CHAPTER 24
GRAHAM

A knock came at my door, and I waited for the second set. There was only one person I was opening that door for. Everyone else was in danger if I opened it for them. I listened as a second set of knocks spelled out the one name I was looking for. Only then did I hop up from the couch and whip the door open.

“Fucking finally,” I said.

I pulled Daniel into the house, still a bit shocked he was there. I enveloped him in a hug and patted his back, relieved someone else was there with me. The past couple of days had been torturous. Lily had come knocking on my door several times, and Cindy had even tried once. It had been hard, not answering the door for them.

But I couldn’t.

I had to keep them safe.

“You look surprised to see me,” Daniel said.

“So shoot me.”

“Don’t look so surprised. I have to be here to help,” he said.

“Thanks for coming,” I said.

“Have you seen Cindy at all lately?”

“Nope. Been keeping my distance from them. They’re at risk now because of my inability to stay away. Thanks for that, by the way.”

“Hey, how is this my fault?”

“Blend in with the crowd. Make friends. Get laid.”

“I said nothing about getting laid, but it’s about damn time that happened too.”

“And now she and her daughter are in danger because of me,” I said.

“You don’t know that. I have no intelligence that says that.”

“What do you have?” I asked.

“For now, I think you’re actually safe.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You came into town to tell me I’m okay? I know you better than that.”

“I said you’re safe for now. No one’s been spotted in town for the past twenty-four hours, and chatter about you at the Agency has died down to almost nothing.”

“I’m not making any excuses this time until I have some answers,” I said.

Then, a knock came at my door.

I paused, waiting for the person to go away. But instead, another knock landed. Then another. Then another still. I gritted my teeth as Daniel looked at me, his gaze commanding me to open the door.

But I shook my head.

“Graham? You there?” Cindy asked.

“Mr. Graham? Do you still need a Band-Aid?”

I watched Daniel’s jaw drop with an ‘aw’ before he reached for my door. I tried to stop him, irate that he would still want to put them at risk like this. It didn’t matter that he thought we were safe for the moment. I knew the dangers lurking out there. I knew the trouble I was in. But Daniel was too busy playing fucking matchmaker to care.

He whipped the door open, and my eyes fell on Cindy, her beautiful body and her wonderful presence as her daughter held her hand.

“Graham!” Lily said. “I missed you.”

“Hey there,” I said. “How are you?”

“Lily and I were about to head out to dinner, and I figured you might wanna join us. I didn't realize you had company, though,” Cindy said.

“Yeah. Got a friend visiting, but maybe another time?” I asked.

“He could come if he wanted. I’m Cindy, by the way.”

“Daniel,” he said with a smile. “And who is this beautiful little girl?”

“I’m Lily,” she said. “Do you like bread?”

“I love bread. Is that what we’re having for dinner?” Daniel asked.

“We’ve already got dinner plans,” I said.

“And they were just canceled,” Daniel said.

I saw the confused look on Cindy’s face and the puppy dog eyes Lily was giving me. She obviously got those from her mother. Daniel was looking at me with a shit-eating grin on his face, and I heaved a heavy sigh. At least if they were going out with both of us, they would have double the protection if something happened.

“Okay,” I said. “We’ll come to dinner.”

“Yay!” Lily said. “Come on, Mommy. I’m hungry.”

The four of us hopped into Cindy’s car and headed into town. Daniel kept making conversation with Cindy, and I could see the growing curiosity in her eyes. Lily kept interjecting with questions, and Daniel answered them with ease, and in any other scenario, it would’ve been nice. The girl I liked and her daughter getting along with my best friend.

But I kept my eyes peeled for danger as we walked into the restaurant.

The night actually turned out to be pretty nice. Cindy and Daniel got along, and Lily and I talked about her day. Cindy kept eyeing me with that cute smile of hers, and Daniel entertained Lily so we could talk a bit. The food was fabulous, and the company was superb, and I felt my worries slowly melting away.

It was like enjoying a family meal, a real, tried-and-true family meal.

I enjoyed myself. I enjoyed the conversation and the presence of Cindy and Lily. It had only been a couple of days, but I had missed them a lot. They were my weakness, Lily with her persistent, energetic demeanor and Cindy with her soft presence and her motherly calm.

I basked in the meal we all shared before we set out for home.

I walked Cindy and Lily to their door as Daniel disappeared into my house. Having him there was a constant reminder of the danger we were all in. But every time I met Cindy’s eyes, a calm spread over me like a soft and cozy blanket.

“Would you like to come in for a drink?” Cindy asked.

“I probably shouldn’t leave Daniel at my house by himself.”

And just as I said something, I heard a car strike up. I watched Daniel wave at me as he pulled out of my driveway, giving me a thumbs-up as he passed by.

Where the fuck was he going?

Cindy’s giggle pulled me from my trance, and I looked down at her. Lily was fast asleep in her arms, and I nodded my head in agreement. I followed her inside and helped her get Lily to bed. Once she was settled, the two of us ventured back to the kitchen.

She poured us both a glass of whiskey before she leaned against the kitchen counter.

“What’s going on with you?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Don’t play that game with me. I don’t have time for it.”

I watched her sip her drink as I threw mine back with one gulp.

“I think you’re better off with someone else,” I said.

Cindy’s eyes locked on my face as I sighed.

“I think you’re better off with someone who doesn’t have the past I do, who can support you and Lily and provide for you guys in a way I can’t.”

“And who decided this?” she asked. “Because it wasn’t me.”

“Sometimes the best decisions in life are made for us,” I said.

“Bullshit.”

My eyes whipped up to hers as she slid her glass along the kitchen counter.

“I know you want me as badly as I want you. And for the past two days, I haven’t been able to figure out why you’ve been avoiding me,” Cindy said.

I watched her approach me as I set my glass down on the counter.

“I know you can’t deny the chemistry we both feel. We experience it every time we’re around one another. And I like being around you, Graham. You understand me in a way no one else does. Then you’re going to make a decision not to see me anymore without even talking to me about it?”

I could see the fire in her eyes, the anger and the hurt I had caused her. It filled me with guilt.

“Well, I don’t accept your proposal,” she said.

“I didn’t propose anything,” I said.

“You were going to. You were going to tell me to go off and find someone else. Someone better. But I don’t want better. I don’t want someone else. I want you, Graham, and that should count for something.”

She fisted my shirt and pulled my body to hers. She stood on her tiptoes and crashed our lips together. Her hands ripped at my shirt, busting buttons as she slid it off my shoulders.

My cock instantly rose at the action and at her desperation and the way she clawed to get closer to me.

I gripped her hips and walked her out of the kitchen. I turned us around, collapsing back onto the couch. I pulled her on top of me, her legs straddling my pelvis as she pushed my shirt off my shoulders.

Then she yanked hers over her head, exposing her beautiful body to me.

“Tell me you don’t want this,” she said.

I leaned up and kissed the valley of her breasts as my hands worked the clasp of her bra free.

“Tell me you don’t want me, and you can leave.”

But I couldn’t. As I kissed her tits and pressed my face into her bosom, I knew I couldn't tell her that. I would never be able to look her in her eyes and tell her I didn’t want her because I didn’t simply want her.

I needed her.