10. Iris
10
IRIS
Brax’s place is nothing how I imagined. I don’t know why I thought it would have bare walls with very little furniture. Most men I know aren’t into having much around their living space, but that is mostly from the lack of creativity and design knowledge.
“Wow,” I say as I pull off my winter boots, leaving them on the rug near the door. “This is…” I’m at a loss for words, really.
“My sister and mom did it.”
Ah. That makes sense. This wasn’t done by him, but he has no problem living in a space as warm as this. The loft is homier than most I’ve been in, with a few walls painted in the blackest black and deep greens.
“It’s beautiful.”
The furniture is in rich wood tones, with leather and light-colored boucle fabrics. It’s a place I could live in and nest forever. You’re getting ahead of yourself, Iris.
I step into the expansive place, my eyes drifting around as I try my best to soak everything in.
Brax moves toward the large kitchen area with the longest kitchen island I’ve ever seen outside of a commercial kitchen. “Want something to drink?”
“Yes,” I say as I spin around, and my eyes catch on the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a lit-up downtown.
“I bought this place because of that view.”
I’m seriously impressed. Not only because of the decorating, but also because he bought it. I’ve only been able to rent. The city is ridiculously expensive, and the longer I wait to buy, the higher the prices seem to go.
I can’t take my eyes off the city, watching the lights twinkle like the stars in the sky above. “I would’ve too. I have a stunning view of my neighbor’s brick exterior.”
Brax hands me a glass filled with soda as he comes to stand next to me, but he’s not looking at the view in front of us. I can feel the heat in his eyes without looking at him.
“How long have you been here?” I ask, suddenly nervous to be alone with him.
But I’m not nervous because I fear him. I’m scared of what this could lead to and the constant worry that he could break my heart the same way Lucas did.
“A few years,” he says. His voice is soft and warm, sliding over my skin like a caress.
“The snow is getting heavier,” I say, trying to make small talk. From the seventh floor of his building, the city looks so peaceful with the flakes fluttering through the air and falling to the ground below.
I hadn’t planned on coming to his place after the bar, but the snow started coming down at such a rapid clip, we both decided it was the safest and closest place for me tonight.
Damn winter.
My phone rings in my purse, causing me to jump. I thought I had the damn thing on silent because Mikayla and Sandy had been blowing it up on my way to the bar.
“Sorry.” I stalk toward my purse, which I left with my coat and boots near the door.
“It’s okay. Get it.”
“No. No. It’s okay,” I tell him as my fingers find the cool metal in the bottom of my purse. But whatever I was going to say dies on my tongue as I see the name on my phone. “Son of a…”
“Something wrong?” Brax asks.
I peer up at him, trying to keep my face impassive. “No one important.” I hit the send to voice mail button on the screen, not wanting to talk to Lucas now or ever.
But as I start to throw my phone back into my purse, it rings again. Before it makes it to the second ring, I send it to voice mail again.
“You sure you don’t need to get it?”
“Need?” I laugh sardonically. “No. I don’t need to get it. They’re not important.”
“Lemme guess. The ex?” Brax says, like he’s reading my mind.
My face must have given me away. “Yeah,” I whisper.
“Want me to answer?”
My breath catches in my lungs as I think about Brax’s deep voice being the one to greet Lucas. “No. I can talk to him another time, but I really don’t want to hear from him.”
“Still hurts, huh?” His face looks curious, but not the good kind. He’s wondering if I still have feelings for the man who broke my heart.
“No. I’m over him. I have been for a long time.” And what I’m saying is true. I no longer feel hurt because any love I had for Lucas has withered away along with the sadness. “I would just prefer he never called again. In my mind, he doesn’t exist anymore.”
“Harsh, but I love it,” Brax says.
I give him a small smile. “I’m not usually a mean person.”
My phone rings again, and I groan .
“Maybe it’s important,” he tells me as his eyes dip to my hand.
“It doesn’t matter to me.”
He holds out his hand, and I willingly give him the phone. He touches the screen, and there’s nothing but panicked breathing on the other end.
“Iris?” Lucas’s voice fills the expanse of Brax’s place. “Are you there?”
“I’m here,” I say as Brax opens his mouth and is about to answer for me.
“Listen, I’m in a bit of trouble…”
“I don’t care,” I tell him, staring at Brax’s face.
He’s taking all this much better than I would’ve if the roles were reversed.
“You need to care.”
“Why?”
Brax ticks his head toward the leather couch behind us, and I follow him, needing to sit down for this brief conversation with a man I swore I’d never speak to again.
“I got in over my head. It’s why I left.”
I almost burst into laughter. Left? He didn’t just leave. He didn’t go out for a run to the grocery store. He left me standing at the altar in front of everyone we knew and loved.
“That was years ago,” I say, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice.
“I thought I had it under control, but it’s not anymore. ”
Brax’s eyebrows are drawn together as his gaze dips to the phone screen in his hand, which his fingers are wrapped around like a vise.
“Not my problem,” I reply.
“It is, though. They’re coming for you.”
My heart stutters in my chest, and my eyes widen as Brax’s gaze comes back to me. “What?”
“I messed up, and now you’re at risk. They know about you. Watch your back. Don’t trust anyone,” he says, his words rushing out of him in a torrent.
“But I’m no one,” I whisper. “I don’t have anything to do with you, Lucas.”
My head is spinning, and I can barely breathe. How is this man still messing up my life years later? I thought I broke free of him and all the ways he affected my world, but once again, he’s trying to pull me back in and break me in an entirely different way.
“I’ll get it straightened out, but it’s going to take time,” he adds.
“What did you do, jagoff?” Brax says, finally entering the conversation.
“Who is that?” Lucas asks like he has any right to know who’s in my life.
“I asked you a question,” Brax states, not giving me a moment to answer, which is nice. “What did you do, and who did you do it to?”
“I don’t know who the fu—” Lucas starts, but Brax isn’t having any of it.
“I’m going to give you one more chance to answer, and then you’re going to be running from two people, not just one.”
I see Brax in an entirely new light. He’s been so laid-back and easy every time we’ve been together, but he’s got a temper simmering underneath the cool exterior.
“I borrowed money. A lot of money,” Lucas replies softly.
“How much, and from whom?” Brax asks.
“Two mil from a guy I know.”
Two million dollars? What the hell did he need two million dollars for? Lucas was a successful investor with a large client list. I can’t imagine what he’d need that kind of bankroll for. None of it makes sense.
“What the hell did you need two million dollars for?” I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.
“That’s not important,” Lucas tells me.
Asshole.
“Who did you borrow it from?” Brax asks again through gritted teeth.
“A man named Malakai.”
“Fuck,” Brax mutters as he shakes his head. “I have Iris handled. She’ll be fine. You…not so much,” Brax tells him. “Don’t call again. Iris wanted nothing to do with you before this, and now she really doesn’t want anything to do with you. Forget she’s alive. Forget this number, or else you’ll be running from me too. Got it?”
“But I…” Lucas starts .
“Do we understand each other?” Brax states in such a steely voice, I sit up a bit straighter.
“Who is this?” Lucas asks.
“Another nightmare,” Brax answers, tapping his finger roughly against the phone screen.
I sit in silence, unable to speak. A slight tremble overtakes my body.
Brax tosses my phone down on the couch between us before he reaches out, cupping my hands in his. “Don’t worry, Iris. I got you,” he says in a soft voice that almost makes me believe what he’s saying is true.
“I…I can’t believe this,” I whisper, staring down to where our hands are connected.
“I know Malakai. He won’t hurt you.”
My gaze snaps to his. “You know him?”
Brax nods. “He’s a neighborhood guy, and since I run the bar and my family has been in the area forever, I know almost everyone, especially someone like Malakai.”
I try to process his words, but they don’t seem to penetrate the way they should. “You know bad people?”
“Bartenders know everyone.”
I blink, soaking in everything that was said on the phone and the words we’re speaking to each other now. “But you said especially someone like Malakai.”
“My grandpa wasn’t always on the up-and-up.”
“The up-and-up?” I ask, confused.
“He has an illustrious past. ”
“Oh.”
“Between my gramps and me, we’ll get it all sorted.”
As I look into his eyes, I believe every word he’s saying. There’s a sincerity there that I never saw when I looked at Lucas.
“I can’t believe this,” I say, dropping my head forward and taking a deep breath.
Years. It’s been years, and Lucas is somehow still finding a way to screw up my life. The ridiculousness of it all is almost laughable. Almost.
Brax squeezes my hands. “Hey.”
I lift my head, bringing my tear-rimmed eyes back to his gentle face.
“I promise it’ll be fine. This is Lucas’s problem and not yours. I’ll protect you.”
“I guess it’s a good thing I’m staying here tonight.”
“I want you to stay until I have a chance to talk to Malakai.”
“What?” I seem to be saying that word a lot, but it’s all still so unbelievable to me.
“You can’t go home until it’s safe.”
My stomach rolls at that word.
Safe.
I’m not safe. Or at least, I wouldn’t be if I were home tonight.
What would I have done if Lucas had called while I was home alone and dropped this bomb on me? I would’ve absolutely lost my mind.
“How long will that be?” I ask him.
“Hopefully I can get my gramps to track him down tomorrow. A day or two.”
I glance around the beautiful loft, which doesn’t feel as warm as it did before.
“But I…” The words die in my throat. I don’t know what I was going to say. My mind is moving a million miles a minute, and processing isn’t going so well.
Brax gently tugs my arms, making the rest of me move. As soon as I’m closer, he snakes his arms underneath my legs and pulls me into his lap like I weigh nothing.
I snuggle into him, resting my cheek against his chest.
“You’re safe,” he repeats.
Wrapped in his arms with his chin resting on the top of my head, I feel safe. I’m enveloped by him and the warmth of his body. Despite the fact that there’s someone out there who’s looking for me, I feel oddly at peace on his lap.
“For now,” I whisper, closing my eyes.
If Malakai doesn’t kill Lucas, I may for putting me through this after a handful of years of being apart.
“You have my family’s protection now,” Brax says quietly as he slides his hand against my back.
I suddenly feel as if I’ve walked onto the set of an old mafia movie even though I never auditioned for the part.
“I’m sorry.”
Brax pulls back slightly until our gazes lock. “For what?”
I shrug one shoulder, feeling so drained. “For dragging you into my mess.”
“It’s not your mess. It’s his.”
I can’t look away. His deep, dark eyes have me in a trance. “Okay.”
“I promise,” he says, not convinced by my response.
“I can go somewhere else. I can go to Mikayla’s or Sandy’s.”
“They may know about them and be watching their places for you.”
“Crap,” I snap, shaking my head at the thought of something happening to them.
“I’m too new for them to know about unless they followed you tonight, but since you’re still breathing, I’m going to guess they weren’t.”
I blink a few times as fear grips me harder. “But they could’ve.” My eyes move toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, feeling more exposed than I did earlier.
Brax leans to the side and grabs a remote from the side table. He stretches his arm out toward the window and presses a button. In an instant, black shades come down from the ceiling, covering the windows.
“Better?” he asks as he sets down the remote.
“This is so messed up.”
“Hold on,” Brax says, lifting his backside and fishing his phone out of his pocket.
“Who are you calling?”
“My grandpa.”
“At this hour?”
I’ve lost track of time, but it’s well after midnight. My grandparents would have been asleep for hours. They have the weird habit of going to sleep right after the sun sets and getting up as it rises. I don’t understand it, but they say I will when I’m their age.
“He’s a night owl, and he turns his ringer off when he goes to sleep. I won’t wake him.”
Brax hits the speaker button, holding the phone out between us as it rings.
“Brax?” A man’s voice fills the air.
“Hey, Gramps. Whatcha up to?”
“Watching some crazy show on the tube. You?”
“On a date.”
“Nice,” his grandpa says. “What’s wrong? You rarely call this late.”
“Got a problem, Gramps.”
A problem? First, it’s not his problem. Second, it’s a little bit bigger than a problem. A problem would be you ran out of sugar while trying to make cookies. Not having someone out there hunting your girlfriend. I shake my head at my own stupid thoughts. I’m not his girlfriend. I’m just a woman he’s gone on two dates with and gave one amazing orgasm to.
“Shoot, kiddo. How can I help?”
Brax winks at me with a little smile, but I can’t muster the same expression to give back to him. “You know Malakai?”
“Malakai McGowan?” Gramps asks.
“That’s the one.”
His grandpa whistles. “He’s a doozy.”
“I know, and I need a favor.”
“Did you get yourself in trouble with Malakai? I thought I taught you better than that.”
“No. No. Not me,” Brax replies.
I feel a little better about the conversation now. At least Brax was taught not to get involved with men like Malakai. That means his grandfather doesn’t get involved with them either.
“Thank goodness. Darn near gave me a heart attack,” his grandpa says.
Well, that’s not good. I mean, I knew Malakai had to be bad from Brax’s response, but his grandfather’s words only solidify the fear that’s taken root deep in the pit of my stomach.
“What do you need?”
“Well, the girl I’ve been seeing?—”
“You’re seeing someone? Who?”
Brax rolls his eyes even though his grandpa can’t see. “You’ll meet her soon.” He gives me a forced smile because this is awkward for both of us. “Anyway, her ex-fiancé got involved with Malakai. Took out a massive loan and then didn’t pay.”
“Same old story,” his grandpa says.
“Yep. Well, her ex just called and said Malakai may come after her, but she’s not in his life and hasn’t been for years.”
“What a dummy,” his grandfather mutters.
“No truer words, Gramps.”
“I’ll put out a call to Malakai, but you need to hide her until I can get it sorted.”
“She’s at my place.”
“Does he know about your place?”
“We’re new. Second date.”
“Started that relationship off with a bang, eh?”
“I hope not,” Brax whispers. “Poor choice of words on your part, Gramps.”
“Keep her there. Don’t let her out of your sight until I can talk to Malakai.”
I swallow hard, staring at Brax. I hate that I have to put him in this situation.
“I think it’s safer for Brax if I went home,” I say, finally speaking up. “I don’t want to put him in danger.”
“Sweetie,” his grandpa replies, his voice so soft and sweet, a few knots in my stomach loosen, “you stay there with my grandson. If anyone can keep you breathing, it’s him. You’re not going to put yourself in danger because you think you’re putting his life at risk. Brax can handle himself. He knows how to handle bad guys, and I’m guessing you don’t, but maybe I’m wrong.”
I hate that he’s right. I don’t know shit about protecting myself. Sometimes, when I feel a little uneasy about a situation, I’ll slide a key between my two fingers, so if I need to punch someone, they get stabbed too. It’s ridiculous because I’m pretty sure my punch wouldn’t actually do enough damage to break the skin, but it makes me feel better, even if it’s delusional.
“Fine,” I say, my shoulders instantly slumping forward.
“Any cars on the street in front of your place?” his grandpa asks.
Brax rises from the couch and heads toward the windows, moving the shades to see the street below. “No one.”
“It’s too cold for them to be standing on the street. They probably don’t know about you yet or else I would’ve gotten a call from Malakai. He owes me as much before he tries to put a cap in your ass.”
I hang my head and rest my face in my palms, shaking my head back and forth. If Malakai doesn’t kill Lucas, I sure as hell will when I get my hands on his scrawny neck.
“I think we’re safe here. Go get some sleep and let me know what he says tomorrow,” Brax tells his grandpa as the couch dips next to me .
“Sonny, I’m not going to bed for hours. What do you think I am?”
“Old,” Brax says, but his voice is light.
I peer up as Brax winks at me.
“Idiot,” his grandpa mumbles. “You go to bed.”
“I plan on it,” Brax replies with a smile as his eyes lock on me.
“That’s my boy,” his grandpa says. “Someday you’ll be old like me, and your balls will hang to your knees and your dick won’t work. Use it before you lose it.”
My eyes widen, and I cover my mouth to stop the giggle that’s ready to break free. His grandfather is a hoot. I hope I am able to meet him someday and thank him for his help—if I’m able to get through this situation and remain breathing.