“Hey, Jared, how are you?” Tabby asked, sounding happy and relaxed.
Good. She deserved to be happy after all the shit she’d been through.
“I’m fine.”
Sort of. He didn’t know what this itchy, restless feeling inside him was. But he couldn’t seem to get rid of it. He should be happy. He had power, wealth, and a sub who he fucking . . . well, who he wanted every moment of every day.
Who was just his.
And who he would never let go of.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “Are you happy?”
Jared let out a small bark of laughter. “Tabby, you know that happiness isn’t for someone like me.”
Although sometimes he thought he felt happy. At least he figured that’s what the feeling bubbling through his body was.
“What do you mean? Of course it is,” Tabby protested.
But he heard an off note in her voice. She knew what he was saying.
“Is your man treating you well?” he asked with a threatening note. Because if he wasn’t . . .
“Of course he is. Razor always treats me well.”
Damn.
He was happy for his cousin, of course. But he missed her. It was better that she was away from this life, though. It was dangerous and no place for someone sweet and innocent.
Not his cousin.
And not Angie, either.
Fuck. He shouldn’t be thinking about her. It was bad enough that he could see her in every corner of this house. That he still had a photo of her in the top drawer beside his bed . . . and one of her soft toys.
What he should do was get rid of every memento of her. Every piece of her. Let her go.
She was unattainable. Which might be part of the reason he wanted her. Because Jared Bartolli wasn’t a man who was ever denied anything that he wanted.
Yet he denied himself her.
Because he actually wanted to put her first. Which was odd. He’d only ever felt that way about Tabby and North. Their happiness and safety were always most important to him.
Of course Tabby now had Razor.
And North would skin him alive if he tried to coddle and protect him. North was fiercely independent outside of sex and play. Sure, he liked to pretend to be some mild-mannered, timid assistant.
But that was the perfect cover for someone who could sneak into any building without leaving a trace.
“Good,” Jared said. “You tell me if that ever changes.”
“Do you think you’ll ever find a Little, Jared?”
“What makes you think I’m looking for one?” he asked smoothly.
“Just a thought. Unless North . . .”
“Tabby, stop prodding at your cousin for information about his love life,” Razor said in the background.
