Page 20

CHAPTER 20

Toxic

I t’d been five days since I’d brought Billie to my clubhouse. Five days since I’d been sitting on information about Fission Solutions. Though I’d told her about finding the men inside the barn, and insinuated that I’d taken care of them, I knew she was going to be pissed that I hadn’t told her everything right away. But if I had, her grandfather would have insisted on staying put. And frankly, I needed him gone. For a couple different reasons. This wasn't a time for feelings, I had to think tactically.

The first, and most important, was so that he was out of the line of fire. As soon as this company got wind of us looking into them, shit was going to hit the fan. Fuck. If I could send Billie away with Robert, I would. But I knew she’d fight me on that and I hadn’t felt like banging my head against the immovable wall of her stubbornness. So I hadn’t bothered. Besides, I kind of needed her around for the other reason I wanted Robert out of the way.

Couldn’t make my move on her if she was gone. And I couldn’t fuck her with her grandfather sleeping in the room next door. Not even I was that disrespectful. So, everyone got what they wanted out of this arrangement, but it meant I’d had to withhold the information I was about to tell her.

“Rip found out why Fission Solutions is targeting you.” There was no reason to not just throw it out there.

Her jaw dropped open and she sat forward. “What? Really? Why?”

My lips twitched as she opened her mouth to ask more questions before I’d even answered any of her first. “You’ve got Uranium deposits all over this ranch. Under it, to be specific.” That shut her up.

Her eyes widened and those kissable lips parted in shock. Jesus, I wanted to kiss her again. I hadn’t touched, teased, or flirted with her in the last five days. Mostly because she’d been giving me a wide berth after I’d kissed her against my bike. It worked for me because it eased the guilt of not telling her about this right away. Plus, once her grandpa was gone, I was planning a full on assault on the walls she was trying to build against me.

“Uranium?”

“Yeah. He found maps that showed it. Said something about new technology making it worth digging it all up. If you have more questions about that, I’ll get Rip on the phone for you. That’s pretty much all I know about the deposits themselves.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Implying you know more about other things?”

Not much got past her. “Rip found a connection between the founder and CEO of Fission Solutions and an old enemy of ours. So we’ve been digging to see if it’s a coincidence, or if it has anything to do with us.”

“Why would it have anything to do with you?” she asked. “I didn’t even know you before now.”

“True, but we made things…difficult…for this company not too long ago. For all we know they could be buying up land around our clubhouse and in our city to retaliate in the future.”

“Do you think that’s part of what’s happening?” she asked.

“Not likely,” I admitted. “But we’re not ruling anything out just yet.”

She studied my face. “You seem to have learned a lot.”

“Yeah.”

Here we go.

“Did he call you this morning?”

“Who?” I asked, stalling.

“Riptide,” she said, suspicion entering her eyes.

“No. He told me the other night at the clubhouse. Told us all during church.”

She gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me then? I deserve to know what’s going on, Toxic. It’s my ranch.”

“You do,” I said in an agreeable tone, “which is why I’m telling you now. I didn’t want anything to convince your grandfather he should stay, because it’s not safe for him here.”

“Oh,” she said, calming down immediately. “I guess that makes sense.” She pointed at me. “But don’t think for a second that you’re going to go sneaking off and saving the day while you keep me in the dark. This is my ranch that they’re trying to steal and I want to help.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I told her. Her scowl just made my grin grow. “In fact, I wanted to see if you wanted to give me a hand with something before the guys come out this afternoon.”

“Sure,” she answered immediately. “Help with what?” she added.

She didn’t realize that I already knew her like the back of my hand. If she thought she was going to go back to the way things were before she came into my life, waving shotguns and threats, then she had another thing coming. She didn’t stand a chance of holding out against me.

“I’ll explain on the way.” Standing, I went and opened the door, waiting for her to walk through before following her.

“I don’t understand how this is going to help?” Billie muttered to me under her breath as we walked through the lobby of a building downtown.

“Just gathering a little intel,” I told her, smiling at the people passing us by. “Quit looking so nervous.”

“You should have told me to change,” she hissed. “I don’t look like I belong here. Neither do you for that matter.”

Everyone was in suits and skirts, the kind that were starched and pressed and went down past the knee. The people in this building could be described as ‘young professionals’. Billie was right, we stood out like sore thumbs. Not that it mattered.

“Just follow my lead,” I told her, as we approached the front desk area.

“Good morning,” the blonde sitting there said with a smile. Her eyes locked onto me and she batted thick black lashes.

They were so thick, and obviously fake, that I worried she’d tip forward due to the weight. Her nails were long and as sharply pointed as a cat’s claws. She pointed at the clipboard. “Sign in please.”

I scrawled a fake ass name across the sheet. “Good morning.” I hit her with a charming smile, not at all missing the fact that Billie rolled her eyes. “We’re here to meet with Declan Finch.”

The woman’s eyes had been roaming down my body, but now they snapped up and met mine. “Do you have an appointment?” She said it as though she highly suspected we didn’t.

“We don’t. My name is Bob Johnson and I’m with the EPA.”

She’d been opening her mouth to send me away, but as soon as she heard EPA, she froze. “Oh. Um. Mr. Johnson, of course,” she stammered, sifting through papers on her desk. She was trying to find the name of the last Environmental Protection Agency douche that had shown up. This company dealt with nuclear. No way the EPA wasn’t up their asses constantly with reporting requirements and studies and all the rest of the bullshit the government loved to bog people down with.

I looked at my watch as she continued to shuffle papers. “I don’t have a lot of time, Miss…”

She looked up and I smiled at her. Her eyes softened a little, and a tiny moan escaped her lips, then shifted toward the back where the doors allowed access to the rest of the building. “Stacy,” she said, fluttering her lashes again. “I’m not really supposed to let anyone back without an appointment…”

“I understand, Stacy,” I said, leaning my elbow against her counter. I might have flexed, just a little. “My secretary was supposed to take care of that for me, but she doesn’t seem to be nearly as efficient as you are.”

There was a low grumble from beside me, but neither me nor Stacy commented on whatever Billie had just muttered. I didn’t want to be flirting with this woman, but I needed access to this building.

“You should find better help,” she teased.

“If I had an opening, maybe you’d be interested?” I asked.

Her eyes widened and her breath caught. “Is that possible?”

I shrugged. “My bosses give me free rein to hire my own staff into the civilian positions. The EPA may be a federal agency, but running my front desk isn’t federal.”

She was already furiously scribbling down her contact information and handing it over. I wasn’t sure how she could write with those wicked claws, but I took the card. “Thank you.”

“Go on back,” she told me. “Mr. Finch’s first appointment hasn’t shown up yet.”

“Thank you, Stacy,” I told her with a wide smile. “We’ll talk soon.”

“Shame on you,” Billie hissed as soon as the doors shut behind us. “She’s going to be so disappointed when ‘Bob Johnson’ has no idea who she is.”

“What makes you think there’s a Bob Johnson who works at the EPA?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Bob Johnson?” she said, rolling her eyes. “There will be one. Also, you almost blew our cover.” Her eyes raked over me as we walked. “You don’t look like a Bob.”

I gave her a sinful grin. “Oh yeah? What do I look like?” I teased. I liked the way her cheeks went a little pink as I flirted with her.

“You look like a fuck boy,” she said and walked off, leaving me gaping after her.

I picked up my pace and caught up with her. “I’m not a fuck boy. Not even a boy,” I growled at her.

A man walking by overheard and gave us a shocked look. My scowl sent him scurrying away before he could gather the courage to ask what we were doing back here.

“Any man who is that practiced with flirting is probably a fuck boy,” she informed me.

“Stop calling me that,” I told her under my breath. “Makes me sound like some useless frat kid.”

She shrugged her shoulders and then sighed. “Another desk.”

I tore my eyes off her face and strode up to the desk. “I have an appointment with Declan Finch,” I told the man sitting there.

“Oh, Mr… Tanaka…” He looked up at me and frowned. “I have a Mr. Tanaka for Mr. Finch’s first appointment of the day.”

“That’s me.”

Both he and Billie were staring at me. I didn’t dare look over at her and give her a signal to play it cool.

“Uh…” the kid sputtered out.

“Adopted,” I told him with a charming smile.

“Oh. Well, that’s cool,” he said, getting flustered. “Mr. Finch isn’t in just yet. So if you wanted to wait over there-”

“What’s your name?” I asked.

He blinked. “Mike.” He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. “Mike Kopp.”

“Well, Mike, it’s been a long drive, and my partner here,” I motioned to Billie, “is really tired. Would you mind if we waited inside so she can rest for a few moments?”

Mike focused on Billie and I kicked the side of her calf with the toe of my boot.

She startled a little then pasted on a sultry smile. Jesus. If she smiled like that at me I’d give her anything she wanted. “I’d like to just sit in the quiet for a minute or two,” she said, dropping her tone down a bit so it was a little huskier than normal.

I shifted because of the raging hard-on she’d just induced. Fuck. I was going to be dreaming about that voice for a while.

“Sorry,” Mike said, giving her a polite smile. “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

I narrowed my eyes. What red-blooded man would have just ignored the obvious flirting vibes she’d just sent his way? His eyes locked back on me and then I realized.

Billie seemed to come to the same realization as me right about the same time because she was biting her lips to keep from laughing.

Thankfully, Mike was too focused on me to notice her. I put my hands on the top of his desk and leaned forward. His eyes traced the veins in my forearms as my muscles flexed to adapt to the shift in my weight. “Look. I don’t want to get you in trouble,” I said in a low tone, my voice getting raspier with each word. “But she’s a bit of a prima donna. And if my boss doesn’t think I bent over backward to accommodate her, it’ll be my ass.” I rolled my eyes and jerked my head toward Billie.

Her mouth dropped open and she glared at me.

Mike’s lips twitched. “I know how that is.”

“Wha-”

“Any chance you could help me out?”

He considered it, then nodded. “Go ahead. There’s a little lobby beyond those doors. It’s right outside of Mr. Finch’s office.”

“Thanks, Mike,” I told him, flashing him another smile as I put a hand on Billie’s lower back and guided her forward.

“Oh, my God,” she hissed at me as soon as we were in the lobby. “You just can’t help yourself,” she said, shaking her head, but she was trying to hold back a grin.

“What?” I asked. “You’re not going to call me a fuck boy for flirting with that guy?” I folded my arms over my chest.

She arched a brow. “Any chance of you fucking that man?”

“No. Don’t have any issues with it, just not my thing.”

“Then no.”

“Hypocrite,” I tossed at her.

She glared at me. “That first girl couldn’t take her eyes off you long enough to even acknowledge me,” she pointed out.

“That’s not my fault.”

“No. But you encouraging it is,” she pointed out.

“I’m trying to break into a fucking office building,” I told her with a chuckle as I pulled a couple paperclips out of my wallet. I straightened them, then shoved them into the lock the way Isla had shown me. “I’m not exactly going to encourage the woman I’m trying to get something from to notice the other woman in the room.”

“Hmmm,” she said as she watched me work.

There was a whole lot of judgement in that noise. “What does hmmm mean?” I growled as I worked on the lock.

“You introduced me to Mike.”

“Yeah, because I assumed he’d pop a boner for you and give us anything we wanted.”

“Jesus, Toxic,” she said, sounding mortified.

I glanced up at her. “Just telling you right now, you do that throaty little purr for me and I’ll-” The lock turned and the door swung open.

“What are we looking for?” she asked, brushing past me and entering the room. Her face was a dull red so I knew I’d embarrassed her.

Pulling a USB out of my pocket, I went to the computer and placed it in the slot on the tower. Tapping the keyboard, I set the files all to copy and waited. A little gift from Riptide, it would bypass any password protection and just take everything, Rip would sort it out at home. Black magic as far as I was concerned. Looking up at her, I let my eyes run over her. “Didn’t like me flirting with the blonde, did you?”

Her eyes flicked to me. “It doesn’t matter to me who you flirt with.”

I grinned. She was lying. It pissed her off. “I don’t cheat,” I told her.

“What?” she asked, straightening from reading something on the desk to look at me again. “I don’t care. That has nothing to do with me.”

It had everything to do with her. I shrugged. “Just saying. Fuck boys cheat. Once I’m in a relationship, I don’t flirt—except under extenuating circumstances like this—and I sure as fuck don’t cheat. That’s the difference between me and a fuck boy.”

She looked like she didn’t believe me for a damn minute. “Okay, Toxic. Can we go yet?”

“Almost,” I said, checking the progress of the files. She didn’t think this mattered, but it did. She was mine. And I wanted her to feel secure in the knowledge of that. Once I told her, that is.

Before I could say anything else, the computer beeped, signaling its task was completed. I grabbed the USB, guided her out of the office, and locked the door before shutting it.

“What are you going to say to Mike?” she asked.

“I’ll come up with something,” I muttered.

“Mr. Tanaka?” Mike said as we walked out of the lobby. “Mr. Finch will be here any minute…”

“I’ll have to reschedule,” I told him.

“Oh… Is something wrong?” He started to rise from his seat. He was going to call security on our asses and then I was going to have to answer a lot of fucking questions. So, I did something that had never failed me. Shock and awe.

Bending, I threw Billie over my shoulder. Her squeal of outrage echoed in the room. “This is completely unprofessional,” I admitted, my hand landing on her ass and squeezing as Mike watched. Reaching down, I adjusted my hard dick behind my jeans—the minute I touched her ass it’d been ready to go.

Mike’s eyes dropped to my crotch and stayed there.

“But when a piece of ass this hot offers to blow you, I’m not stupid enough to turn it down,” I told him. Her gasp of shock wasn’t audible because I kept talking as I walked toward the exit. “If you swallow it all, Baby, then we can talk more about that promotion.”

Mike was frozen in shock as I walked away from him. As soon as we were out the main doors, I set Billie down on her feet. “Go,” I muttered. “You can yell at me as soon as we’re out of here.”

We hurried out of the building trying not to draw more attention to ourselves.