Chapter 2
2
COLLINS
There is no worse pain for me than seeing Penny crying her eyes out.
This girl has shed too many tears this last year, and I never need her to waste any on me.
She doesn’t realize that guarding her family is what has breathed life into me from a cycle of self-hatred and self-loathing.
Graham and Nic Hoffman provided me with a new life. And I will forever be grateful to them for making me want to stay in it.
After getting discharged from the military, I was destroyed. I thought I would stay in it for decades and retire at a high rank.
But then I was betrayed by the people I trusted.
And the irony is not lost on me…
Fuck.
This could easily be the biggest mistake of my life, yet I am out of willpower to keep stopping the inevitable from happening.
I carry Penny out of my office and into the living room. Helping her get comfortable on the couch, I prop up pillows behind her back and a couple under her ankles.
“I’ll make you some coffee and get you some breakfast.” I can’t believe I didn’t feed her. I was more concerned over another man seeing Penny half-dressed than tending to her basic needs.
She nods. “I just need some low-nutrition cereal.”
“So sugar in a bowl?”
“Sounds delicious.”
I move into the kitchen to get to work. I will concede and feed her this garbage that I have no idea why I bought other than the fact she loves it, but I plan to provide her with better quality food for the two meals that follow.
And if she signs this contract, then she’ll have to comply as well. There are few things I negotiate on, and my ability to care for her will not be one of them.
If Penny thinks her brothers coddle their women too much, she has yet to experience the lengths I will go to make sure she is happy and well. Plus, I’ve had a lot of practice already looking out for her. This contract is just an extension to what I’ve already been trying to do.
It’s just that now once she signs it, she has to accept all of my services.
It would be a genius plan, if I wasn’t guarding the little sister of my bosses.
Grabbing the box of Sweet Puff Paradise—who the hell markets this shit?—from the cupboard, I laugh over the three-dimensional googly eyes Penny must have glued to the bird mascot that is on the front of the packaging.
She is so freaking funny with her little pranks.
Reaching for a bowl, I’m careful to check for anything out of the norm in the cupboard. I know Penny is prone to adding fake critters to unsuspecting glasses.
When I have her cereal prepared the way she likes it, I walk it over to her on the couch.
“Do you want some coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
I give her a smile and then move back into the kitchen.
After a few minutes, the aroma of espresso fills the air, and the sound of Penny moaning with each spoonful of cereal causes my cock to stir. If enabling her brings her this much joy, then so be it.
Plus, I’m pretty sure she would die on the sugary cereal mountain to prove a point if needed.
She can win that battle. I preemptively forfeit.
“I’m going to give you more time to relax and think over the contract. Come find me whenever you are ready for the next steps. No rush. Take your time.”
Penny nods and offers me a smile. It feels weird leaving her on my couch looking so cozy, but I also have more responsibility in my job description than just taking care of her. And this other component just got more complicated.
Moving back into my office, I find my place behind my desk and enter the password on the keyboard for my computer to start up.
Using multiple screens, I open up several emails and text chains from workers who were hired to provide intel on Mark Tanner at the prison. The Hoffmans are privileged enough to supply supplemental income for several of the guards and a few delivery workers who periodically visit the prison.
Their job is to provide information about the layout of the prison, the routines of the inmates, and the staff schedule.
Unfortunately, with a high profile and very public case, the chance of getting to Mark Tanner in prison is next to impossible.
The Hoffmans and I have been watching Tanner since he arrived there to await trial. While I regret not ending his life when I had the chance, I have zero regret about putting my life in danger to protect the ones I love.
And everyone I cared for survived his evil plan, so I’m thankful for that.
But now we are scrambling to figure out how to end Mark Tanner and make it look like an accident before the initial trial date occurs.
Penny will crumble on the stand, and I am determined to intervene now so she doesn’t have to suffer later.
Unlike what the movies show, most state prisons don’t have secret tunnels under the facility that allow product and people to be moved in and out of the prison unnoticed. So to get access to Tanner, it has to be through staff members who’ve already been hired and vetted.
It’s very easy to play both sides of the line between right and wrong, and I would be naive to think Tanner doesn’t have any influence from his prison cell.
To counterbalance that fear, I check financial and cell records and make sure no one is double-dipping from the money bank and being a traitor.
I don’t even realize an hour has passed until I’m pulled from my thoughts by the soft knocking at the door.
I exit out of all of the windows I have opened on my screen and log out.
“Come in.”
It opens.
Peering around the door, Penny gives me a smirk. “I think I’m ready to sign away my rights.”
“You make it sound so dramatic.”
“I do have some modifications and amendments.”
“I’d be surprised if you didn’t.”
Picking up my cell, I send out a text to Leonard to summon him. He’s probably hanging out in the foyer or in the lobby. Regardless, he arrives in my office in under three minutes.
“Let’s get started…” Leonard says, getting into lawyer mode and less of a friend mode.
We’ve known each other for years. He’s handled most of the legal issues that come with being more than a bodyguard for the Hoffmans.
While handling contracts with the women I go into “relationships” with is trivial work in comparison to what he’s qualified to do, he does this for me as a courtesy.
It’s just that Penny is the first woman to be part of the negotiation process. In recent years, I guess I’ve chosen women who have less of a spitfire opinion—on basically everything.
That’s Penny for you.
She sure has a mind of her own.
Before her, the contract would be written up and signed without ever meeting with a lawyer.
Penny is different. I actually want her to push back on certain things and challenge me. It’s when she’s being her fiery self that I get the biggest look into her heart and her mind.
“Miss Hoffman, did you sign the nondisclosure agreement?” Leonard asks, his tone direct but kind.
“Yes.”
She hands over the document that contains her signature.
I glance at it and shake my head over the hearts she used for letters anytime she needed to write an o .
Cute.
I reach for a pen, and my eyes catch on the little rubber topper of a fire-breathing dragon. My finger flicks the thin plastic flame coming out of its mouth.
Where the hell did this come from?
I glance across the room to Penny who can’t stop biting her fist, most likely to keep from breaking down in giggles. Her eyes try to avoid me, as mine narrow on hers.
Pressing the tip into the paper, I start to sign my name as the pen lights up in an orange glow.
I refuse to look at Penny. She’s working way too hard at keeping it together. I’m sure one look from me will have her rolling on the floor in stitches.
Leonard clears his throat, oblivious to anything that is transpiring between me and this feisty girl. “I figure it would be best to go through each page. If you don’t have a question about the expectation or clause, then skip it. Understood?”
“Yes.”
I watch as Penny moves through the packet until she stops at a certain page. She appears to have a section highlighted in pink.
At least she is back to taking this all seriously again.
“What page is that?” I ask, wanting to use my own copy for reference.
She flips her contract around for added emphasis. “Page seven.”
Why does her highlighted section look like a penis?
For fuck’s sake…
“There,” Leonard says quietly.
How does he not notice her drawing?
“It states here”—Penny points to the middle of the page—“that tracking devices will be worn at all times.”
“That is correct,” I agree.
“Cross that shit out.”
“No,” I say boldly. “This is one of my three rules.”
“No. Your three rules are: I will not lie. I will be safe. And I will not fuck anyone else.”
Leonard clears his throat, trying to mask a laugh with his hand rubbing over his mouth.
I shake my head at my little princess. She’s got quite the mouth these days. Looking at my lawyer who can’t wipe the fucking smirk off his face, I clarify with, “It says ‘I will be monogamous.’”
“That’s what I said,” Penny defends. “But with less flowery terms. Let’s not sugarcoat things, please.”
And then she lets out a giggle.
I know instantly it won’t be her last.
So I just sit back in my chair and allow her the three minutes she needs to recover.
The worst part is, she has managed to charm my rigid and cutthroat lawyer into joining her giggle fest.
“Whose side are you on?” I whisper to him.
“Clearly hers,” he deadpans. “She’s way more fun than you.”
“Traitor.”
Every time I look at Penny, she does an exaggerated deep breathing inhale and exhale, probably as a calming technique—who knows. “Are you done yet?” I ask, trying to get this meeting back on track.
She holds up her hand. “Yes.”
“Okay, back to the trackers. I won’t budge on this. You can either wear one as jewelry or I can embed one under your skin.” I am joking on the last part—well, kind of. It would definitely save me a lot of worry.
“Oh my gawd! Fine!”
“There. That was easy,” I say smoothly.
“Can you at least tell me where they will be located?”
“Not all of them, but sure. You will have one placed inside all of your shoes, as well as on a bracelet you are instructed to wear.”
“And other places…”
“Yes, and other places.”
“And this is nonnegotiable?”
“Yes, Penelope. And you will be punished if you refuse to follow the order.”
“Will I like it?” she asks.
My eyes narrow in on hers. “Like what?”
“The punishment?”
“What? No. Then it wouldn’t be punishment, Princess.”
Her eyes smolder, and I try to look away from her before I concede on something I clearly shouldn’t.
“Okay…I wasn’t sure if it would be kinky or not.”
“What the actual fuck?”
Leonard makes a noise, and I shoot my eyes to him to silence whatever comment he is on the verge of spewing.
I don’t have time for him.
“Let’s move on,” she says with the clap of her hands. “Page sixteen…”
“Found it,” Leonard says with jubilation.
“Congrats,” I mumble under my breath.
I’m starting to wonder why I even need him here. He’s more entertained than helpful right now. I think he’s enjoying little Miss Penelope Hoffman.
Too bad she’s mine.
“On the topic of monogamy, ha, that’s a silly word…”
“Focus, Penelope.”
“Top of the page, it says that I won’t flirt with other men.”
“And you won’t if you want them to keep breathing.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Leonard calls out, his hands waving in exaggeration.
Clearly his ass should have stayed home. I watch as he blocks his ears. “Quit being so dramatic.”
Penny crosses her legs and plasters on her sweetest smile. “What happens if women flirt with you? Does that give me permission to rip them into pieces?”
“No.”
“And why not? Isn’t this a classic case of double standards?”
“It breaks rule number two, where it clearly states that you will be safe.”
She folds her arms over her chest. “I very well might still be when I cut a bitch.”
“I won’t let you engage in physical combat for any reason.” I can feel my blood pressure rising.
“Then it would be in your best interest to send out a signal to all your side pieces that you are off their booty call list.”
What? Never mind. I refuse to engage with that nonsense. “Do you have any more questions?”
Penny holds up the document and rips it in half, handing me the two sections. “I quit. It’s going to be too much work.”
When she goes to stand up, I meet her where she is. “Are you serious? What the hell just happened? Can I at least have a chance to counter whatever stipulation you want to add or delete?”
I can feel my blood pressure reaching dangerous levels over Penny not wanting to engage in a relationship with me the only way I know how.
Then the corner of her mouth lifts. “Just teasing. I already signed the document an hour ago. Leonard has everything notarized or whatever lawyer lingo he used. No clauses were added, but I did have the section where you promise to sexually satisfy me bolded and underlined just for dramatic effect and so you don’t forget your end of the bargain.”
I turn to Leonard. I can’t believe they played this joke on me. “You’re a bastard.”
“An efficient one,” he says, shaking my hand while exiting the office. “At least I sealed the deal for you and didn’t allow you to jack this up.”
I flip off Leonard and then, looking at Penny, I let out a sigh. “That stunt just earned you your first real punishment.”
“This is my cue to leave.” Leonard snickers.
“Yes, leave,” I snap.
Penny claps her hands. “I’m so excited! I can’t wait.”
Yup. I’m fucked.