Chapter 11
Davina took a sip of her wine and opened the dishwasher. She was exhausted, defeated, and downright worried about all three men in her life—Wyatt, Ben, and Zach. It was weird to have the last one here at all. She’d waited a long time for him to be back in the picture.
Dinner had been strange, with Wyatt and Zach seeming to have reached some tacit understanding.
They were thick as thieves, those two, working on Ben’s computer, Zach giving a running lecture on computers and files and encryption and God knows what else.
She wasn't sure what to make of it. She wanted them to get along, no question about it, but she wasn't used to sharing her son.
And what about her? If she was being completely honest with herself, she also wanted something from Zach.
Not a relationship like Wyatt did, but resolution.
So much was unfinished between them, so many things she needed to say and hear.
There had been times she’d been convinced he’d never return, and other times she was equally certain the universe wouldn’t let her off the hook so easily.
She took a sip of wine. “Alexa, play my favorite songs.”
A gentle knock came from the back door. Ben was the only one who did that, and while she longed for their typical easy conversation, nothing seemed easy lately where the Sato brothers were concerned. “Come in.”
He rounded the corner from the laundry room, took one look at her face, and opened his arms to hug her. “Hey. Been a crazy couple of days, huh?”
She laughed. “Understatement of the century.” She poured him a glass of wine and brought it to the table, sitting down. “How are you holding up?”
“You mean with the murder charges hanging over my head? Or with the impending arrival of Moto’s cavalry?” He filled her in on his brother’s summoning of HERO Force. "Honestly, I'm glad they're coming. I need all the help I can get."
She shook her head, needing answers but not sure Ben was ready to provide them. “How did you get mixed up with these people, Ben?”
“It’s a gift, apparently. I’m an excellent judge of character.” He drank his wine, downing half the glass in one gulp, the affable front disappearing from his expression. “I fuck up everything I touch, Davina."
She, of all people, knew his history. It was true that Ben seemed decidedly unlucky, but it was equally true he was responsible for most of his own misfortune. “Did you know what they were doing was wrong?”
Ben looked at the floor. “Not at first.”
“But later, you did.”
“I suspected there was something fishy going on. How much property can one company need? But they turned around and rented most of it out. I thought the buildings were an investment. I don’t know what bajillionaires like to do with their money.”
“You wanted the commission.”
“You know what that money did for me. What it did for Wyatt.”
Davina’s cheeks flushed. “I didn’t need it that badly. Wyatt and I were doing okay.”
“That isn’t true.”
“Wyatt is my son. You know I’ve always appreciated you helping out, but I never wanted this. I never wanted you to do something illegal.”
“I didn’t know for sure.” He shook his head. “Now I’m going down for killing a federal agent.”
“Is Laney Devereaux a good lawyer?”
“She is.” He ran his finger along the rim of his glass. “I was seeing her for a while, you know. Not recently. She just got divorced from Jimmy Travers a few months back."
She didn't like where this was heading. Leave it to Ben to sleep with his lawyer. “Oh. Are you interested in her?"
"Not right now. Not with the case. But maybe…" He shrugged. "If I get off, I was thinking I might ask her out."
“That would be good. As long as you don’t do anything before that.”
Ben’s phone vibrated. “I’ve got a walk-through I need to take care of before I meet Zach’s friends from HERO Force at the hotel.”
“Okay.”
He stood. “Thanks for always listening. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
She stood and hugged him close. No matter what, Ben had always been there for her, and she was grateful for his friendship. “We’re pretty good together, you and me.” He kissed her cheek and walked out the way he’d come in.
Laney Devereaux. She hadn’t seen that one coming. Good for him. He deserved somebody to love. Maybe they all did. She turned back toward the sink, startled when she saw Zach standing in the doorway, his face set in stone. “God, you scared me!”
For a long moment, he said nothing, and she wondered how long he’d been standing there.
From the look on his face, it had been long enough to hear at least part of her conversation with Ben.
Her cheeks grew hot as she tried to remember exactly what they said.
“What’s wrong? Did you find something on the computer? ”
“Nothing between you two, huh?”
She looked to the back door. “Who, Ben? Of course there isn’t.”
He crossed the kitchen and she backed up against the counter, frightened by the intensity in his stare.
He was so close he was nearly touching her, those eyes moving down her face to her neck and chest, then slowly back up again.
She couldn’t breathe, the beating of her heart her only movement as she was held suspended in his gaze.
His hand came up to her cheek, his thumb lightly stroking her skin before his palm settled on her jawbone, tilting her face up to receive his kiss. He tasted exactly as she remembered, his lips perfectly fitted to hers, and she opened her mouth to invite him inside.
He pressed his body to hers, his arms coming around her as her tongue melded with his, her fingers grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and dragging him closer still.
The counter dug into her back as his hips pressed against her softness.
She reached higher, her nails raking his scalp and earning her a moan down deep in his throat.
She felt powerful, more alive than she had in years, her body’s desire gaining momentum far too quickly.
She was dry tinder, a single spark enough to send her neglected senses into a full conflagration.
She longed to hop onto the counter and have him right here, might have done it if they had been alone.
“Tell me you don’t care for him,” he ground out against her mouth, his words slowly dissolving the spell that held her captivated. Her eyes opened, then her hands lightly pushed him away.
“He’s an important person in our lives.”
Anger was palpable in Zach’s expression, though his breathing was ragged and his color high. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
She sidestepped him, putting some space between them so she could think. The speed with which he changed directions was giving her whiplash. “What do you think it means? Ben has been here for us. He’s part of this family.”
“Do you love him?”
“God, you are frustrating! I’m not romantically interested in Ben, but of course I love him!
You can’t keep acting as if I shouldn’t care about the guy who’s been here Wyatt’s whole life, who helped us in every possible way.
You don’t get to dictate my feelings. Ben is my friend, and nothing you say or do is going to change that. ”
Zach put his hands in his pockets and dropped his chin. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s just when I saw you with him—”
“I hugged him. And I’ll hug him again, and again, and again.”
“I get it.”
“Good. And the next time you kiss me, it had better not be because you’re pissing on trees, marking your territory like a goddamn dog. I deserve better than that.”
He nodded. “You do.”
“I should finish the dishes.” She moved back to the sink, and he stepped out of her way. “Did you find anything on the computer?”
“Not yet. I asked my colleague in Atlanta to take a look, too.”
“Should I be worried?”
“Honestly? Yes.”
She frowned and turned on the water. “If anyone can do it, it’s you, Zach.”
He moved to leave the kitchen, then stopped. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here, Davina. I would do anything if I could change that. I’m jealous of Ben, you know that.”
She opened her mouth to speak just as Zach’s phone vibrated and he looked at it. “HERO Force is fifty miles out from the airport. I’m meeting them at their hotel. Hopefully Ben shows up there, too.”
“He said he would.” She said goodbye and watched as he walked out the door. “I wish you’d been here, too,” she whispered to the empty room.