I cringe. “Yeah, sorry. I’m just a little creeped out.”
“You’ve got more than enough right to be. I tell you what. How about you call a locksmith and get them out here to fix that door and I stay the night. I know you’ve got the room,” he wheedles.
I should tell him no. Should tell him that I’ve got no interest in having him here in my home. I still don’t know what I’m gonna do with all of those inconvenient feelings swirling around in my gut when he’s around.
But I hear myself sigh. “Fine. Go get your things. You might as well move in here and keep me company. It’s not like you’re gonna be around forever.”
Fee opens her mouth and then snaps it closed when Monroe shakes his dark head. She grits her teeth and then stalks away. “Fine,” she mutters. “Nobody listen to me.”
And then Monroe follows her and I’m all alone with Darius in my bedroom, my panty drawer standing open and half empty. I flush and my eyes dart away from him when he stares at the drawer.
He clears his throat. “I’ll let you make that call. I’ll go to my hotel and be right back. Do not let your cousin and Monroe leave until I come back.”
And with those parting words, he strides out like a sulky panther and trots down the stairs and out the door.
Fee glares up at me. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I do too.”
CHAPTER 10
Darius
By the time I get back it’s full dark and there’s a guy getting into a van and pulling out, waving at me like we’re best buddies even though I have no idea who the hell he is.
I take the porch steps two at a time and rap on the door. It opens and Fee is standing there like some kind of avenging angel. She points at me and her finger slams into my chest, digging in like she’s trying to rip my heart out with her fingernail. “You better not try anything. Or I’ll make sure that you regret it, buddy.”
I have to say…I’m terrified. “I promise you, Fee. I’m not going to hurt Harp. She means too much to me.”
“Keep that in mind.” She storms out and Monroe follows after her like her one-man clean-up crew.
He grins. “Good luck, my friend. I know you told Harper what happened but make sure you know what the hell you want before you do something you can’t take back.”
I nod at him and he follows his goddess.
I turn to find my own little goddess. My angel is staring off into space, her arms crossed and her body still.
“You alright, angel?”
“I don’t think I am,” she sighs. “You know, I’ve traveled all over the world and stayed in some crappy ass places. But I’ve never felt as scared as I do right now in my own home.”
Her fear-filled eyes find me. “I don’t like that feeling. And I sure as hell don’t like that someone took away my safety in my own hometown.”
I have a feeling I know who it was and I’m gonna take Monroe and have a chat with him tomorrow. You don’t break into a girl’s house and play in her panty drawer and then expect that nothing’s going to happen to you.
Not with me anyway. I’m gonna kill that fucker. And I’m gonna enjoy it.
Because nobody should make my angel look at her own house and feel the kind of fear I see lurking in her sweet eyes.
That fucker’s got it coming.
The light’s flicker and I hear Harper’s breath catch, her eyes shifting nervously. “It’s a storm, angel. You’re safe. I’m here.”
I move closer to her. “You got any candles in case the power goes out?”
She nods and scurries out of the room. And like a magnet, I head over to the cabinet in the corner. My lips curl when I open the doors and see the old games. I pick up our old beat-up Go Fish cards. Harper comes in the room and groans. “Oh tell me you’re not thinking about that game right now. I can’t think.”
That’s exactly why I’m holding them.
