Back at the House

SHAY

When I woke up, Zane was gone. But he’d left a cell phone on the bedside table with my name on it.

I was hungry, so I showered quickly, grabbed the phone, and headed to the kitchen. As I sat at the island, the chef gave me a warm smile.

“You must be the new girl,” he said, starting to make waffles.

“Yes, I’m Shaylee—Shay for short. Thanks for the food,” I said, gesturing to the waffles he was making.

“It’s my job. I love cooking for everyone here,” he replied, placing the food in front of me. His phone rang, and he checked it. “Excuse me, it’s my mom. I’ll be right back.”

I nodded and took a bite of the waffles. They were delicious. I tried to eat slowly, but he still hadn’t returned when I finished. So, I got up and put my plates in the sink.

I decided to explore the massive house. It was a maze of corridors and rooms, and soon enough, I was lost in a wing I hadn’t seen before.

I tried to find the elevator to get back to the right floor. As I turned a corner, I saw a man on the phone.

I started to approach him. His back was to me, but I overheard part of his conversation and quickly hid around the corner.

“Hey, man, where’ve you been?”

I heard a muffled voice on the other end.

“Did you get those pictures I sent you?”

He paused.

“No problem. They won’t know what hit them. Just give me some time, and I’ll get it done.”

He hung up and started walking my way. I quickly found a large tapestry to hide behind just as he turned the corner.

He walked past me. I let out a sigh of relief and then slowly followed him down the hall to a familiar area.

I couldn’t see his face, just his tall figure. He was wearing a black hoodie that covered his head. I stopped and let him disappear from sight before I headed back to the elevator and went up to the sunroom.

Looking out the window, I saw a golf cart with the guys on it coming up the path. Just then, the phone Zane had left me rang.

I picked it up and heard Zane’s voice on the other end. “Morning, love. I’m glad you’re up. Did you have breakfast?”

“Yes, I had waffles about an hour ago. They were delicious.”

“He’s a great cook. I’m glad he works for me. Where are you?”

I moved closer to the window. “Look up,” I said, waving at him as he passed by.

“You like that room, I see. Stay there, and I’ll come get you. We need to get a few things for you, and then you’ll stay here tonight.”

“What about work?” I asked, wondering why I couldn’t go back.

“I have all the money you need. You don’t need to work. I’m about to get in the elevator—I’ll see you in a bit.”

He hung up, and I sank into a big chair.

Why couldn’t I work? I didn’t want to be stuck in this house forever.

Zane walked in and pulled me into a hug.

“I missed you this morning. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake you,” he said, kissing me deeply.

When we pulled apart, I noticed blood on his shirt. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

My eyes drifted to his arm, where there was a slash. “Zane, oh God, you’re hurt,” I gasped, reaching for the wound.

“It’s nothing, just a scratch.” He tried to cover it.

“That’s not a scratch,” I said, lowering my voice. “That’s a knife wound. We need to get you cleaned up.”

I tugged at him, and he finally gave in and followed me. “Where are your first aid kits?”

“There’s one in our bathroom. Really, I’m fine. I’ve had worse.”

“That could get infected. If someone cuts you with a dirty knife, bacteria can get in there and make it worse. We need to clean it now.”

He chuckled as we walked to our room. “I forgot about your medical background. Fine, let’s clean it up to ease your mind, love.”

I led him into the bathroom, told him to take off his shirt, and asked him where the kit was. I took out the alcohol pads, antibacterial cream, gauze, and a bandage.

I opened the pad and started to clean the wound. If it hurt, he didn’t show it. His eyes stayed on me the whole time as I cleaned it, applied the cream, and bandaged it.

“Does this make you feel better now? I look like I’ve been in a huge fight over a little scratch.”

“Zane, if you don’t take care of this, it could get worse. We need a better medical facility here.”

“There’s one on the ground floor.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?” I asked, crossing my arms and glaring at him.

“You didn’t give me a chance. You asked for a kit, so I told you where one was.”

“Now that I know there’s one here, I need to get a shot for you.”

He grabbed my waist and held me still.

“Shay, I’m fine, really. If I needed to see the doctor, I would’ve gone before I came up here. It’s really just a nick. I have scars like this all over from fights.

“We have a live-in doctor who takes care of us when things are bad. This wasn’t.”

“How’d you get that?” I asked, trying to smooth it out a bit.

“Remember those guys who tried to run us off the road last night? We had a little game with them. One of them had a knife tucked in his shoe.

“When he lunged at me, I didn’t quite dodge him, and he managed to nick me. They’re dead now, and my guys are handling their bodies. They’re from a rival gang, and you’re their target.”

“Me? Why me?” I asked, glancing in the direction he’d come from.

He pulled me into a tight embrace.

“Because you matter to me, and they know they can use that against me. If they get their hands on you, I don’t know what I’d do.

“Their aim is to snatch you away, hide you in some remote cabin, and use you to draw me out, maybe even kill me.”

“Zane, I can’t do this. I can’t put you in danger like this. Please, just let me go, and you won’t have to worry about this anymore.”

His expression hardened as he looked at me.

“What did I say about that last night? It doesn’t matter if it’s you or another woman; they’ll always use someone as leverage to get to me. I chose you, and that’s how it’s going to be.

“You need to stay put in the house until I can figure out who’s leading them and take him down. There’s no telling what they’d do if they got their hands on you.

“It could range from locking you up to torturing you. Just trust me on this and stay put. You’ve got the game room to keep you occupied, and there’s the water park too.

“As long as you’re with at least one of us, you’re safe. They tried their luck at the club but now they know you’re off-limits. Let me get a shirt on; we need to get you some swimsuits.

“I didn’t buy any earlier because I wasn’t sure what you’d like. I want us to have some fun at the park later, just the two of us, so let’s get you a few.

“We’ll grab lunch out and then come back here to enjoy the afternoon together.

“I’ll have to swing by the club later to check on the damage, but I won’t be gone long. You can hang out at the park until I get back. It’ll be all yours, no kids running around to bother you.”

He tossed the shirt he’d been wearing down a chute and stepped out of the bathroom. He pulled on a snug black t-shirt and pants, then flashed me a smile.

“Ready?” he asked, taking my hand. We headed down to the garage and climbed into a Land Rover. Conner and Noah hopped in too, and we all set off for a shopping trip.