Claim (Fury Brothers #5)

13. Bell

13

BELL

I slammed into the women’s change room.

Thank God, it was empty.

“ Argh .” I paced by the lockers. How dare Beau touch me? With hands he’d put on another woman last night.

I didn’t sleep with her.

It wasn’t any of my business, but knowing he hadn’t slept with the gorgeous, perfect Klara made my belly quiver.

I whirled again. I couldn’t let myself have feelings for him. I couldn’t afford it.

And I couldn’t afford to put Beau in the firing line. I swallowed. If Carr knew Beau was close to me, I’d be painting a target on Beau’s back.

I yanked my backpack out of my locker and opened it.

I saw the notes from Carr, and my stomach curdled.

They always stayed in my backpack. A bad taste filled my mouth. They were a reminder that I couldn’t get close to anyone, that I had to survive.

The door to the change room slammed open. I spun and my mouth dropped open.

Beau strode in, looking like some dark god of the underworld. Like a man on a mission.

“This is ladies only,” I snapped.

“It’s my gym.”

He kept coming. I backed up until my back hit the lockers.

He stopped just a few inches away, and pressed his hands to the locker over my head.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I wanted to clear the air. I want you to fucking look at me.”

I gritted my teeth and met his gaze.

He frowned. “You afraid of me?”

Now, I frowned. “No.”

The lines on his forehead eased. “Good.” Then his fingers brushed my hair. “Bell—”

“I can’t do this.” I ducked under his arm. “Go back to your brunette.”

He turned. “The date sucked.”

I felt a spurt of pleasure. “I’m sorry to hear that.” Lies. All lies.

“It sucked because I was thinking of you,” he murmured.

Warmth spread through me, and I dragged in a shaky breath.

“I didn’t want to be with her. I was thinking of pretty, blue eyes.”

“Beau—”

“I know. You’re too young, and too damn good for me.”

Too good? The man was…everything I wasn’t. He was successful, settled, knew who he was.

“I hurt you,” he murmured.

I bit my lip and looked away. “No, you didn’t.”

He stepped closer. “Don’t lie to me. I saw your face when you first saw Klara. Damn, I hated seeing that look on your face.” He took another step.

Paper crinkled.

I looked down. He’d stepped on one of the notes.

Oh no . Horror filled me.

“That’s mine.” I lunged down to snatch it up.

But Beau beat me to it and picked it up. He opened it. As he read it, I saw his face harden.

“What the fuck?” he whispered.

I snatched the note out of his hand and turned to my backpack. “Forget you saw that.”

“It’s fucking impossible to forget that filth.” He shouldered past me. He saw the other notes in my backpack and pulled them out.

“Beau, no.” I grabbed at his hand.

He held the notes above my head and started reading another one. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

I knew what he was reading. Every sick detail of what Chandler Carr wanted to do to me.

The horrible things he’d done to Allison.

“Give them back,” I whispered hotly.

He kept holding the notes over my head.

I saw the rage building on Beau’s face.

“Who is this fucker?”

“No one. This is none of your business.”

His anger intensified. “The sick fuck… He wants to kill you.”

“Trust me, Beau. Take the statuesque brunette out again. Stick with Klara. She’s easy, with no baggage.” I pulled the notes from his fingers. “This is my shit to deal with.”

His jaw worked. “You’re in danger.”

Then he spun, and slammed a big fist into one of the lockers. The metal dented.

I gasped.

He punched it again.

The violence, the power, all of it fueled by anger on my behalf.

He whirled, his mouth a flat line. “I don’t fucking want Klara. End of discussion. And you are not dealing with this alone.”

I couldn’t move. I swallowed, too many emotions building up inside me.

Beau leaned in. “This is my fucking business. I’m making you my business. So get ready.”

Then he turned and stalked out.

I stared after him. What the hell had just happened?

I wasn’t exactly sure, but something had, and I figured I’d better get ready to deal with it.