Page 95 of Flame
CHAPTER21
Foxx
Islip out of the bedroom, shutting the door softly behind me.
“Carmichael,” I say into the phone, squinting into the late morning sunlight.
“I hate to call you on your honeymoon,” Jason says. “But I wanted to do a quick check-in and share some news.”
Suddenly, I’m awake. I pull back the phone to check the time.How the hell did we sleep that long?
Memories of my wife sitting on top of me, on her knees with my cock in her mouth, bending over the bathtub with her ass in the air throughout the night all come pouring back to me.“I’m going to ride this cock until you come.”
Yup. That’ll make a man sleep late.
I run a hand down my face and focus. “All is good here. What’s up?”
“Where is Bianca?”
I clear my throat.This is awkward. “In bed.”
“Okay, good. I was hoping I could catch you alone.” He takes a deep breath and blows it out. “Had a call from Landry this morning. The intel came in and was confirmed.”
“About what?”
“Originally, we were leaning toward the Downings being the biggest threat to Bianca—which makes sense. They’re the ones who stand to gain from this situation.”
“Right.”
“But,and I hate to even say this out loud,it’s Dad.”
I furrow my brows, not following along. “What does that mean?” I look over my shoulder. “I’m trying to be discreet on this end.”
“I understand. What I mean is that, and we didn’t tell Bianca this, but we intercepted an email from an undisclosed IP address that threatened to … well, I’m not going to repeat it. But let’s just say it wasn’t a good time.”
A rush of cold air blows across me, chilling me to the bone. I still, staring across the greenery below, and fight the urge to blow my lid.
I force a swallow. “You’re telling me that he was the one who sent the message?” My voice is eerily calm, even to me.
“Yes.”
“And where is he now?”
“We don’t know.”
I look at the bedroom door again, imagining her curled up in bed. She’s sleeping peacefully, with a sated smile on her face that she’s had all night. The thought of sharing this information with her—telling her that her father threatened to hurt her—is akin to breaking her heart. And that breaks mine.
“Nothing will happen to her, Jason. I will kill a motherfucker for trying, whether that’shimor someone else.”
Saying that to my boss, that I would kill his father, might not be wise. But it’s the truth. When it comes to Bianca, I’m not going to play around—not with Jason, not with Reid Brewer, not with anyone.
He pauses. The silence piques my curiosity.Is he going to try to put me in my place? Is he going to remind me that I’m still on the payroll and currently doing my job? Will he insinuate that I need to remember who’s in control?
The idea of being told that I have no place when it comes to Bianca—a place that isn’t her protector—sends a streak of rage through my body. I might be on the Brewer payroll. I might be doing a job. But what happened yesterday … it doesn’t feel like a fucking job anymore. It feels personal. It feels like my fight. My responsibility.
Like my fucking wife.
I run a hand through my hair, knowing I’m playing with fire.
