Chapter 9 #2
I kept my cool, which is unlike me. A guy like Brent doesn’t heed warnings; I know that.
He’ll nod now and later decide he’s tougher than he is, and maybe even deliberately bait Ella because he feels like he has the right to, but I don’t plan on being far from her, anyway.
If Brent comes back, I’ll make him regret it, and I’ll enjoy doing so.
I round the corner to head back through the restaurant and swear under my breath. Guy is standing next to the men's room. He obviously heard everything, his eyes flicking between my face and the corner where Brent is still licking his wounds.
Great. You’ve fucked this up fast.
“Ella wants to order dessert,” Guy says. “Don’t keep her waiting.”
I nod and watch him disappear into the bathroom.
Okay, maybe I didn’t fuck it up after all.
When I return to the table, Ella grins at me as I take my seat beside her, my arm on the back of her chair. She talks excitedly about dessert, orders some for her and her dad and a coffee for me, and when Guy sits with us again, it’s noticeably less tense.
“Bathroom,” Ella says, kissing my cheek and standing. When she’s gone, Guy leans back in his chair, watching me.
“You make a habit of threatening people?” he asks.
This is a make-or-break moment. He needs to know I’m violent only when necessary, and never toward his daughter. Any sniff of suspicion and he’ll drive a wedge between Ella and me, which means no hard drive.
And no Ella.
“Only when they hurt people I care about,” I say, finishing my coffee. “And I care about Ella.”
“He didn’t do anything.” He isn’t defending Brent; he’s figuring out my limits.
I don’t like beating around the damn bush.
Sliding my empty coffee cup aside, I rest my forearms on the table.
“Let’s just put our cards on the table, Guy.
” He doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink. “We both know what men like Brent are like. I know an abuser when I see one. I grew up with plenty of them.” He softens somewhat but still doesn’t speak.
“Anything, and I mean anything, that causes Ella discomfort is a step too far for me. Even if he hadn’t flashed that fucking smug smile at her, I’d have reacted the same way, because if he had a shred of decency or regret, the moment he saw her and you, he’d have left. ”
Guy Gibson watches me with muted interest, like he’s picking me apart with just a look, and I let him. Nothing I’m saying is a lie. Seeing Ella like that crawled under my skin, and I wouldn’t have settled until I made it clear to Brent what would happen if he caused that kind of reaction again.
“Your daughter is special.”
“I know that.”
I lean back in my chair again. “Then you understand my reaction.”
“I understand it, but it doesn’t mean I trust it,” he says.
“I live my life by two codes, Asher. One, trust is earned, not given. And two”—now he leans forward, blue eyes focused on mine—“always, always trust my gut. And something in my gut says you and your brother are trouble. Especially your brother.”
Annoyance prickles under my skin.
“My brother has been through a lot.”
“Haven’t we all?”
“He’s not a bad guy.”
Guy glances to his left, spotting Ella closing in on the table. “That remains to be seen. Protecting her is step fucking one, Asher, and it’s a long road to my approval.” He suddenly smiles brightly and stands as Ella reaches him. “I should go, baby.”
“Already?” she asks, pouting.
He kisses her cheek. “We’ll have lunch together soon.” He takes out his wallet, but I raise my hand.
“This is on me.”
He drops money on the table. “No, it isn’t. My treat.”
My jaw tics as I watch him leave, the cash on the table taunting me.
I’ve been well and truly owned by Guy Gibson, and I’m not used to it.
I need to get through to him, sooner rather than later.
As we walk hand in hand back to the apartment, Ella is quiet.
“You okay?” I ask.
She nods, focusing on her feet. “How badly did he threaten you?”
I look ahead. “Who?”
She snorts a laugh. “Come on. I know my dad. Let me guess …” She sighs and tips her head back, looking at the sky. “‘It’s a long road to my approval!’” She imitates him well, and I laugh.
“Got it in one.”
She tuts. “He’s unbearable.”
“He loves you.”
“I don’t want him to scare you off.”
We stop on the sidewalk and I face her. Her lipstick is almost gone from kissing me, and I run my thumb across her bottom lip.
“Not gonna happen,” I say, leaning down to kiss her again.
And who I’ve been for most of my life flies out the window.
I’m not a killer, or a broken man, or a man with blood on his hands. I’m just a man falling for a woman while wondering how much it’s going to hurt.
When the kiss ends, she’s smiling. “Tell me your secrets, Asher Flynn.”
I grin against her lips. “All of them?”
“Yep.” She kisses me softly.
I grip the backs of her thighs and lift her up, wrapping her legs around my waist. She squeaks happily and rests her hands on my shoulders as I gaze up at her.
“Only if you promise to keep them.”
She drags her fingertip across her chest in the shape of an X. “Cross my heart, hope to die.”
As I carry her inside the apartment building, she stays in my arms. I press the button for the elevator, and it arrives quickly.
“I was thinking,” I say as the doors open and she ducks her head as I step inside. “Why don’t we all have brunch?”
“All?”
“You, me, your dad, and Gable.”
She tips her head back and laughs so hard she shakes in my arms. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
Her laughter dies away, and she looks down at me. “Asher, you are the most lovable man I’ve ever met, and my dad doesn’t like you. Gable won’t stand a chance.”
She might be right, but I also know Gable. He’ll make an effort if I ask him to, especially if it comes to us getting the hard drive and the hell out of here. The more suspicious Guy is of us, the harder it’s going to be to stay under the radar.
“Gable can be charming when he wants to be.”
She scoffs. “And that’s the problem: does he ever want to be?”
“I’ll convince him,” I say, placing her on her feet. “What do you say? It might be fun.”
Ella grimaces. “You and I have very different definitions of fun. But sure, I guess we should. Maybe I might even grow to like Gable, too. If he’s quiet. And obedient. Or, better yet, if he doesn’t show up.” The doors open on her floor, and she pushes herself onto her tip toes to kiss me. “Bye.”
She turns to leave, and I take her hand. “Whoa, that’s all I get? ‘Bye’? Where are you going?”
“I have to write!” She laughs as I throw her over my shoulder. “Asher, you’ll just be bored watching me type.”
“Impossible,” I say, carrying her down the hall.
There’s nothing I want to do more.
Placing her on her feet in front of her door, I kiss her as she fumbles for her keys.
She grins against my mouth, and it’s another world-blowing, mind-bending kiss.
It’s soft at first, a brush of our lips, one of my hands on the side of her neck, my thumb slowly stroking her jaw, the other hand slipping around her waist to pull her close.
And oh God, it’s heaven.
She parts her lips to allow my tongue to stroke hers, and how I don’t moan is a damn miracle. Someone should do studies on my restraint, because I’m seconds from tearing her dress off.
“Fuck, you taste good,” I whisper against her mouth.
She laughs, biting her lip. “I taste like pasta.”
“You taste like you.” I kiss her again, the urgency taking my breath away. Her back meets the door, and she slides her hands up my T-shirt. My abs flex against the warmth of her palms, and my dick is rock solid already.
“Ella …” I pull my mouth from hers and exhale. “Fuck, we should—”
We’re plunged into darkness.
I pull Ella to me, reaching for a gun I don’t fucking have. I left it behind because there was no way to discretely carry it, and that’s a decision I’m regretting.
“It’s just a power outage,” she says. “It happens sometimes.”
I glance down the hall but don’t relax. “How often?”
She shrugs. “Once a year, maybe? It’ll be on in a few hours.”
That seems too much of a coincidence. Gable and I have cut the power in places before, it helps with staying covert and removes the issue of security cameras, so I know other contract killers do the same.
I keep Ella close and scan the dark hallway, as if waiting for the boogeyman to jump out of the shadows and fire two bullets straight through her head.
“I’ll stay with you until it comes back on.”
She chuckles. “You really don’t have to.”
I force a smile. “I insist.”