Chapter 165

#32

Zeke is leaning against the marble pillar near the staircase, his arms crossed over his chest, looking like a gargoyle guarding a tomb. He hasn’t changed his uniform, and there are dark circles under his eyes that tell me he hasn’t slept since the shooting occurred.

“Where have you been?” Zeke asks, his voice dropping into that heavy, authoritative tone he uses when he’s trying to be the head of security instead of a person.

I stop at the base of the stairs, kicking off my heels with a tired sigh. “Where I go is absolutely none of your business, Zeke. Last time I checked, you weren’t my father, and you certainly don’t own my schedule.”

“Your father is currently occupied with a dozen different federal agencies, and since your shiny new bodyguard managed to get himself shot and put in a coma, you are my responsibility,” Zeke says, stepping away from the pillar to close the distance between us. He looks at me with an intensity that makes my defensive walls go r