Melissa stayed frozen, her lips pressed together, refusing to break the silence. But Alec wasn’t someone who handled silence well—especially not when it came from someone standing between him and the ghosts of his past.
“Huh? What is all this?” he asked again, his voice laced with a fury that was seconds away from combusting. His blazing eyes searched hers, threatening to consume her in their fire.
“Just talk!” he barked, his voice sharp enough to shatter every ounce of stillness in the room.
And then it happened.
He lunged forward and grabbed her arm—tight, unforgiving. His grip was brutal, his fingers digging so deeply into her skin that it felt like her bone would snap.
Melissa gasped, but she didn’t scream. Tears welled in her eyes from the blinding pain, rolling down her cheeks i
