Geek Chic (19 page)

“Still sounds like the mob, I have to tell you.” She was only half kidding.

He seemed to be considering his words. “Do you think someone like Donald Trump goes out and gives away all his business knowledge and secrets? Or successful investment brokers. Do you think they go telling their competition their strategies? Or Internet security firms?”

That wasn’t something she’d ever considered. “Okay. I see your point. Legal businesses do have secrets. I’ll stop worrying.”

“I’ll admit, we have a large organization when you think about all the extended family who stay involved.” He smiled. “In a way it’s nice, because with all our resources, we can almost always find out what we need to make decisions.”

“Like hunting down that deadbeat baby daddy?”

“Exactly like that. See? We use our powers for good, not evil.”

Beck could make her laugh, which was another point in his favor. “Superpowers, huh?”

“Well, if I had those, trust me, I’d have your calendar filled every night for the near future.”

“I’m sure you would.”

One eyebrow arched in a delicious way. “Can I take you out tomorrow night? Dinner?”

She wanted to. Ooohhh, how she wanted to. But she knew if she did, that would definitely invite more questions from her siblings, as well as demands to meet her mystery man.

“No, let’s go out later in the week.” She mentally scanned her schedule. “Wednesday?” Reggie had some after-hours work social thing to go to, and Da’von would be babysitting for them.

“Wednesday it is.” He stood, offering her his hand to help her up. When they walked out to the car, before he opened the passenger door for her he took both her hands in his and drew her close. “I will take you home, because I am a gentleman.” He smiled, devastating her reserve and nearly pulling her under. “But any time you want to come back to my place and spend the night with me, just know that I am offering you a standing invitation, any time. I will never say no to you.”

Her breath caught in her throat, her heart and other places lower down her body wanting to scream
yes
at the top of her lungs.

That damn stubborn brain of hers spoiled the party. “Not yet, but I will keep that in mind.”

He kissed her on the forehead, lingering, her eyes dropping closed as she breathed in his scent.

“That’s all I’m asking. To keep me in mind.”

Opening the car door for her, he helped her in, his thumb stroking across her knuckles before letting go and closing the door.

* * * *

Fortunately, Malyah’s car wasn’t in the parking lot when Beck drove Nami home. “You sure I can’t convince you to spend the night at my place?” Beck lightly teased.

Oh, how she wanted to. His tone of voice ripped at her heart, shredded her soul.

Unfortunately for Beck, she’d had too many years of practice at putting others’ needs before her own.

“I need to make sure Da’von gets up and off to class in the morning.” She leaned in and kissed him, willing her spine to turn to steel and not melt back into something a little wimpier than overcooked spaghetti. She stroked Beck’s cheek. “If you love me, you’ll let me do this my way.”

His fingers closed around her hand and he turned his face to kiss her palm. “You are a stronger woman than I am.” When she laughed, he added, “You know what I mean.”

“Anything worth it is worth waiting for.”

He finally released her hand. He got out, walked around to her side of the car, and opened the door for her, helping her out. Here, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, long and tenderly, taking her breath away and seriously testing her will.

A playful smile curved his lips when she placed her fingertips against his chest and gently pushed. “Can’t blame a wolf for trying, baby.”

She smiled. If she had to tag Beck with an animal likeness, yeah, wolf did fit him, in many ways. “You’re more like a dawg. Go on home, now,” she said. “I’ll see you Wednesday.”

He wouldn’t leave until she’d unlocked the apartment door and safely stepped inside. When she peeked through the viewfinder, she waited until he’d finally backed out and driven away before turning to rest against the door.

Whew!

He was a hot, gorgeous man. And she knew once she let herself cross that line with him, there’d be no turning back for her or her heart. They’d probably end up in bed for an entire weekend before they came up for air.

She wouldn’t deny that thought left her more than a little tingly in the good way.

As she walked down the hallway toward her room, she heard the shower running in the bathroom Da’von and Malyah shared. She also heard Da’von’s phone beeping in his room through the cracked open door.

Walking into his bedroom, she found it laying on the bed, the display just going dark. When she hit the button, the screen came up.

Her hands shook when she read the contact name.

Dad

Fighting against the red-hot rage washing through her, with trembling fingers she unlocked his phone and read the full text of the message.

we stil eatin lunch tomor sun?

As she scanned through previous messages, which only went back as far as earlier that evening, she realized Da’von must have been deleting previous messages from the guy.

And the man was as illiterate as she remembered him being.

She forwarded the message to her own phone so she’d have the asshole’s contact info, then deleted both the original text and the forwarded one to her from her brother’s phone to hide the evidence of her snooping. When she heard the shower shut off in the bathroom, she dropped the phone onto the bed and slipped out of Da’von’s room, barely remembering to pull the door shut the way it had been.

She was already in her room and had the door closed behind her when she heard Da’von open the bathroom door. “Nami?” he called out. “That you?”

“Yeah,” she answered, her back pressed against her bedroom door, heart racing. She nearly let out a scream when her phone vibrated in her pocket until she remembered she’d texted herself from Da’von’s phone. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Okay. We left brownies in the microwave for you. Malyah had to run back out to the store to get somethin’ for herself. I think she’s on the rag.”

“Thanks, baby boy.” Her throat nearly closed tight on those words.

How long had her brother been communicating with their father behind her back? Da’von hadn’t asked about him in years. During his wild spell in high school, she and Lu’ana had finally set him down and had it out with him, showing him copies of the man’s arrest record and convictions. Lu’ana had found those online in a public records search.

Then Nami had forbid Da’von to talk about the man, or think about even trying to contact him. He was a convicted felon, a gang member, and she wanted nothing to do with the man.

Even more importantly, she wanted nothing to do with his gang, and wanted Da’von nowhere near any of those kinds of people.

And she’d thought their talk with him had worked.

Pulling out her own phone, she swiped through her apps until she found the one for her phone service. That was something she knew how to do, because she’d had the people at the store show her how to use it. She could pay her bill there, look at usage…

Look up call histories on the phones and block numbers.

Malyah paid for her own phone now, had her own account. But Nami still paid for Da’von’s. And from the last run-in he had with trouble a couple of years ago, she still remembered how to block numbers.

And he didn’t have the master account password or user ID to go in behind her and change things back.

She logged in and looked up his phone, the staggering truth nearly taking her knees out. As she made her way over to the bed and collapsed onto it, she scrolled through three months of messages and calls between Da’von and the man.

Before she blocked the number her finger paused.

If I block him, Da’von will only want to see him more. Maybe drive him away from us and into that thug’s arms.

Forcing herself to breathe, she studied the call and text history. She couldn’t see the actual text messages themselves, just the date, time, and phone numbers.

Over the past couple of weeks, the man had been texting and talking with Da’von more frequently, several times a day. A sudden jump from when they began a few months earlier, when they were only once or twice a week, if that often.

Including a call about the time the other night when she walked down the hall and thought she heard voices from Da’von’s room.

Call Beck.

The urge pulsed through her. She knew what would happen if she did that. He’d race back there and want to fix everything for her. She didn’t know why she knew that, but the instinct was as deeply embedded as her feelings for him.

If she called him, it would mean a confrontation. It would mean introducing him to Da’von in an aggressive way that wouldn’t possibly lead to any kind of a positive outcome, either for her blossoming relationship with Beck, or for her relationship with her brother.

But Beck had those friends of his. Friends who had access to information and resources.

Maybe she could talk to them, find out where that louse Jarome Drexler was hiding, and go put the fear of
her
into him to stay away from her brother.

No, let
Beck
put the fear of
him
into the man.

Another instinctive thought that felt so damn right it nearly made her cry right there.

She didn’t need a shower but she took one anyway, both to stall and to give herself time to cry and pull herself together before she risked facing Da’von. She was out in the kitchen getting a brownie from the microwave when he joined her there.

“So? How was your date?”

“It wasn’t a date. It was just a movie with friends.” She hated lying to him, but considering the whopper he’d been hiding from her, she felt more than justified.

“I thought Malyah said a guy picked you up?”

“He did. We met with friends. Friends from work.”

Well, technically
Beck’s
work, and that was Friday, even though she still wasn’t exactly sure what Beck and the others did for a living beyond the vague description they’d given her.

“So when we get to meet him?”

“Meet him
why
?”

“Come on, sis. I’m not a child. You’re an eligible, single, attractive woman. You want to date, we’re happy for you.”

This conversation was going far astray of where she’d meant it to go, but at least it wasn’t a completely horrible direction.

The irony didn’t escape her that she both did and didn’t want to discuss this with him right now. Unfortunately, it was all she could do not to start screaming at him. Talking was the last thing she wanted to do at that moment.

“We’re just friends.”

“Sure. If you say so.” He headed to the fridge.

The need to respond forced it from her. “Not saying something might not eventually come of it. But I’m not looking for anything right now.”

“Okay.” He opened the fridge and scanned the shelves.

“I mean it.”

“I heard you.”

When she opened her mouth again, she snapped it shut, realizing how ridiculous she was being.

She
was the one in the right here, not him.

Even if she couldn’t confront him about it yet.

“I’m heading to bed. Tomorrow’s Monday.”

“I know what day it is.”

She ignored his touch of attitude. “You ready for school?”

“I’m not a kid, Nami. I got it.” He glanced her way. “You all right?”

“Just tired. Good night.”

She had to get to her room, fast, and get the door shut before she was tempted to yell at him.

I have to talk to Beck.

But she couldn’t do it with Da’von in the apartment. The walls were paper thin and the last thing she needed was a confrontation when she felt that upset.

Tomorrow. I’ll call Beck tomorrow. He’ll know what to do.

She hated to admit that to herself, but this was a situation she was too close to. If his friends had contacts, maybe they could figure out where Jarome Drexler was and she could go pay the guy a visit.

Her phone buzzed in her hand, a text message from Beck.

I’m home. Have a good night. :)

Peace settled over her.
It’s time for me to quit thinking I can fix the world on my own.
She would talk to Beck about this tomorrow.

She texted him back.

Can you meet me for lunch tomorrow?

He immediately replied.

Sure. I won’t even ask about the change of heart. What time, and where?