Chapter Twenty-Two
A s soon as I got her out of the Escalade, Nikolas was on us.
“Calandra,” he hissed. “What is the meaning of this? Is it true what the car salesman says happened to your old vehicle? Are you in danger? Do I need to call your father? This is preposterous!”
I glanced at Marek, but he was already moving, coming up on Nikolas’s six. Redirecting my gaze, I gave Nikolas a hard stare. “If you did your job, even a fraction of the time, you might have an ounce of my respect. But you don’t. So watch your tone with her. Step the hell back, and do not address her, in any capacity, for the rest of the day, or I’ll have you removed from your post and this property. Are we clear?”
The fuck had the balls to step to my side to get at Calandra.
Marek moved.
Grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back, Dane incapacitated the old man. “Tyler told you to step back. Are we going to have a problem?”
To the old man’s credit, he didn’t flinch. “No,” he ground out.
Marek let go of him. “Good. Retreat,” he clipped.
With one final glare at me, he stormed off toward the house. I glanced down at Calandra. “We’ll talk about him retiring later. Go inside with Marek and Brandt. I’ll get the keys to your new ride.” I didn’t need another fuck giving her eyes.
Looking between me, Marek and Brandt, the salesman nervously held out some papers and a pen. “Ah, I need Miss Paradis to sign the papers before I can release the vehicle. ”
With the poise that was probably ingrained in her from an early age, Calandra walked toward the car salesman and took his pen.
A few signatures later, he handed the keys over. “Thank you, Miss Paradis. It’s always a pleasure doing—”
I grabbed Calandra and kissed her.
Losing her perfect manners, she gasped.
Fighting not to sink my tongue in her sweet mouth, I pulled back at the same time I took her keys from her hand. “Wait for me. I won’t be long.” I tossed the keys at Brandt. “Inspect the vehicle.”
Brandt caught the keys and headed toward the new Jag.
Calandra’s cheeks were flushed a sexy shade of pink, but when Brandt hit the key fob to unlock the car, she flinched.
Clueless, the salesman cleared his throat. “Yes, well, I have a ride waiting for me outside the gate. Call me if you need anything, Miss Paradis.”
Ignoring the salesman, Marek’s intense-as-fuck gaze shot to Calandra then back to me. He raised an eyebrow.
I nodded. He’d get it. Calandra was mine, and he needed to protect the fuck out of her. “Take her inside. She needs to eat. I’ll be in touch.” I kissed her once on the forehead. “Give me your phone, babe.”
Without comment, she took it out of her purse and handed it over.
I programmed my number and handed it back. Lowering my voice so only she could hear, I leaned down to her. “Text me from the bath.”
Her cheeks flushed brighter.
I smiled. “Later, beautiful.” I tipped my chin at Marek. “Take care of her.”
“Done,” he answered simply.
I got back in the SUV, and the phone rang.
I hit the speaker to answer as I pulled out of her driveway. “Tyler.”
“You alone?” Sawyer asked.
“Yeah, dropped her off at her house. She’s with Marek and Brandt.”
“Collins says you fucked her in her office.”
Jesus Christ . “Don’t start with me,” I warned .
“I’m not, but Luna might.”
“He with you?” I needed to tell him before he heard from one of the guys. They gossiped worse than my mom’s friends.
“No, but he’ll hear about this.”
No fucking shit. “My business, my problem. I’ll deal with Luna. You called for a reason, and this isn’t it.”
Sawyer was quiet a moment.
“What?” I barked, losing patience.
“Brother to brother?” he asked without any attitude.
“I don’t need a fucking lecture, Sawyer.”
“Fine. Just watch your back.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Calandra was the farthest thing from calculating.
“Look, all I’m saying is I grew up with that kind of money. Everything’s fine when it’s you and her. Then you meet her father and shit’ll change. She’ll change… toward you.”
Christ . I almost felt fucking sorry for him. “You’re a jaded fuck.”
“You’re na?ve if you think the size of your bank account won’t be an issue with her or her family eventually.”
“I’m not dating her for a fucking bank account.” She was the prettiest woman I’d ever laid eyes on, but more than that, she just fucking felt right. Like two parts coming together, we fucking fit. But I wasn’t about to explain that sappy shit to him.
“Her father will think you are. Her security detail already does.”
“Fuck him. I’m her security detail now.” I’d protect her.
“You can’t be both.”
Fuck. I knew what he meant. He was right. The second I got my dick wet, I crossed a line, shitting all over objectivity. For now, I didn’t care. I was finding her fucking stalker, and I was going to make sure the prick never went near her again. “I’m seeing this through.” No way I wasn’t.
“Know your limits,” Sawyer warned.
“Fine.” Fuck. “Why’d you call?”
“We ran financials.” Sawyer switched gears. “Nothing stands out. ”
Damn it. “And you double-checked the apartment?”
“Yeah. Canvases, brushes, paints and a big enough mess on the floor so he’ll never get his security deposit back. But otherwise, there isn’t anything here except some clothes, a ton of bills and paint thinner, which wasn’t used in the car bomb according to the cop’s preliminary report.”
“Walk me through how you found the stationery again.”
“It was sitting out on his desk, next to the pile of bills.”
“You get a handwriting sample off anything?”
“Nothing. The only thing I’ve got is his signature on his art, but it’s too stylized to be useful for comparison.”
“And the stationery doesn’t have any scent to it?” I asked, confirming what he’d told me earlier.
“No, nothing, but this whole place smells like oil paint. It’s strong enough that I would’ve thought if the letters came from here, they’d smell like it.”
Shit . “I’m on my way back to the gallery. I’ll find out what the fuck has to say for himself.”
“Copy that. Luna has another security system job he needs me to do a proposal on. I’m on my way there now. I’ll swing by her gallery to do that proposal after. Keep me posted.”
“Okay.” I hung up.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Instinct was telling me this Morrows fuck wasn’t the stalker, but the stationery was hard evidence. I drove back to the gallery and pulled into the lot. I was getting out of the Escalade when that Harrison prick pulled into a slot next to me.
His eyes on me, he got out of his bullshit Audi. “We need to talk.”
Seriously? This fuck was gonna play hardball with me? “Is that right?” I rested my hand on my piece, because I could.
“What kind of danger is Sophia in?”
I fucking hated hearing him call her Sophia. “What kind of danger do you think she’s in?” The suited fuck.
Coming around his car, he dangerously got within arm’s reach of me. “I think she’s got two new bodyguards she didn’t have yesterday.” He glared at me. “And I think one of them is taking advantage of her.”
He had balls, I’d give him that. “You’re an employee. Her business is her business.”
The fuck tried to stare me down for five seconds. “Who threatened her?”
I cocked my head. “Who said someone threatened her?”
“You all got upset when you saw Morrows’s paintings.”
I didn’t respond. I wanted to see if he’d put it together.
He did.
“I’m not an idiot. I know who she is. Several people do. This is a tight-knit community. We respect her privacy, but it’s not a secret she’s royalty.”
Every word out of the fuck’s mouth was condescending and nothing like how he spoke to her. I made a mental note to have base run a thorough background on him. “Is that right?”
“I saw the crowns on the pieces.”
I threw it back on him. “And?”
“And what? It made you and your associate angry, and her worried.”
Good fucking detective work, asshole. “So?”
“So,” he clipped angrily. “I’m asking what kind of trouble she’s in.”
I wanted to throat punch the fuck. “I thought Collins sent you to lunch.”
His jaw ticked. “He did. Now I’m back.” He moved toward the back door to the gallery. “I have work to do.”
I moved in front of him. “Your boss will call you when she wants you to return to work.” He didn’t challenge me, but the prick pulled his phone out.
“How about I just call her.” He fucking smiled at me and walked back to his car.
I waited until he drove away then I pounded once on the back door to the gallery .
A few seconds later, Collins opened the door, his expression stone cold.
“What do we got?”
“You’ll see.” He walked toward the main part of the gallery.
I followed him, and when I stepped out of the hall and saw the artist, I silently cursed. The guy was barely five and a half feet, his shirt was covered in paint, but more importantly, he was looking at Collins like he wanted a piece of him.
“Morrows?” I asked.
His gaze raked the length of me. “Where’s Sophia?”
“Not here.” This guy wasn’t the stalker, no fucking way, but I had to ask anyway. “Where’d you get the stationery on your desk?”
He looked up from staring at my dick. “What?”
“Stationery. On your desk. Where’s it from?”
His hand went to his hip. “Okay, let me see if I got this straight. You have Sophia call me with a bogus excuse about my paintings to lure me here, then you break into my apartment and search my desk?”
I didn’t deny it.
When I didn’t answer him, he looked between me and Collins. “Fine.” He sighed dramatically. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I paint, sleep and shower at my apartment. The rest of the time, I’m at my boyfriend’s. If there’s stationery at my place, that’s news to me. And for the record, instead of breaking into my apartment next time, knock on the door.” Lifting his chin, he squared his shoulders and walked toward the hall. “I would’ve let either of you in.”
“Hey,” I barked.
Pausing, he looked over his shoulder and raised one eyebrow.
“What’s with the crowns?”
He smiled wide. “Because I’m a fucking prince.” With a wink at Collins, he disappeared out the back door.
“Not the stalker,” I muttered, as my cell vibrated with an incoming text.
“No fucking shit,” Collins clipped .
It’s me. I’m taking a bath.
Quickly programming the number, I fired back a response.
Wish I was there.
“Here.” Collins handed me the keys to the gallery. “Who do we look at now?”
She responded.
Did you speak with Mr. Morrows?
I knew what she was asking.
It’s not him.
Collins snapped his fingers in front of my phone. “Hey, pussy whipped after one fuck, what’s the plan?”
“Go fuck yourself.” I fired off another text.
If you need Harrison at the gallery, tell him to come back. We’re done here. See you soon.
The three dots appeared on my screen, and a second later she replied.
Thank you. I will let him know. Drive safe.
I pocketed my phone. “You talk to anyone at base? Luna?”
Collins scowled at me. “I’m your bitch now?”
I smirked. “You were always my bitch.” I glanced around the gallery. Not that I knew shit about art, but there was a lot of it hanging on every available wall space. “Let’s head back to the house, relieve Marek and Brandt. I’ll call base on the way.”
I didn’t want Marek or Brandt around Calandra any longer than they needed to be. I trusted them to protect her with their lives, but that was as far as the trust went. I was man enough to admit Marek scared the fuck out of me, and rumor had it Brandt like to play it rough with women. Consensual, but still rough.
I set the alarm using the code Calandra had given me, and Collins followed me out. Before I got in the SUV, Collins stopped me.
“You thinking about the suit?”
“Harrison?” I hated saying the fuck’s name.
“Yeah. He’s sweet on her.”
I’d been thinking about it since I’d laid eyes on him, but it didn’t add up. “He’s worked for her for a while. Why now?” He also seemed too smooth to have to stalk a woman.
Collins shrugged. “Who knows why anyone does anything.”
Truth. “I’ll have base prioritize his background check.”
Collins nodded, but he didn’t move to get in his vehicle. He scanned the alleyway and the other buildings.
I knew the look. He was seeing everything and nothing. There was a fifty-fifty chance he’d answer me, but I asked anyway. “What’re you thinking?”
His gaze cut to mine. “Bold move today.”
My muscles bunched. “What?”
“Going for it. Taking her in her office.” He frowned. “Not like you.”
One of the reasons I liked Collins and we got along was he usually didn’t interfere in anyone’s shit. He kept to himself, he didn’t judge, and his instincts were uncanny when it came to anything sinister. But he’d already given me shit today, and I’d also heard enough of his bleeder versus trouble bullshit, that I was out of patience.
“That a question?” I stupidly asked.
He leaned against the Escalade, shoved a hand in his pocket and stared at me. Then he asked the last thing I’d ever expected to come out of his mouth. “You believe in love at first sight?”
Was he messing with me? “You fucking serious?”
He tipped his chin.
Call it instinct, call it intuition, call it any damn thing you wanted, but in that instant, I knew one thing for certain. Collins, the most jaded fuck I’d ever met, believed in love at first sight because it’d happened to him at some point.
Hitting too close to home, I avoided the question altogether and said the only shit I was convinced of in this life. “I believe there’s no such thing as coincidence. Everything happens for a reason.”