and puff up with anger, but he doesn’t. His brow furrows instead, an eyebrow arching as if he can’t believe the suspicion unfurling in his own head. It’s too incredulous that he has to utter it out loud. “You wanted to fuck me that badly, bunny?”
I pivot on my heel as my cheeks burn. My hand fumbles for the door, yanking it open.
This time, his steps echo like a gunshot, gaining on me by the second. “Answer the fucking question.”
As I stagger out of the shop, my lips part before I can stop them. “I guess you’ll never find out.”
I lunge, practically jogging across the street to get away. When I look back, he’s watching me from the entrance of his shop, his gaze unreadable.
But at least he isn’t smiling.
He isn’t laughing, either—but my victory is short-lived. He’s still watching when I turn away and head down the street. With every step, I feel his gaze on the back of my neck.
And it lingers there during the entire frantic trip to my apartment.
Chapter Seven
I wake up to the sound of my cell phone pinging. Dazed, I grab the device from my end table, but when I read the message on the screen, alarm rips away the dreamy haze of sleep.
Call me when you’re up, Branden commands, skipping his typical morning greeting. We need to talk.
My heart sinks. I scramble from beneath my blankets and stagger to the bathroom, desperate to stay calm. Think. With my eyes on my reflection, I brush my teeth and comb my hair—anything I can do to stall.
I last ten minutes. Ten sweet minutes of peace, during which I attempt to build my fragile resolve. When I finally gather up the nerve to call, he picks up on the second ring.
“Morning.” His voice is so hard, I stiffen. The baritone cracks the way it does when he’s irritated.
“Morning,” I whisper in response. My bare feet carry me into the living room where I sink onto the couch, drawing my knees up to my chest. “What’s up?”
“Tell me, what do you know about Rafe Wei-Shen?”
Rafe. At the sound of that name, my thoughts topple like bricks. So much for my resolve. It shatters, and in the resulting chaos, all I can do is croak out, “W-Who?”
“Tall guy,” Branden iterates coldly. “Dark hair… A member of the fucking triad. A gangbanger.” His voice gets deeper, his words harder. “Likes to exploit locals for cash or worse. A person someone like you should never associate with.”
My heart rate increases, pounding through my veins. “Branden—”
“Do you know him?”
“N-No.” I shake my head to enhance the act despite his camera being broken. He isn’t here. But in so many ways, he is. I can even see him, puffing up, his fists clenching, eyes flashing. As always, his face would be the mask of calm no matter what, providing deceptive reassurance that all was well.
Until it wasn’t.
“You don’t?” He pauses as if giving me the chance to come clean. A growl conveys his disappointment when I don’t. “Then why did someone I know see you in his fucking shop last night?”
Alarm surges through me, and those worn old instincts return in full force. Only I can’t remember which one comes first. Enduring? Or being silent?
“I…”
“Don’t lie to me, Hannah.” Static laces his voice, transforming it the more I listen. My brother becomes a stranger in an instant, snarling into my ear. “What the hell were you doing there?”
“I… I was with Mara,” I croak, letting my brain come up with the lie. It’s a bad one—this isn’t like me. It’s as if someone else is in my head, taunting me with what to say. Use those words, bunny. “She wanted to get a tattoo but chickened out. I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone. She begged me to come with her—”
“Funny,” Branden hisses, unconvinced. “My informant didn’t mention anyone else was with you. Just that you were in his shop. Alone.”
“I-Informant?” I feel my brow furrow at the word choice, and I forget my cowering act. “Are you… Were you spying on me?”
Would I put it past him? The answer lands like a punch to my stomach. No.
A spy would be nothing outside of his camera. His texts. His constant phone calls.
Just another bar to add to my cage.
“No,” he says with a sigh. His tone shifts, losing the hardened edge, and he’s my brother again, feeling guilty at having been exposed. “Of course not, Han. Just… Be careful who you associate with.