“Outside,” he growled. I knew that growl. Yes, he had different ones. This one told me I was in trouble. It had to be for more than me killing this fucker though.
“Sure thing, sir.”
In the bright light of the sun, Jordan stripped out of his shirt and put on a clean one. He only got a little blood on himself. “When I showed up here today, you saw I was in a shitty mood, and you still killed this guy.”
“Not for nothing, but that’s your default.”
“Sheldon, so fucking help me. I will kill you where you stand.” He could but wouldn’t.
“I’ll make it up to you. The next asshole I find, I’ll leave him for you to do everything.” It had to be someone we didn’t need to extract information from. Jordan wasn’t known for his patience.
“I did you a favor today,” he bit out. “I listened when you came to me worried about Forest, so I put Kayli on him. This is how you repay me?”
“I’m sorry. I should have known better. Forest has me all fucked up in my head. I’m worried about him.”
Jordan let out a breath, then another. “Listen, I get it. You finally have something with him, and you’re afraid of him getting hurt. No one has shot at my son’s shop in a while. Even if they do, Forest is in an office, not standing on the goddamn sidewalk with a bull’s-eye on his chest.”
“If you’re trying to comfort me, you’re failing.”
Tipping his head back, Jordan stared at the sky. “If I don’t take a few breaths, my hand is going around your throat, thenI’ll have to explain to the men I love why I killed you. They won’t understand. Forest will be a mess, which will upset Hartley. Vail will be a wreck because Forest is his lifelong best friend, and Vail likes you. Why? Who the fuck knows? And I’ll have to deal with it all.” His gaze met mine. “Fuck up again and I’m keeping you out of my business for a while.”
I swallowed. Jordan knew what that would do to me. I needed to stay busy, or I ended up pacing at night, and my mind wouldn’t settle. Yes, being with Forest helped, but it was new. Anything could happen. I wanted him with every fiber of my being.
“I can’t keep Kayli on him daily,” Jordan said, this time with a softer tone. “If there was a credible threat, I could justify it. Forest didn’t have anyone on him when he was working his other job.”
“He traveled a lot.” When I knew he wasn’t home, it tore at me. At least with him working in East Dremest, someone could keep an eye on him and make sure he was okay.
“I can’t believe I need to have a conversation with another one of my guards. If you can’t be who I need you to be, you have to tell me. I can’t risk you not being on point when shit goes down.”
“When have I ever not protected you and the others I was with?” He didn’t need to answer because it was never.
“There’s a first time for everything. You’re distracted.”
“Do you think I’ll be better if there’s no one watching his back?”
“I can’t afford for you to protect him. You’re too valuable. There’s a guy I’m moving up. We could use him. Make sure he’s up for the task. Forest is family, and guarding him is important.”
“Who?” I knew all the guards. Sure, there were always people trying to get in. Jordan paid fucking amazing, and the benefitswere well worth it. He was still a mafia boss though. Dying while working for him was a strong possibility.
“Not that I fucking owe you an answer, but his name is Micah.”
“Is that the guy who fainted when you threatened to kill Reghan in the lobby?”
It was funny as hell. Reghan was busy shoving his tongue down Barrett’s throat in the hallway while Jordan had to wait downstairs for him to get there. Barry just so happened to be with us and pulled the security feed up on his phone to figure out where Reghan was. I didn’t know Jordan could turn that shade of red. Reghan blamed Barrett when they arrived in the lobby. Barrett blamed Reghan. Jordan threatened to kill them, but with Reghan, he said he was going to slice his balls off, then his tongue for making him wait. I was entertained by the entire thing, even the newbie passing out in the lobby when he heard Jordan’s threats. No one moved to catch him when he fell. We weren’t known for our compassion.
“No,” Jordan growled. “He’s long gone. Micah’s the one who pushed me out of the way yesterday, so I wasn’t shot. I got a call about a new buyer. With Hart at the studio and Vail in his kitchen, I felt comfortable going. It was a setup, and they thought they could kill me. Micah pushed me out of the way as he fired and hit the guy in the head.”
“The weekend isn’t usually the time for death threats.” Didn’t people rest anymore? It wasn’t the first time it happened, but still. On a Sunday? Let the man sleep in.
“Micah’s being promoted. It was a trial run yesterday. Now I can put him on Forest full time. I wouldn’t trust any of the other new guards with him.”
“Are you sure you can’t keep Kayli on him?” Micah shoved Jordan out of the way, but Jordan was an Altair with a crime organization and was super wealthy. Forest was just… Forest.
“So fucking help me. If you don’t shut the hell up and stop pressing me for every goddamn thing you want, I really am going to make you bleed.”
“Sir, here’s a towel to wipe your hands with when that happens,” Albert cut in with a hand towel. There was also a grin on his face. Jordan’s driver didn’t waste a single opportunity to irritate him. Albert lived for the moments when he could try to get Jordan to relax or, god forbid, laugh.
“You can shove that towel right up your ass,” Jordan growled.
