Chapter 9: Where Eagles Dare
Ro had set her alarm to go off at eight o'clock AM the next morning. When her alarm went off a radio station began to play. That morning, the popular rock music station wasn't playing Erotic Corpses but something from The Necromancers! The song was called 'Obey Me!' and the lyrics pretty much consisted of Sadie Skellington yelling at people to: 'Obey and Submit to my will!' and 'Rise and obey me!'. The Necromancers were becoming more and more popular lately. Ro moaned and stretched her arms over her head.
"Those posers can't hold a candle to Erotic Corpses." Blake groused, with an immature pout on his face that made him look younger than he was.
"Mmhmm." Ro agreed absentmindedly with a nod as she turned her head to see Blake lying in the bed next to her.
"Ahhh!" Ro screamed shrilly.
Blake plugged his ears with his fingertips. "Shut up! You're way too loud this early in the morning, beggar girl! Do we really have to go through this every morning? Geez. If only you could be this loud when you speak to other people instead of speaking like a scared little mouse."
Ro stopped screaming and glared at Blake with an indignant expression on her face. "Get out of my room, rockstar ghost!" Ro picked up her pillow and threw it at Blake.
It hit him right in the face - but sadly just passed right through him?
Blake cackled at that.
"Jerk?" Ro got out of bed and started for the bathroom. She turned to send Blake a death glare. "If you try to peep on me?I'll ignore you, and I won't go on this stupid date with Devon!"
Blake put his hand behind his head and looked sheepish. "Peeping on a virgin? That's just wrong?" Blake was so used to girls in the entertainment industry being 'whores' and 'sluts' that he didn't know what to make of the 'unicorn virgin' Ro Ripper.
Ro's cheeks turned pink as she ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She put her back to the door and tried to calm her racing heart. Ever since Blake had discovered she was a virgin he had been treating her so differently?
A tiny smile unconsciously formed on her face. Ro shook her head and stripped off her cat pj's. She stepped into the shower and turned the hot water on. She was going to go on a date with Devon Decayn?murder suspect number one. She just needed to get a confession out of him or proof, and then this nightmare would be over. Devon had known where Blake's bathroom was and the first-aid kit - despite never having been to Blake's penthouse. So suspicious. Devon could be a murderer! Ro began to tremble in fear at the thought and wrapped her arms around her torso. She was so freaked out.
Ro finished her shower and stepped onto the freezing cold tiles. She quickly wrapped a towel around her body and began to wash her face and brush her teeth. After she was finished she cautiously opened the bathroom door, took a step out into the bedroom, and peered around the room. She let out a breath of relief when she saw that Blake wasn't there. She went over to the closet, which was now filled with expensive designer clothes.
She frowned as she pondered what you be appropriate attire to wear on her 'date'. A date?she'd never been on a date before. She couldn't help but be nervous.
Devon had mentioned something about 'adventure sports'. What had he meant by that exactly? She pondered a bit more and decided that she probably shouldn't wear a dress.
Ro decided to wear a pair of tight, designer blue jeans, a black long-sleeved shirt with a gothic cross on it that glittered with rhinestones, and a pair of lace-up knee boots. She wore a black choker with a medieval cross and a pair of earrings that were tiny angel wings. Ro did her makeup like Carrie had taught her and made her eyes smoky and left her lips natural.
The medium exited the bedroom and made her way into the living room where Blake was reclining on the black leather sofa in a sensual manner. It was moments like that when the ghost was acting human that it was easy to forget that he was actually dead. Ro realized she had stopped in her tracks and sucked in a breath at the sight of the handsome ghost.
Ro's black cats ran towards her when they caught sight of her. "Meeowww!"
Blake looked up and took in her outfit with a nod. "You don't look half bad, beggar girl. You almost look like a real rockstar chick. I'm sure Devon will approve. Hopefully he doesn't approve too much though." A shadow fell over Blake's face as he thought about the bold Devon and the shy Rosalie going on this date. No! It wasn't a date! It was an murder investigation! "I wonder if her shirt is too tight?" He muttered to himself darkly.
Ro bent down to greet her cats, scratched them behind their ears, and patted them on their heads. "You guys must be hungry?" Ro made her way over to the pantry and got out a bag of Purina Cat Chow. She put five new silver pet bowls (Carrie had ordered them online) on the kitchen counter and put a half a cup of cat food in each bowl before setting the bowls down on the floor.
Blake watched the cats eat ravenously. "You know, you might as well give the cats Fancy Feast. We can afford it." Blake said, offhandedly.
"Fancy Feast?" Ro quirked her head at Blake.
"Yea, you know?" Blake waved his hands in front of him. "Like in the commercials where the white Persian cat eats Fancy Feast out of that tall crystal cup."
Ro shook her head. "I don't watch much TV?"
Blake threw his hands up into the air. "Argh?you are so weird. It's a kind of canned gourmet cat food. Supposedly, it's the best. And I've never settled for less than the best." Blake puffed out his muscular chest.
"Ah, dry food is healthier." Ro deadpanned.
Blake's eye twitched in irk. This girl really didn't know how to live a little.
"But thank you for the offer." Ro smiled brightly at the rockstar ghost. It was unusual for him to be so generous.
Blake was taken aback by Ro's rare smile and scratched the back of his head. "Ah, don't mention it?" Sometimes the gloomy girl's smile could be surprisingly radiant.
Ro began to pour herself a bowl of cereal and Blake snorted. "You're a millionaire now Ro and all you want for breakfast is cornflakes? Why don't you make yourself some pancakes or French toast or something a little more extravagant?" Blake waved his hand through the air in an impatient gesture.
"I'm fine with cereal." Ro replied dryly. She was still feeling uncomfortable with living in Blake's penthouse and spending his money. She hadn't even done anything to help Blake yet in order to deserve all this. She realized she felt guilty. Ro approached Blake's complex and expensive coffee and espresso maker next. So this was the Lamborghini coffee maker with the gear-shift handle that Blake had mentioned. It was even more impressive than she had imagined. Ro looked at it, at a loss of what to do. "Er?how do I-?"
"You don't know how to use that do you?" Blake crossed his arms over his chest and gave Ro a superior look. "I guess there's no helping it, I'll teach you how to work the coffee maker. Be honored, beggar girl."
Ro looked at Blake closely and saw that he was trying to offer his help to her in a nonchalant manner. She smiled at him again.
That was bad for the heart. Blake decided as he stumbled back a step. It was probably a good thing he was already dead and couldn't have a heart attack. The singer cleared his throat and began instructing Ro how to use the coffee machine. Chaos ensued. Blake ended up yelling at Ro 'do that' and 'don't do that', but ultimately they ended up bursting out laughing at the silliness of it all. How complex was it to make a cup of coffee in the morning?
They were just beginning to relax and enjoy each other's company when there was a knock at the door. Ro jumped and looked at Blake - both knew it had to be Devon.
Ro reluctantly dragged her feet to the door and opened it. Standing in the doorway was none other than the ruggedly handsome lead guitarist of Erotic Corpses: Devon Decayn. Devon was wearing his signature, short black leather jacket that had spikes on it, a dark blue t-shirt with a glittering skull, a pair of ripped blue jeans and a pair of combat boots. A lit cigarette was dangling between his lips. His dark blue hair had been gelled to perfection.
Ro
sucked in a breath. She couldn't help but admit to herself that Devon looked hot.
Devon took off his aviator sunglasses and reached out to cup Ro's cheek. "Good morning, babe. You look nice." Devon complimented before leaning forward and kissing Ro right on the lips.
Ro's eyes widened and she froze in shock.
"Hey! Hey! I never knew you were such a pervert, Devon!" Blake swung a punch at Devon that passed straight through the guitarist's head.
Devon pulled back and a cocksure smile formed on his face. He chuckled as he made his way past Ro and entered the penthouse suite with swaggering steps. "Mmmm that smells like coffee. Mind if I have a cup?"
Ro unfroze, closed the door which automatically locked, and turned around. "No, go right ahead."
"Don't mind if I do." Devon walked over to the kitchen cabinets and opened the correct cabinet before taking out a coffee mug. He walked over to the coffee machine and began to make himself a coffee. He noticed Ro's cup of perfectly brewed coffee. There was foam on top that even had the pattern of a leaf on it. Devon raised an eyebrow at the perfect cup of coffee. "I'm surprised you figured out how to use this monster coffee maker. This was Blake's, wasn't it? That spoiled jerk?I'm not surprised he started his day with pretty designs in the milk foam of his morning coffee." There was a bitter tone to Devon's voice.
Ro didn't really know what to say to that and so took a seat at the kitchen island. She took her coffee cup in her two hands and warmed her chilled fingers. It felt nice. It was a bit chilly inside the penthouse despite the fact that Blake told her she could turn up the heat if she wanted to.
"It's kind of cold in here. Why don't you turn the heat up?" Devon asked as if reading her thoughts.
"Ah, I'm trying to conserve on heat in order to lower the heating bill." Ro blurted out without thinking since it was something she had done automatically back at her own apartment. During the winter months which were always the hardest for Ro to get through Ro would wearing her jacket while inside, fill plastic bottles with boiling water to put under her comforter at night and then use that water in the morning to make her morning coffee in order to also conserve on water.
"Idiot! You're a millionaire now." Blake spat at her. "You don't need to do silly things like conserve heat anymore!"
Devon raised an eyebrow at Ro's statement. "Aren't you rich? You'd have to be to afford a place like this?and your clothes - they're all Armani and Prada aren't they?"
Ro flinched and quickly tried to act natural. "Ah, that's right?I'm rich. Very rich. But just because I'm rich doesn't mean I should become careless about the environment!" The medium passionately exclaimed.
"Nice cover." Blake gave Ro a thumbs-up.
"Environment?" Devon pressed a button on the coffee machine and coffee began to pour into his mug. "You're such a kind girl, aren't you?" There was sarcasm dripping from Devon's tone of voice.
Ro remained silent as Devon steamed some milk and added it to his coffee. Using a spoon he made a heart shape with his foam and showed it to Ro. "Here, this one suits you better." He swapped their coffees.
"Ah, thank you." Ro took a sip of the coffee. It was nice and warm and sweet.
Devon watched her curiously. "You're very trusting aren't you?" The guitarist said as he crushed the remains of his cigarette out in an ashtray.
"Hmmm?" Ro asked.
Blake frowned at that comment. Had that been a threat? The ghost narrowed his eyes at Devon.
"No, it's nothing." Devon began to drink his coffee.
The medium and guitarist drank their coffee together in silence. A few minutes later, Devon set his cup down and stood up. "Let's go."
Ro set her mug down as well and stood up to join him. "Alright."
"Make sure you bring a jacket - it's cold out." Devon advised.
Ro nodded and went to the closet, pulling out a leather jacket before putting it on.
Devon nodded at her choice of outfit before turning towards the door. He exited first and Ro followed behind him. But as Ro began to walk towards the elevator Devon reached out and grabbed her wrist to stop her.
Ro turned to look at him questioningly.
"Follow me." Was all Devon said as he pulled Ro towards the stairs instead - he had this vice grip on her wrist.
Blake floated behind the couple with a scowl on his handsome face, wondering what Devon was up to?and had this uneasy feeling swirling in his chest.
Devon pulled Ro onto the stairway and tugged her along with him up the stairs and to the roof. Ro's heart began to hammer nervously in her chest. Why was Devon taking her to the roof? Was he going to push her off it? Was he going to kill her? Oh my God. Ro paled.
Devon opened the door to the roof and pulled Ro outside. The medium blinked - the roof of the Chateau Marmont Hotel was wide open and had a helipad with an actual helicopter on it. Devon began to drag Ro towards the helicopter and her eyes widened in fear.
"Um, Devon, what-!" Ro stuttered as she pulled back on Devon's fierce grip - she would have bruises on her pale skin tomorrow.
"We're going on our date?but first we have to arrive at the date venue. I decided I'd fly us there." Devon explained casually but his grip on her wrist did not loosen.
"F-F-Fly?" Ro squeaked. She couldn't fly in a helicopter! She was afraid of heights!
Devon opened the passenger side door of the helicopter and began to help Ro inside. But Ro stopped in her tracks. "Devon, no, I can't?I'm afraid of heights," The medium objected.
A slightly sadistic smile curled Devon's lips. "Even better?maybe you'll speak honestly with me for once - once we're up in the sky hundreds of feet above the ground."
"W-What?" Ro squeaked as Devon forced her inside of the helicopter with one last shove and shut the door.
Devon quickly got into the pilot's side of the helicopter and took a seat. He reached over Ro's body and helped her to put her seatbelt on without having been asked to assist her. Ro felt like she was suddenly trapped inside of the helicopter as the seatbelt clicked and her breathing began to speed up.
Devon didn't back away from Ro as he buckled her seatbelt. "You're not going anywhere, Ro Ripper." Devon promised, his smoky and now coffee-scented breath washing over her face. "You're mine."
Ro gave Devon a nervous look.
"For today." Devon said with a chuckle.
Blake floated inside of the helicopter and took a seat in the back. He crossed his arms over his chest and crossed his legs. He couldn't figure out what the hell Devon was up to. He was acting like a total jerk. Did he suspect that Ro knew that he was Blake's murderer? Had Ro gotten in over her head? Crap?
Ro let out a breath of relief when Devon pulled away from her and began to make the needed preparations for takeoff. Devon put on a pair of headphones and helped Ro to put on a pair as well. The helicopter's blades began to spin and Devon pulled up on the Collective Controls so that the helicopter began to rise vertically.
Ro gripped her hands together on her lap until her knuckles turned white. She was absolutely terrified. She felt faint and sick to her stomach. Was she going to throw up or pass out? I'm going to die. Someone?please, help me. Ro began to tremble in her seat.
Devon was too busy taking off to notice Ro's terrified state, but Blake did notice?
Ro was about to start hyperventilating she was so terrified. "Idiot! Ro! Beggar Girl! Pull yourself together!" Blake snapped at her, "Devon's going to notice!"
"I?I can't! I'm terrified." Ro whispered.
Blake sighed heavily before floating next to her and reaching out to put a hand on hers. But his hand just passed through hers. Blake frowned. He couldn't even comfort her properly.
Ro focused all of her attention on Blake's translucent hand. The ghost was trying to comfort her. Blake was dead - someone had killed him - but who?! Had it been Devon? That's what she was trying to find out. She was doing this for Blake?she had to be strong.
"Don't show him your fear. He'll only take advantage
of it, Ro." Blake instructed.
Ro took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Don't look down?don't look down?
Devon stopped their ascent and the helicopter began to move forward. All Devon had to do now was keep them on course and they would arrive at their destination in a couple of hours. He looked at Ro out of the corner of his eye. She looked absolutely terrified. Perfect. Maybe he'd finally get some honesty out of the sneaky girl.
"Hey, beggar girl. Look out your window." Blake said softly.
Ro shook her head vigorously. "Are you crazy? No way!" She whispered.
"Come on, just do it. Trust me." Blake urged.
Ro turned her head and peeked one eye open before then opening her other eye. Her eyes went wide at the spectacular view. They were soaring over the diverse California landscape, passing over the city, then over a forested area and then towards a mountainous one. Clouds surrounded them and Ro decided that this was what a bird must feel like. Being so high up in the sky and getting to look down on everything. Getting to actually be inside of the white fluffy clouds?was amazing. She felt free and safe with Blake next to her when she should have been terrified. But even if she died she wouldn't be alone. Blake would be there.
Blake stayed right next to her and she turned her head to smile at the ghost. He oddly enough returned her smile unthinkingly.
Devon noticed Ro's sudden change in behavior and frowned.
Ro reached out and put her hand against the glass. "It's beautiful." She said to Blake.
But Devon responded. "You got over your fear pretty fast. What happened? Or was that nervousness just for show? And you're not really afraid of heights? Your personality is very contradictory."
"What?" Ro turned her attention to Devon. "I am afraid of heights?only this?this is amazing?" She tried to explain.
Devon raised an eyebrow at the strange girl and couldn't stop the small smile that appeared on his face. "It is, isn't it? I love flying?I know how to fly a normal plane too. When you get as famous as I am you can afford to have expensive hobbies. Flying?sky diving?scuba diving in the Bermuda triangle. I love to do dangerous adventure sports. It gives me a rush. Have you ever felt anything like that before?" He asked passionately, lost in the moment, his suspicions of Ro momentarily forgotten.
Ro forced a smile. "You mean?like right now?"
Devon chuckled. "Good answer?I'm going to take you somewhere where you'll get to feel a real rush. You intrigue me?Ro Ripper. You're full of contradictions and you just popped up out of nowhere right after Blake committed suicide. It's all extremely convenient. Your voice?is exactly like his too. When I first heard it, for a second, I actually thought?" Devon gripped the collective and shook his head. "Just who are you, Ro Ripper, really?"
Ro froze. "What do you mean? I'm Ro Ripper?pro stylist?"
"You're not." Devon shook his head. "Ro Ripper is a fake name, isn't it? No one is born with the name of a rockstar. Do you think my name is really Devon Decayn? Pfft. Ro Ripper?are you a nurse? A pro stylist? A singer? Or?something else?" A dark cloud fell over the guitarist's face.
Ro noticed this and it was her turn to frown. "I?don't know what you're talking about?"
"We'll see if you continue with your lies when we're two hundred and ninety feet above the ground?I'll get the truth out of you, Miss Ripper. You are not at all what you're pretending to be. You've been trying to get close to me for a reason too, I'm sure of it. I can tell when a girl is really interested in me or if she's after me for some other reason?like my money." Devon reached out and put his hand on Ro's thigh.
Ro flinched and stiffened.
Devon slid his hand up Ro's thigh. "And you're willing to go to great lengths to get what you want. Just how far are you willing to go to get what you want, Miss Ripper?" Devon purred in a husky voice. "And who do you think is going to be the winner of your little game?"
Ro kept very still - as still as a doll. Blake? What should I do? The medium thought in her mind, beginning to panic.
"Put your hand over his, act natural, beggar girl." Blake said in a deep, soothing voice. "If you have his hand you can at least stop it from wandering all over your body."
Ro did as she was told and placed her hand on Devon's and looked him straight in the eye.
Devon immediately removed his hand, let out a heavy sigh, and shook his head. "You're making me feeling like the bad guy here, Miss Ripper. You're so sneaky. But all I want is the truth." Devon returned his attention forward. "I need a smoke?" He muttered the last to himself.
Me too. Ro thought and remained silent. "Where are we going?" The medium ventured to ask after a couple of hours.
"Alameda." Devon grunted. "We're almost there so don't get your panties in a bunch."
"Where's that? What's there?" Ro asked Blake in a whisper.
Blake shrugged and shook his head. "Isn't it somewhere up north? I have no idea what's up there."
A few minutes later, a bridge that was running over a rushing, gray-blue river came into view in a mountainous area. Devon landed the helicopter right on the bridge and Ro noticed that a group of people were on the bridge apparently waiting for their arrival. Ro noticed that the people had dark blue t-shirts on that read: Icarus Bungee. Devon hopped out of the helicopter and stalked over to help Ro out next. "Have you figured out why we're here, yet?" Devon asked as he took Ro's hand and helped her out of the helicopter.
Ro shook her head as she hopped out of the helicopter and landed on the bridge.
"We're going to go bungee jumping." Devon announced. "This jump site is known as Northern California Bridges and the bungee jumping company that's here with us today is Icaraus Bungee."
Bungee jumping?! Ro snatched her hand out of Devon's as if she'd been burned.
"Oh no, Miss Ripper, there is no escape," Devon drawled as he grabbed Ro's wrist and dragged her towards the bungee jumping assistant crew.
"Get her ready and get her into a harness." Devon instructed the crew.
Ro was absolutely terrified. She was afraid of heights and Devon wanted her to jump down two hundred and ninety feet from this bridge! The gloomy girl gripped the sides of her head with her hands. The bungee jumping crew readily helped the dazed Ro into a harness.
Devon walked over to Ro and whispered into her ear. "If you tell me the truth about who you really are, I won't make you jump." Devon pulled back and chuckled at Ro's tormented look. The guitarist took out a cigarette, lit it with his Zippo and took a couple of quick drags to steady his nerves for what he was about to do.
Ro gulped. That was so tempting! But she couldn't betray Blake. Ro looked around suddenly wondering where Blake was? He had disappeared.
Meanwhile, Blake was floating around the bridge and watching the Icarus Bungee crew as they checked the bungee equipment. The hair on the back of his neck was prickling in warning. Something felt out of place. He spotted one crewman dressed in black, with dark glasses on his face and with a military style hat pulled low to shadow his eyes. Blake floated over to the mysterious man and watched as he prepared one of the bungee cords.
The man looked to his left and then his right, to make sure no one was watching him before he took out a switchblade. With a flick of his wrist the blade was ejected and he began to saw at the bungee cord until it was cut halfway through.
What the hell? Blake thought as he watched the man sabotaging the bungee cord. Who the hell was this guy? And were they trying to kill Ro because she knew the truth?!
And then Blake noticed something on the back of the man's right hand. A tattoo. A symbol he would NEVER forget - the Baphomet. A pentagram with the devil's beast-like face fit within it perfectly so that one of each of the beast's horns was within a point of the pentagram. The beast's ears filled the other two points of the pentagram and the beast's long, bearded, goat-like chin filled the lowest point of the upside down pentagram.
That symbol?it made Blake stagger backwards and grip his head in horror as it evoked painful
memories?memories of his family home - the mansion burning?of discovering his parents' burning corpses?and the man standing there in the living room that was aflame with a twisted smile on his face, a bloody knife in his hand and that tattoo on the back of his right hand visible - the Baphomet! The man who killed his parents was right in front of him!
Who the hell are you? Was this guy trying to kill Ro?! He had to warn her! Blake flew over to Ro and watched as the man approached Ro and Devon with the faulty bungee cord.
"Ro-" Blake began but then stopped as the man approached not Ro but Devon instead.
Blake watched as the man hooked the bungee cord to Devon's harness with his mouth agape.
Two other bungee jumping assistants connected a bungee cord to Ro's harness next. Ro wasn't the one the assassin was after?it was Devon! But then?that would mean that Devon was innocent! That Devon didn't kill him?that Devon was still his best friend?! CRAP?!
Devon tossed his cigarette down on the bridge and stubbed it out with his combat boot. He then turned and saluted Ro suddenly. "I'll show you how it's done first!" Devon declared as he jumped off the bridge-!
"Wait! Devon, no!" Blake cried out and spun to face Ro. "Ro! You have to jump after him! His rope has been cut!"
Ro looked at Blake with wide, fearful eyes. She wanted to help but she couldn't move. She was terrified. "I'm sorry?I can't?"
"Crap!" Blake swore as he jumped into Ro's body and possessed her. When 'Ro' next opened her eyes they were glowing lavender. Blake turned and jumped off the bridge after Devon without a second thought.
Devon fell two hundred and ninety feet when the rope stopped his descent. The guitarist bounced upward and at that moment the bungee cord snapped. Devon realized that something was wrong the instant he felt weightless. Crap! Devon reached up and tried to grasp the piece of remaining cord as he fell back. He realized then that he wasn't going to make it. He couldn't reach the cord in time. This was it. He was going to go see Blake. "Blake, buddy?" Devon closed his eyes and smiled.
"Devon!" Blake cried and grabbed onto Devon's wrist. "You idiot!"
Devon looked up in shock. Ro had bungee jumped down to him and had managed to grab his wrist in time before she was pulled upwards by the spring of the cord. Devon wanted to rub his eyes when he saw that Ro's ice-blue eyes had changed color and were now a glowing lavender color. What the hell is going on?
'Ro' glared at the top of the bridge. "That punk! Hey! Hurry up and pull us up, you idiots!" 'Ro' yelled loudly at the bungee jumping crew on the bridge, who immediately moved to comply and began to pull them up with jerky, hurried movements.
Blake looked down at Devon, who was looking up at him with a strange expression on his face. "Hey, you okay, bro?"
"Ro??" Devon questioned.
Blake realized his mistake and looked back up at the bridge instead while concentrating on holding Devon's wrist and supporting all one hundred and seventy-three pounds of his friend's weight.
Devon watched Ro intensely?just what the hell was going on? Just who was she?? What was she? No girl should be able to hold all one hundred and seventy-three pounds of his weight one handed like that.
The bungee jumping crew pulled Ro and Devon back up on the bridge and Blake left Ro's body immediately since the danger had passed. The assassin was long gone and nowhere in sight. The crew immediately checked Devon and Ro over for injuries.
Ro blinked as she regained control of her body. She had seen everything, of course. She had jumped off a bridge. Off a bridge?Ro swayed on her feet. She suddenly felt woozy. She put a hand to her throbbing head.
She looked up at Devon with pleading eyes that were rapidly filling with tears. "Can you?can you??" Ro fainted and Devon caught her in his arms using his quick reflexes.
Devon looked down at the perplexing girl in shock. Ro Ripper was definitely an enigma?
One he'd definitely like to solve. He tightened his grip on her possessively.