Chapter Eight
CHAPTER EIGHT
ALEX
My day hasn’t been half bad, although I’m relieved to finally be home. The charity foundation I work with did a stellar job on today’s event, and we managed to raise a good chunk of change for our cause. I dutifully signed autographs and posed for pictures, although it still baffles me at times that these little tokens are worth money to people. Doing it for a good cause is no bother for me, so I smiled until my face was practically frozen.
I loosen my tie as I enter the house from the garage. Thank Christ I was able to duck out early enough to see the kids before bed. They had a friend over tonight, so chances are they finagled their way into an extended bedtime.
“Daddy!” Tristan shouts as I walk into the game room where Everett and their friend A.J. sit playing some alien game on the X-box. Tristan barrels toward me, and I scoop him up, immediately holding him like a football and making him giggle.
“Hey, Dad,” is all I get from a distracted Everett.
Aiden walks into the room with a bottle of water in his hand. “Yo!” He waves, too cool to give his old man a hug, and plops himself in one of the gaming chairs. “By the way, Addison is puking upstairs,” he announces unceremoniously.
That straightens my back, and I set Tristan down. “Is she okay?”
Aiden just shrugs and picks up a free controller. “Dunno.”
I mentally throttle my kid and turn around to go in search of Addison. I pass DeeDee on the stairway.
“Is Addison okay? Aiden said she was sick.”
She shakes her head. “I just checked on her. She said she’s fine, but it looks like she’s been crying. I was just going to get her a bottle of water.”
I nod. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. I’m going up anyway.” I gesture to my suit, which is explanation enough since DeeDee knows my preference for casual attire.
I detour to the kitchen for a bottle of water and then bound up the stairs, a knot in my chest that I don’t quite understand. The thought of Addison in distress has me tied up in an unfamiliar way.
I don’t bother knocking on the bedroom door, but I do tap on the bathroom door instead of bursting in like I want to.
“Come in,” replies a feeble voice from inside.
I don’t hesitate. Crumpled on the floor in front of the toilet is my little pixie, tears staining her face, her shoulders slumped in defeat. She’s wearing an oversized t-shirt and loose shorts, her hair tied back in that same ponytail. I want to scoop her up and carry her to my room.
So I do.
She gives out a cute-as-fuck little squeak as I hoist her up and stride out of the bathroom, through her room, and down the long hall to the other end of the house where my bedroom is.
“What are you doing?!” she whisper-yells at me. “Oh my God—cold!” she yelps, which confuses me until I realize the water bottle I’ve been carrying is now pressing against the exposed skin of her lower back.
“It’s just a water bottle,” I explain.
“But where are you taking me?!” She begins to squirm.
“Stop squirming,” I order. “You’ll make yourself sick again.”
“I’m going to kill DeeDee,” she mutters under her breath, and I chuckle.
“Hold off on that until you feel better, okay? I have a huge tub in my bathroom, and I’m running you a bath.”
Her eyes widen, and then she suddenly claps her hand over her mouth.
“Shit. Are you gonna be sick again?” I speed up my pace.
“No,” she mumbles through her fingers. “I just realized I have vomit breath.”
That makes me laugh full-on, and she narrows her golden eyes at me. We clear my doorway, and I head straight for the bathroom, not setting her down until we’re at the tub.
“Holy shit,” she marvels before covering her mouth again. “Sorry. I mean, come on, though. That’s the biggest tub I’ve ever seen.
I shrug, taking in the oversized tub with jets and a built-in headrest. “I’m a big guy.”
That statement brings her eyes back to me, and I see awareness overtake her features, despite her desperate state.
Fuck. I need to get out of here before I take advantage of the sick nanny. I turn my attention back to the tub and switch on the tap.
“Sit.” I gesture to the side of the tub. “I’ll go grab your toothbrush for you.”
She hesitates, then takes in the stern look on my face and sits her ass down like a good girl. I use the time it takes to retrieve her toothbrush and toothpaste to talk my dick down from its favorite position around Addison.
When I return to the bathroom, she’s still perched on the edge of the tub, staring into space.
“Now,” I begin, startling her and bringing her eyes to meet mine. They’re still puffy from crying, and the knot in my chest tightens. “When did this start? Do you think you have a stomach bug?”
She shakes her head before I can continue. “No. That’s not it. I just…” she trails off as the sound of running water fills the room.
I cross my arms. “You just what?”
She shakes her head again. “Nothing. I just got some upsetting news, and apparently, my stomach didn’t like it.” She attempts a half-grin, but it’s a struggle. It hits me in the gut.
I crouch in front of her and tuck another loose strand of hair behind her ear, though it seems to be a lost cause at this point. She immediately covers her mouth again, which brings a smile to my face. I gesture toward the sinks with my chin. “Go. Brush your teeth so we can have an actual conversation about this.”
She slips off the tub to her feet and makes a beeline for the sink. I check the water temperature and turn off the tap but leave the jets off so we can hear each other. I settle myself on the edge and wait for her to return. Her round ass bounces a bit as she vigorously brushes her teeth, and my gaze refuses to be diverted. My hands itch to grab a handful and squeeze, or better yet, swat her ass and watch it jiggle in response. Fuck, I’ve got to focus on the matter at hand. Something is upsetting her, and I’m going to fix it.
She turns and keeps her eyes down as she self-consciously shuffles back in my direction. I pat the space next to me, where she gingerly places her luscious ass.
“Tell me this news, and I’ll help you figure it out.” I hope nobody died. I might be good at solving problems, but even I can’t manifest a resurrection.
She starts to shake her head in protest, but I fix her with a steely gaze until she sighs. “Fine. But you’re going to fire me as soon as you find out the kind of people I associate with.” Her tone is so sad and defeated, I need to reassure her.
“Not possible. You’re your own person, and I know you’re solid. Go on.”
She gives me a sidelong glance before continuing, “If you say so.” She draws in a deep breath to prepare herself before blurting out the story quickly. “My brother is an ass. He got mixed up with some people we’ll just call ‘undesirable,’ stole some things that did not belong to him, and now the guy he stole from has our whole family under his thumb. He’s blackmailing all of us, and if we don’t pay him whatever he asks for, he’s threatening to hurt our mom and, um, do other stuff to me.”
My neck practically snaps as my spine straightens and an anger so strong it startles me rises from my chest. My voice is dangerously serious. “What kind of ‘other stuff’?”
She fidgets and won’t look at me. “I’m sure you can imagine.”
I explode to my feet. “What the fuck, Addison?!”
Tears gather in her eyes, and I immediately regret my tone. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you.”
“We’ll call the cops. What this guy is doing is crazy!”
She huffs out a mirthless laugh. “Sure, like we haven’t thought of that. You don’t know this guy. He’s way too slick. And, besides, my brother would be the first one to go to jail. He’s an idiot—nothing slick about him at all. It would kill my mom.”
“Fuck.” I spear fingers through my hair and rack my brain. I have a lot of connections, but I can’t afford to have this type of scandal associated with me. As part owner of the Arrows and the face of multiple charities, it isn’t only my paycheck I have to worry about. “How much would it take to just pay the guy off once and for all?”
Again with the bitter laugh. “More than I have, that’s all I’ll tell you.” She finally brings her eyes back to me. “Alex, it’s nice of you to be concerned, but we’ve been dealing with this for over two years. We’re handling it. Every once in a while, it gets to me, and I have a good cry over it. And, apparently, a good puke too.” She attempts the half-smile again. “I’ve got my fingers crossed that the guy will make a mistake and anger the wrong person. Until then, we need to pay him whenever he asks and wait it out.”
“Addison.” I stop there because she won’t want to hear what I have to say. There’s no way I’m letting her wait it out and continue being threatened by this motherfucker. The thought of someone putting their hands on her in a violent way—hell, in any way—makes me want to punch something.
She ignores me. “Now, since I wouldn’t want to waste all this hot water, I’ll take you up on the offer of a bath. That , I’ll let you do for me.”
“Of course.” I nod and excuse myself from the room, too distracted by her fucked-up situation to even allow my thoughts to wander to her naked body in my tub.