by Tia Siren
“I didn’t shut you out. You don’t know why I did what I did.” My fingers tightened into fists to control my rapidly rising temper. “I’m not like your ex-boyfriend. I was trying to actually protect you from something.”
“I see no difference,” she said. “You built me up to tear me down. That’s exactly what Sid did to me.”
Those words cut through me in cold disbelief. I stared at Joanna as she stared back at me with a distant expression. It occurred to me then that she had run away because I had triggered her in some way. My ire rose sharply as I rounded the bed to grasp Joanna by the hands and pull her close to me.
“I was trying to protect you, damn it. Not hurt you.”
Chapter 30
Joanna
“I was trying to protect you, damn it.”
I shook my head at Bastian in disbelief. After bringing me close, pushing me away, and then repeating the process, my emotions were screwy. I didn’t know what to believe.
My heart was still pounding from earlier when I had heard someone knock on the front door. I didn’t want to tell Bastian that I had firmly believed it was Sid outside, wanting an answer from me. What’s the difference? Bastian wants an answer, too.
“Protect me how?” I asked coldly. “The last I checked, you told me that everything was fine between us before you left to go back to Salt Lake.”
“Everything is fine between us!” Bastian exclaimed in exasperation. “Really, there is no problem between the two of us. That’s what I thought anyway.”
“Everything was fine until you pushed me away again,” I shot back in a harsh whisper. “You pushed me away, Bastian. I can’t keep doing this back and forth.”
“I was—” He stopped talking abruptly and turned sharply on his heel to study the bookshelf in the guest room. “I know that you don’t understand it right now, but I was just trying to protect you from the things that were going on at the office.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, not ready to believe this excuse yet. I was growing tired of everyone keeping secrets from me to protect me. It only put me in more dangerous situations.
“So cutting me off the payroll was a way to protect me?”
Bastian glanced at me with baffled eyes. “Who told you about that?”
“Sabrina told me,” I said. “She emailed me to let me know that you had asked for me to be removed from the payroll. I took the hint that I had overstayed my welcome.”
“Fuck.” He groaned, rubbing a hand over his rough face. “Everything has gotten so screwed up, Joanna. You have no idea why I asked for that to happen. It didn’t have anything to do with you not being able to work for me anymore. I would’ve asked you to leave Park City if you’d overstayed your welcome.”
“Then why did you cut me out? Please explain it.”
“Because your ex-boyfriend has convinced someone in my office to file a sexual harassment lawsuit against me.”
I reared back in surprise at those words. Sexual harassment charges? Coldness washed over me when I remembered Sid’s words. He had promised to make Bastian’s legal problems go away if I returned to him.
“I took you off the payroll because I hoped it would discourage Sid,” Bastian said. “I thought if he peeked into my office to see you no longer working there, he would stop looking for you around me.”
“Sexual harassment,” I repeated in bafflement. “Who would he convince to file that sort of thing?”
“I don’t know,” he said, sighing. “My lawyer has been navigating this for me. She suggested that it might to do me good if I made it appear like I had cut ties with you. I had no intention of leaving you at all. I was trying to protect you.”
Guilt flooded me then. All of this was because of me, all because I couldn’t find the courage to ask Bastian what was going on.
I reached out to gently grab ahold of Bastian’s cold hands in mine. He let out a pent-up breath when I squeezed them.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions after everything you’ve done for me.”
Bastian lifted one of my hands to kiss the back of my knuckles. A jolt of heat went through me at the feeling of his lips pressed against my skin. I craved something more, but I refused to let my mind go there with my mother sleeping upstairs.
“I need to talk to you about things,” he said. “I’m sorry that I shut you out. Just don’t run out on me again like that. You had me worried sick about everything.”
“I missed you,” I confided with a sigh, stepping into the strong circle of his arms. “I missed having you next to me at night.”
He nuzzled the top of my head. “No more than I missed you being in my bed with me.”
“I have to tell you something,” I said and took a step back to look up at him. “My mother invited Sid over here this morning.”
“She invited him over?”
“Don’t get mad,” I rushed out when I saw the anger dancing in Bastian’s eyes. “My mother has no idea how charming he can be. He charmed her into coming over here.”
Bastian sucked in a deep breath. “Fine. Keep going with what you were saying.”
“He came by here to give me an option. I either go back to him or all your legal troubles keep going on.”
“As in,” Bastian said slowly, “my sexual harassment case?”
I sat down on the edge of the guest bed. The blankets and sheets still smelled of laundry soap. It didn’t matter if my mom didn’t have guests coming in; she always had fresh linens in the guest room just in case.
“I think so,” I said. “He must’ve found someone in the office who’s willing to make up a story against you. I doubt that it’ll actually be pushed through, though. There’s no evidence to back it up.”
“That doesn’t matter. It has the workers’ union harassing me in my office.” Bastian tangled a hand through his hair with a muttered curse. “That prick can’t get the hint, can he? I have more money and pull in this game than he does.”
“It’s not about that to him,” I said. “There’s something else too…”
Bastian looked up at me harshly. “What is it?”
“He’s going to come back tonight for my answer,” I said uneasily. “I don’t know when, or how, but I had hoped he would keep away for another night to give me some space to consider everything.”
“You aren’t actually considering going back to him, are you?” Bastian asked. His voice rose slightly as he looked at me with a mixture of panic and anger. “You can’t go back to him, Joanna. You know what is going to happen if you go back to him?”
I grimaced because I didn’t want to think about it. I already knew what I would be going back to. The first few weeks would be fine, but it would slowly go back to the way it had been before. Joanna, don’t wear that. You look like a slut. You can’t go out because I don’t trust you with all those men out there. You look like you’re asking for it.
“Trust me,” I said painfully, “I know what it would be like, but it’s not worth a relationship with you if he won’t ever leave you alone in the process.”
“He can’t bring me down,” Bastian said firmly. “He can’t do anything to me. I swear to you that he can’t.”
“Bastian—”
He came to sit down on the edge of the bed next to me. One arm wrapped itself around my shoulders while one hand skimmed along my jaw. Tears filled my eyes hotly as I gazed up into the passionate orbs gazing back down at me.
“I meant every word I said when I said that I loved you,” he murmured, tracing my bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “Don’t ever question that. I don’t care if I have to put my business on the line to have you. Money isn’t worth anything to me at the end of the day if I don’t have you by my side.”
He pressed a hot kiss to my lips. Our lips glided along each other’s hungrily while his tongue slipped through my lips to tangle with mine. A shudder went through me while I ran my hands along his strong shoulders and neck. After a moment of hot k
isses, Bastian pulled back with a sigh.
“As much as I’d like this to continue,” he said with a small grin, “we need to stop for now. Do you think Sid is coming back tonight?”
“I’m not sure,” I said breathlessly. “Why?”
“Because you aren’t safe here. If you’re okay with this, please come back to a hotel with me. It’s not anywhere Sid would know to look right away.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek while I weighed those words. Coming back home, I had realized I was further in Sid’s web than when I’d been with Bastian. My heart ached thinking of my mother upstairs asleep in her bed. I could only imagine how she would react if she got up tomorrow morning to find me gone.
“I worry about my mom,” I said. “She has no idea how to deal with Sid. If he comes back here—”
“I can have a driver sit out here,” Bastian offered. “If he sees Sid, then he can call us right away. Unless you text Sid to tell him that you need one more night to think.”
I glanced at the window of the guest room. It was dark out, sheer darkness. The phone was silent. No one had yet knocked on the front door. Sid wasn’t here, and I had to get out before he came back.
“I need to pack,” I said. “If your driver can stay here, that would make me feel better. I’ll leave a note explaining that I left to clear my head.”
Bastian caught me by the chin gently. “And what about Sid?”
“I’ll tell Sid that I need one more night,” I said. “Then we’ll go to his superiors about what is going on. I don’t want to live my life scared of him anymore.”
Chapter 31
Bastian
I waited for Joanna to finish packing upstairs while I gave my driver instructions on where to pull up. I didn’t want Sid arriving at her mother’s house in the middle of the night if she didn’t have some form of protection. Unlike my other driver, Ethan, this driver, Joe, had spent some time in the Marines before returning to the United States. He had done former jobs as security for celebrities, so I felt confident having him parked in the shadows for the night. He knew how to handle a shady man with a gun if needed.
Finishing up the text message, I glanced up the stairs to find Joanna coming down the stairs with her bags in hand. She stepped lightly around a few floorboards, clearly used to the house’s noises, before handing me a few of her bags.
“I set a note next to her bed,” she whispered. “Did you talk to your driver yet?”
Headlights filled the foyer. I glanced out the window to see Joe park a few feet up between two other parked cars to blend in.
“He’s right there,” I whispered back. “Don’t worry. He’ll keep a good eye on her. He used to be a Marine and a bodyguard for celebrities.”
“Impressive,” Joanna said as she slipped into a pair of boots. “How did you end up with someone like that as a driver?”
“Friend of a friend,” I said. “It’s a long story, but let’s get out of here. I don’t want to wait around for Sid to show up. Having a gun pulled on me twice is more than enough.”
I pulled the front door open quietly to let Joanna out into the night. Closing it gently, I helped Joanna carry the bags across the street to my SUV that was parked directly in front. I stacked her bags in the back before helping her into the front passenger seat. I pressed a quick kiss against her lips when I saw Joe approaching from across the street.
“I’ll be right back,” I said. “I have to talk to Joe real quick.”
I shut the door before turning to meet Joe as he came up on the sidewalk. His hands were shoved deep in the pockets of his coat, but he pulled one out to shake mine.
“Good to see you,” Joe said. “What’s the story?”
“An ex-cop who’s corrupt,” I replied, gazing at Joanna in the passenger seat. “Abusive bastard, too. He’s been stirring up trouble in my office, but he’s been stopping by here with threats, too. We aren’t sure if he will be coming by tonight. Most likely tomorrow night.”
Joe nodded as he gazed at the house. “I’m assuming he’s packing heat, too?”
“Pulled it twice on me, so be careful. I wouldn’t confront him if he is just stopping by. She’s worried that he’ll hurt her mother once he figures out that she isn’t around anymore.”
“I doubt that he will. He’s obviously using the mother for a bridge between him and her.”
I clasped Joe on the shoulder with a grateful smile. “Thank you, Joe. I appreciate you coming out on short notice. Expect a healthy paycheck this time around. Enough for you to go on vacation for a month.”
“Can you see me on vacation for a month?” Joe questioned, laughing. “I’d be fucking bored out of my mind, bro. I’ve got you covered. I’ll call if there is something shady going on.”
He retreated back to his own SUV parked across the street. I climbed into the driver’s seat to start mine. I did a U-turn in the middle of the street before pulling back onto the freeway to drive for a little bit.
“Where are we going?” Joanna asked in confusion. “I thought we were going to a hotel.”
“We are,” I responded, one eye fixed on my rearview mirror and the headlights following us. “I just want to make sure we aren’t being followed.”
Joanna twisted around in her seat to look at the headlights as well. She glanced over at me before settling back in her seat to chew on the pad of her thumb nervously.
“He told me that he had my mother’s house bugged,” she said. “Do you think he could’ve done that when my mother and I were out of the house?”
Anger simmered through me. Sid had wasted no time in trying to put the fear of God into Joanna with those types of comments. It was possible that he had, though. It wouldn’t surprise me, but I didn’t want to add to the nervous fear mounting in Joanna by the minute.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “He has a tendency to say things that aren’t necessarily true, so I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“What if that is a cop behind us, though?”
The fear in Joanna’s voice cut straight through my heart. I reached out in the darkness to grab ahold of her trembling hand. I pressed a soothing kiss to the back of her knuckles. I knew it wasn’t right to tell her that we were safe, that everything would be all right, but I couldn’t stand to hear that fear.
“You’re with me,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “He can’t fuck with you when you are with me. You’re safe, trust me. My staff is good about protecting my interests and what I tell them to protect.”
“They don’t accept bribes?” Joanna asked. “Because that’s how Sid gets away with everything. He bribes people.”
“I noticed,” I replied dryly. “The people I’ve surrounded myself with are people I trust my life with. They’ve proven that over the years. You’re going to be fine. Trust me on that.”
Joanna’s hand squeezed mine softly. “I trust you.”
Her delicate fingers threaded through mine. I drove along the dark highway with one eye trained on the following headlights. It wasn’t until they pulled off on a different ramp that I let out a relieved breath. More than anything, I wanted to get Joanna into a hotel and away from Sid’s grasp.
I turned us around to head back in the direction of the hotel I had booked a suite for us at. There was no doubt in my mind that Sid would go crazy trying to find Joanna again. I mentally braced myself for the next couple days because the heat would come down on me again.
And I didn’t give a flying fuck either.
All I wanted was a chance to love Joanna and to let her be loved the way she needed to be loved. Getting rid of Sid was the only way I could think of doing that. It wouldn’t be easy if Joanna refused to say a word about the past few years of dealing with Sid’s abuse.
I pulled up into the VIP parking lot thirty minutes later. A bellhop immediately dashed out to help with Joanna’s suitcases.
“Your bags are upstairs, Mr. Burke,” he said. “They arrived about an hour ago.”
“Thank y
ou,” I said, nodding while I wrapped an arm around Joanna’s shoulders. “Let’s get you inside and out of this cold.”
“You were going to stay here tonight regardless of what happened, huh?” Joanna asked teasingly. “You must think you have me pegged.”
“I was hoping you would be okay coming back here with me.”
Joanna stuck close to my side while I checked us in. We crossed through the quiet lobby to the elevators once I had the hotel keys in hand. I nodded to the security guards that loitered about the top floor before ushering Joanna inside.
While I shrugged out of my coat, I watched as Joanna slowly walked about the spacious living room that overlooked the entire city of Salt Lake. She stopped to look down through the large windows.
“This suite is beautiful,” she whispered, turning to look at me. “You didn’t have to get the nicest room for one night. A room with a bed is just fine.”
“We’re spending more than one night here,” I said. “Until I talk to my lawyer about the information you gave me, both of us are going to stay here. I don’t want that prick coming around my properties anymore.”
Joanna folded her arms over her chest as she crossed the room to sit down on the couch. I joined her with a relieved sigh to be off my aching feet. Exhaustion tugged at me, relieved exhaustion to have Joanna back in the security of my world—even if it was temporary security until the problem was fixed permanently.
“What am I going to do here?” she asked. “I mean, what am I going to do now?”
I opened my eyes at the terse question. I frowned at the troubled look on Joanna’s face.
“What do you mean?” I questioned softly, tucking an errant strand of her hair behind her ear. “You’re safe now. That’s all that matters.”
Joanna’s eyes fluttered shut at that. “I realize that, but I meant that I didn’t want to stay closed up in this hotel room forever.”
“You can go for walks if you want. I can arrange for a few guards to follow you and—”
