Rayne paces up and down my office like a caged animal. A mixture of rage and terror dances in his eyes, only making me more nervous as I pack up my desk.
He arrived twenty minutes ago and spoke to my dad, asking if I could work from home for the foreseeable future, spouting some shit about how he was worried for my safety after the attack at the gala.
I don’t question him though. Not when he looks like he’s about to lose his mind with worry. I just gather my laptop and files, making sure I have everything I need before picking up the box I’ve thrown it all in and crossing to where he stands. “I’m ready.”
Rayne lets out a sigh of relief and takes the box from me. “Come on, let’s go.”
I nod and trail after him, trying to avoid the curious glances of the kids in the gym. I don’t want them to be worried about me, and I don’t want them to think they can’t reach out just because I’m not here.
“Take care of her,” my dad says to Rayne before pulling me into his arms.
“I will. Nothing is going to happen to her on my watch,” he promises my father.
“Make sure you let the kids know they can call me whenever. I’m still working, I’m just not here.”
“I know, Em. I’ve got a stack of your cards I’m going to give to the kids as they come in. They’ll be fine, and so will the Center. Don’t worry about it.” Dad squeezes my shoulders but he seems just as hesitant as I am to pull away. He finally lets me go and gives Rayne a meaningful look. It’s always been us against the world, ever since my mom left, but he doesn’t seem hesitant to entrust Rayne with my safety.
We say a quick goodbye and I wave to the kids before crossing the street to Rayne’s SUV. The moment our doors are closed, I turn to him, waiting for him to give me something… anything.
He puts the car into drive, his fingers wrapped so tightly around the steering wheel his knuckles turn white. Part of me desperately wants to know what the fuck is happening, but the other part, the part that can sense how on edge Rayne is, would like to remain blissfully unaware.
“We’re going into lockdown. My parents are driving out to the country house, which is basically Fort Knox as we speak, and Storm, Wynter, and Snow are currently moving into the penthouse. We have a protocol for when there’s a threat and we’ve enacted it.”
“A threat?” I whisper. I know I don’t want the answer to the question, that no good can come from knowing, but I ask anyway.
Rayne sighs and looks over at me briefly as we pull onto the highway toward the penthouse. “We grabbed one of Russo’s men this morning and questioned him. Russo is… obsessed with you. And when I killed his man who came to collect you, he decided if he isn’t able to get you, he’s going to go after our sisters.”
I suck in a harsh breath and bring my knees up to my chest. I don’t understand what I did to capture Angelo’s attention like this, what I did to make him so desperate to get a hold of me that he’s willing to threaten other people.
“I don’t want you to worry about this. Storm and I are handling it, and we’re going into lockdown as a precaution. We have full faith in our security guys, but we aren’t willing to risk anything with the most important people in our lives.”
Tears pool in my eyes and I quickly swipe them away. “I don’t understand why.”
He takes a deep breath to calm himself before reaching his hand across the console to place it on my thigh. “Apparently Russo has had an interest in you for a while, longer than we’ve known one another.”
“But I’ve only met him once. Just that night at Aces. How could he have been interested in me when we had never met?” Panic claws up my throat, my entire body paralyzed with crippling fear. The only thing keeping me grounded is the warmth Rayne provides, the hand holding my thigh so tightly I know he’s trying to remind himself I’m okay, that he’s with me and nothing can hurt me.
“I think you underestimate how incredible you are, sweet girl,” Rayne murmurs as we pull into the parking garage. “Everything is going to be fine. I promise I won’t let him anywhere near you, okay?”
I nod, but I can’t be the reason Wynter and Snow are in danger. I would never be able to live with myself if something happened, if they got caught up in the mess I never meant to make. I have to find a way to make this right, even if it means leaving Rayne and becoming one of Russo’s casualties.
Having Rayne’s sisters at the penthouse is actually like having the siblings I always dreamed of. We watch movies together when Rayne and Storm are working, have family dinners, and they even help out with some work with the Center.
Wynter is still working for Frost Industries, but she seems to be leaning on her assistant for a lot, which means she has more time to spend with us. It’s nice to have people to lean on when being stuck within the same four walls starts to get to me. It’s kind of like one big slumber party apart from the fact their brother takes me to bed every night and makes me forget everything but his name.
I never knew sex could be like this. I never knew another human could play my body so perfectly you would think I’d given them a roadmap. And yet Rayne knows which spots make me moan, and which make me scream. He doesn’t seem to care that his siblings are all asleep down the hall, and after the first few nights, I stopped caring as well.
“Do you guys have to work tonight?” Wynter asks from the kitchen as she stirs the pasta sauce she’s had simmering all day.
“Nope, we’re all yours, little sis.” Storm grins. He’s a lot more casual than I’m used to seeing him, always wearing a T-shirt and sweats when he’s hanging around the apartment.
The Saint James family aren’t anything like I expected them to be. When they’re home together they’re just like any other siblings. Snow and Storm bicker like there’s no tomorrow. Rayne and Storm have a brotherly bromance they don’t seem to get to enjoy very often, and Wynter and Snow are a force to be reckoned with when they’re together. Honestly, I’m surprised Rayne and Storm survived them as teenagers without killing them.
But being here with them, getting to know them for the people they are rather than the people the media portrays them to be makes me feel like part of the family.
Rayne wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me into him. “How was work?” he asks, kissing the top of my head.
“It was good.” I smile. “Laurence called earlier, he got early acceptance for Brown and wanted to let me know. Apart from that, I’ve been working through some resumes to get some much-needed help. Even if we can just get someone in to do the breakfast with Dad, it would be a load off.”
“Wynter’s good with that kind of thing,” he tells me. “She hires a lot of our staff.”
I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Our legit staff.”
“She’s been helping a lot.” I smile warmly at her.
“Emerson is a little fussy with who she wants to interview though,” she teases.
“Hey! I’ve never hired staff for the Center before and we haven’t had help for a long time. I’m selective about who spends time with the kids.” I shrug.
Rayne chuckles behind me and holds me close. He does the same thing every night when he and Storm come home. He goes straight to the bedroom and showers, and then he seeks me out and holds me as close as he can for as long as I’ll allow him to. It’s a ritual I can’t get enough of, one that makes me feel safe and wanted. Loved.
“Any news?” I ask and Rayne’s hold on me stiffens at the question.
“I’m sorry, sweet girl. I know you’re going stir crazy being stuck up here.” He presses a tense kiss to my bare shoulder.
I sigh. “That’s okay. I’m just going to go read a few more resumes before dinner.” I step out of his embrace and feel the loss immediately. Where there was warmth a moment ago, the cool air takes it away after only a moment.
I’ve tried my best not to make a habit out of working late, but when my mind wanders too far, it’s the only way to bring me back. I’m ahead in all my classes after Rayne somehow organized for the classes I’ve always had to go in for to be streamed, and apart from hiring a new staff member, everything at the Center is up to date as well.
For the first time since I started college I’m up to date with everything in my life, but it comes at a time I need a distraction, that I need something to occupy my mind so I’m not thinking about the fact Russo intends to take me as his own, even if it’s against my will. I’m trying not to think about Rayne leaving the penthouse every day with the threat of not coming back to me. And I’m most definitely trying to keep my mind from wandering to the fact that if Angelo can’t get his hands on me, if he can’t take me and do God knows what, he’s going to take Wynter or Snow, the women I’m quickly considering to be friends.
“Emerson?” Snow says softly from the doorway. I only got as far as standing in front of the desk. Raynes given me his home office to use for as long as I’m here. Well, what he actually said was something along the lines of, ‘this is your office now that you’ll be living here.’ But I’m trying not to think about the future because it has never seemed as uncertain as it does right now.
“Hey.” I smile at her. “Is everything okay?”
“I came to ask you the same thing.” She laughs softly, closing the door behind her and moving to sit in front of the desk. This office is something I only ever could have dreamed of before Rayne carted me into this penthouse and never let me leave. Bookshelves full of books bracket the room. The large wooden desk covered in resumes spans the center of the room, and behind me is the best view of Chicago I’ve ever seen. Lincoln Park Zoo, one of my favorite places in the world, can be seen from the desk and beyond that is the skyline that takes my breath away as the sun begins to set and the city lights sparkle.
I love this office and if everything Rayne is promising is true, which I’m not holding my breath about, then I’ll be very happy working here.
“Everything is fine.” I force the most reassuring smile I can to my lips but even I don’t think it’s convincing.
Snow sighs. “I bet it’s hard for you, this life.” She motions around us. “You grew up with so much freedom, never worried about the bad man always lurking around the corner. I don’t think Rayne has considered that as much as he should because he’s so focused on keeping you safe. The boys are older than Wynter and I. They knew a life that didn’t revolve around security guards and protocols, albeit not a very good life, but still a life. They don’t realize how stifling it can be when there’s no escape.” Snow stares into empty space as she speaks words she usually buries under the surface.
I nod. “It is hard. A few weeks ago I had a life so vastly different to this one. I was broke, and I was tired, but I was safe… or at least I thought I was. And then Rayne comes along and suddenly I’m living with a man I barely know, I have a security detail, and then I’m locked down. It’s all moved so fast and I feel like I can’t catch up.”
“What I wanted to tell you is that this part, the being locked up part, it won’t last forever. Storm and Rayne know Wynter and I don’t cope with being stuck in one place for long, and I suspect Rayne knows it’s the same for you. We just have to wait it out a little while and then once the coast is clear you can go back to a mostly normal life.”
“Mostly normal?” I ask.
Snow chuckles. “I say mostly because I can’t imagine Rayne is going to be any less protective once the Russo situation is handled. You’ll have security and he’ll want to know where you are if for no other reason than his own sanity. But for the most part, it won’t be like this.”
I smile sadly, wondering if I had known this would be the result, would I have ever entertained the idea of being with him? Would I have gone into this knowingly running headfirst into danger? Or would I have turned the other way and got as far away from him as I could manage?
It’s too late for hypotheticals now, but it doesn’t stop me wondering, what if?
