From the looks of how Orlando’s running shit around here, he doesn’t give a fuck about protecting his tenants. More likely he’s covering his own ass because if those tapes got out, they’d show he let someone in he shouldn’t have, and it’d be his ass on the line.
“I don’t see anything, but I can easily get you some tapes if you’d like. Anything to help keep our Zoey safe. She’s such a sweet girl. Strange but sweet.”
I feel Pink’s hand come down on my shoulder just before I can open my mouth.
“That’d be real helpful if you don’t mind,” he says, rattling off the date and times we need. He knew I was about to lay into Ben. Which would have fucked everything up. I take a deep breath and look over at Pink, who levels me with a look that I know means get it the fuck together.
Maybe Zoey is strange, but she’s no stranger than me. Hell, what he thinks is strange about her is what I can’t seem to get enough of. Everything that comes out her mouth just seems to do it for me. How someone hasn’t snatched her up before now, I have no fucking idea. I have to believe what she is saying about only ever having feelings for me, because she came on so strong. If she’d done that with someone else, I can’t imagine them resisting planting a ring on her finger.
“I need a ring.” The words pop right out of my mouth in Zoey fashion, making Pink shake his head. The security guard continues to click away on his keyboard.
A ring on her finger sounds real nice. I can already picture her running her hands all over my body as she wears it. The thought has my cock coming to life.
“That’s strange,” Ben says, pulling me from the thoughts I shouldn’t be having right now. I’m once again losing myself in a Zoey fog and not making sure I’m getting shit done, keeping her safe.
“What?” The word comes out a little harder then I mean it to. I’m still agitated with him, even though he’s getting me what I want.
“They’re gone. There’s nothing on here. In fact, I can’t seem to find any tapes prior to my shift today.” He keeps clicking away like he might find it, but I know he won’t.
“I smell shit,” I tell Pink, who just nods his head.
I turn, heading out the door, not bothering to try and get more from Ben. He’s got nothing. I pull out my phone and dial my office.
“Hart Security,” Sherrie, Pink’s youngest sister, answers the phone.
“I need a crew over at Zoey’s apartment. I want prints done.”
“On the door?” she questions, and I hear her typing away on her computer.
“Everywhere.”
11
Zoey
“I want to tell you you’re crazy, but…” Elle shrugs as she slides off the bar stool and heads for the coffee pot. “But I like how you two look together. It’s different.”
Different. A word I’ve been hearing my whole life.
“I really like him.” I fiddle with the edges of the paper sitting on the counter, needing to do something with my hands. My sister’s opinion means a lot to me. It’s always been her and me, and while she might me bossy with me, I know I need it. She pulls me back and keeps me on track. If I didn’t have her, I’d probably just live in a mess of chaos.
“I’ve never felt like this. I can’t even seem to understand it.” Not that I’ve really tried. My mind seems to be solely focused on Drake.
“Is that driving you crazy?” After she looks in a few cabinets, she finds a mug and makes herself a cup. She doesn’t offer me one, knowing I can’t stand the stuff unless it’s one of those fancy ones loaded with whipped cream and chocolate. Elle just drinks hers straight black.
“No.”
“Well, there you go.” She smiles over her coffee cup before taking a sip.
It hasn’t been driving me crazy, oddly enough. I like for things to have reason to them. With this, I just seem to be trying to snatch it up and keep it without caring about why. I was so freaking happy when he seemed to be on board with the idea of getting married. I was scared when he didn’t answer me quickly at first when we were lying in bed before Elle and Pink showed up.
Or maybe he just said that so as not to embarrass me. A little bit of that sinking feeling comes back.
“He’s handsome. Like those rough, buff guys women always go crazy for on TV.”
“And?” She sets her coffee down, resting her elbows on the counter, and studies me like she doesn’t understand what I’m getting at.
I just shrug. I’ve never once really thought about what I looked like, despite having a sister who was once a model. Now I care. I want us to fit.
“You two fit, Zoey,” she says, like she’s reading my mind, something I often think she can do. “That’s why I’m not all up in your business about it. I like how he is with you. How you are with him. I’ve never see you like this. You seem happy.”
“I thought all guys were pig-headed assholes?” I remind her of the words I’m pretty sure I heard her mutter less than a week ago.
“Most are. They just want in your pants.”
“I hope so because I really want Drake in my pants,” I say dreamily, and Elle spits out a mouthful of coffee, making me jump.
She wipes up her mess and shakes her head. “I meant that’s all some men want, and I can’t believe that just came out of your mouth. I’m liking Drake more and more by the second.”
I narrow my eyes at her, making her laugh more.
“Simmer down, Zoey. I didn’t mean it like that. The man clearly only has eyes for you. Trust me. I know by the way his eyes follow you that he can’t seem to let you out of his reach. It’s sweet. Plus, I’m not even sure he knows I have a vagina.”