Page 57 of Bad Boy in Her Bed

If they were fourteen, it would be cute.But they weren’t kids, and there was nothing cute about the hardened determination she’d heard in his voice as his truck’s engine rumbled to life.

“I don’t run.”

“Angelo,” she hissed as she waved to get his attention.“This is urgent.”

He held a finger up and said his goodbyes before he set his phone down, crossed his arms, and stared her down.“Urgent.Nothing good is ever urgent for you.”

Matching his pose, she glared up at him.“This is.I’m taking the red-eye to Nebraska tonight.”

His mouth opened to protest, snapping shut as a smile spread across his face.“Well, well, well, Miss Carter.Does your sudden sense of urgency have anything to do with a man?Because I don’t believe I’ve seen you this worked up in years.Not even when you cracked the Hickens account.”

“First, it’s none of your business.Second, it’s none of your business.And third, it’s none of your business.”

The man who’d all but snatched her from her university graduation ceremony and planted her squarely in his elite firm let out a barking laugh.“You’ve checked your phone a dozen times since you sat down.Who is he?An old flame from high school?A rekindled passion from your past?”

“Birch Baker from Serpent’s Tongue Ink.”

Angelo’s greying brows shot up.“Tell me this is a joke intended to give me a heart attack so you can take over the company.Because frankly, that would be less messy.”

Swallowing, she shook her head.“You saw the account records I submitted.I followed the numbers, and none of them lead to Birch.Not one, Angelo.”Glancing down at her silent phone again, she clutched it tighter.“My findings would stand up in any court.He’s clear.”

“His partner isn’t.”

“His partner will go down alone.”

Rubbing his chin, he sighed.“But the optics, Jocelyn.You know how this will play out.”

She stood, walked over to him, and placed both hands on the desk separating them.“Fuck the optics.”

He removed his glasses and set them down.“What do I always tell you?Keep your wits about you.Jocelyn, you’ve grown up a lot since you started here.You know how the world works.You know how desperation works.You know how men work.And you know better than most how desperate men work in our world.”

“I also know the difference between the good guys and the bad guys, Angelo.After all, I know you, don’t I?”

His brows furrowed, the grey in them more pronounced than it was a few months ago.“Don’t do anything reckless tonight that you’ll regret tomorrow.”

Straightening up, she checked her phone again as she turned toward the door.“The only reckless thing I’ve done where Birch is concerned is fall in love with him, and I don’t regret a single fucking second of it.”

*

Birch sat outsidethe prison and watched the clock as the minutes ticked by.

Everything was in order, everything aligned.

It took twenty-eight hours to ensure his plan was tight, the lessons from the past setting his game plan into play with sniper precision.

The heavy gates were heaved open by the armed guards on alert as he stepped out of his car and walked in.He kept his identification in his hand while he placed one of the final pieces on the board.

The visitor gauntlet was a trial he endured without complaint, going through the motions until he was led into the large room where dozens of others sat waiting for their loved ones.A baby fussed behind him.The woman to his left touched up her lipstick over and over until the guards entered, their prisoners trudging through the entrance with wary, cautiously optimistic eyes.

Winter stalked over to him with a scowl, sitting only after he took a moment to assess his surroundings.“Why are you here?”

Leaning forward, he looked his older brother in the eye.“I wanted to give you a heads up.You and me might be roomies soon.”

“No, we fucking won’t,” Winter growled low, baring his teeth.“Whatever it is, get the fuck out of it.”

Shaking his head, he glanced at the guard closest to them, the man too far away to listen in.“I need names,” he ground out.“Solid names on the outside I can pass to Grey and River as backup.”

His brother’s eyes bore into him, and his lips drew into a tight line.“What the fuck did you do?”

---