relatively quiet in here.
The doors slid open and in stomped Raiden. “When were you going to call me? Another bomb, Scottie, and you didn’t think to notify me? I had to watch it on the news to find out.” He spewed the words out with force. Fury and rage punctuated each word, and it gut-punched me. This was a new side of Raiden, an overpowering one, that had me rising from my chair.
“Hang on one second. One, never speak to me in that tone again. Two, it happened late last night, and I didn’t want to bother you.”
“Bother? Bother?” His voice rose with each repetition.
“Yes, dammit. Stop acting like you own me or you won’t have another opportunity for a discussion such as this. If you can even call it that.”
“Own you? I thought we were more important to each other.”
“So did I, but with the way you’re speaking to me, it has me questioning that.”
His nostrils flared, but he was silent. When I saw he was going to stay silent, I asked, “May I explain without you going batshit crazy on me?”
He only nodded.
“When I came home last night, Jeremy went inside to check and saw the tripwire attached to a timer. He’ll be fine because he immediately turned around. He told me what he saw, and I knew then whoever set it didn’t want to kill me. If they had wanted to, they wouldn’t have used the timer.”
I waited for a response. All he said was, “Go on.”
“The police, bomb squad, fire department, and Drex and Gemini came. By that point, it was over and there was nothing to do. Everyone was safe. Jeremy went to the hospital. He suffered a severe concussion but is being released today. To be honest, when it was all over, I was so damn tired, all I wanted to do was sleep.”
He scowled. “And did it ever cross your mind to stay with me?”
I stared straight into his eyes—eyes that turned icy with anger. “It did.”
“Then why, may I ask, did you stay here?”
“The truth?”
“What do you think, Scottie?”
“The truth is, I’m not ready for that yet. A night or two is great. But I was afraid that if I came to you, you’d want me for longer than a few nights.”
“I see. And is that thought so distasteful to you?”
“Of course not! I love spending time with you. I’m just not ready to move in with you full time yet.” Gesturing with my hand, I continued, “We’re still too new. We’ve only just begun, so to speak. I don’t want to ruin that.”
He attempted to rub his chin, but his bandages prevented it. “I have plenty of rooms. You could take another bedroom.”
“Really? Do you seriously think that would work? And be honest, Raiden.”
“Never in a million years.”
“Precisely.”
His eyes bore into mine, and then he turned and disappeared through the doors.
Why were men so frustrating? This situation was so clear to me, it made no sense that he didn’t agree.
Chapter Eleven
Raiden
Anger coursed through me. The worst thing about it—I was utterly helpless. Another fucking bomb and in Scottie’s house. What the hell was going on? Was this retribution? And why Scottie? She hadn’t been involved with the O’Briens.
When I arrived at Kent Enterprises, the progress that had taken place shocked me. They’d gutted and renovated my office. Cruze came in and asked, “Thoughts?”
“Are they planning to return it to its former beauty?”
“You’re the one to decide that. As soon as they get the flooring in, they’re ready to paint. What do you want to do?”
“I don’t care. At this point, I’m just pissed off. They could throw in some cardboard boxes and I’d be fine.”
Cruze threw an arm around my shoulders. “I take it you heard about Scottie then?”
“I just came from there.”
“Her house?”
“No. I went to Wolfe’s and confronted her.”
“And?”
“I was angry with the way I heard about it. Through the fucking news on TV. So I made a damn fool of myself.”
“Like we all would’ve done in your shoes.”
I turned to face my brother. “But why Scottie? She had nothing to do with the O’Briens.”
“True, but where is your brain? She works for Wolfe and with us.”
My fists clenched. Why hadn’t I thought of this? “They’re watching us.”
“Yes, they are. Why would you think otherwise? When these bombs didn’t do the trick, I’m guessing they’ll resort to other methods.”
“Shit.”
Cruze was silent.
“The rest of the family. They need protection.”
“Raiden, it’s handled. While you were in the hospital, we decided it