“Protecting you is never a waste of time. When will you be back?”
“Late…” Her voice trails off.
I tip her chin up, looking her squarely in the face. “Dinner.”
“I have a curfew now?” One brow rises in challenge.
“What you’ll have is a good spanking if you’re late to dinner. Maggie left a casserole. We can eat in.” I smirk.
Her cheeks flush and she knows the threat is idle unless she really wants a spanking—then I’m happy to oblige. She’s turned me into a damn teddy bear.
Softly she smiles. “Okay. Dinner.” She reaches up on her tiptoes and kisses my chin. I grunt, letting her go. If I reach for her again its game over, and the meeting with Neil will never happen.
I tap her ass on the way out and watch her walk d
own the steps and into the car with Stevens. He knows I’ll take Rhodes with me.
I shake my head, disappointed with myself for thinking Sydney was in my office, and open the door. It’s filled with her scent but that’s not new. I fuck her in here at least once a day, given the chance. The desk gives nice leverage when I want it, and seeing her perched on the corner while I work is a nice distraction.
I reach for a file on top when a breeze behind me pulls my attention. I turn and study the door to the vault. For the first time I find it’s not fully shut, and I yank it open. There’s an air duct and ventilation system that’s blocked when the door is shut. Obviously it wasn’t, and I don’t forget these things.
That niggling fear and doubt settle in and I sit down at my desk, pushing back in my chair, my hands resting behind my head while I look around the office for any other anomalies. My phone rings and I reach into my pocket to get it.
“Declan, you’re late.” Leave it to Neil to harass me about being on time. I’m surprised the party boy made it out of bed for our meeting, but I’m bothered by how Sydney left and unsure of what’s going on. Since we’ve been having sex, christening each room of the house, I turned the cameras off inside. No sense in recording what I could freely have, and I didn’t fuck women in my house if I don’t trust them. In fact, Sydney is the first.
The only.
I hate thinking that I’ve let my guard down foolishly.
“Hang on, Neil.” Standing up, I go to the vault, keeping the phone in one hand opening the door again, scanning each shelf and every file I keep in here. A few have little spots of dust, but one is empty. It’s a shelf I kept set aside for Tabitha’s inheritance—specifically one deed to a tract of property when Dad thought he could strengthen the family by marrying Tabby off to a business associate. Obviously I wasn’t going to let that happen and so the property has stayed barren, a dock on the waterfront worth a shitload of money to the right person. My fist clenches and I roar to the empty vault, cursing my stupidity.
I place the phone against my ear and mutter.
“Neil, we have a problem.”