Page 59 of My Unhinged Alphas
I laugh again, low this time.
Knox’s eyes flick to her, then back to me, and there it is one more time. Clear as daylight.
Stay away.
I don’t say anything right off. I just look at him and let the silence do the work, let him sit with the fact that I see it. That I know exactly why he was really ready to put me through a wall earlier.
It wasn’t only the job. It was her.
And Knox, for all his control, for all his cold, disciplined bullshit, does not like competition.
Well. That’s a shame for him. Because I’m suddenly in a much better mood.
“Oh, don’t do that,” I say, still looking at Knox. “Don’t give me that righteous stare now. It’s a little late for moral outrage.”
His face doesn’t change. That’s one of the things I hate most about him. He can be furious and still look carved out of stone. No raised voice. No wild expression. Just that flat, cold look that makes everyone else start second-guessing themselves.
Everyone else. Not me.
The girl shifts her weight and looks between us again, clearly picking up on the fact that whatever this is, it’s bigger than the dead man and bigger than the screwup. Her irritation is still there, simmering under everything else, and I like that too much.
I push off the doorframe and take a slow step into the room. “You know,” I say lightly, “for a man pretending this is all about business, you’re being weirdly territorial.”
Knox’s eyes narrow a fraction.
The girl looks at him, then at me. “Territorial?”
Knox doesn’t answer. Of course he doesn’t.
I grin. “He doesn’t like me near you.”
Her brows pull together. “That’s not what this is.”
I angle my head. “Isn’t it?”
“No,” Knox says.
I look at him. “You sure?”
His jaw tightens. That’s all I get, but it’s enough. Enough to tell me I’m not wrong. Enough to make this fun.
The girl lets out an annoyed breath. “Can you two stop making everything sound insane for five minutes?”
“No,” I say at the same time Knox says, “Probably not.”
That makes her glare harder, and I laugh.
I take her in. What is it about her that’s getting under my skin? I don’t understand it. I need to unsettle her—yes, that’s how I make this more interesting.
I glance at Knox. He sees it happen, can tell from my face I’ve moved on to something else, and I watch him brace for whatever I’m about to say.
“You know who would know stuff about the dead guy?” I ask.
Nobody answers.
I look straight at the girl. “The one who was found with him.”
For the first time since I brought her back in here, her composure slips. Not much. Just enough. Her throat works as she swallows, and I catch that little flicker of alarm in her eyes before she smooths it over.
