Bare Yourself (Consumed)

Chapter Ten

Willow

I look up when a file folder drops down on my desk. Nathan’s standing on the other side with a man dressed in a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, tattoos covering his arms, black slacks, shaggy dark brown hair, and glasses. Not your typical businessman look.

The man is hot as sin. I know his name is Asher Knight, and that Nathan used to work for him as a security guard. I also know he’s married, and the man is completely gaga over his wife. I overheard Nathan and Tegan talking one day about Mr. Knight stalking her for a year before he “made her his” according to Nathan.

I break my eyes away from Mr. Knight and direct them to Nathan when he starts talking.

“I need you to draw up a contract for Silver Technologies and email it over. All the information you need for the contract is in that file.”

I look at Nathan and raise a brow. His jaw turns hard, but he mutters, “Please.”

I smile. “Right away, Nathan.”

I don’t laugh, because that would be mean, and I’m trying to teach Nathan how to be nice and not so gruff. However, I can’t help it when my lips twitch. He’s a good employer, but his social skills are flat. He barks and demands and doesn’t ask nicely. It’s a running joke on my part, even if he doesn’t think it’s funny.

Mr. Knight, on the other hand, doesn’t care about being nice, and lets out a deep laugh.

“Bastard,” Nathan growls, which only makes him laugh more. It’s obvious these two men are friends, or Nathan wouldn’t feel so comfortable about calling him a bastard. I seriously doubt Nathan’s social skills are so bad he would call just any client that.

Mr. Knight slaps Nathan’s back, still chuckling. “’Bout time someone teaches you manners.”

“Fuck off” is Nathan’s grumbled reply. He turns to me. “After you get the contract finished, knock off early today. There’s nothing else for you to do here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I grab the folder and place it in front of me, then pull up the program we use to draw up contracts.

“I’ll see you next week. Call Poppy and let her know if there’s anything else you need,” Mr. Knight says as he walks to the door.

Nathan grunts. “I’ll let Willow call her. I’m not too sure Poppy feels comfortable talking to me.”

I listen to the two men talk as I work. I sense a story behind Nathan’s words and briefly wonder what it is.

“Maybe if you’d stop fucking staring at people so damn intensely, Poppy would be fine,” Mr. Knight remarks. “It used to freak her out. Besides, she knows I’ll kill any fuckers that make her feel uncomfortable.”

I look up at him, expecting to see laughter in his eyes, but find them dead serious. There is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Knight would follow through with his threat.

He looks my way, his eyes still fierce, but not quite as deadly looking.

“On second thought, maybe you should be the one to call Poppy.”

I swallow and nod.

“Next week,” he calls, then walks through the door.

Nathan, without a word to me, which is normal for him, turns and goes back into his office. I get to work drawing up the contract, and once I’m done, email it over to the email address in the file. I don’t bother telling Nathan goodbye, just shut down the computer, gather my purse, and leave.

My phone rings as soon as I step outside into breezy air.

“Hey, Minnie. I’m leaving work early. Do you—” Her loud and frantic voice cuts me off midsentence.

“Willow, you need to come home now!”

“Why? What’s wrong? Is Luna okay?” My own voice sounds just as panicky as hers.

“She’s fine.” Minnie stops, and I can hear her heavy breathing through the phone. “He was here,” she whispers. “Me and Luna were gone, but Logan was here and answered the door.”

I stop in my tracks and my blood runs cold. I look up and turn in place, looking all around me. It’s probably my imagination, but I swear I feel his eyes on me. I miss my brother so much, but with the way he is right now, and the things I know he’s done, he scares the daylights out of me.

Not finding him lurking in the shadows or behind any cars, I tell Minnie, “I’m on my way,” as I rush to my car, unlock it, and climb inside, making sure to lock it behind me.

With getting off early, I’m able to avoid the mad Atlanta rush hour traffic, and make it home in half the time. When I walk in the door, Logan is standing on the other side waiting for me. Without a word, he stalks off into the living room, and I follow. Luna’s asleep in her bassinet and Minnie sits on the couch beside it. When she sees me, she gets up and rushes over, pulling me into a hug.

“Tell me what happened,” I demand after I pull back from Minnie.