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  She nods and looks wistfully at the image on the screen, but somehow, I know she’s not seeing the doctor but Keehan’s face. “Yeah, he’s like family to me. Committed. Best employee and friend I’ve ever had.”

  “Really? You two hang out?” Damn, I’m good at my job.

  She grins. “When our schedules permit. Nice thing, we almost always have the same schedule, so it’s natural to eat a lot of our meals together, spend holidays with one another, and the like. I’ve met his family, he’s met mine. We are both single children of overachievers. My parents live in New York and run their own company. His parents are in Seattle, big in the shipping industry.”

  “And the two of you have never hooked up?” I toss out the golden coin, hoping she reaches for it.

  Her face contorts into a confused expression. “What? No. We’re colleagues. Friends.”

  “Oh, so you don’t find him attractive.” I state it matter-of-factly in order to urge her to consider his physical attributes.

  She frowns. “I never said that.”

  “Well, do you?”

  “Keehan is one of the most attractive men I know. Women everywhere drool when we enter a restaurant or walk down the street. And you can’t see his body behind his suits, but we often hit the gym together, and the man is a brick house.”

  “And yet you don’t drool over him?”

  She chuckles. “When he’s got his shirt off, I will admit to the possibility of a little drool.”

  I laugh to keep the comradery and light conversation going. “Huh, I guess it’s weird.”

  “What’s weird?”

  “You and he, two attractive people, working closely together all these years, spending your free time together. Just seems, I don’t know . . . a little strange you haven’t fallen into a relationship.”

  “I never said we didn’t have a relationship. My relationship with Keehan is the most important in my life. He means the world to me. He’s the one man in the world besides my father I trust to always tell me the truth and treat me with respect. Keehan has my back in all things, as I have his.”

  “Oh, so it will be a little strange when you have to give up a lot of your time together for your future husband.”

  “Excuse me? What are you saying?” She frowns, pushes into the seat, straightening her body in a more defensive posture.

  I lean back into the couch and stretch my arm out. “Rochelle, any man who secures you as his woman is not going to be okay with the tight relationship you have with Keehan. He’ll have to take a bit of a step back in order to let your man be the one you count on, go to for things. Be there for you at night, on holidays, if you’ve had a hard day. Take you out for your birthday . . .”

  Her response sounds strained as she replies. “But Keehan takes me out every year. We have a tradition. On my birthday we fly to a new place we’ve never been. We stay the weekend and take in all the sights. We do the same on his birthday. It’s kind of our way of taking a small vacation and decompressing. It’s sacred, and we’ve done it since we were in college together.”

  “And you think your new man is going to be okay with you gallivanting away for a weekend with your ‘friend’ and employee, while he sits back at home?” I cock an eyebrow so she realizes the gravity of what I’m saying.

  She shakes her head and puts her hand over her mouth. For a long time, she doesn’t say anything. “Show me the next picture, please.” Her voice is tight, no longer expressing any excitement in the task at hand.

  “You’re the boss.”

  Mission accomplished. I smile smugly as I bring up the next photo.

  “Harkin Elba. Engineer. Never been married. Parents are deceased. Has a sister and a brother he’s close to—” I’m about to say more when she cuts me off.

  “Fine. Next.” She waves her hand at the screen, barely giving the man a glance, she’s so lost in her thoughts. Which I hope all lead back to one man.

  Keehan Williams.

  “Hey, Peaches.” I answer the phone and plop into the armchair in my suite. “I’m about to meet up with Royce for dinner, so we have to be quick.”

  A sob tears through the connection, and my hackles rise.

  “Skyler, baby, what’s the matter?” I stand abruptly, looking around the room, not knowing what to do when I hear her cry.

  “H-he, he’s going to show the w-world . . .” Her voice shatters into another bout of loud sobs.

  I clench my teeth and roll my shoulders. “Skyler . . . baby, you gotta stop crying so I can understand what’s got you so upset. I want you to breathe with me, okay? In . . .” I suck in a long breath. “. . . out.” I let the air out loud enough for her to hear me. I do this several more times until her crying subsides.

  “Now talk to me. You’re scaring me. Who’s going to show the world, and what are they going to show?”

  “Johan. He . . . Oh my God, Parker, it’s so bad.” Every word seems painful.

  “What is, Peaches? What is so bad? Tell me.”

  “You’ll hate me. They’re all going to hate me!” The tears start back up.

  “Skyler, stop crying right now and speak to me!” I scold with the harshest tone I can muster, hoping it shocks her out of her crying jag.

  “Johan is my ex.” Her voice cracks.

  “Yes, I know. You were with him almost two years. We haven’t talked much about him, though I know he was important to you and he hurt you.”

  “Yeah, but not like he’s about to.” Her words come out in a breathy whimper, each one apparently requiring extreme effort.

  My heart pounds a furious beat in my chest as my worry for her increases. “Baby, what is going on?”

  “He has pictures of me, Parker. Scandalous ones. And he . . . he . . .” She swallows loudly and lets out a breath. “He says he’s going to write a tell-all book and include the pictures. Show everyone! And I . . . That’s not who I am! I only . . . God . . . I did it for him!” She starts crying again.

  “Okay, okay, sweetheart. I think I’ve got the gist of this. He’s going to write some type of bullshit book about your relationship with him and share some pictures you don’t want shared? Am I following?”

  “Yeah.” Her voice is broken, and I can hear the devastation in every word she utters.

  “What are these pictures of?”

  “Me!” she chokes out.

  “I gathered that, baby, but be more specific so I understand why you are so upset.”

  “Doing things. Posed in compromising positions.” Her breath comes out ragged, and I wish I were looking into her face right now, ready to help take on this burden by her side.

  Based on how much this is hurting her, I’m guessing the man took naked photos of her. I grind my back molars, walk over to the bar, pour two fingers of scotch, and slam the liquor back in one go.

  “I’m assuming you’re naked in these photos?”

  She sniffles. “Yeah, honey. But it’s more than that. He was into kinky things and made me do things to him . . . wear things he wanted.”

  Visions of my Skyler in a variety of seriously debauched positions fly through my mind. “Such as?”

  “Well . . . in one of them, I was tied up to a cross on the wall. You can see e-everything. I was blindfolded. I didn’t even know he took them!” Her voice rises and falls with her fury.

  “Fuck!”

  “Parker . . . ,” she whimpers. “Please don’t hate me.”

  “Baby, I could never hate you. I’m not so innocent. We’ve both tried some kink in our past. As long as you were a consenting adult, there’s no problem. The problem is him taking photos without your knowledge.”

  “In another one, I’ve got a ball gag in my mouth, and I’m wearing nipple clamps and nothing else. Again blindfolded, but you can tell it’s me. Anyone could!”

  The ball gag doesn’t do a thing for me, but the nipple clamps would have my dick firing at attention if my girl weren’t so distraught and I ready to commit bloody murder on her ex.

 
“He says he’s going to tell the world about how kinky I am and how I liked to whip him and I left scars on his back the makeup artists have to cover up in his photo shoots. But I never did that! The most I did was flog him, and it wasn’t much fun. He always wanted it harder than I could do, and we’d get in a huge fight, and he’d tell me I was a terrible lover, and . . . and . . .” Her breath starts coming in labored pants, leading to a whopper of a meltdown.

  “I know, baby, and he’s dead wrong. You’re the best lover I’ve ever had. Ever. You’re so hot in the sack, baby, I never get enough. Don’t listen to him. He’s pissed he doesn’t have a chance with you ever again. He’s a piece of shit who wants to make money off your good fortune.”

  “But what am I going to do? He’ll ruin my reputation in the industry. Kill my career.”

  I shake my head, though she can’t see it. “I highly doubt that, Skyler. Have you talked to Tracey?”

  “No. I called you first.” Her tone is soft and needy.

  “Oh, baby . . .” My girl is being threatened, and she calls me first. I’m the first person in the world she goes to. Nothing could make me feel stronger, bigger, and more of a man than I do in this moment. Now I need to figure out how the hell I can help her through this. Flying to wherever this Johan is and beating the shit out of him sounds like the perfect idea right about now.

  I pour myself another two fingers of scotch right as there are a couple of knocks on my door.

  “Sky, listen to me . . .” I wait for her crying to stop again as I open the door and wave Royce in. “You’re going to breathe through this. You’re going to go and take a long hot shower. Then you’re going to call Tracey and tell her everything this schmuck threatened you with and what you think he plans to do with those pictures and his bullshit story. Then you’re going to pour yourself a nice stiff drink and order a pizza. Turn on the fire and watch the romance streaming app you like. Passionflix, is it?”

  “Yeah . . .” She sniffs and lets out a shuddery breath.

  “You’re going to be okay. Repeat it for me, Peaches.”

  “I-I’m going to be o-okay.”

  “Good. Real good. Now hang up with me and call Tracey. I want you to call me back later when you’ve gotten more information and heard from Tracey. Okay?”

  “Okay.” A beat of silence greets me before she says, “Park?”

  “Right here, baby.”

  “You don’t think any differently of me? You know, because I did that stuff?”

  My poor girl. I close my eyes and run a hand through my hair, pulling at the roots until I feel the prick of pain. “No, Skyler. I don’t feel any differently about you. You’re my woman. I like you a lot, remember? And besides . . . I’m falling for you.”

  “I like you so much.” Her voice cracks on a little sob. “I might even love you a little bit. Especially now.”

  I smile huge, because I feel the spear of her words hit my heart and burst my chest open with pride. “Save that type of talk until we’re face-to-face and I can hold you . . . and do other things to you. Okay?” I try to use my most suggestive tone so she’ll calm down.

  “Promise?”

  “Peaches, very little could keep me away from you for very long. I wish more than anything I were there with you now, so you could cry on my shoulder and I could hold you close. I swear this will pass. We’ll figure it out. You, me, Tracey, whatever it takes.”

  “I’ll do what you said and call Tracey after my shower.”

  “And order a pizza, and turn on your Passionflix. Remember when you told me they made one of your favorite author’s books into a movie? Sylvia Day, right?”

  “Yeah, but it’s not the Crossfire series.”

  “No?”

  “No. It’s Afterburn Aftershock.”

  I frown. I have no reference for that title, but it doesn’t matter. It’s a distraction. I hope a good one. “Have you watched it yet?”

  She sighs. “No, I’ve been filming.”

  “Then treat yourself.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay, shower, Tracey, pizza, movie. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “Call me later,” I remind her.

  “I will.”

  “In the meantime, I’ll be thinking of you.”

  “Me too.”

  She hangs up, and I hold up a hand to Royce, who is on instant alert. I’m sure he’s figured out my girl is in a bad place and wants the details. I pull up my contacts, find Tracey Wilson, and type out a text.

  To: Tracey Wilson

  From: Parker Ellis

  After you speak to Sky, please go stay with her. I don’t want her alone tonight.

  She responds in two seconds flat.

  From: Tracey Wilson

  To: Parker Ellis

  What’s going on?

  I text back as fast as my fingers can move.

  To: Tracey Wilson

  From: Parker Ellis

  Let her tell you. Please go there tonight. She needs her best friend.

  I turn to the table with the scotch and pour Royce a drink. My phone dings as I hand the tumbler to him.

  From: Tracey Wilson

  To: Parker Ellis

  Done.

  “Now tell me what the fuck is up with your girl,” Royce demands, holding his drink level at his knee.

  I shake my head. “It’s a shit show, brother, and it’s about to blow up in a big way.”

  5

  The scotch burns as I sip the fiery liquid, letting it mellow the rage inside my soul. I bring Royce up to date on what Skyler told me. His body becomes more rigid, like a jaguar ready to pounce, with each new piece I reveal.

  “This chump is going down . . .” Royce’s words are a shrewd, lethal promise.

  “Damn straight.”

  “We need to find out who his friends are, what’s going on with his finances. Something is riling him up. He didn’t wake up one day and decide to do this to a woman he hasn’t been with in years. There’s got to be a reason, Park.”

  I nibble on my bottom lip and pace the room until I realize there’s one person besides Tracey who can help. I grab my phone and pull up her name.

  It rings a couple of times before a man picks up. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your call at . . . eleven in the evening, Mr. Ellis?” He addresses me formally, as he knows this wouldn’t be a call I’d be making at this hour if it weren’t business or extremely important.

  “Michael, I need to speak to Wendy. I need her help with something immediately.” I form my request as a demand, leaving not even a hint of wiggle room for him to deny me if he wants his woman to keep her job. I wouldn’t fire her, but he doesn’t know me well enough to come to that conclusion.

  Wendy has become part of our extended family in the short months she’s worked for us. She’s irreplaceable.

  “I see.” His tone is direct, businesslike. “Please hold a moment.”

  There’s a rustle of sound, and then as if from far away, I can hear him speak.

  “Cherry, you may put on your robe for the length of time you speak to your boss. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir.” I hear her voice but just barely.

  “The moment you end the call, you will remove the robe and come kneel at my side.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” I hear Wendy’s answer, much softer than her usual go-getting nature.

  I grind down on the back of my teeth, wishing I hadn’t heard all that, but I’m intrigued nonetheless. I’d already figured out their D/s dynamic prior to this call. But if I hadn’t, overhearing what I did definitely confirms they are deeply into a lifestyle I know very little about. Unfortunately, with the pictures likely to be released to the public, I may have to become a lot more knowledgeable once my girlfriend’s photos hit the stratosphere.

  “Parker? What’s up?” she asks, all chirpy Wendy. I’m not sure what I expected, but she sounds normal as usual.

  “Wendy, look, I’m really sorry to bother you.” I r
ub at my temples with thumb and forefinger and start to pace once more. “Skyler’s in trouble. Her ex, Johan Karr, is threatening to share some kinky naked photos of her and write a tell-all book about her sexual proclivities, which actually aren’t hers but his, and I need to figure out why. Or at the very least, come up with something that can go up against what he’s threatening.”

  “Oh my God! What a creep!” She yells into the phone so loud I have to pull it away from my ear for a second.

  “You can say that again.”

  “I’ll um . . . talk to Mick and get right on it.”

  “I want you to go deep. We need to know his finances, what, if anything, he owes, who his friends are, where he frequents, anything and everything. If he’s threatening to ruin my woman’s career and good name, I want to fight fire with fire.”

  “Oh, I’ll find everything,” she promises.

  I lick my lips and lower my voice, not wanting to put myself or IG on the line, but knowing I’d do anything for Sky. “Even if you have to use some questionable means to do it . . . I . . .”

  “Parker, this is family. When one of us gets hurt, all of us get hurt.” Her words make my chest constrict and my heart feel like it’s going to pound its way right through bone and muscle and burst to the surface.

  She continues, “We may not have known one another for long, but besides Mick, you three guys are all I have. I’ll dig deep. Real deep. There will be no stone left unturned. Feel me?”

  My mouth goes dry, and it’s hard to speak around the sudden catch in my throat. “Yeah, Wendy, I feel you. Thank you.”

  “I’ll hit you back when I’ve got something.”

  “Anything,” I whisper, but it comes out as a plea.

  “You got it, boss man.” She hangs up before I can thank her again.

  “Good idea, calling in Wendy. She’s a freakin’ genius, man. If there’s anything to find on him, she’ll uncover it. For sure.”

  I nod numbly and stare out the window at the San Francisco skyscrapers, wishing I were seeing a different view. The one from Skyler’s penthouse would be ideal right about now.

  Royce claps me on the back. “We’re going to figure out how to help your girl. Let Wendy and Tracey do their jobs. There’s nothing more we can do from here ’cept wait.”