by Bry Ann
Lacey’s eyes light up. The forced strength vanishes and raw power and mischief takes its place.
“Yes, genius. I’m gonna miss you. So much. It’s not gonna be the same here without you.” “I can’t stay. What I’m doing is for the best.” My lips tilt up. “For a federal agent, I enjoyed being with you way too much.”
That makes Lacey smile, but it vanishes quickly.
“You know why I was most mad at you?”
“No, why?”
“Because I was supposed to… No one like you saved me. Why? Why didn’t anyone get wind of me? Things could have been so different. I should have ended up with someone like you.”
Her hand flies forward and drops back to her side.
“Lacey, I swear to you, no one in my unit knew about you. I don’t know if that helps or hurts, but it’s the truth. When I came here and heard about what happened to you…” I feel my head shake in horror. “I felt I was far too late. As for love, Lacey, we both know that people aren’t black and white. You fell in love with the man you know, despite his actions. I’ve seen men from the FBI do things I detest, and men who are mafia and supposedly awful demonstrate more love and loyalty than I’ve ever witnessed before. You fell for the right man, at the right time.”
I can tell Lacey wants to hug me, but she won’t. And with Iris right over there, I won’t initiate it. Not that I think she’d care, but I’m new to this relationship thing, and from everything I’ve read and heard, women can be insecure about that kind of stuff. Not worth the risk.
“Thank you, Derek. Let’s get back to Iris.”
She throws me a knowing smirk. I punch her arm, she hits my shoulder. We’re both laughing when we get back to Iris. Iris smiles when she sees us, not one ounce of jealousy. Which, given her experience with Wes, would be completely warranted.
Lacey leaves my side and takes Iris’s hand. Iris looks over her shoulder and checks to see if I’m following, but when she sees I am, relies on Lacey’s firm grip to force her feet into motion. I sort of don’t know why we’re here. Iris was kidnapped by these people. I got them arrested. This is dumb as fuck. Collin would kill me. But Lacey asked, and Iris demanded she have a chance to confront them so this didn’t haunt her anymore.
“Derek, how many people get a chance to confront their monsters directly, knowing they are safe?” When I tried to tell her she’s not 100% guaranteed safety, she scoffed. She said I was there, and that I didn’t see the way Lacey stopped her husband. Well, I 100% believe that, but still. This doesn’t make sense, but the two women I care about want me here, so I’m here.
The second we enter the house, there is lots of commotion. It’s clear everyone is already here.
“Hey, Lace, I’m gonna take Iris, if you’ll make sure no one bombards her. That’d be great.”
“Yes, of course. I’m on it.”
Lacey releases Iris and runs off into the dining area.
“I can’t say I’m not happy you’re here,” Iris whispers, leaning fully into my side. I wrap an arm around her.
“Lacey won’t let anyone near you ‘til you’re ready.”
“You sure?”
“150% positive.”
“Okay, that’s pretty sure.”
“Yeah, hun. It is. Ready?”
“No.”
She starts to tremble.
“We can go. We can leave and never come back.”
“No, I have to do this. I’m… I’m lucky I get to. And Adam… he told the ag-agents about my brother, right? We knew what happened ‘cause of hi-him, not Ki-King.”
“Yes. Try to breathe, okay?”
“I’m… I’m definitely gonna stu-stutter. Don’t try to stop me.”
I chuckle and brush her thick brown hair back, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Say things how and when you need to.”
“Thank you.”
I tug on her hand and help to usher her forward, since her feet seem to be rooted to the ground. I should have given her some kind of rundown on the people here. Shit, that’s my bad.
As we enter the doorway to the dining room, fear starts to snake its way inside my body as well. They better not shoot on sight or something. That would be far too traumatic for Iris and Lacey. Not to mention, I like breathing.
I have to trust Lacey.
“D-D-Derek,” Iris squeaks.
I look up and realize we are in the dining room. All eyes are on us, but Lacey has Sven, Adam, and Cut backed into the corner. Frances isn’t here. I don’t know if that’s ‘cause he’s with that graveyard girl he’s keeping secret or if Lacey banned him. Either way, thank God.
Iris has gone still as a board beside me.
“We-we-we should go-go.”
“Is that really what you want?”
“Hi, I’m sorry to interrupt. I’m Rose,” Rose, Sven’s wife, says in a gentle voice, lightly placing her hand in Iris’s line of sight.
“H-h-hi, I’m-I’m Ir…” Iris takes a deep breath, leaning her shaking body further into me. “I’m Iris,” she says as quickly as possible.
“Hi, it’s wonderful to meet you!” Rose is being so gentle with her, which I’m very grateful for. “Would you like something to drink?”
Iris’s eyes go wide. “No! I can-can’t ha…” My heart breaks as I watch her close her eyes and struggle for words. Was it this bad as a child? Is this the world of wordlessness she used to live in before — I presume — her family got her help?
“No alcohol,” Iris finally whispers.
“Oh, no!” Rose gasps. “I know. I meant like lemonade, water, tea, coffee… That kind of thing. Anything sound good? We have food, too, but I figure that’s not what you want right now.”
Iris looks at me, questioning if she should drink something. “Go ahead,” I whisper. “No one will poison you.”
She leans into my ear, so it’s just us. “Are you getting anything?” She asks in a tiny voice. No stutter.
I get it. It’ll make her feel safer if I do. “Sure, hun. Rose, I’ll have some water.”
Rose gets it and nods. “Iris?”
“Coffee,” Iris squeaks.
Rose smiles at the lack of stutter. “Awesome! I’ll be right back. No one’s gonna come over ‘til I’m back, so don’t you worry, sweetheart.”
With that, Rose quickly scampers off. As soon as she’s gone, I turn to Iris.
“How are you? You okay?”
“Sh-she’s nice.”
I smile softly at her. “Yes, Rose worked in a treatment facility before she was…” Kidnapped. “Before she came here.”
“Oh, so she fell in love for real here?”
Shit. “They are all in love for real. No matter how they came to be here. I promise you that.”
“So that’s a no.”
“It’s a—”
“Coffee. Water,” Rose jumps in. “The coffee’s fresh, Iris. It’s a pot just for you.”She smiles reassuringly, blue eyes sparkling.
“I thought you’d like that.”
“Th-thank you. I do.”
Rose smiles at her. “Can I introduce you to a friend of mine? She’s crazy, but very nice.”
“Um, okay?”
Rose reaches out and gently touches Iris’s arm. “You’ll like her. Promise.”
Rose spins on her heel and shouts over her shoulder, “Yo, Maria! Get over here.”
Maria comes strolling over in a low-cut, off-the-shoulder dark green dress.
“They’re so pretty,” Iris whispers to me, fiddling with the end of her red sundress. “I feel so uncomfortable.”
“I think you’re stunning. Stop that.”
Her nose wrinkles in disagreement. “Yeah. Right.”
“Hey, doll, my name’s Maria. Welcome to the crazy house.”
That makes Iris’s lips quirk up a bit. She looks at Rose, unsure if it’s okay to laugh, but Rose is already laughing.
“Yep, Iris, this is Maria. She’s crazy.”
“You remind me of
-of my best friend back home,” Iris whispers, with a quick smile at Maria. Huh, that’s funny. I can kind of see it. While Maria is much more sexually forward than Blythe, they both are loud, crazy, and unequivocally themselves.
“You know, Iris, you don’t need to be so scared. I know the men are totally awful people, but the fact is that all the women have them by the balls. You are now in our group, so no one would so much as lay a finger on you. In fact, more than that, you’re under their protection. Trust me, I know this.”
“What about Derek?” Iris whispers. Maria looks up at me with a pissed-off smile.
“He’s fine. You think Lacey would let anything happen to him? I mean, literally anything. She may seem timid and insecure, but don’t get it twisted. That girl is the fucking queen around here.”
“Oh, I’m so confused,” Iris splutters, borderline in tears.
“Maria is right,” Rose says desperately, “No one will hurt you. I so promise, Iris.”
“Is he here?”
Hardness takes over Maria’s gaze. Frances and Maria have a dark history, but without it, she would have never gotten with her boyfriend.
“Frances is not here,” Maria hisses. “Lacey, Rose, and I told that fucker to get gone.”
“You don’t like him either?” Iris asks quietly.
“I hate him,” Maria says casually. “He needs to learn the fucking moral code around here.”
“I’m glad you don’t like him,” Iris says with a tiny smile.“Oh, I think I’m gonna like you.” Maria throws an arm around Iris’s shoulders and leads her forward, away from me.
“Uh, where’s Maria taking her?”
“Probably to confront the men,” Rose says, wincing. “You can try to stop her, but if you want Iris to face this for real, Maria’s her best bet.”
My feet shift back and forth. “I feel I should be with her, but she hasn’t looked back for me. That’s what Iris does when she wants me.”
“Go over there, face them, too, but don’t hover. Let Iris do this on her own. Just show her that you’re there for her if she needs you.”
“Fantastic,” I mutter.
“Scared, Derek?” Rose’s eyes light up.
“Scared, no. Unenthused, yes.”
“Well, I hope they give you so much shit. You hurt my best friend and my husband.”
“He hurt a lot of people. I was just doing my job.”
“I know. That’s why my anger has very little heart behind it. Don’t do it again.”
She squeezes my shoulder and walks off, to where, I don’t know. Knowing her, probably checking on the food temperature or something. Making sure everyone is taken care of in every way.
Forcing my feet forward is awful, but seeing Iris’s small, tense body ahead of me forces me to move faster. I take a place a few feet away from Iris and Maria, but still in front of Sven and Adam’s intense gazes. Cut has taken a place away from everyone in the corner. Lacey is next to him, watching everything.
Sven’s eyes roam over Iris first, taking in everything about her. He had nothing to do with her kidnapping, but he’s one intimidating, dark bastard. Even his gaze seems threatening, but I know there’s more to him, because he left the mafia and got shot for it, all for his beautiful wife. So with her in the vicinity, he wouldn’t do anything to upset Iris. He knows Rose has a big heart.
Surprisingly, Iris is the first one to break the intense silence.“Thank yo-you for-for telling,” Iris takes a deep breath, keeping her gaze trained on her feet. I so want to run to her, but she has to do this on her own. Maria stands tall next to her with an approving gleam in her eye.
“For telling about my bro… ther…”
Iris quickly looks up at Adam, then quickly retreats back into herself. Lacey takes a step forward, fisting her hands by her sides. Adam pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath.
“Ms. Shelby, there are no words for how sorry I am for what happened to you. It’s not often I feel bad, but in this case,” he looks over at his wife, “I couldn’t feel worse.”
I expect Iris to forgive him or silently reject his apology, but no. I don’t know what comes over her, but she absolutely does not.“Why?”
Adam bristles. “What?”
“Why did you hold me here? You’re the boss. You could have… you could have set me free and you di-didn’t.”
Lacey stands straighter. Maria, Ms. No Filter herself, mutters, “Get ‘em, girl,” under her breath.“You’re right. I should have, and I didn’t.”
“Why? I-I just wanted to know about my bro-brother. I wouldn’t have hurt you!” Iris’s eyes fill with water. Maria leans over and squeezes her hand.
“I was scared,” Adam says after a beat, raising his eyebrows. “For the first time in my life, I have something to lose. One of my men said you were a threat. Ironically, what I was scared of happening,” Adam turns his gaze to me for a second, “happened. I, unfortunately, was blinded by fear and didn’t see the actual threat.”
Adam gives me a withering stare.
“Hey!” Iris snaps her fingers in his face and charges forward. Everyone in the room jumps to attention, including Adam, whose eyebrows shoot up. “Don’t look at Derek like that. He saved my life; you hurt it. If you feel bad at all, you’ll see that you were the bad guy in the scenario. Your wife even thinks he’s nice, so stay away! I’m so darn serious!”
My jaw is on my chest. What? Not one ounce of stutter. Everyone in the room is dumbfounded, except Maria, who is smirking with her hip cocked to the side.
All of us stare, dumbstruck, for a moment longer before I move. I walk forward and wrap my arms around Iris from behind.
“What was that, babe?”
“I didn’t like how he looked at you.”
My lips twitch. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been a federal agent most of my life. I think I got it.”
She slumps in my arms, relaxed. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Iris,” Adam cuts in. Iris stiffens in my arms, “anything I can ever do for you, let me know. Words don’t mean much, but I hope I can make up for all the pain I caused, one day.”
“Oh, you can,” Iris says quickly. “I have a list.”
Even Adam bursts out laughing.
“Oh, let’s hear it,” Sven laughs. “I cannot wait.”
Iris clears her throat. “Well, one, leave Derek alone. Be nice to him forever. You can’t say one mean word to him, and lack of physical harm should be a given. Two, whoever killed my brother. I want him arrested. Make sure that happens, if he’s not already arrested or, uh, um… dead. Lastly, don’t ever, ever, no matter what, take or hurt another woman. It’s wrong. To wield your power against someone naturally half your size is sick and disgustin’. Handle. It. Another. Way. Do you hear me?”
“You’re literally Lacey, country edition,” he mutters. “Yes or no, sir?”
Sir. She’s bringing back the sir. I smile down at her and squeeze her tighter. “I love you so much, Iris.”
She goes completely still. Adam agrees to her list, but I have all her attention now. She doesn’t respond to either of us. I know I need to get her away from the crowd. But first…
“The talk we need to have is pretty much negated now, don’t you think?” I say directly to Adam with a quick look at Sven.
“Between your girlfriend and my wife, I’m pretty sure I can’t say a word about what I think of you.” Adam’s jaw is tense, conveying his displeasure with this scenario.
“I’d have to agree with you.”
“You crossed me.”
“Yes, and I’m gonna walk out of here sleeping just fine over it.”
Both men look intense, but they know they can’t do nothin’.
“You’re lucky the women like you so much,” Adam grits out.
“You’re lucky Nixon Marketta is a genius.”
Adam’s eyes widen. “What?! How do you know he…?” He pauses and collects himself. “Does anyone else know Nix’s involvement?”
Good to hear he’d have Nix’s back after all Nix has done for him.
I wave a hand. “No, no one at my former place of employment knows who hid all your evidence. Just me.”
Adam’s eyes darken. “And you didn’t share that information?”
I let my gaze flicker to his pregnant wife. “No. Keep giving me reasons to keep it that way. Nixon has a girlfriend at home who needs him right now.”
With that, I take Iris’s hand and pull her away into a tight corner right outside the dining room.
“You love me?” She whispers, before I can speak.
I grab her arms and kiss her, no holds barred. I put everything into it. All my feelings, passion, need, desire, respect, lust.
“I love you so much,” I murmur. “This place, and places like it, haunted me. Haunted every corner of my soul until you. The man I’ve always wanted to be is easy around you. There’s no temptation. I don’t have to be my father and I don’t have to be the men in the other room. With you, I’m just me, and I’ve never received such a gift.”
Her hands are in my hair, holding me in place. “I love you so much, Derek Enzio Johnson. FBI or not, you are my hero.”
The clinking of a wine glass in the other room has us separating.
“Uh, I want to tell you guys something,” I hear Lacey announce in a quiet voice. I look at Iris with a dull expression.
“Let’s go support her.”
She nods. “I can’t wait to get you home.”
She smirks slightly and walks off. What? Iris did not just say that. Iris Jane Shelby. I shake my head and smile after her. It’s not even the promise of what’s to come that has me smiling, although I’m definitely smiling because of that. No, it’s that I had a part in giving her the confidence to say something like that. To take back the confidence Wes stole.
Fuck him.
Everyone is gathered in the living room. I notice the distinct absence of Nix. I can think of so many reasons for this, and it has me more than curious. I’ll have to ask about it. Anyway. Lacey is the front of the room, fidgeting anxiously, with Adam a noticeable distance away from her.