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Tears welled in my eyes. “It’s better that I stay away.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“Trust me, Austin.”
He narrowed his eyes and sucked in a breath. “What does he have on you?”
“Nothing.”
“Paris, you can tell me.” He grabbed my hand. “He’s not as powerful as you think.”
I stared at him, knowing my secret would be safe with him while at the same time understanding he could never find out the truth. If I didn’t tell him something, he’d go digging, and that was the last thing I wanted. “Not tonight, okay? It’s been a good night. I’ll tell you, just not right now.”
“All right. As long as you promise you’re done avoiding me.” He nudged my shoulder. “Nerd.”
“Only if you stop calling me that.” I couldn’t help the smile that was so big it reached my ears when I teased, “Goober.”
CHAPTER 14
Scotty
“You’ve gotta be fucking joking.”
That was Q. He was in another office down the hall. I’d finally found a vulnerability during another attempt of penetration testing. “If it makes you feel better, it took me a few days.”
“Fuck off,” he grunted. “I know you’re just doing what you were hired for, so I should probably thank you, but I don’t think I’ll ever get there.”
“I wouldn’t suspect so.” I looked up when I heard a knock and saw Austin entering my office. “I’ve gotta go, but I’ll keep you posted.”
I returned the handset to the base and skirted around my desk to shake his outstretched hand. “Hey. Hope you don’t mind me stopping in like this.”
“Not at all. Wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon.” We were just at his house last night, but he and I didn’t talk much.
Yesterday was tiring, and as much as I wanted to be with her, I knew Paris needed some time to herself. So when we returned home, I walked her inside and we made out until I had to stop, before my parents found out how thin the walls between apartments were.
When I left her, she seemed… content. She had definitely lost the tension she was tight with before we went to Austin’s, but I didn’t want to push her, so I didn’t ask what they talked about. If she wanted to tell me, she would.
I heard her moving around this morning and sent her a text to see if she wanted to come to breakfast with my parents before they left, but she declined saying she had a ton of work to catch up on.
Austin was in a suit and tie, so I assumed this was the middle of his workday as well. I hoped his visit was a friendly one because I didn’t want to deal with an overprotective brother right now. I, too, had lots to catch up on.
He didn’t waste any time. “I’ve got a meeting in about forty-five minutes, so I’m just gonna cut to the chase.”
My eyes narrowed at his clipped tone. “All right.”
“What are your intentions with my sister?” he asked.
“Okay.” I shut the door and rested the backs of my thighs against my desk. “You seem cool, and I can appreciate you looking out for your sister, but you need to tread carefully.”
“Do you think I’m intimidated by you?” He held his hands out and motioned at our surroundings. “By all of this?”
I arched a brow, surprised at him. He seemed so easygoing last night. “I honestly don’t care either way, but I do care about your sister. I’m sure with everything she’s been through, the last thing she’d want is her brother and her man at each other’s throats. So why don’t you tell me why you really came.”
He huffed and rocked back on his heels. “Right. Didn’t think I needed to test you, but what kind of brother would I be if I didn’t at least try?” He rubbed his temples with an uneasy laugh. “Now that that’s over, I need you to find out what the fuck he did to my sister.”
Even though I’d bet my life that I knew who he was talking about, I still asked, “Who?”
“My father,” he spat. “I’ll pay you.”
