"You alright?" His voice snapped me out of my mental spiral. "What?" I blinked at him, my brain still buffering. Ashton gave me a quick side glance. "Earlier. At the hospital. Did he... hurt you?" "You mean Rhys?" I said. "No." Technically true. Not for lack of trying, though. Rhys practically lived at the gym, probably had protein shakes for blood. If he'd landed a hit, I'd have been scraping bits of myself off the floor with a dustpan. I added, softer this time, "Thank you." He didn't say "you're welcome." Instead, his grip on the steering wheel went full Incredible Hulk—veins popping as if they were auditioning for a fitness ad. I stared. Was he angry? At me? At Rhys? "That was your ex-fiancé?" he finally asked, voice low. "Yeah." He looked


