Page 44 of Smoke

He swallows hard before lifting his gaze to mine.

“Tenley.”

“I’ve got it, Daddy,” Sasha comes careening over with one of her arms wrapped around a colorful book.

“Sasha, sweetie,” I catch her attention before her bottom hits the floor. I take the book fromher, place it on the couch and take her hands in mine. “You get comfy here,” I pat the seat beside the book, “While Daddy Gabe gets you a juice box and a cookie, okay?”

I don’t wait for an answer because Sasha never says no to her favorite treats. Grabbing Stone’s hand, I drag him into the kitchen.

“I thought Tenley’s involvement was done with?” Stone had told me that Tenley had provided Smoke with information on Paddy Dunne; still, as far as I was aware, that’s as far as it went. “What’s going on?”

“She’s… sort of… been speaking to Dunne. They might have gone out on a date a couple of times.” He reaches for me. I duck out of his way.

“She’s what?” Turning my back to him, I walk a few paces before swinging back around to face him again. “You’re telling me she’s dating this man? The one who is responsible for the death of your brother and his wife?” I’m whispering, so I don’t alert Sasha. The anger is clear. “Why on earth would you do that?”

“Baby, it wasn’t my call.”

“Smoke,” I choke out, shaking my head. “But you agreed to it.”

“Oriana, it’s not that straightforward. It went to the vote, and the decision was made.” He takes a tentative step closer, and when I don’t try to stop him, he takes the rest until he’s near enough to put his hands on my hips. “It was an opportunity that we couldn’t ignore. Tenley had already crossed paths with Paddy Dunne. He made it clear he was interested. It was a way in.”

“I don’t like it, Stone. She could be in danger.”

“We’ve got eyes on her most of the time. I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.” He pulls me in for a reassuring hug. “We’ll talk later, I promise, but for now, grab me a juice box. This is going to have to be the quickest story telling of all time, otherwise Smoke is going to be on my ass.”

With Sasha tuckedup in bed and fast asleep, I fire up the coffee machine and make myself a strong black mug of stimulant. The conversation with Stone about Tenley’s involvement is far from over, and I’m determined to be alert when he finally comes in.

I curl up on the couch. The T.V. is playing some reality show about blind dating but after a few minutes my mind strays to Tenley.

What the hell does she think she’s doing? She’s a reporter, not a fucking spy for the CIA. In the past, it wasn’t unheard of for Tenley to take risks. She was a handful as a teenager, always looking to break the rules in search of the next shock factor. Now, looking back, I realize that part of that was a backlash from her insecurity, anger and the need for attention from our father. But now, she’s a fucking grown woman and should know better.

I’m raging right now, the need to face her, voice my outrage at her dangerous and careless stupidity is uncontrollable.

I grab my cell phone from where I left it on the arm of the couch and punch in Cub’s number. There’s a goodchance that he’s unable to take my call, although it’s worth a try.

“Oriana, you okay?” Cub answers on the second ring.

“Are you free? Sasha’s in bed, but I got something I need to do.”

“Sure,” he replies. “Smoke, Stone and the rest of the brothers are still at it, and might be for some time yet. The other prospects will still be around if they need anything.”

“It won’t be for long.” I knew I could rely on Cub, and at least I know that if Sasha wakes up and I’m not there, she’ll be fine. He and Sasha have a kind of brother, little sister vibe going on that’s adorable, and Cub has a protective streak when it comes to her. “I’ll need my car if that’s okay?” I request.

“No problem. I’ll grab Rex and he will take you wherever you need to go.” I don’t want an escort, but I know the guys are under strict instructions that I’m not to leave the grounds unaccompanied. “We’ll be up in around ten.”

After cutting the call, I quickly change out of my lounge pants and swap them for a pair of jeans. I grab my jacket, slip on a pair of boots and pace the space in front of the main door, waiting for them to arrive. I’m not sure who I’m angrier with. Smoke for putting Tenley in such a dangerous situation, or my stepsister for going along with it just to snag a fucking story for the newspaper.

When a rap at the door pulls me out of my internal ranting, I plaster a smile on my face and open the door to find Cub and Rex. I look past them and I’m happy to see my car that they’ve brought up for the journey.

“Hey, thanks for this,” I greet them, my attention back to them. “Before we go, Rex, there’s a box on top of the wardrobe in my old room at the back of the house. I tried to lift it down earlier, but it’s heavier than I thought. You wouldn’t mind getting that for me, would you?”

“On it.” Rex quickly bends to untie the laces of his boots and kick them off. I’m thankful that all the guys stick to my boots off at the doorway rule. The floors in here might be hard-wearing, but they’re still a nightmare to clean.

“Oh, was that Sasha?” I tilt my head as if I heard a noise from upstairs. “Oh damn, if I go up to her, she’ll bombard me with a ton of questions as to why I’m dressed to go out. I’ll never get out of here.”

“Hey, leave it to me.” Cub, already in stocking feet, heads for the stairs. “You go do what you need to do. I got it covered.”

As soon as they’re both out of sight, I grab the spare key for my car from where I’d already stashed it in my jacket pocket, and quietly sneak out the door.

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