Page 80 of Together We Burn
"I own you, huh?" she rolled her eyes. “Why do you antagonise him?”
She shrugged, then smirked. “It’s fun, and maybe I’m hoping he will have an aneurism one day.”
“Stefy,” Chris scolded. The younger Matthews daughter was too sweet for this world.
Stretching, Stefany cracked her neck and sighed. “I better get ready. Will will kick my ass if I keep him waiting.”
Alex then appeared in the kitchen, panting and dripping with sweat. Stefany sidled up to him and punched his shoulder.
“C’mon, man-slut; we’ve been summoned.”
Alex’s eyes darted to Chris as she looked away at Stefany’s words. She might not see it or might notchooseto see it, but it was clear as day that those two were fighting some sort of sister’s best friend attraction, and both knew there would be hell to pay if Stefany ever found out.
Chapter thirty-one
Stevie
“Youneedtostayhere,” I told Chris an hour later when I was dressed and ready for the meeting with Will. “Nothing will happen to you, okay? This place has had a massive security upgrade since Emilia’s men managed to take me. New locks, biometric finger scanners. Nothing but the best when Alex decided we were all staying here to keep you safe.”
Chris nodded, a slight tinge of colour reaching her cheeks.
“When will you be back?” she asked, glancing at her son sprawled out on the sofa, still in his pyjamas, watching his secondMarvelfilm, laughing as Rocky lay across his legs.
“Not sure, but you’ll be safe here. I promise.” Holstering my gun, Chris's face reddened.
“You had a gun?” she whisper-yelled, again looking toward Nate. “With an eleven-year-old in the house?”
“Gorgeous, how else do you expect us to keep you safe without them?” Alex asked, appearing from Jake’s office where he’d slept last night and tugging on a clean shirt. Emptying his gun, he took a new magazine for his back pocket and slotted them together, tucking it away and tossing the empty cartridge at Jake with a wink.
Chris put her hands on her hips, and I bit my bottom lip, trying not to laugh. Her eyes were narrowed, brows drawn together, and her glare might have worked on her child when he’d been naughty, but on two adults, one of which loomed over her like theBig Friendly Giant, her little intimidation tactic was anything but menacing.
“And I suppose you have one too?” she asked, turning her scowl to Jake.
“No, ma’am,” he said with a shake of his head, allowing Chris to relax visibly. “It’s in my sock drawer.”
If steam could billow from her ears, it would have. A vein in her forehead popped, and then I couldn’t stop the laughter that slipped from my lips.
“Chris, it’s fine,” I said, trying to appease her. “We are trained adults who know how to put on the safety. Besides, they’ve been nowhere near Nate until now, and we are leaving anyway.”
“That’s not the point, Stefy,” she said, gritting her teeth. “He’s never been around something like that before, and I don’t want him thinking it’s normal.”
I bristled. “For us, it is normal, Chris. It’s either have this and survive, or don’t and die.”
Chris’s shoulders sagged, and she let out a deep breath.
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” she said, looking resigned as she hugged her arms around her body.
“We would never have them out in the open for Nate to get his hands on, baby girl,” Alex said, running a hand from her shoulder to her wrist, giving it a light squeeze.
“I’m just not used to this.” Circling her hand briefly, she pointedly looked to where my gun was concealed under my jacket. “The danger and everything else that’s associated with your job. I’ve never seen my big sister so calmly handle a firearm like it was an accessory.”
“This one isn’t even my favourite,” I say, tapping the bulge at my ribs.
“We should get going,” Jake said, peering at his watch. “Will’s going to be pissed it’s taken us so long to get there.”
“You’re coming too?” I asked, realising today he wasn’t dressed in his usual suit and tie but rather his dark jeans, and a mouth-watering tight navy Henley, and still managed to look like he could waltz into an office and not look out of place.
I, however, was dressed in my black yoga pants, white tank top, leather jacket, and combat boots and would very much look out of place in an office. And that was just how I liked it. I enjoyed the strange looks I got from Will’s employees whenever I met some of them in the elevator. And I especially liked it when sometimes they would visibly press themselves against the back wall as soon as I entered.
