Singe (Guardian Protection #1)

But my fingers began to tingle as any confidence I had left morphed into panic.

“Rhion,” Pete assuaged. “The car is safer and warmer than standing here.” He stepped off the curb to the awaiting vehicle and pulled the back door open.

Jude’s coming. It’s fine. He must have gotten tied up for a second.

“I…uh.” Where was the fucking air? “I can’t breathe,” I said, backing toward the elevator.

And then I froze. One word. That was all it took for utter terror to consume me.

“Rhion,” he said, sauntering through the exit of the parking garage, a cigarette dangling between his lips.

His familiar voice raked over me like razor blades.

I scrambled back until my ass hit the closed elevator doors.

“Don’t come any closer, Apollo,” Pete said, moving toward him and stepping into his path to cut him off.

“Fuck you, asshole,” he barked, his long legs never slowing as he flicked his cigarette to the ground Then, not even a second later, his fist landed hard against Pete’s face.

I screamed, frantically digging inside my pockets in search of my card so I could get into the elevator, but my hands were shaking too much for me to be effective.

Pete stumbled back but somehow managed to stay on his feet. “Get in the car, Rhion!” he yelled, wiping the blood pouring from his nose with the back of his sleeve.

“Don’t you fucking move,” Apollo growled.

My lungs burned, and my chest ached.

Pete quickly backed away as my brother continued to advance.

“Rhion, get in the car now!” Pete shouted, ducking inside the open door.

Apollo continued moving toward me.

I lifted a shaky hand in his direction and attempted to bargain with him. “I’m going to give you the money. We were actually going to sign the papers to get it back in my control now.”

He stopped and an emotion akin to shock, but much darker, sifted through his features. “You can’t take the fucking money back!” he boomed.

His face turned downright malevolent as he once again prowled toward me.

My mind was reeling, but panic controlled my thoughts, and he was getting closer by the second. I wasn’t all that excited about leaving without Jude. However, when faced with a car ride with Pete or an altercation with my brother, I’d pick Pete every time.

Very slowly, I stepped out of my heels. My gaze locked on my brother. Then, with adrenaline fueling my legs, I burst toward the town car.

Apollo took off equally as fast, a million cuss words flowing from his lips.

It couldn’t have been more than twenty steps, but it felt like it took a year.

Ultimately, his legs were longer, so when I dove into the car, he caught my arm.

My body was yanked back so violently that I cracked my head on the door. My vision tunneled and my hearing faded to a dull roar, but I fought to balance myself on the leather seat.

“Fucking stop!” Apollo roared.

Pete pulled on my other arm in a human tug-of-war.

Good versus Evil.

Fingers bruising me on both sides.

“Go! Go! Go!” Pete yelled at the driver.

When the car began moving, I nearly fell out.

Apollo’s eyes flashed wide, and with one last jerk, I was able to get my arm away from him and snatch the door shut.

“Rhion, no!” he yelled, running beside the car, slamming his fists on the window. “No! Stop! Rhion!” he bellowed almost painfully.

The tears were already falling from my eyes, but it felt as though my insides were being ripped out as I watched Apollo struggling to get into the car. Each thud was like a knife to the heart.

“Oh God!” I cried, burying my face in Pete’s coat until the pounding stopped.

“Shhhh. He’s gone. I’m calling Jude now. I’ll have him meet us at my hotel.”

I nodded, unable to form a coherent response.

He passed me a mini bottle of water from the seat pocket in front of him and lifted his phone to his ear. “Here. Drink this and try to take a deep breath.”

Doing my best to keep the panic at bay, I obeyed.

Cool. Wet. Refreshing.

It wasn’t until I finished the bottle that I discovered another adjective to describe it.

Chalky.





“A week? You’ve been here a few months and you’re already putting in for vacation?” Leo laughed.

“Does it count as a vacation if I take Rhion with me?”

He gave me a side-eye. “Depends. You going to be lounging on the beach?”

I chuckled. “It’ll be January.”

With his elbows on the desk, he folded his hands together and rested his chin on top of them. “It’s LA.”

I laughed and leaned back in my chair. Then I became serious as I said, “She wants to get Val and go back to the beach house. It’s got a lot of memories with her mom. I think it’d be good for her, but I need more than a weekend off to take them.”

“You pay for your own expenses while you’re gone and I won’t count it against your vacation time.”

I smiled. “Perfect.”

“Besides, I like seeing her happy. And, not going to lie, it doesn’t hurt that you are too. I’m not sure if you brainwashed her or what, but she doesn’t even seem to care that you’re an ugly bastard. I’ve considered taking her to get glasses.”

I laughed in a short burst. “Right? It’s the damnedest thing.”

“I’ll sign off on whatever you need. Fill out the paperwork and leave it on my desk.”

We both pushed to our feet, and I extended a hand in his direction. He clasped it in a firm shake.

“Thanks. I appreciate it,” I said at the same time my phone started ringing in my pocket.

“Go ahead and take that. I’ve got to get back to work anyway. Listen, you come back with a tan, we’re going to have serious problems.”

I chuckled and headed to the door, lifting my phone to my ear as I answered, “Levitt.”

“He’s going to kill her!” a man’s voice roared across the line.

My whole body went on alert as I froze in Leo’s doorway. “’Scuse me?”

“You need to move. Call the cops or whatever the hell it is that you do, but you gotta move now.”

“Who the fuck is this?” I barked.

His breathing was labored as the sounds of a horn blared in the background, but I would never forget for the rest of my life the three crystal-clear syllables filtering through the line.

“Apollo!”

The blood in my veins suddenly burst into flames. “You listen to me, you piece of shit—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Save it for when Pete Higgins isn’t about to kill my sister.”

Confusion warred with rational thought. “The fuck are you talking about? How’d you get my number?”

“More questions I’ll be happy to answer after you get in your goddamn car and help me get her back.”

I turned to Leo and found him watching me intently. I snapped, pointed to the monitor on his desk, and mouthed, “Rhion’s apartment. Now.”

He arched an eyebrow but did as I’d asked.

I moved around his desk so I could see the screen.