Lila

"Well," Dane seethed, apparently unconcerned that his brother looked upset, "we're hoping you can explain the mess in some detail so Delilah can figure out the best angles to pursue?"

​​

"Will you keep your mouth shut until I'm finished then, brother?" Chris snapped, sitting up. "Because I was trying to tell you earlier, but you didn't have a lot of time for listening."

Dane bristled like a cat, but after a glance at Lila he simply nodded and began pacing the carpet while Chris spoke.

Chris watched him for a minute, then shook his head and turned to Lila. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

Lila folded her arms. "Well, I'd like to hear the whole thing. But for now, what would she have to get back at you about?"

Chris scratched the back of his neck. "She might be feeling like I changed my story." He grimaced. Dane shot him a look but didn't say anything, just kept pacing. "So, here's the truth: I was the one who recommended Daniels Security to her."

"What?!" Dane whirled on his heel. "You said she was a referral! She got the discount."

"She was," Chris muttered. "From me."

Dane's eyes narrowed. But Chris turned to Lila and opened his hands like he was pleading. "I met her weeks before she won that show and we . . . hit it off." He got a cocky grin that Lila decided to ignore. "We'd been hooking up for a few weeks by that time—non-exclusive, as far as I knew. I mean, we never talked about it. But we celebrated together. She told me that at her first red carpet after the final show, she had a scary incident where a guy grabbed her. I just mentioned she should look into my company for help. I didn't think she'd take me seriously—I didn't think she'd have the cash. But the next thing I knew—"

"We have a very clear conduct policy—" Dane started.

"I know that's why I broke up with her. And why all this happened," Chris growled. "If you'd let me tell the freaking story, big brother, you could calm down."

Lila looked at Dane, but he just scoffed and went back to pacing. So she motioned for Chris to keep going. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I actually didn't know she'd been assigned to me right away. She registered under her legal name and I didn't recognize it. I got the call to head out to meet a new client and when she answered the door I was floored. I didn't know what to say—her dad was there. So I didn't say anything. But then she called for help that night at like, midnight, and when I showed up, she was naked and smiling and saying she'd had this plan. That she was going to need my help. A lot . . ." he trailed off, scratching his neck again. Lila thought he might be blushing. It was hard to tell, he was still red from fighting with Tank.

"So," she said carefully, "forgive me for being personal, but we need to know how to spin this. Did you sleep with her again after she became a client?"

"No. That's why she got so mad. when I told her we couldn't hook up anymore, she was shocked. She'd had no idea how seriously I take my job." Chris shook his head. "I told her right away, but she kept calling me in late in the night. I started sending other guys on the team, then she started texting me. And finally, that last night, I'd decided to tell Dane. So I called her and said we weren't coming. She was . . . really angry."

Lila sighed. "Was the intruder real?"

Chris shook his head. "I sent one of the guys over there, just so we were covered. But I told him not to talk to her unless she came out of the house or it looked like there was a problem. But she saw him checking the perimeter and freaked out. She alarmed three times, and I thought it was because she was mad I hadn't come, so I didn't answer . . ." he sighed heavily. "Look, I know it's bad, okay? I get it. But there really was no threat to her that night. Except maybe to her pride."

Lila looked at Dane. Chris might think there was no real threat. But they knew—or at least suspected—there was a lot more to this entire situation than Chris realized. Lila suspected if she checked she was going to find out Becky had been looking for Chris even before they met. And that the "scare" from the guy on the red carpet had been a set up.

She tapped her lip with one red-painted nail, making a mental note to check and see if the story was even true. There might be an angle there they could use.

She suddenly realized the room was completely silent and looked at Dane. Both he and Chris were staring at her curiously. She raised her chin and cleared her throat. "I think there's some angles here I can check out. But we really need the whole story, Chris," she said, turning to the softer man. "I know it's a little weird talking about personal details, but I need to know how you both met, when, who introduced you, how the first, er, connection was made, that sort of thing. We need to find out if this current mess has been the plan all along.

Chris blinked. "Well, sure, but . . . you think she set me up?"

Dane shot her a look that she ignored. "We don't know. But we have to explore all possibilities. Plus, checking all those details might bring something else out that we haven't thought of. Have you got time for an actual interview? I'd like to make notes as we speak and maybe have the team check some details . . ."

As Lila laid out a plan and the men started nodding, she completely lost sight of them. Her mind had become fully focused on the task at hand.

She told herself she didn't even notice Dane's hawkish gaze on her whenever she touched Chris, or smiled at him. She decided it was a relief that he wasn't yelling and getting in the way. If they could get through this without him shouting and breaking something, maybe this job wasn't going to be as bad as she thought.

And she completely ignored the way her skin pebbled every time he passed behind her chair when he was pacing.

*

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