Afterglow: A Brother's Best Friend Romance, page 14
Dax hands me his phone, and I almost drop it when I see the image on the screen.
There is a picture of me sucking Dax’s cock in the club not very long ago.
The text attached says:
Unknown: Break up with her NOW, or the photo gets leaked.
I gasp as a tear slides down my face. “Was Leo in the club tonight?”
“There is no way,” Henry assures us. “His photo was sent to all of our security team, and he was put on the Do Not Enter list. He’s banned from stepping foot on our property.”
“His car was outside,” I supply.
Henry’s jaw ticks. “Are you certain it was his?” I look at the floor and shake my head. “I’m not saying Leo didn’t send this message, but it could be anyone.”
“It’s still a security breach, Henry,” Dax growls. “No recording devices of any kind are permitted in the club.”
Henry looks taken aback but nods. “I’ll have my head of security scan our footage to find who took the photo. I’m incredibly sorry this is happening. We’ve never had this issue before.”
“If Leo can’t get in, who took the photos?” I ask.
“I don’t have a fucking clue,” Dax admits.
“We’ll get to the bottom of this. I promise,” Henry says.
“You better because I’m not against telling everyone about this incident if it doesn’t get resolved quickly,” Dax threatens.
Henry nods, and Dax grabs my hand, stands, and guides me to his car.
“Maybe you should take me to my parents’ house,” I say after we get inside.
“Why would I do that?” he asks with his brows pulled together.
“Maybe it’s best if we separate for a little while. Your reputation as a pediatrician is on the line here. You don’t need to go under because of stupid shit I got wrapped up in.”
“We are not breaking up. You are coming home with me. I’m holding you all night, and in the morning, we’ll figure out what we’re going to do.”
“I want to go to the police.” I fucking hate that I have to do this, but it feels like the right call at this point.
“Are you sure?”
I shrug. “I have to do something. I’m not going to let people I care for get hurt.”
“Okay. We’ll go in the morning. We’re not in immediate danger, so there is no point going in the middle of the night.”
I nod and stare out the window. The car we saw earlier is gone. I’m not sure what that means, but Dax sent a text to let Henry know to check the parking lot footage.
“I’m not going to let anything take you away from me,” Dax promises, reaching for my hand and squeezing it gently.
“I just hate that so many people are getting wrapped up in this.”
“I know, princess, but I’m not going anywhere.”
I nod again, and he takes a longer way to the apartment than normal to make sure we aren’t being followed.
I never in a million years thought something like this would be happening to me, and I’ll admit I’m terrified.
Chapter 18
Izzy
“That felt like a waste of our time,” I say as we walk out of the police department.
It’s early afternoon, but I’m exhausted. We didn’t sleep well last night. How can you after a scare like we had?
“They sure didn’t seem that concerned,” Dax grumbles
There is a warrant out for Leo’s arrest, and I now have a restraining order in place because of the assault, but they seemed to think I was just being paranoid about everything else.
This morning, purple roses—my favorite flowers—were delivered to the apartment and addressed to me. The flower shop delivery guy brought them in, but when we called to ask who sent them, the owner said it was a guy who paid cash. Of course, the small shop doesn’t have security cameras.
Leo knows where I am. He’s making it obvious. The cops, however, don’t think the same thing.
“He’s going to be even more pissed when he gets brought in,” I say, and Dax nods.
“I’m hiring a security guard,” he informs me, and I roll my eyes. “Princess, just because you’re going through a crazy life event doesn’t mean you get to roll your eyes.”
I murmur an apology but consider rolling them again. A scene might be a good way to get my mind off everything that’s happening.
“Isn’t a security guard a bit much? The apartment has enough security as it is.”
“I’m not taking any risks. It’s either security guards or your brothers can take turns keeping you company.”
My eyebrows shoot up. Hell no, my brothers are not babysitting me.
“We both know Leo is going to get out on bail, and when he does, I don’t think a piece of paper is going to keep him away. Besides, you can’t stay locked up in the apartment forever. You start school again in a few weeks.”
“And you expect me to bring a security guard with me?”
He gently grabs my chin, tilting my face toward his. “This isn’t negotiable, Izzy.”
I take in a deep breath and blow it out slowly. “Fine.”
“What would you like to do to kill a few hours before family dinner?”
I groan. “Fuck, I forgot about family dinner. Can we cancel?”
“Nope. Besides, it’s time to tell your family what’s going on.”
He isn’t wrong. I hate this all so much. Stupid fucking Leo.
I hope he gets hit by a car and dies.
“Why don’t we nap?” I yawn.
“That’s a great idea,” Dax says, and he drives us to the apartment.
His hand holds mine the entire way home and in the elevator. Once we are in bed, he holds me close. As I rest my head on his chest, the sound of his heart calms my nerves. I don’t sleep, but resting wrapped in warm, strong arms is enough to give me a small boost of energy.
“We should get ready,” Dax whispers after a few hours of lying silently together.
I grumble but nod and reluctantly get out of bed. After we’re dressed, we head to my parents’ house, and Dax again holds my hand the entire time. I love that he offers me strength like that, and it’s exactly what I need when we arrive.
“You look tired,” Mom points out when we walk into the kitchen.
I groan. “It’s nice to see you too, Mom.”
“Hey, at least she didn’t call you fat,” Grayden chimes in and hugs me.
“I also got the tired comment,” Riley adds, and we all laugh.
Since all of my brothers are standing around, I guess Dax and I are the last ones to arrive.
“I’m sorry for being concerned about my children,” Mom complains.
“I just didn’t sleep well last night,” I confess. “Grayden, I actually wanted to talk to you about something.” I tilt my head to the living room and head that way.
Grayden follows me, along with the rest of my brothers. I roll my eyes as a reflex before stopping. Shit, did Dax see? Does it count as a strike if I roll my eyes at other people?
“I said Grayden.” I groan, but the boys shrug.
“If something is big enough to keep you up at night, we all deserve to know,” Harley says.
“I’m sure you know by now that Leo and I aren’t together,” I start, and their expressions turn angry. “When I called it off, he didn’t take it well and beat the shit out of me.”
“He did what?” Riley snarls.
I hold my hand up with a stern look. “Please let me finish.”
Everyone else has murder in their eyes, and it’s obvious how much they hate Leo, but they press their lips together and stay silent.
“I thought that’s how it was going to end, but it didn’t. He’s been showing up at Caidance’s house, where he thought I was staying, threatening to share information about my sex life. I told Mom and Dad about it to get ahead of the potential fallout because I didn’t want them opening any photos or videos. The same thing goes for you guys. If Leo sends you anything, you need to tell me…”
I pause, and they exchange glances with each other before nodding.
“Last night, Dax and I went to a club. I think Leo’s car was outside. He was supposed to be banned from the place, and they said he didn’t go inside, but I was still scared. Dax also received a text picture of the two of us together, which made me decide to finally go to the police. Not that I think it did much,” I admit. “Anyway, that’s why I wanted to talk to Grayden.” I turn my attention to said brother. “Who is the best at your law firm that would be able to represent me?”
“Besides me, you mean,” he jokes with a wink. Leave it to Grayden to make jokes at a time like this, but it does bring a smile to my lips, so it worked.
Riley isn’t as impressed, though, and gives Grayden a hard shove. “Not the fucking time to be joking around, asshat.”
Grayden glares at him for a second before looking back at me. “Carson is your guy. He’s a fucking shark. He never loses.” He pulls his phone out, clearly sending off a text.
“Why didn’t you go to the cops sooner?” Marcus asks.
“Because our system is flawed. I still think he’s going to get out of this with just a slap on the wrist, but he threatened Dax. People I care for are getting pulled into this. I can’t be thinking about just myself anymore.”
“He’s in,” Grayden states. “He’ll call you tomorrow to set up a time to talk.”
“Thanks, Gray,” I say with a small smile. At least I know I’ll have the best on my team, even if I still don’t think we’ll win.
In a rush, all the guys get me in a group hug. At this moment, I’ve never felt safer. Leo can’t touch me here.
The rest of the evening goes by smoothly with lots of chatter and laughter. I love my family and am so glad they are supporting me. And they only ribbed Dax a little bit about dating me.
As we get into the elevator, my back hurts a little, and I reach around to rub it.
“Are you okay?” Dax asks.
“It’s nothing,” I play it off, but Dax’s glare tells me he isn’t having it. “My back hurts a little,” I admit, trying to figure out why. I sigh when the pieces finally fall into place, and I pull out my phone. “Fuck.” Dax raises a brow as if asking me to tell him what’s going on. “My period is coming today or tomorrow.”
“Well then, you need to go lie down. I’ll be in in a few minutes to take care of you.”
I lunge at him, wrap my arms around him, and give him a giant squeeze. “Why are you so amazing?” I question, nudging into his chest.
“I’m not that amazing. I just care about you.”
Once the elevator lets us into the apartment, I head directly to the bedroom, making a beeline for the en suite first. Once my diva cup is in place, I put on a clean pair of panties and lie on the bed.
“Would you like some chocolate?” Dax asks when he comes into the room.
I sit up at his words. Chocolate is my weakness.
“Where did you get that?” I squeak, eyeing the salted caramel chocolate bar in his hand.
“I picked up a few of them when you said they were your favorite and hid them for special occasions,” he says with a smirk.
“You’re the best boyfriend ever.” I take the chocolate bar from his hand and open it hastily so I can take a big bite, and I moan as the deliciousness hits my tongue. “This is better than sex,” I murmur, making Dax laugh.
“You’re going to ruin my ego,” he teases.
I eat a couple of squares, set the rest down, and take a sip of the water Dax also brought me.
“Are you ready for your massage?”
Not bothering to answer, I lie down and smirk at him. Dax snickers while he grabs a bottle of lotion and squeezes some into his palms.
His strong hands gently massage away all the stress from my body, and I can’t help but think he’s ruining me for anyone else. If Dax ever decides we aren’t good together anymore, I don’t think I’ll be able to see another person.
How can you beat perfection?
At some point, I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, I’m lying on Dax’s chest, and he’s fast asleep.
It’s easy to see that I’m falling for Dax. I mean, how couldn’t I? He treats me exactly how I dreamed of being treated. He’s everything I could have asked for and more. We’re perfect together.
I pray Leo doesn’t come up with a way to break us.
Chapter 19
Dax
This week has been crazy, and as much as I want to get out of the house so I can show Izzy off, we’re both a little scared.
Leo was arrested late the night of Izzy’s family dinner. Her lawyer appeared at his bail hearing case because, of course, he’s claiming to be innocent on all charges. The judge didn’t think Leo was too much of an immediate threat, and while he did raise the bail amount, he refused to keep Leo in jail. He stated that it didn’t seem necessary since this was Leo’s first offense and a restraining order was already in place.
Obviously, Leo paid the bail with no trouble. Now we have to wait for the court hearing to find out if he’ll see any real time in prison. Since our judicial system is so backed up, it could take up to a year for us to have our day in court. That’s a long time to be looking over our shoulders constantly.
Maybe now that he’s been arrested, he’ll stay away from us.
“Can we go out for dinner tonight?” Izzy asks when she comes into my office with the cutest pout on her face. “I don’t feel like cooking.”
Looking past the pout, it’s obvious how worn down she is. Dark circles are under her eyes, and she’s lost weight this week. She said she didn’t feel like eating because of her period, but I think there’s more to it.
“Come here,” I tell her, tilting my head.
Once she’s within arm’s reach, I pull her onto my lap and hold her tightly.
“How are you holding up?”
She rests her head on my chest. “Not the best, honestly. But we can’t let him control our lives. All week, I’ve stayed in this apartment, and it’s starting to feel like a prison of its own. I’m ready to get on with our lives.”
“Are you sure?” I ask as I gently lift her head, searching her eyes.
She nods with a look of sheer determination. “I’m not going to let him win. I’m hopeful that by going to the police, he knows we mean business and will finally leave us alone. Nothing has happened all week, so we have to keep the faith.”
“You are so damn strong,” I whisper, bringing my lips to hers and devouring her mouth. “Where do you want to go for dinner?”
Her smile is warm and reaches her eyes, which makes me happy. “Honestly, I don’t care. I just need out.”
While thinking about all my favorite places, an idea hits me.
“Stay here,” I instruct and make my way to our room.
Once I have her outfit picked out, I come back to the office to find Izzy looking bored and curious.
“I’ve picked out your outfit for tonight. Go get ready. We’re going somewhere fancy, so do your hair and makeup however you want. Just keep that in mind.” Izzy’s face lights up, and she bolts out of the room.
Once she’s getting ready, I call our bodyguard, Nixon, to let him know we will be leaving the apartment. Since the building has such high security, Izzy and I both agreed we didn’t need a bodyguard living with us, but he’s on call twenty-four-seven for whenever Izzy leaves.
After Nixon is informed of our plans, I call my good friend Mateo.
“’Ello?” he answers with his thick French accent.
“Hey, Mateo, how’s it going?”
“I am fine. Busy, busy as always. And you, my friend?”
“I’m doing well. I know Au Revoir is booked up months in advance, but I was hoping you could possibly get me a table for tonight?”
He chuckles. “I may be able to assist you, but first, I must know… are the rumors true?”
“What rumors?” I ask, playing dumb.
Another laugh echoes through the phone. “Are you really dating the youngest Thatcher girl?”
“Well, she’s a woman, and she’s the only female Thatcher child, but yes, I am dating her.”
“And it is her you will be dining with tonight?”
I chuckle. “Yes, Mateo. I will be bringing Isabella Thatcher with me.”
“Then, oui, it would be my pleasure to feed you both tonight. I will have a table ready for you at seven o’clock. Does that work for you?”
“That works perfectly.”
“Parfait, I will see you soon, my friend,” he replies before ending the call.
I make my way to the bedroom, and the sound of music and slightly off-pitch singing radiates from the bathroom.
Leaning against the doorframe, I take in Izzy shaking her ass and singing along to a Shania Twain song. She’s only wearing the lace bra and panties I laid out earlier for her, and my cock wants to take her now.
I turn toward the bed, needing to look at anything but Izzy. A smile spreads across my face when I notice the toy I set out is already missing.
“Are you wearing it?” I ask.
Izzy jumps. “Shit, you scared me!”
“Maybe if your music wasn’t so loud, I wouldn’t have snuck up on you.” I snicker.
“What’s the point in listening to music if it’s quiet?”
“You didn’t answer the question.”
Her cheeks turn extra rosy, and it’s not from the blush she just applied.
“Yes, I’m wearing the vibrator,” she whispers and goes back to finishing her makeup.
“Good girl,” I praise her before walking away.
Part of me wants to turn on the vibrator now, but I won’t want to leave the house if I start while we are still home.
So instead, I get dressed and leave the bedroom. She’s just too much of a temptation to be close to.
The call button on the elevator is pressed not too long after I leave Izzy to finish getting ready, and I hit accept to let Nixon up.
“Thanks for coming.”
“It is what you’re paying me for.” He smirks.
