Brooke Roberts

Kyle: Go back to your office and lock the door. I’m on my way.

Raffi: We’re on our way.

I reread the message I sent and find no reason for their response, but I turn around and do as instructed.

Brooke: You don’t all need to come; I just need a ride home. I can catch an Uber.

I send the message and my phone rings in my hand.

“Sunshine, I’ll explain everything when I get there. Please go back to your office and lock the door until one of us arrives,” Kyle asks, and the urgency in his voice hastens my steps.

“It’s nothing serious, Ky. There’s no need for all this fuss,” I say, entering my office again and locking the door.

“I hope you’re right, Brooke. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” I can hear the sound of a car engine in the background.

“Okay.”

“Is she in her office?”

“Yes, yes. My God, this is annoying,” I complain, more out of habit than anything else. Kyle has always been protective, but also rational, and if he’s worried, there must be a reason.

“See you soon. Just open the door for one of us,” he repeats.

The call ends, and I see new messages in the group chat: Seth and the guys who kissed B. The joke, of course, was Raffi’s idea, and every time I changed it, he just put the previous name back. Seth has left the group twice, but it’s pointless; they just add him back.

Raffi: We’re on our way. Why would you take an Uber when you have three guys willing to be your drivers?

Seth: Do what Thorne asked, it’s just a precaution. I’ll be there in a few minutes.

As I type a reply, my eyes drift to the group’s icon. A photo I took a few days ago, of Cerberus, Banguela, and Apollo lying on the floor of the living room.

Brooke: Okay, I’m locked in my classroom.

I sit at my desk and start scrolling through Instagram. Liv tagged me in a photo of us from last week at Underworld with the caption: “Is it Friday yet?” I leave a comment full of emojis, and soon my mind drifts back to that night and everything that happened.

My body heats up with the memory of Kyle’s body against mine, the way his fingers traced all my curves, the taste of his kisses, how he filled me and took me to the peak. Since our conversation the next morning, there’s been nothing but a few longer goodnight kisses, all because of the visit from their old boss.

The visit.

“Could that be why they’re uneasy? Did something happen at the meeting?”

I can’t think of any other option. It must have been that, but what? I know what they do, but I don’t understand the details of running a business, especially one in security that has grown so much in such a short time.

I go back to scrolling through my phone when I hear a knock on the door. I lift my gaze from the device to see Seth through the small window in the wood. He’s wearing a white dress shirt, so out of character for him that it makes me smile.

“What’s going on?” I ask as I unlock the door. Seth enters and looks around attentively. His light brown hair is disheveled, as if he’s run his fingers through it multiple times.

“We had a situation at work,” he comments. “Raffi is outside checking if there’s any other tampering with your car besides the slashed tires. I doubt it. If they really intended to sabotage, it would have been much easier to do something less visible. It seems more like a warning,” Seth seems to be talking more to himself than to me.

“Why would something at Hades’ Men Corp be related to me and my car?”

“No sign of sabotage,” Raffi announces, entering my office. He’s also in formal attire, his hair tied up in a bun, and I know it’s because of work. “Hey, babygirl.”

He gives me a quick hug, kissing the top of my head. “Hi, can you please explain what’s going on?” Raffi asks, leaning against my desk as he steps back. “We fired some employees today, and they weren’t happy about it at all. They made it clear that we would pay for it.” Raffi explains, leaning against my desk as he steps back. “Attacking you would be a way to punish us, especially since we didn’t even consider that you might be in danger.”

“So far,” Kyle adds, joining us. My office feels small with these three men together. Besides not being as large as my students, their presence is almost a physical entity. “Are you okay?” my friend asks, walking towards me.

“I am,” I reply. “I just still don’t understand why I have any relation to this. And who’s crazy enough to threaten people just because they got fired? It’s part of life.”

“The reason for their dismissal is…” Seth seems to be searching for the right word. “Complicated. They lied on their records, and well, it doesn’t matter.”

“We’ll send your car to a trusted shop, check everything, and sort this out,” Kyle adds.

“But why me?” I insist.

This doesn’t make any sense. How would someone know I have any connection to them? Was I being followed? My heart races with this idea, and a shiver runs down my spine, making me uncomfortable in my own skin. Am I putting the kids in danger by working here?

“You might have been seen with us at Underworld one day, and after last week…” Raffi raises his eyebrows suggestively in my direction before continuing. “They know you’re important to us.”

“Us.” Not just Kyle. I file this information away to think about later and focus on the rest of the sentence.

“Can’t you have friends now?” I ask, outraged. This is ridiculous.

“Why do you think our social circle is so small?” Seth asks, crossing his arms over his chest. His expression is closed, and his tone is somber. I see my friends nodding as if this were an acceptable price to pay.

“I always thought it was because you guys are unbearable,” I joke, and a half-smile appears on Seth’s lips.

“Also, not many people can put up with Raffi,” Kyle adds.

“Have you looked in the mirror, brother?”

“As I was saying,” Seth continues, diverting his attention from our friends and turning back to me. “While we’ve made some friends, we’ve also gained many enemies, and the guys from today are the worst kind of scum. Of course, they wouldn’t confront us directly.”

“Sorry, Brooke, I never imagined you’d end up caught in this,” Kyle says, holding my shoulders and making me look into the sapphire eyes he calls his own before sliding his hands down my arms, making my skin tingle under his touch. A tingle completely different from the earlier one; this one warms me and makes me recall our night. “Focus, Brooke. Everything has its time and place,” I chide myself.

“Don’t be silly; you’re not to blame for anything.”

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