Chapter 36
Titus
“Igotta say, it’s nice having you here, big brother.” Trevor follows me out of the room my team occupies. “I’m really glad things are going so well for you.”
Glad isn’t the word I would use. It doesn’t come close to embodying what I am. “A lot has changed.”
“Not enough.” He gives me a mirthless smile.
“I still can’t find an assistant worth half a shit.
” His grin turns a little more genuine. “At least now it’s your fault.
I had to pull someone in from outside the company.
The only applications I got from within were single women who knew all about how much you fucking love your new fiancée. ”
“Can you blame me?” I’m not trying to rub what I have in my brother’s face.
Okay, maybe I am a little bit.
Trevor snorts. “Mariah is pretty great, but I’m not interested in having someone up my ass all the time.”
“Are you sure? Because I’m pretty confident that’s one of the job requirements for your assistants.” I look around where we’re standing in the lobby. “Speaking of, where is he?”
“Fuck if I know.” Trevor scowls. “I’m starting to think he doesn’t even fucking understand half the shit I hired him to do. But he gets my coffee right and mostly manages to keep my calendar straight, so until I can find a replacement, I guess I’m gonna have to suffer through.”
That has my brows climbing. “You’re not gonna fire him?”
My brother is notoriously intolerant of incompetence. He expects someone to do what they claim they can do, and if they can’t, he sends them packing. Aggressively.
“I want to, but I had a hell of a time finding him. Who knows how long it will be before I can replace him. And something is better than nothing.”
“Is that how you approach your romantic relationships too?” I tip my head at him. “Because that’s not a great plan.”
“Romantic relationships?” Trevor laughs. “How much free time do you think I have?” He sighs. “I haven’t been out on a date in…” He groans. “Fuck. In years.” His eyes snap to my face. “If you tell our mother, I will kick your ass.”
“You better hope she sets her sights on someone else then.” I grin. “I’m pretty sure she’s riding the high of being responsible for Mariah and I meeting, and it’s only going to make her want to try again.”
And now I kind of understand why. It’s not because she wants to control our lives or tell us what to do. It’s because she wants us to have what she has. Wants all her children to be loved and appreciated and understood the way our dad understands her.
Having Mariah in my life has changed it fundamentally, and it’s hard not to want my brothers to have the same thing. I can’t honestly say I wouldn’t take advantage of an opportunity to lead them in that direction.
“She’s got to realize that was a fluke. What are the chances of the perfect fucking woman falling into a man’s lap?” Trevor shakes his head. “Slim to none.”
“I haven’t seen a single woman fall into your lap lately, so I’m pretty sure you’re safe.” Now it’s my turn to look around in search of someone. “I would like to find the one that fell into mine though.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re in fucking love.” Trevor walks with me toward the security room. “I get it.”
I open the door and greet the guard monitoring the camera feeds.
This is generally the easiest way to locate my fiancée.
The complex is huge, and it would take me forever to hunt her down.
I’ve also discovered that, thanks to the different security features and structures we have in place, there are a few areas where cell service can get blinky. So calling her isn’t always the answer.
Plus, the security guards know about what time I generally finish and come looking for her. They keep an eye out and can usually tell me exactly where she is.
“Your lady love went into the office supply room with Maren a few minutes ago.” The security guard glances at Trevor, his expression hardening.
“If you’re looking for your assistant, he’s in the same place.
” There’s enough disdain in his voice to make me wonder if Trevor isn’t the only one around here who’s not impressed with his assistant.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Trevor drops his head back, pulling in a deep breath. “I told that ass it wasn’t his job to collect supplies.” He straightens. “The guy can’t even get in that room unless the supply girl lets him in, and I don’t think she’s his biggest fan.”
The security guard leans forward, tapping across his keyboard. One of the dark screens flashes to life, displaying a bulky guy in a suit striding down the hallway. He taps a key card against the reader and opens the door to what I assume must be the supply room.
Trevor’s brows pinch. “What the fuck?”
“I assumed you’d given him access.” The security guard spins in his chair. “Want me to go check it out?”
“I got it.” Trevor is pissed. Pissed enough I know he’s decided something isn’t always better than nothing after all, and is about to be down yet another assistant.
“I’ll come with you.” I’m not too happy myself. Some strange guy who seems to be a bit of a problem is locked in a room with Mariah, and—
Trevor and I barely make it to the door before an alarm pierces the air.
“What the fuck is that?” I’m not familiar enough with the building to know what it means, but I’ve got my suspicions, and it has my guts twisting tight.
“Someone pulled a fire alarm.” The security guard is on his feet but still tapping at his keyboard. “Looks like it’s back in the storage rooms.”
I don’t wait for more information, I just take off running. Trevor stays right beside me, thank God, because I don’t one hundred percent know where I’m headed. I’ve been back here before—both to retrieve Mariah, and to check out the servers—but I don’t know this place the way my brother does.
The security guard trails behind us as we fight our way through the people attempting to get out of the building.
Trevor might claim he doesn’t have much spare time, but he’s sure found enough of it to work out regularly, because he has no problem keeping pace with me.
He’s barely breathing hard as we make our last turn into the hallway leading to the storage rooms.
The barest hint of smoke taints my next inhale.
It’s enough to ramp up the panic burning through my veins.
It was bad enough when I thought Mariah or Maren might have pulled the alarm because Trevor’s assistant was harassing them, but the possibility there could actually be a fire is my worst fucking nightmare.
Trevor slaps his key card against the reader on the supply room, but the glowing light on it stays red. “Fucking goddamned safety features.” He tries again. “It won’t unlock to reduce the risk of fire spreading.”
“Can we get to it through the server room?” I don’t wait for an answer, going straight for the sensor next to the high-end security door protecting every bit of data my company has collected or is in charge of protecting, slamming my own card against it.
I breathe a little easier when the light turns green.
“No. The server room is the most secure room in this build—”
Trevor’s words cut off when I yank open the door and smoke billows out.
“What the fuck?” My brother yanks off his suit jacket, dropping it to the floor as I step into the gray mass of ash and soot.
Somehow, the servers are still running, and the glow from their activity lights cuts through the smothering cloud choking the air from my lungs.
I reach out, trying to find a wall to use for guidance.
When my fingers brush the surface, I move as quickly as I can, following it in the direction of the storage room.
If we can locate the source of the fire, maybe we can put it out before—
The wall disappears from beneath my fingers as I trip over shit piled on the floor.
Dropping lower to the ground, I manage to get into a less smoky spot so I can see what the fuck is going on.
The debris gathered around my feet includes chunks of drywall and twisted metal, shreds of flaming paper, and… Fuck! Is that blood?
Crawling forward, I find the ragged edges of a hole in the wall between this room and the storage space.
“Jesus Christ.” Trevor hits the floor right beside me. “We’ve got to get in that room.”
I’m one step ahead of him, already scrambling through the hole, doing my best not to slice my skin and on any sharp edges. I end up having to do a sort of tuck and roll, but finally I’m in the storage room.
And the whole fucking thing is on fire.
The heat in here is almost unbearable, and it takes everything I have not to let my mind shut down. To keep it from snapping back in time.
“Mariah.” I scream her name as loud as I can, but it comes out raspy and choked thanks to the smoke burning my lungs.
I crawl until I run into something that seems like a giant shelf. I follow it to one end, circling around with Trevor right behind me. The fire is out of control in the area close to the hole, but it seems less aggressive the further away I get.
When my hands begin sliding through a foamy sort of residue, I understand why, and it means I’m going in the right direction.
“Mariah.” I yell again, this time managing a little more volume thanks to the slightly better air quality.
“Titus?” The sound of her voice brings an amount of relief I’ve never felt.
“Stay right where you are. I’m coming.” I move in the direction her response came from, reaching the spot where Mariah and Maren are huddled together, still clutching the fire extinguisher they fully unloaded.
I grab her, pulling her close for just a second.
“Everything is going to be okay. I’m going to get you out of here. ”
She nods, eyes wide as her hands cling to me. I start to drag her along, but she resists.
“We have to help Maren too.” One hand leaves my shirt to reach for her friend, and I stop her.
“Trevor is right behind me. He’ll get her out. I promise.”