Silver(43)

The hag went flying into the door, crashing through them, sending both off their hinges, broken.

The woman stood, gave Robbie a crazy-eyed look, then got up and started running.

“Should we chase her?” Kelsey asked, aghast, as Robbie walked over to her and held out a hand to help her up.

Adrien, who had been standing there with his mouth agape, walked up behind her, and Kelsey took one of each of their hands to stand.

She brushed off her suit as she tried to comprehend what had happened.

Adrien folded his arms as he stared at Robbie. “What the hell was that?”

Robbie frowned, pressing her lips together. “I’m just… pretty strong, I guess.”

“And you couldn’t ever intervene for me before?” he asked, putting his hands up.

“Hey, the women weren’t ever that crazy. And you were such a brat it was fun to watch you get angry, as long as they weren’t actually pulling anything.”

Adrien let out a snort. “Nice. Very kind of you.”

“I know,” Robbie said sarcastically. “But I do feel protective of Kelsey.” Her expression softened as her gaze met Adrien’s. “And I wouldn’t really leave you in a situation where you had to choose between your girl getting hurt and hitting a woman.”

“What are you?” Adrien asked, narrowing his eyes. “I mean, I’m grateful for what just happened, but you clearly have something to tell us.”

“I know,” Robbie said. “I know it’s weird, and you won’t see me the same. The truth is—”

The doors made cracking noises as Citrine and Sever walked in, stepping through them.

Citrine’s gold eyes were wide and flashing. “What just happened in here? Who did this?”

“I’m sorry,” Robbie said, reaching out and squeezing Kelsey’s hand. “I need to go now.”

She walked past Citrine quickly and out into the hall before Kelsey could stop her. Kelsey made a step to follow her, but Adrien caught her hand.

“Maybe best to let her go,” he whispered in her ear. “Right now, it’s her decision.”

“What just happened?” Citrine asked. “Someone explain this right now! And why did Robbie go running out of here?”

Adrien shrugged. “I mean, it’s your fault for not locking the doors downstairs. That crazy lady from the other day came back.”

“No,” Citrine said, shaking his head. “I’m positive I locked the door.” He rubbed his neck and looked from the door to Adrien. “You’re sure she came in here?”

“Robbie throwing her into the doors was what broke them,” Adrien said.

“Why did Robbie throw her into a door?” Sever asked, looking as confused as the others.

“She attacked Adrien,” Kelsey said. “She was truly crazy. I tried to fight her off, but she was too strong for me. Like she was on something. Adrien was going to interfere, but Robbie stepped in instead to keep him from getting in trouble.”

“I don’t care if it’s a woman,” Adrien said. “No one is allowed to hurt my mate.” His arm curled around Kelsey’s waist, holding her close.

“I see,” Citrine said. “So where is Robbie now?”

“Damned if I know,” Adrien said. “She went running out. I think she was embarrassed.”

“Damn,” Citrine said. He looked at Kelsey. “Sorry for my language.”

She shrugged with a smile. “It’s fine. Don’t be too hard on Robbie, though. I’m not sure why she’s so strong, but she seemed embarrassed about it. You know, it’s not like women get rewarded for being strong or big. My guess is she doesn’t want people to look at her weird about it.”

Citrine’s eyes narrowed as he thought to himself about something. “You say she threw a human into that door?”

“A woman, yes,” Kelsey said. “But you know people can do crazy things due to adrenaline.” She looked at Adrien. “I mean, this guy beat up like three guys with no problem the other day.”

Citrine raised an eyebrow. “You did? Why didn’t I hear about that?”

Whoops. Kelsey probably shouldn’t have mentioned it.

“Anyway,” Adrien said. “We can talk about that later. Right now, I’m going to take Kelsey back to her place, make sure she is fine. She kind of got tossed around.”

Citrine’s expression softened in concern. “I’m sorry that happened,” he said. “I really thought she wouldn’t be back. And I have no idea how she got in. Clearly, we’ll have to work on our door security.”

Adrien nodded. “You two may want to call someone to make sure our locks are secure, and get the doors fixed. I’m taking my mate home.”