Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
SAGE
“Morning,” I called out as I practically skipped into Muffin Top, moving straight to the counter where Danika was standing.
My girl smiled back. “Hey, dollface. How’d the sting go last night?”
“It. Was. Awesome,” I exclaimed, slapping my hands on the counter and leaning in.
“Oh my god, Dani, you should have seen me! I played that sucker right into my hands before busting him. I mean, I should get an award for my performance. He totally bought that I was into him. Things went a little sideways at the end, but I still got him. It was incredible!”
“How did things go sideways?”
I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth and bit down before answering.
“Well, he kind of found the earpiece I was wearing. Which reminds me, the job came with the most awesome spy gadgets. Anyway, he found it and flipped. Before Hunter and Xander could get to me, the asshole backhanded me.” Her eyes went big, so I rushed to add, “But I got him back with a broken nose and a well-placed kick to the jewels that he’ll be feeling for weeks. ”
Her mouth fell open in shock. “You broke his nose?”
“Hell yeah, I did. You don’t hit me and get away with it. My dad started teaching me how to defend myself as soon as I was big enough to throw a punch. I’ve got a mean jab, babe.”
“Damn, girl. Good for you.” She lifted her hand, and I gave her a high five across the counter. “I think it’s badass you went undercover last night. Those dudes are all big and bad, but it’s awesome to see a chick taking care of business.”
“Definitely.”
We chatted for a few more minutes before getting down to business. “You want your usual this morning?”
Three weeks, and Danika had already become a better friend than most of the women I’d hung with in Arizona.
Granted, the only reason I’d associated with those two-faced leeches was because John expected it of me.
According to him, people like us ran in certain circles.
Truth was, I never liked those circles, and I wasn’t the least bit sad to brush them off.
But Dani was good people, and I counted myself lucky she was the first person I’d run into the day I pulled my baby into Hope Valley.
“Yeah. But make it two scones and add a black coffee.”
“On it.”
Less than ten minutes later, I was walking through the door of Alpha Omega, sipping my pumpkin spice latte, feeling on top of the world.
“There she is, the badass herself.”
I stopped at Roxanne’s desk and returned the smile she gave me. “Good morning to you too.”
“Heard you did great last night, darlin’. Proud of you.”
Her praise put me firmly on cloud nine. “Thanks, Rox.”
“And heard that fucker got what he deserved after he gave you a smack.”
I set the coffee tray and pastry bag down and reached up to touch my cheek. “Oh, yeah. It was nothing, really. I iced it last night, and it only took a bit of concealer to hide what was left.”
Her grin turned slightly evil as she said, “Yeah, well, heard from Linc this mornin’ that the bastard didn’t fair nearly as well.
Broken nose, which I’m sure you already knew.
But turns out, that kick you gave him to the balls was hard enough that you ruptured a testicle, girl.
He’s in the hospital, waiting to have surgery. I didn’t even know that was possible.”
I wanted to laugh, but I was a too worried about what this meant for Alpha Omega. “I’m not gonna say I’m sorry. A man like him shouldn’t be allowed a functioning dick. But is the firm gonna get in trouble for this?”
Roxanne waved off my concern. “Nah. He had a little visit in the hospital late last night. The guy’s already losin’ half of everything when his wife rakes him over the coals, but he was shown a piece of the video you took where, not only was he naked as the day he was born—and sportin’ a woody about the size of a newborn—but it also showed him takin’ his hand to you.
He was told if he pressed charges or spoke of the events that transpired, that tape would be leaked to every media outlet from here to the Pacific Coast. His company can’t afford for that to happen, so he suddenly came down with a terrible case of amnesia. Such a pity.”
“Are you serious? Who’d Linc send?”
“Linc didn’t send anybody,” she answered. “Xander took it upon himself to scare the tar outta the man.”
Xander had gone back to make sure the guy didn’t do anything that could get me or the firm in trouble.
All of that after taking care of me in a way I hadn’t even known him capable of.
I didn’t give anything away to Roxanne, but the warmth lingering in my chest all morning bloomed until it spread through my whole body.
I was filling her in on the details of the night before when I heard Bryce’s voice.
“Mornin’, gorgeous. That for me?” I smacked his hand away when he reached for the coffee still sitting in the tray.
“Shit, sweetheart,” he hissed, pulling his hand back and giving me big, wounded puppy dog eyes.
“I know you proved yourself a brawler last night, but what the hell was that for?”
“Don’t be such a baby, I didn’t hit you that hard. And that coffee’s not for you. It’s Xander’s, so hands off.”
“That’s for Xander?” he asked, his eyes bulging in bemusement.
“Yes.”
“You bought Xander coffee,” he continued.
“Yeah. That’s what I just said, isn’t it?”
“But why?”
“Because we’re friends,” I answered, turning to face him and propping my hands on my hips. “And friends do stuff like that for each other. I’ve also bought coffee for Rox before.”
His handsome features twisted in accusation. “But we’re friends, and you’ve never bought me coffee.”
“Well, become a member of the sisterhood or race to save my ass from a naked jerk-off and I’ll buy you a coffee.”
Bryce glanced at Roxanne, both looking utterly confused by my declaration. “I don’t think Xander has any friends.”
“He does now,” I replied firmly. Then I gave Bryce a pat on the cheek before picking up the scones and Xander’s coffee and starting down the hall.
As always, he was sitting behind one of the bazillion computer monitors that made the actual control room for Alpha Omega.
“Morning, big guy,” I greeted as I rounded one of the three long rows and headed for him. Once I reached his side, I hopped up on the desk, tossed him the bag, and set his coffee next to his keyboard.
“What the hell is this?” he asked, looking at the paper bag like it was a pit viper.
“What the hell does it look like?” I shot back, crossing my ankles and swinging my legs back and forth as I sipped from my own cup.
Xander shot me a skeptical look before slowly opening the bag and looking inside. “Two scones?”
“Two cranberry and orange scones,” I amended. “One for you and one for me. “Oh, I got you a coffee too. Black, right?” I scooted the cup in his direction.
“Yeah, but why?”
“As I told you last night, we’re friends now. That’s why.”
The confusion drained away, and he looked at me with a familiar frustration. “I don’t recall agreeing to that.”
“Good thing for you, I don’t care. And I already told Rox and Bryce we’re friends, so it’s official now, whether you like it or not.”
His back went a bit straight as he asked, “You told Bryce?”
My head tipped to the side in confusion at his tone. “Yeah. He tried taking your coffee and earned himself a smack on the hand for it. Why?”
The smirk he gave me right then wasn’t quite as potent as the smile he gave me the night before, but it was still far from bad. “Next time, go for the head.”
“I’ll be sure to do that.” Taking the bag from his giant hand, I reached in and pulled out his scone, setting it on a napkin beside his coffee cup before pulling my own out and biting into it. I closed my eyes and let out a low, appreciative hum. “God, these things are so damn good.”
When I lifted my lids, I saw him watching me with a strange, almost hungry expression on his face. “Xander? You okay?”
Visibly shaking himself out of his thoughts, he pasted that mask back into place, blanking his eyes and features completely, making them impossible to read. “Yeah, everything’s fine.” Clearing his throat, he picked up the cup and took a big swig. “How’d you know how I take my coffee?”
“I pay attention.” I arched a brow and repeated the question he’d left unanswered the night before, “How’d you know where I live?”
“I pay attention too.”
With a laugh, I hopped off the desk and started out of the control room. “All right stalker. Get back to work. I’ll meet you in reception at twelve thirty.”
“What? Why?” he called after me.
“Lunch,” I answered over my shoulder. “I sprang for breakfast. That means lunch at Evergreen Diner is on you.”
Then I picked up the pace before he could argue and booked it to my office.
Xander
Fuck me.
I knew she’d been serious the night before about us being friends, but I didn’t realize she’d go balls to the wall to prove that less than twelve hours later. Though, with her wild, free-spirited personality, I should have guessed.
If I tried getting out of lunch, she’d see through all my excuses and call me on my bullshit, no doubt about it.
I didn’t have a choice. I was stuck giving that damn woman what she wanted. And the thing that scared me the most was that I found myself wanting to go to lunch with her, even if that meant facing the crowd at the diner, a place I only went during off hours and always ordered to-go.
Something shifted between us last night, something profound. After I found out that motherfucker hit her, I’d lost hold of that darkness I tried so hard to keep in check. My mask slipped, and I knew . . . I fucking knew she saw the demons I had swirling behind my eyes.
That should have been enough to reinforce the barrier between us and harden me toward her, but how she reacted made that impossible.
She didn’t treat me any differently. She didn’t suddenly turn into one of those soft, clingy women who saw a broken man and wanted nothing more than to fix him. She acted exactly as she always did, giving me shit and being an all-around pain in my ass.
She couldn’t possibly understand how much that meant to me, and that was just one of the many reasons I knew I was going to give this friendship thing a shot.
I shouldn’t want to be with her like that.
For her own sake. But I’d be damned if I could stop myself.
I’d tried my hardest to put on the cold persona I usually wore in her presence.
I really did. But when she mentioned telling Bryce we were friends and going so far as hitting him for trying to take the coffee she bought for me, I couldn’t keep it up.
That flirty bastard had been hitting on Sage from the moment she first walked through our doors, and knowing she chose me over him, even when it came to something as menial as coffee, made me feel fucking incredible.
The warning bells were going off in my head so goddamn loud I’d had a headache since leaving her house the night before. But when Sage wanted something, she went all out to get it. And for some insane reason, the crazy woman wanted to be my friend, and I couldn’t seem to deny her.
I wanted her in a way I knew to my dark, withered soul I shouldn’t. There was no way I could ever have her in the way I truly wanted.
But maybe, just maybe I could have her like this.