharp taste of fear, the kind of fear I’d never experienced before.
Syd could’ve been hurt, or worse. That was twice in a matter of two days. Horror and fury mingled inside me, forming a tangible ball that settled in my stomach. I could’ve lost her, and I honestly didn’t know what life would be like without Syd. I didn’t want to even think about that.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked again. “You’re not hurt or anything, right?”
She shook her head slowly. “I’m really fine. Just a little freaked out.”
I thrust my fingers through my hair. “I want you to stay out of this room, Syd. Hell, stay the fuck away from windows all together.”
“No problem.” She inched toward the doorway, stopping.
Our eyes locked, and a sweet flush spread across her cheeks and down her throat, to the edge of the sweater she still held. I wanted to go to her and take her in my arms and tell her everything was going to be okay, but I didn’t move.
She looked away first, biting down on her lower lip. I turned back to the window stiffly, knowing I should say something—something about what had happened between us. Under the anger and the fear for Syd, lust still simmered, but there was nothing to say at this moment…or nothing I was willing to say, at least.
I felt rather than heard Syd leave the room, and it made me all the more tense. Possibly being shot at was a real libido killer.
I needed to call someone—the state police—and see what we should do. The likelihood of anyone making it out for an investigation was slim, but I needed to report this.
My gaze narrowed on the snowy ground below. I didn’t want to think it, but I was a realist. I wasn’t sure we were so safe here anymore, and I also knew that everything had changed between Syd and me. And that change was irreversible.