He frowned. “And again, that’s why you have me to watch out for your unsuspecting ass. While you were getting your MBA and making your first million, I was shooting bad guys in the desert. And once I was out, more assholes. You see those damned bespoke suits and power lunches. I see bad shit.”
I met his serious eyes. We’d been through a lot together, but he’d been through hell and back on his own. To deal with PTSD and other shit tied to his time in the service, fighting—legal, in-the-ring fighting—helped. But his experiences had changed him, made him the cautious, guarded fucker he was today.
“Are you trying to tell me you’d be hiding out right now if your ass was on the l
ine?”
He stood, went over and filled his coffee cup, turned and leaned against the counter. “Dude, my shit would be packed, and if I couldn’t get a flight out of JFK, I’d be in my car on the road, with two or three fucking states between me and that family. Hell, I’d be in Canada by now. It’s not too late for that.”
Leo’s words might have been exaggerated, but he was fucking serious. A hint of worry played on his face, and that scared me most of all. I hadn’t seen that look in years. Not since he’d returned from the Middle East. He wasn’t kidding. Not in the least. And if he was scared, then I was scared.
“At minimum, we need some kind of idea that O’Sullivan’s people know she saw the body and they’re after her.”
“My sources haven’t heard anything new.” He reached over to his cell and checked the screen. “Either that or they aren’t talking.”
Seeing him scroll through his contact list gave me an idea. I set down my fork on my now empty plate, got to my feet to put the dishes into the sink, and grabbed my coffee mug. “I may have a source.”
“Who?”
“Father of the bride.”
“What, who?”
“The client who invited me last night. Remember, his daughter’s marrying O’Sullivan Junior. If his little girl is getting a ring from the heir apparent, he’s got to know something, right? I’ll drop some hints and see if my client bites. But first”—I looked down my body and ran a hand through my grungy hair—“first, I need to hit the showers. Back in a bit.”
An hour later, I was showered, dressed in a cotton t-shirt and dark jeans, and at my home office desk, laptop open. My calendar was clear now, thanks to my assistant who’d moved some meetings around and delegated everything else to my second-in-command.
I’d phoned the client about the fallout from the engagement party too.
Leo was right. It wasn’t easy to inquire about it. I’d gotten the guy on the phone, thanked him for the invite to his daughter’s special evening, and then basically sat there like an idiot, waiting for him to gossip like a little old lady. There was no subtle way to ask if he’d heard of some guy getting his brains blown out and shoved in a freezer, other than to listen for cues like changes in his tone of voice, or any obvious sign of nervousness. Or even having his daughter back out of the impending nuptials.
Hell, if my daughter even mentioned a made man’s name, let alone dated him, or worse, got engaged, I’d have her packed up and living in a convent in Ecuador.
I got nothing. His wife was the one organizing the event. All he had to do was put on a tux and walk his third child down the aisle.
Leo had nothing. I had nothing.
Being paranoid was no way to move through the next few days. If we couldn’t proactively fix this problem for Harper—if there even was one—before things escalated, the least I could do was keep my clientele happy by getting work done. So I buckled down and got busy.
Until temptation walked in.
Harper.
She stood in the doorway, her hair still damp from a shower, and her body wrapped in nothing but a bath towel. Holy fuck. My cock went instantly hard. Any thoughts of leaving the apartment today were now gone.
Work was done. And O’Sullivan? Who the hell was that?
An irresistible distraction was the only thing on my itinerary.
And my sweet tooth was craving honey.
Nine
HARPER
I woke up sore, sated and with a satisfied smile on my face.
The last time I’d slept this well was...I couldn't even remember. Leo and Dane had claimed my body completely. Then they did it again. And again. I'd lost track of how many times I’d hit my peak. And as I’d laid there in bed, thoroughly spent, my body warm and safe between them as they dozed off, it had been heavenly.