She pushes her chair back, crosses her legs, and fixes me with the infamous Steadman stare that I’ve only heard about until now. “Take a seat, Lily.”
I do as she asks, anxious now that she’s using that boss bitch tone she does so well. She’s freaking amazing.
“While I might be willing to do West Archer a favor now and then, do not insult my integrity by suggesting that I would risk my magazine. I wouldn’t do that for anybody. Yes, I agreed to give you a job because he asked me to. But I could have given you a job making coffee or sorting paper clips. I gave you the features position because you are an insightful writer.”
I sink into my chair. “Oh.”
“I made you features editor because you impressed the hell outta me in your first week.”
My cheeks burn. “Oh.”
She tilts her head to the side, a smirk playing on her lips. “Oh.”
“Thank you, Alison. I’m sorry about storming in here, but he told me—and then I thought—and I just love it here so much.”
She holds up her hand, and I take it as a signal to stop babbling. “I get it. I understand needing to make it on your own merit. And I admire that about you. Believe me when I say that I wouldn’t insult you by blowing smoke up your ass, no matter who your boyfriend is. Okay?” A little of her Jersey accent slips in, and it makes me smile.
“Okay. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now get back to work. You owe me an article by noon.”
I jump up from my chair. “It will be ready by eleven, boss.”
Chapter
Sixty-Four
ZEKE
I glare at West’s computer screen while we wait for the call from Lily’s brother.
West gives me a side eye, and I realize I’m grinding my teeth, but I’m on edge. What if this guy turns out to be as big a prick as his father? What if he doesn’t give a shit about Lily after all? And then I’d have to track him down and kill him too, along with her evil bastard of an old man. From the moment Lily told me about how she faked her own death to escape him, I’ve been dreaming of ways to make him pay. Sick, twisted ways that feed all the depraved parts of my psyche that I rarely let out to play. I know in my bones that her father is the man who hurt her. The man she was fighting off that night in the basement when I fucked her on the hood of my car. So if her brother is anything like him, he will be added to my list of people to torture and kill.
A notification pings, telling us that someone has joined the meeting room. West glances at me. “Will you relax?”
“I am relaxed,” I snap.
He rolls his eyes and refocuses on the screen. A figure sitting at a desk in a suit and tie comes into view. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, Mr. Constantine.”
“Well, when someone starts throwing around my dead sister’s name, it tends to get my attention, as I’m sure you know.”
West nods, and I glare at the figure on the screen. Nico adjusts his shoulders, clearly as agitated as I am.
“Are you alone?” West asks.
Nico’s eyes dart away from the screen, and he clears his throat. “No.”
“This is a delicate matter.”
Nico leans forward, his lip curling in a snarl.
A growl of frustration rumbles out of me, and I lean forward now too. “Look, fuck-knuckle. Do you trust whoever is in that room with you enough to have a conversation about your sister?”
West shoots me a warning look, but I’m not the diplomatic type. That's why he handles all the important meetings.
“The only person in this room is my second.” Nico’s tone loses some of its hostility. “I trust him with my life, and my sister’s, if she were still here. So let’s cut the bullshit and tell me why the fuck you’re talking to me about Liliana.”
West runs a hand over the thick stubble on his jaw. “Well, Lily lives with us. She’s my …” His tongue darts out to moisten his lips. “Our girlfriend.”
Nico frowns, his eyes bouncing between whoever’s in the room with him and the camera. “What the fuck does that have to do with me?”
I shoot West a look, telling him to tread carefully.
“We both know the answer to that. We want to discuss a solution to the problem that Lily faces. The reason she can’t be who she’s supposed to be.”
He looks offscreen again, then returns his attention to us. “So, you’re both dating her?”
Glancing at each other, we nod.
Nico frowns. “Prove it.”
How the hell are we supposed to do that? I could grab a pair of her panties from the bedroom, but what would that prove? And why did my mind go straight there?
Fortunately, West isn’t thinking with his dick. He grabs his phone and pulls up a selfie of the four of us smiling at the camera. He holds it to the screen, and Nico’s eyes soften. “We love her, Nico. We’d do anything to protect her. Anything.”
“As would I.”
“So, are you up for meeting with us to discuss how we might keep her safe? You know, in the long term?”
Lily’s brother releases a heavy sigh. “If you’re talking about getting rid of my father …” I’m sure I notice the corners of his mouth curling up ever so slightly. “Then I’m all in.”
Yeah, I think I’m gonna like this guy.
Chapter
Sixty-Five
XANDER
“So, you’re sure we can trust this guy?” I ask, pacing West’s office and chewing on a hangnail.
“Well, we’re about to find out,” West says, shooting me a look that warns me to stop fidgeting, and I will as soon as Lily’s brother gets here. Security called a few minutes ago to let us know he was in the building. But for now, it’s worrying and pacing time.
Zeke grunts.
West sighs. “Will you both fucking relax?”
I stop pacing. “You know Zeke has no chill.”
West arches one eyebrow. “And you?”
“I’m just hungry.” My stomach growls to prove my point.
Zeke rolls his eyes. “You’re always hungry.”
I perch on the edge of West’s desk. “Well, I could barely eat my second bagel this morning because I fucking hate lying to Lily, and you two fuckers know it.”
Zeke strides across the office until he’s standing right in front of me. “Which is why we didn’t tell you about our meeting with Nico until we had to.”
“Besides, we’re not lying,” West adds.
“Sure feels like we are,” I mutter.
West shoots Zeke a look, and before I can ask what it’s about, Zeke is sliding his arms inside my suit jacket. With a rough grip on my waist, he yanks me close and runs his teeth over my throat. “How the fuck do you stay in such good shape when you eat two bagels every day for breakfast?”
I hiss a breath. “Stop trying to distract me. It won’t work.”
He glances down at my crotch. “But it’s already working.”
I sink my teeth into my lip and glance up at the ceiling, willing my cock not to get any harder. “Fuck you.”