Page 12 of The Devil After Dark

eleven

LIANA

Somehow I had slept a few hours and when I woke up, Rome’s torn business card was not on the coffee table where I was sure I had abandoned it.

The masked man had come and taken it while I slept.

It was the only explanation. I wanted to cry.

Why was this happening? My phone buzzing in my hand made me jump.

When I looked down, it was just a message from Roger.

Sent you an email. Stop by my office when you get in.

I rolled my eyes. Okay, Roger.

I looked up from the email I was reading on my phone as a black town car pulled up to the bus stop.

The door opened and Zac got out. “Get in, Liana. Cassio asked me to drive you to work today,” he said as he quickly rounded the car and opened the door for me.

My bus stop mates just stared at me and I just stared at Zac.

“Let’s go,” Zac said again and extended his hand.

My feet moved without thinking. I guess I was riding to work in a fancy black car. “Why are you giving me a ride?” I asked as we pulled away from the bus stop.

“Cassio requested it,” Zac responded simply. How they knew what time I went to work was beyond me. “Oh, and I will pick you up at the end of the day too,” he added.

“You do not need to do that, Zac,” I said as I settled into the seat.

“Not my decision,” Zac said as he smiled in the rear view mirror at me.

“So … why did he ask you to give me a ride?” I pressed.

“It is not my business to ask those questions.” Of course it wasn’t.

I looked out the window at the familiar drive towards my office.

This was weird. First Cassio shows up to crash my dinner and now he’s sending his personal car?

Maybe he was into me. I could hope right?

Maybe dinner last night was not just some weird thank you for helping him and Jason.

I should not be hoping for this. He was a magic wielder.

He was a somebody in this city and out of my league.

Zac opened the door for me and I realized we had already arrived at my office building.

“I will be back at five, but I will wait until you are done. Don’t end your day early on my account. ”

I thanked him and watched him drive away.

“Okay! And who dropped you off this morning?” Thea asked as she came walking towards me from the parking lot.

“Oh gods. It’s a long story.” I rolled my eyes.

Thea laughed and I fell into step next to her as we entered the building. “I’ve got time this morning.”

“You know that biker? The night of the shooting? Well he interrupted my dinner last night and we actually had a nice time. Nothing happened besides dinner, but yeah … that was his driver. Apparently, he is picking me up at the end of the day too.” I shortened the story as much as I could.

Thea was the person I told everything to.

She was my best friend. Hell the people in this office were my only friends.

“Wait … nothing happened like he did not stay over or you didn’t stay over, but his driver still came to give you a ride to work?” Thea questioned suspiciously as she stopped me in the hallway.

I opened and closed my mouth. It was weird. Really weird. And a lot of really weird was already going on. “Yes,” I said carefully.

“Soooo, maybe that means the hot business biker is going to interrupt another one of your dinners,” Thea teased. “Please tell me it’s happening, because I love that for you.”

“Thea …”

“What? You use work as an excuse to not have time for men. You aren’t getting any younger, you know. If you want the rest of your life to be silicone dicks and romance novels then be my guest, but I personally enjoy when there is a man attached to the dick I’m fucking.”

“Thea!” I gasped as my cheeks heated.

She just waved her hand at me and left me laughing to myself at my office door.

I would not be mad if Cassio did surprise me with another dinner.

Being with him had been easy and fun. I had not expected anything more from him, but maybe I could dream a little.

But then there was the issue of the man who had broken into my house and given me the best orgasm of my life—my office phone started ringing and I quickly answered it. “Hey, Roger, just got in,” I said.

“Grab us two coffees on your way over,” Roger said before the line clicked off. Okay then.

I walked slowly back to my office after meeting with Roger over what he had made seem like an extremely big deal and what actually turned into me telling him he was panicking for no reason.

I had all of the documents and reports and updates he needed.

Roger tended to overreact sometimes, but he at least knew when to humble himself and say thank you.

It was just exhausting when he got into one of those moods.

“There’s a man waiting for you in your office,” Thea said to me as I passed her desk.

She was practically giddy with excitement.

I looked over at her and she wiggled her eyebrows at me.

There was no way Cassio was here. My heart fluttered in excitement.

What if Cassio was here? Thea didn’t even know what he looked like.

I gave her a faked stern look before heading straight for my office and trying to mask the smile that was threatening to plaster my face.

It was not Cassio. Rome sat in one of the chairs facing my desk and stood up when I entered the room.

“Officer Hawthorne, what can I do for you?” I asked before my shock at seeing him here could hit me.

Don’t call him. Don’t message him. You won’t like the punishment.

What punishment would there be if the masked man knew I was talking to Rome in my office at work?

“I had not heard from you and I was in the area so I wanted to check in. We’ve had officers on your street and haven’t seen anything suspicious. They will continue to be there until we are certain there is no threat to your life,” Rome said as we both sat down.

“Well thank you for stopping in to update me. I haven’t seen anything suspicious, so I didn’t feel I needed to reach out,” I managed to say.

Now would have been the perfect time to tell him that a fucking masked man broke into my home and …

and what? Gave me an orgasm? How the hell was I going to explain that one?

My phone buzzed on my desk where I had set it down and I saw a new message from that same unknown number. My heart pounded in my chest and my eyes flashed back to Rome.

“That’s good. I will let you know if something changes. And Liana … really, call or message if you’re ever concerned,” Rome said as he stood to leave.

I stood also. “Of course, thank you,” I said and watched him leave my office. Then I slowly sat back down in my chair and tapped the message notification.

Good girls get rewarded.

I could hardly breathe. The message elicited a feeling between fear and panic and … satisfaction? My phone had to be compromised. How else would he know? Or was the timing just coincidence? I had not responded to him yet, but I slowly picked up my phone. I was going to respond.

Like doggie biscuits?

I thought it was a little funny. The good girl thing felt a little over played and I sometimes buffered uncomfortable situations with sarcasm and humor. My phone buzzed almost immediately with a response.

Bratty girls get reminded of their place.

So my response was “bratty” then. Interesting.

If Rome had not just left my office with an update on the situation where someone might actually be trying to murder me, this whole masked man thing might be kind of fun.

Wow. No. I was reading far too many dirty books from Thea if I thought having a real life stalker was acceptable.

I set my phone down. I was just going to get myself into more trouble if I responded again.

And maybe I needed to find a hotel to stay in for a few days.