I turn to face her. “Yeah, I just wanted to give you this.” I reach into my back pocket and pull out an envelope full of cash.
“Grave.” Natalie raises her hands, shaking her head. “I can’t take that.”
“I need you to hide here for a few more weeks.”
Her eyes widen. “Grave.”
“I’ve got it handled,” I assure her. “I just need you to promise me.”
She nods, biting her bottom lip.
“Has he tried to contact you?”
“Yeah.” She sighs. “I called my provider and had him blocked.”
“Good. That’s good.” I walk back toward the door. “I have to go. I just wanted to come by and let you know everything is goingto be okay.” I hold out the envelope again, and this time she takes it.
After exiting her suite, I make my way down to the parking garage to get my car. Then I head to Roses.
“Thanks, man,” Itell Lance.
“No problem. Let me know if you need me again,” he says, exiting the front door of Roses.
I turn to my good friend of mine who owns Landing Construction. He’s walking around the space, his cell in his hand, taking notes. I sent him a message last night to meet me here first thing this morning. “How long do you think it’ll take?” I ask him.
“Honestly?” He sighs. “Maybe a week.” He shrugs. “But that’s once the materials come in.” He makes his way over to where the three glass doors used to be. “I got the measurements for the glass and the shelves.” He glances across the room where the vases sat. “Getting them installed won’t take much time, though. My crew could have it done within a couple of days.”
I nod. “Just let me know how much I owe you.”
He places his phone in his back pocket. “I’ll have it ordered by lunch and will let you know.”
I look over when the bell rings and see April enter, wearing sunglasses and holding a coffee in her right hand. She has a white baseball hat on, her hair popping out through the back in a ponytail. A black T-shirt clings to her frame, paired with cutoff denim shorts and black Superstars.
I slap him on the back, dismissing him. “Sounds good.”
“Miss.” He nods to her as he exits Roses.
“Who was that?” she asks, coming over to me.
“That was the man who is going to make this place look like new,” I answer, letting my eyes run over her bare legs. My cock reminds me that I turned her down last night. My mind reminds me it was the right thing to do. I clear my throat and try to think of anything but me and her naked in her bed. “How do you feel?”
“Like run over dog shit.”
I frown. “Why aren’t you at home in bed?”
She removes her glasses and tosses on the front counter. “Because my brother never came home last night, so I figured he’d be here.” She walks toward the back, and I follow her to the office. She shoves the door open, and it’s empty.
“I’ve been here for an hour, and I haven’t seen him.”
She sighs, running a hand down her makeup-free face before she looks up at me. Dropping into the chair behind the desk, she rips her hat off her head. “Who did this?” she asks.
“The Mason brothers,” I answer.
She hangs her head but doesn’t say anything to that. I doubt she knows who they are.
“You need to go home,” I tell her.
Her eyes narrow. “I need to be here.”
