“What game is this?” I ask through a mouthful while watching a guy get his head blown off.

“Call of Duty,” he mumbles. “These fuckers are campin’!” he shouts into the mic while the guy on the screen looks around him, trying to find whoever is shooting at him.

Before I know it, I’m yelling at the TV every time Justin gets shot at. I get so lost in the game that I don’t even realize how late it is until I look at the clock and see that it’s already after eight at night and I haven’t done anything with my day besides eat junk food and lie on the couch.

“I gotta get ready for work,” I tell Justin.

He grunts and nods. I get up and go to the office to get online. After I pay my bills, I check my e-mail, and the first one is from Sid.

Angel,

There is so much I should have told you, so many things I should have said. I want to hear your voice. Please call me. My number hasn’t changed.

XX Sid

I close my eyes and lay my forehead against the desk. I do not want to deal with this, but I know I need to let Sid know that there’s nothing between us and never will be. I feel bad, but I know I’ll feel worse if I let him believe even for a second that I felt anything for him.

“What’s going on?”

I lift my head and look at Justin, who is standing in the open doorway of the office.

“Nothing.”

“It’s something,” he says, coming in and setting a cup of coffee down on the desk in front of me as he takes a seat and raises an eyebrow.

“Thanks.” I take a drink of the coffee and sigh with happiness.

“So, what’s going on?” he repeats, and I know there is no way he is going to let it go.

“My old boss sent me an e-mail and wants me to call him.”

“That’s nice,” he says, leaning back in the chair.

“I think he believes there’s something between us,” I say quietly, shaking my head.

“Boss man won’t like that.” He smiles, rubbing his eyes.

“Kenton won’t care.”

“I beg to differ, sweet cheeks.” He shrugs. “I’ve known Kenton for a long time and have seen plenty of women come and go—”

“I don’t want to know this,” I cut him off, feeling a ball of jealousy beginning to form in the pit of my stomach.

“Do you want to know how many times I came to stay when Cassie was living here and Kenton went out of town?”

“No.”

“Do you want to know how many times he asked the guys to swing by her job to check on her or any of the other women he’s been with?”

“No,” I repeat again, that warm feeling settling in.

“Do you know how many women he’s become possessive over?”

“No,” I whisper.

“The answer to all of the above is zero. You are the first woman to have him tied in f**king knots, and I know you’re going to say it’s because he’s looking out for you, but I guaran-fucking-tee it that’s not the reason.”

“Please don’t say anything else,” I mumble.

“Why are all women the same?” He shakes his head, running a hand through his long hair. “Women are always talking about how men are so afraid to commit when the truth is you guys send the most f**king confusing signals. One minute, you want us, and the next, you’re running away.”

I raise an eyebrow and he shakes his head again.

“E-mail your boss and let him down easy. If you don’t and Kenton finds out about him, he will let him know and won’t be nice about it.”

“I think you’re blowing this out of proportion.”

“You think so?” He smiles and gives a small, humorless laugh. “Kenton had one of his best friends by the throat for calling you a sweet piece a few days after they saw you at the hospital. It took three dudes to pull Kenton off him. I’ve never seen him react like that over a female.”

I have no idea what to do with that information. I’m not even sure I want to know what all of that means exactly.

Justin continues. “All I’m sayin’ is whether you want to be or not, you’re his, and he won’t like your ex-boss sniffing around.”

“Did you beat the game?” I ask, trying to change the subject.

“You never beat Call of Duty.” He smiles then looks out the window.

“Have you heard from him today?” I ask softly, thinking about everything he just told me and really wanting to talk to Kenton. I want to know that he’s okay. I really want him to know that I’m thinking about him and miss sleeping with him.

“Not after your text last night, though I’m surprised he messaged you back. But that only proves my point—you’re the exception.”

“You know I sent him a text?” I ask, surprised and slightly annoyed while ignoring everything else he just said.

“His phone goes thorough my computer. I get all his messages. It’s easier than waiting for him to send me the info I need. In this business, a second can mean the difference between landing a case and getting hurt.” He stands up and leans on the side of the desk.

I don’t want him hurt, so I’m glad they’re taking every precaution necessary. Then I wonder what kind of texts Kenton gets daily where he needs that kind of precaution.

“Oh God,” I whisper in horror when I realize that Justin probably saw my drunken texts to Kenton. “Do you read all his personal messages?”

He smiles and nods. “Yeah. The ones from his mom are the best.” He starts to laugh, and I can only imagine the kinds of texts Nancy sends Kenton. I’m sure they’re something like, Did you eat your vegetables? Are you taking your vitamins? Do you have clean socks and underwear?

“I like Nancy.”

“She likes you too,” he says softly, making me wonder what he knows.

I look away and try to swallow the lump in my throat.

“I’m gonna go back out and finish my game while you send your e-mail.”

“Sure.” I try to smile, but I know that it’s one that doesn’t meet my eyes. I wiggle the mouse around until the screen lights back up and press reply on Sid’s e-mail.

Sid,

I don’t want you to think that I haven’t appreciated you or your friendship over the last few years. I also don’t want you to think that I don’t care about you, but I don’t think we have anything else to talk about.

I wish you all the best,

Autumn

I press send and hope that he understands. I know he may think that he cares about me or wants a relationship with me, but I’ve had a front-row seat to Sid’s dating life over the last few years, and if he really wanted something serious with me, I doubt he would’ve paraded all of those women in front of me.

I close down the computer and yell to Justin as I’m passing the living room that I’m going to get ready for work. He says something back that I don’t really understand due to the loud sounds coming from the TV.

*

Kenton

“Fuck, man. Good to see you,” Link says as soon as he spots me when I exit the airport.

I pull him in for a one-armed hug and pat him on the back, and he does the same before we separate. He pops the trunk for his SUV. I toss my duffel bag in and then walk around and climb into the passenger’s seat.

“I wish you were here under different circumstances,” he says, running a hand over his head and using the other to start up the car.

“Me too, brother.” I pull out my phone and see a message from Justin letting me know that he’s at the house and Autumn is home safe from work. I don’t think it’ll be long before she messages me, telling me off about Justin being there.

“The police really wanted to call Autumn, but I told them she’s in Europe and I would get a message to her as soon as possible,” Link says.

“Fuck,” I clip. “I don’t want her to know her place was broken into.”

Yesterday, while I was still wrapped around her in bed, Justin called and woke me up to tell me that Link had been trying to get ahold of me to let me know that Autumn’s condo had been broken into. I didn’t want her to know what was going on, but I needed to see for myself if I could find out what had gone down and if the break-in had anything to do with the shooting at the club.

“Chances are the two things are completely separate. Someone probably noticed that her place has been empty for a while and wanted to see if they could find anything worth pawning,” Link deduces.

Those are my thoughts too, but I’m not going to chance it. I know the local PD is trying to find out what’s going on, but they’re taking way too f**king long. “I’m not leaving this shit to chance. While I’m here, I need to see the tapes from the night of the shooting.”

“They’re at the club,” he says, pulling onto the highway. “Sid’s there tonight. He’ll let you look them over. I figure you can sleep for a while, and then we can head to the club later.”

“Sounds good.”

We drive in silence for a few minutes, and I know that he’s dying to ask about Autumn. I’m just waiting for him to say something, hoping it doesn’t piss me off when he does.

“How’s Autumn?”

I smirk, looking over at him. “A pain in my ass.”

“She got to you, didn’t she?” he asks softly, tapping his thumbs on the top of the steering wheel.

“Yeah, man.” I shake my head. “She’s not what I expected.”

“She’s thinkin’ about movin’ to Tennessee.”

“I know,” I reply, feeling a hint of jealousy that she talked to Link about it.

“Don’t hurt her, man. She’s a good woman,” he says.

I feel a growl start to vibrate my chest. I know there’s never been anything between them, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t piss me right the f**k off that he feels like he can look out for her.

“Don’t,” I say, hoping he gets it.

“There’s a lot you don’t know.”

“I know she has a sadness inside her that she tries to fight, but it’s so deep that she gets lost in it and has a hard time finding her way out. I know she freaks when she’s tickled and has a hard time letting people in. I know she has a boy she lost, and the loss still haunts her. But I also know that she smells like flowers, loves to be held even if she denies it, is cute as f**k when she’s angry, and is funny as hell when she lets down her walls. I may not know everything, but I know enough that I want to know more,” I tell him, hoping he gets that this isn’t some passing f**k to me.

I also hope that he understands that, yes, he may know more than I do, but she is mine to worry about now. I don’t like explaining myself to people, but I want him to comprehend that she is not a conquest; she is mine, and I take looking out for her very seriously.

“When she’s ready for me to know everything, she will open up to me.”

“Right,” he replies, no sarcasm to be found in his tone.

“Tell me about Sid.” I know that Autumn worked for him, but I don’t know what kind of man he is or if he keeps his business on the up-and-up.

“He’s a good dude. I’ve known him for the last five years. He’s good to the girls at the club, always willing to help them out.” He pauses and takes a breath. “He has a soft spot for Autumn.”

“Have they had a relationship?” I grit out.

“Autumn doesn’t date. Sid’s been tryin’ to get in there for years, but she hasn’t ever clued in or returned any of his feelings.”

That makes me feel somewhat better about meeting him, but it doesn’t mean I want to sit back and have a beer with the guy. “Do you think he was in on what went down?”

“Nah. He wouldn’t put anyone in that kind of danger. He knew three of the men who came into the club for the meeting, but the fourth was not someone he planned for. From what I understand, the fourth man was a guy by the name of Terry Waters. He was the owner of two of the largest strip clubs in Vegas. The police had been working on building a case against him for sex trafficking and prostitution.”

“Jesus.” I shake my head, wondering what the f**k to do with this information.

“They think he was the target,” Link explains, and I see that his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel.

“So the rest were just casualties?”

“Basically.” He shrugs.

My phone beeps and I click my messages, seeing that it’s from Autumn. I smile before I even read her message. I know she’s pissed about Justin being there, but I want to make sure she’s safe while I’m out of town and don’t want her at home alone. I don’t think the shooter has any clue where she is, but I know that Cassie is still on a rampage. The good news is that, as soon as Cassie gets my message from Finn, she will no longer be an issue, but until things get sorted, I don’t want her f**king with Autumn while I’m gone, especially after I found out that she’s the one who posted the video of Autumn on YouTube after they’d been at the same club.

Am I pissed that Autumn was letting some guy do body shots off her? Hell yes, but I know she was completely smashed when it happened. I also acknowledge that she never had a chance to experience that kind of thing before. Do I wish it had been me licking salt off her tight, little body? Fuck yes, I do, but I know only me and my mouth will be allowed to touch her from now on.

I look at the message from her and laugh before quickly replying. We pull up to Link’s apartment and I realize that I’m f**king beat from the last few days. Autumn’s schedule has mine all f**ked up.