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The sound of my phone ringing had my words cutting off. “It’s ok, you can go get it. I think I’m able to stay upright now.”
Kissing her on the shoulder as she moved forward, I pulled myself up, grabbing a towel on my way to answer the phone. “I’ll be right back.” Getting to my phone, I saw Merric’s code name on the newest burner phone, he’d gotten, flash across the screen. It was a safety net we used. Each week Torin and Merric would get a new burner phone, so no one would ever be able to track their calls to Kieran or myself here in New York. “Hello?”
“I found the item we were looking for.”
He found the woman who planted the hearing devices is what he was telling me. “Good. Do you need me to come to the shop or are you bringing it home?”
“I’m going to bring it home, there’s something I want you to see.”
“Got it. I’ll see you then around ten tonight?”
“Yeah, should be there by then.”
“Is the shop locked up tight?” I needed to know whether Torin would be joining him or staying behind to keep things going while he was up here.
“Shop is locked up tight. See you soon.”
After disconnecting the call, I looked at the time on my phone, noticing that it was almost five in the evening. Pulling the towel free, I made my way back to Clarice in the tub, sliding right back in where I had been. “Everything ok?”
Reaching around, I tugged her in close to me. “Everything is fine. What do you say we soak for a few more minutes and then get something to eat, so you can regain your strength? Maybe a nice steak or some seafood?”
“At your restaurant?”
“Well,frommy restaurant. I’ll have them deliver it to us here, that way you can just relax and not have to go anywhere. Sound good?”
“Sounds like heaven.”
After I made the order, we spent another thirty minutes or so in the bathtub before we got out and dried off. As we made our way into the bedroom, I went into my closet and pulled out the fuzzy bathrobe I had left here for her last night. “Don’t tell me that’s your bathrobe.”
“As much as I wish it was, I had it brought up here for you.”
She giggled. “Thank god. I was about to have a lot of questions for you.”
No matter how much shit I had going on, being around this woman always lightened the load I felt on my shoulders. No longer would I need to sit, brooding, in my office, watching the flames dance around with a drink in my hand. Not when I had her in my life to lighten up my mood “Let’s get you something to drink to get those electrolytes back up.”
“That sounds good to me.” Making our way to the kitchen, she slowed to a stop in front of the door to my office. “What’s in here? Another mystery room?”
“It’s just my office.”
“Oh.”
She seemed to pause in her steps again before she finally took my hand and continued on to the kitchen where I mixed her up a drink I had used regularly after my workouts. Watching her for a short time, I wanted to know what her interest in my office was. As much as I didn’t want that thought in my head, with everything going on now with Merric, the idea of her being some kind of spy started to sprout in the back of my mind. The probability was extremely low, but I needed it put to rest. “So, why did you want to know what was behind the door to my office?”
If she was expecting the question, she did an excellent job of playing the part of a surprised reaction at my inquiry. “Just curious is all. I didn’t notice the room we went into last night, so I was just asking. Is that not ok? I don’t want to come off as nosey or anything.”
The look of worry she had on her face, that she’d overstepped, told me all I needed to know. It was just simple curiosity. “No, it’s fine. I was just...”
“Wait. Did you think I was spying on you or something? Because that’s notmything if you remember correctly, it’syours.”
Now she was getting upset at what she believed I was accusing her of.
And she wasn’t wrong.
But with everything going on right now, I couldn’t just shut the idea of the possibility out of my head. “Look, I’m not accusing you of anything. One thing you have to understand is in my line of business, I get a lot of individuals who want to take me down...” The words had left my mouth without me even realizing what I was confessing, and now I would have to figure out just how to reverse it. Kieran was right. I had gone soft around this woman, and just might have made the biggest mistake of my life. Now I needed to figure out just how this would all play out.
“What do you mean exactly? You’re a club and restaurant owner. Why would people want to take you down for that?”
She had that look in her eyes, one I had known all too well when I was questioning someone about something I already knew the answer to. That voice inside my head told me that all I did tonight with my misstep was confirm what she already suspected about what was behind the mask I wore. “I’m just saying that some people don’t like others being successful. It wouldn’t be the first time a restaurant or a club was burnt to the ground by a rival owner of another club or restaurant that wanted the kind of revenue you’re pulling in.”
