11. Alana
Alana
Last night I ran the numbers, and two weeks was all I could give him.
Everyone would be in Florida for the next five days, and Lance and Izzy wouldn’t be back for another few days after that.
We could be low profile, have some fun and then vanish into the wind.
Anything longer than a brief fling, and it increased the risk of getting caught.
What the hell changed? The best night of sleep I’ve had in years that wasn’t assisted by heavy medication? His damn sincerity?
This is a mistake—a huge one. He’s a client, he’s off-limits and we have a history. And I’ve put myself in the worst position possible.
I had a plan for the last five years—I should’ve stuck to it. It’s bad enough I bent the plan enough to give him one week, but two? What the hell was I thinking?
Worst of all, I might be putting him in danger by association. The madman trying to destroy the Four Families is still out there. This is literally the exact opposite of my job and what I’ve been trying to do for the last few years.
I could—no SHOULD—change my number and vanish. Again. Maybe I’ll spend more time at Grasshopper, my tech company. It’s based out on the West Coast. Distance and time, that’s what I need.
But I’m impressed by how far he’s come. When I first met him back in high school, we were assigned to be writing partners in English class.
I had no idea who he was, we only had one class together.
For four years we ran parallel lives that never intersected.
He used to have massive panic attacks and bursts of anger when he couldn’t regulate his emotions.
His brain played cruel tricks on him all the time, and his Fuck Nugget of a dad didn’t help matters either.
Fuck Nugget used to feed into Davin… um, Grae’s worst fears.
The attraction wasn’t instant and it took time, but I saw who he could be, and I saw the beauty in who he was.
And he kept my darker impulses in line. With him consuming most of my mental energy, I didn’t have time for revenge plans or destroying the evil around me.
He showed me a better world, and that I could be strong without requiring destruction.
Even in his worst moments, he gave me hope, light and love.
But when we broke up, all that light was extinguished. My friends and future vanished, and I gave in to every one of my darkest instincts. Thank Odin that Penny found and trained me. She opened my world to new paths, and I owe her everything.
Between Mastodon, The Four Families, other crime-adjacent allies and the Olympians, I have enough on my plate.
There’re already too many worlds to juggle.
And if Grae gets added to the mix, then that means Amanda comes too—and I don’t know if I want her in my personal life.
I have zero ill will towards her, but another history is there, and I’m not sure how she will handle it. It’s more for her benefit than mine.
See? Too complicated. Just ghost him or respond with one-word answers. I’ve already spent too much energy on this.
Ignore that I came more last night than I have in the last two years total. Or that I slept better with him next to me than I have in a decade. Or that he made me feel cared for. He even got me food and clothes and left me alone in the shower.
When I come into the office, wearing the clothes Grae bought, Macie and Markus are standing over a phone.
Macie waves me over, “What do you mean we have to put a shutdown on Phoenix’s accounts?”
Phoenix is the name we use for Grae when we are talking in an official capacity. My stomach drops. We’ve put holds on accounts before, normally for a high-risk client, but never him.
“He’s too stoned right now to make any logical decisions.” Darren’s voice crackles through the speakers.
No. My brain screams that nothing about that sentence can be right. Grae doesn’t do drugs. There was the OD incident, but that was a straight up murder attempt. My breakfast is about to spill over Macie’s desk. I just left him, how the hell did he get drugs this fast? Did I push him over the edge?
“Can you repeat that?” Markus appears as green as I feel. Darren sighs like it’s this huge inconvenience.
“Phoenix is sex stoned. He met a girl last night, and now he’s being a total fucking idiot.” Oh, thank Odin. I can’t handle watching him OD again.
“So, he isn’t intoxicated and in need of medical assistance?” I ask.
“Boss, is that you?” Darren’s voice perks up.
“Yeah, I’m here.” He laughs, and I am in zero mood.
“I don’t know how you worked your magic, but you were able to find Pen Girl, his high school girlfriend he’s been pining over for years. Poor guy’s been looking for her for over a decade and, shit, he’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him.”
Every nerve is on fire, and my brain is trying to comprehend three incorrect statements. I didn't set him up, and he wasn’t searching for me for years, without it crossing my radar. Impossible. And there’s no way I made him that happy.
“He’s such an amazing guy. I’m glad he’s happy.” Macie pats me on the shoulder, grinning ear to ear.
“Which is why I don’t want him to mess it up.
” Darren interjects. “I’m taking his phone from him, so he doesn’t text or call her and say something to chase her off.
Apparently, she gave him a time limit and now he thinks he has two weeks to get her to fall in love with him.
” In love with him? Does he think that’s really an option?
My cheeks burn as blood rushes to every part of my body at once, which means my brain must be starving for oxygen. That’s the only explanation for why my lips curl upwards. Markus catches my eye and sees my smile.
“Did he give you her name?” He asks.
Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit. Of course he will. Phoenix always follows the rules, and he’s going to request a full background search.
“Nah, he’s being cagey about the details. He wants to respect her privacy.” Win. That’s my boy… no, my client. He’s not mine in any other capacity.
I’m about to speak when Markus says, “Then let’s leave it like that until it becomes an issue.” Double win. I’m giving Markus a raise, or maybe fancy donuts. Whatever.
“So can we lock his accounts, for his and her benefit?” Darren asks.
“Give him a one-thousand-dollar allowance for the next seventy-two hours. Then we’ll reevaluate the situation.” I’m very proud of my professional tone here. Macie moves into her seat and starts clicking away.
“Done.”
“Great.” Darren's voice echoes through the speakers. “He’s going to need supervision all day.” I flip through the schedule in my mind.
“You’re supposed to be on Honey Badger’s detail from 6 to12 tonight.” Darren groans.
“Do you think that’s enough time before he calls her and acts like a fool?” The three of us exchange looks. Markus and Macie are looking at each other because they don’t think it is, but I’m watching them for any signal that they know my mask slipped.
“After 6 he’s on his own. He’s a grown ass man. He can take care of himself.” I reply.
But Darren says, “oooooooo” and in my mind I can see his squished-up face and shoulders hitched high. “That’s gonna leave a mark.”
“What happened?” Macie asks before I can.
“Grae and his MMA trainer are going at it. Some broken skin, they’ll be fine. Neither of them wants to stop the sparring match.”
My clit pulses and my panties get instantly damp.
Back when he was a kid, he used to do a lot of MMA training.
He even competed a few times before I met him.
Sweet, broken artist who thought I was the whole universe, and could also get his fists bloody?
I don’t know what’s hotter—if he’s the one bleeding or the other guy.
“I’m going to my office to work.” I need to focus on something that isn’t Grae.
Once alone, I check on basic intel about the Deviant and other criminal enterprises.
It’s easy enough, the big crime bosses are in a group chat.
It’s mostly memes, because I’m dealing with men.
I avoid another call from my doctor—no news is good news, and denial is a lovely place to live.
I have an email from the auction to set up the delivery for Hadeon’s script. Ten minutes… I’ve been in the office for ten minutes, and five of those were dealing with Grae. Fuckkkkk. It’s going to be a long-ass day.
Maybe everything will be fine. It’s only two weeks. He can’t possibly fall in love with me in two weeks, right? And if I keep my guard up and don’t get too attached, I should be fine.
I shoot out a group text:
How long did it take you to fall for your partner?
Dimitri: Back in Russia it took about six months for me to fall for Katya.
Katya: Same.
Lance: One month
Izzy: I thought he was hot instantly, but real feelings didn’t start until he bought me plates.
Lance: Nothing says love like flatware.
Waverly: I always loved Lukas, never stopped.
Lukas: I was a bitter little shit when I wasn’t with Wave, it took about two days for me to remember who I wanted to be.
Joey: Three days.
Jenny: Three days—but I make bad impulsive decisions, and I keep waiting for him to realize it. It’s like the longest game of chicken I’ve ever played
.
Ok, so some of my friends seem responsible.
Six months to a month. Waverly and Lukas are outliers and shouldn’t count.
Grae won’t fall in love with me in two weeks if I keep my guard up.
I should be fine. Still, I have one more option.
I don’t want to bring her into this, but I don’t think I have a choice.
Me: Can you talk?
Lena: Is it Apa?
Apa is our emergency code word, drop everything and get to her side as fast as humanly possible.
Me: No
Lena: I’m about to go into a concept meeting for the upcoming tour and then go to training. Talk later?
Me: Sure.
Cool, just me alone with my thoughts. What could possibly go wrong here?
This day is the longest day ever. I’m pretty sure we did a time loop around 11 am and 1 pm because I swear the clock never moved. But at 5:30 my phone buzzes. It’s not Lena, and my cheeks flush as soon as I see the name. Come on woman, get your shit together.
A Total Mistake (that’s what I called him in my contacts):
Hey my phone was rudely stolen earlier. Otherwise, I would have texted sooner.
Me: NP I was working.
A Total Mistake: You up for dinner?
I promised I wouldn’t ghost him, but I didn’t say anything about dinner. Or seeing him again. Say no. No. It’s two letters and a full sentence.
Me: absolutely
Dammit, okay it's only two weeks … whatever this is, and then go back to the original plan. This could work, right?