Page 27 of Cold Mercy

My face heats instantly. So he's nice, well-built, and speaks more than one language? Okay, maybe he's slightly stepping out of the ‘red flag’ category.

Mrs. Gonzalez beams like this is the best plot twist of her week.

“Ah, so Mr. Thomas is fine after all. Not as you said this morning, Ms. Sophia.”

Thomas turns to me with a crooked grin.

“So you talked about me?”

I throw my hands up.

“Mrs. Gonzalez, what are you doing here? It’s late.”

She presses a hand to her chest.

“Ay, very sorry...I fell asleep watching my telenovela.”

Thomas’s smile grows even warmer. I can’t help the surprised one that slips onto my face.

“Nothing happened, there will definitely be a repeat tomorrow. Please go home and rest.”

She waves and drifts off. I stop Thomas before he reaches the door.

“We’re not going inside. Last time you walked in without my consent, but this time I have a functioning brain, so I have a different plan. We going for a ride.”

He raises a brow.

“Another ride? Didn’t we just come back from one?”

“Not that kind”, I say, smirking. “Don’t be dramatic.”

I grab the barn keys and gesture for him to follow. Inside, Duke waits in his stall. Next to him is Rowan, impossible to ignore and fully convinced the world should adjust to his mood.

“This is Rowan”, I say. “I got him as company for Duke. Ever since then, he’s been just as unbearable as you are. So he’ll be your partner today.”

Thomas looks genuinely shocked, but not enough to back out.

“I don’t even know you that well,” he mutters. “I don’t know why you asked me to come. And for all I know, you could be planning to kidnap me and kill me.”

Laughing, I watch his mouth quirk in a mocking smile, as if he's daring me to throw the saddle at him.

“If I wanted to kill someone, there are much better targets than you.”

He laughs under his breath.

He finishes saddling Rowan like it’s nothing, and when he pulls himself up onto the horse, his forearms tense around the reins. His veins stood out clean and sharp beneath the ink of his tattoos.

Even from a distance, it’s the first thing I notice, and the last thing I manage to look away from. But to my absolute disbelief… Rowan doesn’t move. No snort, no tossing his head, no dramatic performance. I stare at them for a long second. Rowan stands perfectly still under Reed, like he’s been waiting for him his whole life. Maybe animals really do sense things. Potentially they need someone calm, settled, balanced, or whatever the hell he is. Indeed, this horse is just as unbearable as him, and that's why they get along. He looks annoyingly flawless up there, and I catch myself looking too long.

He notices, of course he does. I feel that there is nothing Reed hasn't done or doesn't know how to do, and that really infuriates me.

He nudges Rowan forward and glances back at me.

“You coming, princess?”

I roll my eyes so hard I might sprain something, but I swing onto Sterling and follow him out onto the trail.

“So IT guys can ride horses now?” I ask.