Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
S he’d never been to the Norcross office before.
As Rhys led Haven inside, she took it all in. Unsurprisingly, it was a gorgeous space. Huge and open, with an industrial vibe. There were touches of wood and metal, with a polished-concrete floor. It definitely said “badasses work here.”
Rhys’ office was all glass walls. His desk was…messy.
“How do you find anything?” she asked.
He shot her a smile. “I know where everything is.”
“I don’t buy that, at all.”
There were sticky notes everywhere, stacks of files, half-scribbled-on notepads, and pieces of paper dotted all over.
Her gaze fell on his smile. He had a really, really nice one. It made her remember what they’d done in his bed that morning. Her body tingled. It wanted more. Meanwhile, her brain was screaming at her to run.
“Haven, if you’re still trying to go with the sworn-off-men thing, stop looking at me like that.”
She licked her lips.
“Stop that, too,” he said.
She looked away. Across the space, she spotted a man and froze.
Wow . He was really muscular with smooth, brown skin, and cropped, dark hair.
He glanced her way, and she almost swallowed her tongue.
He was gorgeous, with strong features, a hard jaw, and pale green eyes. He nodded at her and she waved.
He looked like a movie star. He looked like he should be in an action movie, scaling cliffs and leaping out of planes.
“You can stop drooling now,” Rhys said, tone amused.
“Who is that?” she asked.
“Rome. He’s our main guy for bodyguard duty. Guy has a sixth sense for trouble.” Rhys pushed a chair over to her. “Sit.”
She sat and watched as Rhys dropped in his chair. He pulled a file across his desk and opened it.
“I forgot to mention that my friend Harry called,” she said. “He’s an art dealer. He heard a rumor of an underground auction of a very expensive painting.”
Rhys’ gaze sharpened. “He have any details?”
She shook her head.
“How good of a friend is this Harry?” Rhys’ tone turned growly.
“Very good. He’s handsome, a good dresser, kind, funny, and an art lover.”
Rhys gripped the arms of her chair and wheeled her closer, scowling.
“I get on very well with him and his husband, Trent.”
Rhys relaxed. “You’re a pain in my ass. That’s earned you some punishment.”
She just smiled at him. God, it was nice to feel safe. To know that this man was looking out for her.
“I need to make some calls to Miami,” he said.
Her good feelings plummeted. “About Leo.”
“Yeah. Kitchen’s over there.” He pointed. “Get yourself some coffee. And you need to call your insurance.”
Leaving him to his calls, she puttered around in the glossy kitchen and made herself a latte. She turned, and through the glass wall, saw Rhys leaning back in his chair, deep in conversation on the phone.
She hadn’t realized that watching a man work could be hot.
She wandered back, wondering idly where everybody was. Although from what she knew of Vander, Rhys, and no doubt the other men who worked at Norcross, they were out doing badass security things.
Pulling out her cell phone, she sucked in a breath and called her insurance company.
After being put on hold and shuffled around to a few different people, she had her claim in. When she got back to Rhys’ office, he was scowling hard.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Apparently your ex is in deep to the Zakharov family.”
“Oh God.” She dropped into her chair.
“He was having problems at his club, and started bleeding money. Looks like it started about nine months ago.”
Haven closed her eyes. That was about the time he started to change.
Rhys took her mug and set it down. He pulled her closer until her legs bumped his.
“That’s when he got moody, mean,” she said. “That’s when he started cheating.”
“He borrowed money from Sergei Zakharov.”
“Took money from criminals,” she spat.
“Yeah. Instead of manning up, he took the easy path. Or what he thought was the easy path. Now, they own him. My contact said he’s even more in debt now.”
“God.” She rubbed between her eyes.
Rhys’ fingers slid up her thighs. “It’s not your problem.”
She nodded.
He cocked his head. “You still feel something for him?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of the cute tote Gia had gotten for her. She stiffened.
Rhys cocked his head. “Haven?”
“Leo. He tried to call right before the explosion…”
Rhys’ face turned dark. “Answer.”
“What?” She stared at him.
“See what he’s got to say.” Rhys yanked her forward, pulling her into his lap.
She thumbed the button. “What?”
“Haven, babe, thank God.”
“Leo.” Her skin crawled.
Rhys’ hand on her thigh squeezed, and that move steadied her.
“Why you’re calling me?” she demanded.
“I know you’ve had…some troubles. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“How do you know about my troubles, Leo?”
There was a pregnant pause.
“Would it be because you happened to land these troubles on me? And when I say troubles, I mean theft, beatings, kidnappings, and someone blowing up my apartment with me in it!” Her voice rose to a yell.
Vander appeared in the doorway, a troubled look on his face.
Rhys waved his brother off.
“I’m sorry, babe,” Leo continued, voice wheedling. “I love you, and I never wanted you hurt.”
“You love me?” Her voice turned incredulous.
Beneath her, she felt Rhys stiffen.
“If this is your idea of love, you’ve lost your mind. If you love someone, you don’t cheat on them, you don’t hit them, and you don’t bring shit down on them.”
“Babe.”
She shook her head. “Don’t call me babe. Just tell me what you did, Leo. I’m in danger.”
His breathing was harsh across the line.
“I’m in deep, Haven. I owe a lot of money. I’ve kept tabs on you. I wanted to make sure you were safe.”
She snorted. “Well I’m not.”
“I saw the article in the paper about the Monet.”
She stilled. “What did you do?”
“I still remember you bitching about how easy it was at Alyssa’s gallery for someone to sneak in as a police officer or delivery driver. I remember you told me about that famous robbery.”
Oh. God . The robbery at the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum in Boston. The thieves had posed as police officers. The thieves stole over half a billion dollars’ worth of paintings. She’d used Leo as a sounding board, trusted him, and he’d used it against her.
“You’re an asshole .”
“I was in bad trouble, Haven. They were threatening to break my kneecaps.”
“They blew up my apartment!”
“They’re trying to get to you to control me—”
“Tell them I’m nothing to you.”
“I love you, Haven.”
“Well, I do not love you,” she snapped.
“You don’t mean—”
Suddenly, the phone was gone from her hands.
“Haven is not yours to protect anymore,” Rhys growled into the phone. “You tell Zakharov and his thugs that she’s out of this.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Haven heard Leo’s tinny, irate voice through the phone.
“I’m Haven’s man,” Rhys said. “She’s mine now.”
Rhys’ words sent a tingle through her.
“I’m the guy who won’t cheat on her, or hit her.” Brown eyes met hers. “Who’ll keep her safe.”
She felt the words deep inside. Rhys would do all of that.
But eventually, he’d lose interest, and move on and leave her in tatters.
“She’s mine,” Leo growled across the line.
Haven scowled. Like she was a bone to fight over.
“You fucked up,” Rhys said. “You’re still fucking up, Becker. Call Zakharov off her.”
And with that, Rhys ended the call. He tossed her phone onto his desk.
“You okay?” he asked.
“No. My ex is still ruining my life.”
Rhys cupped her jaw. “We’ll get you through this.”
Maybe. But Haven wasn’t sure what the bigger danger to her was—Leo and his criminal troubles, or Rhys Norcross.
* * *
“I’m not sure I’m in a party mood.”
Gia leaned forward, dabbing makeup on Haven’s face.
“You deserve some fun.” Gia made a humming sound. “Your bruising is looking much better.”
“It is not. It’s green and yellow. I look like a zombie.”
“It’s easier to cover now. There.” Gia turned Haven toward the huge, well-lit mirror in Gia’s swanky bathroom. The gorgeous space looked like a spa.
Gia had almost hidden all the bruising completely. Oh . She’d also given Haven sexy, smokey eyes.
“My brother will want to drag you out of here and into his bed to do naughty things.”
“Gia!”
Gia wrinkled her nose. “Which I never want you to tell me about in detail, because ew .”
“I told you I’m not going there.” Haven couldn’t go there. “Look what the last man I let into my life has done. I’m a mess, my life’s a mess.”
“Let Rhys make it better.”
“ I need to make it better.”
Gia cocked her hip. She looked gorgeous in a red dress that showed off some wicked cleavage. She was like a pocket-size Sophia Loren.
“You don’t have to do it alone,” Gia said quietly.
“I do.” Haven’s heart squeezed. “I’m always alone.”
Gia cursed in Italian. “Your stupid father.”
“Gia.”
“No. You’re not alone anymore. You’re my best friend. And whether you want to admit it or not, you and my brother are a thing.”
“We are not.”
“Where did you sleep last night?”
“That’s not the point.”
“Where?” Gia persisted.
“There were extenuating circumstances—”
“Where?”
“Fine. At Rhys’ place.”
“Where exactly?”
Haven sighed. “In Rhys’ bed.”
“Was he in the bed?”
Haven’s teeth clicked together. “You are a pain. Yes.”
Gia smiled like a queen who was well-pleased with her subjects.
“I hate you,” Haven muttered.
“No, you don’t, you love me.”
Haven sighed. “I do.”
Gia hugged her. “Come on, let’s get some champagne. Good champagne makes everything better.”
Haven let herself be dragged out of Gia’s bathroom and bedroom.
In the living area, Gia’s brothers were in the kitchen around the huge island. They were all holding beers, and huddled around the platters of food that Gia had done up for the party.
“Why do they have to be so hot?” Haven said.
“I’ve bemoaned the same thing lots of times,” Gia said.