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“After that stunt that Alexander pulled, Mark wants to ban him from Riptide, but I’m concerned he might lash out at you guys. Especially,” she adds, “since he lives in your building.”
It’s a reminder I don’t need, or maybe I do. This problem with Alexander isn’t going away and he’s too close to us for comfort. “I’m not sure what to do here, Crystal.”
“Let’s just talk it out. Do you have time to come by today?”
“Yes, sure,” I say, without hesitation. She’s offered me an opportunity I value more than ever now that Gio is back and obviously checked out. “I’d like to step up and do more. What time?”
“Any time is fine. Just text me about fifteen minutes before you get here.”
I open my mouth to warn her about Walker shadowing me and think better. She already knows. They saw Savage at lunch. I want to work with her, not scare her off when Alexander is doing a fine job of that himself. Instead, I simply say, “I will. See you soon.”
I disconnect and rotate to stare at the closet door, dreading the moment I speak Alexander’s name to Kace once again but I won’t keep this from him. Stuffing my feet in my pink slippers beside the vanity chair, I shuffle to the closet and pause in the door. Kace is holding a black T-shirt that he pulls over his head, the ripple of muscle beneath taut tattooed skin quickly covered by a lion emblem on the tee.
“Everything good with Crystal?” he asks, sitting down on the bench to grab one of his black biker boots.
I sit down next to him and lead up to my more direct answer. “Did I tell you my client, Ed, that bought the bracelet passed on the wine I’d found for him through Riptide?”
“Tell me again.” He zips his boot. “Just so I know where this is going, and for the record, I’m already certain it’s to Alexander.”
“Right well, yes. It is. Alexander, if you remember, is always trying to scoop collectible wine from Ed. And Ed wouldn’t buy the wine I offered him from the Riptide vault because he decided he was done playing games with Alexander.”
He pulls on his second boot and zips it up, his hands settling on his knees. “Why do I know that was just part of another game?”
I sigh. “More like why didn’t I know? I should have, though, in my defense, Ed declining the wine did feel off. Long story short, apparently, Ed made it clear to Alexander that I offered him the wine. They are trouble together, but for me, this is about Alexander. Watching the way he obsesses over Ed and you, too, Kace, is unnerving. Do we know what is at the core of this? Or do I really even want to know? Do we care?”
“You’ve managed to get in the middle of them, so yes, we care. Blake owes us an update. I’ll find out. What did Alexander do when he found out you offered Ed the wine?”
“He went to Riptide to raise hell today.”
There’s a slight tightening around his lips. “I’m sure that went over about as well as oil on Mark’s showroom floor.”
“I’m not sure if Mark is involved, at least not yet. Does he know your history with Alexander? He does, right?”
“He does not. Not in its entirety.”
I shift to face him more fully. “But he has your power of attorney. Shouldn’t he know?”
His jaw tics. “Yes.” He changes the topic. “What did Crystal say about Alexander?”
“Mark suggested he ban Alexander from Riptide, but Crystal’s afraid he’ll lash out at us. I want her to just sell him the wine and let me step back from Ed and Alexander. No commission. I just want it over. I don’t want to be in the middle of these two. It feels like trouble.”
He stands up but he doesn’t move away, tension rippling down his back, bunching his shoulders again, and I know why or rather what he’s reacting to: the part about Alexander lashing out. I push to my feet and catch his arm. “Kace?”
He doesn’t immediately look at me. “I’ll call Mark.”
“And say what? I can handle this with Crystal. I really can.”
He rotates, facing me, hands on my shoulders. “This is bigger than wine and a fee you don’t need anymore. I get it that you want the money. You want your own career, and I support you, baby, but will not be captive to Alexander or anyone ever again.”
“Which is exactly why I need to face my battles and fight them.”
“Again, baby, I respect where you’re coming from but Alexander, per your own suggestion, is a potential killer, absolutely a liar, thief, manipulator, and extortionist. I’m calling Mark. You just tell Crystal you need to step back from Ed and Alexander. I don’t want you near this or him.” He surprises me by stepping around me and heading for the door.
“I can’t avoid Alexander and neither can you, Kace. He lives in our building.”
He pauses in the doorway and glances back at me. “Not for long.”
I blink, not sure what Kace means by that. Are we moving? I dismiss that idea the moment I’ve had it, reminded of Kace’s confessions of a brutal side, one he intends to unleash against Alexander.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Brutally.
That’s how Kace said he would handle Alexander. That’s certainly how Alexander has attacked Kace. It’s an eye for an eye, I know, but I can’t help but fear that in the end, Kace will not find the satisfaction he seeks. He’ll only find his father in himself and that is not who he wants to be. He needs his moral compass to guide him, not his anger, and if he acts in the moment—and after San Francisco, he’s in one—it will be with that anger.
For now, I give him his space while I grasp for any form of control I can manage, and standing here in a robe doesn’t seem to fit that plan. I dress. And with a meeting now scheduled for Riptide, that means in business attire. My gaze lifts and scans my clothes where they hang near Kace’s, a pinch in my chest. I’ve never shared a closet with anyone. I’ve never shared a home with anyone. I don’t intend to let Alexander, or Gio for that matter, screw this up for us. And as for all the clothes, there are more now, I think. Yes. The selection has grown.
“Kace,” I murmur, softly chiding him for the personal shopper he’s obviously employed yet again. I’m a mixed bag on this topic. I mean I could complain, but how can I? He loves me. I know he loves me. I feel that love. He’s spoiling me. And he’s just trying to take care of me and I need to do the same of him.
Gio is going to get on board with our plan.
The end.
He’ll find out today.
He’ll agree today.
I quickly dress in a cute pleated black skirt, a black silk blouse and high heeled boots, when my gaze catches on the outrageously expensive Chanel purse that I swore I wouldn’t use. My lips press together and an eternal war rages inside me before I reach for it. Deep in my gut, I believe Kace needs me to show him that I’m here, I’m staying. I’m back to his reasons behind the gifts. Somehow I think—I think this is all part of a war he’s fighting within himself. I’m not sure how or why, but Kace does nothing without a purpose or a demon. And besides, he knows I want to make my own money. He knows I don’t take his for granted.
I fill the purse, a little thrill in me as I do. I love the darn thing. I also love my daisy bracelet, which I quickly la
tch around my wrist on my way out of the bathroom.
Feeling like a princess in all my fancy clothes, I head downstairs, surprised to find Kace standing at the bottom with Blake. I like Blake. I trust Blake. However, his unexpected presence will still always stir that part of me I don’t want to exist, but oh it does. The part that expects the worst.
“Is there news?” I call out before I’m even down the stairs, my heart racing with the idea that something is going on with Gio.
Two sets of intense eyes and a whole lot of testosterone shifts in my direction. “No big news,” Blake replies. “Adrian and Adam will be escorting you today.”
I join them, stepping to Kace’s side and I do not miss the sweep of Kace’s stare over my body from tip to toe. Nor do I miss the approval in those blue eyes. He notices the new clothes. I believe he notices the purse. His fingers catch mine. “All is well, baby.”
“If all is well,” I say, glancing at Blake, “why are you here? I mean, you’re the big boss man for Walker, aren’t you?”
He laughs a low, deep laugh. “My brother Royce would not call me the big boss, but,” he winks, “my wife will if I play my cards right.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks and Kace laughs, sliding an arm around me. “Good thing we aren’t touring with the band anymore. You’d live with those red cheeks.” He kisses my temple. “Blake got us an update.”
“An update?” I untangle myself from Kace and fold my arms in front of me, my gaze locked on Blake. “What update? About Sofia?”
“Nothing on Sofia, but no matter where she is or what she wants, we have men on the ground in Italy preparing for your trip. We’ll keep you safe.”
“We were actually talking about Alexander,” Kace says.
“Right,” Blake agrees. “Kace wanted to know what you’d gotten in the middle of with Ed and Alexander.”
