The Officer's Runaway Wife & Secret Son novel Chapter 506

"Yeah."

His voice was hoarse as he rested his forehead against Clara's shoulder, taking in the faint scent of her body lotion.

He figured that maybe, just maybe, taking a gamble wasn't such a bad idea.

If only to breathe in this scent for a few more years.

During this rare moment of tenderness, his phone began to buzz incessantly. The vibration was grating.

Rhys frowned, deciding to ignore it.

He didn't want to talk to anyone right now.

But the phone seemed determined to ruin the mood, buzzing four or five times without pause.

Clara glanced over casually. The text notification displayed a familiar name: Shawn.

Over the past few years, Rhys had completely faded out of his old social circle. But during the holidays, childhood friends like Shawn still sent their customary invitations.

Rhys had never attended a single one.

"It's Shawn," Clara pointed out.

Rhys sighed, grabbed the phone, and opened his messages. It was a thirty-second voice memo.

He didn't hide it from Clara, hitting play right in front of her.

"Rhys, happy holidays! We're getting together tomorrow night. It's been years, man. Owen Price mentioned Clara is back in town. You should bring her along. We'll be at the usual spot."

Rhys's gaze instantly frosted over. The lingering warmth in his eyes vanished without a trace.

"Owen again."

He scoffed, his fingers moving to type out a rejection.

Was this a joke? He had waited so long for her to return to him; there was no way he was going to subject Clara to their passive-aggressive snide remarks.

In the past, he had been dense, always pulling her hand after the fact and saying, "They didn't mean it like that."

Now, the mere memory made him want to stitch his own mouth shut.

"Wait."

Clara's voice stopped him just before he hit send. She took the phone from his hand, her eyes scanning the screen.

It was a long string of messages from Shawn.

Generic holiday greetings, the occasional dinner invite, and a couple of polite pleasantries.

He could shield her once or twice, but he couldn't shield her forever.

Felix's close call had ended safely only because Margot still possessed a shred of humanity. What about next time?

Rather than letting her face it alone in the future, it was better if he was right there beside her.

At least while he still was here.

"Then we'll go," Rhys murmured, pulling Clara back into his embrace. "But once we're there, you have to stick close to me. If you feel uncomfortable for even a second, we leave."

Clara looked at his tense, battle-ready expression and finally couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.

The sound was muffled against his chest, sending a tremor straight to his heart.

"What's so funny?"

"You." Clara tilted her face up from his chest, her eyes curving with amusement. "Do you realize you look like you're about to walk me straight into a minefield?"

Rhys fell silent for a second.

"Pretty much."

He said it in all seriousness.