Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Sage
Daddy: Good.
That’s all I hear from him all day. He wasn’t waiting for me in my house. No note or message of any kind.
I went to work, narrowly avoiding Liam and Dorian in the office.
I hadn’t expected to see Liam back for another couple of days.
Dorian’s eyes lit up as he spotted me going into my office to get what I needed for my viewing this afternoon, but I was out the door before he could free himself from Liam and make his way to my office.
Willow handed me a note he left for me when I returned. I took it, but not before cringing while plucking it from her hand with two fingernails. I offered her a smile before going to my office and doing the paperwork for the offer my client decided to make.
I called Nova while I cooked dinner. Even staying on the line in silence seemed to comfort her. Both of us. Knowing she was there helped ease my worry about her.
And now, I’m in pajamas with a glass of whiskey resting on the arm of the couch and staring out the window in my darkened home. Dark and empty home.
One word from him, that was it. After almost holding me hostage, he only offers one word. Swirling my drink in the glass, I mull over what happened. What I saw.
There’s more under the surface of everyone. But the doctor begged. And then he begged me to help him.
Other than the orgasm-induced nap at Barrett’s, I haven’t tried closing my eyes.
I’m not going to turn Barrett in or tell anyone what I saw, who he is, and certainly not how I know him. I need to learn to live with the things I know now. Maybe he’d been right to push me away from it, but I can’t imagine any circumstance where I would have listened.
The back door slides open behind me. I feel the light breeze of the night blow on my neck. If Barrett didn’t want me to know he was here, I wouldn’t. Tilting my head, I say, “You could use the front door.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
He’s right. I think I’d be disappointed if he came in that way.
Barrett stands behind me, sliding his hand over my jaw to the front of my throat. My heart skips and he must feel it in my pulse.
“What’s the job this time?” As I ask, I’m hoping he isn’t here for that. That he came here for me. To see me. But the sigh slowly leaking out of his nose to hit the top of my head says otherwise.
“I need you to break into your boss’s office.”
I shove his hand away from my throat and stand, whirling on him. “You need me to do what? I thought you said I’d walk away from this unharmed and unaffected. I don’t think losing my job classifies as either of those.”
“He won’t know it was you.”
“There are cameras everywhere in that office and outside of the building.” Liam insisted on stronger security than most.
“Why is that?” he asks as if leading a child to the right conclusion.
I blink. “The same reason any business puts up security cameras. For security.” I don’t hide the duh tone I throw at him like he’s an idiot. He narrows his eyes. He doesn’t appreciate it and my core softens with that warning in his shadowed stare.
“We can get past the cameras.”
“If you think I know how to do that or have access to any other systems, you’re mistaken.”
“I don’t need you to take care of the cameras.” He’s too calm. Standing perfectly straight behind the couch. There’s something solemn about him tonight, as if he doesn’t want to be here.
“Fine. When?”
He doesn’t answer.
“Now? Seriously? I haven’t slept in two days.”
“Now, pet.” He says gently and nods. “Get changed.”
After tonight, it will be three down and two to go. I tip back my glass, wincing as I empty the contents in one gulp. Fuck, that burns. Then I stalk up the stairs to my room. Barrett doesn’t follow me, and I’m grateful for it.
Right? I am grateful to be in my room alone now, right?
I flip through my closet, searching for an appropriate outfit for espionage.
Or should I make myself look professional as if I’m working late in case we get caught?
Since someone who would know the answer to that didn’t follow me, I try to pick something that is dark but could be explained away as casual.
Jeans and a grey sweater. Comfortable flats and my hair down to finish it off.
“Let’s get this over with,” I say as I make my way down the stairs. Barrett hasn’t moved. He’s braced with his hand on the back of the couch and his gaze on the floor.
Slowly, he straightens. “Let’s go.” He moves to the back door and waits for me.
“I have to sneak out of my own house?”
“Yes.” He’s almost sad and it hits me. He doesn’t want to include me in this, but this time, I am his only choice, or at least the most convenient choice. The other two jobs didn’t really put me at risk. They weren’t anything he couldn’t have done on his own, but this is different.
Inwardly, I shake the thoughts off. I’m reading too much into him. A man who’s difficult to read on a good day, let alone late at night in the shadows.
Barrett leads me around my own backyard and through my own back gate until we get to his car. Another one I don’t recognize. Does he have an endless supply or somehow acquire a new one for every job?
We’re parked several blocks away from Morrison and Harper Real Estate, waiting. Barrett hasn’t said a word for twenty minutes.
“Barrett?”
His head twists toward me, only an inch, but the movement is such a quick snap that I’m sure he’s about to reprimand me. For what? Speaking? Or not calling him Daddy?
His phone buzzes and he answers without saying anything. He listens, then hangs up. Still, he says nothing as he passes me the small leather gloves I left at his house, then pulls back onto the road to park closer to the building, but not in front of it.
“There are cameras out here, too. And most of the businesses on this street have them.”
“They’re taken care of. I just need you to unlock the door and Morrison’s office.”
When I reach for the handle, he stops me with a grasp on my arm. “That hasn’t changed.”
I wait until he’s out of the car before I say, “But something has.”