Page 30 of Emeric

Sliding the pillow off my head, I peered into the hall where Lana stood with her back against the wall, facing away from me. The natural light coming in the other rooms let me know exactly where she stood, even with a cup of coffee in hand.

“I’m alone,” I grumbled. I was tempted to throw the pillow at her, but I was too tired to do it.

“I’m still not aware of your clothing situation.”

“For fuck’s sake, I have shorts on and a sheet over me.”

“Good.” She turned and entered the room, setting a cup of coffee on my nightstand. I hadn’t realized she had a second one. “You have a visitor, by the way.”

“What?” Why was she confusing me? I was barely conscious. I didn’t see anyone else on the camera.

“Oleander. He was coming up when I was knocking. I had him hide until I came in.”

“Knocking? You were moments from breaking the door down.”

“Sure. I forgot I developed superhuman strength and could tear through doors. My new skill should come in handy if Jordan ever needs muscle with a law degree.”

“What do you want, Lana?”

“I need you to take care of one of my cases today. I don’t have time, and they want an in-person meeting. The file has been emailed to you.”

“You couldn’t have called?” I rolled to my back and rubbed my eyes. I’d only slept for a few hours.

“I was busy getting Raiden out of jail from some bullshit charge. Apparently, no one from the Altair organization has graced the East Dremest PD jail in a while, and they needed to make a show of things. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. You didn’t answer your phone when I called, and your assistant said you weren’t to be disturbed.” I couldn’t tell if she was serious or not about the Raiden thing. Either way, I decided I didn’t really care.

“So you show up and bang on my door.”

“Whatever works.”

“Why’s Ollie here?” I asked.

“You’ll have to ask him. He was far too amused at me trying to get you to answer the door.”

“Did you tell him you had the code?” My sister didn’t like to bullshit anything at work. With me, she was far too eager to be a pain in the ass when she could.

“No, but his eyes went wide when I entered it on the keypad.”

I chuckled, any remaining irritation leaving me. I bet they did.

It was time for me to get up. Not only did I need Lana out of my home, but I had to find out why Oleander stopped by.

I stood and grabbed a shirt from my dresser. “Did you bring anything else?”

“On your counter.”

“Thank you. Breakfast is the least you could do for waking me and giving me work, like I didn’t have anything else to do on a Saturday.”

“You’re welcome.” She turned and left. I didn’t exit my bedroom until I heard her say goodbye to Oleander and close the front door behind her.

Quickly, I stepped into the bathroom to take care of my basic needs, including brushing my teeth.

Oleander sat on my couch when I entered the living room. He had his forearms braced on his thighs, his dark hair fell around his face, and his gaze was on his hands. His head didn’t lift until I was in the room.

He stood. Jeans and a T-shirt on him just did something for me. The way his thighs filled out the denim and how his shirt hugged his biceps. If he was as interested as I hoped, I couldn’t wait to find out how his skin felt beneath my fingers. “I’m sorry for not calling first.”

“I wouldn’t have answered if you had. As soon as I came home, I showered and passed out.” I wouldn’t have heard him at the door unless he was as persistent as my sister was. Aside from Lana, the only other person who visited me was Jordan. My parents had passed years back. Not at the same time, a couple of years apart. And I didn’t have many friends. With the business I owned and working for a mafia boss on the side, who the hell had time to socialize and build a friend network? Better yet, I didn’t want to.

“I’m glad she was there. Not that you didn’t get much sleep. Just that I didn’t have to try to break down your door like your sister did.” He gave me a little smile.