Page 74 of An Indecent Longing

“With who?”

“Ben Shaw.”

Blank grunted. “Figures.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“It’s not a thing at all. From everything I’ve heard, Ben’s a decent guy. But that doesn’t mean you let your guard down, Dorrie. Got me? Guys can be real dicks.”

She laughed, couldn’t help herself. “Coming from a guy, that sounds pretty funny.”

“Yeah.” Blank grimaced. “But that doesn’t mean it’s any less true.”

“But weren’t you the one telling me this morning not to get too comfortable on the couch?”

“Yeah, yeah. All my fault. Be careful anyway. And I’m assigning someone else to you until I’m up and around.”

She bit back her immediate refusal, knowing she wouldn’t win, knowing it was part of the deal with her dad. But right now, it chafed.

“So how long do I need to schedule someone? And I gotta tell you, if it’s longer than a day or two, it ain’t happening.”

“You need to be off your feet for at least a week.” She held up a hand when he would’ve fought her. “No arguments. I’m sending you home but I’m not clearing you for work. Blank, if that bullet had hit you centimeters south, you might not be here right now. And then who would bust my ass about dating?”

“A week? Jesus, Dorrie, that’s torture.”

“No, it’s not. It’s sensible. Don’t make me admit you.”

His lips flattened but the next words that came out of his mouth were not what she was expecting. “You gonna see Ben again?”

“I…” She stopped, sighed. “Yes. Tonight.”

“Does he know about your working relationship? Know why you have a bodyguard?”

She caught back a grimace. “I told him my family has money.”

Surprisingly, Blank nodded. “Good. A little advice? Don’t spill your guts. Ian’s got some history with Antonoff. Probably not a good thing for Ben to know you work for the guy.”

She tried to hide her shock but Blank knew her too well.

“Wait, what’s that look for?”

“I didn’t know Ian knew m…Mr. Antonoff.”

There were days when that name rolled off her tongue like it was the most natural thing in the world. And there were days when the fact that she couldn’t say “my dad” made her crazy. This was one of the latter.

“Yeah, there’s some bad blood there, going back years. Something to do with Ian’s dad’s death.”

A sick little pit opened in her stomach. “His dad? What happened?”

Blank watched her even more closely now, and as hard as she tried, she couldn’t hide the fact that she was dying to hear his answer.

“The rumor that went around at the time was Antonoff’s men beat the guy to death in prison.”

She had to swallow hard and try not to gasp. “Why?”

Blank shrugged. “Don’t know. Could’ve been anything. Maybe business. Maybe he looked at ’em wrong in the yard. No idea.”

“How old was Ian?”

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