My fair skin was almost translucent and my eyes had purple smudges beneath them. It was clear I hadn’t been sleeping well or eating much.
The last forty-eight hours had been tense and more than a little insane. When King made his announcement that I would be staying with him, I’d gone into thermonuclear meltdown. All plant life and other living organisms within five miles of my apartment were probably still glowing from the radioactivity.
Though King had made me angry in the past, it was the first time I’d lost my temper with him. I’d ranted and paced and had threatened to call the cops more than once.
Through it all, he sat on the sofa and watched me. He didn’t even bother to argue. Instead he stated, “Then you’re staying with Wick.”
That had effectively taken the wind out of my sails. I’d meekly gone to pack. As soon as I met Wick, I understood why King didn’t argue. While King gave off the badass vibe, it was nowhere near the level of intimidation of his boss. I was scared senseless the first time I met him.
With his dark brown hair and icy blue eyes, Wick reminded me of a wolf. He moved silently, but didn’t speak much. I felt like he could see into my very soul, and not in a sexy way. He was the ultimate predator and I was more than a little worried he’d eat my face off.
Shortly after meeting Wick, I’d nearly turned to King and begged him to take me to his house instead. Unfortunately for me, I was stubborn.
Wick wasn’t quite as scary as he seemed though. Well, he was terrifying in a lot of ways, but he was scrupulously polite for a badass.
I stuck it out. Now we were on day two and I wondered if I’d made a mistake. I had to work tomorrow and, while I needed the money, I was terrified of what might happen.
With a sigh, I yanked my hair into a ponytail and shuffled out of Wick’s gorgeous, if bland, guest room. His house was modern, all clean lines and big windows, but it had zero personality. No personal touches, no color, just a never-ending palette of whites, beiges, and greys. It was beautiful but cold and unwelcoming.
The living area was open; kitchen, dining, and sitting areas in one enormous space. The windows were nearly floor to ceiling, letting in a ton of sunshine. There must have been some sort of tint or barrier on them because the house didn’t get hellishly hot during the day.
The sun was just setting when I walked into the kitchen area where Wick had several cartons of Chinese food spread out on the bar and two bottles of beer sitting in front of two plates.
I settled my ass onto one of the barstools and accepted the container he handed me. “Thanks.”
We dished our food out in silence. I took a few bites of truly exceptional orange chicken and decided it was time to ask him what was going to happen tomorrow.
“So, I know the timing isn’t the greatest, but I need to go to work tomorrow. I can’t afford to take time off indefinitely.”
Wick nodded, taking a swig of his beer. “King and I took care of it. You’re covered.”
Okay, that made absolutely no sense whatsoever.
“Um, what do you mean, I’m covered?” I asked.
“You’ll be safe. Don’t worry about it.”
“Don’t worry about it?” I repeated, my voice edging toward shrill. “I kinda have to be worried about it.”
Wick shook his head. “We don’t think Larry’s gonna move on you yet. He’s still dealing with…other things.”
“Other things?”
“Nothing you need to know about, Jena.” His tone brooked no argument.
I went back to eating, trying not to let my annoyance, or my fear, show.
This time it was Wick who interrupted the silence. “Why didn’t you want to stay with King?”
I almost choked on my beer at his question. Once the coughing died down, I swiped at my watery eyes and stared at him.
“Because what he did was unforgivable. Not just what he had Justin do, but what he did after Justin died.”
Wick dropped his chopsticks on his plate and watched me with those piercing blue eyes as he wiped his hands on a napkin. “Who do you think gave him the go ahead to involve you three years ago?”
“I don’t understand.”
“I told him to do whatever it took to get Larry out of the picture, Jena. Me. I even told him to sacrifice you if necessary.”
My eyes widened and I leaned back on my stool.
When I didn’t respond, he continued, “Do you know why we didn’t use you and burn you with Larry?” he asked.
“N-n-no,” I stammered.
“Because King came to me and asked me to let you go.”
Speechless, I blinked at him. King asked him to let me go?
Wick smiled, but it was mysterious and mildly menacing rather than amused. “Normally, I would have disagreed, but he threatened to walk.”
I couldn’t believe that. I also couldn’t believe that King saying he would walk would be enough to sway Wick.
“I’ve known King since we were kids. He’s the closest thing to a partner I’ll ever have. Also, he presented an alternate plan to me that will be more profitable. It took longer, but it was just as effective and less dangerous in the long run.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Less dangerous?”
“At the core, I’m a businessman, Jena. I weigh risks and benefits against one another. King’s proposal required more planning and patience, but the results are going to be worth it.”
I nodded. Suddenly my appetite was completely gone. I put my chopsticks on my plate. There were too many things to consider. All my thoughts were snarled and knotted in my mind and I couldn’t follow a single one without being distracted by another.
“You look like you have something to say,” Wick observed.
I did have one thing I wanted to know. “Are you a bad guy, Wick?”
That smile returned, the one that was both secretive and frightening. “I guess that depends on your perspective, Jena.”
“That’s not an answer,” I responded.
He grinned, this time it reached his eyes. “No, but it’s the only one I’m going to give you.” He got to his feet. “Tomorrow, after work, you’re going to King’s.”
“But-”
“No, Jena. You can’t go back to your apartment and I can’t have you here.”
I stared after him as he walked through the living room and disappeared through a door that I assumed led to his bedroom. It shut behind him, adding a note of finality to our confusing conversation.
Feeling off balance and upset, I cleaned up our dinner stuff and put the leftovers in the fridge. Then I grabbed another beer out of the fridge and went out onto the back deck.
I needed to think, but my life was twisting and turning so fast that I couldn’t keep up. I couldn’t focus.
So, I sipped my beer and stared out over Wick’s surprisingly lush backyard. I let the residual warmth of the day sink into my skin and muscles. As I sat in the waning sunlight, the sounds of the evening washed over me, clearing away the chaos of my spinning thoughts.
Finally, as I calmed, I was able to come to several resolutions. The first being that I wouldn’t argue about staying with King. I had a feeling that he and Wick would make my life hell if I tried to put my foot down. The second was that I was going to let the past go. I didn’t necessarily want a relationship with King, but I couldn’t hold on to what happened. If I did, I’d end up bitter, repressed, and alone. I might not be able to forgive, but I wasn’t going to let it destroy me.
I also decided that I was going to confront Katie over her betrayal, and after our talk, I wasn’t so sure I’d be seeing her again. Anyone who could lie to my face like that wasn’t a true friend.
My final conclusion was that I couldn’t do anything about the situation with Larry. Freaking out about it wasn’t going to fix it and King and Wick seemed to have it under control. If I tried to stick my nose in, I had a bad feeling it was going to get cut off.