Page 51 of August

He let his gaze roam over her pretty shirt. The purplish color made her skin look even more vibrant and her hazel eyes that much bolder. Gone was the cute, messy bun. Now her hair hung in loose curls around her shoulders. Her lipstick-free lips called to his mouth.

“Need to ask you something,” he managed to choke out.

One arched eyebrow rose. “You okay?”

“No.” He dropped his voice. “I want to fuck you right now but there’s a room full of guys behind me.”

Her bottom lip parted. “Um, okay.”

He caught her fingers. “Later. Right now, I need you to help us figure something out.”

He took her hand in his and led her to the living room. He quickly introduced her to Ghost. She’d probably seen Taschen around the office, and she most definitely knew Toth and Rami.

“Hi,” she said, with a hip-level wave, and the guys nodded in greeting.

Ghost leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he focused on her. August’s hackles rose, and part of him wanted to step in front of her, but that would be silly. No one in this room would hurt Gigi. And though August didn’t know the guy, Ghost exuded a calm, quiet intelligence that told him he wasn’t stupid enough to make that kind of move in a room full of alphas.

He was being paranoid. Overprotective. If Rami and Toth trusted him, August could, too.

“Gigi,” Rami said. “We’re trying to figure out where Todd would hide and what resources he has. Where would he keep cash or possibly friends who’d protect him?”

Gigi exhaled and tossed her weight to the side. “If I knew that I’d have given the information to the authorities.”

“Right,” Taschen said. “But there’s gotta be something that could be useful.”

Her eyebrows drew together. “Wait. Todd’s the bait?” She whipped her attention to August’s face. “Seriously? You’re going to try to find him and hand him over to the cartel?”

August tugged on his shirt collar. “Look.” He cleared his throat. “I’m not out to protect that scumbag. He needs to pay for what he did and he’s going to, one way or the other. He can’t outrun the cartel forever. And if handing over Todd keeps those cocksuckers away from you—and keeps other people safe—then I’m going to do it.”

Gigi wet her bottom lip, and emotion swirled inside August. Did she feel anything for Todd? Longing? Grief? Fuck. If she still had feelings for her ex, he was—

“Okay,” she said slowly. “I think that’s, unfortunately, reasonable. I mean, he caused this mess and a lot of innocent people have died because of him.” She raised her shoulders an inch. “I’ll try to think of something, but I’m going to need a strong cup of tea.”

The guys nodded and Gigi went to the kitchen. August was going to need whatever strength she got from tea tenfold.

***

Gigi’s hand shook as she ripped open a bag of chamomile. What she really needed to do was bury her face in the pantry and start cooking, but she was still full from brunch and it was too early for supper.

Tonight, though, she’d channel all her aggression into cooking their meal—and hell, a batch of brownies, too, because chocolate was good for the soul. And it’d pair nicely with the vanilla ice cream that had been in the grocery order.

The kettle whistled, drowning out the men’s conversation. She forced herself to think about Todd. Over the last few months, she’d managed to block out most thoughts about him. She’d been too blinded by rage to allow herself to think much about the man she’d thought she loved.

Ha, what a joke. Whatever she’d had with Todd hadn’t been love. It’d been companionship, nothing more. There hadn’t been a flame with Todd. There’d been respect, or so she’d thought, and comfortability. Not love. Not passion.

Not the soul-scorching fire that burned deep in her loins and deeper in her heart whenever she looked at August.

Was she in love with August? Well, she sure as hell wasn’t a good judge of that. But it wasn’t nothing. It wasn’t a fling. It was more than companionship. Deeper than comfortability. Stronger than friendship.

Exhaling, she poured the hot liquid into her mug and pulled down the jar of honey. Forcing her brain to relive the days with Todd, she searched each cubicle of her memory for something usable.

He hadn’t left the country too often. Only a couple of times in the two years they’d been together. He also didn’t own any vacation properties. His family had a farm in Nebraska that she’d been to once—could be something there. But no, that didn’t feel right. Todd had looked as out of place at the farm as an elephant at a tea party.

Rudy, Todd’s dad, was a calloused, weathered, and grumpy man in his late seventies who believed physical labor was more valuable than intellect. His mom, Adelle, was a soft and kind woman who thought her son was God incarnate. Perhaps Adelle was helping Todd lie low. That didn’t ring true either, though.

Next, Gigi went through his list of friends. There were a couple from back home who might’ve helped him. Maybe Benjamin—Benny—Reed. He was as slimy as Todd. An accountant, he’d run in the same business circles. She took a spoon from the drawer and scooped out a dollop of honey for her tea. She’d never liked Benny. The guy had made her skin crawl. His gaze had always raked over her as if he’d wanted to undress her.

If Todd had noticed, he hadn’t cared.

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