Sanctum (Masters and Mercenaries #4.5)(15)

“It’s not like that. The lifestyle is all about communication.”

“Then what happened with you and that Dom? Don’t pretend. I know you were seeing someone. I just don’t know his name.”

Her sister could be like a pit bull when she got curious. It was best to just give her some information and throw her off the scent. “His name was Ryan. I met him at a club. It didn’t work out and now I work at another club and by a crazy coincidence, now he’s my boss.”

Ashley’s eyes got wide, and she covered her baby’s precious ears. “Shit. Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack.” She grabbed the grocery bag and wondered if maybe they could splurge on tequila. Probably not, but she damn straight needed a shot. “I signed a contract with Ryan, and I was with him for almost a year. I actually lived with him for a while.”

“And he screwed you over. See. Contracts don’t protect you. How did he communicate that he was dumping you?”

There was a brief knock on the door. Saved by the bell. Jill crossed the very short distance between the kitchen and the front door. “That’s a story for another time.”

“He sounds like a regular * to me,” Ashley said. “You’re better off without him.”

Jill didn’t argue, simply opened the door, happy for the distraction. And then she wasn’t happy at all because Ryan was standing in the doorway looking gorgeous and perfectly pressed. It was hard to believe he’d lost his money since he still looked like a high-powered executive in his designer suit.

“Do you actually live here? What are you doing here?” Ryan was frowning fiercely, his eyes taking in every bit of the threadbare apartment.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” A loud ruckus started two doors down. A man was screaming at the top of his lungs, calling his wife every nasty word in the book. Damn it. The couple in 3B was at it again, and someone would call the police and Ryan would get a front row seat to the whole show. It wasn’t how she wanted him to see her.

Ryan shook his head as though trying to shake something off. “I’m sorry. I just don’t think this building is safe. I walked up three flights of steps, and there were people sleeping in the hallways.”

“Oh, that’s just the pimps,” Ashley supplied helpfully. “Or the johns. There are two hookers on the second floor. This is their busiest time of day. I told Mysty that she should make a little waiting room, but she said anything she leaves out in the hall gets stolen anyway.”

Ryan stared at her sister, his jaw slightly open, before turning back to her. “Get your things. You’re both coming with me. My place isn’t much bigger, but at least it’s not a hotbed of criminal activity.”

“That you know of,” Ashley corrected, settling Emily on her hip. “According to Shauna Rae, you just never know when the people next door are cooking meth until the trailer explodes. Such a tragedy. It’s why she moved here. Of course, she says this is way worse than the trailer park.”

“You must be Ashley.” Ryan just barged right in. He’d never had trouble taking control.

Of course, her sister had gotten a lot sassier since having Emily. “And you must be someone I don’t know and have never heard a word about.”

“I’m Ryan Church.” He flushed a little as though he’d just realized he was making a scene. “I, uhm, I work with your sister.”

Ashley didn’t even try to disguise her open appraisal. Or, if she did, she was doing a terrible job. “And now you’re ordering us to move? Is that part of her job?”

Ryan gave Ashley what Jill thought of as his patented “superhero” look. When his jaw squared and he got that glint in his eyes, she just knew he was going to save the world, or at least her. “I just want to protect your sister and that means protecting you too.”

“All right then. I’m going to put Emily down for a nap while you two chat.” She looked over at Jill. “I take back what I said. Give him a second chance.”

Jill frowned. She thought she’d at least have her sister in her corner. “You just said he was a typical *.”

“Yeah, well, that was before I saw him. Holy hell, sister, he is smoking hot. Dayum. He looks like he should be on a movie screen. Looks like that deserve a second chance. I bet you have a six-pack.” Ashley looked at his torso like she could see straight through to his abs.

Ryan smiled and gave her sister a flirty wink, shocking the hell out of Jill. She hadn’t seen him smile once since she’d come to work at Sanctum. This was the same flirty, fun Ryan she’d fallen madly in love with. He was usually so serious, but then he would turn the charm on and she would turn into a puddle of goo. “Hey, I work out a lot and it’s Texas, so I mostly don’t wear a shirt. You’ll have to put up with that when you and your sister come live at my place.”

Ashley’s appreciative sigh filled the room, and even Emily seemed enthralled by the big guy. “A daily show. Sounds better than cable. Which we don’t have. Also, I would very much like to move. I started naming the rats yesterday. It’s time. So you two let me know when to pack.”

“As soon as possible,” Ryan said.

“We’re not moving,” Jill said at the same time.

“You two crazy kids figure it out.” Ashley looked down at her feet as something furry skittered by. “Oh, look, there’s Cheesy. I call her that because she likes cheese.”