As she struggled to answer, her gaze darted between him and the floor. A hiss escaped from

her lips as his fingers threaded through her luscious locks. "I was with Hannan!" she finally

blurted out, somehow hoping she could defuse his simmering anger with the truth.

"And who is he to you exactly?" he asked, his voice low, every word laced with a threat.

She gulped, searching for the right words, hoping they would somehow make him

understand. "He was m-my colleague… and a friend too. He ...