CHAPTER SIX #2
“I know, right? I should have hit the fucker harder,” he grumbles, lowering his shirt. “If the cider is off limits, I’ll take a water. Wouldn’t want you out on the street.”
“I wouldn’t be. Freya would let me move back into the flat.”
His nose scrunches up. “The chick with Mark?”
My back straightens at his tone. “Yes. That chick.”
He scoffs. “Trust me, you don’t want to live with a Carter. They steal your food, invite themselves in, and have no boundaries when it comes to other people and their space. But they expect others to respect theirs.”
It’s my turn to arch an eyebrow. “Really?”
He nods, mistaking my sarcasm for sympathy. “Fuck yeah. Don’t get me wrong, Lily’s sound, but Landon is a prick and with him comes all the others. It’s annoying as hell. You don’t see me letting myself into their house and making myself at home.”
“You? You don’t make yourself at home in other people’s houses? Really?”
Unbelievable.
“Nuh uh. Got more respect for others,” he states as I take another step toward the kitchen. “Hey, is it true that your cousin doesn’t like people touching her food?”
I stop at the door that leads to the small hallway to the kitchen and turn back. “Why?” I ask slowly, my heart racing.
“Because I kind of got hungry while ordering the food and helped myself to the cookies I found stashed in the oven.”
My eyes widen. “What the hell were you doing in the oven?”
He shrugs. “Automatic reaction?”
“Oh my god, she’s going to kill me,” I groan, stomping my way into the kitchen. “You don’t touch their food. Ever. I tried to steal a chip once and nearly got a fork in my hand.”
“Woah, and you let that slide?” he calls out.
“I was eight,” I reply.
“Are you sure they aren’t related to the Carters?”
“As sure as a person can be, but if another person asks me that question, I may do a DNA test.”
“I wouldn’t want to know,” he grumbles when I walk back in, handing him a bottle of water. “I would like to know why you dislike me so much though.”
I narrow my gaze on him as I take a seat in the armchair. “Nice try. It may be easier to tell you what I like about you.”
He grins, leaning back against the cushions. “There’s something you like about me?”
I snort as his phone rings. “No. That’s why I said it’s easier.”
He rolls his eyes, hitting the screen on his phone. “Yo.” He pauses, listening to whoever is on the other end of the phone. “I can do Wednesday. Is it everything we moved downstairs that needs to go back up? Yeah. Tell Liam that’s fine. See ya.”
Liam. Why is that name so popular tonight? I want to ask who it is, but that would mean starting another conversation.
Fuck it.
“Liam? Is that the same Liam your brother mentioned to Malia earlier?”
He glances up from his phone. “Probably. Was it to do with security and erasing stuff?”
“Yeah. Jaxon said he could help Malia.”
“Then yeah, same Liam. Black had him and Rebecca kidnapped last year and Liam got seriously injured. He, um, he basically had to learn to walk again, so we moved all his shit downstairs before he was released from therapy. He’s better now and could probably move his shit himself, but he wants us to clear out the hospital stuff before he decides to burn it.
And trust me, his neighbours would start a protest to get him kicked out, the snobby fucks.
He lives on Windmere Grove, the fancy area up near Western. ”
He speaks like this is just news about a stranger, not someone he knows and clearly respects.
I’ve never met the guy and my heart breaks for the man.
It’s a stark reminder about who I work for.
How could I not see it? I glance at Reid, hoping he doesn’t think that because I work with them, I’m like them.
Because I’m nothing like them. And for some reason, I need Reid to know that.
I need him to know that if I had known just how bad they were, I would never have worked for her.
“I didn’t know how bad they were,” I whisper. “Until tonight, I just thought Katherine was a bitch. I didn’t know the rumours were true. I thought it was office gossip because she was at the top.”
“You’re just doing your job,” he states. “I’d love to know how she got out of the embezzlement charges, though. It didn’t take much for us to get her investigated but it was ironclad.”
I shrug, not even the least bit surprised to hear the Hayes are involved with that.
Rumours had circled in the office, and one of them had been that a family had it out for the Black family.
The guy who occupied the office next to mine believed they pissed off the wrong company or family, like we were dealing with the mob.
“Guess she knows people. That was one of the many rumours going around the office.” I curl my feet up on the chair, wishing I could keep my mouth shut, but I continue. “They want me to be an inside woman.”
His eyes widen. “Why the fuck would they ask that of you?”
“They are my family,” I explain. He swings his legs off the sofa to sit up, staring at me with a serious gaze I’ve never witnessed from him before.
“You can’t do it.”
My back straightens. “And why not? Because I’m a woman?”
“Fuck no. I have a mother and sister; I know exactly what a woman is capable of,” he argues, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “But these people...”
“These people what?” I ask, more softly this time.
“Fuck!” he hisses. “Look, just believe me when I say they are capable of things we can’t even begin to comprehend. I’ve witnessed first-hand how much pain they can inflict on their victims. Trust me, you don’t want to be another on their list.”
His warning has shivers racing up my spine. “What do you mean? What aren’t you saying?”
“Something that isn’t my story to tell.”
I untangle my feet, dropping them to the carpeted floor. “That’s not fair. You can’t say all that and then not explain yourself.”
He lets out a heavy sigh. “What is the worst thing that can happen to a woman?” he asks, and holds my gaze, keeping me rooted to the spot. “Don’t answer. Just keep that thought there. Now, would you want someone else to tell another person your traumatic story?”
Sexual assault. He’s talking about sexual assault. My breath gets stuck in my throat. Tears gather in my eyes as Jaxon’s words come back to me.
What he will do to a man is in no comparison to what he likes to do to a woman.
He knows. He knows exactly what kind of man Black is.
My heart races as I think of the woman I work for. There is no way she is who she is without the influence of a man like that in her life. Which means she knows exactly who he is too and what he has done. And she’s okay with it. My fingers dig into the arm of the sofa as I rein in all my emotions.
I’m going to be sick.
How could I be so blind and ignorant to who I work for?
“Hey, don’t worry. We’re neighbours now. We will look out for you,” he assures me.
I quickly glance at him as I reach for my laptop. “I’ve changed my mind. I think I’m going to go to sleep.”
“With your laptop?”
I nod. “Yes. Yes.”
He stands too, his cologne filling my senses when he raises his hands, holding his palms out. “I didn’t mean to freak you out. We can stop talking about it. I swear. I’ll put a romantic comedy on. You put your feet up and just forget about everything else.”
I slowly lower myself to the sofa, shocked that he seems stressed about upsetting me. “You like romantic comedies?”
He gulps, nodding in confirmation as he too returns to the sofa. “Yeah. Favourite of mine.”
My lips twitch. “Liar.”
“I am not.”
“Then what’s your favourite romantic comedy?”
“The one with the hot chick who wears the yellow dress?”
I bite my lip to stop the laughter. “Reid, put whatever you want on. I prefer action movies.”
He sags against the sofa. “Thank God. Mum loves romantic comedies but I get bored shitless. She’s always preached about them being relaxing to watch.”
“Well, you did order pizza so it would be rude to go to bed.”
He watches me for a minute. “So no crying?”
I snort. “No chance.”
“Good. Good,” he muses out loud. “Now, any recommendations?”
“Frozen?”
His lower lip curls. “You said you like action films.”
“Dude, she fights ice monsters and a crazy dude who wants to steal her title.”
“Seriously?”
My lips twitch. “I’m kidding. Although if you want to go down a comedy route, we could watch Annabelle.”
His eyes go round like saucers. “Isn’t that a horror movie about a freaky-looking doll?”
“Yep. One of my favourites.”
“Um, maybe something else,” he suggests, eyeing me like I might pull out a knife.
I roll my eyes. “There’s a film on Netflix I want to watch. Rebel Ridge. It’s meant to be good.”
“The corruption one in a small town?” I nod. “Rebel Ridge it is, then.”
As he gets comfy on the sofa, I can’t help but watch him. Nothing fazes him—aside from girls crying and freaky-looking dolls. It’s one of the things that drew me to him. So much confidence in a person is normally off-putting, but there’s something about his that is endearing.
I can do this. I can endure his company for a couple of hours.
Plus, he did chase off an intruder for us and stayed here to make sure we were okay.