by Lexi Blake
She pinned him with a hot glare that should have made him uncomfortable, but looked good on her. “Don’t you dare try to manipulate me, Andrew Lawless. You won’t like what happens. I was being kind before, and yes, I wanted to comfort you. I wanted you period. Right now, I’m a little pissed, so no, I’m not going to sleep with you.”
It was exactly what he’d thought. “So I do one thing you think is wrong and you withdraw affection.”
“We’re in the middle of an argument,” Shelby explained with a huff. “I’m not going to stop being pissed at you because you’re horny. God, you are bad at this.”
“Yeah, I might have pointed that out.” He stared down at the report. One signature and he wouldn’t have to look at Noah Walker again. And Shelby would think he was some kind of an ass. She would think less of him, and that bothered him. Plus she had a point about keeping his enemies close. He’d wanted this? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. “All right. If I let him stay in the pool house, you have to move your things to my bedroom. You have to sleep with me. That’s the deal.”
She stared at him for a moment. It was that stare that let him know he was saying something stupid, but he wasn’t going to back down. If he was going against his every instinct, then he was going to get something out of it, and that was Shelby in his bed. Maybe it wasn’t the way he’d imagined it, but she would be there.
She took a deep breath, as though trying to find her patience. Yeah, she did that a lot around him, too. “Drew, not everything in the world is transactional.”
Well, this would be. “That’s my final offer.”
She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, she shook her head. “All right. I’ll go tell the detective we’re taking him with us, and I’ll sleep with you tonight. But you should understand that getting me into bed doesn’t mean I’ll have sex with you. That is not transactional and not negotiable.”
“Fine. It’s only because I want to keep watch over you. I want to make sure you don’t get murdered in the middle of the night.” It was a lie. A total and complete lie, but he wasn’t about to back down now. He wouldn’t touch her until she begged for it.
That was probably a lie, too.
She was still shaking her head as she walked out of the room.
He turned and his “brother” was staring straight ahead, though he didn’t seem to be looking at any one thing. Stoic. He’d taken on a stoic look.
Drew had done it that night. When they’d all been taken to the station after the fire, he’d had to hold it together even when the rest of them cried. He’d had to be strong because Riley and Bran and Mia needed him to be.
Why was this kid being strong?
Drew turned away because it didn’t matter. And that wasn’t a lie. He was doing this for Shelby and Shelby alone.
He prayed he wasn’t making a mistake that would cost them both.
• • •
Shelby smiled at baby Drew. It was hard to think of him as anything else. He looked so much like his brother it was uncanny. Drew was completely high if he thought Noah Walker wasn’t his kin in some way. “Are you sure we shouldn’t stop somewhere and get you a few things? I can have the driver take us to a store. You can’t possibly have everything you need in that backpack.”
Baby Drew smiled back. Noah’s smile was open and wide. One way he was unlike his brother. “I’m good. I have a toothbrush and stuff. I don’t need much more. I promise I won’t be any trouble. I just want to get to know my family. I still can’t believe I have a family.”
“Yes, I’m struggling with it, too.” Drew had been broody ever since she’d played the much-needed role of his conscience earlier this evening.
The driver sped along the highway, turning toward the big houses that lined Lake Travis.
Noah sat across from them, looking fidgety and uncomfortable on the bench seat of the stretch limo.
And Drew was back to drinking Scotch. Did he have a bottle everywhere? She halfway suspected if they stopped in the middle of the street, someone would be waiting with a crystal decanter.
“I’m sorry to tell you like this,” Noah began. “I guess I didn’t think about the fact that if I’m Benedict Lawless’s son, it means he cheated on your mom. I didn’t mean to hurt you that way.”
“I’m well aware of what my father was capable of,” Drew shot back.
“What Drew is trying to say is, he knew his father and mother’s relationship was on shaky ground. It’s all right. You’re not the bearer of bad news.”
“I certainly wasn’t saying that,” Drew replied sullenly.
She growled a little his way, and he went back to his Scotch. She turned to Noah. “Tomorrow we’ll go out and get you a few things. I’m sure you need some clothes. How long have you been on the street?”
“He said he was staying with friends,” Drew pointed out.
“He was lying.” Drew thought he was so smart, but she had street smarts, something he hadn’t gotten, even in foster care. “He closed his eyes every time he explained about where he’d been staying. And I think he lied about how he paid for the bus ticket.”
“You’re an expert in lie detection?” Drew was suddenly interested again.
It was good to know she could surprise him. “I worked with a clinical psychologist who was also an FBI agent. I ghostwrote a book for him and he taught me a few tricks. The eye thing is more an indicator than proof. The real way to figure out if someone is lying is in how you question him. You have to find the holes in his story. He’s already got several when it comes to his employment history. So I have to ask how you really got that card.”
“I’m not lying,” Noah said, his jaw setting in a stubborn expression. “Not about the bus ticket and not about the card. I might have been embarrassed about the fact that I can’t keep an apartment. I was staying with someone, but he turned out to be a pretty bad guy so I left and I haven’t found anything else. The card showed up at his place. I just don’t want to get him involved.”
Drew’s eyes lit up. “I see what you’re saying. So you used a friend’s address to get mail and have an address for the temp jobs.”
Noah’s arms went across his chest. “Yes, I used a friend’s address.”
“The bad guy or another one?” Drew asked.
Noah hesitated. “The bad guy.”
“And you said you don’t have a cell phone,” Drew continued, warming to his subject. “How did prospective employers contact you? You said you coded? Who did you code for? I know pretty much everyone in the industry.”
“I don’t remember them all,” Noah replied. “And I went into the office every day when it opened. That was how I found out if there was work for me or not.”
She winced. It was so obvious. He wasn’t a good liar. Another thing he had in common with Drew. Drew Lawless might be one of the world’s most successful men, but he couldn’t lie to save his life. Maybe he could do it when it was all business, but he was crap about the personal stuff.
And he was an idiot when it came to relationships. If she thought for a second that he was truly using his brother’s predicament to get her in bed, she would have walked away. She’d put him in a corner, and it was the only way he knew to get out.
“Sweetie, that’s not how temp agencies work,” she said gently. “They’re never going to hire a person without a phone. Not in the tech world. I could understand that if you were working manual labor. Then you could show up and get work. The tech world requires more.”
“Can you really code?” Drew asked flatly.
No hesitation there. The question put some fire in the kid’s eyes. “Yes. I’m one of the best coders in New York. I might not have some fancy house, but I’ll put my talent up against yours any day of the week, brother.”
Drew sighed. “Who were you working for?”
She’d suspected the same thing. “Were you hack
ing?”
Noah looked out the window. “I thought I was doing good at the time, and it was the only way he would let me stay at his place. I didn’t realize how black his hat was until later.”
A black hat hacker. She wasn’t terribly surprised. If Noah was talented and had no other options, there would be a place for him on the dark web. “It’s okay, Noah.”
“It’s not okay,” Drew shot back. “Do you know what black hats do?”
Did he think she was so naive? “Like you’ve never hacked a system you shouldn’t have? Do you think I didn’t make a study of you? Why did the FBI show up on your doorstep fifteen years ago? See, you think there’s no evidence of that, but I can hire my own hacker.”
He turned to her. “Sometimes I forget why I find you so attractive. Then you remind me.”
It was good to know that her hiring a hacker got Drew hot. “I’m just saying that you shouldn’t be so hypocritical.”
“I’m not being hypocritical, baby.” His hand slid over hers. “If he’s involved with a black hat, that could come back on everyone in his world. I do know how that goes. So tell me, Noah. Did you steal cash from this guy? Because that usually doesn’t go well.”
Noah sat back, his arms coming down and his whole body relaxing. “No, I didn’t steal money from him. I did one last job and he gave me the money to get down here. I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to know I’d done something illegal. But no one is coming after me.”
“Well, they never actually tell you they’re coming after you,” Drew pointed out. “Even if they did, how exactly would they get hold of you since you don’t have a cell phone? Maybe he’ll e-mail you a convenient reminder that you’re on the shit list.”
If he wasn’t so damn hot . . . “It’s fine, Noah. I just needed to figure out the truth.”
Even in the low light, she could see the way he flushed. “I’m sorry.”
The limo turned into the circular drive and stopped. She was happy she’d taken a tour of the grounds before they’d headed to Dallas earlier in the day. She rather thought Drew would walk away and leave the kid wondering what to do. “I’m going to show you to the pool house. I think you’ll like it. It’s got a kitchenette, but you’re more than welcome to come and have breakfast with us in the morning.”
“He is?” Drew asked as the driver opened the door.
So frustrating. “He is.”
“We eat at seven,” Drew said begrudgingly. “And if I find out you’re some kind of spy working me for any reason, we’ll have an execution, too.”
Drew got out of the limo without another word.
“I don’t think he likes me,” Noah said with a frown.
“His bark is worse than his bite,” she tried to assure him. “In the morning, things are going to look so much better. You’ll see.”
“I hope so.” Noah stared out the open door as though wondering if he should simply stay where he was. “He’s a lot more intimidating than I thought he would be.”
She was sure he’d dreamed of being welcomed with open arms. She wished she could promise Drew would change overnight, but she doubted it. Besides, she still wasn’t sure why Noah was here in the first place. She only knew that they wouldn’t find out if they didn’t take him in. And Drew’s pushing him away wasn’t going to help Noah open up. “Give him some time. You’ll see.”
Noah scrambled out, but when she moved to exit the vehicle, Drew was standing right there, waiting to help her out of the limo.
He said nothing, but followed her into the house and toward the back. Even when they got to the pool house and she showed him how to lock the door, Drew was hanging around like a gorgeous gargoyle, looming over the situation and making everyone wary that he would swoop down at any moment.
Unfortunately, she didn’t know everything about the high-tech house. “Drew, do you want to show him how to use the communication system?”
The rooms of the home and the outlying buildings were connected through a speaker system. She’d been told that even the small boathouse where Drew kept the powerboat he never used had a connection to the main house.
“Not particularly,” Drew replied.
“I’ll be fine.” Noah stood in the middle of the house, his backpack in hand.
“I’m setting the alarm, so if you try to break into the main house during the night, you should know that I’ve got lasers set up,” Drew said, his face completely serious. “High-tech lasers. They’ll cut your legs right off but cauterize the wound so you’re still alive and I can torture you later. I won’t even wake up.”
“He’s joking.” She hoped he was joking.
Noah’s lips had curved up the tiniest bit. “I’ll make sure I don’t break in.”
“Or out,” Drew said. “Wouldn’t want to unleash the hounds on you.”
“Again, he’s joking. He doesn’t have any pets, much less the kind that would eat you.” She found herself being tugged along. “Night, Noah.”
He looked so lost as he held up a hand. “Night, Shelby. And thank you. You, too, Drew.”
“That’s Mr. Lawless to you,” Drew said as he pulled her toward the main house. “And don’t forget about the lasers.”
The minute she was in the house, Drew slammed the door, locked it, and immediately went to set the alarm. He pulled out his cell phone, touching a button. “Reminder for Monday. Buy lasers.”
“You know you’re infuriating, right?”
He shrugged. “A guy can never be too cautious. I’ll meet you in bed. If you’re not there in fifteen minutes, I’ll come looking for you.”
She made it to the room she’d slept in for the last week and got ready for bed with a sigh. She was tired, and the evening hadn’t gone anything close to the way she wanted it to. There was no way she would admit it to Drew, but she’d wanted this to end in some kind of a romantic fashion, too.
Maybe it was for the best. They’d been moving far too fast, allowing chemistry to drive them when they needed to form a friendship first.
Could he form a friendship with her? Was he capable of acknowledging what he needed? Or would she always have to fight him?
Oddly, she never remembered her parents fighting at all. They’d been a quiet, calm family, and then her father had announced he didn’t want to be a part of them anymore. She suspected there had been no passion between them. Her mother had been so much happier when she was alone.
Had she ever felt passion? Had she ever wanted a man so much she was willing to put up with his odd and frustrating nature? Sometimes she wondered if her mother had thought of her father at all after he’d left.
Shelby worried no matter what happened that she would think about Drew Lawless for the rest of her days. She thought about him even when she was angry with him.
She washed off her makeup and found her least sexy pajamas.
Tomorrow, apparently she was moving into the master bedroom, and she was sure he thought once she was there she would fall into his arms and he would get the sex he so obviously wanted. She had different plans. If this was going to work, they needed to take it slow, needed to get to know each other and make a thoughtful decision about whether or not they could have a relationship once the job was over.
The minute she walked in, he looked up. He was sitting in bed, his tablet in front of him. “I usually sleep on the right side. Is that okay?”
Now he got nervous? It seemed like her main role in this relationship was to smooth over the awkwardness that went hand in hand with Drew’s brilliance. “It’s fine, but you should understand that I’m a cover hog.”
He put the tablet on the table by the bed. “All right.”
So serious. She climbed into the big bed. For a man who claimed he slept with few women, his bed had been built for getting busy. Maybe with multiple partners. It was massive. She would have no problem not touching Drew all nigh
t if she chose.
He turned off the light and settled in. “I’m sorry if I disappointed you, Shelby. I was trying to protect you. And the rest of them. I have to decide how to tell my siblings about Noah.”
She hadn’t thought about that. Drew would be forced to choose. He could malign his father’s name or bring his siblings in on the truth—that Noah was very likely their full-blooded brother. One way or another they would have to know, but she realized it was hard for Drew. He held himself apart from the very people who should support him because he was still being their rock, still trying to play the father figure even though the children were fully grown.
“I think you have a couple of days,” she offered, turning toward him.
“I don’t sleep a lot,” he said quietly. “If you wake up and I’m not here, I’ll be in my office. I tend to go to bed pretty late.”
“You can stay up if you like. I’m a morning person. You don’t have to change your habits for me.”
“I want to stay with you,” he said quietly.
She moved closer. No sex for them, but she could give him something else. It had been a long day and he probably did need some comfort. “Why don’t you hold me until I go to sleep?”
She found herself wrapped up in his arms. Maybe she wouldn’t need so many covers. He was kind of a furnace. She let her head find his muscled chest.
Her hot geek.
“It’s going be okay, Drew.”
He sighed, his body finally seeming to relax. “I don’t know. I don’t like having him here.”
Drew didn’t like change period, from what she could tell, and having a new brother was definitely change. “You’ll see. It’s going to be all right.”
Despite what he’d said, he was asleep in minutes and Shelby was left praying she hadn’t told him a lie.
Chapter Six
Drew woke up with a start because there was something wrong. Shelby had turned on the lights. Why had she turned on the lights in the middle of the night? His heart raced a bit as he looked around his big bedroom.