“Katrina, this is my big sister, Teresa,” Todd introduced us with a proud smile I’d never seen before.
It was obvious he and his sister were close, but as she answered Todd’s questions about their younger brother, it was obvious neither was close to him.
Teresa spoke to the director of the home and secured their mother’s spot in a private room. “She’ll be moved back today,” she said proudly as Todd pulled her in for another tight squeeze.
“I guess it pays to have a big shot chief of surgery in the family,” he boasted.
“Let’s get some dinner,” Teresa suggested, kissing her mother on the forehead to say her goodbyes.
Todd leaned in, whispered something in his mother’s ear that made her smile before giving her the same gentle kiss on her head.
“I hear the team is donating quite a pretty penny to Alzheimer’s research,” Teresa said as we walked out the doors.
I wasn’t sure where she’d heard that, but her excitement took away the guilty feeling I had from taking pictures and exploiting their mother’s illness for the good of the team’s image.
It was impressive, listening to Teresa talk about her job at dinner. She was so young, so beautiful, and so successful. It was no wonder Todd was so proud. “She was asking about Marcus,” Todd said, skipping over the part of her mistaken identity.
“I tried to find him. I just hope he’s okay this time,” Teresa said, slowly pushing her food around the plate with her fork.
“I’ll find him,” Todd offered.
The offer made Teresa’s eyes light up. It was obvious that Marcus meant the world to them. I couldn’t help but wonder why he’d turned out the way he did, especially being raised in the same family, and with two very successful siblings.
Todd paid the bill, even though Teresa protested over and over. She was very friendly, making me comfortable and included throughout the entire meal. Her eyes glanced over at me several times, catching me looking at Todd as he talked. I watched her lean in, whisper something in his ear before she wrapped her arms around me for a hug goodbye. It took me off guard to have someone I’d only just met be so welcoming.
“Careful with this one’s heart,” she whispered in my ear, then pulled away with a smile and a wink.
Her words shook me up a bit. How did she know? Was it written all over my face? Did other people know?
“I’ll take you back to your apartment,” Todd said as the driver opened the back door of the SUV.
I stopped and gave him my toughest glare. “No, I’ll go with you.”
He rolled his eyes, and his dimple reappeared. “That’s cute, but where I’m going, it isn’t exactly a great place.”
“I’m aware of that,” I argued. “I don’t want you going alone. If something happens to you, Rhett will have my head.”
I squeezed into the backseat, sliding over to give Todd room. He instructed the driver to deliver us to his penthouse, ignoring my arguments. He talked about his sister, his mother, but nothing about Marcus as we made the short drive to his large condominium building.
He stepped out of the SUV, reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He pushed the button, and a beep alerted my attention to the silver Porsche parked in the garage next to us. “That your car?” I asked.
He smiled and headed toward the sports car. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll take you home.”
He held the passenger door open for me as I followed. That smile was more than I could handle. Shit. That man turned me on. “I’m going with you,” I insisted.
“It’s not safe,” he said, closing me into the car.
“Then I can’t let you go,” I said with a smirk when he slid behind the wheel.
“Let me?”
The chuckle that escaped his lips was deep and delicious. I wanted to slide down his throat and feel those vibrations wrapping around my body. “I’m in charge,” I stated with a wide smile. I was still thinking about Todd’s mouth, those beautiful lips, that skillful tongue, and…
“I believe we discovered that I’m in charge on our first date,” he teased, his voice low and sensual, stirring my insides.
“Date?” As far as I was concerned, we hadn’t been on any dates. Not real dates anyway.
“At the toy store.” That delicious smile appeared again, this time more wicked than ever.
I blushed, my cheeks warmed, not just the ones on my face. I leaned back in the seat, took a deep breath, and worked to calm my body from the sensations that memory gave me. “You’ll keep me safe then. I’m going.”
He smiled, put the car in reverse, and whipped it out of the garage and onto the road with ease. “Okay, but you need to stick with me. Marcus never hangs out anywhere good. It’s basically crack town where we’re headed.”
I’d never been in the bad parts of town, at least no longer than to drive through. Growing up privileged kept me away from poor areas and certainly places that’d be considered crack town. My skin tingled with a bit of fear as we drove through the city. I watched out the window as the streets became darker, the people less civilized, and the buildings less maintained. Todd pulled the car over onto the side of the road. He gave me a look filled with concern before getting out and walking to my side of the car. When the door opened, I could hear the chaos surrounding us. Metal garbage cans being knocked over, hopefully by alley cats. People screaming at one another from a distance, a far one I hoped. I reached out, took his hand, and stepped out of the car.
“There’s a few places nearby he usually hangs out. I don’t want to leave you in the car here,” he said.
I moved closer to him, clenching onto his strong arm. I was nervous, actually scared, but Todd helped me to feel safe.
Our first stop was a convenience store slash tobacco shop. The man behind the counter was on the other side of a large metal cage. Just being there frightened me. “I’m looking for Marcus Morris,” Todd said.
The man lifted his eyes from the magazine he read, rolled them up and then down Todd’s body before he even attempted to answer. “Who the fuck are you?”
“His brother.”
“Well, you need to get your little lady outta here,” he said, smirking in my direction.
That sounded like a great idea. Get me out of here. You too, Todd.
“Have you seen him or not?” Todd asked, pushing a twenty across the counter.
“He might’ve been around yesterday. He was in pretty bad shape though. I suspect he’s sleeping it off somewhere,” the man said, sliding the money into his pocket before giving Todd another look. “You really Todd Morris, the Mets player?”
“Yeah, but I’m a Beast now,” Todd answered.
The man’s lips puckered into a circle, and a faint whistle escaped. “Try the green house on the corner. It’s been vacant a while now. Most of the smackheads end up there when they score,” the man said cheerfully, as if this was good news.
“What’s a smackhead?” I whispered to Todd as we exited the store.
“Just a junkie,” Todd said, his hand on the small of my back to rush me from the store and out onto the sidewalk.