Chapter 29 #2
“And now he’s talking about you to the press?” I don’t want her to keep having to talk about it, but the more attention on her, the harder it’s going to be for us to make it all go away.
Leaning over me, she grabs her computer, typing in the password to make the screen light up with the headline.
MYSTERY WOMAN IDENTIFIED. BáS DORCHA’S LADY LAWYER, A PRETTY PICTURE OR A DEVIANT IN SUIT PANTS?
This fucking dick.
Further down, there’s Brigit’s name and a short history of her education and employment, ending with her latest workplace and their refusal to share a comment. Small mercies, I guess.
The quote from Ian is typical asshole speak. A whole paragraph detailing himself and how he knew her, and a few short sentences about her trying to drown the company because she took his professional guidance as something else entirely.
I still think I should kill him.
But Brigit doesn’t need to know that.
And my bigger concern currently is that Skyler knew everything and chose to be a colossal asshole about it.
“I’m gonna deal with this, Brig, okay?” I assure her, taking the computer with me. “Just… just go eat. There’s take out in the kitchen. I’ll be right there.”
She offers me a shaky smile and a nod.
While part of me relishes how quickly and happily she takes orders from me, it weighs heavily on me. This faith that she’s placed in me is scary. I’ve silently begged her to let me carry her guilt, to help her with the things in her life she doesn’t trust anyone with.
But the reality of it is terrifying. All I want is to be worthy of her, to be someone in her life that makes the rest of it easier to face.
And that’s a lot of responsibility. She’s trusting me with this, and I refuse to be another person who lets her down, even if it means stepping into frightening new territory.
“Hey,” I say quietly, my palm wrapped gently around her neck, bringing her face to mine.
When my lips land on hers, the tender press fills my chest with warmth, bleeding an unfamiliar, uncomfortable fullness into me. If nothing else existed in this world but Brigit and me, I know I’d still be content.
Her arms drape around my shoulders, bringing her body against mine between my legs.
It feels uncharacteristic of me, but I make no moves to deepen the kiss.
As much as I always want to feel her as close to me as possible, and as tempting as it is to distract her with spine-arching orgasms, she needs me to be something else right now.
She needs a steady place to hang her problems, and I need to be that for her.
She releases a soothed sigh, and I feel the sentiment echo through my fucking soul.
Pulling her lips from mine, she whispers, “Thank you.”
I nod, rubbing my thumb against her jaw before letting her go completely, watching her disappear to find some kind of distraction while I deal with the problems she can’t on her own.
Skyler picks up on the second ring, “I’m already on it.”
“I figured,” I tell him. “That’s not why I’m calling.”
He takes a beat before responding, “Are you calling to yell at me, Fomori?”
It takes all the fucking relief out of it if he knows before I even have a chance to do so.
My teeth grind together, “Why did you have to be such a fucking dick about it?”
A sardonic laugh spills through the phone, “Because you wanted to be a fucking hero, Cormac. Now you can be.”
Something in his tone makes me instantly suspicious. “Did you tell the reporters where to find me?”
If he did, I will fucking kill him. Brigit almost died because of her known association with me; her face showing up next to mine in the news nearly sealed her fate.
“No,” all the humor in his voice flees as quickly as it came.
“I might be an asshole, but I’m not stupid.
You being spotted at Mingle puts all of us at risk.
I’m sitting here wiping all of this shit from the web as quickly as it’s getting uploaded, not just for your sake or hers, which, by the way, would be enough reason for me to do it. ”
A small kernel of guilt weasels its way into me. Accusing him of doing something to harm not only Brigit’s reputation, but our life’s work was a low blow.
“You’re still adjusting, Fomori, so I’m gonna let you have that one,” he bites, falling back into his usual lazy demeanor. “But you and I are family, and if you ever accuse me of doing something to hurt you again, I’ll beat the fuck out of you.”
“Is that how family deals with their problems?”
His laugh blares through the receiver so loudly I have to jerk the phone away from my ear.
“Yeah,” he continues to laugh hysterically.
“That’s exactly how our family deals with problems. Now, I’m gonna need you to get your shit together before this weekend because if you don’t, we’re going to have problems way bigger than Brigit’s hurt feelings because I poked fun at her for trying to sleep with her boss and then suing him because she got fired. ”
“You’re an idiot,” I tell him. “Did the court case tell you that she caught him with one of the firm’s partners and they pushed her out together to keep their reputations clean? Or that after she caught them, Ian tried to force himself on her?”
“He what?”
“Oh, no? You didn’t get any of that from your snooping?” I can still feel my blood boiling, but at least I know he isn’t actively trying to hurt her. He’s just an idiot.
“No.”
“They were together,” I explain, redirecting my anger from him to the person who actually deserves it. “I don’t think she’s willing to accept that he took advantage of his authority over her yet, but it’s clear to me that he did.”
“What a scumbag,” he mutters. “Does that mean the bat man is coming out this weekend? That Ian guy has a benefit tonight, but on Sunday he should be home.”
“Skyler,” his name spills out with a disbelieving laugh. “No. We’re not killing anyone.”
He sighs with annoyance, “Fine. We probably wouldn’t have time anyway. Would it help if I apologized to Brigy?”
“I think the best apology you can offer would be to get her name out of the media frenzy,” I rub my eyes with my thumb and forefinger.
Even through the phone, I can hear him knocking his knuckles against the table, “Well, if we’re even remotely clever about it, we can probably take care of that this weekend. A big enough bust would push something as inconsequential as a lawyer being hot off the front page.”
“What are you suggesting?” I ask.
“I’m suggesting we give the people a little spectacle,” he says, his voice filled with a manic level of excitement. “If we get this shit done for Steele and make sure the media gets wind of it afterwards.”
Hearing Brigit start a movie in the next room, my answer comes out with only her in mind.
“Done.”