by Raven Scott
“Why’d you do that? That’s a lot of money to set on fire?”
Gradually, I was steering Riley away from the worse stories, like killing a freshly legal brat at the behest of his dad. Taking a bite of my sandwich, I thought back to those days so long ago.
Carlyle went ape shit; it was the only time in my ten years working for him that I’d seen him lose control. The absolute chaos that followed was glorious, and after a few months, all the heat had died down. No pun intended.
“Uh— I guess to make a point? I generally don’t know who requests what or why, but the dog case was unique. I’ve been to some really cool places, too. Once, I went to Hawaii to do surveillance on this chick’s wedding, but it ended up just me, hangin’ out on a beach, drinking a lot and getting really bad sunburn for a week. So, I suppose it really depends on which jobs you take and what drama you want to be involved in that makes things particularly dangerous, and by that measure, I’m on the low end.” Maybe, this was wrong— to downplay what I did, and only highlight the less murderous jobs I’d done. Still, they were jobs I did and I’d done them for this exact reason. So I could pass off as a PI or something plausible and not have to lie.
17
Riley
“Your mom gave you all this stuff? What are you going to do with it?” Scanning the pages and pages of stuff, I glanced up over the edge of the folder to arch a brow. Reece didn’t seem particularly interested in keeping or using it, but storage fees in New York City were killer. “Would she want you to use it, or—”
“It doesn’t really matter what she wants. She’s dead. And anyway, all she wanted was that it didn’t fall into my siblings or her family’s hands, and she achieved that. Whether I keep it in storage forever, or sell it— it makes no difference to her anymore.”
I puffed out my lips thoughtfully at Reece’s explanation and flipped the page. The list seemed never ending.
From his position in front of the sink, Reece went on, “Honestly, I haven’t put a lot of thought into it. The best option seems to be to try to sell it, so maybe I’ll auction it off. Everything seems like it requires a lot of work, though.”
“I wonder how much it’s worth. . .” Obviously, Reece’s mom had cared for this stuff more than anything else, including her kids and her siblings. How sad was that? But I thought it was really nice how she acknowledged that Reece was a proper member of society, and she put her faith in him. “Maybe, you can put it on eBay or Craigslist. . . or even Facebook Marketplace.”
“If you wanted to organize all that, I’ll split the money with you, Riley. Frankly, I couldn’t care less. Now, it’s just a storage unit full of shit I don’t want. My mom’s lawyer shipped it all to New York City when word went around she was dead, so I couldn’t be like ‘hey, don’t do that’. I do wonder what happened to the house— just morbid curiosity. I expect that, by now, my sisters have started escalating the fighting over it.”
Reece never talked about his mom with any kind of strong emotion, and I nodded with a hum. “Your sisters?” I’d rather hear about Reece’s tumultuous home life than think of my own, and I propped my elbow on the table to hold my cheek on my fist. “I have a brother, but really, he’s a loser, and my mom favors the crap out of him. It’s so annoying. I moved to New York City because I always wanted to, but he was definitely a reason, too.”
Reece nodded. “Yeah, both my sisters are drug addicts with a bunch of kids and blah, blah, blah. Stupid white trash. Whatever. They can fight over the house until they make it uninhabitable. Neither of them knows my phone number, and I sure as shit am never gonna initiate contact with them. It’s best to leave that shit in the past and in Arkansas.”
Setting the folder down, I flipped to the next page, but all the lines were starting to blur together.
“Your mom hasn’t tried to contact you at all?” he asked. “Not even from other numbers?”
“Even if she did, I quit all my jobs and changed my phone settings, so it only rings when someone from my contacts calls or texts me. It’d ring if my dad called me, but he never calls me. He’s kinda the archetypal work-all-day-eat-read-the-paper-sleep-and-repeat dad. What about your dad?”
“My mom is a product of how she was raised. Sure, she did better than her siblings, but she was still young and stupid at one time. My sisters and I have different dads. . . which is fine, you know— I’m not gonna split hairs. I hate them all the same, for reasons they actually control.” Reece shut off the tap to dry his hands, sauntering his way over to sit at the small table. “I don’t spend a lot of energy on it. It’s not worth it.” He smiled warmly at me.
My heart fluttered as he licked his lips to part them. “Sometimes, I wonder what the past three years could’ve been like if I’d cut off my mom when I left. I thought about it, you know? I think I didn’t because I always wanted the option to go back, but also…I can’t remember a single time my mom didn’t criticize a decision I made. Nothing I did or wanted or was good at— honestly, the more I wanted it, the better I was at it, the worse she would try to drag me. I can’t even say for certain that it’s because she wants control or to look good in front of her rich Ridgefield friends. Now, it was all said and done, and I’m going to unblock my mom under any circumstances. I don’t know if it was just the honeymoon period, but I feel better than I ever had since blocking her. Everything got better, but more importantly— it stayed better.”
“I’m happy you’re happy, Riley.” Reaching to hold my hand, Reece’s smile widened, and flames licked up my neck. “I don’t want my profession to take away from your happiness.”
Ah— there it is. I knew Reece didn’t want to tell me exactly what he did for a living, or that he was afraid of my reaction. Staring at me under tightly knit brows, his face drew in sincerity, and the silence started to get heavy.
Uncertainty clung to my gut, and I inhaled a deep, stabilizing breath before opening my mouth. “I don’t think it will, but— like, maybe no specifics, yeah?” my lips quirked in a small smile.
His relief was palpable as he leaned over the table to kiss my mouth, Reece rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb affectionately.
I didn’t exactly know where to go from here, but I’ve been making a lot of seemingly good choices, lately. There was nothing wrong with just rolling with the punches.
“It’s honestly mostly just boring stuff. I—” Before Reece could get farther, his phone rang.
Curiosity sparked in my chest as he got up with an annoyed twist of his lips. It was a cool, little surprise to know he spoke Russian, and I rolled my lips deep between my teeth trying to contain my interest.
“Hello.”
He was so sexy, smart, and nice. Here I was, in his home, wearing his clothes, looking at all his dead mom’s stuff, and I’d never been happier. Granted, I’d made a lot of life changes lately.
“Yeah, I’ll come in. Is there a reason you can’t just give me the details on the phone? Darren’s girlfriend is not exactly top-secret news.” Whatever he heard, he didn’t like. “Whatever, Vanessa. I’ll be there when I feel like it.”
I chuffed a laugh when he lifted his hand to mock whoever was talking.
“Oh, and I’ll bring Riley, too, so she can give you her resume.
Smiling happily when he shot me a thumbs up, I nodded at him.
He hung up to run his hand through his hair roughly. “I imagine you know what it’s like to contract. Never get a damn day.” Reece walked back over to sit down.
Nodding, I sat back and fingered the corners of the pages in front of me.
Reece sighed. “It’s got its up and downs like all jobs. I always knew, even when I was a teenager, I always suspected that the runner job I had would lead to something not exactly legit. My boss is one of the most powerful people in the world, and I’m never lacking for money or jobs. Working for him is a luxury. I don’t have to pay any expenses wherever I get sent to, and I only get the better paying jobs. This guy fields them to Vanessa, who sniffs aroun
d for who best would do them. I usually stick to the state or along the coast. I’d literally rather die than take a plane anywhere. Hawaii was the only exception because like…it’s Hawaii, for fuck’s sake.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Back when I was in my senior year, I did a lot of research about where I wanted to go and what opportunities I’d want to try out. I had this menial job at some strip mall since I was 16, but I didn’t spend a lot of money. In the end, New York City seemed the best place to go. It’s expensive, though. I saved enough to be okay for, like, 3 months, tops, but I wouldn’t want to be jobless for that long.” Honestly, I found myself enjoying just talking to Reece about nothing in particular, and he nodded firmly. “Hannah offered me a job at the restaurant she manages, but I know for a fact that I don’t wanna do that. I hate customer service work. I grew up in the rich part of Connecticut, so I know exactly how bad it can get.”
“It takes a special person to work customer service. For sure.”
The conversation noticeably fizzled, but I didn’t try to keep it going as Reece reached to scratch his scruff. He didn’t seem to really like having a beard, as thin as it was. “Do you want to go home and change or anything, or just head over to Vanessa’s office? I’m not really keen on hurrying, myself.”
“Oh— yes, definitely. I’ll make sure to take extra time on my hair.” Sharing a smile, I stood up as Reece nodded, and I felt somewhere deep in me that things were going to continue getting better. This content feeling would only grow and exploring my world with him by my side—anything was possible.
18
Reece
She’s stupid hot. I was convinced— convinced!— that Riley was an angel as she essentially interviewed with Vanessa. Confident despite her nerves, Riley didn’t stutter or talk too much, and I could tell Vanessa liked her. It was pretty much a given that Vanessa would hire Riley; she’d had to fire someone for the spot to open up, but I wasn’t going to divulge that little tidbit of information.
But Riley was killing it.
Sitting by my desk, I held my cheek in my hand and tapped my temple absently. I couldn’t take my eyes off Riley; having curled her hair, her shoulders seemed more slender. She had decided to wear a peach colored turtleneck woolen dress, with three-quarter length sleeves and no stockings. Her nude heels were sexy but practical, and I knew when she’d flounced around in front of me that Vanessa would like her style.
Their conversation traveled around me, though, as I stuck in my own head. Gradually, my mind wandered from Riley’s gushing sexy appeal, and I crossed my knees as I slumped in my chair a little. My gaze trailed to a particularly long carpet fiber sticking out of the floor to lose focus, and I inhaled deeply through my nose.
On the phone, Vanessa had sounded hesitant, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the fuck was going on. I knew for a fact that Brandon wasn’t part of this request on Riley, but that was the only sure thing I had. From what I understood, no one else in her life was capable of holding such a serious grudge.
Now, I didn’t feel so bad about having Vanessa dig into Riley because I couldn’t exactly ask her. Hey, this is a dumb question, but does anyone hate you enough to kill you?
No. Not after all the shit, I’d said this morning. Not after last night.
My lips twisted in a sour frown as that dreaded question bubbled up from the deepest crevices of my brain. What if Riley left me, again? I didn’t blame her at all for her extremely valid reasons for contracting someone else at Black Cat. But we’re past that.
She and I were far beyond those walls, and I wasn’t going to let her get away without a fight. If she wanted to leave me over my job, I could understand. I didn’t take her as the kind of person to step out, but she had plenty of reasons to be uncertain that didn’t involve cheating. I would be okay with pretty much any reason but ‘I found someone else’.
Fuck that shit. I worked too damn hard to let anyone wriggle between us. I’ve invested far too much to stop now, and I didn’t want to just let her slip through my fingers. I’d never use this job as leverage against Riley, but the ugly truth was I used it for points.
And why was that bad, anyway? Riley and I wouldn’t even be working in the same building, let alone directly together. I’d commandeered a desk here because there was too much paperwork with the Makovich meetings to handle organizing it at home. Even if we broke up, Riley wouldn’t find herself in jeopardy if she performed well.
“Reece.”
Blinking, I glanced over at Vanessa and sat up.
The two women stood up before she continued, “I need to talk to you about some stuff.”
“Yeah—” Hauling myself to my feet, I nodded as Riley practically bounced past me, flashing me a huge grin. Returning her smile, my chest warmed at the confident glimmer in her eyes before she stepped out of the room and closed the door. Leaning against the desk, a sigh of achievement escaped me, and I shook my head a little before turning to Vanessa. “What’d you find?”
The temperature in the room dropped dramatically, and my beard prickled as Vanessa sat on the edge of her desk. Whatever she had to say was disturbing, and it showed on her slender face. Thin eyebrows drew in troubled concern, and I held my breath as my heart strained.
“It’s more like what I did not find that’s interesting. I’m still looking into it, but I wanted to warn you. I’m pretty sure her birth certificate was forged.”
My breath caught in surprise, and a scoff burst from my mouth.
Vanessa clasped her palms together gravely. “It’s real, but the information on it is not matching records. Either Riley’s mom is not her mom, or she pulled some shady stuff. I’m still not sure on the details, though.”
“That would explain why her mom’s a bitch to her, but not who’s trying to kill her.” Covering my mouth to hide my grimace, I squeezed my jaw as Vanessa shrugged. This kind of investigation took a while, but what a fucking bomb to drop. Again, I simply lacked information, and I couldn’t speculate on something so important. I needed facts, not fuzzy details, and there was no way to rush it. Exhaling stale air through my nose, I ran both my hands up my face before speaking up, “Okay—what about Darren’s girlfriend? You said she needed protection? What’s going on with that?”
“Darren’s worried Aleksander might try to kill him, I guess. It’s a precaution. He’s paying a lot, so he may have reason to be nervous. He asked for you, specifically.”
Fucking Russians again. Pursing my lips to stop myself from groaning in frustration, I almost said ‘no.’
Vanessa shot me a pointed look. “He’s paying you ten million dollars to protect her until he gets here in the Summer. And she’s not even in trouble. If…if someone came after her, Carlyle would blow his top, and everyone knows it. You won’t even have to do any real protecting.”
“Is this a fucking joke? He’s paying all that for less than four months of basically being forced to roommate with his girlfriend?” My throat tightened. “He’s really that concerned for himself?”
Vanessa shrugged a slender shoulder halfheartedly. “I think it’d be more a healthy fear of a monkey with a gun, to be honest.”
No one seemed to have a good impression of Aleksander Makovich, but I didn’t fucking care about that anymore. Darren Willians couldn’t pay me enough to get involved with him, but if all I had to do was protect his girl ‒ who wasn’t even his girl ‒ for a few months…I could deal with it. From what Malda said, Delilah was a peach. “Okay. Where do I pick her up?” Ten million dollars was a lot of fucking cheddar. I could take time off. I could bring Riley on a trip, just the two of us and a bear skin rug and a fire while the snow wafts gently from outside the window. Yeah, I like that image.
“She’s at Malda’s place right now, finishing up a lesson. I’ll text you the address.”
Nodding curtly, I reached to pinch the bridge of my nose as my brain threatened to melt out of my ears. Fucking Malda again.
“Do you not like her or something?” Vanessa aske
d.
“Okay…no offense to her or anything, but I’m so done with those Russian cunts and their stupid accents and…You know she called me a few minutes before you did and asked me how to celebrate Valentine’s Day? As if I’m the fucking person to ask? I know she’s not as stupid as the cultural shift makes her seem, but fuck off. There’s no reason to call me, of all fucking people. I’ve said more to her since Makovich left than I had when I was detailing them.” Frustration roughened my tone, and I shook my head roughly. “I seriously don’t like her, but it’s not even about her. That visit caused me so many headaches.”
Vanessa arched a brow quizzically. “Okay, well…Try not to take out your hatred for Makovich on Malda, or, I don’t know— talk exclusively with her boyfriend or something. You’ll find a way, I’m sure. As for Delilah, you shouldn’t just throw away ten million dollars because you don’t like her friend. She seems super laid back, and I’m sure you won’t have many problems.”
“Right.” Rolling my eyes at the assurance, I waved Vanessa off as I straightened with a weary sigh. “Update me on Riley’s situation. There’s been no response yet?”
“Nope, but when I get one, you’ll be the first to know, Reece.”
Leaving the office in a worse mood than I arrived, I shut the door behind me to blow out a huge breath. Walking down the short hall to the waiting area, my frown thinned.
Riley set down her magazine to pop up from the chair. “How’d it go?” The sour look on my face must’ve said it all, and she smiled as she reached to touch my arm. “Bad?”
“I take back what I said earlier. This is worse than working at McDonalds.” Grumbling as I wrapped my arm around her, I squeezed my eyes shut briefly and inhaled sharply. “If I knew this Russian shit would drag on, I wouldn’t have taken the job. Babysitting jobs rarely do anything but lead to worse babysitting jobs.”
