Tobias (Reynolds Ranch 2)

“I never slept with Derek.”

“I’m not mad about that. Although it makes me a little less tense. Your father is a bastard. Some of us lose the best parents and people like him stick around sucking the soul out of everyone.” The phone on his desk rings. “My lawyer’s calling. I have to take this, but you stay right fucking put.” He sits on the edge of his desk and then hits the speaker.

“Hey, Bill. I’ve got a problem. Can you stop by the house?”

“Yeah. Give me two hours.”

“Okay. Thanks.” He ends the call and pulls me between his legs. “Ava, Ava, Ava. Fuck, this is hard for me to say.”

“Are you ending things?”

“Fuck no. I didn’t mean to give you that impression.” He kisses my lips lightly and then says, “This isn’t how I wanted to tell you or even how soon, but I want you to know I love you. I love you so fucking much that I don’t know how to handle someone being rude to you. And I’m without a doubt jealous as fuck seeing another man’s hands on you.”

My mouth opens and closes several times. “I love you too.”

“Say it again, babe.”

“I love you, Tobias. I didn’t expect this, but I’m so grateful that we met.” He wraps me up in a bear hug and our mouths meet. I could kiss this man forever.

His phone buzzes, putting a halt to our kisses. “I hate to do this, but I have to go back out there. I don’t have a lot of time to get this done before the lawyer comes. Please, no more passing out on me.”

“It was just a shock.”

“Again. The only time I want you to pass out is after I’ve given you so many orgasms that exhaustion takes over.”

“Sign me up.” I kiss him once more. “I left Louisa waiting for me. Please be careful, yourself. I don’t know what he has planned, but I don’t trust him.” We part ways; he goes to work, and I hang out with Louisa.

****

It’s been two hours and Louisa has to go get the boys from school soon, but I love having her here with me. “I think you need to contact Marisa. I don’t know if they’re going to be after her or not.”

“I called her while you were talking to Tobias. She told me that Landon Black has provided her with security.”

“Really?” I smile. That’s so kind of him.

“It would seem so. Landon’s a nice guy and handsome as hell too.” She nods her head and winks.

“Yes, he is.” I remember wondering if he had a brother when I met him. A brother-in-law works perfectly for me.

“Who the fuck is handsome?” Tobias asks, coming up to me and kissing me hard. God, this man sends me into a horny mess with his touch.

“You, but she’s talking about Landon. He has security on Marisa.”

“She needs it now more than before. She’s become a target when they had someone following her. Anyway, I’d like you to meet my lawyer.”

“Hey, Bill,” Louisa says. He kisses her hand and drops it.

“Louisa, it’s good to see you again. John still treating you good?”

“Always. Excuse me. I have to get the boys.” I wonder if he has a thing for Louisa.

“Good luck. I’ll call you later.” We hug and she leaves.

“Let’s go sit down and hash this all out.”

We go into Tobias’s office and he sits me on his lap. I’m so small in comparison it feels like my own personal cushy chair. “So what’s going on?”

“Well, first, I’m Ava Henry.”

“Wait. The woman missing from Indiana?” Wow, I didn’t know my disappearance made national news.

“How do you know that?”

“I was watching the news and it came up once that the daughter of a prominent lawyer has fled with over ten million in her possession,” he says, pulling something up on his phone. He passes it to Tobias. “See for yourself.” That bastard.

“Ha. Ten million? I left with ten thousand of my hard-earned money.”

“Most are guessing you fled to the Caribbean or something of that nature with that supposed kind of funds. However, I’m more curious why you fled?” He’s shrewd for sure.

He passes Bill’s phone back. “That’s why we called you. Tell him what happened, babe.”

Tobias rubs my back. “The night I ran, my father had struck me hard, leaving me with a black eye and bruised face. As soon as they’d left for the gala, I packed my bags and ran to my dorm and packed up as quickly as I could, grabbing everything that I might need to survive for a couple of months.”

“So you’re frightened of him?” he questions.

“Yes. Well, I was, but not as much anymore. He has his claws into a lot of the officials and police officers. I was too scared to go to them, so I ran.”