Safe With Him (7 page)

She ran over to the door and shut it quickly, but quietly, and locked it. She stood for a minute with her back to the door, then she slowly slid down until her ass hit the floor. She sat there for a little while, trying to control her breathing, and waiting for her heart to stop beating so franticly. Then she jumped up, ran to her bag, dug out her phone, and called her brother.

“Didn’t I tell you?” she shouted into the phone as soon as Storm answered.

“Damn, Ree, stop yellin’ in my ear,” he blasted back. Then in a more worried tone, “Tell me what?” he questioned, and she knew that was when he registered the panic and urgency in her voice.

“Didn’t I tell you those
friends
were only out for themselves, that they don’t give a damn what happens to anybody else?” she hissed the words out and now that some of the fear was leaving her, she was starting to get pissed.

“What the hell are you talkin’ about? What friends?”

“Those cops!” she spat out.

“What about them?”

“Because they’ve been hanging around here, I got a visit from someone, and not a nice someone either, looking for them or their woman or what the hell ever!” she blurted out all in one breath.

“What the fuck, Ree? Who the hell was there, and when?” His voice rose with each word.

Bree told him about the guy just showing up at her door asking about Draco or Draco’s woman, and even implying that she was more than just Draco’s woman. She told him what the guy looked like, and also how creepy he acted. Then added how she acted as well, before the guy just walked out the door.

“Fuck!” he snapped out when she stopped talking, then asked, “Did you call the police?”

What
? Was he serious? “Storm!” she ground out, and knew he got it.

“Damn it, Ree, not every fuckin’ cop in the world is dirty.”

“Maybe not, but any of them that has anything to do with Mr. Hugo sure the hell hasn’t taken a bath in a mighty long time.” She couldn’t for the life of her figure out why Storm was so set on getting her to believe anything good about a cop.

She heard him take a deep breath and blow it out. “You’re home and everything’s locked up tight, right?” he questioned her.

“Yes, of course.”

“Stay in. Don’t go anywhere until I get back. I’ll try to make it back by tomorrow, or rather today, being that it’s already Sunday. Do you need anythin’? Or have to go anywhere before I get back?”

“No, was just planning on crashing until Monday.”

“Good. You do just that. But, if you need anythin’, or just get a weird vibe, you call me. You do not go anywhere or open your door to anyone unless I tell you different. Okay?”

“This is bullshit! Locking myself up a-freakin’-gain because of some damn cops.”

“Ree, I said o-fuckin’-kay!” he snarled at her.

“I heard you! Okay, okay! I won’t go anywhere or open my door to anyone.” She finally got the tone and seriousness in his voice.

“Promise me, Ree, promise me you swear you will do what I asked.”

“Dang, Storm. I promise you I will do like you asked. I swear, okay?” She was too damned tired to argue anymore.

“Okay,” he said then. “You okay now?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Good,” he said, then added, “Love ya always, Ree.”

“Love ya always, Storm.”

Bree did as promised and didn’t leave her apartment all of Sunday and Monday. Hell, even if she hadn’t made that promise she wouldn’t have left. After almost no sleep Saturday and working all of Saturday night, she’d spent the most part of Sunday sleeping and cleaning. Monday was mostly spent studying and trying to get ahead in all of her classes.

She still hadn’t heard any more from Storm, but she knew he sometimes took off for a couple of days. She wasn’t sure why, but figured he just needed a break from her. That, she couldn’t fault him for. Hell, he was thirty years old and had been taking care of her since the day she was born up until she was old enough to take care of herself. Even then, he still watched out for her. So if he needed a break from her every once in a while, who could blame him?

But now it was time for her to leave for work. She couldn’t put it off any longer or she would be late, so she grabbed her coat, slipped it on and zipped it up. It was a thin coat, but it was long, so if anyone saw her it just looked like she had on a modest—very modest in her opinion—dress, compliments of Storm. She was reaching for her bag when there was a knock on the door. She stood frozen until she heard, “Ree,” then exhaled in relief as she ran to the door and opened it.

Not even a second later, Storm snatched her up into his arms and hugged her tight. When he let her go, he gave her a long look before turning around. “C’mon,” he told her as he stepped back out into the breezeway.

“What are you doing?” She wondered as she followed him out the door.

“I’m takin’ you to work,” he stated flatly, then started walking toward the parking lot.

She hurried and locked her door before following after him. “What? Why?” Her face was etched with confusion.

“Not lettin’ you run around all hours of the night by yourself.” He continued walking without even looking back at her.

She stopped dead in her tracks.
Oh, hell no!
“Stop!” she barked, waiting for him to stop and turn around to face her.

“We need to break this down,” she started. “One,” she said, holding up one finger. “Let me? We don’t even need to discuss that.”

“Two.” She added a second finger. “I do not
run around
all hours of the night. I am at work.
Inside
. The entire night.”

“Three.” She held up three fingers. “I am capable of driving myself to and from work on my own. You know this, you know I’m safe, and…” She paused as she leaned into him. “You know I know how to
stay
safe!” Her words dripped with annoyance at Storm’s unusual behavior.

“Ree—” was all he had a chance to say before she cut him off.

“I’ll tell you what. We forget you said any damn thing like ‘
let’ me
and I’ll compromise with you. I will drive myself to work, but will call you when I
get
there, inside or out. The choice is yours. I will call you when I
leave
work. Same choice. And I will call you
again
when I hit the parking lot.”

When he said nothing, only narrowed his eyes at her, she added, “Or I can go to work, get off work, and go stay at one of the girls’ house for the night with my phone off. Then you won’t know where I am until
I
decide I’m ready to come home.”

He remained silent, but his face got tight and his jaw twitched. “So?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “What’s it going to be?”

She watched him look up at the ceiling, mumbling something. “Compromise,” he spat out through gritted teeth, then took a breath to calm down as he met her eyes again. “Call me when you get there from inside. When you leave, call me once you are
locked in your car
. Call me when you hit the parkin’ lot, but do
not
unlock your doors or get out until you see me. Okay?” He looked like he was pleading.

“Okay.” She nodded, then started walking down the breezeway to her car. When he continued to walk with her she looked over at him.

“I’m walkin’ you to your car and not leavin’ until you, locked inside your car, pulls outta’ the parkin’ lot. No fuckin’ compromise.” Without any more argument, he stomped down the breezeway beside her.

*  *  *

From the tree line in his back yard, Draco watched Storm and Bree walk together to her car. Watched as Bree stood by the driver’s side door and turned to face Storm, rising up on her toes to kiss his cheek and say something. Watched as Storm’s face got soft for only a beat as he leaned in and kissed her cheek, saying something in response. Then his face went hard as he said something else.

Then…
what the fuck!
She got in the car and drove off by her damn self. As soon as he saw her tail lights hit the road, he stepped out and walked over to where Storm still stood watching his sister drive off.
By her fuckin’ self
.

“What the fuck?” Draco snapped when he got closer to Storm.

“She fuckin’ called compromise.” Was all Storm said and didn’t even look in his direction. Shaking his head, Storm walked back up the breezeway and left Draco to stand there.

No way in hell was he going to just leave things alone like that. He moved fast, catching up with Storm. “What the hell was there to compromise?” he asked, and again Storm just shook his head.

A moment later, he looked over at Draco. “Do you have a sister?”

“No,” Draco told him.

“Then you probably won’t get it. But here’s the thing. She’s my sister. Been takin’ care of her forever. Don’t get me wrong, I never once minded, sweet as she is…” He shook his head again. “Even when she was little, never was that bratty little sister. Seems like since the day she was born she was sweet and funny and always had a smile to share. Even when we didn’t have a single fuckin’ thing to smile about she would find some way…” His voice drifted off for a beat, then continued. “It was my fault…but fuck, when she called, told me one of Hugo’s men was here
in her place
and I couldn’t do a damn thing…” He took in a breath. “Seein’ her whole and in one piece,
knowin’
what could’ve happened, I lost it and fucked up tellin’ her I was takin’ her to work.” He finished, again shaking his head.

Draco waited a minute, then two, then three and when Storm still didn’t say anything else and they had already walked inside his apartment, he lost his patience. “
And?
” he blurted.

Storm looked at him, then blew out a breath. “Told her I wasn’t gonna let her run around all hours of the night by herself,” he confessed as he flopped down on the sofa and scrubbed his face in his hands, saying no more.

“So?” Draco insisted, because he didn’t see a problem. The woman needed protection, and Storm was supposed to
be
that protection.

Storm dropped his hands, raised his head and looked at Draco like he had lost his mind. “Ree…” he began, “sweetest person you could ever meet unless you cross her or someone she cares about, or if you piss her off,” he stated like he knew all too well what could happen when he pissed his sister off. “A pissed off Ree is someone you
never
want to meet,” he added, and Draco was starting to see that, because he’d seen and heard her when he had pissed her off. “Fuck, man, I was lucky as hell I got a compromise from her.” He flopped back into the sofa, staring up at the ceiling.

Draco walked over to the chair and sat down. “Compromise?” he asked, still not altogether understanding or happy about this turn of events.

“Yeah, it’s a thing with her. If you piss her off, she’ll give you what she calls a compromise, when it’s not a fuckin’ compromise at all. She gives you two choices, both shit choices, but one is a little bit better than the other…not much, but some.
And
does fuckin’
not
include anywhere
remotely
what you wanted in the first place.” Storm explained, raising his head to look at him. “The woman doesn’t know the
definition
of compromise
.
” He let out a grunt and flopped his head back.

“So what were the choices she gave you?” Draco crossed his arms, interested.

Storm turned his head to Draco but didn’t lift it. “She drives herself to work, calls when she gets there, calls when she leaves, and calls when she hits the parkin’ lot here. Oh, and she would forget that part about me saying I wouldn’t
let
her,
or
, she drives
herself
to work, crashes with one of the girls, turns her phone off and comes home when she gets damn good and ready…and with Ree, that could be anywhere from tomorrow or next week. Just depends on how pissed off she is.”

“Fuckin’ hell,” Draco groaned as he flopped his head back on the chair, just like Storm.

“That ‘bout sums it up.”

*  *  *

Draco walked across the parking lot of Stripped.
Please don’t let her be up on stage.
He knew if he walked in that door and she was up on that stage taking her clothes off, that if some asswipe even
looked
at her, Draco would be ready to beat the hell out of him. The way she looked and the natural way she carried herself was sexy enough. Fuck, he couldn’t even think about if she was
trying
to be sexy. He knew every guy in the damn place would be watching her.
Please fuck, don’t let her be on stage.

He abruptly stopped dead when a thought hit him.
Lap dance
. “Fuckin’ hell,” he growled. If he walked in that door and saw her giving some fucker a lap dance, he would tear the whole fuckin’ place apart. “Please, just let her be in the fuckin’ back,” he begged, not so silently.

Walking through the door, his eyes were immediately drawn to the stage.
It’s not her
. He took a breath, moved to the doorman, and flashed his badge. “I need to speak with the manager.”

Draco watched the man pick up a phone, hit a few buttons, say something into it, then hang it back up before he informed him, “He’ll be right out.”

Draco stood where he was, looking around, but not
too
carefully, in fear of seeing Bree doing something that would probably end with his ass behind bars. It was, Draco had to admit, a decent looking place. The security seemed to be top notch and the bouncers appeared to be watching the crowd and not the girl on stage. He spotted a man striding with purpose in his direction. He was a very big, very wide man and even from a distance Draco could tell it was all muscle that made up his girth.

“Help ya?” the man asked as he made his way toward Draco.

Draco flashed his badge. “I’m Detective Vittore. I need to speak with a Breezie Winters.” His voice was firm.

“Who? Oh, Bree? Can ya wait ‘bout two minutes? She’s a little busy at the moment.” The man requested.

Fuck!
Draco cursed to himself. He took another quick look around, still not seeing her. “Where is she?” he demanded while looking around. Could there be a private room?
Fuck, don’t let there be a fuckin’ private room in this place.

“Right over there,” the man answered, pointing toward the bar, which was packed. There were people crowded all around, making it nearly impossible to see where he’d motioned.

“She’s at the bar?” Draco asked back in confusion.

“Behind it, yeah.”

“Behind? She’s just a bartender?” Now he was confused and shocked.

“Not
just
a bartender. She’s the best I’ve ever seen! Hell, she brings in just ‘bout the same amount of customers as the strippers do. Sometimes more.” The man’s chest puffed out with pride. “Go check her out. Watch for a minute, then I’ll tell her to take a break,” he said, but Draco was already walking in that direction.

He reached the crowded bar, or as close to it as he could get. Even though he couldn’t quite approach the counter itself, being as tall as he was he still had a pretty good view of her. She was dressed about the same as she had been in the parking lot Friday night. Another tight little top with ‘Stripped’ written across her chest, but this time instead of a skirt she had on a pair of shorts that just barely covered what needed to be covered. He watched her in fascination.

She was dancing around, flipping bottles this way and that, pouring shots, mixing three different drinks, and pulling a beer at the same damn time. On top of that, fuck him, she was doing it to the beat of Kesha’s
Take it Off
that was blasting out from hidden speakers. He could not take his eyes off of her. When the song was ending she did some kind of twist, then slammed the last drink down in time with the last note of the song.

The crowd went wild, and he watched Bree smile so big. Draco saw the man he had spoken to walk up to her and say something in her ear. Her smile wavered a bit and her eyes started scanning the crowd. When they met his, her smile dropped completely away. Her eyes narrowed, and Draco felt that like a punch in the gut. Then she turned back to the man, nodded her head, and walked away.