Page 48 of Embracing the Consequences

Kara smiled at Kevin. He was always thinking of what she needed before she even thought to ask for it; all her men were. “Thank you.” She moved closer and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. He was dirty and sweaty.

He smirked, as if reading her thoughts. “What, don’t want to get dirty?”

She wrinkled her nose and stepped away from him.

“Not what you usually say, Princess,” Johnny said from behind her.

She rolled her eyes and turned toward him. “Usually you boys have a better way of getting me dirty.” She grinned.

“That can be arr—”

“Knock, knock,” a male voice called out.

Kara startled and looked toward the door. Jack Adams, Kevin’s brother, stood at the end of the hallway with a bright smile on his face. A little younger and leaner than his brother butstill very much as attractive, with the same black hair and brown eyes as Kevin, there was no mistaking they were related. He had a mischievous air about him and the smirk to match.

“Hey Jack.” Kara beamed and moved toward him.

Jack met her halfway and pulled her into a hug. “Kara, as beautiful as ever,” Jack greeted.

“Still a charmer, I see.” She smiled and hugged him back.

“Adams family trait,” Jack joked as he pulled away.

Kara gave him a smile and turned to face his friend. He looked familiar, large and intimidating. He was dressed in a pressed suit with hints of tattoos peeking over his collar. “I’ve seen you before,” Kara said as she took him in.

He gave her a tight smile. “Noah Jameson. I own Jameson Security, a private security firm. You saw me guarding Miss Stonewall from afar that day in the bar.”

Understanding dawned, and Kara nodded. “Kara Carmichael,” she introduced, shaking his hand. “How is Stephanie? I’m afraid it’s been a while since I’ve spoken to her” Kara frowned, realizing just how long it had been since she had talked to her friend. She didn’t mean for it to be so long, but life had gotten in the way.

Noah gave her another tight smile. “She could use a friend.”

Kara nodded. “I’ll give her a call,” she promised and looked around at the group of men. “These are my guys.” She motioned toward Kevin, Johnny, and Derrick. “Boys, introduce yourselves. I’ve got a phone call to make.”

There was a rumble of laughter behind her, but she didn’t stay to listen. Instead, she headed for the stairs, searching for a quiet part of her father’s mansion.

Kara gave Stephanie a call only to learn her friend was not doing well. She was stressing out over a job that she wouldn’t or couldn’t tell Kara about. But she had nothing but good things to say about Noah Jameson and his impressive suit.

“So how far down do those tattoos go?” Kara goaded, a smile on her face. She paced her father’s bedroom while she spoke on the phone.

Stephanie laughed lightly. “I wouldn’t know. He’s been extremely professional, even when I was having hissy fits over constantly being followed.” Stephanie sighed heavily.

Kara could read between the lines. She may not know her friend as well as she used to, but she could still tell when she was freaking the fuck out. “How often is he following you?” Kara asked.

“Noah and his team have moved in. There’s four of them,” Stephanie grumbled. “Four extremely large, tattooed meatheads. They’ve taken over my house. They constantly smell like sweat and too much cologne andfucking man.”

The laugh exploded out of Kara before she could stifle it. She loved when Stephanie got all riled up, the times she spoke her mind and didn’t always have tact. She was funny that way. “I’m sorry girl; I don’t mean to laugh.” She chuckled.

“Yes, you do.” Stephanie sighed and chuckled slightly herself. “I know I’m being ridiculous.”

“No.” Kara immediately sobered. “You’re not being ridiculous. Never. It was just your delivery. You have every right to your feelings, especially if they’ve invaded your home. You probably have no privacy.”

“Zilch. Zero privacy. Except maybe in the shower. Even then, I wouldn’t put it past them to be listening at the door.” Stephanie groaned.

Kara felt bad for her friend. “What’s the threat about?”

Stephanie sighed. “It’s a job I took a while back—it’s come back to bite me in the ass. I can’t really talk about it, but I was receiving threats, hence the need for private security.”

Kara frowned. “Threats enough to have four full-time guards move in?”

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