Chapter 13
You are definitely not the same.
Ben
It’s been two nights and three days since I got Annie situated in her new place.
Three long days since I last saw her, but it might as well have been months.
I’ve never wished for a superpower before, but every day when I wake up and look out my window, I think I’d give just about anything to have X-ray vision so I can see into her loft.
I’m kicking my own ass for being the idiot who gave her space because I can’t be pissed that she’s taking it. We’ve talked on the phone multiple times a day, but those conversations have been surface, and they’re not cutting it anymore.
She seems happy and content even though she hasn’t left the building yet. But her license was transferred, and she starts her new job today. I wanted to take her to dinner to celebrate, but her shift doesn’t end until eleven. I’m not cool with that, but I’ll argue about it another day.
Right now, I just want to see her. I need to look into her eyes and make sure she’s okay.
I’m desperate to get my hands on her, to reassure myself that she’s still here, still close, and she’s not leaving.
I’m respecting that this is all an adjustment and it’ll take time for her, but it’s killing me to be apart when she’s so close.
I’ve still been working both jobs to keep busy in an attempt to keep my mind off her, but it doesn’t do shit.
I’m wired, excited, practically obsessed, thinking about her as much as I am.
How she feels in my arms, how that shy smile takes my breath away, how her emerald eyes twinkle when I touch her.
How soft her skin is, how perfect her curves are, how much I want to explore every inch of her body.
But most importantly, how her confession forced me to admit to myself what I’ve been in denial about for years.
I’ve barely slept, but I wake up on edge…in more ways than one. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt—a yearning, a magnetism beneath my skin that strains to fuse with hers. The urge to touch her, to be close, to kiss her? That desire is threatening to shatter my sanity.
“Bennett.” Drew’s booming voice sounds so much like my dad’s that I jump in my seat. It takes a second to remember I’m at work. “Are you fuckin’ listening?”
I wasn’t. I haven’t been able to pay attention to anything for the past week because as soon as I start, Annie infiltrates my mind and won’t leave. “Sorry, didn’t catch it.” I sit up and force myself to focus.
He narrows his eyes, then speaks to me like I’m a toddler. “I said, Fitz needs some shifts covered in surveillance. I asked if you’d be able to take one.”
I lift a shoulder. “Yeah, just let me know when so I can get coverage at Someday’s.”
“We need Saturday morning.”
“That works for me, I’ll have Harlan shadow, too.” Harlan and Spencer are the two newbies I’ve been training.
He nods toward Fitz. “Fitzy has something else.”
“Thanks.” Fitz stands and addresses the half a dozen guys sitting around the table.
Aside from us, four others are actively on assignments, and the two new guys aren’t qualified yet.
“Clearly, LPA is growing, and that means my caseload is, too, so I’m outsourcing some help.
I’ve sent a profile to all of your emails in case you’d like to look into him further, but I can assure you he’s solid. ”
“We trust your judgment, Fitz. You know that.”
Not one to like the spotlight on him, he continues as if he didn’t hear me.
“His name is Scotty Damato, and he’s an independent contractor specializing in cybersecurity.
He’s coming in to help me streamline some programs, automate new-client intake and daily reports, and test the upgraded monitoring system I designed.
If he can’t penetrate it, then we’ll roll it out next month. ”
“Sounds good. Any questions?” Drew glances around the room, and when no one responds, he ends the meeting.
The guys trickle out, but when I move to leave, Drew stops me. “Everything all right with Annie?”
That was a loaded question. “Yes. Why?”
“You got the alert for the hits on her credit report, right?”
“Yeah. She had to have her background run for the new job.”
He nods. “Right. That’s all well?”
“Yep. She starts today.”
“Ahh. So that’s why you signed out a tracker?”
I’m not a fan of that underlying criticism. “You got a problem with it?”
“No.” He draws out the word. “But she will if she finds out she lost a stalker only to gain another.”
“It’s for her safety.”
“Vito’s dead. She lives across the street from you. She’s safe, Ben.”
It would be easier on my psyche if I could believe that. “Something still isn’t sitting right with me about how Vito died. It was too easy, too convenient.”
“I get it. But we’ve spent countless hours on this over the past few days and we’ve found no evidence that it wasn’t him. I understand you want to be cautious, but as of right now, she’s safe.”
“I know you think I’m being emotional about it and everyone is ready to give up, but I’m not ready to accept that.”
“We’re not giving up, we’re still monitoring her.”
I roll my shoulders. “I’m also well aware that Poe hasn’t done anything out of his norm, but I just can’t shake that feeling I’m missing something with him, too.”
“You’re sure it has nothing to do with you just being overprotective of her?”
“Absolutely not.” I link my fingers behind my neck. “I need more time before I close her case, so until then, I’m tracking her like I would any other client.”
“But she’s not just a client.”
“Who’s not just a client?” Charlie sticks her head into the room, and her long, dark hair gathered on the top of her head swishes, defining why it’s called a ponytail.
Drew grabs his phone off the table and holds his hands up. “I’m not in this.” He hugs our sister as he’s walking out.
“Who’s not just a client?” she repeats.
“What are you doing here? Everything okay?”
“I haven’t seen you or heard from you in almost a week, so I could ask you the same thing.
” She searches my face, then narrows her eyes at me.
“You know I know she’s here. I heard from Mom how wonderful she is, and then Dad went on about how proud he was of you for doing right by her.
Imagine my surprise when I find out that you got Annie a job and an apartment here from Kit. ”
Charlie was the only one I truly let in after I was shot. I let her help change my bandages, she brought me soup when all the meds were making me sick, and she took me to physical therapy.
We were always tight, but in that time, we got even closer.
I helped her work through her own trauma, I held her when she cried, I woke her up from her nightmares…and she woke me up from mine. Nightmares that nobody else knows about. Nightmares that Charlie blames Annie for, along with everything else I went through.
I love my sister, I adore her, but she can hold a grudge like no other. “I don’t want your bitterness chasing Annie away because I don’t want her to leave…ever.” Saying it out loud came easy, but it shocked Charlie.
Her eyes pop. “You think I would chase her away?”
“You placed a lot of blame on her and let me know exactly how you feel about her.”
“Yeah, because I was pissed my brother was hurting. Do you seriously think I’m such a bitch that I’d be mean to your girlfriend?”
I chose not to answer that directly. “What I feel for her is deep…and I don’t want to be forced into a position where I have to choose sides.”
She lurches back, her long dark hair flying with the quick movement. “You’d choose some woman you barely know over your own sister?”
“I know Annie better than you think. And I know her well enough to know she’d never put me in a position to choose in the first place.”
“Wow. So I guess that’s a yes…nice.”
I don’t deny it fast enough, and she storms away.
“Dammit.” I take off after her and don’t catch up until she’s halfway down the block in front of her salon. “Stop running, or I’m gonna take my key back so you can’t sneak into the bar and steal Kahlúa anymore.”
She yanks her wrist out of my grip and makes fists at her side. “I don’t steal from Someday’s…I borrow.”
“I don’t care that you do. Why do you think I always have half a dozen bottles of RumChata?”
Her eyes get soft for a split second before she pokes me in the chest. “If she makes you happy, then I’d never do anything to mess with that.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I just…” I sigh. “She has no one else, Charlie. No family, maybe a couple of friends, and me. I didn’t exactly give her much choice to be here, but I’m going to do everything I can to get her to stay.”
“Okay. Fine. It’s all good. I’m just annoyed because Tara’s my first client and I don’t want to deal with her.”
Tara Ellis used to be in my sister’s friend group and always had a thing for me. I do not like the woman, and I am not attracted to her in the slightest. So when she vied for my attention, I turned her down repeatedly with the lie that I didn’t want us dating to affect her and Charlie’s friendship.
She then begged and pleaded with Charlie so much that my sister finally had enough and essentially forced me to take Tara out. It was the most uncomfortable and awkward date in my life, and when I told Tara there wouldn’t be another, she took it as a challenge.
And to this day, she still hasn’t given up.
“Why don’t you just tell her to find a new salon?”
“Keep your psycho friends close…” She shuffles toward Vogueish. “Later, broski.”
I reach past her and pull the door open. “We’re good, right?”
“Always.”
I turn around and look above the coffee shop. Her curtains are finally open, and I take that as a sign. I’m not waiting for an invitation any longer. I jaywalk across the street to the back of the building.
The back door is unlocked, and I make a mental note to talk to the manager of Caffeine Bean so that doesn’t happen again. I head up the slim stairwell that’s identical to mine. When I reach the small landing outside Annie’s door, I knock harder than I mean to.
“It’s me, Annie. Open up.”
“You don’t need to yell,” she says by way of greeting.
“You were taking too long.”
“It took me like ten seconds.”
I shrug as I make my way inside. “Like I said.”
“I see the years haven’t taught you more patience.”
“I’ve been very patient, sweetheart,” I counter. “I haven’t seen you for days.”
She rolls her eyes. “You have a life, Ben, and you’ve gone above and beyond. I don’t want to be more of a burden. You don’t need to check on me. I’m a big girl. I’m fine.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to refute, but something occurs to me. “You’re not scared anymore, are you?”
She crosses her arms across her chest, right under her breasts. “Not really, is that bad? Should I be scared?”
“No.” That’s my job.
“Then why did you ask?”
“Because when you weren’t scared, you’d get sassy. And right now, you’re throwing a lot of attitude at me. You’re acting different today, and I like it.”
She bites the corner of her lip, then releases it slowly. “I am still the same person.”
“No. I don’t think so.” Angling my head, I let my gaze roam over her—taking in every inch of the hourglass shape of her body, barely covered by a pair of skimpy shorts and a form-fitting tank top.
Not sure if I like her better in this red set or the purple one, but dammit all to hell, she’s sexy in both. “You are definitely not the same.”
A pretty blush stains her cheeks. “I’m not?”
“Un-uh.” I grab her waist and pull her close, then wrap my fingers around the back of her neck.
She blinks up at me, and I gaze down at her.
“Your eyes are even more green. You cut your hair,” I say, sliding my fingers through the silky strands.
I trail my finger down her spine and across the exposed skin at her lower back, then press her even closer, chest to chest. “Your breasts are bigger, so round, perfect…I can’t fuckin’ wait to get my hands on them. ”
She’s trembling but frozen to the spot, and I’m afraid I pushed too fast. This is what I was afraid of. But then she pushes up on her toes and slams her mouth against mine.
This time, I don’t push her away.
I tilt my head, trace my tongue across the seam of her lips, and fuck. So good, too good. She wraps her arms around my neck and opens for me, shyly touching the tip of her tongue against mine. She suddenly pulls hers back, then covers her mouth with her hand.
What the hell? “What’s wrong?”
“Morning breath,” she mumbles.
My shoulders shake with a silent laugh, and I reach up to pull her hands away. I kiss her nose, then her lips ever so slightly. “For future reference, I don’t care about morning breath.”
“Okay.”
“But I do care about you, and you’re too fucking tempting, so I have to go now.”
“I am?”
“Annie. Come on.” I step back and motion to her pajamas. “You know that’s hot as shit.”
She looks down, then back up at me. “My pj’s?”
Fuck, she’s adorable. A little clueless, but I kind of like it. “Yes, but I bet you’ll be even hotter out of them. Are you still doing your orientation today?”
Her head moves in an affirmative.
“All right. Call me after and let me know how it goes.”
“Okay. What if I stop in for a drink to tell you?”
“Call me, babe. Then we’ll have breakfast tomorrow. You got Froot Loops?”
She crosses her arms over her chest as if she has a chill. “Is my name Annie Farrow?”
“It is.” But it won’t be much longer…