Chapter 5
ZACH
I know I fucked up. I know I shouldn’t have gone onscreen, and I sure as hell shouldn’t have asked her to be my girlfriend.
I pick up my phone. Logan is on a plane across the country, but I expect a phone call from one or even all four of her other brothers. They’re going to be pissed, and I can’t say I blame them, but I can’t worry about that right now.
I look at the handle for bakersking and screenshot some of his comments. The more I read, the more pissed I get. He’s crazy… and he’s not going to get anywhere near Skyler.
As I keep reading, I see that he’s going off the rails.
He didn’t like it when I came onscreen.
“Skyler, who is that man?”
“Tell him no, Skyler.”
“You may not know it yet, but you’re mine.”
“You’re mine, and no one else can have you.”
The comments get pretty heated, and Skyler’s loyal fans start telling him to stop.
Did I do the right thing? I dunno. Is bakersking going to escalate? He might.
I walk into the living room and sit down to finish watching Skyler’s show from my phone.
She’s recovered from me butting in. I’m transfixed on her icing the cupcakes. Fuck she’s beautiful anyway, but doing what she loves, she’s practically glowing.
When she signs off, I prepare myself because I know what’s coming.
No sooner does she sign off from her show than she’s stomping through the house. As soon as she spots me on the couch, she puts her hands on her hips. “What the hell was that?”
I nod. “You have every right to be mad at me right now.”
She nods. “Yes, I do. What were you even thinking? This is my job. This is my livelihood.”
I stand up. “I know that. I wasn’t trying to hurt you, you have to know that. I saw the comments, and I don’t know what went through me. I wanted to—”
I stop myself before I say too much.
She starts to laugh. “What? You wanted to do what? Embarrass me? Pay me back for the stupid na?ve twelve-year-old I was? Or maybe you just want to see—”
“Stop.” I move across the room to her. “Stop it.”
She’s breathing hard, and I put my hands on her shoulders to try and calm her.
“Sky, listen, I wasn’t thinking. You want the truth?
I saw what he posted, and it went all through me.
It wasn’t professional what I did, but in that moment, I had to let him know that you weren’t here alone, that you had me by your side. ”
She holds her hand up. “By my side? You didn’t just show him you were by my side. You claimed me, you asked me to be your girlfriend!” She blows out a breath, and her voice is strained. “I don’t know if you realize it or not, but fans love this kind of stuff. My viewership just exploded.”
“That’s a good thing, right?” I’m quick to jump in. Dang, something good has to come from my choices.
“Good?” she asks. “Yeah, sure, until you break up with me and people lose their minds, blaming me. There are already people commenting that there’s no way I’m pretty enough for you. Some of these people are brutal.”
I shrug. “First of all, that’s ridiculous. You’re beautiful. And second of all, we just won’t break up.”
She stares wide-eyed at me. She goes to her tiptoes, lifts her hand, and touches my forehead. “I’m sorry, did you hit your head or something? We’re not even together.”
I’m going crazy. That’s all I can think because to me, we’re together. Yeah, I haven’t seen her since she was a kid. Yeah, I took one look at her in a video on my phone and thought, mine. I’m so royally fucked right now.
I release my hold on her and back up. “Look, my job is to protect you, and that’s what I’m going to do. And that’s in all things. I’ll protect you, your reputation, all of it.”
Her phone rings, and her eyes widen as she looks at the caller ID. “It’s my sister-in-law, Aria.”
She answers it, and I wish I could hear the other side of the conversation because it’s obvious Skyler is freaked out.
“Shit” is all she says.
I hold out my hand. “Here, let me talk to her.”
Skyler must be freaked out because she just hands over her phone without argument. “Hey, Aria. This is Zach. Is everything okay?”
Instantly, she asks, “Yeah, are you packing?”
“Excuse me?” I ask her.
She huffs in frustration. “Do you have a gun?”
“Yes. Do I need it?”
I’m not sure if we’re talking in code or what, but I’m on high alert.
“No!” she screeches. “Miller and Penn are on their way over there. They’re pissed, and I really don’t want you to shoot my husband or my brother-in-law.”
I blow out a breath. “They saw the streaming?”
She laughs. “Oh, they saw it, and they’re not happy.”
“Okay. I’ll take care of it.”
I’m about to hand the phone back to Sky when Aria demands, “Don’t hurt her, Zach. If anyone can, it’s you.” She blows out a breath. “And if you do, you won’t have to worry about the Brody brothers because I’ll get to you first.”
I look into Sky’s big blue eyes. I’m not sure if she can hear Aria or not, but there’s a vulnerability on her face that makes me want to reassure her. “Aria, the last thing I’ll do is hurt Sky. I promise you, she’s safe with me.”
Sky’s eyes get even bigger, and she looks at me as if she’s trying to figure me out. I hand the phone back to her, and she walks from the room to finish the conversation.
I should probably be nervous. Miller and Penn are two guys I don’t want to mess with. Heck, you don’t want to get on the bad side of any of the Brody brothers. But I’m not bothered by this. I’m looking at it as two of the many obstacles I’m going to have to overcome to earn Sky’s trust.
I keep waiting for Sky to come back to the living room, but I don’t see her until there’s a heavy knock at the door. She meets me there, and I stand in front of her. “I’ll get it.”
She points at the door behind me. “We know it’s my brothers. Maybe you should go do something while I talk to them.”
I shake my head. What kind of men has she been with that would just walk away and let her deal with a problem? Just the thought has me scowling. “Let me take care of this, Sky.”
She seems shocked. “You want to deal with my brothers?”
I nod. “I think it’s best.”
She laughs. “Okay, have at it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
She steps to the side, and after looking out the peephole to make sure it’s her brothers on the other side, I undo the lock and open the door.
Miller doesn’t hesitate when he sees me. He pushes me backwards into the house, up against the wall of the entryway. I don’t react. I don’t blame him, really. Her brothers have always been protective of Sky, so I expect nothing less.
I let Miller get a punch into my stomach. I’m not going to lie; the hit hurts.
I normally would react, but I know I can’t. Not if I ever want Sky to be mine.
She yells at Miller and comes to grab her brother, trying to pull him off me, but Penn jumps in, wrapping his arms around her middle.
Rage goes through me. I know it’s her brother, but I can’t contain it. My voice is laced with a threat. “Let her go, Penn.”
Miller pauses in his attack, and both of the men stare at me. I grit my teeth. If he doesn’t let her go, I’m going to fight back. “I’m telling you one last time, let her go.”
Penn must see something in my face because he releases his hold on his sister. Even Miller’s hands lighten against my chest. Sky is looking up at me in shock, and I have to drag my eyes from hers. “Now, Miller, can we go in the other room and talk for a minute?”
He releases me and without a word walks down the hallway. I stop in front of Penn. “You want to get a hit in?”
He smirks and holds his hands up. “I have surgery in the morning. I can’t hit you. I’ll leave that for Miller.”
I shake my head and look at Sky. She doesn’t know what to make of all this. I’m sure she feels like I walked into her world today and turned it upside down. I give her a reassuring look as I walk past her to follow Miller.
He’s pacing the kitchen when I walk in. I lean against the counter, feigning a calmness that I don’t really feel. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel calm now, not while there are men like “bakersking” that believe they can terrorize my Sky.
Miller stops, takes a deep breath, and lets it out.
He has a dress shirt on, sleeves rolled up, revealing the tattoos on both his arms. He’s a millionaire, but right now, he looks like a man about to lose his shit.
“I paid two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for my sister to be protected, and you’re turning it into a booty call. ”
I push off the counter and stalk toward him, hands fisted at my sides.
“First of all, be very careful how you talk about your sister. Second of all, I told Logan I didn’t want to take the money.
He said you already paid it, so I told the accountant to pin it for a future case.
I’m not taking payment for protecting… Sky.
” I almost said my Sky, and it’s good I caught myself because I can’t imagine that would have landed well.
Miller is taken aback. “Wait. What?”
I start to repeat myself, and he holds his hands up. “Why would you do that?”
Fuck. How do I even answer that? I decide to just be honest. “Because your sister means something to me. Because I want her safe, and it kills me to think that this guy is terrorizing her.”
He walks slowly to me and stops. “What do you mean, she means something to you? Is there something going on here?”
I jut my chin. “Today is the first time I’ve seen her since she was a kid, if that’s what you’re asking.”
He looks at me with doubt in his eyes. “And what? You decide you need to be the one to save her? This isn’t adding up, Zach.”
My voice is quiet and tense. “Trust me, I know how the video looked, but I can promise you, none of it was planned. All I can tell you is the truth. I was watching her from the sidelines, and I knew the minute her stalker joined because Sky lost some of her joy. I moved closer to see her phone, not even thinking I could have checked mine. And when I saw his comments, I did what I thought I had to do. I wanted the asshole to know that she had me in her corner. That she was protected. I acted on impulse, but I think it was the right move.”
He looks at me through scrutinizing eyes. “You like her?”
My jaw tightens. “I do.”
Miller jerks back and throws a hand up. “Fuck, what am I supposed to do with that, Zach? I know you. Hell, I’ve known you a long time, but this is my sister. This is her safety.”
I nod emphatically. “And I will protect her with every breath I have in my body, Miller.”
He’s glaring at me, looking for the truth. “You hurt her and I’ll kill you.”
I shake my head. “I won’t hurt her.”
He tilts his head and looks at me. He wants to say more, but he doesn’t. “Even though you didn’t take the money, I want you to keep me updated. I want to be sent daily updates.”
I pat him on the shoulder. “I got it, Miller. I’ll make sure you know what’s going on.”
He huffs. “Right, I know, this is what you do, but she’s—”
I cut him off. “She’s your sister. I get it. Nothing is going to happen to her, I promise.”
He nods, and without another word, he walks out of the kitchen. I follow him through the house, and he stops by the front door. “Penn, you ready?”
He’s sitting on the couch with Skyler, and her eyes are on me as soon as I walk into the room.
Penn stands up. “I’m ready.” He’s talking to Miller but points at me. “We good here?”
Miller nods. “Yeah, we’re good.”
Penn smiles, comes over, and shakes my hand. “Take care of her man, or I’ll—”
“Kill me? I got it. You’re the third Brody to threaten me today. Your wife was the first one.”
When I mention his wife, his face tenses, but I’m not sure what to make of it.
Miller and Penn both hug Skyler, and I wait until they’re gone before I lock the door.