AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You need to escape, and I have the perfect place to escape to.” It was simple really. “You can stay as long as you need to.”
Faith stood and began to pace.
It gave me a better view of her outfit. Her leather pants made her legs look a mile long, and her top fit snugly around her, a large, fitted sweater with one naked shoulder exposed. Even in this situation we found ourselves in, I wished I could cross the room and explore that little piece of skin showing. I hated that other men probably got to see her this way, her hair wavy and wild, like she’d just taken a good pounding…
Fuck, I needed to get my head on straight around her.
“You will have plenty of space at my house. You said it yourself, you want to escape the city for a bit. A temporary rental isn’t going to be nearly as safe as my place. All it would take is one of the paparazzi to track you down and you’d be all on your own without your family nearby to help you.”
Faith planted her hands on hips and stopped her pacing. “Why would you even want me to stay at your house?”
That was a fucking fantastic question. One I wasn’t sure I could answer.
I didn’t have visitors. Ever.
I rubbed a hand along my scruff, trying to come up with a satisfying answer, but I must have taken too long.
“See!” she said on a laugh. “You don’t even want me to stay at your house. You’re just doing it out of some weird obligation to my brother.”
Faith wasn’t wrong, but she wasn’t entirely right either.
“You need a place to stay. I will never let a woman be left unprotected.” Not after what happened to my mom. I didn’t know what was going on with that weird string I felt pulling me toward Faith, the string I usually tried my damndest to ignore, but I knew that I couldn’t do that if it meant it left her vulnerable.
Faith opened her mouth. I knew she had more questions on the tip of her tongue.
“I planned to leave tomorrow morning after my breakfast meeting. Ten in the morning. I’ll swing by to pick you up. Are you safe here tonight or do I need to call a friend to get a security detail?”
It would take a few minutes to get Beck on the line and request that he send his best and brightest to watch Faith. Hell, I might do it anyway just to help me sleep tonight.
“This is seriously insane and unnecessary.”
I stood, not giving her a chance to protest more. “You’ll love my place. There’s plenty of space and Willow will appreciate the company.”
Her eyes widened. “Willow? Your girlfriend?”
A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “My dog.”
“Oh.” Faith smiled, a look of embarrassment flitting across her face. “Right. Dog.”
She swallowed the short distance between us in a few steps. I slid my hands into my pockets to stop myself from reaching out to her.
“You seriously want me to go stay with you?” she asked with a puzzled expression still there, softer than before, sure, but still present. “What do you get out of this situation other than an unwanted houseguest? This seems like a very uneven transaction.”
That’s when it clicked for me. She wasn’t used to someone just giving her something for being a good friend. The concept was frankly as foreign to the woman sitting across from me as it was for me.
But transactions—yes, I could deal in transactions. I made my fortune in transactions.
What could I leverage her for?
The Barnes deal immediately came to mind. In our initial conversations he’d alluded more than once that a young man such as myself needed a partner. Perhaps pretending to have a partner would help snag the big fish.
It was worth a shot.
“I need you to do something for me.”
Faith cocked her head in obvious intrigue. She motioned for me to continue.
“You stay at my house—for free—and in exchange I need you to come with me to a business dinner with a potential client.”
