Kite’s voice shouted through the door, “Two minutes.”
I kissed Haven then tugged her out of bed. “Come on, we’ll shower together to save time.”
We didn’t save time. I couldn’t stop touching her glistening wet body. I ended up on my knees and we were a no-show.
But that wasn’t why we were a no-show. It was because my phone vibrated with a text and there on the screen was a picture of Haven in her running outfit with a message below it.
She is a fucking whore.
I CAME OUT of the washroom, toweling my hair, my sex still throbbing and heated from Vincent’s mouth. He was dressed, pacing back and forth talking on his phone. And that crease between the eyes, it was there.
I picked up my clothes and opened the door to go back to my room when he grabbed me around the waist and dragged me back against him.
“We need to talk,” he said, voice threaded with tension to match the stiffness in his body. He gently turned me around and put his finger under my chin, his thumb lightly stroking back and forth. It was calm, but what stormed in his eyes was not.
The shield of ice slammed down over me. “What’s wrong?”
He saw it. He knew me too well to not see it, but he also didn’t say anything about it. Which probably meant whatever he was worried about was not good.
“Got a text message.” I knew where this was going. It was that girl. “It’s a picture of you jogging.”
Okay, that wasn’t bad. Having a picture surface from the club would be bad. “Did I look okay?”
He didn’t smirk. Shit.
“Could be a reporter got the shot of you and posted it online. With Roman jogging with us lately, it might have gained attention and they want to know who you are.” His hand slid away from my chin and he sighed.
“You think that Tammy girl saw it and texted it to you.”
He nodded. “That’s best case scenario.” Worst case was this chick was in Toronto now and took a picture of me jogging. “I forwarded it to Luke, and he’s on his way here. Babe,”—his fingers tightened on my waist—“you should go to the farm.”
I stiffened. “No.”
“Babe.”
“No. I’ve worked too hard for this. I never had this chance. I swore I’d do something with my life if I ever escaped. Now, I am. I can’t walk away from it now because of some girl who thinks she’s in love with you.”
He stepped away from me and turned, running his hand through his hair. “Fuck. I know. I know.” He paced back and forth then stopped, came to me and cupped my cheek. “I’m sorry. I thought it would just go away after a while. You don’t need this.”
I half-smiled. “No. But neither do you.”
A loud knock sounded on the door. “Luke’s here,” Kite said. “Downstairs.”
“Yeah, okay.” Vincent kissed me sweetly and gently, before he opened the door. “Go get changed then meet us downstairs.”
And I loved that about him. He wasn’t going to keep me in the dark and give me tidbits of what he wanted or thought was safe for me to know. Vincent let me in just as much as I let him in.
He had a steaming cup of coffee on the counter beside him that looked untouched. “We do nothing.”
Luke wanted us to go about what we normally did. Roman stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall next to the TV. Kite was the only one who appeared relaxed as he waited for toast to pop up from the toaster. Usually, that was me; instead, I was reeling because this was the last thing Haven needed, some psycho bitch I’d fucked over a year ago being a pain in the ass.
Luke continued, “Haven goes to school. You work on the album. Everything stays the same except we have men on all of you.”
“I’ll go to school with her.” No way was I leaving her.
“No.” Luke shook his head. “You stay clear of Haven in public. If it’s this Tammy girl and she’s watching her, then seeing you with her will only make it worse.” Fuck, he was right. “We need a hand on this. The police won’t do anything. The picture and message wasn’t a threat.” He paused. “It doesn’t fit. The messages on your phone are crude and sexual, her posts online are not. Don’t think it’s just about protecting anymore; we need someone to look into this more.”
“Deck’s men.”
Luke gave an abrupt nod. “Can’t get Deck, but got hold of Vic. He’s flying in. He needs three days, though. He has the resources to deal with this while we do our job.” Shield Security was just that, security.
The toast popped and I heard the creak of the stairs and saw Haven on her way down. I didn’t hesitate as I walked over and slipped my hand in hers as soon as she reached the last stair, then we walked into the kitchen and I told her what was happening.
“Right now, she isn’t much of a threat. But we need to be on top of it. We don’t change your phone number. Let’s see if she keeps texting and what.” Luke picked up his mug and walked over to us. “You do not leave this condo without me.” It was a direct order to Haven.
Her spine stiffened and she met Luke’s fierce stare without flinching. She didn’t like being ordered to do anything and I understood the reason why, and I hated the reason, but I loved that she was strong and didn’t crumble under Luke.
“I want bullets for my gun.”
My mouth dropped open. What the hell? There were no bullets in her gun? All this fuckin’ time.
The corner of Luke’s mouth twitched. “No.” He took a sip of coffee and made a quiet snort as he looked over my shoulder to Roman. “Get her pepper spray.”
Then he and Roman disappeared into the library.
I cupped the back of her neck and turned her toward me. “No bullets?”