But there was one option. Someone who owed me a few favors and wasn't affiliated with any gangs. Except I'd been very carefully, very deliberately keeping Seph well away from him since we'd moved to Shadow Grove.
"Rex," I murmured. "He's got the manpower in his shop."
Cass gave a grunt of surprise. "He does... Why would he do it, though?"
I tilted my head back to give him a smile. "I have my ways. Actually... as much as I hate to suggest this, Rex might also solve one of our other security issues."
"What's that?" Cass replied, his lips set in that grumpy line that was his resting Cass face.
Zed gave a huff of laughter, nodding his understanding. "Bratty little Persephone. She needs a new watcher."
Cass stepped away a pace and stripped off Zed's leather jacket, which he'd been wearing. "We can just call Archer back in," he suggested. "He's the best choice."
I scoffed. "He got her abducted because he was too busy arguing with Demi about his wife's boo-boo. No, I won't be calling him back in."
Zed gave a small shrug like he agreed with me, and Cass made an exasperated sound. He was too smart to keep pushing that issue, though. I didn't give two shits if Archer D'Ath was declared a saint next week, he fucked up. And when it came to Seph's safety, I wasn't the forgiving type.
"Look, I don't know what your connection is with Rex," Cass rumbled, "but he's bad fucking news."
I shot him a tight smile. "I know. But he'd also rather slit his own throat than betray me to Chase. As much as I dislike the guy, he's the best option we have. We can't keep Seph safe and go up against Chase. It's stretching us too thin already and endangering her. Chase still knows she's my biggest weak point, so that's where our reinforcements need to go."
Cass scrubbed a hand over his tattooed scalp. The designs on the left side were distorted now by the pink line of scarring, thanks to my bullet. But it just made him look sexier, if that was even possible.
"I thought Gumdrop was playing bodyguard to her," he muttered. "What happened to that?"
I grimaced. "He still is. At school. But he can't watch her around the clock. There will be plenty more times when he needs to be with us—with me—and he will ditch Seph if he thinks I need him more."
Zed nodded his agreement. "As we all would." His shrug was unapologetic. "I think you're right about Rex. Dallas can draw up the security plans; if Cass can somehow magically make the equipment appear, then Rex's boys can install it all—hopefully get it done before Seph and Lucas make it home from school."
"I think that sounds like a better option than relying on a potentially compromised security firm, don't you?" I tilted my head, meeting Cass's eyes. As much as I was used to simply making these decisions with Zed alone, I wanted Cass to be in agreement with us. We were a team, after all. In it together and all that crap.
He held my gaze for a long moment, then nodded once. "Agreed. Let's sort it out."
Flashing him a smile, I hopped off my chair and rose up on my tiptoes to kiss him. "I love when you see things my way, Saint. Makes me all turned on and shit." With a wink, I headed upstairs to get ready for the day. I already had a full schedule as it was, and I'd just added to it.
First things first, I needed to suck up the strength and patience to call Rex Darenburg. I could safely say I’d never expected to be asking that murdering prick for help, but here we were. Never say never.
40
My call to Rex didn't take long. He knew I wasn't really giving him an option to decline, so he gruffly announced his boys would meet Dallas at Zed's house around noon to install the equipment. The call to Dallas was just as quick; he advised that he'd send me a list of everything he needed within half an hour. How Cass planned to get it all, I had no clue. But I was also willing to trust him.
I was dressed for work and had applied my makeup with my calls on speaker. Cass appeared in the bathroom doorway as I finished curling my hair and just stood there watching me as I completed my well-practiced hairstyle, spraying it with a light hold, then gently combing the curls through so they sat in a vintage-Hollywood glam way. My wrist wasn’t looking too bad, so I’d swapped out the bandage for a couple of adhesive dressings. Much better for my range of motion.
"Did you need something?" I asked after several minutes of silence. He'd changed out of Zed's bike leathers and was back in his own clothes, black jeans and a dark gray T-shirt. In answer to my question, he stepped into the bathroom and closed the door with his heel before prowling closer.
"I always need something from you, Red," he confessed in a rough whisper. "Have I told you how painfully beautiful you are today?" His hands bracketed my hips, his body warm against my back and his eyes dark in the mirror.
I held his gaze, leaning back into his touch. "You haven't. I thought you hated when I wore my Hades skin."
Cass's answering chuckle was hot against my skin as he swept my hair forward so he could kiss my neck. "Hate it? Fuck no. Not even close." He pulled my ass back against him, proving that point with the thickness of his erection. "I know you need to go to work. But I want to play a game."
Surprise widened my eyes. "What game?"
His lips curved in a wicked smile against my neck, his eyes darker still in the mirror. "Do you want to play, Red? Yes or no."
I gave a soft groan, rubbing my butt against him like a goddamn cat in heat—as if I hadn't had enough fucking attention from Lucas and Zed last night. "Yeah, I'll play."
Cass flashed a grin at me. "Perfect." He gripped each of my wrists—being gentle with my injured one—and placed my hands flat on the vanity, toward the mirror. Then he slowly tugged my tight skirt up, giving me plenty of opportunity to change my mind. Not that I fucking would; I was all kinds of hot and bothered already just at the mischief in his eyes.
Licking his lips, he hooked his fingers under the elastic of my panties and dragged them down my thighs but left them above my knees. Then he pulled a bottle of lube and the magical vibrating butt plug from his pocket and placed them down on the vanity beside me.
"Cass..." I wet my lips and glanced from the toy to him as he squeezed a liberal amount of lube onto his fingers. "I have meetings today. Important ones."
Rumbling a sound of amusement, he spread the cold lube over my backdoor, making me gasp. "I know," he replied. "That's the point." He teased the lube all around my ass, then pushed a finger inside. "Well, one of the points."
My protests evaporated as he fingered my ass, stretching my tight muscles out and ensuring there was plenty of lube spread around. Then he confidently worked the toy into place as I panted and trembled with my hands braced on the vanity. My face was just inches from the mirror, leaving me nowhere to hide from how flushed my cheeks were or how hungry Cass's gaze was when he admired his handiwork.
Then he simply pulled my panties back up and rolled my skirt back into place, smoothing his hands over the fabric to erase some creases from where it'd been bunched over my hips.
"Cass!" I exclaimed when he coaxed me to stand back up straight. "You're not serious."