Chapter 32
Yasmine
“I can’t sleep here tonight.” Feeling absolutely wrung out after the cops left, Yasmine sank down onto one of her kitchen chairs. “What if he comes back?”
Even if she used her guest bedroom, she doubted she would get a second of sleep.
Besides, looking at the mess, she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep here until it was all cleaned up.
And she didn’t have the energy to do that right now.
She felt so empty, but looking at the mess made her want to start crying all over again.
“You can stay with me,” Claudia said immediately.
Yasmine couldn’t help but peek at Zeus. She’d worried he was going to leave when the officers did, and that she wouldn’t get a chance to talk to him to at least try to explain—although she still wasn’t sure what she might be able to say to do so—but he was still here.
Standing on the opposite side of the kitchen from her, arms crossed over his chest, not looking at her, but he was here.
“Or I’m sure you could stay with Sassafras over there.”
Now Zeus’ head jerked to attention, and he focused on Claudia with a frown.
“With me?”
Yasmine’s heart sank in her chest. He didn’t want her staying with him. She couldn’t blame him. But how was she going to fix this if he wouldn’t look at her, much less talk to her?
Was it fixable? Or should she just give up and let the curse have its way?
It wasn’t like they were in a real relationship.
But it didn’t matter. She still didn’t want what they had to end. Real or not.
“Yes, with you. She’ll probably feel safer there.
This asshole tracked her because she gave a class for Naomi’s shelter.
Guess who else has taught classes there?
” Claudia raised her hand. “Guess who hasn’t?
” Her hand lowered to a pointing finger at Zeus before dropping back to the table, where she covered Yasmine’s tapping fingers.
The sudden silence was jarring. “Plus, I’ll be here for a while tonight. ”
“You will?” Zeus and Yasmine asked at the same time, and she glanced at him. Their gazes caught for just the briefest moment before he looked away again.
“I will.” Claudia nodded. “Partly in case the asshole comes back.” The smile that accompanied her statement was predatory, and a dark gleam in her eye promised retribution if he made that mistake. “But also to rally the troops to put this all back together.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Yasmine said in a rush, even as her heart warmed at the offer.
“I know I don’t have to, but I am. You know everyone will want to come help. Mason. David. Drew. Jensen. Naomi. Cassidy. Audrey.” She said every name like she was deliberately baiting Zeus, daring him to say anything. “Ashley. Which means Lincoln will probably come, too.”
Zeus flinched at Lincoln’s name. A tiny, almost imperceptible movement, but Yasmine saw it.
“They’ll all want to know you’re safe while we’re getting things back in order. Who better to keep you safe than Zeus? Especially since you two probably have a lot to talk about.” Claudia raised her eyebrow at Yasmine.
They did. If Zeus was willing to talk to her.
She looked at him hopefully.
Please be willing to talk to me.
Everything was out in the open now.
Zeus glanced at her. This time, their gazes caught for a long moment. Held. He let out a long breath, turning his head and pulling his gaze away.
“Sure. Yasmine can stay with me tonight.” It wasn’t exactly gracious, but it wasn’t entirely begrudging, either. Right now, Yasmine would take what she could get. And she really would feel a lot better being at Zeus’.
“Good. Now, get her out of here and feed her something. I’ll mobilize the troops.
” Claudia got to her feet and stepped closer to Yasmine, bending down to give her a hug.
Her mouth was right next to Yasmine’s ear, and she whispered, low enough that Zeus would definitely not be able to hear a single word, “Forced proximity, right?”
Despite herself, Yasmine had to stifle a giggle. Reading romance books for the book club had definitely broadened Claudia’s horizons—and made her even more dangerously manipulative, if that was possible.
“Thank you,” she said, loudly enough Zeus would be able to hear because the gratitude was also directed at him.
A little muscle popped in his jaw as he nodded his head.
“You should go pack a bag. Do you want a ride, or do you want to drive yourself?” As soon as he asked the question, he looked like he regretted giving her an option. Even though Yasmine did not at all want to drive herself, she was about to say that she could, but Claudia spoke up first.
“You should give her a ride,” Claudia said firmly.
“That way, if Twatwaffle James comes back, he’ll see her car here, and if he’s a threat, he might even try to come inside.
Then I can take care of him.” The glee in her voice was a little unnerving.
“But even if he doesn’t, she’s in no condition to drive. Look at her. She’s still shaking.”
Yasmine looked at her hands in front of her on the kitchen table. They really were still trembling. She pressed them together, trying to get them to stop.
“Right.” Zeus’ voice was gruff. “Well, pack a bag. I need to get home to feed and walk Tiger, then check on Sarah.”
“I can help with both of those things.” It would probably help her feel more normal and give her something other than her own predicament to focus on. Because this was her house and, eventually, she was going to need to come back here, but right now, she really didn’t want to.
“Great.” Zeus pulled out his phone and looked down at it.
Her heart sank inside her chest again. This wasn’t going to be easy. Maybe she should stay with Claudia. But when she looked at the other woman, Claudia shook her head.
“You and I are going to have a talk later, Yasmine,” Claudia said. “You’ve been keeping things from me, and I don’t just mean whatever is going on between the two of you.”
Right, then. Maybe going with Zeus was safer.
Zeus
The ride home was silent as Yasmine stared out the window. Her fingers were still silently tapping the same rhythm she’d done on the kitchen table, but now she was doing it on her pant-covered thigh. Zeus could see it out of the corner of his eye, even though he couldn’t hear it.
Part of him wanted to reach over and hold her hand.
Comfort her. Tell her it was all right. Except that it wasn’t.
So, he just gripped the steering wheel tighter to keep himself from reaching for her.
He’d been manipulated by Claudia, and he knew it.
There was more than one reason she was called Scary.
At the same time, he was pretty sure that if he’d headed home on his own, he wouldn’t have been able to stop thinking about Yasmine.
Not just thinking about her but worrying if she was safe.
When they reached his house, he parked and got out of the car, heading to the trunk to get her bag before she’d even gotten out of the car. When he came around the passenger side, she was standing there meekly, hugging herself.
Shit.
She’d been through it tonight, and he was being an asshole.
Even if he was pissed, and maybe hurt, and not entirely sure how much he could trust her, she was in a shitty spot.
Finding out that someone had broken into her house and trashed it…
well, he knew what it was like to have his stuff trashed.
Even if the person had lived in the same home as him, rather than needing to break into it.
It was a violation that was difficult to get over. Especially when it had just happened. She probably hadn’t even really processed it yet.
Taking a deep breath, Zeus rolled his shoulders back. He didn’t have to be an asshole just because he was pissed.
Even if ‘asshole’ was his default setting.
“Come on,” he said gruffly, waving his free hand. “Let’s get you inside. Tiger will be happy to see you.”
Reminding her about Tiger was the right thing to say. She relaxed, the tension loosening from her arms, and some of the stress eased from her expression.
“I’ll be happy to see him, too.” She certainly sounded sincere.
Zeus nodded and waved his hand again to have her lead the way up to his house.
He turned his head both ways, looking up and down his street.
He hadn’t seen any indication they’d been followed on the way here, but that didn’t mean anything.
But there was no movement other than his neighbors who lived on the corner, out for their evening walk with their toddler in his stroller.
The kid was happily eating a lollipop and kicking his feet as his dad pushed him along, his mom walking with one hand atop the dad’s, so they could still hold hands.
The very normality made him feel a little better. No cars turned onto the street. There was no other movement.
He relaxed, but only a little.
He still had to face Yasmine. Talk to her. Hear her out. Though he wasn’t sure it would change anything.
Rolling his shoulders back, he felt his jaw lock into place as he turned back to the house. Yasmine was standing on the stoop, hands clasped together in front of her, and she looked small. Tired. Scared.
Fuck.
The desire to wrap her up in his arms and tell her she was safe welled up inside him again.
Instead, he stalked to the house and got the door open. Tiger bounced all over both of them, greeting Yasmine with ecstatic fervor, his tail going a mile a minute and whipping against Zeus’ thighs with enough force to sting.
“Down dog,” he ordered. Tiger sat, tail sweeping the floor, doggy grinning up at Yasmine. She dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck, bowing her head. Taking the hug from him that Zeus so badly wanted to give her.
He let out a long, shuddering breath, getting himself under control, and stepped around them to head deeper into the house.
“I’ll put this in the guest bedroom,” he said over his shoulder, lifting her bag in case she didn’t know what he was talking about. “I assume you haven’t eaten dinner yet?”
“No, but I’m not really hungry,” she replied, still hugging Tiger, her voice low and sad.
“You’re going to eat something.” It was the adrenaline drop, he was sure, which meant she needed food.
Whatever her answer was, it was muffled in Tiger’s fur.
By the time he got back from putting her bag away, she was sitting on the couch. Tiger was beside her, facing outward, butt firmly planted next to her thigh. Guarding her. Yasmine stroked his back. Her gaze flitted over to Zeus, then away.
As much as he wanted to question her about her connection to Claudia and the rest of his team—who she clearly knew if Claudia was going to call them in to help clean up her place—he wasn’t sure this was the right time.
She still looked several shades paler than usual, giving her an almost ashy complexion, and her dark eyes were wide and haunted.
She was watching the back of Tiger’s head as though it was a fascinating television show, as his ears perked up, then went back down at Zeus’ entrance.
Because he couldn’t think of anything to say, Zeus went to the kitchen and started getting some food ready. Tiger must have sensed that Yasmine needed him more than he needed food, staying by her side rather than coming to beg for whatever Zeus was making.
Although, of course, he did hop up once Zeus started scooping his actual food. Yasmine got up at the same time, silently moving to the dining room table where Zeus had set a place for her. She hovered behind the chair.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” She wasn’t as pale anymore, and she looked less haunted, more like her normal self.
“You can sit,” he replied, nodding his head at the seat in front of her. “And you can start telling me about how you know Claudia.” Not just Claudia, but he figured that would at least start her down the road to telling him how she knew everyone else.
Yasmine let out a long, slow breath. It was almost like she was a deflating balloon, sinking right down into the chair. He set the pan of chicken and rice on the table, along with a plate of kale, peppers, and onions. That way, she could put as much as she wanted on her plate.
As long as she put something.
“Right,” she said hollowly.
Zeus handed her the serving spoon for the chicken and rice. Their fingers brushed as she took it from him, and the little touch made him want even more.
“So, um. I didn’t know who you were at first.”
He raised his eyebrows at her.
“It’s true,” she insisted. “I mean, I was engaged to Mason, but—”
“You were what?”