Page 62 of Tempt

“Fuck me,” Higgins swore with great enthusiasm. “You need to get rid of that twisted bastard once and for all. He’s making all our lives hell.”

Theo glanced over at me before looking back at the road. “What happened?”

“The club’s windows were all bashed in yesterday. That’s a Toni trademark.”

“No doubt. Can you help us?”

“Of course I can. But it comes at a price this time.”

This time?

“No.” Theo said firmly.

Silence came from the other end of the line. When Higgins finally spoke his voice was very clipped and proper, as if he were doing everything in his power to maintain control. “Theo… I’ve asked nicely,” Higgins said. “I’ve respected your wishes. I haven’t made contact. I’ve let things be. But if Toni is losing his shit, then Nicki is just as much at risk as anyone else and I want her here with me.” His voice rose with each word until it thundered through the car. Those were protective words.

The kind that come from a lover.

I got the impression there was more to Nicki’s problems than Theo was letting on.

“Fine,” Theo gritted out. “I have your word? You won’t say anything to her?”

“Not that you need it, but yes. You have my word.”

“We’ll be there in four hours.”

“The house will be ready.” Higgins hung up and the car went painfully silent.

“So we’re staying at Higgins’ tonight?”

“We’ll be safe there,” Theo said, then reached over and squeezed my knee. “I promise.”

“You keep saying that.” I was nervous. I was also more scared than I realized.

Theo frowned. “And I mean it. Toni crossed a line today. He declared war. A war I will win. I can’t change what happened, but I sure as fuck can make sure no one else gets hurt.”

Chapter 22

The entire trip back to London was tense. Not at all the way I wanted our little holiday to end. Theo was on the phone or the computer setting up a strategy to keep us safe and to figure out who on his team was causing problems

Because clearly there were problems.

“You don’t think it’s Joe, do you?”

Theo gave me a look. “No.”

“But how do you know?” I really liked Joe and he didn’t trip any of my asshole detection senses.

“Joe’s been on my team for two years. I trust him almost as much as I trust Martin.” Then he grinned at me. “That’s why I picked him for your detail. I wouldn’t put just anyone in charge of your safety.”

And while that sweet little nugget of information made my heart beat just a little bit faster, it didn’t mean Joe wasn’t dirty. “Still…”

He gave me another look. I was racking up more of them in this minute of questioning than I’d gotten in the entire time I’d known him. “This is me we’re talking about. I use a strict elimination strategy in my work. I’m using the same technique in my employees. Even Martin has to be checked and eliminated from suspicion.”

“Good.” I didn’t like the idea it could be Martin but it was comforting to know Theo was covering every base.

Martin met us at the airport with new cell phones.

“These,” Theo held up a phone that looked exactly like the one in my hand, “are an iON Innovations special edition. I’ll clone your data,” he said as I handed him my phone, “so you still have all your contacts and pictures, but this new phone isn’t traceable.”