Wild Tiger Chase | Book #2 (Complete)

52: the whisper in my heart (Part I)

— Rob —

Rafa blinked a few times and, with a barely-contained smile, shook her head. "You're smitten all right. Not that it could be any different. Childhood friends and enemies to lovers? Those are my two favorite tropes."

"What are you talking about?" Rob raised an eyebrow.

"You were a hero; he was a villain. No?" She rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Forget it. You're clearly not Phillip; you don't get my connection with the realm of fandom."

"I'm sorry I'm not your new best friend," Rob said with an attitude, making Rafa chuckle.

There was a plastic squeak outside, maybe the noise of shoe soles against the burnt cement of the floor. Before Rafa could react, Rob bristled like a scared bear and pressed a raised finger against his lips.

"Sh. Did you hear that?" he whispered. "Someone's there."

The crease between his eyebrows deepened as he turned to the door. It was ajar. Why the hell was it ajar? Rob pointed to the door, reached for the nearest weapon he could find—a big shard of the flower vase Rafa had broken earlier—and sneaked forward. With a gesture, he asked Rafa to keep speaking.

"Yeah, uh," Rafa began. "But I need to know your intentions, Robbie. I can't accept my little brother acting like a playboy in a romance book. If you're serious about that twink, you gotta put a ring on his finger."

Rob grimaced and sent a questioning look at Rafa.

"That, uh. Older... twink?"

He rolled his eyes. Now that he was closer to the door, he could see a shadow on the other side. Someone was definitely there. Rob held the knob and looked at Rafa. Keep going!

"Uh... like... Effer," Rafa said. "Effer is an older twink with little muscle. But for a woman like me, with abs like these—"

Another couple steps; then, with a violent jerk, Rob opened the door.

Two pairs of widened eyes stared back at him.

"Phillip? Satina?" Rob mumbled. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with Léon."

"We were," Satina said.

"And I, uh." Phillip glanced at his left towards the empty corridor. "Well, I thought he was keeping an eye on me," he added with a weak laugh. "You know. Cause I'm... sick?"

Rob frowned. "Mate, this is serious." He looked at Satina first. "I thought you said you wouldn't leave his side if your life depended on it."

"Well, you know, life surprises us all," she said with a shrug.

"And you, Phillip." Rob faced him. "You look like a hairless city-trash possum with varicose veins, but your health is, quote-unquote, good enough. Isn't that what you told me when I asked if you'd help me take care of my boyfriend?"

"Uh." Phillip glanced at his left again. Then, he focused on Rob. "I mean, I never used the word possum, but you got the gist of it."

"So?" Rob insisted—and this time he looked from Satina to Phillip in turns. "Where's Léon?"

"Uh. Yeah, he..." Phillip smiled. "Went to take a dum—"

Someone gave Phillip's arm a half-hearted punch.

"Ouch!"

"I did not," Léon growled. "Goddess. You had one job, Phillip."

Phillip grimaced. "You told me to pretend you weren't here; you didn't say how." He clicked his tongue and massaged the spot Léon had hit. "That hurt."