“She contact you?”
Gia touched her earlobe. A tell.
“Gia,” he growled.
“She sent an email to let me know that she was safe.”
He growled again. “Willow thinking only of Willow.”
“She wasn’t always like that.”
“She was. She was always jealous of you.”
“What?” Gia frowned.
Saxon pulled up in front of her office building.
“Get inside, Gia. No more lunch dates. Head straight home after work, and once Vander has confirmation you’re clear of Dennett, then you can wander the streets.”
“You love telling people what to do, don’t you?”
He considered for a second. “Yeah.”
She opened the door and smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant one. “Any other orders, Master Buchanan?”
He smiled. “Yes, you can call me Master Buchanan all the time, now.”
She got out, flashing her slender legs, which his cock definitely noticed. She shot him one more glare, then slammed the door.
He watched her stride inside, hips swinging. He blew out a breath and gripped the wheel.
His hunger for Gia Norcross was no longer under control. Once she was safe, he was making her his, one way or another.
Chapter Three
God, she was tired.
After her lovely lunch with Neil, and the confrontation with Saxon, she’d gotten back to an afternoon of problems. A client caught up in a Twitter storm. Another client caught in a scandal involving a woman who was definitely not his wife.
Gia was tired to the bone and her face was throbbing.
She unlocked her apartment door. At least she didn’t look as bad as poor Haven had. During a theft at the museum, when a Monet had been stolen, her friend had been beaten. Haven’s bruises had lasted for days.
Haven had powered through, and she’d had Rhys at her side.
Gia was going to have a glass of red wine, and then sleep. She’d power through tomorrow.
She dumped her things on the island and kicked off her shoes.
Home. She loved her light, beautiful two-bedroom apartment. She had a gorgeous kitchen she didn’t have enough time to use. A spa-like master bathroom that was her favorite room in the place. And a balcony with great views.
She smiled, feeling a sense of peace wash over her. She’d picked out every little thing. Her apartment was her sanctuary. The place where she could shed her kickass, successful PR persona, and just be herself. There was nothing to prove, no one to impress.
A quick rat-a-tat-tat knock on her door made her frown. Someone had gotten past the doorman.
She checked the peephole and her pulse leaped.
Willow.
Gia wrenched open the door. “Will.”
Her friend pushed in. Willow’s face was twitchy, her blue eyes bright. She shoved her hair back. In high school, it had been thick and blonde, now it was stringy and the color of dishwater.
Willow was tall and far too thin. She paced into Gia’s apartment and whirled.
Gia studied her friend’s face carefully and let out a breath. “You’re high.”
“I’m in a fuck load of trouble, Gigi. I needed to chill a bit, take the edge off.”
“You got yourself into this situation by stealing a quarter of a million dollars of gems that aren’t yours.”
Willow shifted her beaten-up running shoes. “Dennett’s got loads of money. Why shouldn’t I get some?”
“Because it’s his.” Even if it was ill-gotten. “You stole from him.”
Willow shrugged a thin shoulder. “I thought you’d take my side.”
Crap, Gia had been taking Willow’s side for years. Excusing her friend’s poor choices. Saxon’s voice rang in her head.
God, had she been enabling Willow?
“Dennett’s man came after me,” Gia said. “He threatened me. You need to return the gems.”
Willow went silent, chewing on her lip. “You look okay.”
“He pulled a gun on me. He shot at me.”
“Your brothers won’t let anything happen to you. And that golden-boy snob would take a bullet for you.”
“Saxon?”
“Yes,” Willow sneered. “He won’t let anything happen to his precious princess.”
“Saxon is just—”
“Has fucking wanted you since before you were legal.”
The words sent a jolt through Gia.
“That blue-blooded asshole wouldn’t look at me twice, but you…” Jealousy laced Willow’s voice.
Gia dragged in a breath. Right now, this wasn’t about Saxon. “Look, focus on Dennett. You need to—”
“His guys have been tailing me all day.” Willow wiped a hand across her mouth. “I need—”
Gia straightened. “Did they follow you here?”
“Pretty sure I lost them.” Willow pulled a small, black bag from her pocket. “Look, Gigi, I just need to stash these here. Just for a bit.”
“Willow, no.” Her brothers and Saxon would lose their minds.
“I need to make things right. Please. Just hide them for a few hours and I’ll fix this, Gigi.”
Willow threw her arms around Gia in a tight hug. She was so thin, and the desperation wafted off her.
“Okay.” You’re an idiot, Gia Norcross. “Just for a few hours, Will.”
“Thank you.” Her friend smiled, the old Willow shining through.
Gia took the bag. It felt far too light for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
“I’m going to make this right.” Willow opened the front door. “You’ll see.”
Then she was gone.
Gia dropped heavily onto her lovely suede couch. The temptation was too much and she opened the bag.
She gasped. Oh, wow.
The stones were cool on her palm. Blood-red rubies, deep-green emeralds, jewel-blue sapphires, some large, pale-pink stone.
She gave herself a second to imagine a set of ruby earrings, or a gorgeous emerald necklace.
Then she shoved the gems back in the bag. She moved over to the floating shelf on her living room wall. She popped a panel on the side and slid the bag inside the hollow wood. She set the panel back in place.
She really wanted that glass of wine, but if her brothers found out that she had the gems and she hadn’t told them…
If Saxon found out, he’d ride her for days for being stupid.
She needed to visit Norcross.
Saxon’s warnings echoed in her head. She bit her lip. She didn’t believe Dennett was stupid enough to go up against her brothers. Still, she needed to be smart. She’d change, and get an Uber straight over to the Norcross office.
Hurrying into her bedroom, she stripped her work dress off and pulled her hair out of its twist. She pulled on her yoga gear—black leggings, lilac top, and her favorite hoodie sweatshirt that she only wore at home. The gray fabric settled comfortingly around her. No one would expect stylish Gia Norcross to be wearing a hoodie.
As she walked through the living room, she glanced at the shelf and felt the weight of those damn gems. She wanted them gone, and she wanted Willow safe.
Gia grabbed her keys and phone. She decided to be extra careful and take the stairs. Dammit, Saxon had her imagining the bogeyman everywhere.