“The fact you believe me means a lot.” She gave a fake laugh that made my skin crawl. “I’ve only shared this with four other people. You and Fiona are the only ones who didn’t roll their eyes.”
I reined in my instant rage and waited until we pulled up by her building before responding. “I cannot tell you how much it means to me that you shared that. But I’m sorry that you had to deal with that at all. No one should have that from a parent, and anyone who doesn’t believe you can fuck themselves.”
A ghost of a smile played on her lips, and she reached over and hugged me. I squeezed her against me and smiled into her hair. Every muscle in her back was tight, and I wished I could do something for her. “Should we continue our tradition, and I can give you a piggyback ride to your apartment?”
“At this point, we must,” she said, pulling back and looking up at me with an awed expression. “I would offer you to get on my back, but you’re kinda heavy.”
“Appreciate the offer, Mitch.”
We got out of the car, and I hurried to her side and waited for her to jump up on me. It might’ve been silly or stupid, but if it put a smile on her face, it was worth it. Her breasts pressed against my back, and I deserved an award for how polite my mind was acting. “Shit,” she said, sliding down my body and walking in front of me. She made a fist at her side and let out a grunt. “Goddamn it. Again. Why?”
“What’s going on?” I searched the area for anything that had alarmed her, but nothing jumped out. She’d started toward her door when I saw the reason for her outburst. The door hung open. Just an inch or two, but I knew damn well she’d locked it when we left. “Michelle,no.”
She stopped and gave me an unreadable look. It was a mask of the woman I’d gotten glimpses of all night. No warmth or joy or worry. Just…nothing. “It’s fine. Not your problem, Brooks.”
“If you think I’m just going to let you walk into your apartment that got broken into, you’re wrong. You arenotdoing this alone.”
She took a long breath and closed her eyes for a few seconds. Her long eyelashes fanned against her cheeks, and she looked so peaceful. But when she opened them, a fire was burning. “Fine.”
“What do you want to do? Call the police?” I asked, wincing at the hardened expression on her face. “Okay, maybe not?”
“No. I’ll handle it on my own.” She marched to her door in her beautiful dress that showed her curves in the best way, and I followed. Nerves danced along my spine, and a million thoughts flew through my head.
Was it drugs? A robbery? Random? Targeted? Should I have called the police anyway?
“Wait!” I yelled before she walked in. “Let me go first.”
She hid her smirk and shook her head. “Nope. This one is on me.” Then she reached into a bush in front of her door, pulled out a bat and charged into the apartment. It was a strange feeling to be turned on and worried at the same time.
“He won’t find anything. I’m not a fucking idiot,” she mumbled to herself, moving from room to room and holding the bat with a great stance. She gave me a wicked smile before kicking a door to a bedroom. I eyed the area around me, searching for god knew what. Drugs? Knives?
He as in…? The brother she mentioned?
She checked the last two areas before coming back to the entrance and tossing the bat on the couch. “My brother. He likes to break in and search for money when he gets desperate.”
“Michelle.” My voice cracked. “If I ever see your brother, I will punch him in the face. Your dad too, for that matter.”
She gave me a soft smile, one I wanted to keep and remember forever. She walked up to me, grabbed the lapels of my suit, and patted them down. “You sweet, beautiful fool.”
“Uh, that was some nice things and an insult.” I ran my hands down her sides and rested them just above her ass.
“My brother and father are not worth your time. You hit them, then they sue you and come after you as much as they can. They are lowlives.” She cupped my face, and her eyes took on a serious look. “I appreciate your defense of me, but you will not hurt a tiny bone in your hand over them. I forbid it.”
“Forbid it, huh?” I laughed. “Try to stop me, Mitch.”
She ran her teeth over her bottom lip before moving her hands to my pecs. She hummed as she continued feeling me up, and when I let out a quick breath, she jumped back like I’d caught fire. “Thanks for…everything,” she said, avoiding my gaze and backing up into the kitchen.
“You’ll be okay? I can sleep here.”
Her head snapped up, and her eyes were wide, so I corrected myself. “On the couch. I can sleep here on the couch just in case he returns.”
“No. No.” She frowned and started pushing me toward the door. “I got this, Brooks. My family, my problems. Now be a good date and get home safe. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I let her force me out of the door, but I caught her hand and pulled her to me. “I want you safe.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Yes, you can. But I like taking care of you, too.” I pressed a soft kiss on her forehead and set her down. “Lock the door. I want to hear it.”
