Page 4

PATRICK

I rolled Vira over in bed and slid between her legs again, but she pushed at my chest, getting out from under me. I sighed, knowing what was coming before she said a word.

“You should go home.”

She tugged a pink silk robe around her body and tied it shut as she walked over to her dresser and tugged out some clean clothes. I watched the silk brush against the back of her thighs and wondered what it would take to get her back into bed. I’d had no luck, as of yet, getting her to stay in bed.

“Sure. No problem.”

I tossed off the covers and slid from the bed, snatching my jeans off the floor.

I wasn’t pissed—not about her kicking me out.

I knew she didn’t want more than a fling, but I was tired of the distant attitude she kept with everyone, including me.

I was in her bed. The least she could do was open up and give me a little indication of what was going on in her head.

“What crawled up your ass?” she asked as she turned to face me.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

“Jesus, you sound like a woman,” she snapped. “If you have something to say, just say it.”

Turning to her, I tugged my shirt over my head. “There’s nothing to say. Honestly. You don’t want to talk, so that’s the way it is.”

“Because that’s not the relationship we have.”

“I’m aware, and I’m not asking you to spill your guts to me, but we can have an actual fucking conversation from time to time.”

“And how would that go?”

“I don’t know, Vira. I might say, How the hell did you end up with that prick chasing you? And then you might answer the fucking question.”

“You already know why he’s chasing me. What good would talking about it do?”

I sighed, scrubbing my hand over my face. This whole thing was getting old. I didn’t mind our arrangement, but not being able to have a simple conversation without her yelling at me was wearing on my nerves.

“I’ll see you later, Vira.” I snatched my wallet and keys off the table and headed for the door.

“I don’t know what else to tell you,” she called out just as I was about to head downstairs.

I stopped, wondering if this time she was actually going to fucking talk to me.

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you anything, but I left my old life behind, and I don’t like talking about it.”

“I’m not asking for much.”

She eyed me for a moment. “The last man I tried to have a relationship with…I really screwed him over. That’s why I keep my distance and don’t talk about things. I know my limitations, Patrick. A relationship or anything resembling one will never happen.”

“I already knew that.”

She nodded with a laugh. “He did, too. And the thing is, I fell hard for him, but I’m not cut out for more. I don’t want commitments, and I don’t want some flowery arrangement.”

I could respect that. I’d never met a woman who wanted that, but who was I to argue with her? “What do you want?”

“Sex.”

“Besides that? What’s your plan in all this?”

“You mean, if I ever get to leave this place?” She shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know anymore. I’ve been hiding out here for so long, I don’t know what to do. I feel like?—”

“Like what?”

“Like this place is the last thing I’ll ever see.

” Her eyes drifted to mine, but there was something about the way she was looking at me, like she could see the doom headed her way.

“He won’t give up until he gets his way.

I don’t know why he’s so desperate for my father’s money. He’s got plenty on his own by now.”

“For some people, there’s no such thing as enough money.”

“But why? He’s made it impossible for me to leave here. No one’s been able to track his movements and get close enough to take him out. Before Cash disappeared, he told me he couldn’t get close to Richard.”

“Arrington, right?”

She nodded. “He’s just a businessman. Why would he be so hard to catch? And why is he so desperate to get his hands on my father’s assets?”

“Did you talk to Cash about this?” It was curious that a man was so obsessed with taking over her father’s fortune.

“The only thing we could find were holdings my father had kept hidden. But nothing was out of the ordinary.”

That was strange, and didn’t at all explain why Cash hadn’t caught the bastard. Meanwhile, Vira was just hanging out here, waiting for this whole thing to be over. “I’ll check into it, okay?”

“Sure.” She stood and walked away without another word.

“In the meantime, maybe you should?—”

“Should what?” she laughed. “There’s nothing for me to do here.”

“You could hang out at OPS.”

“Sounds fun. Seriously. But I’m fine.”

I shoved my hands in my pockets, unsure what to say to her. There was literally nothing I could say or do right now to make this better. Other than find out where the search for this asshole stood.

“I’ll look into it and check back with you.”

“Okay.”

Her answer was simple enough, but I could hear the disbelief in her voice that anything would come of it.

She’d been waiting too long already. By the time I made it to the office, I was pissed as hell that Cash had dropped the ball on this.

How long did he expect Vira to sit around cooling her heels.

I knocked on Lock’s door and entered without waiting for an answer. “Do you know anything about Vira’s case?”

“Yeah. What about it?” he asked, not looking up from what he was working on.

“Why the fuck didn’t Cash catch the asshole after her?”

Slowly, his eyes met mine in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Vira’s been here for years waiting for this shit to be solved. Why the fuck didn’t he take care of it?”

“Maybe you didn’t get the memo, but the guy is in the wind.”

“And we have the best tech experts working on it. Call her in here,” I demanded, pissed that no one else was taking this seriously.

“Are you okay, man?” he asked as he dialed Rae. “I’ve never seen you this tense before.”

That was only because I had to sit there and see the look of dejection on Vira’s face. “I’m fine. I just want to get this shit sorted.”

“Rae,” he spoke into the phone. “Can you come to my office?” He rolled his eyes with a sigh. “Yes, I’m aware it’s still Cash’s office, and no, I’m not planning on moving in permanently.” He hung up, shaking his head. “She’ll be right in. So, what caused this sudden curiosity?”

“My dick got the better of me,” I admitted.

“I knew you were fucking her, but I didn’t think it was serious.”

“It’s not,” I argued. “But she’s just hanging out in one of our houses, waiting for something to happen.”

“Look, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but Cash worked in conjunction with Reed on this one. I’m telling you, whatever this Arrington guy is after her for, we can’t figure it out.”

“Fake-boss,” Rae said as she sauntered into the office. “Why was I summoned?”

“Can you please explain to Romeo that we don’t have any new information on Vira’s case?”

She turned to me with a straight face and said, “We don’t have any new information on Vira’s case.”

“Fuck, Rae, you think maybe you could be a little more informative?” Lock hissed.

She turned back to me and said, “Sorry. There’s still no new information on Vira’s case. I checked.”

“There has to be something. How the hell does a guy like this just fall off the radar?”

“It’s simple. He hides his tracks really, really well.” She turned to Lock. “Is there anything else?”

Lock rolled his eyes and waved her off.

“She’s our best tech and she can’t find anything? How is that possible?”

“I’m guessing he has someone with really good connections.”

“So, that’s it?”

Lock shrugged. “Look, I know it sucks, but she’s safe here. For now, that has to be enough.”

I didn’t like it, but he was right. If there was no new information, there was nothing else we could do.

Spending time with Vira was great, but it wasn’t enough. I needed something more, and I wasn’t sure what that was. I didn’t really want a relationship, but I needed more than what Vira was offering. What was wrong with sex and good company without the commitment?

I headed into my house and tossed the keys on the kitchen counter as I made my way to the fridge.

Taking out a beer, I looked around my house with the basic interior design and wondered if I needed to add a little something to the space.

I’d been in here a year and hadn’t really figured out what was missing.

With a TV and two chairs in the living room, I wasn’t sure what more I could add. I didn’t need a kitchen table since it was just me. And my bedroom furniture was pretty minimal, but that was just my style. Still, the empty white walls needed something to bring the house together.

Grabbing my computer, I searched all over for something to fill the walls.

But what did a guy hang up? I didn’t have a woman to impress, nor did I want giant flowers on the walls that would remind me of the allergy commercials.

The last thing I needed was to dream about being beaten to death by nature.

“Yo!” FNG shouted as he strode through my front door. “Hey, do you have any spare canes?”

I slowly looked up from my computer, cocking my head at him in confusion. “Canes?”

“Yeah, you know, for walking. I have this new idea for a weapon,” he grinned. “It’s sort of a spinoff of the umbrella. It’s gonna be killer.”

“And you came to me for canes. Because I look like an old man to you?”

“Well…no, but…you never know who has them.”

I had nothing to say to that. “Nope. I’m afraid I’m all out.”

The dejected look on his face was hilarious. “Yeah, that’s what everyone is saying. I guess I can go to Goodwill.”

“Right. Stealing canes from the elderly and the needy. That’s always the way to go.”

“Hey, it’s not stealing. And who says their need is greater than mine?”

“I would guess the doctors who tell them they need extra balance when walking. Then again, your invention of a knife-wielding cane might change the course of history.”

“See? That’s all I’m saying.”