Chapter 7
He should have expected the call.
Although he was surprised it had taken her twenty-four hours.
He stared out at the setting sun. He had an amazing view of the New York skyline. Something he never grew tired of.
But, strangely, he couldn’t seem to enjoy it tonight.
Nothing seemed quite right. His apartment had felt cold and empty when he returned to it last night.
It was missing something.
Maybe a loud, chaotic ball of orange and pink?
That was nuts. He wanted her to live here so he could protect her. Not because she was the thing that was missing in his life.
Nope.
Sure, he’d decided he needed a woman in his life. But he wanted someone more stable. Someone who had their life under control. Someone obedient. And calm. Who wouldn’t add chaos to his life.
That wasn’t Caren. He was certain of that.
“Aren’t you on your honeymoon?”
“We’re leaving in two days.” They’d had to postpone it due to a big case coming up for Black-Gray suddenly. “And you know that. It’s likely written on your calendar.”
It was.
But he was admitting to nothing.
“Then why are you calling me? Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”
“I should! But first I thought I’d call and see what my crazy-ass cousin thinks he’s doing!”
“I don’t know what Clay is up to, I’m not his keeper.”
“You know full well that I’m not talking about Clay! Why did you interrupt the dinner that Caren was having last night? How did you even know she was there?”
“I didn’t,” he said, irritation filling him. “I was there having dinner.”
“You were? Why? You hate restaurants like that.”
Oh, so Caren had given her the full rundown? Tattletale.
That would be another rule. He needed to write these down for her.
First, though, he had to ensure that she followed the rules he’d already given her. That was the tricky part. Who knew it would be so hard to get a tiny pink and orange pixie to obey him?
Boggled the mind. He’d never really experienced such disobedience.
“I’m going to need her phone number,” he told Lacey abruptly.
“Yeah, that’s not happening. Also, you need to leave her alone. No following her.”
“I wasn’t following her!” he snapped. “I was there on a date.”
Silence came from down the other end of the phone. “A date?”
“Yes, a date. That thing people do when they are looking for someone to . . . settle down with.”
“Settle down with?” Lacey repeated.
“Are you all right? Why do you keep repeating me?”
“Am I all right?”
“Lacey,” he grumbled. “As nice as it is to talk to you, you’re going to need to stop repeating everything I say.”
“Right, um, right. I thought Clay was joking when he said that you’d started dating.”
“Is the idea so funny?” he asked in a silken voice.
“Not at all,” she said hastily. “It’s just hard to imagine you dating, settling down, getting married.”
“Happens to most people eventually.”
“Right, yes, of course. I’m glad you’re dating. So it was really a coincidence that you were there?”
“Yes, I’m not a stalker!” Although he had contemplated sitting outside Caren’s apartment waiting for her to leave so he could talk to her.
But that didn’t make him a stalker. He was just . . . concerned about her.
It was a welfare check.
He should be praised for his level of care.
“Right, that’s good. You still shouldn’t have gone over there and insisted that she let you take her home.”
“She was going to take the subway!” he said. “At night! In New York! She has no idea how dangerous that is.”
“Caren is used to taking care of herself,” Lacey told him.
“Just because she’s used to it doesn’t mean that she’s good at it.”
“She’s still alive, isn’t she?”
He grunted. “That doesn’t mean that something couldn’t happen. She’s small. If a man tried to overpower her, she could be badly hurt. She shouldn’t be meeting with strange men. And she definitely shouldn’t have taken public transit. What if he’d followed her home and attacked her?”
“That wasn’t going to happen.”
“You don’t know that, Lacey.” His cousin was surprisingly naive for someone who had worked for the FBI. “There is danger everywhere.”
“I know there is. And it was nice of you to take her home. But you can’t force her to move in with you. Or for her to let you vet her dates.”
He wouldn’t be so sure of that. “She would be safer here with me.”
“Travis, you can’t. She’s her own person. That sounds like kidnapping.”
Yeah, he couldn’t deny that that had entered his mind. He could just steal her away into his apartment and lock her up until she agreed with him.
“Travis! No kidnapping her!”
“What if it’s for her own good?” Surely there was a gray area of kidnapping. Good versus bad kidnapping.
Right?
“It’s not. Kidnapping someone is never allowed. Understand? It’s against the law. And she’s my friend.”
“Which is part of the reason I should be protecting her.”
Lacey sighed. “Travis, she doesn’t want your protection.”
What did that have to do with anything?
“And I’ll reiterate, she doesn’t need it. She’s fine.”
“Dating strangers without someone watching over you isn’t fine. She has no sense of self-preservation.”
“You have never wanted to do that in the past for any friend I’ve had. You didn’t say two words to Indie at the wedding.”
Indie? Who the hell was that?
Oh wait. She had a friend called Indie.
“I don’t know Indie, why would I talk to her?”
“And you don’t know Caren either. You haven’t seen her in a long time. And to be completely honest, big cousin, you never did know her. You didn’t want to. You thought she was weird and a nuisance.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“We don’t lie to each other, remember? Also, I overheard you saying that to Jace once when we were younger. The thing is, so did Caren.”
He winced. Fuck.
“I was a complete asshole, wasn’t I?”
“Well, you weren’t nice. But you were also a lot younger. I got really mad at you and was going to go after you, but Caren stopped me.”
“Why?” It would have killed him to have Lacey truly mad at him. Sure, she got annoyed by him sometimes, although he honestly had no idea why. Something about him being too protective and stubborn.
You know, some sort of bullshit like that.
But she never got truly angry at him.
“Well, she told me that what you said wasn’t wrong. That she was weird and probably annoying. I disagreed. She told me that was because I was way more mature than you as girls’ brains developed faster than boys. Then we giggled.”
“I’m six years older than you!”
“Uh-huh and you were still blind to the fact that there was more to Caren than met the eye.”
Fuck it.
He had been.
And he couldn’t deny it. He’d been focused on teenage bullshit when she’d first appeared. Then getting into the Marines.
Still didn’t excuse talking about a young girl like that.
“What things?” he asked.
“Things that aren’t my secrets to tell. But you should go easy with her. Caren is strong and tough on the outside, but I think that tough shell could be easily broken. And you could hurt her if you’re too rough.”
Fuck. Did he know how to be anything but rough?
“All the more reason for me to protect her.”
Lacey groaned. “All right, so maybe looking out for her is okay. Railroading her is not. I know that’s hard for you not to do. But she’s not moving in with you or letting you meet everyone she goes out for dinner with, whether they’re a date or not.”
“They could be dangerous!”
“I will talk to her about getting Black-Gray to run background checks on anyone she dates.”
“What? Why would they do it when we can do it at Raptor Inc!” he said.
“Maybe because you’re a psycho?” she asked dryly. “I’ll also ask her if I can give you her phone number so you can check in once in a while. All right?”
“Fine,” he grumbled. “Now, go get packed.”
“Oh, I don’t have to pack much. Bye, big cousin.”
Huh? What did she mean she didn’t have to pack much?
Actually, maybe he didn’t want to know.
Caren’s phone buzzed and she checked her messages.
Lacey: I’ve leashed the lunatic.
She snorted. Then she felt guilty for heaping this on Lacey when she was about to leave for her honeymoon.
Also, she had her doubts that she’d truly leashed this particular lunatic.
Caren: I’m sorry I got you involved. You have enough to do. I was just ranting. Um, how did you leash him?
Lacey: It’s my fault he sicced himself onto you! He seems to feel bad about the past and that as my friend he should watch out for you.
Caren: I told him not to worry about the past.
Lacey: So did I. But Travis can get really focused on something and find it hard to let go.
Caren: Hmm. OCD maybe?
Lacey: OPN more like it.
Caren: I don’t know that one.
Lacey: Overprotective Neanderthal.
Caren: Ahh, yeah. I can see that. How is he leashed?
Lacey: Welll, I had to compromise a bit. I told him you’re definitely not moving in. Nor are you getting him to vet any dates. I told him that Black-Gray would do that. His head nearly exploded. And before you tell me off, you don’t actually have to get them to do that.
Caren: It’s all right. I’m not going on any dates anyway.
Yeah. She was off men entirely. They could be scary on a scale that would probably make Travis Andrews fearful.
Then again, maybe not.
Lacey: Never say never. Maybe you’ll meet a hot, sexy cowboy and move to Dallas permanently.
And pigs could fly. But she wasn’t going to burst Lacey’s dream. Even Lacey didn’t know the truth of what happened during her last assignment. The only person who knew the full truth was her agent. And she’d had to tell him everything so he’d back off about her going back out on assignment quickly.
She’d just worked on a few local things. Staying in the states made her feel safer for some reason.
Which was silly. There wasn’t any real threat.
He’d let her go.
He didn’t even know her real name.
But for some reason she was still scared to leave the states. Caren shook off her foreboding. This was crazy.
She wasn’t in any danger.
Maybe you should have told someone about him. Lacey or Travis.
Why would she tell Travis?
Nope. She wasn’t doing that. It would probably just make him crazier.
Caren: What was the compromise?
Lacey: That you’d let me give him your number so he could check in with you.
Caren groaned.
Lacey: Just hear me out. I know that Travis can be bossy and overbearing. I’ve experienced it most of my life. But he’s also caring and protective. He’s a good guy to have on your side, because he is loyal and he will do anything for the people he cares about.
Caren had to fight the tears that came into her eyes. This was ridiculous. Why was she upset?
Because for years she’d longed to have Travis Andrews on her side. To have the Andrews boys look out for her. Because they were kind of a package deal. Look at them now, they all worked for Raptor Inc, the security business that Travis owned. They were all members of Whip It, according to Lacey.
She wouldn’t be surprised if they lived close to each other.
And when you had the Andrews brothers on your side then you were invincible.
Yeah, for years she’d wanted that and never had it. She’d learned to live without it. However, it seemed that young girl was still inside her, longing for someone to love and take care of her.
Fuck.
She needed to build up her walls again.
Because that sort of longing was dangerous for someone like her.
Caren: I know he is, but I really don’t need someone to check on me.
Lacey: I know you don’t, but I worry about you and it would make me feel so much better if you had his number and he had yours.
Caren: I can take care of myself.
Lacey: Please? For me?
Darn it. She’d pulled that card.
Caren: Fine. You can give him my number. If he contacts me, cool, if he doesn’t that’s all good too.
She’d just cry into her cereal in the morning. It was all good. Just fine.
Lacey: Thanks, I’ll sleep better knowing you have someone you can call if you need to.
And now she felt even worse imagining her friend lying in bed awake worrying about her.
Lacey: And just so you know, I didn’t say anything about it not being a date or about your mother or the past.
Caren: Thanks. You’re the best.
Lacey: But if you ever wanted to tell him, you could. Travis might be a caveman, however he’s also a good listener.
Caren: Got it, but I think it’s best I deal with this on my own. Now, go on your honeymoon, lady!
Lacey: You don’t have to tell me twice. Three weeks of sunshine and surf. My lingerie and sunscreen are packed.
Caren: That’s all you’re taking?
Lacey: What else would I need?
Dear Lord. Caren was grinning as she set her phone down. It wasn’t even a minute later before it buzzed with another message. Didn’t Lacey have other things to do other than worry over her?
But it wasn’t Lacey.
Sheesh, that was fast.
Unknown: Thanks for your phone number. Message or call me if you need anything. I mean it. I won’t be happy if I find out you needed something and you didn’t.
Unknown: It’s Travis by the way.
Caren rolled her eyes. Like that level of bossiness would come from someone else. She was certain she was going to regret this but she put his number into her contacts. Under OPN for Overprotective Neanderthal.
Caren: I did it for Lacey. I really can look after myself.
OPN: We’ll see.