Valentine's Day (Second Skin Book 3)

by Ophelia Bell

  He gives me a devious grin and pulls back, taking my hand and leading me back inside. We pass through the living room, then the kitchen, where he pushes through the door into the garage and flips on the light. I stop in the doorway, breathless.

  Sitting in the center of my empty garage is the most beautiful motorcycle I’ve ever laid eyes on. Its candy-apple red paint gleams under the fluorescent light, the chrome so shiny it’s blinding. It even has my logo hand-painted on the sides of the fuel tank.

  I step in, gaping, sure I’m seeing a mirage. It isn’t until my hand is on the warm leather seat and I can smell the leather and engine grease that I know it’s real.

  “How . . .? How the hell did you get it here without me knowing?”

  “I have my ways. I also might have had Elle’s help appealing to your brothers. They wouldn’t have done it for me, but they did it for her. Got the keys to her storage locker and brought it over while they were changing your locks and installing the security system. I think they might just hate me a little less after seeing the lengths I’ll go to for their sister.”

  She spins and throws her arms around me, kissing me hard. “They have no idea. No idea at all.”

  Before I can blink she’s abandoned me to go fondle her gift again. Then her eyes light up with wicked glee and she hands me a helmet. “Let’s take this baby for a ride, what do you say?”

  “I go wherever you go.”

  I indulge her enthusiasm, ducking out of the garage while she pulls the bike out onto the street. A dark SUV sits at the curb and I jog over to tell the security detail our plans. Then I climb on behind her and she revs the engine, puts the bike in gear, and lets out a gleeful hoot as we shoot off down the street.

  Ten minutes later we pull up to the rear of the tattoo shop and head inside. Her old bike is still parked in the storeroom and we’re halfway out the door with it before Vic and Mako’s heads both pop out from behind their cubicle partitions.

  “Who’s there?” Vic calls and when he sees me, “Holy shit! You’re back!”

  “No time guys! We’ve got some riding to do this afternoon,” Toni says, still grinning like an idiot. They follow us out the door and break into broad grins too when she does her best Vanna White impression showing off her new toy.

  “Hot damn, he gave it to you!” Vic says. “That is one pretty piece of machinery. I wonder if your brother’d ever be into a collaboration.”

  “Next time I see him I’ll ask. But right now we intend to lay down some rubber on the Silver Strand Highway. You ready babe?” I glance at Toni who buckles her helmet before slipping on her gloves.

  “Let’s do this.”

  I climb onto her old bike and slip on my own helmet. A moment later we’re side by side, wind whipping across our skin as we make our way toward Coronado.

  It’s easy to forget the watchful eyes of the men in the SUV following us because we’re free and alive and together, with our entire lives ahead of us, and I will never let someone like Gustavo Delgado tear us apart again.

  44

  Elle

  Despite my cool exterior, I’m pissed.

  I have a lot to be pissed about, but most of it is beyond my control. There’s nothing I can do about the vendetta between Amador and Arturo, who also just happens to be my dad. I’m still processing that little revelation, even though it’s been a few months since I figured it out. I honestly have mixed feelings about it, because in the process of learning the secret, I also gained two sisters I never knew I had.

  Two sisters who are also in love with two of my brothers. Which is weird, but also perfect. I adore my brothers, and if they’re happy, I’m happy. So in that sense, it’s not weird at all. They’re not blood-related.

  So why the fuck are Ben and Baz acting like such idiots around me all of a sudden? That’s the thing that pisses me off the most—the only two people who are allowed to spend time with me will barely speak to me.

  You’d think they just found out that we were related. The easy friendship we’ve had since junior high is all stiff and formal now, and I don’t think it’s just because they’re technically being paid to keep me safe.

  The only place I’m allowed to relax is in Drake’s penthouse, but it’s a strange sort of freedom—as in none at all. First, he’s my boss, so that’s weird enough. And his place is a huge apartment that takes up the entire top floor of the building he owns, and he’s given me free rein. There are more than enough rooms for me to find solitude. He has a theater, a game room, a library, a full chef’s kitchen staffed by a pro. He has his own gym with paid trainers, and there’s an enormous pool deck that’s just starting to catch good sun now that we’re well into spring.

  What I want to do more than anything is visit Sam and help him finish moving into Toni’s house. My favorite brother finally found the love of his life, and I desperately want to be there to share some of his happiness.

  But no—leaving this gilded cage is a logistical ordeal, and Drake takes his promise to Arturo seriously. I’m not to step foot outside this tower without a fully armed escort, so it has to be planned well in advance. The next time won’t be for a few more days, when they’ve agreed to let me join Sam and Toni on their visit to the local animal shelter to pick out a dog.

  Of course Toni has her own armed escort too, but at least she gets Sam, her cute little house by the university, and soon a dog. And she gets to go to work at her studio in the Gaslamp Quarter every day while I get a tower, a laptop, a pair of bodyguards I used to call friends, and a ridiculously sexy boss who I also happen to live with now.

  There are perks, obviously—billionaire-style perks. It’s a very high-tech tower with the most powerful Wi-Fi I’ve ever had, so I spend most of my Saturday morning sitting by the pool with the laptop Drake gave me to work on. I’m still technically his intern, but a couple conditions of my agreeing to remain locked up here most days include top-of-the-line equipment for me to continue my studies, and to have him mentor me in his business. I’m majoring in finance with a minor in business administration and I’m a full semester ahead of schedule to graduate, so the internship is perfect. Except I’m pretty sure Arturo pulled some strings to get me in, and I’d really love to know what the connection is between the two of them.

  While Drake and the twins think I’m lounging by the pool on social media or taking the training tutorials for Typhon’s software suite, I’m actually digging a little deeper. My irritation at being trapped up here and not allowed out to see Sam yet, plus the fact that Ben and Baz are suddenly treating me with kid gloves, has made matters dire.

  I have to understand more of what’s going on or I’m going to go stir-crazy. What does Arturo have on Drake? Why are the two of them as thick as thieves? I know Arturo’s a criminal disguised as a prominent businessman, but Drake’s barely thirty, and his business is almost a century old. It’s been publicly traded since the eighties, for fuck’s sake. His family has been in the public eye for even longer, and he’s squeaky clean on the surface. But after everything that’s happened, I know that can’t be true.

  What Drake doesn’t know is that Baz and I have the same interest in network security. It isn’t part of the curriculum toward my degree, but I briefly toyed with the idea in high school of making it a career, so I took enough classes when I started college for half a major. I still know my way around a firewall as well as Baz does. I also know his tricks, which means it only takes a little effort to worm my way into the twins’ security feeds. Already having access to Drake’s private network helps. I wouldn’t be able to do this from the outside.

  I peek back over my shoulder at the glass doors leading inside. The twins are lurking around somewhere. I’m never far from their sight, which is a little comforting, but also highly annoying ever since they started distancing themselves. Just because we share a half-sister, you’d think I’m suddenly tainted. Or maybe it’s because they know I’m his daughter now and they’re scared of pissing off the old man.

 
All the more reason to learn more of my father’s secrets, and right now the only ones I have a chance of uncovering are tied to the man who owns this building. Secrets that weren’t on that little flash drive Mason shared with the rest of us when he came back from the dead.

  A splash startles me and I look up to see one of the twins standing at the edge of the pool in swim trunks while the other streaks beneath the water. My heartbeat takes a second to slow.

  “Hey, Baz,” I say in a casual tone I hope doesn’t give away the fact that I was just poking around his code, looking for a weak spot.

  “Hey, Ellie. Thought you might want company.”

  I close my laptop and peer at him over the tops of my sunglasses. “Oh, now you want to hang out? Did you two get over yourselves enough to realize we’re still not related?”

  For a guy as big and scary as he is, he sure is cute when he blushes, which he does, making the tribal whorls on his neck stand out even more. He gives me an abashed look and swallows. “It’s complicated.”

  “No, it isn’t. We were friends. Unrelated friends. We are still unrelated, yet somehow the friendship . . . I just don’t understand what happened. Uncomplicate it for me, will you?”

  He glances at the lounger next to me as if considering sitting to talk. The old Baz would’ve plopped right down and taken my hand, and in a mockingly gentle tone told me the truth. This Baz just inches away a little more as if I have some contagious disease.

  “You need to give them time,” says a smooth, deep voice from behind me.

  Goosebumps erupt all over my skin and I sit up, craning my neck to watch Drake slip into the chair to my right. I’m still getting used to the idea of living with my boss and all his hotness. And he’s wearing a speedo . . . Just kill me now.

  I glance up at Baz, who has now taken a couple steps closer and is giving Drake a dirty look. Drake doesn’t seem to register the animosity. He just straddles the chair and starts rubbing sunscreen on both his muscular arms. He gives me a sideways smile that makes my heart flutter.

  “It’s an adjustment,” he says. “You’re the daughter of one of the most dangerous men in the western hemisphere. You should expect any man with half a brain to keep his distance.”

  “So I just don’t get to have friends who are boys? Arturo loves the twins.”

  “It’s also none of your business why we do what we do,” Baz snaps at Drake. “We’re here to keep her safe. Even from assholes like you.”

  Drake gives him an arch look, then turns to me and hands me his tube of sunscreen. “Do my back?” To Baz, he replies, “You also work for me. You may still answer to Arturo, but I am the one who now signs your paychecks.”

  Baz snorts, but his scowl fades a little and he nods. “You pay better, I’ll give you that.”

  I hover with the tube of sunscreen. I’m a little afraid to touch the man, so I just hold the tube up and squeeze, then tentatively start spreading the creamy lotion over his back with skimming sweeps.

  “That’s because I have more money.” Over his shoulder, he says, “Rub it in. Don’t just smear it on.”

  I take a breath and dig in hard with both hands, the pressure making him grunt, but he doesn’t object. This is so weird. When did it become okay for my boss to act like it’s cool to casually hang out and ask for a massage?

  “So I’ve been stuck up here for a week now, three days with my new bodyguards, and was just getting used to being left alone. Why did you guys choose today to start pretending to care whether I’m entertained?” Not that I don’t secretly love the idea that Drake even considered my comfort, but I was just starting to get somewhere on my digital hunt.

  “You are one intense woman, Elle Flores. Even all the way out here, we could feel your mood.”

  “What are you, empaths?” I mutter. The fact that Drake just called me Elle Flores is not lost on me, though. It sounds strange, but also kind of cool. It makes me feel important. Powerful.

  “You stomp when you’re pissed. And you slam doors,” Baz says. “And you type like you’re mad. And you swear at inanimate objects. It’s hard to miss. Makes us all a little tense.”

  “So I told them to get over themselves and come keep you company,” Drake says. “And then I figured since my workday was sufficiently derailed, I may as well join you.”

  “It’s Saturday,” I say. “Were you really working?”

  “I work every day. And I’ve noticed you do too. You’ve been logged into the network all morning. Since it is Saturday, I felt obligated to distract you and make sure you take a day off, especially after the week you’ve had.”

  “Work’s a good distraction.” One I kind of want to get back to, but I can’t exactly let them know why.

  Drake presses his lips into a tight line and looks at Baz, then Ben, who appears behind his brother, dripping wet and panting from his swim. The other twin eyes my hands where I’m still distractedly massaging my boss’ back. I pull back and toss the tube of sunscreen down, then open my laptop again, hurriedly switching back to the tutorial so no one sees what I was really up to.

  “You guys don’t need to babysit my moods, okay? I’m happiest when I’ve got something to occupy my mind like this.”

  “Bullshit, Ellie,” Ben says.

  Then it’s like they’re tag-teaming. Baz pushes my laptop shut and sets it on the table beside me, then Ben sweeps me up into his cold, wet arms.

  I shriek, and the next thing I know I’m plunging into the pool, carried down by an enormous, tattooed jackass. I push away and kick to the surface, where I emerge even more pissed than I was before they arrived.

  “Fuck! What the fuck? You’re such an asshole, Ben! That wasn’t funny!”

  He treads water while he laughs and turns away when I splash his face. “You’re already in a bathing suit. No harm done. Listen, we’re sorry we’ve been weird. It’s just a lot to absorb. From now on, we promise not to ignore you.”

  “Mostly because we’re afraid you’ll murder us in our sleep if it gets any worse,” Baz says. He dives into the water and smacks my ass on his way past at a fast swim. When he comes up I lunge at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him a noogie.

  Drake dives in when Baz manages to throw me off and touches my shoulder. “Climb up, we’ll show them who’s boss here.” The wicked glint in his dark eyes speaks to my rebellious soul and I grin, accepting the leg up he gives me to sit on his shoulders. Then we face off to play chicken against two tiers of tattooed Quin muscle.

  “Don’t add water or they double in size,” I taunt Baz, who’s the top tier coming at me.

  We wrestle awkwardly, laughing the entire time. He’s obviously strong enough to take me down, but something I don’t quite catch happens between Drake and Ben and suddenly the twins tip over with identical yelps. Drake lifts a hand up to high-five and I grin down at him.

  “Best two out of three!” Ben yells when he resurfaces. “I’m on top this time, brother.”

  The next hour is filled with the four of us goofing around in the water until Drake’s phone rings, putting a sudden halt to the fun when he has to jump out to answer it, then heads inside.

  I climb out and find my towel, then collapse onto the lounger, surreptitiously peeking at Drake’s butt on his way in. It’s undeniable proof that fancy gym of his doesn’t go to waste. The twins take the chairs on either side and I redirect my attention to adjusting my towel underneath me.

  “Feeling better?” Baz asks.

  “Yeah. Just don’t act like I’m some princess now, okay? I haven’t changed, and neither should you.”

  Ben sighs, but it’s Baz who fills in the silence. “Things have changed, though. We can’t ignore the fact that you’re in danger. Today . . . here in Drake’s tower, we have the luxury of letting our guard down, but we can’t let it become a habit. You get that, right? As pissed off as I am at Papá Flores, I’m not about to risk fucking this up just to spite him. We care about you, Elle.”

  “What’s their c
onnection, anyway?” I ask. “Do you know what Arturo has on Drake? Why is he suddenly so invested in helping? I mean, last week he was just my boss, but I know I didn’t get this internship based on my grades alone. There’s more to it.”

  “I wish I knew,” Baz says.

  “You could find out,” I suggest, thinking maybe he can do the heavy lifting if I push. He’s better at the whole network-hacking thing than I am.

  “I could, but I won’t. You’re new to the family, so you don’t know Papá Flores that well yet. He’s not a man to cross.”

  “Not to mention we’re making more now than we ever did for Flores,” Ben says. “Don’t piss off the golden goose, as they say.”

  “Nobody says that.” I sulk and grab my laptop from the table. I open it, stare at the tutorial in irritation, then close it again. “You know what, I’m going to go take a nap. You guys enjoy your fat paychecks.”

  I stop in the kitchen to grab a bottled water, pausing to listen to Drake’s muffled conversation in his office nearby. Deciding the topic isn’t of interest, I head to my room. Halfway up the stairs I realize I am stomping and that I probably slammed the door on the way inside. I deliberately avoid slamming my bedroom door, but I throw the lock.

  I take a quick shower and don some comfy sweats, then plug in my laptop again and open it up. Cracking my knuckles, I dive back in, determined to break through the last barrier into the twins’ deeper security feeds.

  Before they joined me outside, I’d already found the camera feed for Typhon. It’s all boring hallways and stairwells for the most part, with a few cameras placed in the research labs in Typhon’s basement. I’ve only been an intern part-time since the start of the year, but I’ve since learned that Drake’s super keen on developing renewable energy. Evidently shipping companies live and die by the cost of fossil fuels, but if you’re not attached to the grid, options are limited.