He watched me so closely I knew I’d never be able to hide anything from him. While I worked for them. I had to remind myself that that’s all it was. Work. No matter how much they made eyes at me.
“You won’t be working for the sex club. You’re going to be our nanny. If you decide to go to the club, I’ll be there. I’ll only take you as deep as you can handle, Sutton. You can trust me.” He blinked and then transformed back into his easy-going persona. “So. About the kids.”
We started walking again like he hadn’t just blown my mind. I stumbled at first and he caught my arm and helped me along like we were on a normal walk.
“Ollie is Dom’s. He’s four. He wants to be as bossy as his dad but Charlie won’t let him. Lee is Leon’s. She’s three and has everyone wrapped around her finger. Then, there’s Charlie. She’s seven.” He ran his hand through his hair and stopped walking again. “Charlie’s different. She’s with me.”
I could feel my eyebrows furrowing. “She’s your daughter?”
Theo’s face hardened. “No. I’m going to tell you this because I want to trust you, Sutton. If you use it to hurt Charlie, though, I won’t let you rest. Ever.”
I took a step back and wrapped my arms around my stomach. A chill washed over me and I believed him completely. He’d haunt me. I didn’t know what to do with the messed-up thought in my head that wasn’t sure being haunted by Theo would be terrible.
“Huh.” He studied my face and lightly dragged a knuckle down my cheek. “You’ve got some darker thoughts in that brain of yours, don’t you? Maybe you’re not really an angel.”
My face was on fire.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He smirked and shrugged.
“About Charlie. She’s not mine. She’s none of ours. We found each other on the streets one day. She saw me working and followed me. She had nowhere else to go and I liked her attitude, so I let her follow me around. She never left and when it was time for me to come home she just…came with me. She had nothing and no one and now she has me and everything.”
My heart warmed for him. And Charlie. I don’t know what he thought I would do with that information to hurt Charlie but as long as she was safe and happy I didn’t care about anything else.
“You’re wrong.”
His eyebrows raised.
“She is yours. And you’re hers.” I poked him in the chest and smiled. “You’re a softie, aren’t you?”
He caught my hand and held it to tug me alone.
“I just threatened you and that’s your response? And everyone tells meI’mbroken.”
“You threatened me to keep Charlie safe. It doesn’t count.”
“Did you start out crazy or did the kindergarteners make you this way?” He stopped at a small creek and let me cross the cute little wooden bridge before him. “This separates the two properties. From here on, it’s our home and is only connected to the club because we own both. If you never want to step foot in the club again, you don’t have to.”
I didn’t know how to answer that because I wasn’t sure about the club. I knew how I was supposed to feel but I wasn’t sure I felt that way. So, I went with the first question he’d asked instead.
“I started babysitting when I was eight. We lived in a small town farther south and people weren’t as picky about who watched their kids, I guess. I knew right away I wanted to be a teacher. So, I don’t think I can blame the kids for my crazy.”
“You were working at eight?” Theo sounded unhappy about it for some reason. “Why? I did a background check on all the applicants and then I dove deeper into you after meeting you last night. Your parents both had good jobs.”
I blinked up at him and crossed my arms. I understood the background check to make sure I’d be safe around their kids, but I’d never had one go back to my childhood before.
“I’m not sorry. I keep my family safe. Now I’ll keep you safe, too.” He shrugged. “I do it myself. No one else has access to the information I collect. I don’t always respect people’s privacy, but I have rules that I follow.”
I ignored the way my chest fluttered at the way he stated he’d keep me safe with such finality.
“Um… Okay. Sure. I guess it’s fine. What else did you find about me?”
“Your parents divorced when you were thirteen, and you and your father moved to Dallas when you were fifteen. You graduated both high school and college with a perfect grade point average. And you’ve never had a steady boyfriend or girlfriend. Not that you’ve posted to any social media anyway. Also, you were nominated for Teacher of the Year but you were robbed by some fuck named Karla for the win.”
I covered my mouth to hide my laugh. I had my own opinions about Karla Chisam but I didn’t need to voice them when Theo put it so well.
“Wow. That’s a lot.”
