“I’m sorry, sir. That was not my intention.”
“Don’t be sorry. What happened today is a disgrace. In fact, Jolie would like to apologize. As far as Kian, he will be dealt with, I assure you. His time with us has come to an end.” Titus stands, picking up an envelope from his desk and handing it to me. “Your services for the day are complete. Please accept a bonus for your hard work and enjoy the rest of your day.”
I am smart enough to not speak in this moment. I simply nod, accept the cash, and go home. It’s not until I get there that I worry about Ben. Someone has to pay for today, and if it’s not me, then it has to be him. Against my better judgment, I try calling him. Then I try Luca. Neither answers. I’m not sure where to find him if he was in trouble. I can’t go back to Titus’s. That would be disobeying his order. “I should have stayed. He helped me, and I just left him there. Damn it Ben!” I yell, pacing the room.
“What did I do now?” he says, jumping my balcony rail—again.
Relieved, I sigh. “You’re okay?”
“Of course.” He acts surprised that I would ask such a thing. “I can’t stay. I have to get back to work. I just wanted to check on you.”
“Ben.” He walks right up to me and wraps his arms around me like he knows exactly what I need. “I’m fine.” I try to convince him.
“Sure you are. I’m not.” He takes hold of my hand, caressing my face with admiring eyes and placing his tender lips to mine. “Don’t give up on me yet, Laila.”
CHAPTER 16
Laila
The next day, I show up for a team meeting. I’ve never seen the team all together before, and from what I understand, gathering everyone together only happens if something big is about to happen. Nathan walks in with his usual, annoyed with life expression.
“Titus is taking a trip. We need two teams to go with us. Mostly the usual people, except one. Ben, Luca, Gus, Josiah, Laila and Mateo, please make sure you’re packed and ready to go before the end of the day tomorrow. Everyone else, stick to your regular routine and keep an eye on the homestead. There is trouble brewing.” Nathan doesn’t look at me, and Kian is nowhere to be found, his locker emptied. No one has said a word about him since we got here, which is odd after what’s happened. Against my better judgment, I have to ask Nathan about Kian.
Ben slides into my focus. “I assume you are going to need a ride to the airport. It’s a bit far to walk, even for you.” If I didn’t know any better, I would think he did it on purpose. “Make sure you pack for warm weather and swimming. You like the beach, don’t you?”
“I—I,” I stutter before sighing. “Yes, I guess.”
“Good. We should have fun then.”
“I need to talk to you, Ben. Something’s wrong. Everyone’s tense. I know you said not to ask questions, but …”
“Maybe later, Tiger. Stick close to Titus today. He’s got a busy day.”
“When? Later? I need to talk to you.” He gives me a quick kiss and runs off with Gus. I’m supposed to know what that means? The rest of my day is spent following Titus around the house and making sure no one gets close enough to even think about hurting him, like the spider that creeps up on him at the pool. This is ridiculous.
As he sits outside relaxing with his paperwork, Jolie steps outside, ready to get into the pool. She gets one look at me, turns around, and goes back inside. Titus laughs. “Now I know the guard to have when I don’t want the wife around.”
This is fun. At the end of my day, I walk home as always, but unlike usual, someone watches me. There’s a target on my back. I can feel it, and it seems to be heating up with each step I take. I manage to make it to my hotel room and think long and hard about opening up the balcony door. I know better, but I am unable to keep it closed. Pulling out my gun, I push the door open as a handsome smile jumps over the railing.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Ben grabs his chest like he is confused. “Don’t give me that hurt look. You have no reason to be here.”
“Sure, I do. You said you wanted to talk. It would be nice, though, if the woman I’m dating would stop pointing a gun at me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s exciting, but you know, once in a while, it would be nice if you actually acted like you were happy to see me.”
I put my gun down. “I’m not happy to see you.” He ignores me and jumps onto my bed, looking around and searching for trouble to get into. His jacket falls to the side, showing he still has his gun from working today which isn’t allowed. “Are you still working?” He smiles. “You don’t have plans with Gus or Luca?”
“They’re nearby.” I push past his hand as he tries to stop me from moving towards the balcony. “So, did you pack yet?”
“Pack? No, I just got home. So can you go and let me be?” I huff, snatching my panties from his hands. I quickly realize I have clothes everywhere. Underwear are scattered in all directions, and the room resembles a frat house.
“You’re messy. You’re lucky you’re cute. It makes up for your flaws.”
“Will you please—wait, what flaws?”
I come face to face with him and his irritating smile. “Don’t get me wrong. You don’t have many. What you do have is just as cute and adorable as the rest of you, but you do need a maid. Now, kiss me so I can get to work.” I stand back utterly confused when he pulls me in close, takes hold of my lips, and opens my mouth just enough to touch my tongue. My head begins to spin. Ben cradles my faint face, “Laila.”
“Huh?” I gush, craving to be with him.
“Get down.” Ben wraps his arm around my waist and drops me to the ground as people come flying through the door. Five men charge in, expecting me. Instead, they find Ben, spinning around me and shooting one in the head and knocking out two others before dropping the remaining two on their knees with pure manly force. He turns to me as I lie on the ground, dumbfounded. “Why aren’t you packing yet, Tiger? We have to go.” Luca comes walking in from the balcony, after jumping the rails too. “Are we good in the front?”
“All good. Wow, she’s messy,” Luca says looking around.
“It’s endearing though, don’t you think?” Ben asks.
Luca shrugs. “I could see that, especially with those panties. Wow.”
Before I can say a word, Gus comes walking in from the hallway, shutting the door behind him. “All clear out back. Wow, she’s messy.”
“Alright! What the hell is going on and why are you guys in my room?” I snatch my panties and my other things out of sight and clean up what I can in one single sweep. It doesn’t help much.
“You didn’t tell her yet?” Luca asks.
“I didn’t get time. I got caught up with our hello and ‘how’s your day going, dear’, type thing.”
“Ah. Yeah. Well, she needs to pack. Or clean up at least.” Gus says, kicking a man out of his way.
“Not that it is any of your business, but I purposely leave everything messy as a security system,” I reason.
The three look around the room as if they are considering the approach. I am shocked when they all begin to nod. “I have to admit, I would be distracted,” Gus says, nodding.
“It’s the underwear, right?” Ben asks, and they all nod. “I wouldn’t know whether to shoot her or come onto her.”
“It’s brilliant. I would try it, but I don’t think it would work the same.” Luca shrugs. I am so annoyed by their little game. I pack, cursing each of them the whole time. Eventually, they explain that Kian got away while they were discussing his fate. He went rogue, knowing Nathan could no longer protect him from Titus.
The boys escort me out of the hotel while others come in and clean. As far as the outside world is concerned, nothing happened. None of these men existed or, at least they don’t exist anymore. The things I’m learning and the faces I am becoming familiar with are growing by the hours these days.
I am not sure what the plan is from here or where they expect me to stay the night. At this point, I’m tired and don’t care as long a
s there is a comfortable bed and food. Ben takes responsibility for me and drives me to an upscale loft condominium. He pulls into an underground garage and grabs my bags from the trunk of his car. I still don’t ask. I follow him into a shitty elevator where he punches in a code that sends us straight up to the top floor. The doors open, revealing a corridor with a single door.
Ben enters another code and pushes the door open. My eyes grow wide. “Wow, this is great! I’ll take it.”
“Thank you, but it’s not yours. It’s mine. You can stay here until things clear with Kian. We can’t leave for the trip until Kian and all of his fuckheads are taken care of, so tomorrow is going to be a busy day for us all.”
“You expect me to stay the night with you?”
“I expect you want to stay alive. I have an extra room. It’s too early in our relationship to sleep together.”
“What relationship? We went on one date, and you keep kissing me and touching me …” I complain until he kisses me again. Sigh.
“You can put your things in that room. Your bathroom is there if you would like a shower or anything. Are you hungry? I was thinking Italian tonight.” I cross my arms and huff. “Fine. If you have to know right this minute. Kian is coming after you. He blames me for being ousted by Titus and wants to use you to get at me. To make matters worse, when I went after him, he dropped his phone with a lot of information he would not have wanted us to find. Kian’s earning money, making deals, giving our weapons to Titus’s enemies, and stealing business. He took off before we could get to him, one of the few smart things he has ever done. Titus is furious, and wants him found.”
“So, the men at my hotel were his? Kian’s? ”
“Can you believe he actually has his own men? Bastard has been secretly screwing us over for who knows how long. Nathan’s fault for giving him too much power from the start.”
“Why did you do that Ben?”
“Do what?”
“Defend me against one of your own? You could’ve been killed taking up for me like that. And against Titus’s wife?”
“You’re one of our own. They are not. Besides, what kind of relationship would this be if I didn’t defend you?”
“What relationship?” I ask. He conveniently ignores my question.
“Today was hella romantic, don’t you think? Swinging through you balcony door, giving you a quick hello kiss, and dropping those men before they could even lay eyes on you. And now, I’m making you a romantic dinner, like we planned. Are you excited? I know I am.”
“I feel like I just fell through the rabbit hole and took the wrong pill to be able to understand what the fuck you are talking about. You drive me insane, and I don’t know how to respond to or deal with you. I have never met anyone as—out of their every living mind as you are. You’re seriously insane if you think I’m staying here with you. I can take care of myself. Now take me back to the hotel.” I continue to bark at him as if he is hearing me, but nothing seems to alter his mood.
“I’ve got to take a shower before dinner, but I don’t know if our argument is done. Should we hug so I can go, or do we need to keep arguing?” I stare at him disbelief. “Okay, so we’re good?” He walks away, and I follow him into a large, exquisite bedroom. Ben steps back into the room from the connected bath, removing his clothes as I watch uncomfortably. “If you’re going to take a shower with me, then let me know what temperature you like the water because I like it hotter than most.”
“Hotter than what most?”
“Don’t be like that. I know you’ve had other boyfriends, and I’m not jealous. You’re with me now.” He gives me a quick kiss as he unbuttons his pants. I look down as they hang just below his hip bones, teasing me with what would follow. Ben lifts my chin. “My eyes are up here.” He laughs all the way to the shower.
“Ben!” I yell in frustration. My eyes follow him as he steps into an open shower. Wow, mmm. Maybe I should get a shower—a cold one. I thought this mission would be all about fighting, gun battles, and secret messages, easy stuff, but no. I have to pretend I am not the least bit attracted to the hot, wet man in the next room. I have to pretend not to want to lick the water off his abs, lather him up with my naked body. Oh God. I realize this is the real hell Revered Paul warned me was coming for me one day.
CHAPTER 17
Ben
The opportunity was unexpected but too good to pass up. Where else would she stay? This was the most logical place. She certainly couldn’t stay at Titus’s with Jolie creeping around. Titus threatening to cut Jolie off if she came near Laila again raised too many red flags. No one quite understood why Titus would choose me over his own wife. The best explanation I could come up with in the moment—it’s Jolie. Titus loves pissing her off. I don’t know what Jolie has on Titus. It’s enough to keep her alive and married, but it’s not enough to give her a say in how he runs things. The excuse seemed to work with everyone but Nathan. He’s been suspicious of me since the beginning. Either way, I can’t ask for anymore favors from Titus right now. I’m going to have to handle taking care of Laila on my own. It shouldn’t be a problem.
I lay out dinner for us, enjoying the expression on her face when she sees it after taking her shower. Conversation is awkward. The last time we were alone, we were steps away from having sex. After Jolie’s stunt, Laila is back to being distant. She makes an excuse to end the night early, which is probably best, but I don’t let her get away without a grasp of her hand. “Good night, Laila.”
“Good night,” she says, looking down at our hands. She’s not going to let me kiss her this time, and I hate that. Maybe it’s best. I’m not sure I could stop this time. I take out my computer and begin searching. Kian had to leave a trace of something behind that will tell me where he is. I have to find him before he can get to her. For now, having her sleeping in the next room gives me peace. I stay up late working and, eventually, fall asleep on the couch.
“No. No!” Laila screams in the middle of the night. I grab my gun and run to her to see her struggling to breathe, and still asleep. “Daddy!” she cries.
“Laila.” Setting my gun down on the table, I sit next to her, gently trying to wake her. I am not sure she fully wakes when she crawls into my arms, shaking like a leaf. She won’t speak, and I know I shouldn’t either.
I layout breakfast in the morning, and Laila walks out of the room shyly, barely able to look at me. “Good morning.”
“Good morning. Um—last night—I”
“No need to explain. Are you ready to go? We have a lot to do today. Feel free to grab whatever you want for breakfast and take it with you.” I know she won’t tell me the truth. She’s still too guarded. I would rather let her keep her secrets until she’s ready to tell me.
“Thank you.” I watch as she makes her coffee. The tough, unbreakable woman, has shown vulnerability. I want to reassure her, wrap my arms around her, and prove to her my worth. It doesn’t stop me from trying for a smile though.
Before she can pass me out the door, I stop her and kiss her cheek. “Have a good day, dear.”
Shaking her head, she bites her lip to hold her smile under control. “You have issues.”
“You’re my issue, Tiger.”
Titus’s house is chaotic at best. Nathan has been up all night screaming at everyone. He does not like looking like a fool, and Kian has done just that. Titus lit Nathan up for hours yesterday, questioning his loyalty. Nathan has something to prove, and he doesn’t care who he has to take down to prove it. He pulls me to the side as soon as I walk in the door. “I hope you enjoyed your girlfriend last night because, today, you’re going to actually have to do something other than fuck.”
I change my stance. “I don’t fuck Laila. I respect her, and I would advise you to do the same.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Yes, I am. If you need me to do something, then tell me what it is, but if you continue to take your bad mood out on me or anyone else, I’m going to have you sen
t home. I will stay and fix your mistakes for you.” My anger burns his stone face.
“I did not make a mistake,” he seethes through clenched teeth.
“No? I didn’t hire him. And he certainly didn’t go through the usual approval process like everyone else here had to do. Why was that, Nathan?”
“Don’t question my loyalty. If anyone should be questioned, it should be you and your girlfriend. How did she get away during her interview? How did she even know about it? A cop’s daughter? Not exactly a trustworthy employee. She set Kian up, to get back at me. I’m sure of it.”
“She didn’t have to set him up. He was too far gone by the time she got here. His phone proved that. And why the hell would she want to get back at you? You’re so delightful.”
He stares me down wanting to say something more when Titus walks up on us. “Both of you, get into my office—now.” Nathan and I crash in on opposite sides of the office. Titus grumbles expletives the whole way to his chair. “Do we have a plan yet? Any information at all?”
“Maybe we should ask his girlfriend?” Nathan suggests.
“This fool thinks Laila has it out for him. He’s delusional.”
“I’m delusional? She’s the daughter of a cop I killed.” I sit up straight, staring at Nathan with a million questions swirling in my head.
“Son of a bitch, Nathan! What the fuck is wrong with you?! No one knows that shit. You are delusional. Go home and get some fucking sleep before you screw up anything else. Ben will take this job over. Why is everyone insistent on driving me insane? Fucking Jolie whining about me not supporting her. You two acting like children. This woman who works for me becoming a bigger target than myself. I can’t, for the life of me, understand how that happened. I want this thing over as soon as possible. I need this trip so I can think straight again.”
“I can handle this, Titus,” Nathan appeals.
“I don’t care what you think you can handle. I said you are not handling it. Tell us what you know and then go home. I will contact you when I need you.”