Page 61 of You Were Warned: Part One

“No call, no message, not even a smoke signal. Nobody knew where you were.”

“People knew I left.”

“I didn’t,” I snap.

His face goes still. Fuck, I should stop, but of course I don’t.

“For all I knew, you were dead in a ditch somewhere.”

His eyes widen. “My potential death bothered you?”

“Do not make this romantic.”

“I didn’t.”

“You were going to—I know you.”

“Fine, I was.”

I move past him toward my steps.

“Vesper.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry.”

That stops me, and I turn back around to face him to see there is no smile gracing his face, and he doesn’t look amused. It somehow makes me angrier, because I was prepared to fight with the asshole, not have him act like a normal person.

“Where were you?”

“Tying up loose ends.”

I stare back at him—for once I thought I could get a straight answer. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means, if you are planning to keep your pet, apparently I have to clean up his messes.”

Every protective instinct rises to the surface. See? This caring shit sucks. “What does Jensen have to do with this?”

“More than he knows.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

He looks at me, and there is something in his expression that I can’t read. I hate when I can’t read him.

“Is he inside?”

“Answer my question,” I demand, crossing my arms.

“Probably better if I don’t.”

“Why?”

He just shrugs, causing me to get angrier and second-guess why I even fucking cared that he left in the first place.

“Just fucking answer me!” I snap, but the Jester merely looks into my eyes and remains silent. Something cold creeps beneath my skin. “Are you going to kill him?”

“Not today.”