Dark eyes like black pools focus on me, upper lip curling into a sneer. Everything about the way he’s looking at me tells me exactly how he feels. Where usually a stone-cold appearance sits is now pure hatred, the kind of disgust that makes me recoil out of fear. God, I never wanted his approval before. Why the fuck do I want it now?
Because I’m alone, I think as I take a shaky step back. Because my father won’t be able to protect me anymore. Because no one will be able to protect me.
I take a breath. Unless…
“Don’t think for a second you fool me, Alex,” he spits. “You’re not as innocent as you fucking look.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He shoves past me, tensile strength knocking into my shoulder and breaking my grip on my chest. I stumble a few paces back, scoffing as I flip around to march after him.
“Where the fuck are you going?” I snap. “Lev, I’m fucking talking to you!”
He marches on as if he can’t hear me. And that’s typical Lev, too. All brooding mystery. All attitude. All goddamn temper tantrums in the form of marching. He could literally pave a path into this earth with the way he stomps, heavy steps crunching fresh foliage, twigs, and fallen branches the size of bats. He walks and walks, feet carrying him forward as his heavy breath invites me forward.
Why am I even following him? He’s a massive jerk. There’s nothing he can provide me, not even protection.
And yet…
“Lev,” I grunt as I trip over a branch and catch myself on a tree. The bark bites into my palm, causing me to hiss. Great, not that I need more scratches or bruises after that creep tried to rape me at the entrance of the maze. “Stop.”
“Stop following me.”
I frown hard. “No.”
“Dumb bitch.”
“Don’t fucking call me that.”
He sneers over his shoulder. “Then stop acting like one.”
“Maybe if you stop stomping away like a goddamn toddler, I would be able to stop following you.”
A frustrated growl turns him around, halting me in my tracks. Strong hands grip my shoulders, squeezing so tight that I squeak, that I clench my thighs, that I press my palms to his chest. The thick vein above his right eyebrow bulges dangerously, as if it’s ready to burst. Fear trickles into my gut along with something else, something I don’t dare acknowledge.
I bite through the pain of him squeezing me to ask, “Why did you return from England?”
“Why do you care?”
“Why can’t I just be curious?”
He snorts. “Go back to the party.”
“No.”
The way his fingers dig into my skin contrasts with the look in his eyes. A heaviness sits there, though it’s not entirely clear to me whether he’s simply annoyed with my presence or thinking of something else.
Forever the brooder.
“You shouldn’t go back to Macedon,” he warns in a low voice. “Don’t go back.”
“Why?”
His brows dip together in frustration as disgust drips from his reply, “You know why.”
The sudden absence of his hands leaves me stunned as I watch him hop over a fence. It dawns on me then that I have followed Lev to the edge of the property—and now I’m alone.
I’ll have to find a way back to the house by myself.
In the dark.
I sigh, square my shoulders, and chafe my arms where Lev grabbed me. Whatever he meant by his warning is lost on me.
And the warmth is gone with it.
Daddy’s not around to save you anymore.