Chapter 10 #2
I let her pull me around, enjoying the way her curves brush against me and honored at her show of care. When she pushes me onto the couch, I tug her down into my lap and wrap my arms around her.
“Brennan, stop. Let me up,” she gasps.
I lean back, pull her tighter against my chest, and rest my chin on the top of her head.
“I’m dizzy,” I lie. “Let me hold you for a minute.”
I take her silence as permission and adjust her deeper into my lap. She makes a small sound of protest in the back of her throat, but I sigh and meld myself around her as much as possible.
“We need to talk before work begins,” she insists.
“Then talk,” I mumble into her hair.
She sighs and swats at my arm.
“Your sandwich was drugged. We already looked through the surveillance feed and suspect Ms. Baker, but she was sneaky, so we have no solid proof,” she says.
“Who is we?” I ask.
“I called Carlos. He’s the only one I trusted to keep this quiet. Plus, Liam knows so many people. He had a doctor in here in less than ten minutes,” she responds.
I fight a wave of jealousy and comfort myself by curling tighter around her.
She made the right choice, but I don’t like the thought of her surrounded by a bunch of men in my office while I lie unconscious on the couch, even though I know they’re strictly friends.
“Why do you think it was Ms. Baker?” I ask mostly to enjoy my baby doll’s response.
“Ms. Baker is the logical suspect. She was the only one in the office who handled your food, and I know you’ve trusted her for years, but sometimes she’s a little… off.”
I agree with her words, but I lift my head and tilt her chin back. Her lips look too kissable in the soft lamp light.
“What do you mean by off?” I ask.
Ms. Baker has always been an exemplary employee.
I hired her for her skills and have never been disappointed by her advice nor found her work ethic lacking.
Her ability to keep up with me throughout the years has made her an invaluable asset on many projects, but maybe I was too focused on her work and missed something obvious about her character.
Audrey shrugs. I tsk and lift her chin higher. Her heart hammers against her ribs and vibrates into my chest as I curl my fingers around her thigh.
“You brought this on yourself, baby doll. Answer the question.”
She swallows. Her throat shifts against my knuckles.
“She’s territorial over you, and you know it,” she accuses.
I lift a brow and rub my thumb over her inner thigh. She clenches her knees together and digs her nails into my wrist.
Despite her flushed cheeks and the visible peaks of her hardened nipples through her bra and blouse, I shift my hand to her outer thigh and slide the fingers of my other hand into her hair.
With the images of her standing dead-eyed and disassociated fresh in my mind, the terror lurking in her gaze is too much.
I never want to see her so lost again, and I’ll never forgive myself if she aims vacant eyes at me.
“Is my baby doll jealous? Or is it my lil stepsis who can’t stand having another woman so close to her big brother?”
My goading works. After a gut-wrenching moment of not responding, she scrunches her features and glowers at me.
“You’re disgusting,” she accuses.
“Disgusting is better—”
“—than a monster. Yeah, sure, whatever. We went through this already,” she interrupts with an impressive eye roll. “This has nothing to do with me being jealous and everything to do with your safety,” she insists.
For the first time since our run-in with my father, she vibrates with life. The intensity in her eyes isn’t from desperation or panic but from determination.
To protect and avenge me.
Gentle warmth flows through my soul. I missed this side of her. She’s the only one who has ever been able to reach beyond my defenses.
She pops my shoulder with the side of her fist as she continues.
“You don’t have to believe me, but—”
“I do believe you. You’d know better than I would if she had other intentions. I’ve only ever viewed her as an employee, so I doubt I’d notice unless she did something extreme,” I say.
“Is drugging you something you consider extreme?” she challenges.
I knead her scalp and squeeze her thigh.
“Yes, baby doll. Drugging me is extreme. I’m aware now and will be more cautious going forward.”
“Good. We confirmed it was your sandwich by matching a sample of your blood. The doctor also gave you fluids to help flush it from your system.” She taps my elbow, highlighting the bandage in the crook.
“They’re still analyzing the drug, but the main component was a sedative. Rest and hydrate well for the next few days until you recover,” she demands.
I ghost my thumb along her cheekbone.
“You know I won’t unless you make me,” I murmur.
She glares harder for half a heartbeat before donning a sickly sweet expression.
“Carlos already made copies of the security footage and ensured the other guards will notify him if anyone tries to tamper with the originals.”
My insides clench at her openly exaggerated approval of another man, and even though I know it’s irrational, I long to bury my fist in Lopez’s face.
“Liam took your jacket to some world-renowned tailor in his contact list and apparently that guy already had a suit in the works for you, so he finished it and sent it over. It’s hanging in the bathroom.”
Her attempt to goad me further falls flat as she rolls her eyes at how ridiculous she thinks the situation is.
As the saying goes, the suit makes the man. I can afford the luxuries of life because I worked my ass off, so I feel no guilt for booking the most sought-after tailor in New York.
My baby doll deserves the best, too. I run my fingers through her hair, enjoying the way her curls bounce and cling to our shoulders as I hold her close.
“You’ll go with me the next time I visit the tailor, and I’ll add you to my apartment’s security system,” I say.
“What? Why? Don’t—”
“Even if you never visit my place, I’ll feel better knowing you always have somewhere safe to hide.”
Her expression softens. She flattens her lips to hide their trembling and quirks a sarcastic brow.
“Fine, whatever,” she says.
I chuckle and run my fingers through her hair again, but she wraps her delicate ones around my wrist and halts me with my hand against her face.
“What did you mean last night?”
My brain blanks as I desperately search for hidden intimacy in her words, but then I recall my last thoughts before the drug took effect.
Despite her anxiety, she relayed all the information she had about my situation before asking about hers.
I don’t deserve her.
“Donald knows your mother’s new location,” I say.
Her pupils shrink and she pales.
“What? How? I just moved her on Monday.”
Her entire body trembles. I pull her closer.
“I think the scumbag has a mole in her caretaking team.”
“But I paid off the old team and hired brand new,” she murmurs.
“And how much money do you think that asshole threw at them?”
Even more color drains from her face.
“You’re right. I was stupid to think I could win with money.”
“That’s not what I meant, Audrey. People like him exploit their way to the top. His power comes from weaponizing everyone’s secrets. It’s the only reason his money works.”
Her expression closes down, but not to escape. She contemplates my words in silence for a few minutes. I stroke her hair and splay my fingers around her thigh, enjoying the firmness of her muscles.
She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and decimates my soul when she lifts her lashes and aims resolute vibrant-green orbs at me.
“I can’t move her again so soon, even if I had the money, but I’ll find a better place and—”
“I have money, love. More money than I can ever spend. We will find a better place and move her in secret this weekend. Until then, I’ll send someone to stay by her side and keep her safe.”
She pushes my hand away from her face and moves to stand. After warring within myself, I release her thigh and let her rise. She turns to face me, and I yearn to part her legs with my knees and pull her back down so she straddles my lap, but the seriousness in her expression locks me in place.
“If it were anything else, I’d tell you to take your money and shove it up your ass, but this is my mom. Her safety is more important than my pride. Don’t make me regret trusting you again, Brennan,” she says.
With the soft yellow lamplight glowing in her fiery locks and intensity shining in her bright green eyes, she’s the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.
“I won’t. You’re the only one for me, baby doll,” I vow.
She sucks down a sharp breath and clenches her fists at her sides. After a moment of gathering her courage, she forges ahead like a warrior riding into battle.
“I may never be able to give you anything beyond what we have now,” she challenges.
I smile and uncurl her fist one stiff finger at a time. Her pupils dilate when I slide my digits between hers and lock our hands together.
“You will, but take your time, love. I’m never leaving you again. Ever,” I promise.
Doubt lingers in her gaze, but she doesn’t balk when I lift our joined hands and kiss her knuckles.
I don’t care how long it takes or what I must do; I’ll earn her trust and stay by her side for the rest of our lives.
I’m hers and I’ll prove it by protecting, supporting, cherishing, and worshipping her.
Which means destroying the man who hurt her and tormented my childhood.
It won’t be easy since his influence spreads far and wide, but I’ll do it.
Donald Diamond may not know it yet, but everything he’s worked so hard to build is about to come crashing down around him.
I can’t wait to watch him suffer.