Chapter 9
NINE
DAEMON
I knew something was wrong when Nadia didn't answer my texts.
The first one at lunch went unanswered. Fine, she was busy. The second, at three, asked if she still wanted me to cook tonight. Her reply was one word: Yes.
Not can't wait or looking forward to it, not even one of her teasing comments about my cooking skills. Just yes.
By five o'clock, I was pacing Sofia's garden, phone in hand, trying to talk myself out of showing up at Nadia's commercial kitchen uninvited.
"You're going to wear a path in my grass," Sofia called from her back steps, where she was dead-heading roses.
"Sorry." I stopped pacing but couldn't stand still. "I was thinking."
"About Nadia?" She snipped another spent bloom. "Don't play dumb with me, Daemon Booth. You've checked your phone every five minutes since you got home."
There was no point in denying it. Sofia saw everything. "Something's off. She's not acting like herself."
"Then go to her." Sofia straightened, one hand on her lower back. "When you care about someone, you show up. Especially when they're pulling away."
"What if she doesn't want me to show up?"
"Then she'll tell you. But at least you'll know you tried." She waved her gardening shears at me. "Now go. And take her some of the lasagna from yesterday. Nothing says 'I care' like good food."
Twenty minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot behind Nadia's commercial kitchen. Her van was there, lights on inside, but the door was locked. I knocked, waited, and knocked again.
When she finally opened the door, I knew I'd been right to come.
Her eyes were red-rimmed, her face drawn. She was still in her navy jumpsuit, but it looked rumpled, like she'd been wearing it too long. And there was the way she looked at me, like she was drowning and didn't know if I was a life raft or just another wave.
"Daemon." Her voice was hoarse. "I forgot. Dinner. I'm sorry, I—"
"Hey." I stepped inside and pulled her into my arms before she could protest. "Talk to me. What happened?"
She froze, then sagged against me, and I felt the fight go out of her.
"Elevate called," she said into my chest. "They offered to buy me out. Make me their regional manager. Salary, benefits, everything."
That should have been good news. Stability, security, everything she needed. But the way she said it...
"But?" I prompted.
She pulled back, arms wrapped around herself. "The woman who called, Samantha Morrison. She didn't name one detail of my life, and somehow she described all of it."
Her voice cracked. "That's what scared me, Daemon. It was a threat built so it could never be called one. Like she was telling me she could make things difficult if I didn't play along, without saying a single word I could repeat to anyone."
Cold fury settled in my gut. "What did you tell her?"
"That I wasn't interested. That I’d built this business and wasn’t giving it up." She laughed, but there was no humor in it. "She said they'd be in touch, anyway. Like my answer didn't matter. Like it's only a matter of time before I have no choice."
I caught her hands and made her look at me. "You always have a choice."
"Do I?" she said before pulling away and pacing. "I lost Pacific Tech. Tony from Coastal Produce is probably taking an exclusive contract with Elevate. How many more clients can I afford to lose before I'm operating in the red? How long before I can't make payroll? Can't help my parents?"
She stopped and faced me. "How long before the smart business decision is to take their offer and cut my losses?"
"Is that what you want?"
"No!" The word was fierce. "I want to fight. I want to tell them to go to hell. I want..." she trailed off, looking lost. "I don't know how to fight a corporation, Daemon. I don't have their resources. Their lawyers. Their deep pockets."
"But you have me." I closed the distance between us. "And you have your team. And you have this whole town once they figure out what's happening."
"That's not enough against—"
"It's a start." I pulled out my phone. "I'm calling Malakai. This isn't just aggressive business practices anymore. If they're researching your family and using personal information to pressure you, there could be legal issues."
"Daemon, it's almost six—"
"Mal won't care." I was already dialing. "Trust me."
He answered on the second ring. "What's up?"
I explained everything. The buyout offer, the personal information, the veiled threats. Malakai listened without interrupting, and I could practically hear him taking notes.
"That's potentially actionable," he said when I finished. "Depending on how we frame it. But more importantly, it's stupid. They're leaving a paper trail."
"Can you look into them?" I asked. "Find out if they've done this before?"
"Already started when you mentioned them earlier. Give me until tomorrow morning. I'll call Chase and Cole. Between the three of us, we should find something." He tipped his head to the side and clicked his neck before continuing. "How's Nadia holding up?"
I looked across the kitchen at her. She was watching me with an expression that was equal parts hope and fear.
"She's strong," I said. "But she shouldn't have to do this alone."
"No, she shouldn't. Not when she's got you. Which means she's got all of us." He fell silent for a beat. "Daemon? Don't let her decide tonight. Not when she's scared and exhausted. Make her eat something, get some rest, and we'll regroup tomorrow with a plan."
After I hung up, Nadia was quiet, though not for long.
"Malakai," she finally said. "He's really willing to help? Even though he barely knows me?"
"He knows you matter to me. That's enough." I moved toward her. "And you're not a burden. This is how people show they care about each other. They show up."
She looked like she might cry. "I'm scared."
"I know." I pulled her close again, felt her arms come around my waist. "But we're going to figure this out. Together."
"Together," she repeated, like she was testing the word.
"Now." I pulled back, keeping my hands on her shoulders. "When did you last eat?"
"I... had coffee and a pastry this morning?"
"Christ, Nadia." I steered her toward a chair. "Sit. I'm making you something."
"You don't have to—"
"Relax, I've got this." I walked out to my truck and grabbed the leftover lasagna.
After setting it on the large stainless-steel table in the middle of the kitchen, I opened an industrial refrigerator and weighed my options.
"I can reheat the lasagna and throw together a salad. Nothing fancy, but it's edible."
She sank into the chair, looking exhausted. "You came prepared to cook."
"Not so much cook as reheat. Sofia insisted. She's weirdly invested in making sure you're fed."
"She barely knows me."
"She knows I'm different around you. That's enough for Sofia." I started chopping vegetables for the salad. "She's been waiting years for me to find someone who matters."
"And do I matter?" Her voice was soft.
I stopped chopping and turned to look at her. "Yeah, Nadia. You matter."
We ate at the prep table, surrounded by stainless steel and commercial equipment. It wasn't romantic, but it felt right. Real.
"This is fantastic," she said, forking up more food. "The lasagna is incredible."
"That's all thanks to Sofia. All I did was heat it up." I watched her eat, relieved to see some color coming back to her face. "Feel better?"
"Yeah," she said before taking another bite. "I didn't realize how hungry I was."
"That happens when you're stressed. You forget the basics." I reached across the table and caught her hand. "Promise me you won't decide about Elevate without sleeping on it."
"Daemon—"
"I mean it. Malakai and the others will find something. I know they will. But even if they don't, there are options. We'll figure it out." I gripped her hand. "Don't give up yet. Not when we're just getting started."
Her eyes searched mine. "Why are you doing this? We barely know each other. We've slept together twice. Why do you care so much about my business problems?"
"Because they're your problems. Which makes them my problems." I stood and pulled her to her feet.
"Six months ago, I watched you handle a drunk groomsman with calm competence that made me realize I was completely screwed.
Every time I see you, you're taking care of everyone else.
Your family, your staff, your clients. You deserve someone in your corner for once. "
"Daemon." Her voice broke on my name.
The next words were right there. The same ones that had stalled in my chest two nights ago, no smaller for the wait.
They didn't make it out this time either.
"I know it's fast," I said instead. "And I know you're scared.
But I'm not going anywhere. So you can either keep trying to handle everything alone, or you can let me help. "
She stared at me like I was her entire world. Then she kissed me, like she didn't have words for what she was feeling and had decided she didn't need them.
"Okay," she whispered against my lips. "Okay. Help me."
"Always."
She took my hand and led me into her small office, then kissed me again, slower this time, her lips trembling against mine. I ran my thumb along her jaw, letting her feel that I wasn't going anywhere.
Her hands found the hem of my shirt, inching it up my body until I had to break the kiss to pull it over my head.
Her eyes roamed my chest like she was memorizing me, then she traced the crooked bridge of my nose with a feather-light touch. "Does it hurt?"
"Not anymore," I said, catching her hand and pressing a kiss to her palm. "Not when you touch me."
Her gaze, vulnerable and open, met mine in a look that unraveled me. I leaned in, her scent filling my senses, and kissed her again, softer this time, savoring it.
She let me undress her, then I eased her back along the worn couch, and she sucked in air thanks to the cold leather. For a second, I didn't move, too busy drinking in the perfection of her body. Her curves called to me, her lush breasts begging to be touched.
I lowered my mouth to one, teasing her nipple with my tongue until she sighed my name, her back arching into me. She met every touch warm and eager, and I lost track of everything except her. My hand slid lower, slipping into her folds, stroking until her thighs opened willingly for me.
She gasped when I found her slick and ready, her hips rocking against my fingers. "Love me," she whispered, clutching my shoulders as I laid her back on the couch.
"I will," I promised, and I meant beyond this moment. Then my brain caught up with the rest of me, and I went still. "I don't have a condom on me."
She blinked up at me. "The player came unprepared?"
"I stopped carrying them." The admission cost less than I expected. "Around the time I started chasing you. Got myself tested instead, in case this ever went somewhere. Carrying one felt like assuming. Getting tested felt like hoping."
Something shifted in her eyes. She reached up and laid her palm against my jaw. "I'm covered. I trust you."
Three words I'd done nothing to earn yet and everything to keep. When I finally covered her, pressing into her slowly, she clung to me, her forehead resting against mine, our breaths tangled.
I stayed still, giving her time, giving myself the chance to feel the enormity of what this meant. Then I moved within her, deep and unhurried, nothing between us, savoring the way her body welcomed me.
Every thrust was deliberate, every kiss lingering. She whispered my name, tracing patterns down my back as we moved together. I held her close, pressing kisses to her temple, her jaw, her lips, grounding her even as the pleasure built between us.
When she came, it was quiet, her body trembling around mine, her lips pressed to my neck. I followed, groaning softly into her hair, the release more tender than raw.
This was uncharted territory for my love life, and it scared the crap out of me. We stayed tangled together, breaths mingling, sweat cooling slowly, her head tucked beneath my chin.
"I need to tell you something," she whispered.
"Okay."
"When the woman from Elevate called, when she knew all about my family... She even mentioned my sister and her kids." She took a calming breath before going on. "For a second, I thought about taking the offer. Not because I wanted to, but because it would be easier. Safer."
"But you didn't."
"No. I'd spend the rest of my life wondering if I could have made it work. If I'd given up too soon." She looked up at me. "I'm not ready to do that."
I squeezed her, then kissed the freckles on the bridge of her nose. "Good. Because I know you'd hate yourself if you bailed."
"Even though it's terrifying?"
"Especially because it's terrifying." I kissed her forehead this time. "But maybe that's okay. Maybe being terrified means we're doing something that matters."
"Then I suppose we keep doing it," she said.
"That's the plan. Now, come on. Let me take you home. To my place. You need proper sleep in an actual bed, not on this couch. And I need to know you're safe."
She didn't argue, just gathered her things and followed me to my truck.
When we pulled up to Sofia's house, the old woman was waiting on the porch with a knowing smile and two steaming cups of hot chocolate. "Made the old-fashioned way." That meant the drinks were thick enough to stand a spoon in, made with real dark chocolate.
"You'll stay for breakfast," Sofia informed Nadia, holding out a mug that featured two kittens playing with a ball of string. "I'll make eggs. Real eggs, not that powdered nonsense."
Nadia laughed. The first genuine laugh I'd heard from her all day. "I'd love that."
It felt like minutes after we'd finished our hot drinks before Nadia fell asleep in my arms. As I held her, watching her breathe, I felt the weight of what we were building together.
Tomorrow, Malakai and the others would have information. Tomorrow, we'd start fighting back. Tomorrow, we'd figure out how to beat Elevate at their own game.
But tonight, this was enough. Her in my arms, choosing to trust me with the weight she carried, before she'd even decided what to call the man carrying it.
Whatever name this thing ended up wearing, neither of us was facing it alone.