Chapter 15
Nick was almost done for the day, but he had to make one more stop before he headed to the Carmine Mansion. To see Berkley. It had been over a day since someone had broken into her place, then run away like the coward they were. After this stop, he was going to convince her to stay with him.
Hopefully.
Though he wasn’t sure what kind of chance he had at convincing her.
Or if he even deserved it. Either way he still wanted to keep her safe.
And her brothers were all bulldogs. Her sister too.
He knew he’d have a fight on his hands trying to convince her to stay with him, but he was going to try anyway.
Because he couldn’t sit back and do nothing while some maniac was out there targeting her.
Before he faced that battle, he had to face something Clover had brought up to him—rightfully yelled at him at brunch.
He parked at one of his many jobsites, then jogged up the steps to the work trailer, knocked briefly even as he opened it just to give Hannah notice he was here. No one normally knocked, but he knew what she’d been through with her abusive ex and he never wanted to startle her.
“Just me.” He stepped into the meticulously neat trailer, and as always was impressed by how not only organized it was, but how good it smelled. Most of his jobsites just smelled like sweat and dirt.
“Mr. Storm.” Her face lit up as she saw him and she started to stand from behind her desk where she was clearly busy.
“Sit, please.” He strolled to the coffee and snacks station she’d set up, mostly for the crew.
None of the other project managers did stuff like this and he didn’t micromanage.
But he liked what he saw here and how much her crew respected her.
Half of them had already asked to be assigned to whatever next job she was on.
“Everything okay?”
“More than okay,” he said as he poured a cup of coffee. “You’re ahead of schedule. And I would say it’s a miracle, but it’s because you’re efficient.”
“Oh.” She looked surprised, but smiled. “That’s nice to hear, thank you.”
“How’s this crew working out?” He’d hand-picked them and knew they all worked well together, but he still wanted to check with her personally.
“Great. All hard workers, something I can’t always say. But there are no slackers in this bunch.”
“Good. Good.” He took a sip of his coffee, looked around her personal space—
“Mr. Storm? What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” He focused on her now.
Her dark hair was pulled back in a braid, and she had on the standard flannel shirt and jeans mostly everyone wore around the jobsites.
He knew she was in her forties, but she looked younger, and he figured that was because she’d lost the stress of her ex.
Right now she was staring at him with dark, searching eyes.
“You’ve never stopped by to just chat, so come on. I’m closing up in fifteen and want to get out of here on time.”
He let out a startled laugh. “A year ago you wouldn’t have been that straight with me. I like it,” he added when she frowned at him.
“Well, what’s up, then?” Her chair creaked slightly as she leaned back and watched him. There was a confidence to her now that he loved seeing.
“I’m not sure how to say this, so I might screw it up.”
She paled. “Are you firing me?”
“Wha—no! No, no, no.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m screwing this up. Someone brought something to my attention recently. That I can be less than generous…” Damn it. He trailed off as he struggled to find the right words, something that was rare for him. But this was unchartered territory.
“I’m happy with my pay scale. More than, if I’m being honest. But if you’re looking to give out raises, I’ll take it.” Her tone was pure snark and he loved it.
He half smiled. “It’s not about that. But all of you will get a bonus when this job is over. Screw it, I’m just going to try and get it out. I think I was less than fair when you finally left Don.”
She frowned at him now in real confusion and leaned forward. “What the hell are you talking about? You put me up in one of your rentals for free, helped me get back on my feet. And in exchange for nothing. You just did it.”
“I don’t mean monetarily.” And now he was wondering if he should have come here at all.
Maybe he shouldn’t have put any of this on Hannah, should have just started working on himself going forward.
But Clover’s words kept rolling around in his head.
“Did I ever make you feel like…you thought I judged you for not leaving him sooner?”
“No. Even if you had, no one could have judged me more than I did myself.” Her tone was dry as she sat back again.
“Well, I thought I might have. And if I ever indicated I thought that, I’m sorry. I can only imagine how hard it was to live with him and feel like you had no options.”
“Thank you for saying that. If I can be honest, I’m still unpacking everything. Emotionally, I mean. Why I stayed so long, why I let him hurt me—”
“You didn’t let him. That’s on him. He’s the abuser.”
She gave him another wry smile. “You sound like my therapist.”
He hadn’t known she was in therapy but was glad to know she was. “Smart therapist.”
She nodded. “Whatever you’re clearly feeling guilty about, please don’t. I’m finally feeling settled. Happy, even. And I might have my first date since everything this upcoming weekend.” Her cheeks flushed.
“I’m glad to hear that.” It meant she was truly moving on.
She cocked an eyebrow. “No threats to him or anything? Because the whole crew knows and they’re already plotting his demise if he screws up. It’s just one date,” she murmured, but he could see that she liked how overprotective they were.
“I was going to talk to Bear about it later, see if he knew who the guy was.” Bear would give him aallll the gossip. Because the man liked to talk more than any other human Nick knew. Or would likely ever know.
She laughed as she shook her head. “You guys are the worst. And also the best,” she added, her expression soft. “Look, I’m good and we’re good. If you need to be absolved for any guilt you’re feeling, I absolve you. I can even give you some Hail Marys or whatever.”
“I’m not Catholic.”
She grinned. “Neither am I.”
He let out a startled laugh and some of the weight he’d been carrying around since that lunch with Clover lifted. Definitely not all of it. And he knew it shouldn’t.
But still, he was on the right track.