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“You got it. I’ll put on a pot of coffee and be waiting for you.”
“Thanks.” Zy hung up with a sigh that sounded more than tired. It was eat-a-bullet weary.
That worried the hell out of Trees.
With a curse, he rose and tossed on some sweatpants and a tee, then headed across the house to Laila. He half expected to see her curled on her side, tresses tumbling behind her, as they always did in sleep. Instead, she lay on her back, gaze glued to the ceiling.
“Laila?”
“What?” She jolted, then scrambled to pull the covers closer.
It wouldn’t do any good to remind her that he’d already seen and touched all the parts she tried to hide. Even so, glimpsing the outline of her nipples through her shirt set his libido off again. Every time he fucking looked at her, he felt as if he hadn’t had sex in decades, rather than being deep inside her mere days ago. “Zy is on his way over. It’s work. I won’t be getting to bed anytime soon, so if you want me to uncuff you…”
“Please.”
He approached. The closer he came to her, the faster his heart raced, chugging like mad when he sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand in his. “If tonight works out the way I think, I can prove I’m not the mole who sold your whereabouts to the cartel.”
Something brightened her eyes—hope?—before she blinked it away. “If you can prove it, I will listen.”
Trees didn’t blame her for being skeptical, but it frustrated him. “I wish you’d try to believe me regardless.”
“Why do my feelings matter? You are my bodyguard. You are paid to keep me safe, nothing more.”
Was she serious? “You think there’s nothing else between us? Can you look me in the eye and tell me you don’t feel a thing for me?”
Laila looked away. “Are you going to uncuff me?”
“Yeah.” It wouldn’t do any good to press the issue.
Seconds later, she was free. He left the room before he spilled more of his heart and headed to the kitchen. He flipped on the coffeepot before heading out front, shotgun in hand, to breathe in the crisp night air.
Twenty minutes later, Zy pulled up and stepped off his bike, gesturing to the firearm. “Is that your idea of a warm welcome? I can go if you’re that adamant about sleep.”
“Ha ha. Just being cautious, keeping out the riffraff, you know. But now that you’re here, maybe I should shoot you just for the hell of it.”
“Pass.” Zy sighed. “Sorry. I’m all out of jokes.”
Trees didn’t doubt that. Frankly, he felt pretty much the same. “Yeah. You look like someone shit all over your life. I was just trying to lighten your mood.”
“I appreciate that, but don’t.”
“All right. I’ll zip it.”
As his buddy hung his helmet on his handlebars, Trees opened the front door.
“Where’s Laila?”
Since Zy had enough going on with the Tessa situation, Trees gave him a flippant answer. “In her room, waiting for me to fall asleep before she’ll risk getting into bed and closing her eyes.”
“She still doesn’t trust you?”
“She doesn’t trust anyone. I’m trying not to take it personally.”
“Even if it’s not a knock against you, that’s got to be hard. You’re the dude most people trust with whatever they value—vehicles, pets, girlfriends.”
“Yeah.” Wasn’t irony a bitch? “She’s not most people.”
“Is she making noise about wanting to be with her sister?”
Trees stepped inside the house and locked the shotgun back in its case. “Some, but Valeria admitted to Laila she’s the reason they’re apart.”
“At least she’s not blaming you. Did she ever let you buy her warmer clothes?”
“Negative. No offense, buddy, but could we talk about your misery instead?” Besides, the clock to build the bosses a timeline of Tessa’s guilt was ticking down.
“Why not? Everyone else is.”
Together, they made their way to the kitchen, and Zy folded himself into a chair as Trees poured coffee and slid a mug across the table. “Sorry, man. Tell me what happened?”
Zy did, explaining that he’d fed Tessa his cover story. It had taken less than an hour for his disinformation to spread through their community on Abuzz. Trees suspected he’d heard the G-rated version of events because, even at a glance, it was obvious Zy hadn’t managed to stay out of Tessa’s bed. And that had fucked with Zy’s head even more.
“This is killing you, and you still love her.”
Zy frowned. “I try to tell myself I don’t. That I’m in love with who I thought she was and I miss what it seemed we had. But I can’t lie to myself. She double-crossed me, and she would only do that for some reason she thinks is necessary. And I can’t make myself unlove her.”
“I know.” It was fucking sad. Trees had always suspected that when Zy fell, it would be real and lasting. He’d never imagined the reciprocation would be a lie.
