Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 65489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
“Of course I’m fucking worried.”
“How badly is he hurt?” Carter’s voice remained perfectly calm. I knew that was part of what made him great at his job, but it only made me want to yell more.
“He went to work yesterday and to Eudora’s knitting circle, other than that I don’t really know anything. I told you to have a guard on him.”
“And I did. He’s not been out of sight unless he was at the office or in his apartment.”
“You should have been watching inside his apartment too.”
“That wasn’t part of the plan. My man watched him go in, but someone could have been waiting for him in his apartment. Is it possible he did fall?”
I snorted. ‘What do you think?”
Carter sighed. “Probably not.”
“You were supposed to keep him safe.”
“We were watching him to see if he was passing information to his family.”
I didn’t care what the initial objective was. “Someone in his family got to him and you weren’t there to protect him.”
“Neither were you and that’s what this is really about.”
I hated how right he was. “I told you I was worried about him. I told you he was being threatened, being pushed into this, and now he’s hurt. I want his family eliminated.”
“Miles. Take a breath.”
“I’m not going to let anyone else touch him. I’m going to keep him with me from now on.”
“Miles, we still can’t be sure what his motives are.”
“If he was giving them what they wanted, they wouldn’t have beaten him.”
“Just because he hasn’t satisfied somebody’s orders doesn’t mean—”
“Carter, he’s scared. Eudora thinks so, too.”
He sighed. “So you’re saying even if he is here to steal your secrets, you want to take care of him.”
“He’s not passed anything to them.”
“Not that we know of.”
“How good are your people?” I expected my security guards to be aware of everything that happened at Montgomery Enterprises.
“They’re the best.”
“Then he hasn’t passed on anything. I want to know exactly who’s threatening him, and if someone hurt him….”
“I’ll see that they’re taken care of,” Carter said. “You care for him. That’s obvious. I’m no longer in this to find out what he’s up to, I’m going to find out who sent him here. We’re going to take care of the problem.”
I let out a long breath. “Thank you.”
“You know I had to push. I had to make sure you weren’t just thinking with your dick.”
“I’m not Worth.”
“No but you have been led astray by a pretty face before.”
That was irrelevant. I’d never cared for anyone like I did Ben. “So you trust me now?”
“I trust that this is what you want, and I trust you to see that clearly.”
“Good. Then let’s get these bastards.” I ended the call and scrolled to Ben’s number.
I glanced at the time as the phone rang, hoping he hadn’t left his apartment yet. I had no intention of allowing him to take the train. I wanted him at my place, under my observation, and I didn’t care how psycho that sounded.
He answered quickly. “Miles? Was I supposed to be in early today?”
“No, baby. I heard you were injured.”
“Oh yeah. It’s just some bruises. I’m fine.”
I wasn’t going to let him dismiss this. “Mrs. Weeks said you looked like you were in pain last night.”
“Did she call you to tell you that?”
“She did. She was worried about you.”
“Truly, I’m fine.” His voice was shaky, and he did not sound fine.
“I’m sending a car for you.”
“You don’t have to—”
Yes, I did. “You said you want security. Let me give it to you.”
He started a protest, but I ended the call. When Ben had said he wanted security, I was sure he’d meant generally feeling safe, not literally having someone guard him, but I was going to give him both.
I hurried to get ready, wanting to be at the office before Ben with breakfast and coffee waiting for him. On the way in, I called my favorite bakery and made a rush delivery order. They knew how well I tipped, so I was confident they’d have it there before either of us arrived.
I left my office door open, so I would see Ben come in. When he stepped off the elevator, I could tell he was trying his best to hold himself straight and walk normally, but I knew he was in pain. If it had been almost two days and he was still having trouble walking, he never should have come to work yesterday.
“Benjamin, I need to see you.” I kept my voice level and professional. I was sure there were plenty of people in the office who suspected all the time Ben and I were behind closed doors wasn’t spent going over paperwork, but I wasn’t going to be blatant about it.
When Ben walked into my office, I motioned for him to shut the door. He looked between me and the door nervously, then closed it. Was he worried I was going to push for details of his “accident”?