Page 99 of Security and Submission
“I am cursed!”
“I don’t have any hangups.”
They spoke at the same time, looked at each other, then immediately looked away.
“Everybody’s got hangups,” Claudia said reasonably. “Even me. Granted, I know you had some good reasons not to trust the team right away, Zeus, but I also don’t think you would have been willing to trust us even if we’d welcomed you with open arms.”
Zeus started to open his mouth, then closed it, clenching his jaw and feeling the little pop in his cheek. He couldn’t deny what she was saying, even if he wanted to. He hadn’t fully trusted Devlin or Devlin’s team, either. Granted, he’d turned out to be right about that, but Zeus couldn’t remember the last time he’d really trusted anyone.
Not the way Claudia trusted the rest of the team. Or the way Yasmine trusted Claudia.
Lincoln was about as close as it came, but he wasn’t sure Lincoln would be there for him in the long run, either. If it came down to the team or him, Lincoln would choose the team. Zeus didn’t hold it against him. It was the obvious choice.
Okay, so maybe he had a few hangups.
“Anyway. You two get at least a few days to figure things out, by my estimation. I’m putting my money on Audrey to be the first slip-up, especially once she finds out that Yasmine is in danger. She’s still got a lot of guilt over stealing Yasmine’s fiancé.”
“She didn’t steal him. I gave him to her,” Yasmine replied indignantly, putting her hands on her hips. “They were a better match, and there was no way I was marrying a man who was pining for someone else.”
“That’s one of the things I love about you; you know what you’re worth,” Claudia said. “Most of the time. Anyway. I’ll let you two get on with your day. Zeus, can I have a private word real quick?”
“Sure.” He handed Yasmine the spatula and gestured at the two plates next to the stove, which were waiting for the sausage and eggs he’d been cooking. Picking up the phone, he turned off the speaker and took several steps away, turning his back on Yasmine as he pressed the phone to his ear. “You’re off speaker.”
“Good. I’m not saying you have to get together with Yasmine. If this was a deal breaker for you, that’s fine. But if things do get serious after this, and then you hurt her?—”
“I know, they won’t find my body for months,” he replied dryly.
“Oh, no. They’ll be finding your body for months, pieces of it, once a week… and you’ll be alive for at least two of those months.”
She hung up the phone before he could respond, which was probably for the best because his head had gone completely blank. She really was fucking Scary.
Turning back to Yasmine, he saw her standing there with a raised eyebrow, but she didn’t ask about what Claudia had said to him.
“Don’t you have any fruit or anything?” she asked instead.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry, there’s some melon in the fridge.” He went to get it while she waited.
Yeah. They were going to need to figure things out. Before the rest of his team found out. Claudia was right; he didn’t want them weighing in on his and Yasmine’s relationship, regardless of which way it ultimately ended up going.
This was one of those cases where it would be better to ask forgiveness than permission.
Chapter 35
Yasmine
“I’m so sorry I didn’t call you when everything first went down,” Yasmine said sincerely, pacing back and forth in Zeus’ living room. He’d gone to take Tiger for his walk, and she’d hung back to be able to call Naomi privately. She wasn’t sure yet if she was going to tell Naomi about Zeus, but she at least needed to hear everything about Pete James.
It made her feel weird not to tell Naomi, who she’d been friends with for longer than Audrey or Cassidy, and they knew, but things were already a little weird between Naomi and Drew. If he found out she’d known and hadn’t told him… Yasmine didn’t want to be responsible for making their situation worse. They’d been having such a difficult time conceiving, and she knew that Drew hadn’t been home much lately. Naomi had been working a lot, too.
“Girl, stop. I’m sorry I didn’t call you. I should have.” Naomi sighed. “I’m just… there’s so much going on right now. My focus was on informing the shelter residents, former shelter residents, and the regular workers…”
“As it should be,” Yasmine said firmly. “I don’t blame you at all. I should have been the one to reach out to you. I just…” This was the perfect time to bring up Zeus and explain why she hadn’t reached out, but still she hesitated.
“No, seriously, it’s fine. Even if you had called to tell me, he found my house the very next night, and we haven’t had half the amount of trouble you have. I just want to make sure you’re okay and protected.”
“I am. Promise.” Perfect time to mention by whom…
“Good. It’s not just that that’s had me running around like a crazy person, though. Did I tell you that Senator Marlin is coming to visit the shelter tomorrow?”
