Page 87 of The Fixer

“Dad wanted me too, Brooke. He left me instructions to bring in the FBI and shut everything down. He would have done it himself if he had lived.”

My friend was silent, and for a moment, I let that sit. Moving one foot in front of the other, I made my way to the windows, to the view of a better life.

“They’ve seized all of Niles’s assets, and they’ve got holds on all Dad’s and my accounts until they can ensure they have enough funds to pay back what Niles stole. But they think, after I sell the company and Dad’s condo, there should be enough money there, and maybe a little left over.”

“But what about you?” Brooke asked, worry lining her voice. “How are you supposed to live? You’re so busy with them you can’t even come to work.”

My lips pulled up in a smile. They’d seized Dad’s safe deposit box, too. But they were too late to get anything from it. Mom’s jewelry and the thirty grand Dad had left there were safe somewhere else, giving me both the comfort and security I needed to get by until the investigation was over. “I’ll be okay,” I promised.

“Is this why you’re doing this?” she asked, her voice quiet and laced with concern.

Turning from the window, I slid my bare feet across the wooden floor, coming to a stop in the middle of the rug. “Doing what?”

“You know you can stay with me, don’t you?”

“Brooke—”

“I mean it, Eliza. Eric and I have room.”

“You’re getting married in a few months. The last thing you need is me getting in the way. And besides, this is exactly what I want.”

“But you barely know him.”

Movement at the side of the room caught my attention. I turned and found Jet standing at the threshold of the room, hands gripping the wall on either side of the doorway. His body glistened with sweat, little droplets trickling down his chest and over the ridges of his stomach. My tummy tightened, want building inside me like the man was inches from me, stoking the fire.

In the aftermath of Niles’s death, even with the threat to my life removed, I hadn’t immediately moved back home. But when I did, I found it intolerable.

And Jet did, too.

He’d snuck into my apartment that first night, crawled into bed beside me. Made sweet love to me before he tucked me into his side and we both fell fast asleep.

That was the end of our time apart. Half a night without this man at my side. Half a night where the pieces that were missing from my life became so glaringly obvious I’d nearly cried myself to sleep.

He was my savior. The man who snuck into my life when I least expected him. Built me up, made me whole. He filled me, mind, body, and soul.

Jet moved from the hallway, his body sleek and lean, his muscles rippling beneath his skin as he prowled toward me like a cat after its prey.

And goodness, if it didn’t make my knees shake as my body trembled, the man too much.

“Don’t worry about me, Brooke,” I told her, turning slowly as Jet circled me. “After everything that’s happened, I’ve never been more certain. This is exactly where I’m meant to be.”

“If you’re sure…”

“I’m more than sure.” Jet’s hands slid across my hips, his mouth sucking at the skin of my neck.

“Then… I guess we should meet him sometime. Maybe we can go out?”

“Like a double date?”

“Is that okay?”

I hated the uncertainty in her voice. The fear of me pushing her away. I’d done it before, because Nathan had done everything in his power to seclude me and keep me from having a life outside of him.

Before I had a chance to erase that fear, Jet did it for me. “I’d love that,” he murmured next to my ear, his raspy voice carrying over the phone line to my friend.

“Oh.” Brooke paused, and I smiled as Jet ran his tongue along the edge of my ear. “He’s right there, isn’t he?”

“Umm hmm,” I hummed, then giggled as Jet wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.