Page 85 of Burn It Down

Jake stops walking so he can kiss me. “Believe it. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

“I can never repay you for this. I don’t have any secret connections to celebrities or friends with jets or—”

“Hey,” he interrupts. “I don’t need that stuff. I just need you.”

God help me…because I believe him.

Chapter 23

Jake

We follow Tim about two hundred yards to the left of Ryan’s garage and see his house. It looks less like a bodyguard’s house and more like an extension of the mansion. I’ve been here a couple times before, but it never ceases to amaze me.

Dylan lets out a whistle and Tim laughs.

“Yeah, Ry and Em know how to take care of their people, that’s for sure. You should see the chef’s house.”

“This is like a neighborhood of estates,” Dylan muses.

“You’re pretty close. Each property sits on five acres and there are only twelve homes in the whole neighborhood. The planning was done very intentionally for clientele needing privacy.”

Tim opens his front door and immediately I notice how cozy it feels. It’s well-kept, clean and has high-end everything…much like my place…. so, I can’t quite explain why it feels more like home than my penthouse ever has.

Tim is single by choice. Not all of the bodyguards are, but Tim has always been singularly focused and he chooses to focus on his job. Plus, his line of work can get dangerous, he’s gonealot, and he works crazy hours because Ryan doesn’t really go anywhere without him.

The décor is minimal in Tim’s house, but he doesn’t need much since the stone on the exterior of the house covers the large fireplace in the living room and runs from the floor to the vaulted ceiling. Exposed wooden beams hold the loft up and three wooden columns mark out the dining room underneath.

“Just drop your bags wherever. You guys want a beer?”

“That’d be great,” Dylan answers, placing his bag against the wall in the foyer.

Catching up with Tim is nice. I often forget how down-to-earth my older brother actually is and this visit is cultivating a desire to stay in better touch after the weekend comes to an end. We talk for half an hour before he totally catches me off guard and pulls me in for a hug almost knocking me off the kitchen chair.

“I’m proud of you,” he says.

I have to twist my head to look up at him so I’m not talking directly to his Adam’s apple. He towers over me. “For what?”

“I remember the night you told Mom and Dad about Henry, that kid from boarding school.” He gives a humorless laugh. “I’d never seen Dad so pissed and I was afraid if you actuallyweregay, and it wasn’t just a fad or a joke meant to give Dad a heart attack, that he’d try to break you. Sounds like he’s tried by blackmailing you with your future inheritance, but I’m proud of you for staying true to yourself.”

I chew on my tongue in an effort to prevent the tears from spilling over.

“Thanks.”

Turning to Dylan, Tim says, “And I’m sorry our father is such an elitist piece of shit. As if you being a man and warming my brother’s bed wasn’t enough for him to attack, Steve Ellington will go for your heart. He’ll make comments about your income— unless it’s higher than his.” Tim’s eyes brighten with hope. “Oh my God,pleasetell me you make more than our father because that would be the greatest thing ever.”

Dylan shakes his head. “I definitely donotmake more than your father.”

Tim takes a sip of his beer, looking defeated. “Yeah, not many people do. Anyway, he’ll go after your skin color, you career choice, basically anything that makes him feel like the bigger man. Nothing is off limits for him if he’s trying to win.”

“Yeah, we’ve met,” Dylan says, drily.

Tim drains his beer and leans back in the chair tipping it onto two legs. “Oh, do tell.”

Sharing a drink around Tim’s intimate kitchen table, we start back over at the beginning of Dylan and I’s story and fill Tim in on everything — including Cora’s response to the whole thing, and her and I’s subsequent breakup on the down low — before begrudgingly circling back around to the topic of our father.

“Are you ready for the shitstorm that’s going to happen when he finds out you’re notjust friends?” Tim asks, using air quotes.

“At this point, I don’t care how he reacts as long as he leaves Dylan the hell alone.” I squeeze the back of Dylan’s neck lovingly, needing to touch him every second I can.

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