Now, someone was watching her. Stalking her. And from the messages on the back of several photos, the creep knew how he and Dex felt about her. And, Slade suspected, Gavin too.
This threat seemed so surreal, but the proof was staring him in the face. Someone wanted to hurt Hannah.
Gavin frowned. “I don’t have cameras outside my office doors. Maybe I should have listened to Dex about that. I’m sure he’s is in the mailroom now, interrogating the employees.” He sighed. “I think I should call in an outside firm.”
“What happened between you two? He put his fist through a wall.” Slade’s stomach was turning at the idea of some asshole harassing Hannah, but he had to deal with his brothers’
problems, too. Gavin would only be talking about calling in an outside security firm if things had gone terribly wrong between them.
“It’s complicated.” Gavin looked down, a sure sign that he was ashamed of something.
“How about I uncomplicate it for you? You took one look at these photographs and blamed Dex. Because he wants her badly, you leapt to the stupid conclusion that he was desperate or impulsive enough to become a peeping Tom. And his only choice was to call bullshit and walk out. Simple enough?”
Gavin’s gun metal gray eyes flashed back up, but there was a weariness to them that had Slade backing off. “Almost spot on. I thought Dex was using the photos to tempt me into joining the two of you in seducing Hannah. I know you want that, Slade. I can’t do it. I just can’t. Dex took offense to my mistake, and now he says he’s quitting as soon as she’s out of danger.”
“And Dex leaving is all right with you?” Slade wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to that question, but he had to ask.
Gavin clenched his fists. “No, it’s not. Damn it, Slade, he’s my brother, too. I have no intention of letting him walk out because of a misunderstanding.”
“I was listening in, Gavin. Dex didn’t misunderstand. You flat out blamed him.” Gavin sat back, raking his hand through his thick, chocolate-brown hair. “Okay, I’ll rephrase.
I have no intention of losing my brother because I was an asshole. Nor do I intend to allow someone to stalk my admin.”
Slade bit back a smile. Despite the horrors of the morning, he sensed a little progress. Gavin had admitted that he didn’t want to lose Dex. He was still calling Hannah his admin, but that would change, if Slade had his way. “Have you talked to Hannah yet?” Slade wasn’t looking forward to the conversation. Hannah was going to be terrified when she found out about these pictures. He stacked them, pulling out the least salacious one. They would have to show her so she grasped how serious this was, but he didn’t want to embarrass her.
“Not yet. I wanted to talk to you first. We’ll do our due diligence and call the police to report the threat, but there’s not much they can do unless this bastard has actually committed a crime.
They’ll tell her to lock her doors and buy a dog.”
Slade shook his head. “She’s a cat person. I’m sure Mr. Snuggles will be hell on intruders.
She’ll purr them to death.”
Gavin frowned. “Mr. Snuggles is a she?”
“Hannah was fifteen when she got her,” Slade couldn’t help but smile. “Apparently, she didn’t think to look for boy or girl parts. The name stuck.” Gavin threw his head back and laughed. The rich, deep sound filled the room and made Slade realize just how much he’d missed his older brother’s laughter. It had been so damn long since he’d heard it.
Gavin had tears of mirth in his eyes when he came up for air. “She has a transvestite cat.”
“She says Mr. Snuggles is just gender confused.” Hannah loved that damn cat. Slade knew he was going to have to learn to love the little furball, too.
“Such a silly, sweet girl,” Gavin said, his gaze straying to the photos.
There it was, that smile—with a healthy hint of lust—that told Slade everything he needed to know.
“We have to protect her,” Slade pointed out.
“I have a plan, and I hope you’ll back me on it. It should keep Hannah safe and bring Dex back into the fold.”
There was nothing Slade wanted more than that. “I’m listening.” Gavin hesitated. “You heard Dex say that he would take Hannah with him when he left, Slade. I know how you feel about her. Maybe you need to talk to him. I don’t want Hannah coming between the two of you.”
And just like that, Slade’s cock got hard. An image of Hannah between him and Dex assaulted his brain. She would be so small sandwiched by their bigger bodies. They would have to be careful, but they would get inside her, so deep that she wouldn’t know where they ended and she began.