Hailey's POV
Kingsley stepped in front of me before I fully understood what or who I was seeing.
One second, the sunrise was breaking over the driveway, pale and cold against the stone. The next, his body was between mine and the car that had screeched in like a bad omen. His movement was instinctive—fast, precise, territorial in a way that sent a jolt straight through my spine.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
His voice was low, flat and dangerous.
I blinked, my mind lagging half a beat behind reality.
I hadn't expected to see her, at least not here, not now.
Lillian sat crooked in the back seat, door half open, hair disheveled, makeup smeared. She looked… wrong, stripped of the arrogance she usually wore like armor.
"I can explain," she said quickly, breathless. "I
