My body was getting rewired for early mornings and I scowled at the clock on my phone as the time showed just a few minutes before six. It was Saturday for god’s sake. But I already knew I wasn’t going to get back to sleep. My mind was buzzing as I thought about going to see my dad in just a few days’ time. I had a plan for how I was going to get off campus, but I still hadn’t aired it to Monroe yet. And for it to work, I needed him onboard. Maybe it was because I feared how he might react when I spoke about my dad. We’d never discussed whether he believed he was guilty or not, and some part of me was terrified that he might go cold on me. Refuse to help me see him. But another part was sure he would even if he didn’t like it. Either way, I really couldn’t put it off any longer.
I rolled towards Saint on the other side of the bed and my heart softened at the sight of him curled up like a child, his features boyish and handsome without the sharp scowl he usually wore. I was tempted to reach out and touch him and wondered if it was worth the rule break. His punishments tended to get my heart racing lately and I couldn’t say I minded them at all. Maybe even hungered for them sometimes…
Saint had been my warrior the day Toby had been outed as the stalker. I still found it hard to believe Toby would risk everything again by targeting me. He’d seemed to be trying so hard to fit back in, but then maybe there’d been darkness in him he couldn’t fight. Maybe watching me had fulfilled a twisted need in him. It still made my skin prickle to think about it. But at least I knew I was safe now. My Night Keepers weren’t letting him within fifty feet of me and though I cringed at the treatment he was getting, I couldn’t let myself pity him. He had invaded my privacy, seen me at my most vulnerable and taken pictures of me naked and in the arms of my men. He deserved the suffering he was getting in return for that.
I lifted my hand across the pillow parting me and Saint, wanting to commit this peaceful looking creature to memory. This man who stood between me and the world without blinking an eye. He may have been controlling and arrogant and downright beastly at times, but when it counted he was there for me in ways I had never experienced until I’d been claimed by him and the other Night Keepers.
Debussy poured through the speakers and I yanked my hand back just before Saint’s eyes opened. He looked at me across the pillow and his brows dipped, but his eyes didn’t cut into me like I expected. For the sweetest few seconds, he kept that carefree expression in place and it brought a smile to my lips. A smile he actually returned. I mean, it was only the tiniest twitch at the corner of his mouth. But still.
“Good morning,” he said, his voice gravelly and delicious as his eyes fell to the pink cami top of my pyjamas. He pushed back the covers and was gone before I could reply, heading into the closet to dress in his workout clothes.
I ignored the little tug in my chest that said I was disappointed he’d left. But that was Saint. Right on time. Never wasting a second with me that could be spent fulfilling his hell driven routine. When he was dressed, he strode into the bathroom to pee and I slid out of bed, wanting to get my letters and spend some time reading through them. I hadn’t written a single one to Jess since I’d thought Saint had destroyed them. But now…maybe I could start again.
I dropped down to my knees at the back of the closet, taking the metal box off the lowest shelf and resting it on my knees. It was attached to a chain in the wall so I couldn’t take it anywhere and as I turned it over to open it, I realised I didn’t know the passcode.
“Saint!” I called as I heard him marching across the landing.
He pushed the door open, arching a brow impatiently as I stole a few seconds from his schedule.
“What’s the code?” I tapped the box with a hopeful look and he laughed like a Bond villain.
“Oh no, you can’t have the code, Barbie. Whatever made you think that?”
My jaw dropped and I gaped at him, waiting for him to admit he was joking. “But you saved them,” I said in confusion, my fingers tightening around the box as I glared at him.
“Yes, and I showed you that they’re safe.” He shrugged, about to turn away.
“Hey!” I demanded, my breathing becoming ragged. “Open the damn box.”
He glanced back over his shoulder with a look of power in his gaze as he drank in my desperation. “You may have a letter when you earn one. Right now, I am still harbouring bad feelings towards you for destroying my grandmother’s records.”
I felt like I’d been punched in the face. “I only did that because you pretended to burn these!” I rattled the box in anger, aching to get to the contents inside.
“Yes, which is why I don’t lock you in the crypt every night and make you sleep with the dead in penance,” he snapped, his harsh voice making my heart lurch.
He walked away and I stared after him in absolute fury. That asshole. That power-hoarding, evil nutcase!
I
