Page 90 of Danger and Dominance
Seeing her sit, David sighed, seemingly giving up on going a sixth round of “Is there anything else you remember?”with Cassidy now that she was flanked by Ashley and Claudia.He moved around the couch, heading for the table where Mason, Drew, and Jensen were sitting, reviewing security footage from Jensen’s house from the past few weeks to see if there was something they’d missed.
Definitely not the way she’d imagined spending her Saturday morning.
Ashley leaned in conspiratorially.
“I know you guys are supposed to be keeping things to the club, but since you’re staying here now, I got you some of the good stuff.”She gave the little plastic bag a shake.
“Her ex just found her, and you think she needs sexy underwear?”David whirled around, proving that he had been listening.
“I’m just saying, it’s a one-bedroom apartment, and the safest place for her to sleep is either right next to or under you,” Ashley retorted.“Tell me I’m wrong.”
Scowling, David turned away from her.Apparently, he was going to pretend he hadn’t heard her.Instead, he leaned over Drew’s shoulder, looking at something on the other man’s screen.Drew gave him a glance, then shot another apologetic glance to Cassidy before refocusing.The moment he’d arrived, he’d apologized for not taking her flat tire more seriously, but honestly, she hadn’t wanted him to.
It had been nice to have a night of not worrying about Don last night.If she’d been freaking out, thinking it was Don who had given her a flat tire, last night with David wouldn’t have happened.At least this way, things had already shifted between them before she went on lockdown with him.
If she’d had to move in andthenthey’d slept together… would David have even slept with her under those circumstances?
Probably not.Even if he moved her in with him, he would probably have insisted on sleeping on the couch.It was the right thing to do.But Ashely was right—Cassidy would be safest with him at her side.That’s definitely where she’dfeelsafest, and that had to count for something.
Though she hoped she wouldn’t need sexy underwear to convince him of that.She wasn’t sure she’d be feeling very sexy.
On the other hand, just in case Don catches up to me, I might as well enjoy myself while I can.
Before being kidnapped or killed or whatever he planned to do.
Maudlin thoughts, but that wasn’t surprising.What was surprising was that they felt a little farther away.Like something that could happen but wasn’t imminent.They were just thoughts.Her body wasn’t reacting like it normally did, as if it was real or about to happen at any moment.
Because she felt safe here.
David
“Maybe we should move her to Naomi’s shelter?”Drew suggested, though it was more of a question than a statement.“That’s not directly connected to any of us, and they’re good at making people disappear.”
“She’s perfectly safe here,” David growled, though deep down, he knew Drew’s suggestion wasn’t a bad one.It just wasn’t the course of action he wanted to take at the moment.He wanted her here where he could see her.Where he could protect her.“Besides, until we know exactly how he found her, I don’t want her unprotected.I also don’t want to put anyone else at risk.”
“They’re used to it.He wouldn’t be the first stalker ex they’ve handled,” Drew pointed out, though he wasn’t really arguing.
“I know, but she came to us, not to Peggy’s House.If we need to, we’ll use them, but our workload has lightened a little, and they don’t need the heat.What’s that?”He pointed at the screen.
Drew, Mason, and Jensen were each looking at a different camera’s feed record.Drew had the back of the house.David didn’t really need to be looking over anyone’s shoulder, but it was the only thing keeping him from interrupting the women’s conversation.Again.
“Are we considering that this might not have anything to do with Cassidy?”Mason asked without looking up from his screen.
“What else could it be?”Jensen asked.
“Well, she’s not the only one living at that house.There’s also you and Mick.”
Mick was back at the house right now, with Harris’ team, looking through Cassidy’s things to see if there was anything suspicious among them.David hated the invasion of privacy, but it was necessary.That was part of why he’d insisted on moving Cassidy immediately.That way, at least she didn’t have to watch all of her stuff being examined by a team.
“Mick did go on a date recently, but as far as I know, it went well,” Jensen admitted.“He said he’s going to be seeing her again soon.I can’t imagine why she would have sent him unsigned black roses.”
“They do seem like a threat,” Claudia agreed, coming up on the other side of the table where Jensen was sitting.She’d left Ashley and Cassidy on the couch.When David glanced over, he saw that Ashley was pulling out the clothing she’d brought for Cassidy to borrow, showing her the selection.“Red roses?Romantic, for the most part, especially in modern terms.For us, black roses rarely mean anything good.”
“Rarely?”David asked, looking up with a frown.“Not always?”
“Sometimes, they mean mystery or rebirth.In Greek mythology, they were created from the blood of Aphrodite and Adonis after their tragic love affair, so they symbolize love and despair.They can mean eternal love, too.”
“Or?”Mason prompted, also looking up from his screen with an interested expression.He and Claudia would often get into discussions about mythology, though Claudia was more interested in the stories themselves, and Mason was more interested in what the myths said about the people who told them.
