Chapter 31
Caleb reaches for his phone without breaking eye contact with me. I’m sure he doesn’t have a choice but to answer, what with his fancy job, and something-like-mafia connections, but it still leaves me feeling awkward and exposed. Which, considering I am nearly naked, I actually *am*. The moment that he breaks eye contact with me, glancing to check his caller ID, I unfreeze and scramble to put my clothes back on. He curses under his breath when he sees who is calling, and answers immediately with an expression on his face that clearly shows he is unhappy to speak to whomever is calling.
“Jack. What do you have for me,” he answers in a voice that gives no hint that just moments ago he had his head between my thighs, and I am not sure whether I should be impressed or offended.
His eyes flick to me as I slip back into my jeans and pull my sweater back over my head, but I can tell he is looking *through* me, and not *at* me, listening intently to whatever is being said from the other end of the phone line. His eyes narrow and his nostrils flare.
“*When*?” His voice is sharp.
The longer he is on the phone, the angrier he gets. His face remains nearly expressionless, only tiny little hints of his true feelings showing on his face. I have spent enough time with him these last few weeks, though, that I can all but feel the waves of rage rolling off of him. I tense, glad I am not the one on the receiving end of his anger this time.
A few long moments later, and he hangs up the phone without a word.
“Everything okay?” I mentally cringe at my own stupid question, because clearly everything is not okay.
“That was Jack,” he replies solemnly.
“Okay? Who is Jack?”
“Jack is a friend, and my right-hand man,” he tells me, “I put him in charge of your apartment’s security. Andrew Spencer was just seen lurking around there.”
I freeze, while my heart does the exact opposite and pounds wildly in my chest. I take a deep breath, trying not to spiral into a full-blown panic attack, but it’s not looking great for me on that front.
As if he can sense my crushing panic, Caleb moves towards me and gently places his hands on either side of my face, lifting my chin so that he can meet my eyes.
“Look at me, Bree. Listen to me.” His voice is firm but holds a gentleness that I have only ever heard him use with me. “You are safe. I am going to keep you safe. He won’t get to you. Not today, not ever. Do you understand me?”
I want to believe him so badly, but I honestly don’t know if he truly knows what kind of man Andrew is, what he is really up against. His utter confidence is reassuring, though, so I give him a slow nod, and try to blink away the tears that have found their way into my eyes, blurring my vision.
He wraps me in his arms, then, and holds me tight, as if he can tell that I am moments away from breaking. It helps, almost as if he is physically holding me together until I can pull myself back together. In his safe embrace, I calm down faster than I have ever managed before. I don’t know what it is about this man, but if someone could figure out how to bottle his soothing presence and sell it, I am pretty sure that all anxiety could be cured and that I would be out of a job.
Once I feel like I have a hold on myself, I pull back from Caleb. He lets me, but moves to keep a gentle grip on one of my hands as if he, too, feels better when we are touching. My heart gives a little flutter at the thought that he might feel the same peaceful, calming pull towards me that I feel towards him.
When he is sure that I am finally ready to move forward, Caleb says, “Listen, Bree. I don’t want to come across as controlling, but I really don’t want you going back to stay in that apartment.”
A shiver rolls down my spine, and nausea roils my stomach at even the mention of me going to stay someplace that Andrew could get his hands on me. I give a nod in agreement, and he returns it, understanding passing between us even without words.
“I can take you later to gather whatever you need to get you through for the time being. Then, we can hire someone to move out the rest of your belongings. You are welcome to stay with me as long as you need to, okay? I don’t want you to be stressed about finding a place to stay on top of everything else you are dealing with right now.”
“Thank you,” I tell him, trying to infuse as much sincerity into my voice as I can muster. It is probably inappropriate for me to move in with my freaking boss, even temporarily. Scratch that, it is *definitely* inappropriate. But I can’t seem to make myself care right now. I feel safe with him, and it has been a very long time since I have felt safe anywhere. In fact, I’m not sure that I have ever felt truly safe anywhere, with anyone. My life has been just one long chain of bad luck basically since the day that I was born. There have been times that I secretly wondered if I was cursed or something, and that’s why my parents abandoned me. So, I’m not really sure what to do with the feelings of safety that Caleb evokes in me.
“You don’t need to thank me,” he smiles gently at me. “Come on, let’s get back to the house and we will come up with a game plan for getting your things.”