So had my little furry monster.
Until the big bad hero had come to save us. I pulled off another piece of cheese, laughing at the way Indy was looking at me. I wasn’t giving him the delicious treat fast enough.
“I know, baby boy. Here you go. Take the last of it.” I certainly had no appetite. Maybe a drink would calm my nerves. What if Zane had found me? What importance would I hold to him today? It wasn’t like I was anyone of importance. There were too many questions and too many fears.
I’d been prepared to kill the bastard for daring to touch my baby. At least Sinclair had beaten me to it.
“So this is the famous Indiana Jones.”
The sudden sound of a deep voice put the fear of God into me. I jerked up and without hesitating or even thinking, I whipped a knife from the knife block, pointing it at the stranger.
Indiana was on his feet, barking at the stranger as well. He even had his teeth bared.
My mystery guest seemed shocked I was brandishing a weapon, even raising his arms in surrender. He quickly glanced down at Indy, lifting a single eyebrow.
“Sinclair mentioned you were a handful. I think I’ve met my match.”
My knuckles were white, my grip so firm on the handle. It took me a few seconds to realize he looked entirely too much like Sinclair. Very slowly I lowered the knife. “You must be Jaxon.”
He nodded, still uncertain I wasn’t going to slice and dice him given I continued to hold the knife in my hand.
“Indiana, it’s okay. He’s a friend. I think.” I returned the knife to the block, but my hand was still shaking.
“Don’t worry. Sin isn’t entirely certain what to call me either. Other than ‘hey kid.’” His smile was much wider than Sinclair’s, his blue eyes not nearly as cold and unforgiving as his brother’s. When I remained hovering against the edge of the counter, he rubbed his palm on his jeans, sticking out his arm. “I guess I should formally introduce myself. Jaxon Prince, the youngest and obviously the most handsome of the Prince brothers.”
While I shook his hand, I wasn’t interested in pretending as if everything was normal.
His smile faded. “Rough crowd. Is the big furry monster friendly?”
“As long as you don’t piss off his mother.” I folded my arms, uncertain why I was reacting to him so strongly. There was nothing threatening about him. He appeared as if he’d just rolled out of bed, his hair tousled and his half-buttoned shirt untucked. He was even wearing loafers without socks.
Not the look of some crime boss.
I on the other hand must look a fright. I still had specks of blood on my arms and I could only imagine how smeared my makeup had become. My dress was all but ruined and as soon as I remembered I wasn’t wearing any panties, I tugged on the material since the dress was a little shorter than I normally wore.
Jaxon wasn’t paying attention or was being gentlemanly. And I was being rude.
“Yes, Indiana Jones is usually a pussy cat. But his number one job is to protect me from unwanted visitors or men intending me harm.”
“I’m not sure about him being a pussy cat. Cool name though.” His laugh faded into being hollow when I didn’t respond. “O-kay. I can see you’d prefer to be left alone. It’s late. If you want to try and get some sleep, I’ll be downstairs waiting until Sinclair gets back.”
I debated how to react to him and sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m not normally such a bitch. It’s just been a long few days.”
He chuckled but was studying me closely. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.”
“Yes, you can. You live this life every day. So does Sinclair. So does your entire family. I don’t understand how, but who am I? Just a normal girl living a typical life while the Prince family livesin guarded luxury. I have one question for you. Maybe you’ll give me a straight answer. How is it that you don’t feel like you’re living in a prison?”
I remained unblinking, uncertain how I was supposed to act around him.
“I tell you what. I’ll swap you a tall glass of whiskey for an answer. Is that a deal?”
“You and your family always love deals.”
“Ah, I can see my brother has been at it again. Well, we are businessmen. Contrary to my brother’s actions, we honestly settle more issues with a ballpoint pen than we do a weapon.”
He was uncertain how to handle me. After another scrutinizing look, I smiled in a sly way. “I’ll take you up on that deal and raise you an entire bottle if you’d like for answers to all my most burning questions.”
“You drive a hard bargain.”
