Rule Breaker(69)

            Rule could feel his senses, hell, the fucking animal he was inside, pacing within the confines of his flesh and ready to roar out in rage.

            He’d be damned if he’d allow her to take that guilt onto her already burdened shoulders. If she took much more upon herself, then he feared she might well collapse beneath the grief.

            “Something happened since I saw her last,” he stated, remembering the pain he had felt throbbing just beneath her serene exterior. “Something that’s hurt her.”

            “Her parents,” Jonas stated softly. “I would imagine, knowing human nature as I do, that in their resentment they feel they lost their daughter that night as well; they likely remind her often of the son. Her pain was edged with an incredible amount of guilt today. Just as her mother’s disapproval even before they walked into the suite could be detected by every Breed they passed.”

            And the misty, barely-there image of her brother as he stood sadly behind her had touched Jonas’s heart.

            The brother, whose dedication and loyalty to Breeds and the Unknown alike could never be questioned, had turned to Jonas, staring at him demandingly before reaching out as though to touch his sister’s hair.

            A vision none could see but him.

            A vision that convinced him of her innocence as nothing else could.

            ...

            Rule barely stopped the growl that would have vibrated in his chest.

            Damn, his senses were far too agitated since coming to Window Rock.

            Turning to Jonas, he met those eerie eyes for long moments. He might not trust Jonas when it came to his promise not to pair him up with his mate, should Jonas ever find her, but he did trust the other man’s opinion.

            With his free hand, the director rubbed at the back of his neck as the tension tightening through his body caused the rest of them to watch him expectantly.

            He had the last word. Whatever decision he made, Seth Lawrence of Lawrence Industries, and Dane Vanderale, heir to the Vanderale dynasty, would accept without argument.

            “Jonas, you said yourself she’s riding a very thin line,” Rachel said softly, obviously reminding him of an earlier conversation.

            He gave his head a hard shake.

            “Yes, I did,” he finally admitted as his gaze connected with Rule’s, then Lawe’s. Finally, he nodded slowly, turning back to Rule. “I agree with Rachel and Diane, Rule. She needs to know about this. The debt we owe her brother can never be repaid, and turning against the sister at this point would only betray his sacrifices as well. But I understand your concerns. How do you want to proceed?”

            “Me?” Rule snapped, restraining himself from hitting something as he forced himself to keep his arms crossed over his chest. “My suggestion was to not tell her at all.”

            “And now the—forget it.” Lifting the whiskey to his lips, Jonas finished his drink before setting the glass on the bar. “She’ll be here tomorrow with Amber’s cake, I believe. I’ll discuss it with her before she leaves.”

            “I’ll take care of it myself,” Rule snarled.

            Like hell.

            Where did that come from?

            Rule almost blinked in surprise.

            The words had jumped out of his mouth before he’d even realized what he was actually saying.

            But Jonas didn’t seem to realize how out of character his commander was behaving. Perhaps it was just him, Rule thought, watching the others closely for any sign that they noticed anything different about him.