by Nana Malone
There would always be a part of me that wanted to go back and fix her life for her. Get her off the pills, off the booze, and take her away from Tony. I’d managed it once.
When I was sixteen, I’d earned enough money from a job to get us new names, new identities, and a different place to live. She’d been sober for six whole months, and it had been one of the best times of my life. But then she called him, and that had been the end of that. He made her pay for leaving too. And at that point, I watched my mother start to slip away again. By the time I was eighteen, I knew she was gone. I fought for another couple of years, but eventually, I gave up.
After that last job in Mexico, once I realized why she’d put my life on hold, I vowed to never do it again, even if it meant saving her life.
“I got to tell you man, that breath of yours, it’s kicking. Mind backing up?”
“See that’s your problem kid. Always so glib, always quick with a joke. Let me put this in terms you’ll understand. You do this job, or I kill your mother. You do this job, or I kill you. I don’t really care which. But either way, you’re doing the job.”
I forced myself to lift the corners of my mouth into a nasty grin. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’m done with you. If you even come near me again, I’ll kill you.”
He chuckled low. “You think you could? If you lay a hand on me, it means very bad things for your mother.”
I turned my back on him and headed out of the alley. I was going back to my new life. Nothing was dragging me back into the darkness. I was a prince now. I wasn’t the pauper. I wasn’t the con artist willing to do anything and anyone just to survive. Not ever again.
I was Lucas Newsome, and I was a goddamn prince of the Winston Isles.
6
Bryna
“She’s crazy. I’m convinced she’s cooking up some kind of witch’s brew in her own room while I sleep.”
Jinx chuckled over the line. “I still can’t believe that dog. I swear this would only happen to you. How long did she say the dog would be there?”
“She said that he’d only be here for another month, but I’m telling you, I saw her bring a dog bed in here. That dog is staying for a while. What am I going to do?”
“Well, you could report her. But hey, at least you got your room back.”
Yeah, there was that. But as much as he terrified me, I couldn’t report poor Rufus. “I said I wouldn’t. I just want him, you know, not here.”
Jinx laughed. “Any hot-guy action?”
“Nope. Rufus’s constant crotch sniffing is the closest anyone has come to my snatch. Besides, it’s hard to look fresh and sexy with boob sweat. It’s ninety degrees in the shade. No one looks good that sweaty.”
“Don’t go ruining things for me. I will dream of sweaty guys serenading you.”
I laughed. “Okay, you do that. I’m going to get a snack. Love you.”
“Love you too. I’ll call you tomorrow after work.”
I really wanted a snack out of the fridge, but I was too terrified to go to the kitchen in case Rufus was waiting for me. Maybe it’ll be fine. I was a grown woman. I was not afraid of this dog. I owned the place. Well, not owned it, but I was renting it, so it was fine.
With my shoulders squared, I pulled back the door and marched into the living room. Rufus had taken up his familiar spot on the couch, all laid out and acting like he was some kind of lap dog. Pretty sure the dog outweighed me at this point.
I was pretty sure he was also taller than me. But, whatever. I grabbed a glass of milk and started searching for my comfort cookies. Damn it, I couldn’t reach the damn Oreos. I stretched up into the cupboard, standing on my tippy toes and propping myself up on the counter. Just another inch… just another… and then my fingertips grazed the plastic wrapping. Success!
But when I turned around, there was Rufus, staring at me, looking at the bag of cookies. “Okay, no, no, no, we’re not going to do this. You are not going to jump on me, attack me, sniff me, or take my cookies. You hear me?” I used my firm voice. I was firm, damn it.
But Rufus ran right for me.
I squeaked and jumped back, trying to push myself onto the counter, but oh no, I didn’t quite make it. So there we were; Rufus with his nose straight up my crotch and me, with the Oreos above my head, half crouched on the counter, half crouched on Rufus’s nose. At that moment, in walked my roommate and some tattooed guy I’d never seen before.
Kill me now. I officially had the roommate and the hound from hell.
Thirty minutes later after a long, hot shower, I tucked my towel around my chest, securing it tightly, and then flipped my head upside down with the other towel, trying to get the thick waves of my hair to cooperate. When I flipped back over, I frowned, swearing I heard something.
“Is anyone there?” There was silence. I turned my music off, but I didn’t hear anything, so I went back to my hair. I heard another bark and scratch. I swear to God, that damn dog.
He is defenseless. You can’t put him on the street.
I grumbled under my breath.
On the way to my room, I heard the sound again and realized it was the door. Someone was knocking. Shit. Rufus.
He was barking at the door, standing up to his full height, and throwing his full weight against it. Hell. If anyone heard him, we were toast. I was toast. Damn it.
“Rufus, down. Down.” The overgrown dog was hard to wrangle. “Sit. Quiet. Goddamn it. I hate you.” I flipped open the lock on the door and yanked it open. It was only when the man on the other side stumbled back, that I grabbed Rufus by the collar and finally glanced up.
“Oh, fuck me. Rufus, down!” This couldn’t be happening. Not him. Jesus Lord.
“I’d love to sweetheart, but I prefer my women less prickly.”
Rufus wiggled out of my grasp then jumped up. Almost as if in slow motion, my feet slipped, and the towel disengaged. My ass hit the ground with a thud as I glared up at none other than Lucas Newsome. “What the hell are you doing here?”
He grinned. “Getting another eyeful.”
With a shriek, I grasped for my towel to cover what I could. “I hate you.”
That grin stayed on his face. “Oh, you’ll get used to me. We’ll be spending a lot of time together it seems.”
“Over my dead body.”
Rufus was still barking, and Lucas grabbed him by the collar. His voice went extra low as he said, “Rufus, sit.” There was no yelling or frantic shouting that included demands and pleas for the dog to shut the fuck up and sit down. Just a very low, calm, command. Rufus sat as if nothing happened. I stared at him. “How did you do that?”
He shrugged. “My mother’s husband used to keep these mean-ass dogs around. He insisted the only way those dogs didn’t tear me apart was that he had them completely well trained, so I learned a thing or two, despite myself.”
Rufus now settled, I stood awkwardly, keeping the towel over my cooch. “I’m uh, just going to get dressed.”
“Oh, don’t run off on my account. I figure one of these days we’re just going to see each other naked anyway.”
I snorted a laugh. “I wouldn’t count on it. You’re never gonna get it.”
The idiot grinned. “Sweetheart, that sounds like a dare.”
Lucas
This was Bryna Tressel? Oh hell no. Nope, absolutely not.
Sebastian’s words clanged around in my head. But when I’d agreed, I didn’t know it would be Little Miss Window Jumper and her sharp tongue with her serious set of amazing—nope, never mind all that.
You can’t touch her.
And it was fine. There were a million girls I couldn’t have or wouldn’t have for whatever reason. She was no different. I was a good guy now and I was not ruled by my dick.
Well, not usually.
The problem was as I watched Bryna Tressel scoot down the hall with a towel barely covering her naked ass and the massive Great Dane chasing her, I had a feeling that not touching her was going to be easier sa
id than done.
When I glanced down the hall and saw her shuffle into one of the rooms, I pulled out my phone and called out my brother.
Sebastian answered on the first ring. “Listen, before you flip out on me—"
“You could have mentioned she was fucking hot. Roone said she was cute. That was hardly accurate.” I ranted before he could even finish.
“Yeah, I could have mentioned, but then you really wouldn’t have done it, especially if you can’t touch her.”
“Dude, this is some bullshit. You didn’t give me all the information.”
“Well, I gave you the information you needed. At the end of the day, you still can’t touch her, so that doesn’t change anything. The only thing that changed in this equation is that now you know what she looks like.”
To be fair, I knew what she looked like before. I just didn’t know her name. “A heads-up would have been great. Like, ‘hey, go get laid before you meet the totally hot brunette with a really ridiculous set of tits.’”
“Look, it’s fine. You don’t even have to spend that much time with her. Just take her out for coffee even. Keep it brief if you can’t keep it in your pants. And why do you know what her tits look like?”
Okay, he was being a shit. “Look, I’m a fucking adult. I can handle it. But I just would’ve appreciated a fucking heads-up. A little ‘hey, she’s totally cute’ warning. Anything, you know? Act like you’re my brother?”
“Okay, sorry. Next time, I swear I’ll warn you about the hot girl you’re about to meet that you can’t have.”
“That’s all I’m asking for, a little warning so I could, like, gird my loins or something.”
Sebastian sighed. “Keep your loins away from her. Dealing with Tressel will be hard enough.”
“Yeah, I hear you.” I hung up with him and said a little Hail Mary prayer. How hard could this be?
When Bryna emerged from around the corner, she was wearing leggings, a T-shirt, and some sandals. Her hair was wet and wavy around her shoulders. Thick long ropes of it clung to her, leaving wet streaks on her T-shirt. And of course, I kept picturing her half naked, because once I had seen her tits, I couldn’t unsee them. Way to torture yourself. Look, don’t touch.
“So, it looks like you and I are going to be hanging out.” I gave her a winning smile.
She lifted a brow. “Like I said before, since I gather my parents sent you, thanks, but no thanks.”
I frowned. “You were serious about that?”
She nodded. “I appreciate the gesture, but given your last helping hand, I’m going to go it alone.”
What the hell? Had I just been shut down? ”I don’t understand.”
She grinned, her smile full of vinegar. “I know, it’s shocking. A woman just opted not to spend time with you. Whatever will you do with yourself? You seem resilient. I doubt your ego will be down for that long, Tin Man. You’d need a heart for that.”
Despite her taking pot shots at me, I smiled at the used of my nick name. “So, does that mean we’re on for tomorrow?”
7
Lucas
“That’s a first, huh? Strikeout?”
I slid a glance over at Roone as we walked out. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” We headed out of Greble Tower toward the car. God, I almost missed the strum and hum of the student housing life. Ever since Sebastian moved me to the penthouse in the tower next to Blake Security, I felt a little detached from everything, from my old life.
“Obviously, I didn’t hear everything that was going on, but something tells me that Bryna Tressel was not too interested in your offer to play tour guide.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. She was interested. What I don’t understand is what other thing could possibly be more exciting than having me to show her around the city?”
Roone shrugged. “You know, maybe it’s time to realize you might not be that irresistible.”
“Whatever. I’m pretty irresistible.” I grinned. “Dude, I have dimples. I’m hot.”
He snorted in response. When we reached the parking garage, I tried to get ahead of Roone and he shoved me gently, letting me know that that was still off limits. “Jesus man, I just want to get to the car. Since when does everything have to be so dramatic?”
Then he gave me his serious Roone face. That look I have come to know well; mouth set in a firm line, eyes narrowed in a deadly glare, brows slightly raised. “Yes, Your Highness, it is necessary.”
I also hated how he tried to call me ‘Your Highness’ whenever he was pissed-off at me. “Don’t get your panties in a twist.”
“Knickers.” He corrected.
“Fine, knickers, whatever you call them. I’m just giving you shit. I understand that it’s very important. I’m not to walk into any potentially dangerous situations first. I get it.”
He rounded on me. “Do you get it? Because you’re traipsing around here like you don’t. This is my job. You really don’t get that I’m supposed to take a bullet for your sorry ass.”
I hadn’t exactly been thinking about it like that. “Sorry, Roone. I’m just not used to it. It’s an adjustment.”
Roone ran a hand through his thick red hair. “Look, I get it. You and Sebastian have to deal with things, and I get that, for you especially. It’s a huge adjustment to your life, and it’s not something you were looking for or sought after. But it is what it is. So I’m begging you, just make everyone’s lives a little bit easier. If this doesn’t work out, Sebastian will call you home. One simple call to the paparazzi, and they will make your life so miserable here you’ll never want to leave home. And that will mean far more guards than you have ever seen.”
The noose tightened even more around my neck. “Yeah, I hear you. Sorry. I didn’t mean to make your job more difficult.”
“You guys never do.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Roone laughed as he led the way to the stairwell in the 3rd floor of the building. “Look mate, Sebastian isn’t a fool. Nor is he a wanker. He just doesn’t always think it through in terms of what may or may not be more difficult for the people guarding him. His whole life, he’s had people watching him, and I get that he doesn’t want that. But, it is what it is. You, I get that you are not used to it, so you think it’s cute to run off and ditch your detail, but if something happens to you, that’s my nuts in a sling.”
I frowned. I hadn’t really ever considered that. Not that I was that insensitive, I just hadn’t given it much thought. “Sorry, I didn’t know.”
“At the very least, I’d get fired. But it could get far worse than that if I was found negligent or at fault, so stop being so selfish for once. I know you don’t even mean to be, but by virtue of you thinking about yourself first, that’s called selfish.”
“Thanks for that little definition there. I understand. Like I said, I’m sorry. I didn’t think about it. It just—it’s a lot. On the one hand, it’s like, ‘Oh boy, my whole life changes.’ On the other hand, it’s like, ‘Oh boy, my whole life changes.’ I don’t think anyone can be quite ready for that.”
“Tell me about it.” Roone mumbled. “Just try not to die on my watch. Marcus’s, sure. Just not mine.”
8
Bryna
The first few days in New York were maybe off to a shaky start, but my first day at work had been bustling, and challenging, and a little scary. But I was excited. I already had an assignment. I was to go check out a busker in central park. Some teenager. Right up my alley.
I was on my own and I couldn’t wait. Now all I had to do was figure out my living situation and everything would be fine. Dana was a less-than-ideal roommate, and as it turned out, she spent a lot of time at her boyfriend’s place, which left me to care for Rufus.
But I wasn’t going to dwell on that. Today had, so far, been a great day.
I was feeling so good that I stopped to look up. Like a total cliché. But the thrum of the city made me vibrate, like I was totally alive fo
r the first time.
The smell of the exhaust and the food carts, the constant thrum of people, and the sunlight glistening off of skyscrapers were all dazzling to me.
Of course, I forgot that this was New York and not the Winston Isles. I was jostled and shoved aside, and someone muttered, “Tourist.”
I shouted after him. “Hey, that was rude.”
A voice from behind me chuckled low before saying, “Yeah well, that’s what you get for standing in the middle of the sidewalk, face tilted up, staring at skyscrapers like some kind of noob.”
I whirled around. Lucas. “Oh my God, are you following me?”
“Nope, but if you keep doing things like that, I might need to follow you to make sure that you stay out of trouble.”
“What do you want?”
“Well, I was asked to look out for you. I would like to do the favor and see it through. You’re making it really difficult to do that. So, you and I are going to work out the differences we have, so that we can both pull this off.”
“Have you considered that maybe I don’t want to spend time with you?”
He shook his head. “Impossible. You just don’t know me yet. Everybody likes me.”
I snorted. “I don’t think I do.”
“Trust me,” he flashed me a brilliant smile and my knees nearly buckled like a fool. “Just give me time. Like I said, everybody loves me.”
I glared at him as he pulled out his phone, and he handed it over.
“Now, put your phone number in here. I’m tired of having to track you down.”
Lucas
“All right, now that that’s done, let’s go. I’ll walk you home.”
I grinned as Bryna slid her glance around. “Listen, I get it. The king asked you to look out for me because my parents pressured him. You don’t actually have to do that. Why don’t we just say that we met, we had coffee, you took me around sight-seeing at Lady Liberty, all the good things.”