“Thank you, I think.” Her head is on a swivel as she takes in the main house. “I’m not sure why I’m here, though,” she says.
“We’ll explain in a few minutes. Did you need to use the restroom?”
“No, I’m good. Thanks.” Before mumbling, “Let’s just get this over with.”
Turning to hide my grin, I say, “Okay, then let’s have a chat before dinner. This way.” I apply gentle pressure to the small of her back, urging her toward the family room.
I lead her into the room and try to picture it through her eyes. It’s large, bigger than the house we grew up in. We created an open floor plan, enlarged the footprint, and built a secret underground level where most of my brothers work. Adrian and I are the only ones who have offices on this level. It’s part of the safety measures we built in to ensure the fire that took our parents’ lives will never happen again.
Everything is fire-safe. We added fire doors for each room and a suppression system throughout the house. We set up the security room and other offices downstairs. It’s only accessible via a biometric scanner hidden in the kitchen pantry. There’s a full-size bunker down there, decked out with supplies to last at least a year should the impossible happen. My parents instilled in us the prepper mentality and their love of nature.
We still need to furnish the guest rooms and the dining room, but we’ve finished all the other rooms. My parents used to call us for meetings in the family room, and we’ve kept the practice, out of habit more than anything else.
When we get to the family room, I nod to my brothers. We’ve already discussed how we’re going to handle this discussion when we thought J. Tanner was a man. But on some level, we’re a bunch of neanderthals, so we’ll treat Jaclyn more gently. I won’t have my mother spinning in her grave because we were rude to a woman.
“Sit anywhere you’d like.”
Jaclyn drops into a chair beside the custom leather, super-sized sectional. Aaron assumes his usual spot, leaning against the flagstone fireplace. It’s not lit tonight, it’s still too warm.
Adrian takes a seat on the couch and stretches his arms along the back. He looks relaxed, but he’s good at masking his emotions. As our head of security, he’s the most suspicious of all of us.
I am already missing her warmth against my palm, so I sit on the coffee table in front of her to be as close as possible. We surround her, and the increase in the pulse visibly beating at the base of her neck shows she’s nervous. Whether she should be remains to be seen. I won’t lie to myself, though. I pray she’s innocent of all the things I thought because she’s mine, and I don’t intend to let her go.
“Did you send me an email, Jaclyn?”
She leans forward and tucks a loose strand of hair that’s escaped from her ponytail behind her ear, then laces her fingers together. I know she’s uneasy, maybe even terrified, so I give her a moment to find her words. But I won’t wait forever. I’m a patient man, but I have my limits. And after the past week of trying to figure out the wasp nest she dumped in my lap, it’s running thin.
It’s easy to get lost in her clear blue gaze, like the palest sky on a summer day. Her lashes are long and thick, though it could be makeup. None of my sisters-in-law wears much, but Jaclyn is from California, an entirely different world. Her dark brown hair looks like melted chocolate. I can’t wait to wrap her long tresses around my hand and hold her still as I ravish her mouth.
Fuck. I need to keep my head in the game. Although if I believe the message my gut is giving me, she’s innocent of anything other than discovering the discrepancy. Still, it’s not a chance I can take with my family’s lives.
Jaclyn straightens her shoulders and clenches her jaw before meeting my gaze. “Yes, I sent it. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. But, obviously…” She gestures with her hands. “Since I’m here, it was the wrong thing to do.”
After releasing a sigh, I lean back when I realize how close I am to taking her hand. “It wasn’t the wrong thing. Not at all. Your instincts were good. That addendum is wrong. I would never have signed a contract containing it. But that leaves the question: why write to me? Why not take this to Ronald Snyder or one of your other coworkers? Your email said you didn’t trust him. Can you tell us why?”
I’ve been struggling with these questions for a week, and I need answers. Now. But I doubt I’ll be getting any from Jaclyn. Which leaves a mystery that we need to solve, and fast.
Jaclyn tenses and her fingers clench in her lap. Briefly, she closes her eyes then exhales like she’s trying to settle herself. “Honestly, it’s just a gut feeling. As soon as I hit send on that email, I knew it was a mistake. I’ve been waiting to be fired all week. I’m just surprised you dragged me all the way here to do it.”
My stomach twists at the worry and remorse in her expression. There’s more background here. I didn’t bother to pull her employment file. I know nothing about where she came from or her education. This has never been my forte—it’s Adrian’s. This is my fault, damn it. I should have brought him in on this right away.
When I look toward Adrian, he gives me a blank expression, leaving it to me to deal with for now. Great. Aaron just shrugs. Neither is helping. Where are the smart remarks from earlier?
“You’re not getting fired, Sweetpea.” The words slip out without thought, but they feel right. It’s reinforced when her cheeks flush a soft pink, matching the flower I just called her.
“I’m not? Then why am I here? Are you going to kill me? I have friends who will miss me, you know. They know I’m here.” Her words spill out of her mouth as the pulse in her neck beats double-time.
“Do we really look like murderers to you?” Adrian chuckles.
My girl is shaking and terrified. Unable to resist, I stand and lift her out of the chair, sitting down with her in my lap. Her body stiffens, and her “eep” is adorable. After a few heartbeats, she relaxes against my chest. This is a mistake. She’ll probably report me to HR the first chance she gets.
She’s an attorney for our company. I’m holding her in my arms like someone precious who needs protecting. I’ve obviously lost my ever-loving mind, but honestly, I don’t give a rat’s ass.
Leaning down, I whisper into her ear, “It will be okay. I promise you’re okay. No one is going to hurt you. You’re safe here and always will be.”
She nods against my chest, and I’ve never felt more content in my life. Then, she looks up at me. “You should probably put me down.”
Even though she doesn’t pull away, I know she’s right. I should let her go. Fuck. Actually, I should call our driver to take her back to the plane so she can fly home to Sunnyvale—far away from me. Except she’s awoken a protective instinct in me I didn’t know existed. Sure, I’ve had my share of women, but none have roused this soul-deep need to hold on to her forever. Can I explain it? No, but it changes nothing. She’s mine. Now I need to convince her.
