The UN Series Complete Box Set (96 page)

I run a hand over my hair fucking stressed to the max. He threatened her? Didn’t I tell the motherfucker to stay away from her? “He showed up at my office a while back. And started going on about how she is cheating on me with Tate.” I shrug. “I didn’t deny it.”

Josh looks over at Tate. “Did you guys have a thing?” Then his eyes flick back to me nervously.

Tate looks like he wants to puke at that thought and if shit hadn’t just blown up in my face, I would laugh.

“No, they have never had a
thing
. Remember you were there when Tate entered the picture,” I remind Josh of when Tate showed up her mother’s house after her death.

He nods his head as if he’s trying to put the pieces together. “Then why didn’t you deny it?”

“Because I could care less what the fuck he thinks. Back when he cheated on her, the fucker broke her heart,” I say gritting my teeth. “I didn’t want him to think he actually had that power over her.” I sit back down on the couch and release a sigh. Maybe it’s me who doesn’t want to think he had that power over her. That she could have loved him enough for that.

“What are we going to do about him?” Tate asks sounding determined to get rid of this fucker.

“I know some guys who could do me some favors.” I look up at them, my face serious.

Josh frowns, and Tate looks intrigued. “What?” I ask Josh.

“Who owes you favors?”

“I’m a defense attorney.” I wave a hand in the air. “I have let many people walk who deserved to spend their lives in jail.” I shrug. “Call it returning a favor.”

He gives a fake laugh. “Funny,” he says dryly.

I wasn’t joking.

Tate pats me on the shoulder. “Let me do all the dirty work my friend.” Then he points a finger to the stairs. “Just try to stay out of trouble. The last thing we need is you pissing her off and her ending up leaving.”

“Leave?” Josh arches an eyebrow. “You can’t make her stay.”

“Yes I can,” I say before taking a drink of my beer.

“I’m out of here.” Josh sighs.

“What? We still have another game to play.” I look over to the pool table.

He shakes his head. “No. Looks like I need to get home and let Courtney know we might be having company.”

I tilt my head in confusion.

“Because Sam is either going to come to our house or go to Micah and Holly’s when you two piss her off,” he explains.

“Makes sense,” Tate concurs, as if that is an option.

I shake my head. “She’s not leaving this house tonight. Or any night,” I add.

Josh has a look of pity on his face. “Pick your fights, Slade,” he throws over his shoulder before he walks up the stairs.

“Another game?” Tate says turning to the pool table.

“Might as well.” I sure as hell don’t want to go upstairs and deal with her at the moment. “Let’s have a drink with our game,” I suggest, walking over to the small mini bar, and opening the rum to pour us both a rum and Coke. Sometimes a beer just won’t cut it. I hand him his full glass, we clink them together, and we both take a big swig before starting our game.

Three hours later, after losing count of how many rum and Cokes I’ve had, I find my way up the stairs. Tate follows slowly behind me.

“Go crash in the spare room,” I offer for the third time.

He nods his head and heads off down the hallway to our spare bedroom. I stumble to our bedroom and curse when I find the door locked.

She locked me out.

I bang on the door a few times trying to wake her up. I know her. She probably took a nice long bubble bath and then passed out. She also probably thought I would try to get a piece of ass tonight. There’s been several times where she has woke with my head between her legs or my dick in her pussy after she went to bed mad at me. I could have easily restrained her and had my way with her, but that would have just ended up pissing her off more.

I release a sigh as I try the door one last time. I could open it but just don’t really care right now. With my hands fisted down to my side I turn around and walk down the hall into the media room. I pull a blanket off the back of the couch and once I’m naked, I lie down and cover myself up.

CHAPTER FIVE

SAMANTHA

I walk out of the closet dressed and ready for work when I realize I don’t see Slade’s clothes anywhere. I grab my purse and walk out the bedroom. I make my way to the kitchen and see a pair of keys lying on the kitchen counter. Picking them up, I notice they belong to Tate’s truck.

Did he stay the night?

Once the coffee is started, I make my way down the hall to the bedroom in the back. I slowly open the door to find him snoring on his stomach, still fully clothed.

I enter. “Tate,” I say loudly. He doesn’t even budge. “Tate,” I call louder and shove him a bit.

His body rolls over onto his back and a small pill bottle falls out of his jeans pocket. I frown and pick them up. I try to read what it says but the writing on the bottle is worn off. I squint my eyes trying to get a better look when it is snatched out of my hands.

I jump back with a yelp and a look of surprise on my face as I look into Tate’s dark blue eyes.

He climbs out of bed, not saying a word, and walks to the bathroom. I try to think of what those could have been for. Tate doesn’t do drugs. Does he? I mean they seemed like they were legit. I roll my eyes at myself. I’m sure druggies keep their illegal drugs in a prescription bottle as one way to not look so obvious.

I make my way back to the kitchen and sit down at the table waiting for him to come down the hall. As soon as I see him, I sit up straight.

“We need to talk,” I say deadpan.

He gives me a look of annoyance. “What I do is none of your business,” he says flatly.

My eyes drop to his pocket where I can now see the pill bottle taking up the space. Does he always have them? “Drugs?” I ignore him.

“I don’t do drugs,” he says flatly.

“I’m sure that’s what all drug addicts say.” I cross my arms over my chest.

He slams his hand down on the countertop making me jump. “Let’s get this straight. I do not do any illegal drugs. What my doctor prescribes is between him and me. Got it?”

I hold his stare, trying not to let him intimidate me. His dark blue eyes look bloodshot, and his jaw is hard. His lips in a thin line. I sigh. “I don’t want to fight with you.” I run a hand through my hair. “You’re right. It’s none of my business. I’m just worried about you.”

He sits down. “No need to be.”

“Tate I…”

He places his hand up and stops me. “I don’t want to hear it, Sam.” He takes in a long breath before he lets it out. “Let’s talk about what happened last night with Jax.”

“You guys are lying to me,” I accuse, already knowing they have secrets.

“I lied to you. Well technically I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you everything.”

I clench my jaw. “Tell me everything now.”

He looks up at me. “When you came and saw me at my house, wanting to know about your mother, I told you that I had kept tabs on you. I knew the night you went and stayed with Holly and Micah that you were going back the next day to move out your stuff. That next day when they took you to the hospital, I went to your house and beat the shit out of him.”

“What?” My mouth drops. “He said my boyfriend did it.”

He looks nervous for a second as his eyes look everywhere in the room except at me. “I told him that I was your boyfriend.”

“Why?” I frown. That makes no sense.

He reaches up and rubs his forehead as if he shouldn’t need to explain this. “Because I didn’t want him coming back around you. I didn’t want him bothering you.”

I put my elbows on the table and place my face in my hands. “I’m not mad at you about that. But why couldn’t you just have told me?”

He shrugs. “I didn’t feel it was necessary.”

“Isn’t that my call to make? Since it’s my ex we’re talking about?”

“I guess you could see it that way.”

We sit there in the silence for a few seconds. “Is there anything else you want to tell me regarding Jax?” I ask.

“Just that I’m going to kick his ass again,” he says, and I swear the corners of his mouth turn up a little bit.

I laugh. “Okay then,” I reply, standing up.

He lifts an eyebrow. “Not gonna slap me like you did Slade?”

“No. Slade pissed me off. I had time to sleep off my anger. So you get off easy.”

“How did he piss you off?”

I take one last drink of my coffee before I rinse the mug out and place it in the dishwasher. “Because I know he’s keeping something from me.” Tate shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “I just can’t figure out what it is.”

He stands from the table. “Give him a break. It’s not easy living with you.”

I gasp, and he laughs. “What? I can’t imagine it’s easy living with any chick,” he adds.

I smile and then shrug. “True. But it’s also not easy living with a controlling male who thinks he runs the world.”

He chuckles as he turns around and starts to walk out the front door. “Oh, Tate?”

“What?” He turns to face me.

“Just so you know, I’m throwing Missy a birthday party here at the house tomorrow night,” I announce with a smile.

“I know,” he says releasing a sigh. “She already invited me.” He waves his hand in the air. “Don’t worry. I’m coming.”

“You don’t have an option.”

He shakes his head at me but chuckles as he walks out the door. I push Slade and last night out of my mind as I grab my purse and head off to work.

*****

I walk into the house with Courtney later that evening, our hands full of sacks.

I throw my sacks up onto the countertop in the kitchen and start to go through them. “Did you buy the entire store?” Courtney jokes.

“Just everything having to do with turning twenty-one.”

“Is everything okay with you and Slade?” she asks pulling out a pack of balloons.

“Why do you ask?” I try not to let her question bother me.

“Well, because you only spoke with him once today, and you were real short. Usually you can’t keep him from calling or texting you.”

“I was busy,” I say defensively.

“Rearranging your pens in your drawer?” she asks with a smile.

I open the second sack and start to unpack it. “We got into a fight when I got home last night,” I finally say.

“Oh I know that. Josh told me you slapped him.” She gets a dreamy smile on her face. “Wish I could have seen that. I bet he was shocked. Hell, Josh was in shock when he told me. But I’m guessing it takes a lot to shock Slade.”

I look over at her a little shocked myself. “He told you that?”

She nods. “He told me to make sure the sheets were clean in the spare bedroom, because he figured you would end up crashing at our house.” She drapes her arm over my shoulder. “Not gonna lie. I was totally looking forward to having a girls’ night.” She sighs dramatically.

“I wasn’t going anywhere. I just went to the bedroom, took a long bath, and then went to sleep. Of course I locked the bedroom door so he couldn’t get in.” I smile as I recall him beating on the door last night to let him in. I had fallen asleep but the pounding of his fist on the door woke me up. There was no way in hell I was getting up to open it though. I didn’t want to argue anymore.

“So you guys are fine now?” She removes her arm and places a balloon in her mouth and starts to blow it up.

I shrug. “Not really. He left this morning before I had woken up. Somehow he unlocked the bedroom door and got ready for work this morning. I haven’t really talked to him today about it.”

“Gotta keep these men on their toes,” she says between breaths while blowing up the balloons.

“Why are you blowing those up? I want them to be full of helium.”

She stops blowing and lets it go. It flies threw the kitchen making a strange noise as all the air releases.

“You didn’t tell me that,” she says pulling in a few deep breaths.

I raise an eyebrow. “Only ten weeks pregnant and you’re already out of shape?” I tease as she huffs and puffs.

She reaches down and picks up the pack of balloons before she throws them at my chest. “That’s not fair,” she whines. “I’ve already gained ten pounds. I have a feeling I’m going to look like a beached whale by the time I have this baby,” she pouts, rubbing her belly that is still flat. I think the ten pounds are in her head.

“Well then I will push you out to sea and set you free,” I quip.

She gasps dramatically. “I can’t believe you said that.” She holds a hand over her heart as if I hurt her.

“What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t try to save a beached whale?” I try to sound serious, but I can’t get through it without laughing.

“You can be such a little bitch.” She smiles at me.

I bow. “Why thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

“I took it as one.”

She rolls her eyes then changes the subject. “What did Slade say when you told him you were throwing this party for Missy?”

I had very shortly explained it to him when we spoke today. “He said ‘oh yeah, I forgot about her birthday’.”

“Typical man.”

I nod my head agreeing with her. I feel my body stiffen when I hear the door to the garage open. I keep my head down and continue to pull a birthday banner out of the sack when I hear Slade enter the house.

He walks in, and I feel my heart rate pick up as he walks around the kitchen. He walks up behind me and pulls the hair off my shoulder. He bends down and places a soft kiss on my neck. I curse my arms for breaking out in goosebumps.

“How was your day, Angel?” he asks softly.

“Fine,” I say curtly.

He places another kiss on my neck. “My day was great,” he answers like I had asked.

I roll my eyes at him and pull away. I’m still mad at him. He had no right to talk to Jax about our relationship, not to mention everything else he lied about.

“Anyway, I made a stop on my way home for you,” he says turning away from me and placing his sack on the counter by the fridge.

I turn around to look at him as he pulls out my favorite bottle of wine; Barefoot Moscato. “Just something I thought you would want for the party tomorrow night,” he says with a knowing smile. “Or if you just wanted a glass tonight while you took a hot bubble bath.”

Courtney places her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand. She looks over at him with a dreamy smile as she lets out a small sigh.
Pushover.

“And also.” He then pulls out a box of Godiva chocolates.

I narrow my eyes at him, and I look over to see Courtney instantly drooling at the sight of them.

“Thanks,” I say taking them from his hands and handing them to her.

“You’re very welcome, Angel,” he says sweetly. “I’m going to go take a shower,” he announces before he walks out of the kitchen.

“Mmmmhmm,” Courtney says through a mouthful of chocolates already. “He’s good,” she compliments, nodding her head. “Very good.”

“Yes.” I sigh. “That he is.” I throw down the bag of streamers and follow after him.

I storm into the bedroom and head toward the bathroom. As soon as I walk through the bathroom door he grabs me and spins me around. “I knew you would follow me,” he smirks. “Was it the chocolates or the wine? I would like to know for future reference.”

I ignore his cocky attitude. I’m not in the mood for it. “All I want to know is why you lied to him.”

He lets out a long breath as he slowly runs his hands down my arms. “I know how much he broke your heart.”

I frown. “You weren’t there, Slade. You don’t know anything.”

“I wasn’t there but I remember the way you sounded when you called me.” His baby blue eyes look deep into mine. “I knew from the second you spoke his name that you loved him.”

I don’t know where he is going with this but for a moment I regret asking.

“When he confronted me in my office he acted as if you were nothing to him. As if he never loved you.” He pulls away from me and starts to pace. “When he said you were cheating on me with Tate, I laughed. I know that you would never do that to me.” He comes back and places his hands on my face. “I know you love me, Angel. But I hate the fact that you once loved him.”

I swallow nervously. I know Slade has had women in his bed but I also know that he has never loved any of them. It must be hard for him to think about the fact that I once loved Jax how I love him now. “I
thought
I once loved him.” It’s true. I was blinded when it came to Jax. I really didn’t know any better.

“Don’t give me that bullshit,” he says softly. “We both know what kind of person you are.”

I bite my bottom lip nervously. “Can you enlighten me?”

He smiles, and it eases my nerves.
A little.
“You would never fuck around with someone, let alone move out of state with someone, unless you loved them.”

“If I wouldn’t have followed him to St. Louis, then I would have never met you,” I say placing my hands on his chest.