Page 39 of The Opposite Effect

While spinning a set of keys around her finger, she strolls up the cracked concrete sidewalk, her steps shaky and slow.

I hop off my bike and follow her. “You’renotstaying here.”

If my abrupt statement wasn’t greeted with a glaring stare, I would have assumed Clara didn’t hear me over the blaring music pumping from an apartment three stories above. Clara’s furious gaze silently warns me she’s on the verge of snapping, but I don’t care if she’s about to blow her top. She can call me a brute, beast, or any other name on her wish list, but I’m not budging an inch. I wouldn’t let the feral cats living in the dumpster at the back of Inked stay in a joint like this, let alone the woman my cock is infatuated with. And although I’ve said earlier my status as Clara’s employer gives me no rights over her personal life, I don’t give a flying fuck. Even if we didn’t share a kiss two weeks ago and hadn’t been flirting like it is going out of fashion, there’s no way in hell I’d let a member of my crew stay in a dump like this. Male or female. No fucking chance.

“Call the delivery truck driver and get your furniture taken to the storage sheds on Traeter. Once we find you a new apartment, we’ll have your furniture shipped there.”

Acting like she didn’t hear a word come out of my mouth, Clara shoves a key into a door that is hanging by a thread and enters the dimly lit apartment. Growling at her ignorance, Ishadow her inside. The deepness of my growl intensifies when I walk into the mildew-scented living area.

“It’s not too bad,” Clara mutters while roaming her eyes around the paint-peeled walls and heavily stained carpet. “Nothing a bit of elbow grease won’t fix.”

“Elbow grease?” I arch my brow into my hairline. “The only thing that could fix this place is a gallon of fuel and a match.”

Clara rolls her eyes before moving to the front window. Dust particles riddle the air when she draws open the mold-covered curtain. I crunch my teeth together. Adding sunlight hasn’t helped the situation. This place is a fucking dump.

“You’renotstaying here,” I advise again.

Seizing her elbow, I drag her to the door we only just entered. She tries to pull out of my embrace, but I stay holding on tight, refusing to relinquish her. She can dig her claws into my arm all she likes, sue me for harassment, or knee me in the balls, but I’m not leaving her here.

My quick strides only stop when Clara whispers, “It is the only apartment available in my price range.”

Even knowing she has never lied to me, I can’t hold in my retaliation. “Come on, Princess, cut the bullshit. Even if you weren’t dripping in wealth in your thousand-dollar dresses and shoes, I know what you get paid since I’m the man who pays you.”

I don’t mean to snap at her, but my mind is spiraling, unable to adapt to what is going on in her life. First, her car was towed, then she got an eviction notice, and now she’s moving into an apartment that is smaller than the storage closet at Inked. I don’t know if this is all some fucked-up rich-person joke, but I ain’t laughing. I’m all for branching out and trying new things, but this is taking it a step too far. She’s not only experimenting with a new lifestyle, she’s risking her safety, and that’s something I won’t stand for.

Clara takes on her fighting stance. Her hand is splayedon her cocked hip, her eyes narrowed. “You may pay me, Brax, but you don’t pay my bills.” Her words come out like hot lava spilling from a volcano. “I know what I can and can’t afford.” She nudges her head to the shoebox apartment we just vacated. “That is all I can afford.”

“Then I’ll give you a fucking pay rise,” I snap back.

Anger envelops Clara’s entire body, flushing her skin with a red hue. “I’m not acharitycase,” she snarls through gritted teeth, her words rickety, hampered by a sob she’s barely holding back.

I scrub my hand over the stubble on my chin, giving myself some time to calm down before I say something I’ll later regret. “I’m not saying you’re a charity case, but you won’t beanythingif you live in this area of Ravenshoe. It isn’t safe, Clara.”

The anger lining her face softens when I use her real name. She knows I only ever use it in dire situations.This is a dire situation.

Her hand slips off her hip as the harshness in her eyes fades. “I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself,” she replies, her words not as callous as earlier.

I ball my hands into tight, white-knuckled fists when she ambles back into the rat-infested apartment. It’s the only defense I have to fight the urge to scream my frustration into the street.

I want to drag her away from here kicking and screaming, but instead, I stay standing on the graffiti-painted path. I need a few minutes to contemplate her predicament. I’ll never win an argument with a woman who is as stubborn as Clara, but I have to do something.

Call me a chauvinistic pig, but just like she was wrong about catching the one a.m. express, she’s wrong to believe she can look after herself in this part of Ravenshoe, and no amount of arguing will change that fact.

After a few moments of silent pondering, an idea formulates inmy overworked brain. Instead of dragging Clara to a safer location, I’ll bring the safety to her. With a grin, I yank my cell phone out of my pocket and call in a favor with a long-time client.

Forty-five minutes later, Hunter Kane pulls his security van onto the curb at the front of Clara’s apartment building.

“Brax,” he greets me, slapping his hand into mine before leaning in for a man hug. “What the hell are you doing in a dump like this?”

“Long fucking story,” I mutter while returning his embrace.

Hunter’s eyes assess the apartment in great detail when I gesture for him to enter before me. “What type of security system are you after?” he queries, intuiting why I requested his help this afternoon.

It wouldn’t take a genius.

“The best you have.” I walk over to close the door of the main bedroom.

When I saw Hunter’s security van pull down the street, I suggested that Clara start unpacking her boxes of designer clothes and shoes. For the first time ever, she did as requested without a single qualm escaping her lips. I’m not hiding her away as I don’t want her to meet Hunter. It’s the fact I know she will put up a fight when she discovers the amount of coin I’m going to hand Hunter to have her apartment wired with the world’s most advanced security system. Considering there’s no chance of me budging on this term to feel comfortable having her live here, I’d rather keep our argument on the back burner until Hunter leaves.

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