by J. S. Scott
She looked at him for a few minutes before asking, “What would I do?”
He grinned at her, suddenly knowing exactly how he was going to get her to drive her new vehicle. “Whatever I say. The first thing you’d do is accept the car I gave you.” He saw her open her mouth to protest, so he held up a hand. “You’ll need a car. What if you have to run errands or do something for business?”
She glared at him, but dropped the subject. “What would my duties be?”
“Anything I want. When you’re feeling better, you’ll see how badly I need some organization in this house. My home in Denver is about the same, although it’s cleaner thanks to my housekeeper. But she never wants to touch my personal stuff. My brain is usually so busy thinking about current projects that I don’t get much else done.” The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of Ellie taking on the job as his personal assistant. It might put him in a hell of his own making by having her around him a lot, but it was better than worrying about how she was doing all the damn time.
“Would I have to move to Denver?” she asked cautiously.
“No. When I’m there, you can stay with me. My house there is just about the same size as this one. We’ll be going back and forth.” Zane wanted to start spending more time in Rocky Springs. His mom wasn’t getting any younger, and Rocky Springs was still home for him.
“Are you doing this because you really need me, or because you feel sorry for me?” Ellie asked bluntly.
“Believe me, I need you,” Zane answered honestly, a double meaning in his words, his cock hard just from sitting across from her at a fucking kitchen table. He admitted he was desperate for her, but not in a way that he could confess to Ellie.
“Will you allow me to pay you back from my paycheck for the car and other things you’ve bought?”
He shook his head. “No. Those are the perks of working for a rich man. Personal assistants get personal gifts sometimes.”
“Not like this,” she muttered, sounding unhappy. “What’s the salary? Benefits?”
Zane named a yearly salary and explained the benefits, as much as he knew anyway. He had a human resources department that dealt with that kind of thing.
“Oh, my God. That’s way too much.”
“It’s not much more than I paid my last assistant,” Zane said insistently. “And that was a few years ago.” He paused before adding, “I really do need you, Ellie. After what happened, I doubt I could trust anybody else to do the job.”
He held his breath as he watched her brows draw together, her expression thoughtful. Zane wondered what the hell she was thinking, but he didn’t want to stop her thought process to ask.
“Okay. I’ll do it. What would you like me to do first, boss?” she asked teasingly.
Zane released a long breath of relief. “I’d like you to get well and be happy,” he grumbled. “No work until you feel ready.”
She nodded sharply. “I’m ready.”
“Smartass,” he rasped.
“Zane, I’m already bored,” she cajoled. “Give me something to do.”
“Let’s go into town. I need a haircut, and I’d like to check out the new bookstore.”
Ellie ran a hand through her hair. “I need somebody to cut mine, too. I was going to do it myself, but I was afraid I’d screw it up because I can’t see the back very well.”
“Then let’s go.” He jumped up and held out his hand. Waiting.
Come on, sweetheart. Take my hand. Let me fucking help you.
“We need to go to the grocery store. I can’t keep making something out of nothing. We need more food.”
Zane didn’t miss the flash of fear that crept across her face when she was talking about needing food supplies. Obviously, being low on food frightened her. “We’ll fill up the cupboards. I promise.”
He’d take her out for dinner tonight, and then they could shop for other things. Zane was pretty sure it was safe enough to go into town. Either the media had given up and moved on to a new story, or they were still camped out at the hospital in Denver.
Tate had mentioned he’d taken care of the problem, and Zane hadn’t asked any questions. Knowing his youngest brother, he’d created a good story, and had steered everyone away from Rocky Springs somehow.
Zane nearly groaned with pleasure as Ellie placed her smaller hand into his and let him pull her to her feet. The way she trusted him floored him after all she’d been through.
As his engorged cock threatened to separate the zipper of his jeans, Zane knew that if the touch of her hand in his got him this hard, it was going to be a very long evening.
Ellie was exhausted as she walked down Main Street in Rocky Springs, tugging at her new short, curly haircut. Her hair had always been just a little bit wavy, but cut in a style that barely touched her shoulders instead of her lower spine, the big curls were now more pronounced.
She smiled as she looked into the window of a local clothing store, remembering how Zane had supported her by going into the salon with her. He’d even gotten his own hair cut right there beside her, and the shorter style suited him.
Like he’s not hot enough?
The hairstylist had clipped him short, and it made those Colter gray eyes pop, making them even more expressive.
“And I look like a poodle,” she mumbled to herself as she let the curl she was fingering spring back into place. The style was fine, but without the length, she thought her hair did rather resemble that of the curly-haired canine.
Still, her heart ached with gratitude that Zane had been kind enough to sit right next to her as the stylist clipped off all of her fuzzy, damaged hair.
It’s just hair.
Zane was right, of course. Ellie wasn’t vain, and it wasn’t the loss of her only decent physical asset that she was mourning. It was admitting that the toll of the entire months-long ordeal was getting to her now that she was physically healing.
She sighed as she pulled open the door of the clothing store, remembering Zane’s demanding parting words as he’d walked across the street to check out the bookstore while she went to buy a few more clothing essentials after they’d gotten groceries and loaded them into his SUV.
Don’t leave the store without everything you want.
Of course she wouldn’t buy everything she wanted. She never did. Ellie lived on a tight budget, but she had almost everything she needed to get by for a while. Thanks to Zane, she had more money in her bank account than she’d ever seen before. Her future plan was to take an accounting of what she owed him and work it off while she worked for him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t about to tell her exactly what he’d spent, but she could work the numbers out fairly accurately.
Her spirits lifted as she thought about working for Zane, learning new things as his assistant. She wanted to just be a sponge and suck up as much information as she possibly could about biotechnology. Ellie wanted to be an asset to Zane, and she knew she could be, especially if it required organization—something he desperately needed and one skill that she had where she definitely excelled.
As she walked through the door, she literally collided with a woman who was hurrying toward the exit.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ellie apologized.
“My fault. I’m always in a hurry,” the petite woman answered, breathless. She paused for a moment before she added, “Ellie?”
It was her previous landlady who owned her old apartment building. “Hello, Gina.”
“Oh, my God. I can’t believe it,” Gina squealed, hugging Ellie tightly before stepping back. “You look…”
“Tired?” Ellie suggested, feeling wiped out and knowing her body was so unused to physical activity that it would take a while to build her stamina up again.
“No, no, no,” Gina denied. “You look good. Just different.”
Probably because I’m skinny and I have hair like a
poodle.
“Getting kidnapped can change a person,” Ellie joked, still not knowing how to respond to people who looked at her like she was a ghost. She’d lived in Rocky Springs all her life, and she knew a whole lot of the residents. It seemed strange that they looked at her like she’d come back from the dead. Well, maybe they were mostly right.
“You look good.” Gina smiled at her.
“I’m sorry you had to evict me. You lost money on my apartment. I’d like to repay you.”
Gina look stunned. “I didn’t lose money, and I never evicted you. Everything was paid every month by one of the Colter boys. The scientist. He just had your things removed a little while back, when he found you alive.” She dug around in her purse and handed Ellie an envelope. “The apartment was in amazing condition. Thank you for getting it cleaned. This is your deposit. I made it out, but I wasn’t sure where to send it.”
Ellie took the check distractedly, shoving it into the pocket of her jacket. “So you never had to store my stuff? My rent was always paid on time?”
“Of course,” Gina answered earnestly. “And I never would have evicted you until I knew what had happened. I knew disappearing wasn’t like you. I knew something bad had happened.”
This means that Zane lied. But why?
“Thank you,” Ellie replied awkwardly.
Gina patted her cheek. “You’re very welcome. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you.”
Ellie watched as Gina turned and pulled open the door.
“Gina?” she called impulsively. “Did you rent my apartment out again?”
The other woman smiled. “Somebody just signed a lease today.”
Today? It wasn’t rented before? Another lie?
Ellie tried to smile as she called to the exiting woman. “Thank you.”
Gina waved as she rushed out the door.
Ellie was confused, her mind filled with questions. Why had Zane lied about her apartment already being rented? Why hadn’t he told her that he’d paid the rent every month? Why hadn’t he let her go back to her own apartment?
It was clear that her staying with him was no accident. Zane had set it up to be that way. He’d made sure she had absolutely no option but to stay with him.
She was angry, furious that he hadn’t been completely honest with her. Feeling conflicted because he’d taken such good care of her, Ellie went to find some clothing, hoping that Zane had a damn good explanation.
“I know you’re a damn genius, but do you really need that many books?”
Zane froze as he heard his brother Tate’s sarcastic voice right behind him. Hefting the books to his chest so his brother couldn’t see what they were, he turned slowly, realizing it wasn’t just Tate in the bookstore. Blake, Tate, and Marcus were all looking at him questioningly.
“I happen to enjoy reading. Unlike the rest of you, I like to keep my brain active,” he answered defensively. “What in the hell are you all doing here anyway?”
“Lara is coming home late from school, and Mom isn’t around tonight either, so we all went to get something to eat,” Tate confessed.
Zane smirked, knowing not a single one of his brothers could cook worth a damn…just like him. Their mother had spoiled every one of them by being a Betty Crocker clone. There was never a moment during their childhood when their mother hadn’t cooked like a fiend because she loved doing it. Still did. And Zane took advantage of the fact that his mother liked to cook as often as possible. He knew when his brothers were home; they conveniently sought her out at dinnertime, too.
Tate removed the books from Zane’s grasp before he could stop him, pissed off as his brother looked at the titles.
“Every one of these is a relationship book,” Tate said slowly, his eyebrow lifting as he perused the heavy one on how to romance a woman.
“Yeah? So what?” Zane snatched the books back angrily.
“I didn’t know you were seeing someone,” Blake said, sounding slightly wounded.
“I’m not,” Zane admitted.
“Then what’s with the books?” Marcus questioned curiously.
Zane would be damned if he’d let his brothers make him feel ridiculous because he wanted self-help books. At least he knew he needed help. Tate had been damn lucky to score a wife like Lara, and Blake and Marcus were too busy with work to worry about doing anything but screw a woman when they felt the need.
Blake thumbed through another stack on the table right beside Zane. “These yours too?” He paused before adding, “These are different—books on psychology: post-traumatic stress, emotional healing after trauma, and coping with post-traumatic stress.”
“Ellie?” Marcus guessed. “How is she doing?”
Zane could tell that Tate would have liked to keep poking at him, something the brothers did a lot, but Marcus’s question silenced his youngest brother.
Zane shrugged. “She’s doing as well as she can be considering she was beaten, held captive for months in a shithole, wondering what day James would decide to kill her, and being nearly starved to death.”
“Are you getting involved with her, Zane?” Tate asked in a more serious tone. “I’m all for her staying with you where she’s safe. I even helped make that happen. But she isn’t heal—”
“No,” Zane told his brother adamantly. “We aren’t involved. She’s my friend. I want to understand her. I want to help her,” he replied, his tone edgy, wishing to hell that was all he wanted from Ellie. But he’d be lying to himself. He wanted more someday, but mostly he wanted her to be happy.
“You did help,” Marcus answered reasonably. “You saved her life. You’re the only one who didn’t give up on her except Chloe. Still a damn miracle that she’s alive, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t ask,” Zane answered irritably. “I don’t want to talk about Ellie. She’s been through enough.”
“You like her. If you don’t, then I have to wonder about your choice of reading material,” Blake remarked with a smile.
Honestly, Zane hadn’t planned on getting so many books. But every one of them had jumped out at him as he looked through the small bookstore. “I want to understand her,” he snapped at his brothers. “I want to know what she went through, and I want to help her get through all of this. She lost her whole goddamn life, and it isn’t fair. All because of some bastard who just happened to cross her path.”
“She’s not going to heal overnight, Zane,” Blake warned. “It could take a while before she even feels partially normal again.”
Slamming the books down on the table next to the psychology books he’d selected, he crossed his arms and faced his brother. “I don’t care how long it takes. I’ll be there for her.”
“She might not be ready for a relationship right now, Zane. You saved her life and she’s going to be grateful,” Tate mused. “Her emotions are going to get all tangled up. Right now, you’re her hero.”
Zane knew his brothers were trying to protect him, but it irritated the crap out of him that they were insinuating that Ellie could never genuinely like him. “I’m not looking for a relationship right now. I’m just trying to right a wrong for a friend.”
“Then what’s with the books?” Marcus leaned his hip against the table and folded his arms in front of him. “Planning on meeting the woman of your dreams shortly?”
“Why is that any of your business?” Zane growled, not about to admit that he wanted Ellie to have the things she’d never experienced and never had. He wanted to be the man to make her feel alive again. Except he didn’t know a damn thing about romancing a woman. “I’m a science geek who spends all of his time in a lab. Maybe I need to learn something about women.”
“Just care about her like you’ve been doing. That’s all you really have to do,” Tate answered huskily, his tone making it obvious that he was thinking about his wife.
&nbs
p; “It’s not that simple,” Zane argued in a raspy voice, wanting to make them understand, as if they could actually help him. “I care about Ellie. I always have. But I want more than I’ve had with her before. I want her more than I ever have before. Or maybe the feelings have always been there, and I just saw her as off-limits because she was Chloe’s best friend. Now, I wish I had pursued her once we were both adults. Maybe this never would have happened to her. Do you know she’s never experienced anything remotely romantic from a guy? What in the hell is wrong with men in this town? She deserves romance. It’s something she’s never experienced, and apparently something most women dream about. I want to give her everything she wants. Fuck! I know it’s too soon, but eventually I guess I’m hoping…” His voice trailed off, not sure what else to say. Hell, he didn’t even understand his actions himself. All he knew was his compulsion to make Ellie smile again, laugh again.
Zane watched as his brothers all looked at one another before turning back to him. “You’re screwed,” Tate told him simply.
Blake and Marcus nodded in agreement, their expressions grim.
“Why?” Zane felt compelled to ask.
Tate shrugged. “You’ll figure it out when Ellie becomes all you can think about, an obsession that you can’t control. When you start worrying about her safety and whether or not she’s happy because you’re positive that you can’t live without her.”
“I’m already there,” he answered morosely, knowing his youngest brother had the most experience with relationships since he was the only married brother. “I don’t know much about what happened during her months in captivity. Sometimes I don’t even want to think about it because I’m afraid I’ll lose it. Hell, I even have nightmares about it sometimes, and I wasn’t even there. I’m pissed off as hell because she didn’t deserve what happened, and I can’t even kill James for hurting her because he’s already dead.”
“I’d feel the same way, bro,” Tate admitted. “When Lara sacrificed herself to a terrorist to save my life, I lost it when he touched her. I get it. But Lara didn’t go through what Ellie did. She didn’t spend months in captivity being treated like she wasn’t human. I’m not sure I could handle that without losing my mind. But she’s going to need to talk about it. She’s going to need to get through it before she can focus on a real relationship. I know this doesn’t help much, but just be there for her.”