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“I got fired.” I cringe. I really didn’t want to tell her that yet.
“What?!” she yells down the line, making me wince.
“A guy grabbed me, I triggered. It was only a broken finger.”
“Oh you expect me to be proud that youonlybroke one finger?!” She sounds hysterical but I know it’s only because she hates to see me hurt, and lashing out is her coping mechanism for not being able to help me.
“I got home, Jamie’s made off with the rent money, I’m being evicted in a week and he’s stripped the place bare. I don’t even have anywhere to sit or sleep. He took everything.”
“Fuck,” she whispers, all of the snarky attitude leaving her. “Come here. Of course you can stay until you’re on your feet. But...I’m going home for Christmas, and Aiden’s going to be there with the whole brood, and I just don’t think there’ll be room for you.”
I cringe at the mention of her brother’s name. Happily married now with a bazillion kids, it still hurts that we never worked out. Just another shitty mistake in a long line of them.
“It’s fine. If you don’t mind me being at your place while you’re away,” I say hastily. The last thing I want is an invite to a Rialdi family Christmas. “I’ll be fine on my own.”
“Okay. Come over, I’ll get us some food and some wine. Sounds like you need it. I’ll clear some space out in my closet for your things.”
“Thanks, but that won’t be necessary.”
“Why the hell not?”
“He tookeverything...my clothes, my toothbrush, even my knickers!” I pause for a beat. “Can you lend me some?” I ask in a tiny voice. Elle, to her credit, doesn’t laugh.
“Come on over, right away. Fuck the wine, we need hard liquor if we’re planning his murder. And don’t worry, I’ll give you some panties.” She sniggers and hangs up.
I throw my few meagre possessions that came out of my bag back into it and get to my feet. No sense in hanging around. Part of me wants to leave my key on the counter, the door unlocked, and to walk out of here and never look back. But a bigger part of mecan’t. I have only a few days to find a job, make enough money to replace the oven and other items that belong to the landlord, and to clear the rent debt. Piece of cake, right?
WINT
I’m talking on my phone while driving, which is one of my absolute pet hates, even if I am on hands free. The traffic in the city tonight is vile, and I’m already running late for my shift at the club.
As part-owner, I should be allowed certain perks.Notperforming being one of them. I prefer to be the behind the scenes guy, in charge of admin, safety, security and the like, but tonight one of the Doms called in sick, and two girls just quit unexpectedly and without reason. My priority should be following up their departure, offering a good severance package, and making sure that they’re both okay.
Not wielding a whip before a crowd for entertainment purposes. I’m not a damn ring master. I prefer to leave the showy shit to North.
Sighing as the lights turn to green but there’s nowhere for me to go, I flick my attention back to my call.
My best friend and business partner – one of five of us in total – is going on and on about why he needs me at the club, like, an hour ago.
“What can I say, North? Traffic’s a bitch right now.”
“I’d like to call you a liar, but I’m tracking your phone and can see that you’ve not moved in fifteen minutes.”
“Stalker much?” I mutter.
“Oh, like you can’t tell exactly where the four of us are right now, even down to the specific rooms?” North quips back.
“That’s different,” I scoff. “Security’s my thing.”
North, Don, Frost and Dash are so much more than my business partners. They’re my brothers. With a combined total of nearly sixty years served in the Special Air Services, our bond is unbreakable. There’s not a thing about me that these guys don’t know, nor I about them. It’s what allowed me to keep them safe while we were serving, and out of trouble once we left.
“Mmm-hmm,” he drawls, not buying it.
So what if I have slight control issues. It’s not a secret. And anyway, I’m nowhere near as bad as North. He just prefers to exert his control in flashier, showier, sexier ways.
What’s the point in being dominant in the bedroom if you don’t extend that same level of care to all aspects of your life?
“Oh looks like the traffic’s starting to move, I better get off the line.”
