by Lily Zante
“How many locks do you have?” he asked.
She had never been so relieved to see him before.
“We’re going to the movies, remember?” Jacob said.
“Yes, we are,” she replied, her voice sounding lackluster, and she couldn’t instantly summon up the energy to hide her emotions.
“What’s the matter?” Jacob asked.
“I was … I was studying for a test, and I got carried away,” she replied. A quick glance at Xavier told her that he didn’t quite believe her.
“Can I take a pee, Izzy?” Jacob asked. He still hadn’t taken a step inside.
“Sorry, come in,” she said, opening the door wider, then, “I don’t know. Can you pee?” She smiled at Jacob, using the boy’s energetic spirit to help dispel some of her shock.
“It’s here,” she said, showing him to the washroom, and by the time she had walked, Xavier was standing inside her apartment with the door closed.
“You were studying?” he asked. “Do you always bolt the door like that when you’re studying?”
“This isn’t the Upper East Side.”
“No. But two deadbolts and a door chain? Who are you hiding from, Laronde?”
“No one.” She clenched her mouth tightly, then forced herself to push out a smile.
“No one. Interesting that because,” he opened his palm and showed her. “It’s been raining money on your doorstep.”
She stared at the dollar bills in his hand. The bastard had left it for her. She still didn’t want it, but if she said anything now, Xavier would have questions.
“Thanks.” She plucked it out of his hands, and placed it in the pocket of her jeans. She would figure out what to do with it later.
She braced herself for the questions, because the way he looked at her, the way his stare reached down into her soul and held there, told her he didn’t believe her.
“What’s your explanation for that?”
She stared back at him. “I was wondering where my rent money had gone. It must have slipped out of my back pocket.”
“Yeah?” He bent down and picked up the pepper spray can from the floor. “Then what’s this?”
She struggled to swallow. “It’s—uh.” She was stuck. And he was more than imposing, more than nosey, more than interfering.
“Something you want to tell me, Laronde?”
She exhaled out slowly. Something about Shoemoney coming here, about him wanting to buy her off, about him getting this close to her, had made her nauseous. And she hated being in a place of weakness. Weak enough that Xavier could sense it.
“There’s nothing to tell,” she said, forcing a laugh.
“You don’t look too good.” Xavier moved so close to her she could feel the heat from his body. She gawked at him, and this time without her usual steely armor. The rising panic inside her, that he might find out her dirty little secret, made her want to implode.
“In fact,” he peered at her, “you’re looking paler than usual. You sure you want to go to the movies?”
“Jacob wants to go.”
“We can watch something here, or we can go back to their apartment, or you could both come to mine,” he said quickly.
It seemed like a better option all of a sudden, being away from the crowds in the movie theater. She was so shaken up, she wanted to withdraw into herself.
“What’s going on, Laronde? I know something went down just now.”
“Nothing went down,” she managed to say. Her body was stiff, every muscle in her body clenched. “Nothing, Stone.” She managed another grin, a tiny laugh.
“That’s twice you’ve attempted to laugh, and you’ve never needed to do that before, not with me. You’re always your usual defensive self.”
His eyes bore down on her, the weight of his stare heavy. She tried to push everything away, his probing, his questioning, his need to discover and get down to the truth. For a moment, she wished the playboy seductor was back, the one who was so wrapped in himself, that he had no awareness of others. This new version of Xavier unnerved her, because he seemed to read her like a book.
“I’m not the pig you seem to think I am. You can tell me. I’m looking after things while Tobias is away.”
“He left you in charge?” It came out as if she was being sarcastic.
He didn’t seem to like that, judging by the way his brows squeezed together. She hadn’t meant to say it like that, why did it come so easily to her, throwing words at him like poisoned blades, and the guy was only trying to be nice to her?
“You are looking after his step-son, and it’s obvious to me that some shit went down. I’d be remiss to turn a blind eye to it.” His voice was hard again, and she couldn’t blame him. “We’ve got a change of plan, kid,” he told Jacob when he returned.
The boy’s face crumpled.
Wait, what? She stepped forward. “No, no. You can’t just walk in and change our plans be—”
He’d turned his back to her and was addressing Jacob.
“We’re going to the movies later on, or maybe even tomorrow,” Xavier said, “but Izzy isn’t feeling so well, so how about you both come over to mine and you can play in my media room? I’ve got better game consoles than Tobias.”
She was about to stab him in the back with her finger when she heard Jacob’s excited “Really?”
“Really.”
“Cool!”
She bit her tongue. How dare Xavier change their plans? He turned around, and gave her a smile that made her want to slap him. “We’re going to my place.”
“Yours?” And now she really did want to slap him.
“Yay!” But an ecstatic Jacob kept that plan at bay.
Chapter 17
“Yours?” She’d said it was if it was a violation of her basic human rights.
“Yay! He’s got a cool media room,” Jacob cried, excitedly. Tobias had brought the kid over once a few months ago, and Jacob had declared that Xavier had better games consoles and controllers than Tobias.
“But don’t you want to go to the movies, Jacob?” Izzy seemed determined not to let him have his own way, but in all seriousness, Xavier didn’t feel it was the best thing to do.
Jacob shook his head. “Can’t we play games at Xavier’s place?”
There was her answer.
Besides, she looked shaken up. How could he turn a blind eye to what he’d seen? For fucks’ sake, there had been $20 dollar bills scattered outside her door, and she had a pepper spray canister lying on the floor.
He was determined to get to the bottom of this.
“Okay, if that’s what you want,” she said to the boy. “It’s a shame because I thought you wanted to go to the see the movie.”
“Pleeeeease, Izzy?”
“Okay, fine. We’ll go to Xavier’s place.” He wondered if she hated him that much that she was willing to be so stubborn.
He was about to say something but, seeing the sour look on her face, held back. Something had shaken her, and he didn’t feel it was right to continue their verbal sparring. He’d let her have some quiet time to herself.
Once more, he had taken Tobias’s Merc and left his Ferrari in his brother’s underground parking lot.
He drove them all over to his apartment, mindful of the fact that Izzy had never been here before. They rode the elevator to his floor, and he let them both in to his apartment.
While most girls who came here for the first time fawned over his 8-foot tall windows that stretched across the 25-foot width of the living room, or looked up in awe at the high, wood-beamed ceilings, Izzy remained silent. She didn’t even look around. She didn’t even comment on the treadmill and punch bag in one corner. Nor was she impressed by the views overlooking Canal Street on one side and a local park on the other.
Jacob headed straight for the media room.
“No over 18 games,” Izzy warned. Then to him, “Jacob knows better than to play those games, but I can’t vouch for you.”
“Why d
on’t you come in and keep an eye on him?” he asked her, as she hovered around in the living-room.
“I’m fine here, thanks. I’m not a huge game player.”
“No?” Funny, he had her down as being one of those geeky girls who were into online gaming. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“I’m sure I’ll survive.” It was an exasperated sigh, as if she had to force herself to make conversation. He still had questions, but he could tell that now wasn’t the time. “Make yourself at home.”
He walked through the hallway to the media room.
“Let’s have some fun, kid.”
He spent some time with Jacob, leaving Izzy alone. It wasn’t ideal, dragging her all the way here then abandoning her, but if she didn’t want to join in, he couldn’t force her.
She was impossible to get close to, but now he had an extra three months and it was a saving grace. Problem was, Tobias and Savannah would be back next weekend, and then he would be fighting with them for Jacob’s time—because Jacob was the link to his time with Izzy. He wasn’t sure how he was going to overcome this logistical problem, but, as with most things, he would find a way or make one.
After playing a couple of games with Jacob, he left the kid to it and went back to check on Izzy.
She was on the couch, texting away on her cell phone. He wondered if she had a boyfriend now? Bummer. Because, if that was the case, it was going to be a serious problem, and one he hadn’t thought of.
“You okay?” he asked.
She hastily looked up, and stopped texting. “Yes.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come and play?”
“I told you, I don’t like those types of games.”
He walked over and stood in front of her, his hands on his waist. “What types of games do you like?”
“How is it that you turn everything into innuendo?”
“Innuendo?” He guffawed, because he hadn’t meant it like that at all. Hell, he could give her some real innuendo that would make her face turn scarlet.
“Yes. Suggestive talk, hinting at something inappropriate.”
“I know what it means. I’m not dumb. I was being serious.”
“I can’t tell with you.”
“When it’s innuendo, with me, you won’t have to ask. It’ll be pretty obvious.”
Her cheeks flushed at that, and he would bet any money that she was annoyed that his words had had an effect on her.
She stared up at him through her long, curly eyelashes, her dark eyes fixing on him, her gaze searching. It was as if she could see right through his phony exterior, and reach down, and feel the real him. It was almost impossible to be brash and cocky, when the other person wasn’t remotely affected by that kind of talk or behavior. Laronde had had a dampening effect on him, and in return, he’d seen through part of her armor.
He’d thought of her as cute enough, back on the island—eye candy, nice legs, average sized breasts, more a commodity, something to attain, than a person who had hopes, and fears, and feelings. He’d carried that idea all the way to New York, but now, sitting here on his couch, in his apartment, with her looking at him like that, it made him see her through a different filter.
She definitely was pretty easy on the eye—dark hair, dark eyes, and with those bangs falling over her face, tempting him to want to move them back so that he could take a good look at her face.
A thought ricocheted into his head, of what it would be like to have her eyes staring at him when she came, have her screaming his name on those full, and pretty, and delectable lips of hers. The dirty visual imprinted on his brain and stayed there a few moments until he visibly shook his head, as if to dispel it.
He straightened up, rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. Not knowing what had happened earlier, but being certain that something had, now forced him to delve deeper. To get under her skin, and find out.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you, and I didn’t mean it like that.” He cleared his throat, pushing that thought away. He hadn’t been hitting on her, not now at any rate, but when he resumed his tactics, once this episode was over, he’d have to try harder, do something different, woo her another way.
“Those dollar bills outside your door. How did they get there?” he asked softly. “Because I don’t buy your rent money scenario.”
“Is it any of your business?”
“Given that my brother and Savannah have left you to look after Jacob, definitely. I’d say it was my business.”
“What has anything I do got to do with Jacob? It happened at my apartment.”
“So something did happen?”
She looked away.
“Izzy,” he said, sitting down and using her name on the rare occasion. It at least made her turn her attention towards him again. Tobias was a rich man, and his recent wedding had probably attracted the crazies, of that he was sure. If someone wanted to hurt Tobias, they could do it easily through Savannah, through Jacob, and through the boy’s babysitter.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I need to know.”
“But I really don’t want to talk about it,” she said slowly, and the unsteadiness of her voice made him look closer, lean in a little closer, try, try, try to understand her, read her, and second guess her.
“I can be a good listener,” he said, his voice so very low.
“It’s something from before. I promise you.” She huffed out a breath, as if it was too much. “I don’t want to talk about it, Stone. Okay?”
“Can’t you be nice, for once? I’m making an effort.”
Her head shot back towards him. “Then stop asking me.”
“People don’t throw dollar bills away like that, not unless they want something. Did someone want something from you?”
She shot to her feet in outrage, her forehead creased with angry lines. “Like what? What do you think happened? Oh my god!” Her eyes widened a fraction too much. She looked at him and hesitated. “Do you think … do you think someone paid me for something? For some favors?”
“No!”
“No?” She crossed her arms. “People don’t throw dollar bills unless they want something?” She hurled his words back at him.
“I didn’t mean that.”
“People like you make me sick, Stone.”
“People like me?” Where the hell was this coming from? “What do you mean people like me?”
He sensed that there was more going on underneath the surface than he would be able to chisel away at. He might not even get to find out what had happened, not today, and perhaps not within a week, but find out he would, one way or another. Today had been an eye-opener, that much was true.
She was on edge, and his questioning was only making things worse. “I’m sorry,” he said again. It didn’t even feel that strange to him that he had apologized twice already.
“You should be.” She folded her arms even tighter in a defiant pose. “What you’re implying is offensive,” she hissed, in a barely controlled burst of anger.
“Journalists can be sneaky, and they have their ways and means of buying information. I was worried that someone had come to you trying to bribe you, with money, for information on the wedding, and with Tobias being away, and you looking after Jacob, it’s easier for people to get to him.”
She looked up at him as if this was new to her. “There are lots of sick people out there, Izzy. You of all people should know that, especially after what happened with Jacob before.”
“I hadn’t thought of it like that.”
“That’s where I was coming from.”
She pressed her lips together, as if she was considering what he’d just told her. “I’m sorry I bit your head off.”
His reflex action was to make a joke based on her reply, but he stopped himself in time and accepted her apology gracefully. “Don’t worry about it.” After a while, “Trust you to jump to that conclusion? Whatever had you thinking I might think som
eone was paying you for services?”
She shrugged. “I expected wild and crazy from you, doesn’t everyone?”
That hurt. It hurt more than he cared to show her. So his lips spread out into a fake smile. “You know me.”
She smiled too.
“For a moment I worried a new boyfriend might have crept into your life, a journalist in disguise who was after information.”
“Pfffft,” she made a derisive grunt. “I don’t have a boyfriend, new or old.” He thought he heard her mumble, ‘too much hassle’, but he couldn’t be sure. Either way, her response warmed his heart more than a hug from her might have, and he felt proud of himself for slipping that into the conversation so easily.
“It’s not the first time you’ve gotten something wrong, Stone.”
“It isn’t?”
“Just so you know, the only reason I came to that burger place last week was because of Jacob.”
“Jacob?”
She shrugged. “We were talking in the pool, that day before you forced us all to go to that burger place—”
“I didn’t force you. It was a suggestion.”
“Anyway,” she continued, “Jacob mentioned—he didn’t actually say anything about a baby—but he seems to think that he’ll soon have a sibling, and he seemed worried that when the new baby comes, Tobias won’t have as much time for him.”
“That’s what the kid thinks?” Poor kid. He could relate to that, to wanting to please his brother, wanting his approval. Of course it was different, Tobias was his brother, and his relationship to Jacob was different, but he could so relate to what the kid was feeling.
Izzy nodded. “He thinks Tobias won’t love him as much as he’ll love the new baby, whenever they might have one, which,” she angled her head, thinking, “might happen soon, because Jacob seems to think they’re trying for a baby.”
“He said that?”
“Kids pick up a lot of things. You’d be surprised.”
“Wow. I’d better turn down the sound to those porn films, when he’s around.”
She threw him a filthy look. “You shouldn’t be watching porn films when he’s around.”
“I was kidding.”
“I wasn’t.”