by Mary Martel
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked sharply. I knew when we’d driven through the front gate that something was not right with her, and I hadn’t been wrong. “I thought your dad wasn’t like your mom, but you look like the devil might come out of that house and chain you down.”
She sucked in a sharp breath and released her hold on my wrist. She licked her lips nervously as she grabbed hold of the door handle and swung the door open.
“My dad is dead and it’s the nannies I’m worried about,” she said before getting out of the truck and slamming the door shut.
Holy fucking shit.
My heart leaped into my throat, and I sat there frozen, unable to move so much as an inch.
Her dad had attended Gin’s funeral, I’d seen him, and even afterwards I’d seen him around. When the hell had he died and how had I not known about it until now?
What in the actual fuck?
How had she just not said anything until now? Why had that asshole Franklin left this little tidbit out when he’d been warning and threatening me?
Son of a bitch. That had to have been why she was at the cemetery with that psycho the day I saw her in the rain. I had gone to visit with Gin’s grave but after seeing Gem with Franklin I couldn’t do it and ended up getting back in my truck and trying to follow them.
I got out of the truck and left my door open in case we needed to make a quick getaway. I didn’t know shit about these nannies, but she made them sound scary, and by the way she was looking like a skittish little kitten, I was going to take the threat seriously.
Get in and get out.
I followed her into the garage and froze again. This time with my mouth dropping open and I’m pretty sure there was drool coming out of there.
This…
There were… no words.
I had never seen such a thing before in my whole fucking life. It looked like a showroom floor for some insanely expensive car manufacturing company.
There were… I counted out loud. Eight. There were eight cars in this garage and some of them had emblems on them that I had never seen before.
Gem poked me in the ribs as she laughed at me. “Do you want one? Technically they’re mine now and I can do whatever I want with them. You can take your pick. Except for mine, she’s my baby and you can’t have her.”
She grinned at me as she held up a key fob in her hand and hit a button on it. The lights on a silver car off to the right flashed, and I moved closer to get a better look at it.
Holy shit, she was a beauty and I’d never seen one in person before.
“You have an Aston Martin?” I asked incredulously.
“Yeah,” she chirped from beside me. She sighed happily and ran her hand lovingly along the hood. “She’s a Vanquish and I’ve missed driving her. I hated leaving her here, but I needed to take my Caddy so I could fit all my boxes in there, and obviously there isn’t room in here for that kind of thing.”
Good fucking God. My princess had a car worth more than three hundred grand and it might have been one of the cheapest ones in this room.
I cleared my throat and asked in a husky voice, “It’s Zagato, right? And a convertible too?”
She smirked at me, but her head cocked to the side as she listened to something I couldn’t hear.
“Yup,” she agreed hurriedly. She pushed me back and rushed out, “Time to go, Riles. Get in your truck and head down to the gate. Now.”
Fuck.
I didn’t want to leave her in here by herself, but she was already moving toward the driver’s side door. I ran back through the garage with one last longing look at the cars we were leaving behind. If they were really hers now, then maybe one day I would get to test drive a few of them.
I shook my head as if to rid myself of the stupid thoughts running through there. Fancy cars weren’t important, but apparently getting the hell out of here in a hurry was.
I slammed my door shut in the truck and fired her to life as an incredibly beautiful woman in a long, flowing dress came around the side of the garage. She froze when she caught sight of me before waving her hand at me frantically.
Fuck, was this one of the nannies Gem didn’t want to see? And why the fuck did she have nannies living at her father’s house when she was seventeen and hadn’t needed a nannie herself for years?
Fucking rich people, I’d never understand them.
I threw the truck in reverse and hit the gas. The truck whipped around, and I started down the driveway that would curve around to the front of the house and take me down the long driveway to the gate.
One look in the rearview told me Gem was right on my ass and the door to the garage was closing.
We cruised around to the front of the house, and I caught sight of two more women on the front porch. One of the women had her hands on the other and was trying to drag her back into the house, while the other was trying to get away from her, probably trying to get to Gem like the other by the garage had been doing.
Were all three of these women nannies? Gem had said nannies, right? Not just the nanny?
I was so confused and had so many questions to ask her when we got back to her house, but I wasn’t sure if I should ask them or not because I didn’t want to hurt her.
When I got close to the gate it started to close, forcing me to slow down so I didn’t drive right into it. Gem laid on her horn behind me and the gate stopped closing and opened right back up again.
What was wrong with these people that they were trying to keep her here and locked behind the gate? That seemed more than a little psycho to me.
It didn’t take long before Gem flew past me, blowing me a kiss on her way. I saw her taillights for a while before she disappeared entirely. Good thing I already knew where we were going, or I’d be shit out of luck.
My phone rang, and even though I knew I shouldn’t be talking on the phone while driving, I saw Chance’s name on the screen and answered it anyways.
“Hey, man,” I said as I hit the button for the speakerphone.
“Are you shitting me with this?” Chance asked in an amused voice. “You have Franklin motherfucking Nines calling in for work for you now?” He snickered, and I knew he was trying hard not to laugh. “Not only did he call me, he called my dad as well. Shit, man, the guys are all asking questions about the two of you. You know some people speculate that he’s gay, right? If I didn’t know about your guys’ girl, I might have some questions myself.”
Fuck this.
I groaned, thinking about that fucking guy making comments about me sucking his dick and the possessive look in his eyes that told me he might actually like it. It had looked a whole lot like how he normally looked at Gem but less intense.
He wanted to own me just how he thought he owned her, and he hadn’t looked like he cared much about however that came about being.
I wasn’t about to drop to my knees and suck him off, so he had another thing coming if he really thought it’d happen for him. I also wasn’t interested in being owned.
“Sorry, brother.” I sighed. “I should have called you myself, but he assured me he had it covered. After, of course, he told me I wasn’t going to work in the first damn place. I swear, I’ve never met someone so fucking bossy before in my entire life.”
“You know I don’t give a shit about you missing work. Dad doesn’t give a shit either. That’s not even really why I’m calling.” He sucked in a sharp breath before blowing it out loud enough to hear through the phone.
I braced, knowing something bigger was going on, and I just knew I wasn’t going to like what he said next.
“What’s wrong?”
“Shit, man, okay. Have you talked to him today?”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up straight. “Talked to who, Franklin?” I wanted to scoff. Why the fuck would I talk to him?
“Yeah.” His voice came out strained, and I almost dropped the phone. My hands began sweating, and I gripped the phone and the steering wheel until my knuckle
s turned a ghostly white.
“No, I haven’t talked to him, and I’m not about to call him up to chat about how his day’s going. He might have talked to Gem, but I wouldn’t know because I haven’t asked. Why, what’s up?”
I dreaded hearing his answer, because whatever it was I knew it’d have an effect on Gem. I didn’t give a shit about myself, and I really didn’t give a shit about Franklin.
“His dad is dead.”
Jesus Christ. I closed my eyes briefly before opening them back up and focusing on the road so I didn’t get into an accident and end up dead my damn self.
Holy fucking flaming balls. Did Gem know his dad? Was this another blow she was going to be dealt? I couldn’t imagine she knew already because she seemed like her normal self today.
Then again, I hadn’t known her own father had passed away because she’d said nothing about it and only seemed to be openly grieving her sister.
This whole thing was a disaster, and I actually felt bad for Franklin.
“Shit. I don’t think Gem knows, and now I have to be the one to tell her when we get back home.”
“Home?” Chance asked curiously. “Do you mean your home with your mother?”
I shut my mouth. Fuck him and fuck me too. I needed to be more careful with my words or he’d read things in them I wasn’t comfortable with just yet.
“How do you know he’s dead and how did he die?” I couldn’t help but ask. For some dumb reason the answers to those two simple questions mattered to me.
“Everyone in the family business has heard the news. Our whole dirty world is abuzz with it. And nobody knows exactly how he died. I heard a rumor he fell down the stairs and snapped his neck, but it’s just a rumor. I just know that his son was the one who found him dead.”
A chill crept down my spine.
No way was I going to tell Gem that another person she might have potentially cared about fell down a flight of stairs, snapped their neck, and died. I didn’t know how she’d found out about her sister, but I certainly didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news for her now.
“I gotta go, brother,” I murmured into the phone. “Thanks for calling and letting me know.”
“Right,” Chance grumbled back. “I also called because Dad gave you the next two weeks off with pay because of the death in your new family. It’s pointless to argue with the old man, so I wouldn’t even bother.”
Then the asshole hung up.
I slammed my fists against the steering wheel and swore harshly under my breath. That motherfucker Franklin and I absolutely were not family, and I didn’t want to be associated with him or his family.
I owned my association with Chance’s family because despite what they did for a living and how dirty their hands got, they were still good people to me and my own, and I’d never turn my back on them.
Franklin was a whole other story.
I did something I never planned on doing.
I called the fucker.
He answered on the third ring.
“What?” he barked into the phone, his angry voice vibrating around the cab of my truck, making me flinch. “You better not be calling to tell me you allowed something to happen to our girl, because I’ll cave your skull in with a baseball bat if you are.”
Lovely, just fucking lovely.
I shouldn’t have called in the first place, and this was the price I had to pay for my kindness.
“Chance just called me. Are you okay?”
Jesus, why I was being nice to him, I would never know. I blamed Gem.
“Fuck,” he hissed harshly. “Hang on a sec, I need to find somewhere private for this conversation.”
Great. Like that boded well. Not.
He came back less than a minute later, and the attitude was entirely gone now. He just sounded tired.
“Does Gem know yet?”
“Not unless you told her.” Fuck. Now I sounded as tired as he did.
“I don’t want her to know.” His voice just sounded dead.
He was crazier than I already thought him to be if he believed I’d keep secrets from Gem just because he didn’t want me to say something to her. Nope, not doing that.
He could turn that shit around so fast and blame it on me, and then where the fuck would I be? They’d been friends for years now, and I was the new person in their little group. I didn’t want her to pick him over me, it would break something inside me that would probably be permanent.
I thought that was part of the reason I didn’t get upset or freak out when I’d seen him pissing on her in front of me by shoving his tongue down her throat and groping her ass as if he wanted to leave permanent imprints of his fingers on her skin. I didn’t want her to choose between us, because I didn’t think I’d stand a chance against him and his dark charm and his piles of money and their years of friendship.
So I kept my mouth shut and swallowed my pride, and if it hurt to think about the two of them together, I pretended so hard that it absolutely didn’t that I almost believed that shit myself.
“I’m not lying to Gem for you. It’s not happening. Sorry, not so sorry, buddy.”
His heavy sigh echoed throughout the cab. “Yeah, that’s what I thought you’d say.” He laughed suddenly, the sound sad and full of self-loathing. “I’m glad you’re there with her and she has someone in her life now who isn’t going to lie to her about anything, even the small shit. I know this is going to sound shitty, especially because you were so close with her, but not even Gin gave her that.”
Shit, now I felt sorrier for him than I had when I’d initiated this call. This made him seem more human and less like a psychotic asshole. Who knew?
“I found out today that her dad died, and not knowing something that important kind of made me feel like shit,” I grudgingly shared. “You and her have history I can’t compete with, man, but I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume you were there for her when she lost her father just like I know you were there for her with Gin. Don’t rob her of the chance to give that back to you in return. She’ll never forgive you for it.”
“Fuck,” he mumbled. “I don’t want her to attend my father’s funeral, especially not on my fucking arm. There’ll be too many watching eyes that belong to people I don’t ever want to look at her, if you know what I’m saying. But you’re right, I can’t possibly keep this from her, she’ll hate me later when she finds out. Fuck, what am I going to do with her?”
“You’re forgetting something very important here,” I informed him smugly. “Neither of you are alone with this. I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. You’re stuck with me until she decides she doesn’t want me around anymore. That means I’m here for you too, asshole.”
“Thanks,” he said, sounding like he’d just swallowed a mouthful of glass.
I wanted to laugh at him, but I’d never do that to someone grieving over a loved one. I wasn’t the heartless monster here.
“Where is she right now?” he breathed out. “What’s she doing?”
I was thrown by his questions. I guessed I’d just assumed the psycho had a team of people watching her every move who reported back to him with every breath she took.
“We went to her dad’s house to pick up her car, and she blew past me going way too fucking fast,” I informed him, and he laughed. This time the sound came out light and carefree. I swear the fucker had multiple personalities.
“She loves that fucking car,” he said, sounding lighter than he had a minute ago. Clearly Gem was his happy place. “Best gift that douche bag could have gotten her for her sixteenth birthday. I don’t care that he’s dead, it doesn’t take away from the fact he’s still a douche bag, just a dead one.”
“Hmm,” I murmured before asking what I really wanted to know. “What’s the deal with the nannies, man? One tried to approach us and Gem had us burning rubber to get out of there. Then at the front door, one woman was trying to restrain another and then they tried to close the gate on us. What t
he fuck kind of seventeen-year-old girl needs multiple nannies? I don’t get that shit. Is it some rich person thing?”
“Shit,” he swore under his breath. “What has she told you about them?”
Good fucking grief. Were we having a moment to bond over Gem here?
What was going on with the world, and how had we come to this? And why did I like it so much?
Fuck my life, but did I actually like this guy? I think I did.
“Absolutely nothing. The only member of her family she willingly talks about is her sister and that’s it. I don’t want to push her, so I don’t ask about anything unless it’s about Gin. I saw how her family acted at the funeral and after, and I know her mom, so I just assumed they were all fucked up, and if I was her, I wouldn’t want to talk about it. I’ve let it be, but now you’ve got me wondering, and I want to know what’s going on with the nannies.”
He hesitated, and that right there told me I might not like what he had to say next.
“Right, the nannies.” He cleared his throat. “I can’t believe Gem is making me explain this shit to you. Did you know her dad did the nanny when Gem and Gin were little, and that was part of the reason their bitch of a mother threw them out on their asses? She threw the nanny out with them. Apparently, the man had a hard-on for them or something, because the three who live in his house now were his mistresses, and two of them even have children with him. They had some strange, poly relationship going on that they were all okay with. I think that’s why Gem is so comfortable with having the two of us on her hook, because she grew up in a house where it’s just normal.”
I pulled off onto the side of the road and slammed the truck into park.
Holy fuck.
Did that mean she wasn’t going to want to choose between the two of us? That we’d both get to keep her and, more importantly, that I wasn’t going to have to worry about losing her to him?
“Riley?” Franklin asked in a soft voice I’d never heard him use before, not even directed at Gem.