“Hey!” His voice was softly accented like he spoke Spanish at home but felt comfortable with English. The smile he flashed was confident but not cocky.
“Hi,” she said, adjusting her bags.
“Can I help you carry those?” His cheeks flushed when his eyes landed on her bags. He seemed sweet, so she didn’t want to embarrass him or seem rude.
“No, I’ve got them, but thank you,” she said with a smile. Sadly, that smile seemed to encourage him.
“My name’s Jesus,” he said, drawing out the ‘h’ sound at the beginning of his name.
“Trish,” she said. Damn her need to be polite.
“What are you up to?” he asked, clearly encouraged by her friendliness.
“Just shopping.” That should have been obvious.
“Can I buy you lunch? I got the place all to myself today, so we could go back there and hang out after.”
“Thanks, but I need to meet my boyfriend.”
Drew came up behind the guy and gave Trish a scary close lipped smile. “You ready to go, baby?”
Jesus turned around and nodded at Drew, not at all intimidated. He grinned at Trish. “Sorry if I came on too strong. I didn’t realize you were with someone.”
“No worries,” Trish said as he walked away.
“Alek owes me for saving you today,” Drew said with a smirk.
Trish then rolled her eyes, which seemed to amuse Drew. “I’m gonna get a lemonade. Want one?”
“Sure,” she said, waiting until he walked away to text Lydia.
Got propositioned by Jesus.
It didn’t take Lydia long to respond.
WTF? Knew those boobs could tempt a saint, but not Jesus.
Trish smiled.
Said he has the place all to himself today. Guess his dad’s not home.
Lydia texted her back.
That is wrong on so many levels.
She couldn’t resist messing with Lydia more.
Drew scared him off.
It was always amusing when Lydia got too excited to make the voice recognition software on her phone work.
WTF??? Y r u with Drew???
That’s when her phone rang.
“Hello, Caitlin,” she said without looking at the caller ID. Naturally, Lydia had texted Caitlin to tell her Trish was at the mall with Drew.
“Do I need to make a list of men you should avoid?” Caitlin asked, sounding bored.
“I needed to buy undergarments,” she said, lowering her voice so people passing by wouldn’t hear, which was foolish since she was carrying two large Victoria’s Secret bags.
“You needed panties, so you called Drew to help you pick them out?” Caitlin asked incredulously, and Trish enjoyed making her normally cool friend’s composure slip.
“He showed up at the condo while I was getting ready to go to the mall. It was either him or Alek. If I went with Alek, he would have been in the store with me, which would have been kind of embarrassing.”
“You could have called me to go shopping with you,” Caitlin said, sounding almost hurt.
Trish smiled, mouthing a thank you to Drew when he handed her the lemonade, and was happy when he wandered off to let her talk on the phone. He really was the perfect shopping companion. “I didn’t even think about it,” Trish admitted. “Dying a couple of days ago and proving my dad was murdered yesterday has kind of thrown me off a little.”
“What the fuck?” Caitlin asked, drawing out each word.
Trish felt her cheeks heat. “Um, my dad was murdered. I went out to the place they said he killed himself with Alek, Ivy, and a police detective. One of Ivy’s cousins who sees dead people was also there. I saw him murdered and saw the men who did it.”
That was met with silence. Silence when Lydia was on the other end of the line was a rare occurrence, but Caitlin wasn’t the chatty type. Still, this was one of those times when Trish was sure she’d managed to either make Caitlin speechless or piss her off. She was betting on the latter.
“If you ever go through something like this again without taking Lydia along for emotional support, I will make your life a living hell. Am I making myself clear?” Caitlin asked calmly.
Trish’s lips twitched. Caitlin was her closest friend in the world, but she preferred delegating emotional support to others. “She would have freaked out,” Trish said.
Caitlin let out a long suffering sigh. “Fine, call me, because I don’t want you going through this kind of stuff alone. How about if I come back and stay at the condo with you? Justin can survive without me for a few nights, so you won’t have to listen to us fooling around.”
“No,” Trish said. “It would be awkward having you hanging around, trying to be supportive. It’s not your thing.”
“And you bought sexy panties to seduce Alek Draksel,” Caitlin added.
She was totally busted. “Well, yes. It’s time for me to start living, and this is my first step.”
“You understand things aren’t going anywhere with him, right? It might seem like he’ll take things further now with the psychic thing, but he’s not the commitment type.”
“I’m not looking for a commitment,” Trish said. “In fact, this is perfect, because Alek is the one man who’s not going to suddenly take an interest in me because I’m psychic.”
Caitlin laughed. “In that case, have fun. You deserve it.”
“Thanks. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”
She hung up on Caitlin and found an empty bench to sit on while she waited for Drew’s return.
“Is this seat taken?” asked a soft feminine voice.
Trish looked up and smiled at the woman. “No, help yourself.”
“Thank you,” the woman said with an angelic smile. She was beautiful with long blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and a face that could shame an angel. The woman looked at her bags. “You’ve bought quite a few things from Victoria’s Secret today.”
Trish nodded, feeling more than a little uncomfortable having this conversation with a complete stranger. “Yes, I needed to replace some things.”
The woman’s soft lilting laugh was almost creepy. “Yes, there are times when we all need something new and sexy. My name is Phoebe,” the woman said and extended a slender hand.
Trish had a sinking suspicion she could guess the woman’s last name. Her smile was harder to maintain as she took the woman’s hand. “Trish,” she replied.
When Phoebe looked over Trish’s shoulder her smile widened.
“What are you doing here?” Drew asked from Trish’s side. Trish turned her head to see Drew standing there, still holding his lemonade. The fist on his free hand was clenched tightly, and his lips were pinched together. He obviously wasn’t happy about running into his mother.
Phoebe gave him a brilliant smile. “Can’t a mother get to know her son’s girlfriend? Or is she a plaything?”
Drew didn’t answer her question. “There are people looking for you.”
“I know,” Phoebe said with a wave of her hand. “It’s best if we leave this area as soon as possible.” She stood, clutching her purse.
Drew shook his head, saying nothing.
Phoebe looked annoyed. No, she looked scary and angry, but she quickly masked her anger. “You can bring your lady friend with us. She seems rather soft for our hobbies, but we can work something out.”
Tendrils of fear moved along Trish’s body as she tried to remind herself that they were in a crowded shopping mall, so she was safe. Then again, she’d heard of people being kidnapped in crowded places before. She turned pleading eyes toward Drew, but his focus was on Phoebe. At the moment, she could only hope her faith in Drew wasn’t misplaced. He’d admitted to being a sociopath, but he’d also said he wouldn’t hurt her.
“They’re your hobbies,” Drew told his mother, sounding sad. “I can’t go with you, Mom. Just leave the area. If you don’t disappear, eventually, someone will find you, and Roman’s done giving ultimatums.”
Stunned si
lence followed Drew’s words. When Trish turned toward Phoebe, the woman’s expression was a mix of confusion and hurt, but those emotions faded into a terrifying coldness. Trish imagined many of Phoebe’s victims saw that look. It was hard to keep from shaking. Finally, Phoebe responded. “What do you mean, you can’t go with me?”
“I need to take Trish home,” Drew said.
Phoebe studied Drew for a long time before nodding. “Fine. I have some things to take care of. Remember, I’m only allowing this because I love you so much.”
Drew nodded. “I know you love me. I love you too, and that’s why I want you to run while you still have the chance.”
Without another word, Phoebe walked away.
Drew stood beside the bench, watching his mother leave with a lost expression that tugged at Trish’s heart. “If you see her again, run like hell,” he warned. “She let you go today because my reaction threw her off. Next time, you won’t be so lucky. It’s possible she’ll try to use you to get me to go with her. If that’s her plan, she won’t kill you, but that doesn’t mean she won’t torture you for fun.”
“Maybe we should have corrected her misconception,” Trish said.
“Then she wouldn’t have any reason to let you live,” he explained. “She might have even figured out you’re Alek’s, and she would have used you to get to him.”
“I don’t belong to Alek,” Trish insisted.
Drew shrugged.
“Thanks for not letting her take me. Don’t take it the wrong way, but I was worried you might let her kill me,” she said.
Rather than being offended, Drew laughed, and the tension seemed to drain from his body. “I’m kind of surprised too, babe. Part of the reason I know I’m crazy is that I’m not always sure how I’ll react.”
“Lydia says you play up the crazy too much, and you’re not that insane,” Trish said as she gathered up her bags and stood.
“Do you honestly wanna test that theory?” he asked with a smirk.
Trish held his gaze for several seconds before looking down at her lemonade and shaking her head. “Not really, but thank you for today anyway.”
“If it makes any difference, I don’t think I’d let anyone hurt you,” he said softly.
“It makes more difference than you know,” she said, giving him a shaky smile. “Would you mind if I hold your arm on the way to the car? I really don’t want to see things that aren’t there right now.”
Drew put out his arm. “Fine, but don’t go telling people about me doing this kind of stuff for you. I don’t want anyone else to expect me to be nice to them.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, patting his arm. “Your secret is safe with me.”
Chapter Seventeen
Alek was pacing the confines of Trish’s living room. He’d been edgy since she’d walked out the door with Drew. Idiot that he was, he hadn’t even considered the need to get her cell number. Considering all they’d been through, he should at least have her number on his phone. Then again, he’d been trying hard to avoid making contact with Trish for reasons he didn’t care to admit.
His brother, Roman, had forbidden him from sleeping with Trish. From the beginning, Trish had tempted him, and since he’d never been good at following Roman’s orders, they weren’t a deterrent from sleeping with a sexy woman. In fact, with his disdain for being told what to do, the order made it more likely he would sleep with her. The problem with Trish was that he liked her. It hadn’t taken him long to realize Trish was much more than a hot woman. No, she was kind and sweet-natured with everyone. Only he seemed to benefit from the sassy attitude she kept so well hidden. He liked how she was more uninhibited with him. Trish could never be a simple fling to him. In truth, it wasn’t in her nature to be that with any man.
When he heard footsteps heading toward the condo, Alek hurried to sit on the sofa and grabbed a magazine so he wouldn’t look anxious for her return. When she walked in the door, he spared her a brief glance. “How was your shopping?” he asked.
“Fine,” she said, her lips twitching. “What did you do while I was gone?”
“Just a little reading,” he said and held up the magazine.
“Good for you!” she said, and he heard the laughter in her voice. “Other than Aiden, I don’t know many men who read Cosmo.”
Alek frowned at the article he’d been pretending to read. It promised to show him how to drive his man wild in bed. “I was a little worried about you being out with Drew,” he admitted.
“As you can see, I’m fine. Drew was a perfect gentleman.”
“Don’t tell him that,” Drew whined.
“You didn’t let your mother kidnap me,” Trish reminded him.
Alek was off the sofa and across the room in a heartbeat. He gripped Trish’s arms. “What did you say?”
“We ran into Drew’s mother.” Her voice was light, not at all like a woman who’d had a run-in with a dangerous killer. While Phoebe preferred male victims, she’d been known to kill a woman when the mood struck her.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” he asked with a forced calm that nearly left him shaking.
Trish jerked away and stomped across the room. “It’s not like I approached her,” she said as she set her bags on the sofa. “The woman sat next to me and started talking because she thought Drew was my boyfriend.”
“So, you sat there and had a nice little chat with the crazy woman?” Alek demanded. Even knowing how irrational he sounded, he couldn’t help it.
Trish tapped her foot, and it looked like she wanted to hit him, which was having the usual effect of making his dick twitch against the zipper on his jeans.
“How was I supposed to know she was Drew’s mother? No one ever bothered to tell me what she looked like. As you may recall, I wasn’t important enough to be warned about her, because I was just an insignificant human.”
“You were always important to me,” Alek said without looking at Trish. He felt both Trish and Drew staring at him.
“I gotta ask a question here,” Drew said with his trademark poor timing. “Why aren’t you boning Trish?”
Trish gasped and blushed, which pissed Alek off even more. “For once in your life, could you try to think before you open your damn mouth? I’m here to take care of Trish, not take advantage of her.”
Drew pondered that for a moment. “I guess that was a little crude. Lydia doesn’t seem to get offended, so I kind of forget Trish is more prudish.”
“I am not prudish,” Trish argued.
Drew merely shrugged, still thinking hard. “It doesn’t make any sense. You’re not acting like you just want to bo- I mean, fornicate with Trish.”
“Fornicate?” Trish asked. “I’ve read your book, and you can come up with a better word than that.”
“Just because I write that stuff doesn’t mean I’m going to talk that way,” Drew argued before sighing. “Fine, I’ll try using more terms like in my book. You like Trish, so I don’t see why you aren’t taking advantage of the attraction between you.”
“I don’t have sex with every woman I like,” Alek argued, and Trish giggled. “Why are you laughing at me?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow.
Drew answered for her. “She’s laughing because you have a reputation for screw- I mean, pleasuring anything with two legs and a pulse. Okay, I don’t like this thinking before I speak thing, so fuck it. My mom thought Trish was with me, and that’s why she was talking to Trish. I guess I should feel kinda bad about that, and I might have if Trish was hurt. Who knows? Anyway, when she thought I was with Trish, I got to thinking how I’d be proud if a nice woman like Trish wanted to be with me. I’d screw it up in less than a day, but it would be nice until then.”
Trish walked over and squeezed Drew’s hand. “I’m sure you could find a nice girl.”
Drew stared at her. “Hopefully, you’re just trying to be nice. Otherwise, you’re crazier than I am.”
“Okay, so you have a few issues,” Trish said hesitant
ly.
Drew laughed. “Don’t worry about finding a polite way to say it. I’m not looking for a relationship. This wasn’t about me getting sympathy. Back to this thing about you two fucking. I don’t get why you’re giving me the just friends line. Seriously, I took Trish shopping, and the woman spent over an hour in Victoria’s Secret. My assumption is she was buying sexy panties to wear for you. Okay, it’s not really an assumption since I watched her through the window, and they are some pretty fucking sexy panties.”
Alek stifled a groan, and his gaze moved to Trish’s bags. He had been so on edge, he hadn’t paid attention to her purchases when she’d first walked in. “Don’t embarrass her,” he snapped at Drew.
Trish snorted. “I am so done with the macho posturing. Drew can fill you in on the details of what happened with his mom while I take a long bath and read a book.”
Drew’s lips curled into his trademark flirty smile. “Need any help, babe?”
When Trish glared back, Drew laughed.
“Thank you for taking me shopping,” Trish continued as she gathered up her bags and headed into her room.
Chapter Eighteen
As soon as Trish was out of the room, Alek turned his attention to Drew. “You know your mother better than anyone. Tell me what the chances are of her trying to contact Trish again.”
Drew thought for quite some time, which made Alek nervous. “It would be best if you keep Trish close to home and she avoids being around me. My mom didn’t follow us all the way back here. I took a longer route so I could lose her, but that doesn’t mean she won’t find Trish. My mom’s the one who taught me everything I know about hunting.”
“She tried to follow you back here?” Alek was working hard to keep his voice level.
Drew nodded. “I expected her to do something like that, so I was prepared to lose her. I even had a plan when we left the mall.”
“Smart,” Alek said with a nod of approval.
“Nah, it was stupid,” Drew said. “What I should have done was play it off like Trish was a human I was toying with and left her at the mall for you to pick up later. Having my mom watch me lead Trish out of the mall and work hard to protect her painted a fucking target on Trish.”
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