“Because we told her we’d take care of it,” Ethan growled.
Maisie suddenly remembered the night she’d babysat Davina, and how nostalgic Davina had been, talking about the blissful first year of her marriage.
“She thought that weeks ago,” Maisie said numbly. “I thought she was just sad about the divorce, but it wasn’t that. She was sad because she thought…” Her voice trailed off.
Davina had been sad because she thought Norm was going to die.
Suddenly, Maisie didn’t feel so safe anymore, and a panicked feeling squeezed tight around her body, crushing her temples, her chest, her stomach.
She plastered a hand over her mouth to keep from puking everywhere. The thought of hurling in front of Ethan two days in a row made a nervous giggle bubble up in her throat.
That made the men look at her again, but she waved their attention away.
Not that they were headed toward her. No, they were all staring at their phones.
Maisie threw her head back and laughed.
She couldn’t help it.
She was aware of her bosses watching in alarm. “I’m fine,” she tried to say.
A tear overflowed her eye and ran warmly down her cheek. Then she was sobbing, her chin and lips quivering.
Alarm swept over Ethan’s face. “Why are you crying?”
He looked far more horrified now than ever before, and as he exchanged a helpless glance with Trent, Raphael hurried over to wrap his arms around her.
“Everything’s going to be fine, Maisie.”
Ethan stood awkwardly and left the room, returning a moment later with a handful of tissues, which he set on the edge of the tub.
Maisie dried her eyes. “Thanks,” she said, looking gratefully up at Raphael. “I’m fine.”
He nodded.
Glancing at Ethan, Maisie had a realization. Despite all his male stoicism, he didn’t know how to handle a crying woman. She smiled, because for the first time ever, she had an insight into Ethan’s behavior.
And almost immediately, a second realization dawned on her. Ethan had saved her on the street. He’d saved the woman on the roof. He’d wanted to save Davina from her husband. Now he was protecting Maisie from the investigation.
Ethan was driven by the need to save people. To help people. He was a goddamn knight on a white horse.
She felt her face go slack in surprise.
Raphael glanced at his watch and grimaced. “Good thing it’s just a motion this afternoon. I’ll see if I can’t get someone else to step in.” Phone in hand, he left the room.
“We need to call Davina,” Trent said.
“Not yet.” Ethan’s tone was final. He turned to Maisie. “Within the next hour, someone from the office will be calling, letting us know that the police are there. I’m officially retracting my offer of a job when this blows over. In fact, I never meant it.”
“I understand. I guess I have to leave now.”
He nodded. “Not immediately, but you can’t spend the night.”
Raphael reentered the room. “It’s taken care of. I also set up a meeting with Davina. Maisie, you’ll have to leave.”
“I know.” Maisie felt her guts twist with grief. “When will I see you again?”
“You’ll see us,” Trent said.
“And we’ve always got Plan B,” Raphael said. No one looked happy about that.
“What’s Plan B?” Maisie asked.
“Doesn’t matter.” Ethan moved the tissues and turned on the water in the tub. “We’ll take care of this, Maisie. What we have to do might not be legal.”
“Yeah, I figured that out.” She smiled a little. “You’re awful lawyers.”
“We’re great lawyers,” Raphael said, sounding offended. “We protect our clients when the law doesn’t.”
Ethan raised a hand to quiet him. “Are you ok with this, Maisie?”
She stared into his gray eyes, and she got the impression that he wanted her to say no. That he wanted her to refuse to take part.
Too bad. They were in this together.
“Yeah,” she said. “I trust you completely.”
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OTHER TITLES
Please visit your favorite online bookstore for these and many other stories!
LURING THE PACK (Standalone Novel)
Luring the pack is barbaric and uncivilized, but it’s Emmalina’s only hope.
Twenty-one-year-old Emmalina knows all about trouble even before her addict sister signs their house over to the local wolf pack.
Desperate, Emmalina tarts herself up and ventures into wolf territory.
Her plan is simple: offer to lure the pack. Playing bait for a bunch of hot shifters is better than being homeless.
The wolves are even more brutal—and more refined—than rumored. Especially the cruel, dark-eyed alpha who looks into Emmalina’s soul and reads all her secret hopes. Armand is the most powerful alpha the pack has ever had, and it’s not in his nature to let her off easy.
But Emmalina’s hot, mysterious neighbors don’t approve of what she’s doing, and for good reason. What they’re hiding could save Emmalina’s life… or get her killed.
EXECUTIVE TOY (Executive Toy #1)
To stay alive, Lindsay has always relied on her looks and her wits. It’s not always enough, and underneath her carefully polished exterior is a desperate woman who will do anything to survive.
When she’s called to account for her misuse of the company credit card, she hopes to flirt her way out of trouble. Instead she finds herself faced with a gorgeous stranger who is immune to her manipulation, and she’s shocked by the punishment he deals out.
No one in the office can tell her who the stranger is, and when she encounters him again weeks later, things take another unexpected turn… times three. Three handsome, rich businessmen. In their arms, she almost feels safe.
But she knows the truth: safe is an illusion, and staying alive is all that matters.
TRAPPED BY A DANGEROUS MAN (By a Dangerous Man #1. Box Set Now Available!)
What does she owe to the man who saved her life?
Despite growing up a bounty hunter, being taken seriously is a constant struggle for 24-year-old Audrey Stroop. When she stumbles across information on Corbin Lagos, she recognizes the chance of a lifetime.
One blizzard and a car accident later, she wakes up in gorgeous Corbin’s bed. She doesn’t know how he’ll react if he discovers that the woman he rescued intends to haul him in. She also can’t fight her attraction to him.
He’s nothing like the men she typically seduces and discards. He’s dominant. He’s dangerous. And he’s going to explode her life into a million tiny pieces.
OFFICE TOY (Office Toy #1)
Elle’s job interview starts with Cunningham throwing away her cheap clothes and sending his assistant to buy new outfits. He’s got her naked, so of course he’ll lay her out on the conference table and claim her mouth. Soon Elle is trussed up, all of her holes stretched full while three hot men have their wicked way.
She loves her first tastes of liberated, naughty sex. But she’d better not start falling for her boss—no matter how safe he makes her feel—because while office sex is encouraged, romance is strictly forbidden.
CARELESS (After Forever/Bisexual Billionaire Trilogy #1—Box set available!)
After being forced out of his company, Nelson returns home a billionaire with a hole in his life. When he meets Kimberly and Samuel, he decides he’ll have them both.
But Kimberly and Samuel aren’t a couple, and Samuel’s the one holding things up. He hasn’t dated a woman in five years, and even though it’s plain he loves Kimberly, he agrees to Nelso
n’s threesome on the condition that it be only one night.
Kimberly would marry Samuel in an instant if he asked. He’s just not interested. But a single night to satisfy her curiosity is better than never knowing Samuel’s kiss.
There’s no way for Nelson, Samuel and Kimberly to all get what they want, and one careless moment of weakness carries the power to destroy everything.
TOUCHING PARADISE (The Shark Shifter Paranormal Romance #1. Box Set at some retailers)
Despite his billions in the bank, Koenraad is a shark shapeshifter haunted by secrets and regrets. Unable to move on with his life, he relentlessly patrols the waters near the island he once considered home. Fate puts the beautiful Monroe in his path, and duty demands he offer his services, but one look into her eyes and he knows the lonely, frightened woman secretly yearns for adventure.
Monroe is having a hard time getting into the vacation spirit. She’s surrounded by powdery white sand and swaying palm trees, but she’s terrified of the ocean. When her tour boat breaks down at sea, she’s thrilled to skip the so-called trip of a lifetime. However, a gorgeous man with a sleek yacht is determined to change her mind… and maybe her life.
USE ME HARD (Standalone story, but is included in the Take Me Hard compilation)
Even before Alyssa meets Eric at a party, she knows all about him. That he likes to tie up submissives, that he has a dungeon somewhere, and that he breaks more hearts in three months than most guys do their whole lives.
As far as she's concerned, Eric is just another rich playboy, and though part of her craves him, Alyssa knows men like him are good for one thing: nothing!
When Eric overhears her claiming that he can't possibly be good in bed, he challenges her to prove it—one week, no sex necessary (unless she begs). Instead of slapping him, she accepts. She can't pass up the opportunity to make him publicly admit that he's clueless about women.
If he wins … but he couldn't possibly win. Could he?
SLEEPING LADY (Fantasy Playland #1—Box set now available!)
Georgia is broke, and she can’t resist the ad in the paper: “Women with low libido needed for sex theme park.” Never mind that as someone who masturbates several times a day, she hardly qualifies … she needs money, and she’ll do anything to get it.
But first she has to pass the audition. All she has to do is pretend to sleep while the sexiest man she’s ever seen uses her however he pleases.
Triple Jeopardy (Lawyers Behaving Badly Book 2) Page 10
