won’t work.”
“Why are my two favorite people glaring at each other so early in the morning?” Jasmine asked, strolling into the room holding Sebastian.
“He won’t tell me where my husband is,” I hissed.
Jasmine raised an eyebrow. “Mo, honey, do you know where Rabbit is?”
“No,” he said, and took Sebastian from Jasmine. “I wasn’t in that particular informational loop.”
“Would you tell me even if you did?” I demanded.
“No. But I would tell you I knew where he was, and that I had no intention of telling you,” he conceded. “In this particular case, all I know is they’re together.” He then turned a rather dust-creating glare on Jasmine. “And that’s the last I’m sayin’ about any o’ this, hear?”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, honey, I hear.” She faced me and smiled. “I’m going to make breakfast. Want to help?”
“No. I want to know where Rabbit is.”
“Jesus Christ,” Alamo hissed and stalked out of the room.
Jasmine settled her hands on my shoulders. “Parker. You’re not going to get anything out of Alamo. He doesn’t know where they are, so distract yourself. I know it sucks, but try.”
“If he gets hurt—”
“He won’t get hurt,” she promised. “How about you beat up some batter for waffles?”
“If I do that, I’ll just imagine I’m whisking Alamo’s face.”
She grinned. “I’m okay with that.”
“Fine,” I breathed out and stepped into the pantry to grab everything I needed.
I heard the door click behind me and turned to find Rabbit grinning like an idiot. I nearly dropped the waffle mix as I let out a squeak. “Where the fuck have you been?”
He took the box from me and set it on the shelf, wrapping an arm around my waist and kissing my neck. “We had a quick errand.”
“You turned off your phone.”
“It died. It’s why I didn’t text you,” he said, kissing my cheek, then my mouth. “I’m charging it now.”
I leaned back, gripping his cut. “How dangerous was this ‘quick errand’?”
“Not dangerous at all, Pebbles. It was club shit, not Taxi shit.”
“I don’t like that you didn’t wake me before you left.”
“Sorry, baby, I wanted you to sleep.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You could have left a note and you could have sent a text, which would have alerted you to the fact your phone was dead.”
He sighed. “Yeah, baby, you’re right.”
“I know I’m right.”
Rabbit frowned. “Sounds like you’re pissed.”
“I’m extraordinarily pissed,” I ground out.
“Baby—”
“Don’t you ‘baby’ me, Zane. You left without a word. I had no idea where you were, and Alamo wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“That’s because he didn’t know anything.”
“I should have known!” I snapped, tears of frustration pricking my eyes and my stomach roiled. “You should have told me!”
“Hey.” He cupped my face. “Okay, honey, I’m sorry. I honestly thought I’d be back before you woke up.”
“That is not the point.” Shoving his hands away, I rushed out of the pantry, my stomach no longer willing to be cooped up, and made a run for the bathroom.
Rabbit followed, unlocking the door and stepping inside. “You sick?”
“What tipped you off, Captain Obvious?” I sassed before dry heaving into the toilet.
He made his way to me, scooping my hair into his fist and holding it gently as I continued to heave. “Okay, baby, I got you.”
“You need to be better, Zane.”
“Yeah, Parker, I’m pickin’ up on that.”
“I want you to promise me,” I pressed, rising to my feet and flushing the toilet.
“I can promise I’ll be better about communicating with you, Parker, but I can’t promise I’m gonna tell you everything that’s happening.”
I washed my hands and rinsed out my mouth. “I don’t like that.”
“I know you don’t, but it’s all I can give you.”
I burst into tears. “How do I do this, Rabbit? How do I not totally lose my mind when you walk out the door?”
He closed the distance between us and pulled me into his arms. “I don’t know, baby. I just know that I’m protected, and I’m never alone.”
“Except when you’re alone.”
“Going forward, I won’t be alone. Doc’s orders.”
I blinked up at him. “Really?”
“Yeah, really.” He slid his knuckles gently down my cheek. “He wants me safe as much as you do.”
“I highly doubt that.”
He smiled. “Okay, maybe not as much as you do. But he understands the threat level, Pebbles, and he’s acting accordingly.”
“I want you to promise you won’t go anywhere without three others with you.”
He gave me a gentle squeeze. “I can’t do that, baby, but at least one other person will be with me whenever I’m not with