AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I doubted he even heard me, since he didn’t skip a beat. “The FBI was here I don’t know how many times looking for you! And what was I supposed to tell them? That you’re off sunning yourself on a beach somewhere when they expected your ass in court? The federal prosecutor ispissed, Bennett! He had to postpone the whole Marchese case. Not to mention the factIhad to be the one to tell Olivia what was going on since Leander didn’t bother tellinganyonewhat you two were doing either. What the hell were you doing in Puerto Rico for a month, anyway?!”
“Uh, vacation?”
“Who the fuck leaves their cell phones behind when they go on vacation?”
“Someone who doesn’t want to be bothered by shit like this?”
“Oh, so now I’mbotheringyou, your majesty? Keeping your accounts paid and the lights turned on is suddenly abotherto you? Well, then, perhaps you should find yourself another assistant — one who doesn’tbotheryou so much!”
“Would an apology suffice?” I asked, gingerly putting the phone closer to my ear again.
“An apology?! You think an apology is going to make up for the fact I had Sergei fucking Sidorov send his thugs tomyapartment at two in the morning to drag me to one of his clubs? I thought I was going todie, Bennett! You know how Russians feel about gay people!”
I pulled the phone away again with a grimace.
Leander appeared behind me, setting a cup of coffee on the side table and pressing a kiss to my temple at the same time.
I turned toward him quickly, trying to catch another kiss, but he stepped away with a smirk. The bastard made it through four people and had the time to make coffee in the time it was taking me to text one and call two.
“I don’t get paid enough to deal with this bullshit!” Gavin huffed. “Ineed an assistant just to help me keep track of all your escapades. Between Bancroft’s and your Chicago clients, plus everything back at the Welles Corporation, I don’t know if you’re coming or going. Bennett? Are you even listening to me?”
“No,” I replied, tracking Leander as he moved across the open space. He paused at the edge of the hallway and threw a look over his shoulder.Thatlook, sending a bolt of electricity straight to my dick.
“Are you kid—”
I hung up on Gavin and threw the phone to the side, hurrying after Leander.
5
Bennett
If Gavin was pissed about my disappearance, the FBI and the federal prosecutor were even more pissed.
We were only back in Chicago for a day when two agents arrived at my apartment to “escort me” to the downtown building. Leander wisely stayed behind to work remotely and catch up on administrative duties at the Welles Corporation while I went to slay the mafia dragon.
I thought I’d at least get in some verbal sparring with my FBI besties, Diefendorf and Denning, while I was there. Sadly, they were nowhere to be found. I admit, I was actually a little disappointed. The rookies they sent to babysit me were nowhere near as fun to toy with.
Plopped in a boring, gray interview room, I recounted all of the dirt on Giovanni Marcheseagain, clarifying some aspect of the organization that apparently wasn’t clear enough from the flow-charts or piles of sticky notes.
After a lengthy lecture about the seriousness of this case from a pencil-neck lawyer in an unflattering brown suit, I was dismissed with a new court date and a remonstration I’d better be there. The “or else” part of the threat hung awkwardly in the air. I mean, what were they going to do? I already had a signed guarantee that Leander and his company were off limits. And if they thoughtIwas stupid enough to let them pin everything on me, they clearly didn’t know who they were dealing with.
“So you’ll be there?” the lawyer repeated, staring at me over the top of his wire-frame glasses.
“I’ll try,” I said, saluting him with his business card.
“No, youwill, Mr. Reeve.”
“Yes, Iwilltry. Scout’s honor.” I held up two fingers in a peace sign, quickly reversing it into a V with a smirk as the elevator doors closed. Even if he didn’t recognize the Brits’ version of “Fuck you,” I’m sure he got the gist of it. Dickhead.
As I descended to the main floor, I sent Leander a text, happily informing him I was on my way home. Finally. When they picked me up, the agents said it was a “briefing.” But I forgot — everything on Federal time took ten times as long as the regular world, so of course I was there all day.
When I got to the sidewalk, I flicked the prosecutor’s business card into the planter with the rest of the crumpled cigarette butts and bottle tops.
“Mr. Reeve,” a deep, rumbly voice said behind me.
Busted.
“It’s biodegradable,” I sighed as I turned, expecting to find another sour-puss agent yelling at me for ruining our planet, despite the millions of trees the Feds killed every year with their mountains of redundant paperwork.
