I tried to stay between them the best I could, but kept mute. I had done all I needed to do. All he had to do was say the magic words.
“So she can be hurt by you assholes? Like hell, I will. She’s not going anywhere with any of you fucks!” he yelled, leaning over me to get closer to Brent. “I fucking quit, and so does she! And I’m going to help her build one hell of a lawsuits against you shits. We’re leaving now and don’t even think about laying another fucking hand on her.”
Clapping erupted then, startling everyone.
Ally stood right next to us, everyone surrounding, as she clapped calmly and murmured to Peter, “You lose, big boy.”
“What?” he asked, clearly not understanding. No one else did, except for Bas and Chloe, whose mouths were catching flies.
I turned around and placed a hand gently on his arm. “Remember. You promised you wouldn’t get angry when I won.” He blinked and silence extended. “The wager, Peter.” Claritystarted to clear the red haze that had surely overtaken logical thinking in those large brown eyes.
He yanked away from me and stumbled back a few steps.
“Ember, what’s going on?” Brent murmured, tucking me into his embrace quickly.
Ally beat me to the punch. “Peter here didn’t seem to like Ember much at first. He was downright rude about her being an employee of Lion Security. He, also, didn’t believe that she could analyze people enough to persuade them, so I made a bet with him.”
“What was the bet?” Cole asked slowly, eyes on the fuming Peter. Cole bent over and placed a kiss on the top of my head while Brent still held me. Brent shoved him away.
“Fuck off, Brent. She was just ripped from my arms while our own employee accused me of sexually assaulting her.” Cole voice was so animated I knew he needed comfort.
I stood on tip-toe and kissed Brent’s cheek before wiggling out of his arms to go to Cole, much to Brent’s dismay. Cole’s arms encircled my waist right before he picked me straight up off the floor, gripping me tight. I tried not to wince and whispered, “I’m sorry about that. I wouldn’t have let it go too far.”
“She’s got fucking bruises all over her stomach and ribs. You’re hurting her, dammit.” Brent grabbed me under the arms and tugged softly, but his meaning was clear. Cole’s startled gaze caught mine. He was demanding even when he didn’t say anything. I sighed and nodded. He released me gently, scowling, while Brent placed me back on the floor, and he ordered, “The next time I hurt you, you tell me. Understand?”
He was dead serious.
I nodded again.
Both had hands on me, so instead of picking I turned around and rested back on both of them. Tense bodies, and all.
“Damn. I thought she was single,” Bas whispered to someone. I felt Brent and Cole shift against me, probably eyeballing Bas. I didn’t look. I needed to deal with Peter now. He hadn’t calmed down much.
“Are you finally ready to take care of the pissed off giant?” Ally asked dryly.
“God, I love that Ember’s here,” Stash murmured from my right. He sounded almost reverent. He so needed a hobby. Er…one that didn’t involve incriminating photos, that is. Too bad when I dropped his camera it hadn’t broken.
“Okay, so there was a bet.” Zane took control of the quickly spiraling situation. “Who all knew about this?”
“Everyone but the four of you,” I explained. “You were at work when it was arranged.”
Zane nodded. “Okay, what were the wagers details?”
“I bet him that by the end of the day Ember could get him to quit. He didn’t believe it. He took the deal like that.” Ally snapped her fingers promptly.
Zane crossed his arms. “What did he forfeit since he obviously lost?”
Ally’s face fell and she scowled, mumbling, “Ember came up with the stakes.”
Zane looked at me. “Well?”
“Since he lost, no matter if she wants him in there or not, he has to stay in the kitchen and help Ally cook dinner when she blesses us with her dinners for the duration of his stay.”
Silence.
Everyone’s faces were blank, except for Bas and Chloe. Their heads were darting around like fireflies blinking, trying to see all of our expressions.
“Oh, hell, darlin’. What did he do to you?” Brent asked, trying to step around me to go after Peter, who was starting to calm down.
