105. Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter one hundred five
Carrie
Iwake with Kesha curled in front of me and Reid wrapped around my back, deciding I like this new normal. I can’t even remember the last time I thought of my old apartment, but then life has been a complete whirlwind since that day. Reid nuzzles my neck and as if someone is watching, the minute his hand cups my breast, my cellphone rings. He groans and I laugh, grabbing it to frown at the caller ID.
“My father.” I set the kitty aside and sit up, hoping he might have something to offer on the Elijah situation that is helpful. “Hey, dad,” I say, answering the line while Reid shifts behind me and I glance over my shoulder to find him pulling on a pair of pajama bottoms.
“Hello, daughter,” he says. “Elijah. The buzz is that he’s posturing up to go at Reid but that he can’t seem to get any real leverage. Reid’s too damn good at protecting himself, which I know and know well.”
“You found a way around that.”
“I got at his father, not him. He didn’t fuck up. He better not fuck up now. He has you to think about. Put him on the phone.”
“Put him on the phone?” I ask. “No. I don’t need you starting a fight with Reid today. I have enough to contend with. He has enough to contend with.”
Reid sits down next to me. “Put him on speaker, baby. It’s fine. I’m not going to fight with your father. I made you that promise.”
My heart softens and my father breathes out. “I heard that.”
“You promised, too,” I say. “Remember, dad?”
“I remember. Put him on.”
I inhale and hit the speaker button, praying for the best. “You’re on speaker and don’t blow this, either of you.”
“If I could leverage you,” my father says, “he can leverage you, Reid. If you lose your company, that’s my daughter’s life. She fought to keep what I let go. I don’t want her to lose it now. What are you doing to ensure he doesn’t take you down?”
“The same thing I did to make sure you didn’t. Step wide and wisely which means without rash, emotional behavior.”
Our doorbell rings. My eyes go wide. “Is that Blake already?” I ask, standing up, still completely naked at this point.
“It must be,” Reid says catching my hip and kissing my stomach. “Get dressed, baby. Your father and I will play nice.”
I give him a stern look and then hand him my phone. “I’ll be back, dad.”
“I’m hanging up,” he says. “Reid, I got damning information on you. Wisely can’t mean slow or you’ll end up fucked.” On that note, he hangs up.
The doorbell rings again and I head for the bathroom. Reid catches my hand. “Don’t let his drama get to you. He’s being a father, protecting you, and I’m damn glad to see him get back to that place.”
“He’s worried like you, which is why you need to get the door and find out what’s happening.”
He kisses me. “I got this, baby.” And with that promise, he heads out of the room. I rush around, pulling on sweats and a tee, brushing my teeth and hair, and then I’m heading downstairs, all in about five minutes. I reach the living area to find Reid and Blake at the kitchen island.
“Any news?” I ask even as I cross to stand with them.
“Mick and Tabitha aren’t as smart as they think,” Blake says, and I step to Reid’s side and he hands me his coffee.
My eyes meet his and there is this warm intimacy between us in this act that I need right now and always. “What does that mean?” I ask, sipping the coffee before Reid accepts the cup and does the same.
“I listened in on their calls,” Blake says. “They’re doing exactly what Reid and I thought. Trying to get Elijah to go after Reid, so they can get clear. Mick is lying low until he’s certain Tabitha is safe and then he plans to go to Europe to work for a few months.”
“Where does that leave us?” I ask. “I mean, obviously, we can prove all of this to Elijah, but neither of you believes that stops him in his tracks. We need this over.” Kesha jumps on the counter and I hug her. “We need a dog for our cat and a wedding date, not crazy millionaires jumping out at me in the street.”
There’s a knock on the door and Reid glances in my direction. “My father is here. I have no idea why, but security called to tell me.”
I set Kesha down. “This won’t be good. Nothing with him is.”
“He wants us to win this war,” Reid says. “He’s a brutal warrior. That’s the only reason I let him up.” He heads toward the door and Blake’s phone rings.
I turn to watch what’s happening at the door when Blake curses. “Oh, fuck me. Yeah. Got it.”
“Carrie.”
I turn to face him, my heart at my feet, fear in my heart. “Cat’s okay, right? And Gabe?”
“Yes,” he says and slides his phone in front of me to show me a headline that reads, Reid Maxwell, accused of using his now-dead college girlfriend as a shield in a convenience store shooting. Truth or fiction and what does this say about the compass of his company?
I want to throw up.
“Your father did this,” Maxwell Senior growls at me from the door. “He has to be behind this.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Reid demands.
I know my man and this is going to destroy him. This is going to be a hell I climb inside with him and I have to be there for him starting right now. “He didn’t do it,” I say rushing forward with Blake’s phone in my hand.
“Do what?” Reid demands.
“Tell the world about your scandal,” his father says, the veins at his temples bulging. “And paint it in a way to ruin you.” He points at me. “You’re his daughter.”
Reid holds up a hand. “Back off of my woman, father, and either offer a solution or get the fuck out.” Reid doesn’t even ask to see the phone in my hand or for details. I’m sure his mind is conjuring all kinds of possibilities.
“End him,” his father replies, “or maybe you just need your father to do your dirty work. He needs to be gone. I’ll handle it.”
Reid actually grabs his father’s arm and turns him to face him. “Let me be clear with you. You will not do anything. You will leave this alone. I don’t need another one of your bad messes to connect to me and fuck up my life or Carrie’s. Stay out of it.”
“Then handle it,” he says. “And get your damn hands off me.”
Reid doesn’t immediately let him go. He stares him down, tension radiating from him, and only when I touch his arm does he let his hand fall away. His father leaves the apartment and Reid shuts the door. “Let me see it,” he says, and I hand him the phone.
He reads more than the headline, a full minute that feels like a lifetime passing before he rotates to face Blake. “What do I need to know?”
“Gabe knows,” Blake says. “He’s on his way over here. He didn’t want to call you if you didn’t know. And I recommend a press conference. Head this off there.”
“Set-up a press conference for noon. I’m going to shower. I’ll be downstairs in half an hour.” He steps around me and starts walking up the stairs. He doesn’t wait on me, but I start to follow.
“Carrie,” Blake says quietly. I turn to face him and he adds, “If you need to get out of town—”
“No,” I say. “I’m not leaving him.”
I turn and follow Reid up the stairs and he’s already disappearing into the bedroom. I rush ahead and by the time I’m in the bedroom, he’s in the bathroom. I find him stepping into the shower and I don’t even hesitate. I join him. The minute I’m inside, I step to him and wrap my arms around him. He doesn’t touch me, waves of dark energy rushing off of him and onto me.
“Do you want to leave?” he asks. “Because if you do—”
“Never,” I say. “I’m here to fight with you. Always.”
He studies me a moment and then wraps his arms around me. “Then I need you to take care of both of the offices. Get Connie and pair up with her. I’ll meet you at the press conference.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I need you to trust me and let me keep this all in my head right now. It’s part of how I process when I’m under fire. I’ll explain later. But I’m done with this, and yes, we need a dog for our cat and a wedding date. This ends today.”
His words are hard. His jaw harder. The Reid I know is not the Reid going to battle. There’s a shift in him, a dark side of him present right now. This is the Reid that shut out emotions for a decade and can operate with precise, cold actions. Elijah made a mistake by awakening this side of Reid, by awakening the beast I’d tamed that is always a part of Reid.
I couldn’t stop the beast right now if I wanted to, but I don’t.
I want this over.