Chapter 4 #2
“Ah, yes. But you weren’t working, Henny.” He eased his leg down, then jumped from the cabinet in a single graceful movement. “And we both know some of those men out there aren’t as faithful as they want you to believe. They could have killed you with the right opportunity.”
“I’ll repeat myself then: The door was locked. They couldn’t get in.”
“Yet here I am. Most of those fuckers may be brain dead but there’s bound to be one with the skill. You need to be more alert, Henny. We can’t let anything happen to you.”
I bristled at his words. Who was he to tell me what to do? I obviously hadn’t meant to fall asleep.
“Well, as you can see, I’m perfectly fine. There’s no reason for you to stay. Don’t you have someone to torture or knives to clean?” I grumbled.
He laughed as he strode across the space. The desk sat between us, though it didn’t feel like enough room.
Pip was too close.
I was still too groggy.
He smelled too good.
Fuck.
No, I couldn’t be thinking like that. I had to shut those emotions away. Pip was a nuisance. That’s all he could and would ever be.
Tilting his head, he searched my gaze as if he could pull my thoughts from my mind. I kept my face as neutral as I could.
Still, his face broke into a smirk. “Are you sad I’ll leave or are you wanting to get rid of me?”
“Get rid of, obviously. Why would I be sad?”
“Maybe because you like me. After all these years, I’m sure there’s some part of you that doesn’t hate me.”
“When did I say I hated you?” I asked, curious of when that came about.
It wasn’t hate I felt towards Pip.
Confusion would be a more appropriate word.
I couldn’t understand how he lived. The lack of a stable place or work.
It baffled me that he enjoyed taking lives like it was some kind of hobby when I worked so hard to suppress any violence in my own life.
Kills were a necessary part of the job—not a recreational hobby.
“You don’t hate me?”
“I’ve never hated you,” I admitted. “You’re not around enough for that. Plus, you haven’t done anything to me or Pharrell in order for me to feel that strongly.”
His smirk grew as he leaned forward onto the desk. The position brought him closer. I felt like an animal caught in a snare. I wanted to back away and run as fast and as far as possible.
But I couldn’t move.
It would only entice him to chase me. That much I already knew.
“That’s good to know, Henny. Are you ready to go home now? I’ll walk you to your door.”
I shook my head. “That’s unnecessary. I’ll have the driver take me back to the hotel tonight. I don’t want to disturb Pharrell.”
“Disturb him?”
Part of me wanted to divulge the news about Ricardo’s arrival. As it stood, he’d need to know since I didn’t think this was a flyby visit.
But at the same time, I didn’t want to hash it all out tonight. I needed to get into bed before I did something stupid.
“Then I’ll get a room there tonight too. I don’t want to disturb him either. Or I could sleep outside your door. Whatever keeps you safe since your guard is down and the boss is busy.”
I raised my brows. “My room at the hotel is perfectly secure. There is no reason for you to protect it. You’re welcome to get a room of your own though.”
His smirk stayed in place. “Sure. That’s what I’ll do.”
The words didn’t sound sincere. I blamed my lack of focus on being only half awake.
When we got back to the casino, I realized my error in telling him to get a room. The place was fully booked. Of fucking course, it was.
We had been all week and would continue to be so for a while. It was busy season for us, which meant Pip would either have to stay with me, or risk going to Pharrell’s place and running into Ricardo.
The latter sounded like a disaster. I didn’t need him shooting first and asking questions later. That would demolish the connection we had with Dante and Preacher.
“You can stay in my room on the couch,” I agreed after weighing the options.
He pressed his hands to his chest. “Awww, Henny. You wanna have a sleepover with me. How sweet.”
I ignored him as I made my way to the elevator. I needed to get him settled and away from me as soon as possible.
Pip remained quiet as we rode upstairs. While I should have enjoyed it, there was a tension between us I couldn’t get past. I didn’t know what to make of it, nor did I want to try.
Tomorrow would be a fine time to overanalyze it all. Tonight was for resting.
At the door to my suite, I turned to face him. “If you’ll go straight to the couch, I’ll grab you the extra linens. There’s a bathroom for you to use if you need it as well. I’ll be going straight to bed as I have an early morning.”
I didn’t wait for his reply. Doing as I’d said, I let him in, bolted the door, grabbed his bedding, then went to the walk-in closet to change into my nightwear.
Taking my time, I listened closely for any sign Pip was done in the bathroom. When I heard the toilet flush, I knew it was clear for me to use it and then get into bed.
I basically sprinted into the bathroom, closing the door as quickly and quietly as possible. After I was done, I eased it open in hopes it wouldn’t catch the other man’s attention.
Ironically, I needn’t have worried. Pip was already snoring softly from his spot on the couch.
I stood in the doorway watching him for a few long moments. The calm I’d seen in the office earlier was nothing compared to how relaxed he looked now.
After a bit, I dragged myself into bed. For some reason, I left the bedroom door open. I could have used the excuse of making sure Pip had access to the bathroom without waking me.
That wasn’t the entire reason.
My intuition wouldn’t let me close it. I couldn’t pinpoint why.
At least not until I heard the whimpering hours later.