Chapter 24
Frankie
T he house was empty when she woke the next morning, and she couldn’t decide if that was for the best or not. With Holden gone, there wouldn’t be any awkward questions about why she’d moved out of his bedroom or why she’d been crying at the party the night before.
At the same time, she just… missed him. It took her nearly an hour of wandering the house with that ache just under her heart to realize exactly what she was feeling.
And she wasn’t exactly sure what to make of it when she realized she was missing him. Missing his laugh, his scowl, the way he told her to sit down and eat when she danced around the topic for too long. She’d gotten so used to him working from home more often than not, she wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself without him there.
The answer came in the rather unexpected form of the doorbell ringing. Curious, she opened the app Holden had insisted she download on her phone so she could see who was there before opening the door.
Lottie. Grinning now, she popped up from the couch where she’d made her nest for the day and ran for the front door.
“Lottie-baby! Thank god you’re here to save me from myself.” Stepping back, she gestured for Lottie to follow her before turning and heading for the kitchen. “Do you want a snack? I was thinking of making myself an apple or something.”
“No, I don’t want a snack.”
Something was wrong. Anger rippled beneath Lottie’s usually sweet voice, freezing Frankie in her tracks. Heart pounding in her chest, she spun slowly on her heel to face her furious bestie.
“What’s up? You seem… pissed.” No point beating around the bush, not when Lottie was standing there, fury all but pumping off her in waves.
“I am. Because you put me in the middle of your fucking lies, and I covered for you. And now I’m in more trouble than I’ve been in since forever , thanks to you.”
Shit, shit, shit. Going over the night before, Frankie wracked her brain trying to think of what Lottie could mean. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about, babe.”
The laugh Lottie let loose was tinged with bitterness. “Seriously? You’re going to lie to my fucking face now, too?”
“I’m not trying to, Lottie, I swear. I’m just confused.”
“Your fucking therapy appointment,” Lottie bit out. “Not only did you lie to me about going to therapy, you told Holden I was taking you. And when he caught me, I lied to cover for you. Braden is pissed, and he threatened to tell Holden but I convinced him you should have a chance to come clean first.”
“Oh, fuck.” Closing her eyes, Frankie let out a low groan. “I’m so sorry, Lottie. Holden’s been on my ass about making the appointment so I just picked a day and told him you were taking me like you used to. It was the only way I could get him off my back about it.”
“Did it ever occur to you to just fucking go to the appointment ?”
“It’s not that simple.” Emotion stuck in Frankie’s throat. “I’m trying Lottie, I really am. I just… need some time.”
“No. What you need is to get your head out of your ass, Francesca. I did this once, covering for you, convincing everyone you were fine. And I almost lost you because of it. I refuse to do it again.”
Panic beat at her, sharp wings shredding her from the inside out with every heartbeat.
Air. I need air.
“Okay. I’ll go, I promise.” Her voice sounded far away, wooden, and she prayed Lottie couldn’t hear the lie.
Lottie’s eyes narrowed. “And you’ll tell Holden you lied about going the first time?”
“Yes.” Absolutely not . He’d be furious enough with her for not making the appointment. She wasn’t sure she’d survive the disappointment in his eyes if he found out she not only lied, but also dragged someone else in to cover for her dishonesty.
“Good.” Blowing out a breath, Lottie ran a hand through her hair, her expression softening somewhat. “Sorry to be such a bitch about it but I really do just want you to take care of yourself, Frankie. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
An awkward silence fell between them, stretching well past the point of discomfort before Lottie sighed again. “Okay, well, I need to get to the club. Daddy set up a schedule for me since I ‘can’t be trusted to manage my own time honestly’ and I’d rather not be late since I already can’t sit comfortably. Make that appointment, and if you do need me to go with you, I’ll let Daddy know so he can adjust my schedule. Okay?”
“Yeah. Okay.” Guilt twisted in Frankie’s stomach. Her friend was in trouble, every minute of her day being accounted for, because of her. Because she’d lied.
That was even worse than knowing how pissed Holden was going to be if he ever discovered her lie.
Closing the door behind her best friend, Frankie leaned back against it, willing her nervous system to even out. Breathing exercises, mantras, nothing seemed to help. Everything was spiraling out of her control, again, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
Almost in a trance, she pushed away from the door and made her way to the kitchen, where she opened the fridge. An apple. She’d been thinking about an apple, even before Lottie had showed up. Having a single apple didn’t mean she was going to binge.
Pulling open the drawer, she stared down at the bag of golden apples, her mouth watering a bit. An apple, maybe some peanut butter. And a cheese stick. A nice, balanced snack. Nothing wrong with that. Daddy would be proud of her, actually, for eating so much at once.
As she cut up her apple and weighed out exactly one serving of peanut butter for her snack, the conversation with Lottie played over and over in her mind. And by the time she sat down at the kitchen table, she’d come to the conclusion that she was an absolutely shitty friend. Not only was she putting Lottie through the exact same hell they’d been through together once already, she’d gotten her in major trouble with Braden in the process.
Maybe she should come clean, after all. Maybe if she told Holden the truth about what happened he’d be able to talk to Braden, get him to back off being so strict with Lottie.
Even as the thought crossed her mind, she snorted out a laugh. Nobody could talk Braden down once he’d decided his babygirl needed to be taught a lesson. But at least if she was being punished alongside Lottie, it might help with how guilty she was feeling.
Reaching for another apple slice, Frankie blinked when her hand met empty porcelain.
When had she finished her snack? She didn’t even remember opening the string cheese, but the wrapper was right there in front of her, mocking her lack of self-control.
Out. She needed to get out of this house, distract herself somehow before she did something she couldn’t take back.
Shoving away from the table, she raced upstairs to scrub her face before throwing on a dress she hoped would be warm enough. If it was too cold out, she’d just go to the mall or something. Do some shopping.
Anything to get her out of this house and away from the temptation closing in on her with every passing second.
Holden
“Have you lost your fucking mind?”
Leaning back in his chair, Holden studied the woman on the other side of his desk. Cordelia was looking much better than she had the night before. Her color was back, even a little high right now given how pissed she obviously was at his suggestion.
“It’s a reasonable solution, Cordelia.” It wasn’t, not really. Moving her and Ivy to a safe house was absolutely bonkers at the moment, since they hadn’t actually been threatened by anyone in the cult. But he had a hunch that if he started with the most unreasonable option possible, he’d be able to talk her down to a regular security detail and taking that sabbatical from the club.
A hunch he was starting to doubt as he watched annoyance flicker in Cordelia’s eyes. “I am not going to a safe house, Holden. Not without a damn good reason, anyway.”
“What about your girl’s safety? Is that a good enough reason?”
Eyes narrowing, Cordelia hissed out a breath. “That was a low blow.”
“Yeah, it was.” But he wasn’t going to apologize for it, not if it helped her see fucking reason. “And you’re right. A safe house isn’t necessary, not just yet. I’d settle for a permanent security detail for you and Ivy, twenty-four-seven.”
“Jesus.” Pushing up out of her chair, Cordelia paced back and forth in front of his desk, her movements jerkier than usual, another giveaway to her agitated state. “I don’t know, Holden. We already decided it’s just a freaky coincidence. I looked at your pictures, nobody looks even remotely familiar. I’m not sure it’s necessary to have someone watching our every move.”
“It’s not like they’ll be inside your apartment, Delia. They’ll just keep watch, make sure nobody tries to sneak in. You’ll still have your privacy.”
“Shit.” Dragging her hands through her hair, she gave the blonde strands a hard tug. “I left that fucking place so I could live my life without being watched every second of every day.”
“I get that.” He hesitated, just a moment, before rising from his own chair and moving to stand in front of her. And it hit him, like a physical punch in the gut, how tiny she actually was. A bit taller than the average woman with generous curves but still, so small and… fragile. After years of watching her put Ivy and a handful of other submissives through their paces, he’d forgotten she wasn’t the Amazon princess she sometimes seemed to be.
Of course, he’d never tell her that. At the first hint from him that he saw her as anything but the badass Domme she was, she’d gut him like a fish. Figuratively speaking, of course, but the woman could wield words with the same lethality his team members wielded a knife.
Keeping that in mind, along with her reaction the night before when he’d reached for her, he kept his hands firmly tucked in his pockets. “My people know how to watch without getting in the way. You won’t even know they’re around for the most part.”
“Except I will. Ivy will.” Tears shimmered in her eyes, but only for a moment before she blinked them away, leaving behind only that burning fury from before. “I never wanted her to be part of this, Holden. Maybe it’s better if I just go.”
“First of all, there’s no reason to think they’re watching the club because of you. As you said, it’s just a huge, weird coincidence. Second of all… do you really think Ivy would just let you go, even if you tried?”
The corners of her lips twitched, but the smile didn’t come close to reaching her eyes. “No. She’d come after me, even if I threatened her within an inch of her life.”
“Because she loves you. And you know if the tables were turned, you’d do the same damn thing in her shoes.”
“Of course I would. She’s mine and it’s my job to protect what’s mine.”
Now it was his turn to smile. “And if it were me or Braden or Ice saying that about our women, you’d hand us our ass along with a lecture about toxic masculinity and how relationships are a two-way street.”
Scowling, she jabbed a finger into his chest, but there wasn’t much force behind it, telling him he was getting close to winning this argument if he hadn’t already. “I’m not a man, so it doesn’t apply.”
“Maybe not. But Ivy has just as much right to worry about you as you have to worry about her. And you leaving isn’t going to stop her loving you.”
“I know.” She sighed, and his heart constricted at the misery on her face. “They don’t come inside our house and if they’re in the club, I don’t want Ivy to know about it. I don’t want her to worry.”
“About the club…”
Fire sparked in her eyes. “Absolutely not. We’re not going to hide out and stop living our lives, Holden. We’ll keep taking the back entrance, I’ll even keep you updated on when we’re working or playing. But I’m not taking Ivy away from her friends. She needs her people.”
It was, it seemed, the best compromise he was going to get. And if he was being honest, it was more than he’d expected to get from her.
“It’s a deal.”