Chapter 24

I’m feeling kind of dreamy, which isn’t the best mental state to be in when assembling electronics. But I can’t help it after last night. The real world is too mundane to stay in, especially when I’ve got fantasies of Gideon to get lost in.

Which means when my phone rings, I jump like I’ve been zapped. Hell, I completely forgot I even had a phone. It’s probably Victoria, giving me an update on the parts I sent her out for.

Except the caller ID says it’s my mom. Oh crap. I totally forgot about Gideon paying off both the mortgages yesterday. She must have gotten some paperwork and is freaking out.

“Mom, everything’s okay,” I say when I answer.

“What is going on? There’s all this new stuff on the mortgages, and it says they’re paid off. I have no idea what it means.” She’s almost in tears.

God, I’m a shitty daughter. I should have called last night. Except there’s the problem of exactly how I’m going to explain this. Gideon paid off the mortgage before we slept together, but it isn’t going to sound great no matter how I spin it. Especially not to someone as prone to worry as my mom.

I could try the truth. Somehow I don’t want to lie about anything involving Gideon. I want it all out there, no matter what others might think of it.

“You remember that client I’m working for?”

“The tech billionaire?” Mom’s tone crackles with suspicion. “He’s involved with this? Oh God, you took a loan from him. He’s going to charge terrible interest.” There’s a beat of chilled silence. “Wait, you’re already staying there. Oh God, oh God, oh—”

Mom.” I don’t wait for her to catch her breath. “I’m not doing anything in exchange for paying off the mortgage. I swear to God, I’m not selling my body.”

She makes a small noise. “Can you just start from the beginning?”

“Sure.” I rub my hand on my thigh and inhale. “Look, Gideon Wolfe is just a… a good guy to his employees. I mentioned I needed this job really badly, and he went and found out about the mortgages and took care of them all on his own. It’ll come out of my bonus. He does stuff like that all the time for his employees.”

Like saving Rustem and his mom from a dictator, retrofitting a family’s home when their grandfather came to live with them so that it was wheelchair accessible, and a dozen other stories like those that Raven told me last night. She was determined to paint Gideon in the best light, and it turns out she had an awful lot of paint to work with.

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Mom’s voice is hard. “He wants something. He’s a billionaire. Men like him don’t get rich by being nice.”

“He’s definitely not nice.” That’s one thing I’m certain of. “But you can be good and care about others without being nice.”

Mom snorts. “We thought Nick was nice and decent and too good to be true at first too. You’re not dating him, are you?”

Oh boy. “I thought hearing this would be good news? You don’t have to worry anymore.”

Mom sighs. “We haven’t cleared the debt—it’s only been transferred. And I’m worried you’re the price we’ll have to pay now. At least more than you already were.”

I slump into one of the chairs in the main room. It’s sleek and modern but uncomfortable, with zero give. I wonder if I’m the first person to ever sit on it. “Mom, please trust me. I can’t explain all of it, not yet, but this guy… he’s the real deal.”

I need her to believe it, because I believe it myself. Gideon is isolated, drawn inward, but when his humanity flashes out…

“Oh, honey,” Mom says. “If you’re sure, then… then I have to believe.” She sighs. “There’s all this paperwork, and I’m so lost.”

“I bet if I ask Gideon, he’ll recommend a lawyer we can consult. For free.”

“Unfortunately, we’re going to need one.”

“Mom.” I grip the phone tighter. “I love you. And this is a good thing.”

“I love you too, sweetie. I’m trying to look on the bright side.”

That’s pretty good for Mom. We chat a little longer about nothing in particular, but already she sounds less tired. More vibrant.

Afterward, I get back to work. I might be sleeping with the boss, but I still have a job to finish. Although I leave behind my half-finished camera setup with a quickness when said boss texts me to come into his office.

When I walk in, he’s behind his desk, wearing a too-satisfied smile.

“You rang?” I ask dryly. His summons was pretty polite for him, but it was still a summons. Not that I’m complaining about coming to see him in the middle of the day. Quite the opposite.

My heart is fluttering, my skin is tingling, and my nipples are already tight. All just from the sight of him.

“Good, you came.” He flattens his palms on his desk. “I have an idea. And I want you to see.”

This sounds intriguing. I take a chair and cross my legs. The squeeze of my thighs and him so close make my core pulse. I clear my throat, tell my body to behave. “Really? What is it?”

He grins, looking like a wickedly naughty boy. No, actually a wicked man. There’s too much raw sex coming off him to be boyish. “What’s the name of your sister’s ex-husband?”

“Um, Nick Salantino.” I lick my lips. “Why?”

“That’s what I thought it was.” He picks up his phone, taps the screen. From the speaker, a ring sounds. “Turns out it’s ridiculously easy to find him on the internet.”

His smile goes sharklike, hungry and sharp. Like he smells blood.

Oh no. If Nick gets pissed—and he will—he’ll go after my sister again. He’s always found a way to hurt her when he’s angry. And he’s still doing it.

“Please don’t do this,” I say. “He’ll get mad, and then he’ll do something awful again. You don’t know what he’s like.”

“I know exactly what he’s like,” Gideon says coldly. “He’s a bully who takes his inadequacies out on your sister, your family, and you. And I’m going to show him there’s an even bigger dog in the yard now.”

My eyes are wide. Gideon is definitely way more powerful than Nick. “Why would you do that?” My voice is small.

The phone is still ringing.

“Because he’s threatening you,” Gideon says simply. “And I can’t allow that to happen. I protect my own.”

His own could mean employee… or it could mean a lot more. I swallow hard.

“Hello?” Nick’s confused and little aggro. Like we’re interrupting something important.

“Hey.” Gideon’s greeting is a verbal back pat. “It’s Gideon, Gideon Wolfe. Wolfe Medical Industries. Is this Nick?”

“Yes.” Nick’s tone is filled with awe and greed. “This is Nick. CEO of Salantino Enterprises.” His voice shifts like he’s trying to sound as though he and Gideon are equals. But he’s already given himself away.

“I’m so glad I caught you.” There’s a dangerous purr in Gideon’s tone I think only I can hear. “I wanted to discuss something with you.”

I can’t see Nick, but I can definitely imagine what he’s doing right now. He’s sitting up straighter, a gleam in his eyes and sweat beading on his brow. He wants whatever Gideon’s about to offer him. He wants it so badly he’ll do anything. Nick was always more ambitious than clever or hardworking. If it promised to be easy, he jumped.

He doesn’t even stop to wonder why Gideon Freaking Wolfe would want to do business with him. All he can see is dollar signs.

“Great.” Nick’s tone is thick with flop sweat. He wants to play it cool, but he’s desperate too. “That’s great. So we’re doing—”

“I’m not interested in your company.” Gideon’s tone is as smooth and cold as silk left in snow. “I’m not calling about that.”

Nick’s swallow is audible. “Um, then what is this about?”

“Your ex-wife.”

My entire body tenses, waiting for Nick’s explosion. He’s going to say something awful now. Or worse, take it out on Elena when he calls her later. That’s always been his MO.

“Okay,” Nick says slowly. He’s being surprisingly reserved here, but he probably doesn’t want to lose it in front of Gideon.

“You’re never to contact her again. Not about anything. No more lawsuits, no more abuse, none of it. Forget she even exists.”

“What?” Nick is utterly baffled. “Are you fucking her?”

Ah, there’s the old snarl, the nasty anger. When Gideon growls, it’s cute. When Nick growls, it’s stomach turning.

“You really lack imagination, don’t you?” Gideon steeples his fingers. “Do you understand what I’m requiring of you?”

“You’ve got some fucking nerve. That bitch isn’t going to get rid of me that easy.”

I flinch at what he called my sister. I know he’s said worse, right to her face, but it’s still gross. Sometimes I wish he’d get hit by a semi just so we’d never have to deal with him again. Which is a terrible thing to wish on someone.

“Yes, she is,” Gideon says, deadly calm. “Because I say so. It doesn’t matter why I’m doing this. You only need to know that I am. You won’t contact her or any member of her family ever again. If you do, I’ll know about it. And I’ll bury you, because I’m Gideon fucking Wolfe. I’ll make you disappear, and no one will miss you.”

The silence on the other end of the line is deafening. But I can still hear my heart in my ears, loud, insistent. Even hopeful.

Turns out I might not need a semi to deal with Nick. I might just need Gideon fucking Wolfe.

“I…” Nick’s mouth hangs open on that pause, so open I can hear the wind whistling past it over the line. “Okay.”

I clap my hand over my mouth. He sounds so small and wormy, scared shitless. Which is how he should always sound, the bastard.

“Good. I’m glad that’s settled.” Gideon spins around in his chair as if he’s just made a fantastic business deal instead of threatening someone’s life. When he comes back to face me, he winks. “Tess will let me know if you’ve fucked up.” Steel creeps into his tone, like metal frost, and I shiver even though it’s not directed at me.

“Understand?” he finishes.

“Perfectly,” Nick croaks.

“Great. Talk to you later.” Gideon chuckles evilly. “Actually, you’d better fucking hope we don’t. Bye.”

I stare at him for a long moment. He stares back, cool as you please.

“I can’t believe you just did that.” The mortgage was one thing. This— Holy shit, he didn’t. I lift my finger, stab it at him. “You cannot call him. Not him. I won’t let you. He can’t…” I’m shaking now. “He’s forgotten about me. Don’t let him remember.”

Immediately Gideon is next to me, folding me up in his arms. “Jesus, honey. I won’t do anything, just… just don’t do this. Don’t cry.” He sounds helpless, which snaps me out of it. Gideon never sounds helpless.

“I won’t.” I rub furiously at my eyes. “You didn’t find his name, did you? The guy in the Army?”

Gideon watches me for a long moment. “No,” he says finally. “I haven’t found him yet.”

“But you were looking for him.”

He glances away. “He can’t get away with that. Any more than that asshole who married your sister can. I dealt with him, didn’t I?”

He did, and I doubt Nick will screw with my sister or my family again. But my harasser is a different matter. I haven’t heard from him or even heard about him since I left the Army. He’s not an active threat. And I don’t want to remind him I exist.

It’s in the past. I’ve moved on, made a good life here, built a company with my friend. I don’t need to bring him back into it or get revenge on him. He’s gone, and I want to leave him that way.

“This is different,” I say. “He hasn’t done anything to me in years. Don’t remind him I exist.”

Gideon’s mouth flattens. “He wouldn’t dare. Not once I was done with him. Don’t you want him punished?”

“Honestly, I don’t. What I really want is for him to never have done it in the first place. I want Victoria to have back the career she always wanted. Punishing him isn’t going to change what happened.”

“I’ll find him eventually.” Gideon is unyielding. “You know I will.”

I blow out a breath of frustration. “You can’t just attack all my problems. I’ve got a leaky sink. Are you going to glower at that too?”

His expression cracks, and he starts to laugh. “Maybe. But I’ve also got some wrenches. I can frown and then tighten it.”

“Well, if you could fix it, that would be great. It drips all night and drives me crazy when I’m trying to watch TV.” I take a deep breath. “But please. Please. Please. This is very important to me. Stop. Looking. For. Him. I’ve put that behind me, and I want to keep it there.”

I hold his gaze, trying to impress on him how intensely I mean this. The mortgage thing was great, scaring off Nick was even more great, but there has to be a limit.

Eventually his shoulders ease and he sits back down. “Fine.” He’s being very ungracious. “I won’t contact him. But if he pops his head back up and contacts you or even speaks your name, I’m going after him.”

“Good. Thank you. Wait— How would you know he’s speaking my name?”

He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it. But I promised and I mean it.”

I reach up and cup his jaw. So hard, so dangerous-looking. But underneath, he’s got a soft heart.

I don’t dare tell him that. He’d snarl at me and demand I call him a monster. But now that I’ve seen the softness, I can’t look away.