Chapter 11
“I miss caffeine,” I moaned as I sat beside Darren.
Darren was one of the techies we had grown close to in our missions. I despised his half-sister, Adams—who thankfully was long gone—but he was cool.He could sometimes be awkward, but he was crazy-intelligent and friendly.
The smell of his coffee was tantalizing. It was hard enough to turn away the coffee Troy had made for me this morning. I knew, like always, he had made it exactly as I liked it.
“Want some of mine?” he offered, pushing a large travel mug toward me. It was decorated with Darth Vader and the saying “You Underestimate the Power of the Darkside.” “It’s black.”
I grimaced. No matter how much I missed coffee, I would never be that desperate. “Thanks, but I’m trying to refrain from drinking coffee in my condition.”
I set my bookbag down and sat down in the seat beside him. I smiled and waved at the other techies I wasn’t familiar with. My brain already felt fried, so small talk with people I didn’t know wasn’t something I desired to do.
We were technically on spring break, but I still spent most of my morning attempting to do schoolwork. Even with my reduced workload, I had a lot to do. Many would argue that I should take some time off and acclimate to life again, but I didn’t have the luxury. Plus, I’d spent months of my life idle, and I couldn’t do it any longer. Especially since the guys still had to wrap up their work before we took some time off for ourselves.
After hours of cramming in schoolwork and lunch, I decided to look into training. Unfortunately, I was limited in what I could do. All my guys were down in the simulations, and I had no desire to sit with the other people in the staging area. Those chicks that had demeaned me and hit on Lincoln were down there, and I was trying to do the grown-up thing and avoid them. See… I was trying.
Darren paused whatever he was doing on his laptop and leaned back with a frown. “My mom drank it when pregnant with me and my half-sisters, and my girl guzzles down coffee.”
I shrugged as I adjusted myself in the comfortable office chair. “It’s okay in moderation; others take it more like a suggestion than a rule. And—” I grinned, leaning over to steal one of Darren’s Twizzlers. “Your girl? What’s her name? Who is she?”
One of the other techies snorted a laugh as he rolled over and handed me a cold coffee drink. “It’s decaf. Doc suggested I cut back on the caffeine,” he ruefully admitted. “And I wouldn’t say Tiff is his girlfriend .”
I raised a brow at Darren. There were so many questions. I suspected a good story, and despite my adversity to drama in my life, I was intrigued by others. I blamed it on all the reality television I’d watched in captivity.
“Yet,” Darren protested.
“Thanks.” I smiled at the guy. “I’m Blake.”
He smirked. “I know. I’m Bruce.”
“Nice meeting ya,” I said, then turned back to Darren. “Tell me about Tiff,” I insisted.
Darren cleared his throat and nervously wiped his hands on his jeans. “Well,” he drawled, his eyes taking on a dreamy expression, “Tiff was rescued about a month after you were abducted. She’s seven months pregnant and is one of the only ones who wants to keep her baby. At first, we were just friends, but lately, she’s been flirty with me.”
“Flirty how?” I asked, but at the same time, Bruce snorted and shook his head.
“They were just friends,” Bruce scoffed. “You began buying her shit, and then she saw your bank account.”
Darren scowled. “She’s not using me,” he huffed.
I took a sip of the cold decaf coffee and nodded in approval before turning to Darren with a frown. Darren wasn’t ugly by any means. He appeared as if he had slightly bulked up, but he was still the stereotypical nerd—thick glasses, pale skin, and somewhat awkward. Not to say he didn’t have a fantastic personality, but I could see how someone could take advantage of him even thoughI prayed that wasn’t the case.
“Does she ask you for stuff?” I tried to keep the question light since I was hesitant about getting in the middle of the situation.
“No,” Darren said quickly, too quickly, and Bruce huffed again.“She’s gonna be a single mom, so I help her when possible.”
“He bought her a new mattress, and she heavily hinted that he should look at her Amazon Wishlist,” Bruce argued. “Once you got her everything, she started to hint at needing even more stuff. Believe what you want, man, but she barely lets you touch her even though I’ve heard she’s hooked up with a few other men while she’s been here.”
My frown deepened as the door to the nest opened, and laughter entered the room. It sounded like this Tiff woman was using Darren. I was not fond of that at all.
“Those were just rumors,” Darren declared mutinously. “Tiff told me she’s not ready to date yet, and I won’t push her for anything she’s not ready for.”
“Tiff, again?” Sierra groaned before taking a seat beside me.
“You know Tiff?” I tentatively questioned. Hearing more footsteps, I casually looked over my shoulder before my gaze landed on Gavin. “Hiya, Gavin and Sierra.”
“Hiya, Ake.” Gavin smiled before he took the seat between Sierra and me.
“Well?” I prodded him.
If he’d looked anything but happy-ish, I wouldn’t have asked. However, he didn’t seem to be as troubled today. He almost seemed lighter. I barely had to use my empathy gift to feel some of the contentment and hope in him.
He leaned forward in his chair and shot me a smile. “We’re working on it. Sierra asked me if I wanted to come to the baby’s next appointment on Monday, so I’ll get to see him or her!”
I had to stifle the squeal of happiness I felt. I was sure Gavin and Sierra had a long way to go, but that was definitely a step in the right direction.
“—I already told you,” Sierra was saying gently. “If she is really your friend, then she’ll remain your friend when you stop buying her stuff. Test the theory out. Don’t buy her anything. She doesn’t need anything. She has a nice two-bedroom apartment. She barely works and has clothes, food, and entertainment. What more does she need? That Versace watch you got her was definitely not a need.”
“You did not buy her that three-thousand-dollar watch!” Bruce sputtered.
“I got it on sale,” Darren muttered, his cheeks reddening.
“For how much?” I gaped.
All kinds of red flags were going up. I needed to talk to this Tiff and see if she was using him. Scratch that. Rachel and I would have to question her. There was no way she would be able to lie to Rachel.
“Two thousand three hundred,” Darren mumbled, returning to his screen.“She’s had a rough life.She deserved something pretty.”
I wasn’t the only one to gasp. Sale or not, that was still outrageous!
“Darren…” Sierra gave him a comforting pat. “That’s what you said when you got her that Louis Vuitton purse and Louboutin heels! I think it’s awesome that you buy Tiff her favorite snacks and such, but you’ve spent over ten thousand dollars on her this last month alone.”
“Bruh!” Gavin groaned. “I haven’t even met the girl yet, and I’m seeing red flags left and right. If this girl is hanging around for gifts, she’s not someone you need in your life.”
Darren slumped in his chair, clearly upset and hurting. I was sure a small part of him was realizing that Tiff asked too much of him.
“Earth to nerd-boy,” Jaxson’s voice squawked through the radio.“Where you be?”
I nearly forgot that simulations were going on. The other techs had been busy talking to their teams. I hadn’t realized so much time had passed that now my guys were up.
“I’m here.I’m here,” Darren grumbled.
I leaned over Darren’s arm and pressed the button.“Jaxson James, be nice,” I reprimanded.
“Blake,” Jaxson groaned in response.“I am being nice.Darren’s my boy. He knows I’m playing.Tell her, Darren.”
“It hurts my feelings.” Darren gave me a hurt look, but I saw the mirth dancing in his eyes. “Can you make him into a bird again?” Darren stifled a laugh. “I heard it was quite entertaining.”
Gavin, Sierra, and I laughed at the reminder while Darren leaned forward and punched the keyboards.An image of my guys popped up. They were waiting in the holding area, and I barely suppressed the sound of appreciation from my throat. They looked hot all the time, but there was something even more alluring about them in their sim suits.
I gave Darren an impish grin before I leaned forward once more. “Darren wants to see the bird again,” I informed Jaxson.
“NO!” Jaxson loudly protested as Noah’s voice came over the radio.
“Do it, Blake!” Noah goaded.
I laughed. “Be nice, and I won’t.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jaxson groaned before looking up at the cameras.He flashed the middle finger, but I knew it was directed toward Darren.
“I saw that,” I reprimanded him.
My guys began to laugh as Jaxson kneeled and clasped his hands in a begging position.
I smiled and leaned back. “That should make him behave for a little bit,” I said to Darren.
Darren grinned. “Sweet.”
I was pleased to see he seemed to have recovered from his depressive state. He was a sweet guy who deserved a good girl in his life. Unfortunately, I didn’t think this Tiff girl was it.
η
“So, who’s the pregnant girl named Tiff?” I asked without preamble when I sat down at dinner that night.
The guys were still at training, but they insisted I go to dinner without them. They promised that they would meet me here shortly. At first, I was reluctant to, but then the babies decided to express their displeasure. My sudden nausea told me I had limited time to eat before I would get sick.
Rachel tilted her head to the side and held up a finger, continuing to chew her chicken.
With a laugh, Dawn set her fork down. “There’s like three Tiffanys that are pregnant right now, so you have to be more specific.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I didn’t think I had met more than one Tiffany in my entire life, yet there were three of them here.
“This Tiff is using Darren,” I growled before viciously spearing a piece of chicken and dipping it in mustard.
“Oh,” Rachel mumbled as she swallowed her food.“That Tiff.” She rolled her eyes.
Marcel had been ready to sit down but immediately picked up his tray and whirled around. He began to walk away, and I wondered if he had forgotten something. I was confused by his actions until Dawn let out a wicked cackle. “Tell us all about Tiff, Marcel.”
“Nope,” he called over his shoulder as he attempted to stroll off.
Terrance was approaching, so he’d heard Rachel’s comment.“Come on, Cel!” he called out between laughter.
Realization dawned, and my mouth dropped.“You hooked up with a pregnant girl.”
“In my defense,” Marcel grumbled as he sat back down, “she wasn’t showing yet. And I didn’t know Darren was sweet on her. I also didn’t know she was a leech. And why not a pregnant woman? No chance of knocking her up!”
I gaped at him as Terrance, Rachel, and Dawn laughed. Don’t get me wrong, it made sense. I also understood some men had no hang-ups about hooking up with pregnant women—more power to them, to each their own. However, I had seen some of Marcel’s hook-ups in the past, and he had a type. Pregnant women definitely wasn’t it.
He was usually attracted to tatted-up chicks with piercings and the whole bad-girl vibe, while that wasn’t Darren’s type at all. He made it no secret that he was into women that had hippie and homeopathic vibes. Now that I thought about it, no indie chick would be into Versace, Louis Vuitton, and Louboutin. Had these men been locked down for so long that they were capable of changing their tastes that drastically?
“Believe it or not,” Noah stated as he sat beside me, “some men have a pregnant woman fetish.”
I good-naturedly rolled my eyes at him and playfully swatted him in the chest.
He leered at me and rubbed my belly.“Now, what or who are we talking about?”
“Marcel hooking up with the girl Darren’s sweet on.” I glared at Marcel.
Marcel threw his hands up in defense.“I didn’t know!”
“Don’t be too tough on him, Blake,” Terrance said.“He didn’t know. Plus, that girl is a user.”
“I want to question her,” I huffed.“Ray, I may need your help.”
“I’m in,” Rachel said without hesitation.
“And I know where she’ll be after lunch,” Dawn added with a smile.“I’m coming with.”
“Awesome.”
After that, I got lost in my thoughts as the table continued onto another topic of conversation.I didn’t want to be accusatory and assume the worst without meeting her, but, on the other hand, I needed to voice my concern. I had to determine the best way to approach this female. I had enough enemies without adding another.
η
Tiff was probably one of the prettiest girls I had ever seen. She was nearly as petite as I was, but she had an air of vulnerability I could easily fall for. Even though Tiff was pregnant, she was all belly, so it was hard to believe she was only seven months along. Her strawberry-blonde hair was styled in two loose braids with stray strands framing her heart-shaped face. Her facial features were so delicate and perfectly proportioned with large doe-like blue eyes. A dusting of freckles gave her an even younger appearance even though I’d learned she was older than me by four years.
She wore a bohemian-like burnt orange, yellow, and maroon printed dress with a deep that showed off the swell of her breasts. A pair of brown suede boots with tassels adorned her tiny feet.
There was some kind of dreamcatcher tattoo on her bicep and indiscernible script on her wrist. When she bent forward slightly, her top gaped open, making it easy to see the colorful lily tattoo right below her collarbone. Her ears were adorned with several piercings, and her nose had a tiny stud. I could see why Darren found her attractive, but she definitely didn’t have the hard edge that Marcel seemed drawn to.
She was washing out paint brushes in a deep stainless-steel sink, swaying to music from an expensive-looking phone. Immediately, I thought it had to be another gift from Darren. She continued bringing out some canvases from the closet, seemingly unaware of our presence.
Dawn informed me that she had become an art teacher for the children. In her downtime, she made beautiful artwork that she sold online. Before she was taken, she had run away from an abusive mother and stepfather, living on the streets of New York City for years before landing in the art district.She began working at an art gallery nearly immediately. By age eighteen, she had made a name for herself, selling pottery, paintings, and other eccentric art pieces. She had also started dating this much older guy that was heavily into drugs.
He was toxic, to say the least, and Tiff’s artwork began to suffer because of his actions and influence. He, in essence, began pimping her out to fund his lifestyle. One night, they had stumbled upon one of Horatio’s readers at one of their parties. Unbeknownst to her, she was gifted. Whenever she created art, she went into a trance-like state and was able to create anything and everything she set her mind to. She wasn’t high on the gift scale, but it was unique enough to interest Horatio.
Horatio’s associate had taken her from that party. When rescued, she thought about going home but knew her boyfriend would pimp her out again. He had sold all her artwork and racked up credit card bills in her name. She could not support herself, so Paul and Pops had given her a job here. She didn’t make a lot of money teaching, but she had a steady stream of income from selling her artwork under a pseudonym.
I sympathized with her plight, and my heart went out to her. I wanted to believe she was lovely and had Darren's best interest at heart, but something didn’t feel right. If everyone had unfavorable opinions about her, there had to be some truth in their scathing comments.
“Can I help you?” she asked, finally noticing us.
“You can,” I immediately responded. “I’m Blake, and I know you know Rachel and Dawn. I stopped by to meet the girl Darren seemed so smitten with.”
When I saw the guarded look in her eyes, my smile took on an insincere edge.She had gone on the defensive immediately, and I could almost see her scheming to put her “best” face forward.
“Yeah, he’s the greatest, isn’t he?” She airily laughed and turned, pretending to busy herself. “I didn’t know nice men existed any longer. He treats me like a princess.” She dreamily sighed. “I never thought I could be so lucky as to find someone like him.”
If I didn’t already suspect she was actively avoiding us, I could almost believe her innocent act. Just to make sure my instincts and intel were correct, I reached out with my empath gift. After that, the deception and panic raging through her became completely obvious.
“He is an amazing man who deserves to be treated like the knight he is,” I commented as I casually walked around the room.
In the corner of the room was a half-finished painting and a few completed pieces. Realizing it was her work, I wandered over to the corner out of curiosity. One particular canvas caught my eye. It was covered in the outline of a beautifully “broken” female with tattered wings wrapped around her seemingly naked body. I grudgingly had to admit that the painting spoke to me.It was achingly beautiful and emotionally thought-provoking even though it wasn’t even completed yet.
Her smile instantly fell away. “Who says I don’t treat Darren like he is?” she caustically bit out.
I turned and raised a brow at her defensiveness. “No one’s accusing you of anything, but I don’t want to see my friend hurt.”
She snorted, her innocent, vulnerable act melting away. Ah hah, there she is. Now I knew my assumptions and the rumors were correct.
“Friend,” she sarcastically commented. “Well, friend , I don’t appreciate you coming at me and accusing me of not treating him right.”
“She never said that.” Dawn cruelly laughed. “Guilty conscience, much? That is, if you even have one.”
She huffed, slamming bottles of paint back into the cupboard. “I’m not guilty!” she insisted. “I just don’t feel comfortable being cornered by three females in my workplace.”
“I’m sorry if you feel like I’m cornering you,” I sincerely stated. “However, I was concerned about Darren, and I heard he’s been buying you many expensive gifts.”
“He’s a grown man.” She rolled her eyes. “And I’m not a user. I—” She seemed to flounder for words before settling on “Care about him.”
I couldn’t help but give her a deadpan look, sensing her rising panic and its underlying anger. There was even a little piece of entitlement in her. Her emotions indicated that she thought she deserved the finer things in life now because she had been treated so cruelly in the past. It took everything in me to remain calm and cool-headed.
I gently caressed my belly, reminding myself it wasn’t just me I needed to be concerned about. I had my babies to worry about. I was justified in defending my friend, but I had to curb the urge to retaliate.
“So, you’re not stringing him along, hoping he’ll buy you more expensive gifts?” I raised a brow at her, noticing that she had much more jewelry than just the watch. My instincts told me she had wheedled those things from Darren too. In addition to the watch, she had expensive tennis bracelets, earrings, and a necklace.
“You claim to care for him,” I continued, “yet the relationship seems all one-sided.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything,” she scoffed, placing a palette beside one of the canvases.
“Wrong answer,” Dawn drolly stated, popping a bubble with her gum. “Look, Darren’s our friend and a really sweet guy. We don’t like it when people use him.”
“I’m not using him,” she insisted, avoiding eye contact.
“And that’s a lie,” Rachel singsonged as she boosted herself onto one of the countertops. She swung her legs back and forth, the heels of her boots making a noise when they connected with the cabinets beneath her.
Tiff’s eyes narrowed as realization dawned on her. “You can’t use your gifts outside of a training environment!”
This time, I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t playing this game with Tiffany any longer. The kid gloves had to come off.
“Please don’t pretend to have moral concerns when you’re using our friend.” I wearily sighed. “Plus, we know you always use your gift to sell your art, so leave Darren alone if you have no interest in him. You’re just playing with his emotions, which is disgusting.”
“Disgusting.” She snorted. “You sleep with seven men and have the audacity to say I’m disgusting.”
“Bitch, please.” Dawn feigned a laugh. “You would love to be in her place. Don’t think we didn’t notice how you chased Drake and Jaxson for weeks. You tried to take advantage of their friendly nature. Bending down in front of Troy with no panties was a skank move to pull, especially while knowing their connection had been taken from him.”
My head whipped around to her, my jaw dropping. This information definitely hadn’t been shared with me before now.
“Sorry,” Dawn said with zero remorse. “We didn’t want her to become another casualty of your rage.”
Rachel stifled a laugh. “We were just making sure to keep your stress down. Not to mention, your hormones are no joke now that you’re incubating.”
“I don’t rage,” I feebly protested as I crossed my arms over my chest. “That was information I would have liked to know before we confronted her.”
“I didn’t know they were taken,” Tiff spluttered, reminding us of her presence. “And if you try to do anything to me, I’ll tell.”
“She’s gonna tell!” Rachel cackled, shaking her head. “And that’s a lie. She was well aware that the guys had a connection. She was also stark naked when Noah attended her last appointment. When do you completely disrobe for any doctor's appointment?” She derisively snorted.
I scowled once more. Maybe I should request that Noah no longer examine females if any of them was like this hooker-face.
“Hormones. Rage,” Dawn muttered out of the side of her mouth.
“Oops.” Rachel nonchalantly shrugged with zero repentance. “She didn’t seem to take us too seriously when Jemmy and I confronted her. Blake has the right to know. Plus, she understands she needs to keep a calm and level head for our nieces or nephews.”
“Blake,” Dawn gently prodded, “should I get one of the guys to calm ya down?”
I huffed. My blood was boiling, and Dawn and Rachel were right. I needed to calm down. I couldn’t lose my shit on this woman like I wanted to. I needed to remember I was here for Darren, not her whorish ways toward my men.
“Leave my men alone,” I said through gritted teeth, “and leave Darren alone. He doesn’t deserve to be hurt over the likes of you.”
Tiff took a menacing step toward me. “What are you going to do about it?”
I could tell she was putting on a brave face, knowing I couldn’t do jack shit to her. She was using my new resolve against me, and I needed to teach this skank a lesson.
My eyes narrowed on her. I might have decided to avoid perilous situations, but that didn’t wholly inhibit me.
“I’m not going to do anything.” I smiled, though it was anything but warm. “You will leave Darren alone,” I compelled her. “You won’t ask him for anything else, and you will tell him the truth. Tell him you were keeping him as a friend to continue receiving gifts from him. Tell him he is amazing, and you don’t deserve anyone like him.”
Tiff’s eyes had a glassed look to them as she nodded. “I’ll leave Darren alone. I will tell him the truth.”
I nodded in satisfaction before I turned to the girls. “Get me out of here before I become more creative,” I muttered.
Dawn and Rachel exchanged looks before laughing. “I was kind of hoping for more.” Dawn linked her arms through mine and led me toward the door.
“It was somewhat anticlimactic,” Rachel agreed with a dramatic sigh. “I mean, you could have had her perform ‘Gold Digger’ at dinner or something.”
I stuttered to a stop.It wasn’t a bad idea.
“Come on, Blake,” Dawn insisted with a wicked laugh.“We’ll keep an eye on her.She won’t be using Darren any longer.”
“Do you think Darren will gift me a three-thousand-dollar watch if I become more friendly with him?” Rachel mused aloud.
“Rachel Elizabeth Moore,” Dawn and I warned her simultaneously before she let out another evil laugh.