by Nana Malone
I shoved the feelings I couldn’t sort through properly to the side. “You certainly were very efficient in your ass kicking. MMA?”
He drained the rest of the scotch in his glass. “I could give you some bullshit about anti-kidnapping training, but the truth is, I started learning to get some control. I was… a handful as a kid and needed an outlet for my emotions and aggression.”
I frowned as I watched him, looking for the lie or the evasion, but no. This was the truth. “So, do you still train?”
“Just as a workout. I, uh, have better control over myself now.”
Still the truth. "Did they say anything, Theo? Did they give you any hints as to why they wanted you?"
“No. I don’t know why they would want me.”
That. Right there. That wasn’t the truth. It wasn’t an actual lie, but he was holding something back. Tamsin would say I was too suspicious. I was always looking for a reason to not believe something, but I had to be suspicious. I had to make things safe for everyone, including Theo.
I let it go for the moment. "Look, you're safe now. We'll have a team meeting. I think the penthouse is still safe. But I don't think outside events are. So for now, the office and the penthouse are the only places you go. But we'll get the whole team on this. We’ve never lost a client, Theo. We're not starting now." He nodded slowly. My phone beeped, but I ignored it. "Come on, let's get you to bed."
His gaze lifted as he sat in the chair slouched like it was his job. He lifted his gaze to mine. "Are you joining me?"
Heat pulled in my core. I knew what this was. He had just fought off some people who were trying to kidnap him. That was survival instinct. After a big fight, I almost always wanted to be in close contact with someone. Usually sex, not that I got it, but I understood the desire. "You're going into bed. I need to debrief with the team, and then I’ll take the couch. Probably better if tonight of all nights, we don’t do something stupid.”
He stood, his gaze piercing into my soul. “Just so we’re clear, I want you because I want you. I’ve been fighting off a constant, persistent hard-on since I saw you at the wedding. This isn’t an adrenaline thing.”
Holy hell. What did I fucking say to that? Dude, you have to say something. "I—" My phone beeped again.
He lifted a brow. "Do you want to get that?"
I shook my head. "No, not particularly."
"Just get the damn phone."
"No, I'm on duty and she needs to learn."
His brows lifted. “Deedee?”
"Yes, it’s my sister. For her everything is emergency. One of these days I need her to learn what an actual emergency is."
He nodded slowly. "I get it. Just answer the phone."
When it beeped again, I groaned and then yanked it out of my clutch off the table."
"What, Deedee?"
"Zia, oh my God. I—I screwed up. I need your help." Her voice was timid, and she was crying.
"What happened?"
"I messed up. I messed up bad."
"We’ve been through this. Not to mention, I'm working at the moment. I can't just drop everything for whatever little emergency you have."
"It's not a little emergency. It's a real one. I need you."
"Well, I'm with a client, so it will just have to—"
Theo pushed to his feet and shook his head. "What's wrong?"
I adjusted the phone with the microphone down past my lips as I spoke to him. "It's my sister. She claims there is an emergency."
His brows snapped down. "Let's go."
My brows snapped down in reply. "What?"
"Your sister called three times in a row. Even I can hear how upset she sounds."
“There is no emergency. I was serious last time. She’ll never learn if I always bail her out."
He lifted a brow. "She sounded upset. Let's go."
"We don't have to."
Theo stepped forward and then took my hand, placing his over it. “You just saved my life. Now it’s time to save yours. I’m just going to change first."
I stared after him as he walked out of the office toward the bedroom. Why was he suddenly even hotter?
"Zia? Zia, are you there?"
"Christ, Deedee, I'm on my way."
"Oh my God, thank you. Thank you. I'm so sorry. Thank you. Just get here as soon as you can. I’m at central booking."
“What? Tell me you aren’t in jail right now.”
“Sorry. Just come please.” And then she hung up.
I charged into the bedroom to change and caught Theo shirtless and in nothing but boxer briefs. Holy Christ on a cracker.
“I uh…” what was I going to say again? Oh yes. “I need to change. Deedee is at central booking. She’s been arrested.”
He muttered a curse, but quickly dragged on his jeans. “Change. I’ll call the lawyer in the car.”
“But Theo…”
“But nothing. I swear to God if you tell me you don't need my help, I will not be responsible for how hard I spank you. Now change.”
Oh.
Well.
Then.
Why was the thought of that so hot? He wasn’t exactly Theo now. And he wasn’t exactly Derrick. But why did that somehow make him even more appealing?
I’d have to explore that later. Right now, I had to save my sister… again.
Eighteen
Theo…
I couldn't lie. I was rattled as hell. Someone trying to kill you would really do that to you.
After the wedding, I had known that there was danger. I could sense it. It was why I had bodyguards. It's why I’d listened to my damn cousin. Derrick's cousin. Fine, whatever. Derrick's cousin. But then having them actually come for me in public like that, and having to actually defend myself against it, that shit was real.
Very fucking real. And on my goddamn doorstep. I had no idea what to do, because from the sound of it, they had Derrick. That meant there would be no answers coming. No guidance, no response, no nothing. I was on my own. And I was wearing someone else's life. It wasn't just about the skin or the clothes that I had to embody and inhabit. And I didn't have a fucking clue how to keep making it work. I was out of options. But this, this I could do.
Zia was clearly stressed, so I’d taken care of what I could. The lawyer had beaten us to the precinct and already had Deedee at home, so Zia didn’t have to worry about that. But she was still pissed off.
My experience was that she was always the first one to jump into a fray, the problem solver, the one with solutions. Why did she look so lost now?
When we pulled up, as usual she didn’t wait for the driver to open the door. But I took her hand before she stepped out. "Are you okay?"
Her brows lifted. "Someone tried to kill you today and you're asking me if I'm okay?"
"Your shoulders are tense. Your jaw is tight. That beautiful mouth of yours hasn't attempted to cuss me out in at least an hour, so are you okay?"
She blinked rapidly. "I—I don't know. I don't feel okay. I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. That's how I feel."
"Okay. That's probably normal. We all feel like that in this kind of situation."
"No, you don’t understand. You know those days when you just don't want to deal? You just want to be someone else, be somewhere else? That's how I feel right now."
"Well, you're not alone."
Her dark gaze searched mine. "Thank you, Theo."
The bloom of heat in the center of my chest was new. Jesus Christ, I didn't think I could take it because the use of her voice saying my name was like molten heat and slow-moving lava through my extremities. I wanted to hear her say it again and again. Preferably on her back, lying spread open, my mouth on her.
Dick: That shit is not helpful if you don’t want me commenting. Easy does it. Focus on the task at hand.
We walked to the apartment. She pulled out her key and then thought better of it, shoving it back in her pocket. She knocked. A petite girl answered the door, and I was struck aga
in by how much she looked like Zia. Slightly taller, but somehow younger in the face. Which was ridiculous, because Zia barely looked twenty-five. "Oh my God, Zia, you're here. Derrick." She glowered at me. Apparently, she wasn’t over our last conversation.
The lawyer, Ames, stepped forward. “Miss Barnes was arrested for public indecency and intoxication. I managed the bail process, and she has to appear before the judge tomorrow, but I’ll make a deal and it will go away.”
I shook my head. “No, she’ll do the community service option.”
Ames lifted his brows. He was Derrick’s fixer. My understanding was he’d kept Derrick out of many a scrape.
Deedee was still glowering. “What the hell? How are you even in my business right now?”
Zia’s body sagged as she stepped forward, “Deedee—” She started to respond but looked like she had no idea what to say.
Fuck that. I wasn’t letting her shoulder any more responsibility on her own.
“That’s enough Deedee. Let me assure you that I am not your sister. And I have only met you twice, but I’ve had enough of your bullshit. I got you out of jail. I also generously paid your lawyer, so you will do as he tells you. And no, we’re not having your sister get you someone else so that she has to pay for your mistakes. This is your lawyer, and he’s staying your lawyer.”
“Who gave you the right, you pompous prick?”
“I care about your sister, and you are draining her. Jesus, look at her. she’s exhausted. She is so tired of dealing with your bullshit. For once think of someone else.”
In that moment I could tell Deedee loved her sister, because her gaze flickered to a still silent Zia. “Z, are you going to let your new boss, boyfriend, whatever he is, talk to me like this?”
Zia’s gaze ping-ponged between us. Then she inhaled a deep breath. “Yep, because while you don’t like him a lot, you actually seem to respect him. And seeing as you have zero respect for me, he gets to be in charge right now.”
“No, wait, that’s not true,” Deedee protested, but Zia wasn’t done.
“And while we’re at it, you’re also going to move out of here. You’re going to get a roommate and pay rent.”
“But I don’t have a job.”
“Well, you have thirty days to get one. And what’s more, I will continue to pay for school, but the moment your grades dip below a B average or you take an incomplete, you're on your own. I’m done. I’m tired. I love you, but clearly, rushing in to fix life for you hasn’t worked.”
Deedee’s eyes went wide. “Do you even care that this wasn’t my fault? Yes, I was drunk. I’d been at a party, but there was this guy there who stole money from my boyfriend, Toby.”
Zia frowned. “Toby? The dufus from the roof incident?”
“Yes, him. So anyway, this guy took money from Toby, and we were just trying to get it back and the cops got involved."
I lifted my brow and muttered. "Toby?"
Deedee slithered her gaze to me. "Yes, Toby. Why? What’s wrong with Toby?"
Zia was losing patience. "Look, I don't care what his name is.”
"Look, he doesn't do drugs, okay? But he owed this guy money, and then this guy came to get Toby and said that I have to cough up two thousand dollars. He was going to hurt Toby, and I didn't know what to do. And then this guy’s muscle or whatever shows up and takes three hundred from Toby, so we were fighting with him with the cops showed up."
Zia stared at her sister. "So your boyfriend is a low-level campus drug dealer? Are you fucking serious right now?"
“It’s not what it sounds like.”
"So you lied to me?"
I could see this was getting out of hand fast. Zia was probably feeling some crazy level of betrayal, and I wanted her to feel the things she needed to feel, but at the end of the day, I wanted to help. However, being Theo, I realized I couldn't help. But as Derrick, I could. I stepped between the women when Zia took a step toward her sister. I gave Zia a sharp shake of my head. When I turned to Deedee, her eyes were wide, and she backed up several steps. "How much does Toby owe this dealer?"
* * *
“He—he said Toby owes him two thousand dollars.”
"Wait, so Toby says he owes this dealer two thousand dollars, and if he doesn't pay, the dealer is going to hurt him?"
Deedee nodded. "Yeah, and I don't have it."
I put out my hand. "That's not what I'm asking. Who gave you this information, Toby or the dealer?"
"Toby."
"How is the dealer involved?"
She shrugged. "He approached Toby when we were out one night. They had heated words, and then the dealer told me that I'd see my boyfriend again when he was done with him. The next day, Toby came back and said that he had to pay and that he needed my help. So I've been slowly trying to get it from Zia, because I knew if I came and asked for two thousand dollars, she'd say no."
"As she should." I ground out.
"You don't understand, he's going to hurt him."
"Is anyone threatening to hurt you?" I asked.
"No, but I—"
I put up my hand. "Call Toby and tell him to get his ass over here."
Her eyes went wide. "What?"
"Jesus Christ, call Toby and tell him to get his ass here now."
That made Deedee scramble. When I turned, Zia looked shell-shocked, confused. "Are you okay?"
"I've been giving money to my sister to take care of her, and she's been giving it to a drug dealer or a drug dealer's friend. I don't know."
Oh, geez. She was going to lose it. "Look at me. You're okay. Everything is going to be okay."
"It's not okay. My sister, she's— God, she's naive and spoiled... so spoiled. After all this time, everything I do for her, she just pisses it away."
"Look, I don't know anything about raising anyone. I think you've done a great job."
Her breathing came in shallower pants. "I haven't. Clearly, I haven't. God, how does she always manage to do the exact wrong thing?"
"It's okay, we'll deal with this." I waited for her to say that she didn’t need me to deal with it, but the words never came.
Deedee came back with the phone on her ear. "Just come over here. There might be a way out." She hung up and turned to face me. "What are you going to do?"
"Oh, you’ll see." I said.
It took ten minutes for Toby to turn up. When Deedee answered the door, the kid tumbled in looking like every slacker frat boy I’d ever seen. His hair was a shaggy, greasy mess. His button-down shirt hung open over a T-shirt with some graffiti graphic on it. His leather jacket looked expensive as hell.
This kid was just playing the part, but he was playing it poorly.
"You're Toby?"
He scowled at me. "Who the fuck are you?"
I had no patience for this. Somebody had tried to kill me today. And Zia was still upset, looking shell-shocked and exhausted. All I wanted to do was get her back to the penthouse so we could both crash the fuck out. I didn't need shit from this asshole. I crowded him. "Let me ask you again, are you Toby?"
The kid's eyes opened wide. "Yeah man. What? What do you want?"
"Listen very carefully, you are done fleecing Deedee over here. Deedee, you're done with him."
Both of them complained. "What?"
I slanted Deedee a look that told her to shut the hell up, and then I turned my attention back to Toby. "You see, you're done fleecing her for money. You're done making her feel sorry for you. You're done booty calling her. You're just done."
He scowled. "You don't know me."
"Oh, but I do. So, here's how it's going to go. How much money have you already taken from her?"
The kid had started to sweat. "I haven't taken anything from her."
Deedee wasn't having that. "What? I've given you two thousand dollars."
"You wanted to give that to me. That was for us. For us to enjoy ourselves."
I rolled my eyes. "Fuck, you're a piece of work, aren't you?"
He gave me a narrow-eyed glare. "Who the fuck are you?"
I stepped into his space. "I'm the motherfucker that's going to get you out of her life. If you come near Deedee Barnes again, I will know. If you talk to her again or even mention her name, I will know. And then I will do very bad things to you. Do you understand?"
I let the menace slide off my voice. The part of me I kept at bay, hidden. The part of me I kept behind a nice façade of the kid who just wanted to make a philanthropy app.
I usually didn't show that part of me that wanted to seek and destroy. I rarely let that person out to play, but after today, it was already so close to the surface. I snatched him up by the front of his jacket. At first Zia tried to intervene, but the look I snapped at her kept her in place. "I'm going to give you the money, and then you're going to vanish. If I so much as hear her even say, 'Oh my gosh, I wonder whatever happen to that guy named Toby,' I will find you, and I will end you. Do you understand?"
Toby's watery blue eyes started to leak. "Shit. Right. Okay. Fuck."
I reached inside my pocket and pulled out my phone. Now, do you have Venmo or something like that, because that's how we're going to do this, nice and simple."
The kid's eyes went wide. "Venmo?"
"It's an app. Jesus Christ, I thought you kids were the forefront of technology."
When he pulled out his phone, I grabbed it, downloaded the appropriate app, and made the transfer. I stared at him. "If I hear so much as she’s even thinking your name, I come for you. Do you understand?"
He nodded his head like a bobblehead doll.
His gaze didn't even flicker over to Deedee, which told me what I needed to know. He'd been using her. I opened the door, and he scrambled out.
Zia stared at me. "Did you seriously pay him—"
"I'm not done yet," I cut her off.
Her jaw snapped shut. I turned my attention to Deedee. “Now, Deedee, this stops immediately. First, you're going to get a job. Any job. I really don't care. Your sister assumed ownership for this place, so you're going to start paying her rent."
Deedee started yammering. "But I can't afford rent without a job making enough to pay."
