Chapter 42
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
THINGS ARE CERTAINLY GETTING SHAKEN UP. ANYONE ELSE FEEL UNEASY ABOUT THE CHANGE IN THE AIR?
GREER
It was official.
I was freaking out.
Okay, that was technically the case the second I left Wells Law with Hank, but that unease grew as the day continued.
And it had continued.
All the way into the night.
I was pretty sure they were fine. Tripp was an actor, not the badass he often portrayed. I doubted he was dodging bullets in a getaway car. But the fact he’d been gone so long still had me nervous.
Mads had been amazing. Knowing that I hated being kept in the dark, she’d filled me in on the strong resurgence of online stories about Tripp without letting me see them.
That was fine by me.
Like my boyfriend, I would rather scoot bare-assed down the road than look at the comment section again. I would even do it on Rodeo Drive during seasonal clearance sales.
She’d done her best to distract me with cheese, tequila, and movies, but my anxiety was getting worse.
And it wasn’t just our missing men—though I would feel a lot better once they showed.
Grabbing the remote, I paused the campy comedy and turned on the couch to look at Maddie. “I don’t think Wren is going to show.”
“I don’t think so, either,” she admitted softly.
Her confirmation that something was off raised my concern another notch. I wasn’t hurt that Wren wasn’t there for me when I could’ve used both my besties. I was worried.
“Maybe she fell asleep,” Maddie said. “Kiddie school is back in session, and those early hours are brutal.”
It was plausible.
I still didn’t think it was true.
“Want me to ask Hank to take us on a side quest?” I suggested.
“Usually, my answer to hijinks and mayhem is always a resounding yes, but there’s been enough of that today.” She crossed her arms as her lip jutted out. “Even if I missed out on it.”
Since Maddie hated Josh more than I did, and her poker face was equally bad, she’d been forced to stay home and miss the excitement.
Otherwise, she likely would’ve blown the whole plan to hell. Or she would’ve gone at him with windmill fists before trying to drown him in the guppy fountain.
Either way, it would’ve been bad.
“Anything from Easton or online?” I asked to distract her.
“Yes and…” Her brows lowered as she scanned her phone. “No.”
“Which for which?”
“Yes from Easton. They’re on their way. No online.”
“Nothing new is good.”
“No, there’s nothing. I mean, there’s still stuff. The internet isn’t down. But a bunch of the bigger sites aren’t showing the earlier Tripp pictures and articles they had plastered across their homepage. Screenshots live forever, but…”
Hope bloomed in my chest. “That must mean they figured it out.”
“It seems likely.” A wicked smile curved her mouth. “I bet Easton used all kinds of sexy legal jargon. I’ll have him tell me. While he’s wearing his glasses.”
“You’re a freak.”
“You have no room to talk.”
I really didn’t.
My phone buzzed, and I grabbed it now that the online hate train coast was clear. Or clearer.
Wren: I’m so sorry. So so sorry. I fell asleep. I think one of the adorable germ factories brought me a virus as a belated Christmas gift.
Me: Are you okay? Do you need anything?
Wren: For you to tell me that you forgive me for being a shit friend.
Me: Nothing to forgive because you aren’t a shit friend. Are you sure you’re okay?
A picture came through a moment later of her in bed. Sure enough, she looked lovely in a sickly kind of way. She was giving the camera a thumbs up. Or showing me her white French tipped nail. I wasn’t sure.
Wow, she must be out of it.
She never does nails so basic.
Me: Get some rest. We’ll catch up when you feel better. Text if you need anything at all.
Wren: Will do. Goodnight for at least another fifteen hours.
“That’s a relief,” Mads said, unabashedly reading over my shoulder.
“What would you have done if we were secretly talking crap about you?”
“What’s there to say? I’m a delight.”
Josh was dealt with.
The websites with the most reach had erased all signs of the targeted attack on Tripp.
Wren was okay, just a bit under the weather.
And my boyfriend was on his way to me.
A boyfriend who was also my boss.
And my Dom.
And the man I loved who loved me right back.
I finally understood how Maddie and Wren could spend so much time with their men. When you were in love, being with them didn’t feel like a chore or effort. Sitting in silence together was enough.
It wasn’t much longer—though Maddie kept insisting it was a century and a half—before Tripp entered the front door like he owned the place, followed by Easton.
I had no clue what kind of greeting the latter shared with Maddie when she leapt from the couch. The entirety of my focus was locked on the former.
Tripp stalked toward me before taking me down to the couch with his muscular body covering mine. We barely got in a kiss before a pillow was tossed at his head.
“Not on our new couch,” Easton bit out.
Tripp ducked down for another kiss.
“I’ll get the spray bottle. Take that to your house.”
“Happily.” Tripp stood and lifted me over his shoulder. He spun one way. Then the other.
“If you keep that up,” I said, my disoriented head hanging upside-down, “the only thing you’ll be taking to your house is a nauseated girlfriend.”
He put me on my feet, holding my upper arms carefully as I got my bearings. Grinning wide, he looked two seconds away from inviting Easton’s wrath by taking me right back down to the couch before seeming to remember what he’d been looking for.
Or rather who.
“Did Hank leave?” he asked, not looking happy.
“I’m in here, boss,” the older man called from the kitchen. “Mads said you were on your way home, so I figured I’d give you some privacy. I was standing in the entryway when you came in. I don’t know how you didn’t notice me. I’m not a little guy.”
“This is the first time you’ve met the man, and you already said he can call you Mads?” Easton grumbled, looking surprisingly sullen.
“He’s the opposite of a tyrant.”
Tripp wrapped an arm around me and led me from the house while Hank trailed behind, leaving the couple to bicker.
I was anxious to get into the car and get the story from Tripp, but it was nowhere to be seen.
He pointed to the Rolls-Royce. “I’m going to need you more often, Hank. Especially when Greer is with me.”
Hank nodded. “You’re finally listening to reason.”
Uh-oh, maybe it didn’t go so well…
Tripp didn’t tell me a single thing the whole never-ending car ride home. Instead, he asked what we ate. What we drank. What movies we watched. As if any of that was more exciting than whatever he’d done.
When we finally pulled into the long driveway and through the new extra-secure gate, I was ready to leap from the car, but Tripp stopped me until after Hank checked that everything was okay.
Double uh-oh.
That seemed to take centuries, too, but once Tripp and I were finally alone in the house, I turned to him to demand answers.
Well, that was my intent, at least.
Instead, he cupped the back of my head and kissed me until I nearly forgot about the millions of questions I needed answers to.
But I was me, so I remembered.
Eventually.
After a little more kissing.
I pushed away, putting some distance between us. “I want to hear about everything.”
“Can we talk in bed?”
“Yes.”
“Can we talk while I’m deep inside your sweet pussy?”
“We both know that’s not possible.”
“While you’re naked but before I’m deep inside your sweet pussy?” he compromised.
“Deal.”
We rushed through our nighttime routines—likely for very different reasons—before I came into the bedroom to find him not fulfilling his end of the bargain.
“You’re wearing clothes,” I pointed out.
“That wasn’t part of the arrangement. I said you’re naked. If we’re both naked, no talking will get done.”
“True.” I might’ve been desperately nosy, but I still undressed slowly to enjoy his eyes on my every move. When I was naked, I didn’t climb in on my side.
I kneeled on the long, padded bench at the foot of the bed. “Think we can attach restraints to this?”
“I’ll go to the hardware store the second it op…” He trailed off mid-word when I crawled up the bed toward him.
There was so much blatant lust in his gray eyes, but so much love, too. I wasn’t sure how I’d missed it before. Likely because I’d never seen actual romantic love aimed my way.
But I had it from Tripp. Love. Safety. His attention. His comfort. His companionship. And his dominance.
He gave me that last part. “Straddle me.”
I did as he ordered, careful to keep the blanket between us. “Tell me everything.”
And then he gave me his trust, sharing what he was likely not supposed to but knowing I would never tell.
I listened raptly as he filled me in on everything, my anger growing at Alex’s part.
It turned to rage and betrayal on my man’s behalf when he said that Tony was the puppet master behind so much of Tripp’s pain.
I stroked my hands through his hair. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe he would do that.”
“I can. This town is full of greedy snakes who are always ready to strike for a little more power, influence, or money.”
Don’t I know it.
Reading my expression, his own softened. “Your dad isn’t a snake.”
“He is. But a garter one. Still bad, but not venomous. I think? I really don’t like snakes enough to know about them.”
“You’re fucking cute.”
I grinned, and that made his expression soften further as something else grew harder.
I wiggled, playing it off like I was just repositioning as I drew out the conversation. “I can’t believe it’s really over.”
My ploy backfired, and he tensed under me—and not in the good way.
“It’ll get better without Tony sabotaging us, but it’ll never be over.
There will always be people wanting to cut us down and stick their faces in our business to enjoy the carnage.
It will be less if I retire, but it’ll never go away. ”
“You can’t retire. You’re one of the rare people who knows their purpose. You love what you do.”
“You’re my purpose. And like I already told you, I love you more.”
I was fairly certain that was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me.
But I still couldn’t let him walk away from everything he’d worked so hard for.
“I’ll stay out of comment sections,” I vowed. “But as long as I have you, the rest doesn’t matter.”
He rolled until I was pinned beneath him. “You’ll always have me, whether you want to or not. I’ll follow you anywhere, siren.”