Page 18 of Chasing Storm

Joey’s eyebrows cave in. “Tea!”

“What? He has the money, so we don’t have to run anymore, and you have the skills to add to his wealth.”

“That’s not the point. This isn’t something we should take lightly. We should think about it.”

I cross my arms. “I don’t need to think about it.”

Elijah laughs. “Teagan, I think I’ll hire you to run Joey.”

I laugh along with him, but Joey doesn’t find the humor.

My body shifts toward Joey, taking his hand, kissing the back of it, and I say, “Love, I don’t want to run anymore.” He caresses my face with his other hand. “This is the best offer we’ll ever get.” I direct my question to Elijah. “Do we have to live in New York?”

“Not at all. I don’t care where you guys live. We can keep in touch anywhere.”

My attention returns to Joey. “We can live anywhere. No more running. No more looking over our shoulders.” I place myself on Joey’s lap and rest my hand on the back of his neck, stroking the curls that have formed since it has grown longer. “You’re my everything. I want us to have our own home. To get back to normal.” I kiss his cheek. “To have Sean and your mom join us.”

This all hits home for Joey, and he’s nodding while I’m still selling the idea.

He looks at Elijah and says, “It’s a deal.”

Elijah claps his hands. “Great!” He motions to one of the men, who brings over some documents. “This is a contract about what we discussed. Sign it.”

Without reading the documents, Joey signs it where Elijah indicates, and asks, “Aren’t you worried about what the other gang members will think and do to you?”

Elijah stands, takes off his jacket, drapes it over the armrest, and settles back down. “Let me tell you two a little secret.” Joey and I blink, glance at each other, and then back to Elijah. “Devane’s Deviants is a cover.” We both sit forward, planting our hands on our knees. “I’m ex-FBI. A buddy of mine in the agency needed intel, so I formed my gang to infiltrate the Chicago gang life and feed information back to my friend. It’s how I learned about your gift with numbers. The feds wanted data on both your fathers. Now that William is gone, and James is out of the picture…” His arms reach out as if holding nothing. “My Deviants are no more.”

“What drew you to the FBI?”

He sits back, takes a sip of his drink, smiles, and adds, “I come from a wealthy family. My wealth increased from family businesses, my own ventures, investments, and my work at the FBI.” Our mouths hang open. “In my younger years, I wanted adventure. No, I needed it. That’s why I joined the FBI. As I got older, the excitement for adventure faded, so I retired.”

I find my voice, and say, “That’s…amazing. Do you have family in New York?”

“Nope. Only child. My parents passed away a few years ago. My mom died of cancer and my dad followed soon after.” He offers a sad smile. “You two remind me of them, aside from Joey’s possessiveness.”

“Elijah, I’m sorry.”

He glances out the window. “It is what it is.” Then he turns back to us. “I have friends in the city and my work keeps me busy.”

I give him a nod of understanding. “Well, you’re always welcome to visit us any time.”

Joey nudges me and scowls.

This makes Elijah laugh. “That’s kind of you, Teagan. I might take you up on your welcome just to watch Joey flare into a fire-eating dragon.”

Elijah laughs and I giggle. We all settle back, Joey and I dazed from everything that’s happened today to this new revelation of Elijah’s. It isn’t long after, we’re snacking on food and talking about the contract. A doctor checks Joey’s head, which turns out fine. Elijah shows us to our room. He informs us that until his hacker friend takes care of the hit on Joey, he suggests we remain here, and have our belongings brought over. If ever I wanted to thank someone for saving me, now was the time, so I hug Elijah and whisper a thank you and appreciation. He simply smiles and disappears down the hall.

Chapter 7

Elijah stays true to his word. For two weeks, we wait it out at his penthouse after the hacker wipes out the hit. Anyone who previously saw the posting knows there’s no longer a reward. They either assume someone did the job or the person fell short of funds. During our time at Elijah’s, he sets me up on a computer in his office, and gives me access to his financials along with his books. It gives me time to study his businesses and the types of investments he’s made in the past. I’ve also left a couple of messages for Sean, but he hasn’t called me back. I’m not too worried since it can take time for either of us to search for the correct burner phone and number. We circulate the burners and phone numbers, so sometimes we have to play catch up.

When Elijah’s home, I hear Teagan and him talking and laughing, except I don’t know what about, which drives me nuts. For some reason, I don’t trust him around Teagan. Maybe it’s because of how easily they get along, as if they’ve known each other for years.

At lunch, I remain quiet, observing the two of them interact. Although he’s never acted or touched Teagan in a sexual way, any kind of physical contact he makes grates on my nerves. I’d like to punch him in the face and cut off his fucking hands. Every time he smiles at Teagan, her face colors as if she’s suddenly captivated. A little schoolgirl crushing on her teacher. Those blushes and fucking captivations belong to me. I own them. They’re not supposed to be given to any other man but me. Since I’m in Elijah’s house and he saved me, I remain quiet about their so-called friendship.

Their exchanges only put me in a bad mood, so I slither back into his office when I’m done eating. I’ve been scouring over his businesses, and when my head finally pops up, the fading sunset glows above the horizon. Teagan brings me a glass of bourbon, sitting in one of the guest chairs on the other side of Elijah’s desk.

“You disappeared before we finished lunch.”

---