"Text me if you need anything. I'll bring it as I come."
"Just you."
"That's a given," he says, winking at me before he turns and heads for the door. "Be back soon."
"Be careful."
"I will. Love you." He says the last as he's disappearing around the corner.
"Cash!" I call.
He pops his head back into view. "Babe?"
"I love you, too."
He eyes me for a second and then walks back to me. As if he knows exactly what I need, he takes me in his arms and lifts me off the floor. When my face is level with his, he professes earnestly, "I love you more."
"Not. Possible."
"Quite. Possible."
"Never."
"Always."
After a deep yet sweet kiss, he sets me on my feet and makes his way out of the room. I stand watching the doorway long after he's gone.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Cash
I know Gavin's on top of things, but in this particular instance, I'm not quite comfortable leaving him to deal with Sophie. At least not yet. I know what she's capable of-or at least what she was capable of when I knew her a lifetime ago-and I don't want her left to her own devices, unchecked. He needs to know what she's like and what her background is. He needs to know where I stand on everything so that there's no misunderstanding. For anybody.
When I pull back into the garage at the apartment behind Dual, I walk around front and go in the main doors rather than entering through the apartment. Already it doesn't feel like my home anymore and I don't like the feeling. It's where Olivia and I have spent countless happy nights and I'm not overly fond of having someone else sleep there.
The bar is empty when I walk in, so I head to the office. Gavin is behind the desk filling out paperwork when I stop in the doorway.
He raises his head and gives me a nod of acknowledgement before returning his attention to his task.
"How's Olivia holding up?" he asks in his Australian lilt.
"She's … holding."
"And how are you holding up?" Something in his voice is knowing. He has obviously deduced that my existence is on the verge of being dragged into a shitstorm of drama, and he knows me well enough to know that I hate drama. I think most men do.
"I haven't broken anything yet, so there's that."
He grins, but still doesn't look up. "I guess that's something. What's up?"
It annoys me that he's still so engrossed in what he's doing. I need his full attention right now. This is important. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Filling out the bloomin' ass ton of paperwork you have for your employees." He finally raises questioning eyes back to mine. "Unless you don't want me to do these for her."
I don't have to ask who "her" is. "No, I want them on file for her, too."
"Well damn," he says with a sigh, jotting something at the bottom of the last page and then turning them all back over to tap them into a neat pile. "That's not at all the answer I was hoping for." He says this with a grin as he leans back in the chair and laces his fingers behind his head.
"We need the protection," I explain.
"So it's like that."
"Yeah, it's like that."
Gavin leans forward, lowering his voice. "I don't trust her either."
"Why?" I ask, curious as to his answer.
Gavin is not only my friend and the manager of Dual, but he's the most cautious man I've ever met. No doubt it's a result of his time spent working as a mercenary. He's had to learn to be a good and quick judge of character, to be suspicious as a rule and cautious to a fault. That came in pretty damn handy during that mess with Olivia. I got to see his instincts in action. I had hoped never to need them again, but something about Sophie … I don't know. It just makes me uneasy. And now, knowing that Gavin doesn't trust her either … well, that only makes me more skeptical.
I guess I can only hope that whatever it is about her that's setting off red flags for both of us doesn't end up being anything that requires Gavin's particular brand of expertise.
He shrugs. "Nothing concrete yet. Just a feeling."
"Your feelings give me feelings," I tell him.
"That's because you're smart and I'm a damn good judge of character."
"That's just what I was thinking. But really, what is it that bothers you?"
"I can't put my finger on it, but I can do a bit of digging if that's all right with you."
I wonder for a second if I'm being neurotic in my paranoia, but then I think of my wife and I realize that I'm overprotective for good reason. I'd rather take the beating of a lifetime than to see her hurt. And if Sophie can hurt her in any way, even by hurting me, then I'm damn sure going to do everything I can to prevent it. And the only way I can do that is to keep my guard up and find out everything I can in the meantime.