The Pawn and The Puppet (The Pawn and The Puppet #1)

by Brandi Elise Szeker

Forehead inching closer to mine. “Look at me. Don’t take your eyes off of mine, okay?”

“That’s right. You’re safe. You’re safe with me.”

Dessin is blocking the doorway. Brooding like cold death. His eyes are in a blood rage, piercing through my attacker’s skull.

“Because, once you find them, there is no life without them.”

“He put his hands on you?!” he growls, hands gripping the arms of my chair. I nod. “And your precious friend did nothing?” I shake my head. “So help me God…” He tears himself away from me, swearing under his breath.

“But no, it’s not normal. It’s not acceptable. It’s unforgivable—to me.”

Dessin kneels to my side urgently. “Look at me,” he orders, “if he ever strikes you… You tell me immediately. I will cut off every piece of him that he believes makes him a man and shove it into his mouth until he asphyxiates.”

“But I’m trying to be better, truly. Because I get to see that beautiful face every day, even though she can be unnaturally optimistic”—he points to me with his knife, smiles sadly—“and it can be mildly annoying. I’d rather not let her down.”

Dessin looks over my shoulder to level with Ruth. “If I wanted to hurt you, I would have.” Thank you, Dessin. That will calm her down. I roll my eyes and nod my head at Ruth to let her know she can trust me if she’s not able to trust him.

“How do I look at you?” Amusement twinkles in his eyes. “You look at me like you want to protect me. Like you want to keep me safe,” I murmur, unsure of my own assessment because, frankly, it would be embarrassing if I were wrong. His stare causes a flood of chills to rush down my back.