by Linda Verji
She folded her arms on her chest. “What exactly is bothering you?”
“I don’t know.” Mason rubbed his creased brow. “Just… nothing… I should leave. I need to open my store.”
“Okay.” A.J watched him as he slowly turned and started for the door. “Thanks for dropping by.”
Mason reached for the doorknob but didn’t turn it. Instead, he spun around to face A.J. “A.J?”
“Yeah?” She met his eyes.
“Please don’t hurt my son.” Then even before she had a chance to say anything, he opened the door and headed out, leaving her reeling in a jumble of emotions.
Why would Mason think that she might hurt Lee?
Then it hit her. Since the older man had done his research on her, he likely knew everything about her. It was no surprise that he was wary of her. In fact, it was a wonder that he hadn’t banned Lee from seeing her. If she were a parent, she’d be worried too.
But Mason had nothing to be worried about. She was done with that lifestyle. And she would never hurt Lee. Not if she could help it.
CHAPTER 15
As soon as Mason left, Ten confronted A.J. “Why did you lie?”
“What did I lie about?” Avoiding her sister’s uncomfortably keen gaze, A.J moved on to the next shelf to dust the miniature sculptures displayed there.
Ten watched her. “About being a foster child.”
There was no way in hell A.J was having this talk with her sister so she changed the subject. “Are you going to keep coming here?”
Ten snorted. “You’re avoiding the subject.”
“Yes, I am.” A.J turned to glare at her sister. “When are you leaving my store?”
“I don’t know.” Ten shrugged. “Until I figure out where you’ve hidden Dad’s painting. He’s paying me a lot for the job.”
“Well, you’ll never collect on that check.” A.J guffawed. “You’ll never find the painting.”
“Come on,” Ten huffed in frustration. “Just tell me where you’ve hidden it.”
“Yeah! That’s gonna happen,” A.J retorted sarcastically as she strode towards the visitor’s table. She knocked her sister’s legs off her table.
“Hey!” Ten protested.
“Stand up,” A.J ordered.
“Why?”
A.J tossed the rug she was carrying at her sister. “Since you’re here, you might as well clean.”
Ten blinked then blinked again. “What?”
“I was going to hire someone new anyway,” A.J said, “but since you want to waste your time here, why not earn some money while you’re at it.”
“You want to hire me?”
“Not really.” A.J heaved a deep breath. “I’m just making the best of a stupid situation. Now, stand.”
Reluctantly, but still surprisingly, Ten rose to her feet. With a low grumble beneath her breath, she asked, “How much will you pay me?”
“The same as Pete.” Struggling not to show her surprise that Ten was actually following her orders, A.J said, “I can’t pay any more.”
“Man, you’re one cheap woman,” Ten complained but the look in her eyes said she’d already decided to work at the store.
A.J studied Ten for a while trying to figure out why she’d surrendered so easily, but she couldn’t find any reason. Ten wasn’t exactly itching for money, and she didn’t have to work at Warehouse 17 to search it.
Odd! Very odd!
A.J pointed up and down the younger woman’s form. “If you’ll be working here, we’ll have to change that.”
“Change what?” Ten stared down at her body then at A.J.
“Your outfit.” A.J made a face. “You’ll scare away my clients with your vampire get-up.”
“It’s not a vampire get-up,” Ten protested as she took another look at her outfit. “It’s gothic.”
“Yeah. Whatever. You still need to change it.”
“These are the only clothes I have.”
“Give me a minute.” A.J left the store for a couple of minutes. When she came back, she was carrying a blue t-shirt. Ten was petite enough to fit into A.J’s tops but too short for her pants. A.J threw the t-shirt at her sister. “Get rid of the jacket and corset. We’ll have to do with your torn jeans for today.”
“It’s not torn, it’s ripped,” Ten complained even as she held up the blue t-shirt. “This is so ugly. Where did you find it? The reject bin?”
“Doesn’t matter,” A.J said. “You still have to wear it.”
Ten glared at the t-shirt for a few more minutes before starting towards the bathroom.
“And don’t forget to wipe that charcoal off your lips,” A.J called out behind her.
“It’s not charcoal, it’s lipstick,” Ten shouted back.
Fortunately when she reemerged in the store, the ‘lipstick’ was gone as were her dark eye-shadow and chocker. However, when A.J demanded that she take off her nose-ring, her hand flew to cup her nose.
“No, I’m not taking it off.” Ten kept her hand over her nose as if protecting it from her sister. “No. No. No.”
Her protest was so vehement that A.J had to laugh. Still, she looked okay enough with the changes she’d already made. This time A.J was the one who surrendered with a chuckle. “Okay, you can keep the nose-ring.”
Pete chose that moment to walk in.
When he saw Ten, his eyes widened and delight flooded them. “Wow. You look good.”
“Please! I look dumb.” Ten tried to sound annoyed.
“No, no,” Pete quickly reassured. “You look amazing. You should wear colors that aren’t black more often.”
“You think so?” Ten snatched a glance at Pete. When he nodded enthusiastically, she lowered her eyes to the floor and smiled.
And that’s when the truth dawned on A.J.
Maybe her insisting on staying in the store had nothing to do with Casper’s painting. Was Pete the reason Ten hadn’t made a fuss about being put to work or forced to change? Did she like the nerdy little assistant?
Well, damn!
If Sin were here, she would’ve hooted in amusement. A.J hid a smile as she told Pete, “Ten will be working with us from today.”
“Really?” Pete’s grin was almost as wide as his eyes as they lingered on Ten. Clearly, he had a thing for Ten too. “That’s awesome.”
This time A.J couldn’t hide her smile as she ordered, “Why don’t you show her the ropes?”
“Of course.” Pete nodded eagerly. “Come on, Ten. I’ll show you around.”
“I’m probably better at this job than you,” Ten grumbled half-heartedly as she followed Pete around the store.
A.J watched their interactions with concealed interest, and by mid-morning she’d decided that she was right. The two definitely liked each other. Casper would blow a gasket when he found out, she thought with glee. Moments later, that glee was marred by worry. Casper treated both A.J and Ten like his personal possessions. He’d cloistered Ten away from any relationships just as he had with A.J. If experience was anything to go by, he definitely wouldn’t like Ten being involved with any man, let alone one who worked for A.J.
Should she nip this thing in the bud? A.J wondered as she snatched a covert glance at the couple. The two were now showing pieces to a group of three women who were looking for decorative pieces for their new apartment. The smiles Pete kept giving Ten and the shy glances she kept throwing his way left no doubt that it was already too late to nip their attraction in the bud. Besides, Ten wasn’t the type of person who listened to any advice. She just did what she wanted. Like A.J.
A.J sighed. There was only once course of action; sit back and watch how this played out.
At around one in the afternoon, Lee turned up with pizza for all of them. He and A.J sat at the visitor’s table watching the couple who were by the checkout counter eating.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to hire her?” Lee asked as he studied Ten.
“I’m not sure.” A.J bit into her pizza. “But i
t’s the best thing in this situation.”
“You could kick her out,” he suggested.
“And she’d be back,” A.J said. “Probably with lots of trouble too. You don’t know Ten like I do.”
Lee turned his attention to A.J. “Are you sure you’re not just keeping her here because she’s your sister?”
“N-”A.J started to deny his words but paused. Though she and Ten weren’t related by blood, she still thought of her as family. Maybe there was some truth to Lee’s words. Pulling in a deep breath, she met his gaze. “I don’t know. I guess I feel a little sorry for her.”
“You feel sorry for her?” Lee’s eyebrows rose as he glanced at Ten before coming back to A.J. “She and Casper threatened you, and now she’s unashamedly spying on you.”
“Yeah, but she’s just following orders.” A.J shrugged. “Can’t blame her for that.”
“You can’t. But I can.” Annoyance shadowed Lee’s gaze as he glanced at Ten. “I wish we could call the cops on them.”
“You know we can’t,” A.J reminded him.
Lee’s lips parted as if he were about to say something but Ten chose that moment to cut into their conversation.
“A.J?” Ten called out.
“Yeah?” A.J turned to look at her.
“Is it true that Pete’s adopted?” Ten asked as her narrow-eyed glare remained firmly trained on Pete.
“A.J doesn’t know I’m adopted,” Pete quickly cut in before A.J could respond. “But it’s true.”
“Lies!” Ten scoffed. “I saw your father the other day, and he looks just like you.”
“That’s because my real father is his brother,” Pete explained. “You should see me and my real father standing side-by-side. We’re carbon-copies of…”
Tuning out from the two lovebirds’ conversation, A.J turned back to Lee with a laugh. “I guess I’m the odd one out in this store seeing as everyone’s adopted.”
“What are you talking about?” Lee’s eyes danced with amusement. “I’m not adopted either.”
“Yeah, you are!” A.J chuckled.
“No, I’m not,” Lee insisted.
And that’s when she saw it – the seriousness in his eyes. He wasn’t joking or lying. He really thought that he was Mason and Victoria’s biological child. Damn! Hadn’t they told him?
Tilting his head, he studied her. “What would make you think I’m adopted?”
From the solemnity in his expression, it was clear that his parents had left him in the dark.
“No, no, no,” A.J backtracked quickly. “I was just kidding. Just teasing you.”
“It didn’t sound like you were kidding.”
“That’s because my poker-face is good,” A.J hedged. She forced her expression into seriousness. “See.”
Lee watched her for a long uncomfortable moment, his gaze unblinking and giving no hints about what he was thinking. Then he smiled. “Good joke. You almost got me there.”
“I did, didn’t I?” A.J forced a smile.
“Pete.” Lee turned to face the younger man. “There’s more pizza here if you still want some.”
“Of course I want some.” Pete eagerly strode towards them.
Phew! A.J silently breathed in relief as she watched the now smiling Lee. That was a close call.
However, the fact that Lee didn’t know he was adopted stuck with her the whole day. Why hadn’t his parents told him? The answer came to her mere seconds later. Revealing his adoption would likely have brought up the past, and they, like her, wouldn’t have wanted that to happen. They, like her, were protecting him.
AFTER CLOSING FOR the day, A.J and Lee headed to his apartment. Since Lee had an early morning flight, he went to bed before her. A.J settled in his living room to enjoy his collection of movies. She was on her second movie when an odd noise coming from the direction of the hallway drew her attention. It sounded like groans.
Frowning, she turned her attention to the hallway. Another unmistakable groan echoed, it was soon followed by another and another. A.J pushed aside the coverlet that was over her lap and padded on bare feet to the hallway. The closer she got to Lee’s bedroom, the louder the groans became, sending anxiety throbbing through her.
The door was already half-open when she got there. Her muscles stiff with tension, she pushed the door fully open and entered the room. If it wasn’t for the streak of light from the hallway, the bedroom would’ve been completely dark. That streak of light was enough to illuminate Lee writhing and groaning on the king-size bed. It was obvious he was having a nightmare.
Concern streaking through her, A.J flipped the light switch. The lights came on, brightly lighting up the room, but they weren’t enough to awaken Lee.
“No, don’t leave,” he mumbled in his sleep. His face was sweaty and contorted as if he was in some kind of pain. Wriggling and twisting the sheets even more around his limbs, he muttered, “Don’t leave.”
A.J rushed across the room to bend over him. She shook him. “Lee, are you okay?”
“Mm,” he groaned and turned his sweaty face away from her.
“Wake up, Lee.” She shook him, but all she got was another pained groan. Her tone sharp with concern, she called again. “Lee, wake up.”
But he didn’t wake up. His nightmare had him firmly in its grasp.
What did one do in a situation like this? A.J felt more helpless than she’d ever felt in her life as she watched him writhe on the bed. Maybe she should get a cold towel or something. It might wake him up.
She stood but before she could move his hand suddenly clamped over her wrist. Startled, she turned back to face him. Even though his hand was like a vice over hers, his eyes remained closed.
“Don’t leave,” he pleaded under his breath. “Amara, don’t go. Please.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she lowered herself back to the bed. With her free hand, she pushed the stray strands of hair away from his damp forehead as she whispered, “I’m not going anywhere.”
It was almost as if her words penetrated his subconscious because slowly the writhing decreased as did the groans. Soon, his breath evened out into deep inhales and exhales and his grip on her wrist eased. With a relieved sigh, she moved from the bed to go to the bathroom. When she came back, she was carrying a warm towel.
Lee barely shifted as she wiped his face, neck and upper chest. She left again to get rid of the towel then moved out of the bedroom to turn the TV and lights off in the rest of the house. She reemerged in the room to turn off the lights there too before joining Lee in bed. As soon as she was beside him, he moved towards her. He slid his arm over her torso and, with a deep sigh, buried his nose into her neck. She soothed her palm over his hair as she watched him sleep.
Soon, she fell asleep too. When she opened her eyes, it was already dawn and Lee was awake. He was lying face to face with her, his eyes on her face.
Those eyes lit up with amusement as he greeted, “Morning, Sleepy Head.”
A.J blinked as she tried to focus better on him. Her voice gritty with sleep, she asked, “Were you watching me sleep?”
“Mm.” He nodded.
“That’s creepy.” Closing her eyes again, she turned away from him to face the opposite wall.
Lee dragged her right back to him. Fitting his arm beneath her shoulder, he turned her until she was facing him again. Despite her moan of protest, he kissed her forehead then curved his palm over the back of her head, urging her to tuck her face into his chest.
They stayed like that for quite a while. Him holding her tight to himself. Her pretending to sleep while reveling in the feeling of being so close to him. But eventually reality seeped in as did the memory of last night.
Without opening her eyes, she tightened her arm around his waist. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” His voice rumbled between them, his chest vibrating against hers. “Why do you ask?”
“You had a bad nightmare last night.” She lifted her face from his chest to meet his ga
ze. “Is it one of the nightmares you were talking about?”
He was quiet for a while as if debating the wisdom of admitting it, but finally he nodded. “Yeah.”
Fresh concern streaked through her. When he’d described the nightmares he’d been so dismissive, like they were just a minor inconvenience. However, last night it’d been obvious that he was in emotional pain.
A.J frowned. “Are they always that bad?”
“Yeah.” He nodded again.
“How often do they happen?”
He confessed, “A lot.”
“When did they start?”
“A long time ago but I haven’t had them for a while.”
“You mean they’d stopped?” When he nodded, she asked, “When did they start again?”
She held her breath. Hoping against hope that he didn’t give the answer she expected.
“A few weeks ago,” he said confirming her worst fears.
She would’ve asked for the exact date, but she already knew what his answer would be. The nightmares had probably restarted when she’d entered his life. She was his trigger. Shock shot through her.
“You don’t have to look so worried.” Lee cut into her panicked thoughts. “There’s nothing to be worried about. It was just a nightmare, and not even a bad one at that.”
“Oh!” A.J mumbled even as her mind raced. No, it wasn’t just a nightmare. Lee’s memories were coming back, and it was all because of her.
He was wrong. There was a lot to be worried about.
“Hey. Hey.” He tipped her chin so she was looking at him. “We’re not spending our morning like this.”
“Like how?” she asked, half dazed.
“Worrying over stupid nightmares.” Smiling, he shifted her to lie on her back before coming over her. “We’ve only got an hour or so together. Surely we can think of a better way to spend it.”
The look in his eyes left no doubt about how he wanted to spend that hour. A.J didn’t resist when he lowered his head and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him when he settled completely over her, but her worry never faded.
As he made love to her, her thoughts remained on his nightmare. It was clear that she was the one who’d brought his nightmares back, which meant one thing. Her presence in his life was bringing back his past, hurting him.