Chapter Seventeen
S axon sauntered into Jeremiah’s office and plopped down on the sofa, propping his feet up on the coffee table as he ate an ice cream sandwich.
“You didn’t bring me one?” Jeremiah asked, one eyebrow raised.
“You’re lactose intolerant.”
“No, I’m not.”
Saxon frowned. “Yes, you are. You told me you were lactose intolerant.”
“When did I tell you this nonfactual revelation?”
“June fourth, five years ago.”
Jeremiah tossed his pen down onto his desk and rubbed his temples. “Let me get this straight. You can remember the date that I did not tell you this, but you can’t remember the code to your apartment?”
Saxon licked the dripping vanilla ice cream. “What’s your point?”
“I’m amazed you haven’t made me crazy.” He waved his hand, as if clearing the thoughts. “Never mind. Have you found our mole?”
Saxon stuffed the rest of the cold treat into his mouth. “Ah oo be at tis ittl.”
“English please.”
Suddenly, Saxon grabbed his head. “Brain freeze!”
“I’m not sure why I even bother,” Jeremiah mumbled.
“How the fuck do you put up with the migraines? I’m dying!”
Rolling his eyes, Jeremiah went back to typing out his emails.
“My life flashed before my eyes.” Saxon groaned. “There’s some shit I wish I hadn’t seen again.”
“When your brain unfreezes let me know about the mole.”
“No idea yet,” Saxon replied, still rubbing his temples. “The background checks haven’t all come in. I’m not as good at this as Evren. My specialty is removing fingers, not fingerprinting them. So, you’ll have to be patient. It’s a virtue, you know.”
“Fuck off.”
Saxon got to his feet. “If you insist. Geez, you’re in a bad mood. When I’m in a bad mood I like to play jack-o-lantern on a deserving soul. You should try it sometime. It’s very therapeutic. Speaking of which, when do I get another toy?”
“As soon as you find the mole,” Jeremiah replied. “Then feel free to hack him to pieces.”
“Ah, motivation. Was that so hard?”
Jeremiah picked up his stapler and threw it at him. Saxon ducked, laughing his ass off, and hurried out the door. Fucking stepbrothers.
****
S ouvenir shops lined each side of Main Street, beckoning her like a siren song. The quaint town resembled a movie set, but film didn’t do justice to the picturesque setting. Each shop beckoned her to enter like a typical tourist.
“After breakfast, we can go shopping if you’d like.”
Her eyes widened in delight. “We can?”
“If you want to.”
“I want! I want!” she exclaimed happily, bouncing a little in her seat. “Scias forbade me to go anywhere unless he was with me, so basically nowhere. I only had books and television to connect to the outside world. This town is marvelous.”
Evren patted her leg. “We have nowhere to be, so we can take our time today. But first, breakfast. I don’t know about you but my stomach is rumbling with hunger.”
He pulled into the parking lot of a diner boasting they had the world’s best pancakes.
He held her hand as they entered the cozy restaurant.
Scents of coffee and bacon and maple syrup blended together to cause her stomach to rumble.
They sat at booth and a waitress arrived right away to greet them and hand them menus.
“I know they have the world’s best pancakes here, but I want to try a waffle with whipped cream,” she said.
“You’ve never eaten a waffle?”
She shook her head. “Remember, I’ve been on a strict diet my whole life. I had to eat heathy, and it’s why I hate eggs. I never want to eat another egg again in my life.”
He smiled. “Except in cake?”
“There are exceptions to the egg thing, and yes, cake is one of them. I remember having a birthday cake once, when I was about nine or ten. It was chocolate with vanilla icing.”
“That was one more cake than I had,” he remarked.
“Ah. Shitty parents.”
“Yep.”
They ordered and enjoyed their coffee until their food arrived, and Lowen could hardly believe how big the waffle was.
The sides hung off the plate and yummy-looking whipped cream covered almost the whole thing.
The first bite melted in her mouth, and she couldn’t stop a little moan from escaping. Evren cocked an eyebrow.
“That went right to my dick, so thanks for that,” he teased.
“You’re welcome,” she quipped. “I’ve decided I love waffles. The whipped cream is my favorite.”
He leaned closer. “You can lick whipped cream off my dick.”
“That’s a thing?”
“It is.”
“Okay!” She nodded enthusiastically. “Let’s pick some up when we go to the grocery store.”
****
E vren watched as Lowen looked around like it was the Holy Grail of grocery stores.
How had she gone her whole life without setting foot in one?
Her sheltered life hadn’t prepared her for anything, and it almost broke his heart knowing she’d never had laughter or fun.
Or learning any type of self-sufficiency.
She and he had vastly different backgrounds, and although she probably grew up with wealth, he knew that could be just as horrible as growing up in the slums.
“Are you allergic to anything? Nuts? Sesame seeds?”
“Nope. I can and will eat anything you put in front of me. That’s what happens when you grow up not knowing when your next meal would be. So, get whatever you want.”
She blinked those big sunflower eyes at him, and for a moment, he was struck mute.
He never thought watching a woman grocery shop would be sexy, but it was a delight to watch her ooh and ah as she threw stuff in the shopping cart.
Including the whipped cream. They stayed too long and by the time they hit the checkout, it was late afternoon.
The back of their SUV was loaded with bags and it took many trips to bring it all inside the house.
“Now, here’s the fun thing,” he said, opening his arms wide. “You can arrange the kitchen however you wish.”
“What?”
Evren pointed to the upper cabinets. “If you don’t like where the plates and glasses are, you can move them. Same with the small appliances, pots and pans. This is your kitchen now.”
“But ... but ... really?”
He smiled, hooked one of her belt loops, and pulled her in close, wrapping his arms around her lower back. “Yes. Really.”
“Shouldn’t you ask Jeremiah?”
“Nah,” he replied. “He’s doesn’t even know how to spell domesticity.”
She giggled. “How about I cook us a late lunch, early dinner?”
He gave her a quick kiss on her lips. When her little tongue came out to swipe her bottom lip, he was ready to say fuck it about food and just eat her for dinner.
Then she slipped out of his arms to start her project.
Leaving her to have fun, he walked out on the back deck and placed a call to Jeremiah.
“Are you there?”
“Hello to you too, dear brother. Yes, we are at Blackmeadow. Safe and sound.”
“Does the property look okay?”
“Yes, we had a great time on the road trip, thank you for asking.”
An exasperated sigh came through the call. “Goddamn it, I’m glad you had a good trip. Now, does the property look okay?”
“Looks great,” Evren replied. “The caretaker you hired has been doing a good job.”
“Excellent.”
“Any news from Scias?”
“He’s not been back to the Monarque. I put feelers out there, but he’s been silent.”
“That doesn’t bode well,” Evren muttered. “Maybe he’s given up.”
“Scias Mailliard does many things, giving up isn’t one of them. He’s up to something.” There was a pause. “Ev, I have to ask. Is she going to stay my family?”
He didn’t answer for a moment, thinking about how to reply. This question had been sitting in the back of his mind for a while now, waiting to be asked.
“She is, until or if she decides not to be. But, between you and me, I want her to stay in our family.”
Silence came through the line for a long minute. Evren knew Jeremiah thought everything through very carefully, and Evren waited for the condemnation. In his head he started putting all the bullet points together.
“I never thought about girlfriends or, hell, even wives. Our lives don’t really scream domestication. But if she decides to stay, then I think you made an excellent choice.”
Shock flooded Evren. “Uh. Who is this and what did you do to my brother?”
“Har-har. I had my assistant run a background check on her. Her childhood was just as lovely as ours. If there’s any place a misfit should be, it’s with us. I’ll protect her with my life, just like I would for you and Sax.”
“And Aera?”
“Do I have to answer that? If the dickhead shows up, then of course yes. He’ll always be our brother.”
“It’s nice to know you love us, you big ole’ softie.”
“Shut up,” Jeremiah grumbled. “Say that again and I’ll kick your ass.”
“Any news of the mole?”
“Sax is still investigating.”
“Okay. Keep me informed if anything changes. Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Evren ended the call and slid it back into his pocket.
Twilight fell, bathing the forest in shadows.
Crickets began their symphony as the cool breeze turned the tree branches into a wind chime.
He loved Blackmeadow. Loved the peace it gave him.
Eventually, he’d get the itch to go back to Vegas, but for now, he was content.
Heading back inside, the delicious smells cooking in the kitchen made his belly rumble. He sat at the island, admiring Lowen as she flittered between the stove and the sink. Knowing he could get used to this.
“I hope you’re hungry,” she teased.
“Starved.”
“Good. Would you mind setting the table?”
“Not at all,” he replied, rising. Searching for the plates, he saw they were still in the same place, and he grabbed napkins and utensils. Moments later, they sat down and the first bite had him moaning. “This is delicious.”
“Thank you,” she said, pink dusting her cheeks. “I really enjoy cooking. Food makes sense, you know?”
“I’m glad for you it does. You cook, I’ll clean. Deal?”
She gave him a huge smile that lit up her beautiful eyes. “Deal.”