“Yeah, they should have landed by now.”
“It will be a relief for Jacey that he’s dead. Now she won’t have to testify against him.”
“There is that.” Jacey deserved some peace in her life after everything she’d been through and Hunter knew that Derrick would ensure that she was well looked after.
“You coming to the club tonight?” Gray asked.
Hunter knew he should. He hadn’t been to the Twisted Thorn since he’d been back from Austin.
“Nah, I think I’ll pass.”
“Simon said you haven’t been in lately.”
Hunter glanced over at Gray. “You checking up on me?”
“Not at all, but our partner is starting to wonder if you’ve found somewhere else to play.”
Hunter snorted. He and Gray had gone into partnership with Simon Jones to open the Twisted Thorn, a BDSM club. They’d grown sick of going to clubs that were filled with idiots who didn’t have a clue what they were doing. This way they got to screen the members and they knew that any subs who stepped through their doors would be looked after.
“I’ve got a lot of things on my mind.”
“Angie wouldn’t want you obsessing over this.”
“Angie was my responsibility and I let her down. I won’t do that again.”
“Is that why you offered Cady a job? Because you feel responsible for her?”
Hunter lowered his feet down onto the floor, leaning forward as he stared at Gray intently. He hadn’t told his partner about offering her a job. “You’ve spoken to her?”
“I met her in the hallway after the two of you had your little chat. I’m surprised you weren’t chasing after her.”
“I was a little incapacitated.” It had taken fifteen minutes before the burning from the pepper spray had dissipated.
“Hmm. Do you know that she thought the job offer was just a ploy to get her into bed?”
“What?” he said, shocked.
“Yep. She thought that the job was just a front for you getting to fuck her.”
“How the hell could she think that?” Hunter growled, standing. That little twit, when he got his hands on her…
Except she didn’t want anything to do with him. She’d rather live on the streets than let him help her.
“She said she couldn’t understand why you would offer her the job unless you wanted something in return. I’m a little curious myself. You’ve always been against having a female on the team.”
“She’s living on the streets, Gray. I knew she wouldn’t accept any help from me, offering her a job is the only thing I could think of. I would never force her to sleep with me for a job. Christ.” How the hell had he fucked this up so bad?
“You’re attracted to her, though, aren’t you? There are a lot of homeless people out there; I don’t see you taking an interest in their lives.”
Hunter glared at him. “She deserves better.”
“She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.”
Hunter placed his hands on his desk, leaning forward. “If she could take care of herself she wouldn’t be living on the streets.”
“You’ve been against me hiring a woman and suddenly you just make a decision to take her on without even asking me, I think that’s pretty telling, don’t you?” Gray asked.
“She can help with our female clients. You wanted a female bodyguard.”