Donovan leaned back in his chair and stared directly at Mia. "I've worked for years to clean parts of the business up. Do I run a one hundred percent legitimate operation? No. But we don't traffic women and kids."

  Wes tossed the folder he was holding on the table. "You launder money, run drugs, and I'm sure the charity you began is a front. But you made a mistake in one place. You should never let the CIA give you a shell company for your books. They use the same format every time. Like they call themselves different colors, they use the same tactic with how they name companies. So, what are your ties to the CIA?"

  The deeper the conversation went, the further I felt out of place. Shell companies and the CIA were things I never thought I would learn about. But as long as Mia kept her fingers twined with mine under the table, I would stay put.

  I had a bad feeling that grew the more they talked. There were too many players in the game, and any one of them could come after her. I couldn't protect her, but every other man around the table could. Hell, even my two brothers took boxing classes and learned to shoot. I choose to read romance books and study. Now I wondered if I'd made the wrong decision because I couldn't help her.

  "God, I hate the CIA," she griped. "Why does the CIA always have to be involved? I can never escape, but I'll make some calls. I plan to head to Tabitha's house tomorrow and see if I can find any evidence that points to this boyfriend Lucas mentioned."

  Brock glanced between Wes and Eric. "Eric, you're to stick to her ass like glue when you go there."

  "It's not necessary." Mia frowned Eric's way. "I can handle going to Tabitha’s house alone, and Eric doesn't seem to want to be around me."

  Eric's expression softened. "Mia, I'm still digesting your story. Give me some time to come to grips with the fact the woman I loved is dead."

  Donovan peered in Mia's direction and shook his head.

  "I'm sorry," Mia replied. Her jaw ticked, and I wondered what Donovan stopped her from saying.

  "If you need me, you can call." Donovan got up from his seat and straightened his suit jacket. Mia's brother followed. Brock and Eric picked up their things. Before Donovan left the room, he turned toward me. "I'm serious about helping you."

  Mia gave me a raised brow before she dropped my hand and hugged everyone goodbye. Donovan and Sebastian were not the only people ready to leave.

  We were now alone in my house. She turned, and the strong woman I witnessed hold her own at a table of men crumbled and tears streamed from her eyes as she stared at the door.

  I pulled her into my arms and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Everything is going to be fine."

  "I'm a horrible mother."

  Any mother who sacrificed for her kid as much as she did deserved an award. Careful not to touch her wound, I swept her up into my arms and she rested her head against my shoulder. "Mia you're an excellent mother. I'll explain why in a second."

  She didn't reply as I carried her down the hall to my reading room. The room I’d turned into my reading nook was my second favorite room in the house. I'd designed this section of the house as a place to decompress after a long day and hoped I would get to share my passion for reading with my partner one day. I shifted Mia in my arms and opened the door to my library. The books in my office were all medical books and nonfiction, with some novels I didn’t particularly favor, but this room held all the romance books I read over the years. In the center of the room was a couch-sized gray bean bag and a lounge chair next to a side table.

  I sank down into the lounge chair.

  "What is this place?" Mia shifted to the side and took the book I was reading off the table. "Romance?"

  I nodded and pulled the book from her hand. "Yes. But let's talk about how you think you're a bad mom. What I see is a strong independent woman who can kick ass and will do anything to protect her son. You did what is best for Lucas. Sending him with Zack keeps him safe. That boy loves you."

  Mia's eyes were still on the book in my hand. "I heard everything you said, but I'm trying to come to grips with this room. You're telling me the sexy doctor reads dirty romance—about doctors?"

  I tended not to read too many medical romances because the authors got so many things wrong. I would say authors seemed to do a lot better than television writers, but there were still so many things incorrect. Then one of the authors I loved happened to put out a medical romance book that had most of the medical scenes correct. "Yes. Do you think different of me for reading romance?"

  Her brows drew together. "No, I never expected this."

  "Reading is my escape; it's been one since I lost my parents and my sister. We can talk more about what's next for you and your son or we can each grab a book and read."

  She shifted her ass on my lap and my dick hardened. This woman would be the death of me.

  "Or you could read the book to me, and I could listen."

  I gulped, knowing the next scene I was about to read was a sex scene. "We can find another book."

  "Nope, this one." She opened the book and handed it to me.

  Mia rested her head against my chest, and I started to read. The deeper I got into the sex scene the more painfully hard my dick became. The longer I read, the more Mia rubbed her thighs together. Seemed I wasn't the only one getting turned on. When I read the last page of the sex scene Mia pulled the book from my hands. "Kiss me."

  I didn't wait for her to take her words back as I ran my fingers through her hair and pulled her soft lips to mine. My tongue pushed against her lips, and she opened. Mia was perfect in every way. I just had to figure out a way to keep her.

  CHAPTER 8

  Mia

  Thursday afternoon, I slipped into the red leather booth at the back of the diner. My wound had completely healed, but the ache of living in Paxton's house and only kissing had left me needing more. Each night we sat in his reading room, and he read to me, which left me frustrated. His baritone voice went straight to my sex, and when he read those damn sex scenes I practically orgasmed on his lap.

  At work, Brock had kept Eric or Wes with me on all assignments. We weren't any closer to finding who the hell killed Tabitha. The man she dated had vanished and there was no sign of him in her life. Meanwhile, Lucas was having the time of his life in Virginia at Zack's home. He'd talked to Donovan a few times. I hadn't talked to Donovan, but I'd spoken to my brother and my sister Lydia, who was supposed to be meeting me at the diner along with Kat and Rachelle.

  "Hey!" Kat chirped as she slid in the seat across from me. "I can't believe I'm the first one here."

  I smiled at my friend across the booth. Kat's red hair was up in a messy bun, and she had workout clothes on. Every Wednesday she taught self-defense at the women’s shelter.

  "Rachelle's running a few minutes behind, and I expect my sister to show up fashionably late."

  "So, you're talking to your family now?" Kat asked as she pulled out her phone and tapped the screen. "Sorry, Antonio was asking what to feed the kids. Back to my question. Do we like your sister?"

  My brother and youngest sister weren't giving me the choice to stay away. They kept calling me and wanting to talk. Sebastian had even come over to the house a couple times for dinner when we had Paxton's brothers visiting. I hadn't met his sister yet. I wasn't even sure the last time I'd been to my own apartment. Every time I mentioned I was going to go home, he would come up with an excuse for me to stay with him. "She never did anything to me. I can't hold what my parents did against my siblings. All I know is I won't be dragged back into that world. And if anyone tries, I'll kill them in a heartbeat."

  A smile spread across Kat's face. "Don't forget to call me. I'll have your six."

  "I've told you, no planning murder in my diner," Joyce Buford, the owner of Chubby' s complained. "My guests don't need a lesson on dismembering bodies and feeding them to gators." She set down two milkshakes. She never let us order our own food. Joyce brought us what she felt we should eat. I wasn't going to complain about the basket of fries. She had a sixth sense about what we wanted.

  "Now Joyce, we talked about this before. I don't need to chop the bodies up for the gators. They eat those guys whole. It's only for when I have to decompose a body in acid, and the price of acid has gone up with inflation.”

  Joyce snorted as Kat grabbed a napkin and started to draw a cost comparison graph between gators and acid.

  "Leave it to the billionaire to complain about the price of acid," Joyce pointed out.

  Sometimes I forgot how rich the people around me were. Kat and her husband weren't the only billionaires in our group. My boss and his wife were billionaires, but none of them acted like they have tons of money. They also donated millions of dollars to different causes. I knew my boss took on cases for people who couldn't afford Blackwood Mercenary.

  "The more I save cutting costs, the more I can donate," Kat shot back. Donovan's comment about me not truly being friends with Kat struck me, as it often had over the past few weeks. I'd since made an effort to spend more time with Kat. She was fun to be around, but I missed Tabitha. Guilt about the real Mia being alive weighed down on me. Donovan had shaken his head when I wanted to tell Eric she was alive. I needed to find out why her existence needed to be kept a secret.

  Joyce grinned as she stepped to the side so Rachelle could slide into the booth next to Kat. "Sorry I'm late. Dr. Renolds was in my office demanding more funds for his staff. The damn man doesn't like the word no."

  I'd met Kaeden a few times, and he seemed to be less serious the Quinton, but he would argue with his two brothers until they gave up and let him have his way. I'd thought one night when we played a simple game of Monopoly that he should have become a lawyer, because he was damn good at laying out a case. "My sister's late as well. I bet she won't be here for another twenty minutes."

  Kat shrugged. "That's fine. Your sister not showing up on time gives us a chance to talk about how things are between you and Dr. Sexy."

  "Frustrating." With each day we spent together I felt myself fall more for him. He rubbed my feet while we laid on the couch watching movies. A couple of times he’d come home with flowers because he thought they would brighten my day. "He's the perfect man. I'm waiting to figure out why he's single. How hasn't a woman swooped him up. Nobody is perfect, but I haven't found his flaw yet."

  "He'll do something to make you mad. For example, he might leave the toilet seat up or brush his teeth too hard. You're in that honeymoon stage where nothing gets under your nerves." Rachelle smiled. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still in the honeymoon stage myself. In my eyes, Wes is the perfect man. The way he takes care of my son and me. He's helping with every aspect of our wedding. And I mean every aspect. The other day I had to put my foot down because he wanted to come to the bridal shop."

  Rachelle and Wes were perfect for each other. I still loved how she bid on him at a charity auction. Even when things went badly for them, and I had to deal with Wes’s whiney ass at work for a couple weeks. The first time I saw Wes and Rachelle together, I'd joined the office pool and bet on Wes falling within a week for her. Their relationship had a couple bumps and it ended up taking three weeks, and Brock won the office bet. "The doctor cleared me this week. My accident was five weeks ago, but he still treats me like I'm going to break. I think it's all those damn romance novels he reads."

  Kat’s hand stopped midair with a spoon full of ice cream and Reese’s. "Romance novels?"

  I winced, not knowing if he wanted to keep his passion for erotic books a secret. "Please don't tell anyone, but the man has a room lined floor to ceiling with romance books. He reads to me every night."

  "Wait. Are you talking mystery books with some sex or naked man chest books?" Rachelle asked.

  "Naked man chest books." I glanced toward the door, feeling like there were eyes on me, before I turned back to Rachelle. "He's involved in some of the authors’ fan pages. He's having coffee with Lily Winters in a couple weeks."

  Kat was bouncing in her seat. "She writes paranormal romance. Can you get the exact time and place of this meeting? I swear I won't interrupt his meeting. I'll wait, but you know how cool this is."

  "Except he reads them to me every night and I'm so sexually frustrated."

  Joyce chose that exact moment to walk back to the table with Rachelle's shake and another basket of fries. "Honey, jump on Amazon and order yourself a vibrator. If you order before two, you can get them same day. Don't forget the batteries."

  "And how do I explain the humming sound in my room?" I mused out loud. "It's also not my house. I've contemplated when I'm at work sneaking up to my apartment at lunch or on a break to relieve myself, but Wes and Eric are like ticks. Those men barely let me pee alone. I would be surprised if one isn't parked outside watching. Hell, they probably have some of Brock's tech and are listening to our conversation."

  "You girls are too funny," Joyce laughed. "They bugged the tables in here years ago and the audio goes right to Blackwood."

  The three of us became deadly quiet and Kat pulled out a small black wand from her purse. "I'll teach them."

  Joyce's eyes widened. "I was joking, Kat. You carry a device to find bugs in your purse?"

  "Of course, I do. Who doesn't?"

  Rachelle raised her hand. "Sorry, Kat. I missed that in the Spy 101 class you gave me. I do have a can of mace, a bracelet that will help break a window, and I have a bobby pin stitched into all my jeans and skirts."

  Kat placed the wand back in her purse. "I'm not sure if I believe you about them not bugging the place. My husband seems to know more than he should sometimes."

  "Only because none of us keep our mouths shut. Then they repeat everything we say at the club, and the men gossip a hell of a lot more than we do," I pointed out. "I'm not sure how many times I've wandered into Brock's office in the morning and the men are around gossiping."

  Rachelle grabbed a fry from the basket and popped it in her mouth. "You have a point. Wes sure does gossip a lot. I catch him on the phone with his sister all the time swapping stories. She tells him what's going on in Shialia and in return he gives her the gossip here."

  Joyce smiled and left. I glanced down at my watch and saw Lydia was a half hour late. "Not sure if my sister is going to show. If I'm honest with myself, I'm okay with her standing me up. At least I got to talk with you guys."

  Kat frowned and glanced over her shoulder. "I wanted to spend every second I could with Sophie when we found each other again. Antonio and I spent tons of time together, but I found a way to spend time with Sophie as well. Something is off with your family. How is it your other sister hasn't reached out to you at all?"

  "I'm not sure." I tried to let the hurt caused by Ashlyn's silence not bother me. "Growing up, I was closer to Ashlyn than Lydia. She might hold the fact I stayed away against me. I need to reach out to her."

  Rachelle nodded. "Yes, you need to reach out to her, but we also need to solve your little frustration problem."

  Kat picked up her phone and tapped on the screen. "You have a point. I'll order you a vibrator. Any preference on size or color?"

  "Let me text Wes." Rachelle pulled out her phone. "He used the one he just got on me the other night. I swear the vibrator barely touched my clit and I orgasmed."

  My cheeks felt like they were on fire. I never talked like this with the girls, even at the club. "Guys, I told you I don't feel comfortable using a vibrator at Paxton's house."

  Kat chuckled as I heard her phone swish and Rachelle's beep. Something was added to a group chat. My phone vibrated in my purse, and I was too scared to see what my friend texted.

  "Why not buy a wearable device you can use in your car?" Kat replied. As if that was a logical thing.

  Rachelle's head was tilted to the side, like she was pondering Kat's words.

  "That's strange, Kat. Nobody does that in their car."

  "Of course, people do." Kat seemed pleased with herself. "I'm sure we can text Jessica and she can rattle off the statistics of how many people masturbate in their cars."

  "She does have a point," Rachelle replied. "People have sex in cars all the time. Now I'm curious. I’m sure she will have the statistic for us. I'm sure she can find the stat online before I go down the rabbit hole of searching."

  Kats was typing away on her phone and my phone dinged again.

  "I'm not going to masturbate in my car." The little old lady at the table across from ours clutched her pearls. Soon we would be banned from Chubby's just like the coffee shop down the block.

  My phone buzzed again and then it started going off, beep after beep.

  "How many people were on the text message?" I groaned. "Please tell me it's Jessica replying back with single line messages for the answer and not all our friends."

  Kat pointed at me. "I felt like this was a statistic everyone in the group should know. For the record, nineteen percent of woman have admitted to masturbating in their cars."

  "Really?" I asked, surprised how high the number was. My first thought was if people were using their vibrator at stoplights or if this was a thing where you went to park somewhere.

  "Well, some husbands might not approve," Rachelle countered. "Think about some of the men you slept with who only cared about themselves and imagine what you’d do if he's always around. The car might be the only place she has to orgasm."

  "I can't imagine being with a man who doesn't make sure you are taken care of," Kat sighed. "Just this morning—"

  I held up my hand, not wanting Kat to explain what Antonio did to her. I was horny and her story probably would only make things worse. "I'll tell Paxton I'm staying at home tonight."

  Rachelle frowned. "I'm still new to the lifestyle, but communication is the key to making things work. Wes told me you were going to the club this weekend with Paxton. You need to explain to him that you need a few orgasms."

  "Or you could show up to his work," Kat suggested. "Office sex is the best…I should stop by AA Security. The kids are at daycare, and it's harder to fit in alone time. Plus office sex adds a layer of excitement."

 

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