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“Hey, what’s up?” Markus was still distracted by the law case he’d been poring over all morning.
“I’m seriously understaffed,” Lukus told him.
“And that’s my problem why?”
“Because I’m afraid it’s your case that’s drawing the short straw right now, that’s why.”
That had Markus’s full attention. “I told you I’d fucking pay you if you need me to. It’s bullshit that just because you’re doing this one pro bono, it gets the short end of the stick.”
“It has nothing to do with money, asshole. Derek is still at the hospital with Rachel so Dylan is still solo. I just talked to him and nothing new has been happening. Just a lot of activity every night at that warehouse location. I think I’m gonna have to get on a fucking plane because I can tell the kid is getting antsy. He’s going to blow his cover talking to the wrong people.”
Markus wanted to probe more into the investigation but was distracted. “Wait. Go back. What about Rachel and the hospital?”
“Shit. He didn’t text you? I should have let you know. Rach started having some cramping and light bleeding on Saturday. They went to the hospital. She’s on complete bed rest. So far, the baby is fine, but it looks like she may have a high-risk pregnancy. Derek is losing his shit over it. I don’t blame him,” Lukus said.
“Neither do I. I’d freak if Bri were in the hospital for any reason, but having their baby in trouble too? Shit. What can I do?”
“The same thing I can do. Jack shit. It’s frustrating as hell.”
Markus closed his eyes as they talked. “Fine. I’ll back off pressing you to hurry for now, but you need to get someone out there to help junior.” He could hear some of the security crew in the background.
Lukus lowered his voice. “Listen, I don’t want to send just anyone out there. Who the hell knows how we are going to end up playing things with this fucker. I’d rather not get my normal guys involved. They may ask questions I’m not sure I want to answer, but more importantly, if things go down bad, I’d rather keep the list short on who knows. You know what I mean?”
Markus should have felt guilty for the surge of anger, but there was no way he was going to feel guilty for wanting Jake Davenport to pay for all he’d done to terrorize his wife and her best friend. “Fine. Yes. Now what?”
“Now we give it another day or two and if nothing breaks, and Derek still can’t go help his brother, then I’ll get on a damn plane myself. You’ll have to watch out for Tiff while I’m gone though.”
“She’s not a puppy you need to have a sitter for,” Markus said.
“No. She’s a thousand times more important to me than a damn puppy ever could be. And there’s a prick out there who would hurt her without giving it a second thought. And anyway. That’s what best friends do for each other. They take care of each other’s shit.”
Lukus had inadvertently hit on a topic that Markus had spent time thinking about on his long commute in to and out of the city. Now might be a good time to discuss it. “Now that you mention it… fuck. I’m aware how this is gonna sound, so let me be clear: this is not an invitation to fuck my wife, you got it?”
He could hear Lukus’s gruff laughter. “You already made your preference that I keep my dick out of your wife pretty clear. I hadn’t planned on it.”
“Will you shut up? I wasn’t done.”
As Markus wondered if he should be having this conversation over the phone, Lukus prodded him to continue. “So? You have my attention. Now what?”
“I’ve just been thinking we don’t know how this case with the prick is going to go down. While we don’t have plans for anything to go wrong, I’d feel better if you know I’m gonna count on you to watch out for Brianna if anything were to ever happen to me. The deeper we explore her submissive needs, the more I realize she’s always going to need a strong hand to guide her and keep her out of trouble. She is a beautiful, smart woman, but I can see now that if anything were to ever happen to me… I’d just feel better knowing that I expect you to step in and look after her.”
There was silence at the other end of the phone for long enough that Markus started to worry Lukus hadn’t heard him. He heard a door slamming at the other end of the phone before Lukus answered. “All right, you’d better not be planning to go all vigilante on me when I get the lowdown on Davenport.”
“It isn’t just about that prick. It isn’t just for the next week or two. I’m talking about, well, shit. I guess I’m talking about forever. You know. Kind of like I’d ask someone to be a godfather for my kid. I’d feel better knowing you’ve got my back with my wife. I’m not talking financially. She’s set there. I’m talking about… well, fuck. You’re the only one who knows how much danger she would be in if she started trolling for another Dom. I need to know that will never happen. Do you understand what I’m saying here?”
“Yeah. You’re asking me to fuck your wife if something happens to you.”
Markus was about to let him have it when he heard the laughing at the other end of the phone.
“Loosen up, man,” Lukus said, then. “I’m just yanking your chain. I get it. And of course you can count on me—on one condition.”
“Anything.”
“You do the same for Tiff. I have a lot more enemies than you do. I don’t lie awake at night worried about it or anything, but I’ll feel better knowing you’d do the same for me.”
“I’ve got news for you. I’ve been unofficially looking out for Tiff for years. Of course, I’ll step it up for you, man.”
The long seconds slipped by in silence before Markus abruptly cut the call short. “Enough of this depressing shit. We both have work to do. Later.”
