Chapter 11
Kia
His bitten-out words are like a crack of thunder in the silence of the penthouse. They’re not loud, and he doesn’t yell. They’re just rough. Edged with an emotion I can’t quite name. Like he’s grinding them out between clenched teeth.
For a second, I gape, my back inches away from the elevator doors. There’s tension in his shoulders, his jaw is tight, and his eyes are dark in a way that doesn’t match the quiet man who read to his daughter on the couch before dinner.
Instead, it feels like I’m being scolded by a parent. And it’s enough to make me bristle.
“I—” With a swallow, I force a small, stiff smile. “Right. Okay. Maybe I should just go. I didn’t mean to—”
I take a hesitant step in retreat, reaching blindly for the elevator button. I didn’t come here to be treated like a wayward child. What I need right now is a second to get my emotions under control before I say something I can’t take back to the man who’s now my employer.
I don’t get far before his hand snakes out, catching me just above the elbow.
The contact is quick, and my pulse spikes as a sizzle of awareness slides through me.
A second later, his eyes widen and his fingers loosen.
He doesn’t pull me closer or attempt to block my exit.
Instead, he pivots us toward the penthouse before dropping my arm and stepping back, giving me space to find my bearings.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs. “Don’t leave.”
The elevator doors slide shut behind me with a soft hiss, sealing off the exit as my heartbeat thunders in my ears. For a second, neither of us moves, then he takes another half-step back.
“I didn’t mean to grab you.” With an exhale, his shoulders lower a fraction. “I just don’t like the idea of you wandering around alone at night. If you still want to leave, let me call a car to take you back to Oliver’s. Or, hell, I’ll pay for a hotel room, if you’d prefer that instead.”
I look up at him and find that the hard line of his mouth has softened. The regret filling his eyes is threaded with concern, not authority, and the tension within me gradually eases.
“It’s perfectly safe,” I say lightly, because joking is easier than admitting how shaky I am. “I only witnessed three murders, tops.”
Laiken’s brows furrow as his frown deepens. The man is annoyingly handsome even when he’s scowling. “That’s not funny.”
A tiny smile tugs at my lips. “Oh, I don’t know. I mean, it’s kind of funny.”
One corner of his mouth reluctantly twitches, as if he’s fighting a smile and losing the battle. It vanishes as quickly as it appeared, but I’m ridiculously pleased with myself for being able to tease it out of him. Laiken Lennox doesn’t strike me as a man who smiles often. And that’s unfortunate.
“Would you like something to drink?” Discomfort radiates from him as he shifts. “Water? Or maybe a glass of wine?” His eyes narrow. “You’re old enough to drink alcohol, right?”
I blink at the question as my fingers twitch toward my stomach on instinct. “Um, yeah, but no wine for me.” I snatch my hand back before it can land there. “Water’s fine. Thanks.”
His gaze flicks to my hand and then up to my face like he noticed the movement. It’s a relief when he doesn’t comment and just nods once.
“Water it is.”
Without another word, he turns toward the kitchen.
I force myself to stay put. My arm still tingles where he touched it as my brain somersaults with the knowledge that he was concerned enough about my safety to send a car to pick me up. And then there’s the fact he stayed on the phone until I was inside the vehicle.
That he was actually worried.
I move deeper into the penthouse. The living room is dimly lit, with only a few lamps glowing, as the city twinkles beyond the windows.
It’s beautiful in a way that steals the air from my lungs.
Once near the glass, I press my fingertips against the cool surface and watch Chicago blink back at me.
Headlights stream along the streets below as the surrounding skyscrapers glitter.
Beyond them, the lake stretches dark and endless.
For one dangerous second, I let myself imagine this could be mine.
Mornings filled with cartoon theme songs drifting down the hallway.
Elody’s shoes by the door next to mine. The familiar comfort of dinner scents lingering in the air at the end of a long day.
And a quiet man making sure I return home.
The fantasy cocoons me in safety right before guilt crashes in, because this isn’t mine.
It will never be mine.
The truth is, if Laiken knew about the baby, this fragile sense of safety would vanish in an instant. And the offer that feels like a lifeline would disappear just as quickly with it, leaving me right back where I started.
I can’t afford for that to happen.
Footsteps whisper across the floor behind me, followed by the brush of a cold bottle against my fingers.
“Sorry,” Laiken murmurs when I startle. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”
I turn, finding him closer than expected. Close enough to see the dark shadow of stubble along his jaw and the green flecks dancing in his eyes. Close enough that the scent of him—smoke, leather, and an innately masculine note—wraps around me, teasing my senses.
I curl my fingers around the water bottle just to have something to hold on to. “Thanks.”
He steps back, immediately giving me space again. The air feels cooler with the loss of him. We stand there for a moment as an awkward bubble expands between us. I twist the cap off and take a sip I don’t need, anything to keep my mouth busy so I don’t blurt out something I’ll regret.
He clears his throat, and his gaze drifts to the city before returning to me. “So,” he says slowly, as if choosing his words with great care, “I was thinking.”
“Sounds dangerous,” I say before I can think better of it.
One side of his mouth twitches. “Funny.”
It’s unsettling to realize how much I like making him smile.
Another beat passes, and his expression shifts, the faint crease between his brows deepening. “Why don’t you live here?”
I nearly choke on my water. “Excuse me?”
“I mean—” He lifts his hands almost defensively.
“While you’re taking care of Elody. It would keep her routine consistent.
And you wouldn’t be running back and forth.
You wouldn’t have to worry about walking around alone at night.
Or…” His lips tremble with a smile. “Walking in on Oliver and Rina while they’re getting it on. ”
Heat rushes to my face as that image flashes in my brain. “I am never going to be able to look my brother in the eye again.”
“You’re not the one who has anything to be embarrassed about,” Laiken says dryly.
I stare at him, trying to process the offer. He wants me to live here. In this penthouse that smells like dinner and his cologne.
“It’s just a thought,” he mumbles when I don’t respond. “If the idea doesn’t work for you, we won’t do it. Easy as that.”
Easy.
Nothing in my life feels particularly easy right now.
“I don’t know,” I say, gesturing vaguely around the penthouse. “Wouldn’t that, you know, cramp your style?”
His gaze dips to my mouth for half a second before lifting to my eyes. It’s enough to make my heart stutter.
“I don’t see how.”
“Well,” I hedge, “I suppose you’d be free to go out more. Date. Do whatever you want. I’d be here with Elody, so you wouldn’t have to worry about her…”
I trail off when his eyes widen.
“Go out?” he repeats.
Already I can feel heat crawling up my neck. “I didn’t mean… I mean, not that it’s any of my business if you—”
“I don’t,” he says abruptly.
The words land like a grenade between us.
“I don’t date,” he quietly clarifies. “Not since Sarah left.”
Silence stretches until it becomes painful. It feels like I’m tiptoeing through a verbal minefield.
“I’ve been too busy for that,” he adds, gaze fixed somewhere over my shoulder. “Elody comes first, and making sure she’s okay is my priority.”
Of course it is.
“From what I can see, you’re doing a great job,” I blurt.
He stares at me like he didn’t expect the compliment.
“With Elody,” I add. “She’s obviously happy. And that’s…” The muscles in my throat constrict. “That’s everything.”
His expression eases as the tension in his shoulders loosens. “You think so?”
I nod, grateful that we’ve left the subject of his dating life behind. “Yeah, I do.”
“Thanks. That means a lot.”
The measured way he says it has my stomach flipping.
“So,” he continues, “with my schedule and Elody, it would help if you stayed here. It would give everyone some space until the baby comes.”
My eyes widen.
Baby?
When I continue to gawk, he adds, “You know, Oliver and Rina’s baby. It would give them time to figure out their new normal.”
Air rushes from my lungs in one swift release.
Of course he’s talking about their baby.
Everything he’s saying makes total sense. It’s logical. Reasonable. The kind of solution any sane person would latch on to without hesitation.
And yet…
“I don’t know.” Even though part of me wants to jump on the offer before he’s finished speaking or I can overthink the ramifications, I hesitate. “I don’t want to be in your way.”
What I don’t say is that being in such close proximity to this man feels dangerous.
Not in a way that sets off alarms, but in a quieter way that sneaks up on you when emotions get tangled and lines start to blur.
There’s a heaviness to him that tells me he has a lot going on.
I have enough on my plate without adding feelings to a situation that already feels strained.
“You won’t be,” he says without pause or further consideration.
Not a flicker of doubt crosses his face. It’s as if he’s already made the decision. The certainty in his voice steadies me, even as it makes my pulse kick up.
“Just promise me one thing,” I say.
He lifts a brow, clearly bracing himself.
“That we will never, under any circumstances, talk about walking in on Oliver and Rina again.” I feign a shudder. “Trust me, it’s already caused enough mental distress.”
Humor sparks in his eyes as a smile spreads across his face. “Deal.” He gestures down the hall. “You can stay in the guest room.”
There’s a brief beat of silence as the air between us shifts.
“So,” he says, quieter now, “you’ll do it?”
Honestly? This man is offering me everything I need.
A safe place to stay. Days filled with purpose instead of uncertainty.
Money I can set aside for later along with something that feels suspiciously like security, and not just survival.
But I also realize how easily things could get complicated if we live under the same roof.
I don’t need crossed lines or emotions I don’t have the bandwidth to manage right now.
For that reason alone, I should say no.
Even as the thought crosses my mind, I already know I won’t.