Page 18 of Protector Unmatched

Pearce felt his heart miss a beat. A shaky breath left his chest, and he suddenly felt an icy shiver slither down his spine. “Eliminate? You thought I’d gone out tonight to eliminate her?”

Hamish furrowed his brow. The others also looked perplexed. They had no idea about his plan. Apparently Winter had been rather stingy with facts when telling her mate about the situation. It appeared that she could keep a secret after all. Not that it would do him much good now. He had to come clean before his brethren took matters into their own hands and eliminated the threat to Pearce’s life.

“Well,” Hamish said. “Did you?”

Pearce shook his head.

“So all you did was reconnaissance?” Manus asked. “You made no contact with the subject? Just figured out what the best way will be?”

Pearce tilted his head a little to the side. “In a manner of speaking.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Logan asked, still sounding infuriated.

“What I said!” Pearce shoved a hand through his hair. “I’m going to deal with it. With her. I need to find out why she wants to kill me. And then I’ll make sure it won’t happen.”

Logan looked at him suspiciously. “How?”

“You know what, Logan? I’ve had enough of your pissy attitude for one night. It’s my business how I make sure Daphne doesn’t kill me, okay?” He stabbed his index finger into Logan’s shoulder. “It’s my fucking business!”

“It’s compound business,” Logan replied, his anger barely leashed.

“Oh yeah? Was it also compound business when you decided to change the outcome of Winter’s own death vision? Huh? I seem to remember that you asked us to butt out too. So excuse me if I do the same. My life, my death, my choice. Do you get it?”

Logan blanched with fury. “Are you saying that you’re mad enough to try and change Winter’s vision by befriending your killer?”

Befriending was perhaps not the most accurate description, not after the passionate kiss that Pearce had shared with Daphne tonight, but that was none of Logan’s business.

“It worked for you. You think I’m not capable of changing whatever turns Daphne into a killer?”

“Have you checked out her background? Her history?” Enya asked.

“Who says she’s not a killer already?” Aiden added.

Pearce glared at him. “She’s not!” Why he was so sure about that, he didn’t really know. But the woman he’d held in his arms tonight had never killed anybody. And he’d do anything to make sure she never would. For both their sakes.

Hamish gave him an odd look. “Where exactly were you tonight? And what were you doing?”

“I told Logan it’s none of his business, and the same goes for you. For all of you. I’m handling it my way.”

Manus shook his head in disbelief. “Oh my God, you slept with her. You slept with your killer.”

Shocked gasps echoed in the kitchen.

Heat shot through Pearce’s core, and he clenched his fists. Manus’s assumption came a little too close to the truth. He took a breath, and then, as calmly as he could, he said, “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t use my dick to solve problems. I use my brain.” Then he made a motion toward the door. “So, if you’ll all excuse me, I’ve gotta run a background check.” He turned his back on his friends.

“You’re crazy if you think you can change the vision,” Logan called after him.

“Don’t do this, Pearce,” Aiden warned him. “Let’s think this through first.”

“I believe he’s thinking with his little brain,” Manus added.

At the door, Pearce lifted his right hand and, without looking over his shoulder, extended his middle finger, telling his comrades what exactly he thought of their comments. And to underscore it, he made the effort of opening the door instead of walking through it, just so he could slam it shut with a loud thud.