Branded

by Scarlett Finn

  Eating together was becoming one of her favorite things. She was becoming accustomed to his moans about what she was eating and the way he would poke at her plate as he made fun of her meal before he tasted and carried on to eat half of her portion. Nya played her own role of gagging at the smell of whatever he was making when he cooked for himself. But while he was eating, she would compliment him on how nice it looked or how much he seemed to enjoy it.

  Archer ate all the time, sometimes he seemed to do nothing but eat. Yet, there was something satisfying about watching him re-fuel his system. The fact that he was starting to ignore it when she sneaked salad onto his plate and eating it along with everything else, was a definite sign of progress that she was wheedling her way in to his routine.

  “You don’t have to pick up the phone,” she said, backing away from the elevator when the doors opened. A group came out and she gave them room to exit. Staring at the open carriage, she let the doors close and the lift ascended without her.

  “Next time I probably won’t,” he said. “I’m trying to do a job here. One that you put me on, Squirm.”

  The long narrow mirrors that were part of the décor in the lobby caught her eye. Glancing at the side view of herself, she almost didn’t recognize the reflection of her scrubbed-clean face.

  “I know you are,” she said. They’d deliberately wasted the day in his apartment because he wanted to speak to his contacts after dark, which drew in early at this time of year.

  People were finishing work and coming out of their apartments to socialize. Those with families would be sitting down to eat and would find it very inconvenient for a man like Archer to show up at this time of day.

  Nya trusted that he knew what he was doing and so hadn’t argued when he’d told her his intention. Coming to see Tag was a necessity as well as a distraction. Informing Tag that the situation was in hand and that she was being proactive about helping him should alleviate some of his tension. He could trust her, even if he trusted no one else in his life.

  But this visit was also a distraction because for days she’d been living in Archer’s shadow, and now the man had to work and he didn’t need her at his side anymore. Instead of pacing her apartment like an animal in a cage, she’d chosen to spend some time with her friend. Except, she wasn’t finding it easy to let go.

  “You were fine when you saw him yesterday,” Archer said. “Do you think something is different today? If you’re afraid of him, or his men, don’t go up alone. You should’ve fucking told me if you were worried about your safety, I would never have let—”

  “I’m not worried about my safety around Tag,” she said, fed up T having the same conversation with each of these men with regards to the other. “I trust Tag. He would never hurt me, just as I promised him yesterday that you would never hurt me. Both of you are going to have to get used to each other if you’re going to keep being a part of my life.”

  “If it’s not that, what’s the deal? Why all the calls? You’re not one of those clingy bitches who thinks I’m stepping out every time I’m not in your eye-line, are you?”

  Sneering at his attempt to change the tone of the conversation, she leaned on the wall. “No,” she said and could relax now that she sensed his tease. “With all the sex we’ve had in the last week you’ve probably got friction burns on your cock. I think he needs a breather.”

  “Don’t go thinking you’ve got a reprieve just ‘cause I let you take your pussy on a trip,” he said. “I don’t plan to take long. You meet me back at my place soon as you’re done. Your pussy has an appointment in my bed and she better be hungry.”

  Archer sure would be, food wasn’t the only thing he had an immense appetite for. They’d made a deal that they would meet back at his place after she was finished with Tag and had been over to her place to pick up what she needed for the next day. Archer had given her a key to his apartment on the condition that she go inside, lock the door behind her, and open it for no one. He really did have a thing about keeping her safe.

  “I haven’t forgotten. I guess having your phone number is a novelty.”

  Exchanging numbers after all they’d been through and the nights they’d spent being intimate was overdue. But that wasn’t the truth of why she kept calling him.

  “You keep this up and I’ll be disconnecting the line before the night’s through,” he said. “Now tell me why you’re so scared to go up to Tag’s.”

  “That’s not why I keep calling,” she said.

  “So why do you—”

  “I’m worried about you,” she said, knowing it wouldn’t be a popular statement. Sending him into the domain of such a dangerous man had seemed like a great idea when she was with Tag yesterday listening to his problems. Except Archer’s impulse was to refuse her request and she’d persuaded him. Now he was over there alone and she didn’t know what would happen.

  “If anything happens to you because of something I asked you to do—”

  “We talked about this,” he said, his voice lost its ease. “I told you if you couldn’t handle what I did—”

  “This isn’t about what you do to them,” she said. “This is about what they might do to you. I don’t care what you have to do, yeah, we talked about that. But if someone hurts you…”

  “Squirm,” he sighed. “There are gonna be plenty of times when we’re worried about each other. We don’t move in safe circles or hang out in safe places. One thing you can be sure of is I won’t turn my back on anyone I don’t trust. I’ve been watching my own ass all my life, I’m good at it.”

  Refuting that was impossible because he did have a fine ass. So he’d done a very good job in looking after it. She couldn’t talk to him on the phone all night. Hanging around in this lobby would eventually become conspicuous and Archer had wanted to arrive where he was going at a certain time for a reason. She didn’t know what it was, but he had one.

  Distracting him was causing a delay. “Ok,” she said. “Just remember I’m better than Cheerios and I’m not through with you yet, I still have fantasies you haven’t fulfilled for me.”

  “We’ll talk more about that later,” he said. “Get your ass up the stairs where there are people.”

  “How do you know I’m at Tag’s?” she asked. He couldn’t possibly have eyes everywhere and couldn’t even be sure that she’d come to Tag’s, it was just as possible that she was having an affair of her own.

  “I just do,” he said.

  But it would bug her if she didn’t find out. “You have to tell me how.”

  “I activated the GPS in your phone; I can track you wherever you go.”

  Instead of being creeped out, she was flattered. If she was a passing fad, he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of stealing her phone while she wasn’t looking and authorizing his own to track hers. “Can I track you?” she asked, eager to check the app on her phone when they hung up.

  Except he sniggered. “Not a chance, horny one. I let you keep tabs on me like that and you’ll be chasing my dick all over the city.”

  She had developed quite an appetite for sex herself and was relentless in seducing him when she got the idea that she wanted satisfaction. “Your dick likes being chased.”

  “Yeah, but the rest of me needs to get shit done.”

  Sighing, she gave up. “If I’m not allowed secrets, you’re not allowed them either.”

  “I’m better at keeping them than you are,” he replied. “Now get up those stairs and I’ll speak to you later.”

  While she hung up, she pressed the elevator button again. Archer was right, he would be fine; he’d been doing this for a long time and knew the procedure. She was looking forward to seeing Tag today, now that she had some positive news to share.

  seventeen

  This was her least favorite of all of Tag’s apartments and he’d had several through the years. This time, instead of the living room being filled with people, it was completely empty when she went inside. But as Nya went over to look o
ut the window, the door opened, and Tag came in by himself wearing nothing but a pair of blue sweatpants.

  “Yorkie?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I texted to say I was coming, didn’t you get my message?”

  “I did. But you didn’t say why, and I thought maybe…”

  Squinting at him, she tried to figure what conclusion he might have jumped to. “What?” she asked. “That something had happened with Archer?”

  He came into the middle of the room and shrugged before slipping his hands into his pockets. “It crossed my mind.”

  “No, everything is fine with Archer,” she said, crossing to kiss his cheek and rest her hands on his arms.

  “What have you changed?” Tag asked, scrutinizing her. “Something is different.”

  It took her a second to figure out what he was referring to. “I’m not wearing makeup.”

  His expression loosened in agreement. “Ah, that’s what it is… Why not?”

  “Long story,” she murmured because she didn’t feel the need to tell him she was paying Archer for his kindness in any way, not even with a token gesture. “Can we sit down? Talk for a bit? Are you busy?”

  “I always have time for you,” he said, which didn’t really answer her question. If he was conducting business, he wouldn’t be half naked and if he was working out or entertaining a woman, she guessed that those things could wait. “What do you need to talk about?”

  Ushering her over to the couch, he sat down beside her. Both were turned toward each other with an arm on the back of the couch. They sat so close that their knees touched and it felt nice to just be them again. Their friendship didn’t feel as damaged today as it had yesterday and she couldn’t help but wonder if that had something to do with the absence of Gio, who’d been so quick to judge her relationship with Archer, and may have poisoned Tag’s mind on the subject.

  Excited by the notion of giving him hope and reminding him that he wasn’t alone, she was ready to reveal all. “I came to tell you that I talked to Archer last night and that he’s going to help us.”

  Concern or intrigue made him frown. “With what?” he asked, raising his fist to his temple though his elbow remained on the backrest.

  “I told him we have to know what Hexam is planning and what kind of danger you might be in. He’ll find out what Hexam wants, so that we can buy him off or placate him. Archer says that money won’t do it. But I told him we’ll do whatever it takes to save your life.”

  Through the years of their friendship, she’d gotten to know Tag well. She recognized his moods and his expressions. Tonight he was blank and she couldn’t figure him out. Sitting still for a score of seconds gave her the urge to fill the silence because without moving a muscle, he managed to charge the air around them.

  “You,” he said, starting slowly, “talked to Archer about what we discussed here?”

  No one had told her that what was said was in confidence and it didn’t seem logical to refuse help that was being offered. Archer was the best at extracting information, which was exactly the service they needed.

  “I didn’t talk to him about it,” she said. “We agreed that you needed more information and I thought that he could help us get it.”

  “And you didn’t think you should discuss bringing him into the loop with me first?” he asked. Tag didn’t seem angry, just frustrated. She’d thought that he’d been hinting at bringing Archer in when they were talking yesterday, so she was shocked he was sitting here implying offense. “You didn’t think you should ask me if you should discuss my personal business with a man I don’t trust, who just last week was threatening me? Would you come in here and tell me Archer’s private business?”

  Archer didn’t have private business, or he probably did have private business, but she didn’t know anything about it and it wasn’t as pressing as this. In a way, she could accept that she knew some of Archer’s secrets because he’d told her about his past. But none of it was relevant to keeping anyone alive this minute like Tag’s situation was.

  “I didn’t go shooting my mouth off to earn brownie points, to impress him, or to insult you,” she said.

  The male ego had a lot to answer for as far as she was concerned. Nya could recognize the difference between what she should conceal and what information she could share, as evidenced by the fact that she didn’t reveal Tag’s location to Jonno, his friends, or even to Archer when her own life was at stake. She kept his secret and she would’ve kept it forever had she and Archer not had their breakthrough.

  Archer could probably make a fortune from the information he had on Tag’s whereabouts, but he hadn’t sold it and the only reason for that reprieve was her. Each of these men were an unlit match and she had the power to strike them and start a blaze. Choosing not to use that power, she instead did her best to dowse the flame that could ignite this entire situation.

  “I can’t see you sitting in this apartment all by yourself forever. Gio obviously hasn’t come up with anything because he’s known this was going on for months. I found out yesterday and already I’m taking steps to save your ass. You need to move forward. You need—”

  “I’m handling it,” he snapped and his body language changed to emphasize just how pissed off he was with her. He twisted away to put his feet on the floor and folded his arms.

  “Obviously not,” she said, calling him on his bullshit. She didn’t have to do it often, but there had been a handful of times over the last decade and a half when she had to tell him things he didn’t want to hear because nobody else would risk doing it. “You’re hiding here, you’re not dealing with what’s going on. You’re sending Gio on errands that you should be doing yourself.”

  His single laugh was snide. “Interesting observation. Can’t say I’m sorry I wasn’t the one who caught you in Archer’s bed.”

  Ignoring his jibe because it was misdirected, she stayed on track. “The people you care about are at risk.”

  “No one I care about is at risk,” he snarled.

  “Then what the hell happened at Sizzle? You do know that’s why those guys went there. The bouncers were killed so they could get in; Jamie was a brutalized to scare me. They were looking for you. This wasn’t a random attack and it wasn’t payback. The only question those men asked me was where you were.”

  Whipping around to glare, his panic was obvious. “You didn’t tell anyone—”

  “I didn’t know then,” she said. “We hadn’t spoken in a few weeks. I knew you had a job on, and I had my hands full at Sizzle. You know how it is.”

  Sometimes they could go weeks or months without talking to each other. They’d go about their lives and relationships without the need to speak to each other every ten minutes. They didn’t live in each other’s pockets. But when there was a crisis they could talk to each other twenty times a day. More often than not, they only got in touch when they had a reason to talk.

  Once every few months they’d check in and let the other know that they were still alive. But sometimes that was the extent of their relationship for a long while.

  “They were coming for you,” she said. “And instead they got me. But you should know that I would never have given you up. You should know that.”

  “I do,” he said, curling his hand around hers on her lap. “I do and I’m sorry, I’m on edge. I’m snapping and you’re right, I’m not being rational.” He ran a hand through his hair and she noticed the lines on his face seemed deeper, like psychological scars manifesting themselves. He took a deep breath and fixated on her wrist.

  “Where did you get this?” Tag asked, touching the loop on her leather wristband. “You wear it all the time these days, but I’ve never see it before.”

  “Archer gave it to me,” she said, withdrawing it from his touch.

  “It’s not really traditional jewelry for a guy to give a woman he’s dating.”

  Maybe because it wasn’t that sort of gift. “He’s not a traditional kind of guy.”
>
  “Is it a sex thing?” he asked.

  She had always had an open relationship with Tag where they could talk about anything, but thinking about Archer in that way while in this room made her squirm. “No. He’s not into the S and M thing.”

  “Didn’t think you were either,” Tag said.

  He’d misinterpreted her like she was trying to tempt Archer into the lifestyle. “I’m not. It’s not like that. It’s… it’s an inside joke.”

  Wearing the cuff wasn’t so much of a joke as it was a disguise. In time she’d have to reveal the brand to Tag, but he wasn’t ready to hear what she’d endured at the start of her relationship with Archer. They were getting dangerously close to the subject, but luckily, Tag gave up questioning her about her new lover and took her hand again.

  “They came to Sizzle looking for me, that’s what it was about?”

  “Yes.”

  Nya had avoided telling him that so far because she didn’t want him to feel guilty about the lives lost that night. It had been easy to protect him when all she was doing was withholding information. But she couldn’t let him stick his head in the sand anymore, because if he did, he would be unprepared if anyone tried to attack. It was only a matter of time before Hexam got what he wanted and pinpointed Tag’s location.

  He began to soften and she recognized the warmth of friendship returning to the eyes of the tired man who’d been immersed in his own troubles. It hadn’t occurred to her that he would be completely clueless, though it should have because she was the only living witness; no one else had made it out of the club.

  “The police weren’t even sure you were there, and neither was I,” Tag said. “No one could tell us what happened.”

  “You never asked,” she said, appreciating the way he stroked and squeezed her hands and arms.