Crossing Hathaway (12 page)

My brow wrinkled. “I’m not having sex with him, Brent. Why does my underwear matter?”

He flicked fingers at me, rolled his eyes. “We’ll be hitting Silk and Satin, and that’s final.”

Before I could protest, he whipped open the door, went out, and shut it behind him, shouting, “You stay and strip the rest of the way. I’ll bring you some things to try on.”

“Aye-aye, capt’n.” I saluted, even though he couldn’t see it, reducing myself to a giggling mass again. Icky dresses aside, I had to admit hanging out with Brent was fun.

The first three dresses Brent threw over the top of the dressing room door were so frightening I didn’t even try them on. Never. Gonna. Happen. Two of them had slits nearly up to the waist and were cut low enough to expose most of my upper belly
. Sheesh.
I’d have been more covered by a few elastic bands than those dresses.

“I’ve found it,” he said through the door, his voice high with excitement. “Let me in.”

I groaned and opened the door. “This one had better be bigger than a Band-Aid.”

Gaze determined, he held out a simple dress, fitted at the waist. “Cornflower blue, to bring out those Elizabeth Taylor eyes of yours. It’s made of soft silk so it’ll be comfortable. It’ll fall just above your knee, and the black vine embroidery makes it very Asian chic.”

I took the dress, my head bobbing as I assessed it. Not bad. Not bad at all. “Fine. I’ll try it on.”

“Damn right you will.” He flipped his hair and grinned.

After I pulled the cool fabric over my head and wiggled it into place, Brent zipped up the back and yanked me out of the room.

“Just wait, I haven’t even checked to see if I’m covered.” I stumbled along beside him. “Where are we going?”

We rushed toward a platform at the end of the dressing room doors, surrounded almost completely with mirrors. He pushed me in front of him, held my hand while I stepped up, and followed after me.

I stood, transfixed by the girl staring back at me. The dress shimmered in the light, and my eyes had never looked so blue. Wide strips of fabric covered my shoulders and the bodice dipped down a little farther between the boobage than I would have liked but didn’t descend into streetwalker domain.

Brent fidgeted with the dress and then stood back with his fist pressed to his chin. “Am I good or what?” He offered a blinding smile, pulled the hair tie out of my ponytail, and smoothed my hair down my back. “Who knew you had a nice rack under those hideous shirts you always wear. We’ll definitely need a different bra to showcase them properly.”

I laughed. “Brent! Christ, you’re blunt. You’re like the brother I’ve always wanted.”

“Ahh.” He hugged me from behind. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me. So, you like?”

“Yeah, I think this is the one. Even I can’t stop staring at my tits.”

Spewing a squeal, he jumped and twittered, put his hands on my shoulders and stared at me via the mirror. “I’m off to find you the perfect shoes. Do. Not. Move.” With a giggle, he bounded down the hall.

“Something I can walk in,” I shouted over my shoulder.

“Can’t hear you,” he said in a singsong tone as he skipped around the corner.

While I waited, I inspected the frayed ends of my hair. I hadn’t cut it in a few years and it showed. Maybe Brent knew of a hairdresser who could fit me in the next day or Friday after work?

“There you are.”

A deep voice came from behind me. I flinched so hard I almost stumbled off the back of the platform. When I looked up at the reflection of a man in the mirror, a jolt as good as lightning shot through my core, and a stupid grin ate up my face. “Ben?”

As he stepped onto the miniature stage behind me, a familiar malignant smile brought recognition I could have done without. His tanned skin glowed bronze under the lights. “Guess again, kitten.”

My upper lip curled. Tension buzzed down my body as I whirled around to face him. “What do you want, Richard?” Disdain colored my tone.

“I’ve tried to find a moment alone with you since we met.” He ran his fingers through his dark curls and pulled at the cuffs of his dark blue dress shirt. “Mmm. You do look smashing in silk.” Moaning, he circled me, looking me up and down. “The way it hugs your curves could give a man wood from a mile away.”

I edged away from him. “So … you followed me here? Ben didn’t tell me you were a creepy stalker on top of being a pig.”

His smile faltered, fingers curled into fists.

I tried to dodge around him but he grabbed me by the upper arm, wrapped his other hand around my mouth, and dragged me into one of the fitting rooms. Screaming only worked if I had air, but I struggled to draw any in through his enormous fingers. Tiny whimpers were all I managed to utter when he shoved me against the wall to face him and pressed his body against mine.

Richard’s hand slipped down to my throat, and his stare locked on to mine. The dark glint in his eyes sent a tremble along my spine. If the eyes were truly the windows to the soul, his was a black malignancy that held no light, no compassion, nothing but evil intent.

“Shhh.” His sickly sweet breath brushed against my lips. “I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for Benjamin to allow a woman into his life again.”

A chill swept through me.
Again?
“Why?” The word came out in a faint whisper.

“Because, my precious kitten, he has something of mine and I want it.”

Trembling, I swallowed and tried to pry my fingers beneath his to break their hold on my throat, but I might as well have tried to move iron bars with toothpicks. “What does that have to do with me?”

“He tries very hard not to care about anything or anyone after my last attempt at coercion, but the way he defended you the other day … he must know I’ve found his weakness at last.” Richard pressed his mouth hard against mine.

I considered biting him, but he pulled away too fast.

“I’m beginning to see why he’s so taken with you.”

The harder I struggled, the tighter he squeezed until I gasped for air. I tried to scream but only a strangled cry came out. My chest hurt from the panic gripping my heart.

“Eva?” Brent shouted from beyond the door. “I thought I told you to stay put?”

Richard released me and smiled, a shudder visibly coursing through him. He turned my face and licked my ear while I squirmed. “God, I could come just by tasting you.” His fingers squeezed my throat tighter, and he thrust his hips forward, pressing his rock hard state against my leg. “Give Benjamin a message for me. If he doesn’t sign over what’s rightfully mine by next Friday, as in nine days from today, I won’t be such a gentleman the next time I pay you a visit.”

My breath huffed out in ragged bursts as he backed up and pulled open the door. “Be seeing you.” He blew me a kiss before he departed. What. A. Psycho.

The shaking in my hands spread to the rest of my body. The deafening sound of my blood rushing through my head gave me a headache. No wonder Ben was afraid of him. What could he have that would make Richard have to embezzle it out of him? The family fortune? The company? A momento of some kind? Not that Richard seemed the memento-coveting sort, but who knew?

At Brent’s yelp, I froze. I hadn’t had a friend in years. No girlfriends, nobody I cared to hang out with for more than five minutes and didn’t feel like smacking in the face every time they opened their mouths. No matter how afraid I was, I wouldn’t let Richard hurt him. I embraced my own flood of adrenaline and bolted into the hall.

“There’s my little fruit pie.” Richard hovered over a cowering Brent, pinching the muscle on his shoulder until he cried out. “Be sure to let your boss know you saw me here. You know the consequences if you fail.”

“Get away from him!” I pushed myself between them and faced Richard. “You stay away from him or you’ll be dealing with me.”

Eyes wide with surprise, Richard tipped his head back and laughed. “So tenacious. No wonder my brother can’t resist you.” He leaned in close, caressed my collarbone with the backs of his fingers.

I didn’t flinch, just held my ground and glared back at him.

“The ones who fight the hardest are always the most exciting.” His tongue smoothed moisture across his lips. “I can’t wait to break you.”

My stomach curdled. Barfing in his face would have been satisfying, but it wouldn’t arrive.

After reaching past me to pat Brent on the cheek, Richard sauntered off down the hall with light steps.

Whimpers drew my attention back to Brent. He hugged himself, shaking, tiny tears dripping from the corners of his eyes.

I wrapped my arms around him and rubbed his back until he calmed. “He’s gone. You’re okay now.”

Brent shook his head, his blond hair swishing across his brow. “No, I’m not okay. He knows where I live.” Lips pursed, he stepped away and cast wide, shining eyes at me. “You shouldn’t have done that. I don’t know what he wants with you, but whatever it is, fighting him only makes it worse. Trust me. I know.”

Shocked at the idea that Richard had hurt the funny man before me, I ushered him into one of the fitting room stalls and eased him down on the bench while I knelt in front of him. “What did he do to you, Brent?”

“I can’t.” A tremor rolled through him. “He’d k-kill me. And I’m not exaggerating … like, at all.”

I cradled his hands in mine. “Have you told Mr. Hathaway?”

He shook his head, sinking even farther into the image of a frightened little boy. “He doesn’t give a flying fancy fuck about other people’s problems, Eva, and especially not mine. Besides, the way he avoids his brother, I think maybe he’s just as afraid of Richard as I am.”

I didn’t think Ben would have appreciated me spreading confirmation of that little tidbit around, so I kept my mouth shut. “Let me talk to Mr. Hathaway about it. We’ll call the police, get a restraining order, whatever we can. I promise you I’ll stop him from harassing you somehow.”

“He’s a Hathaway, Eva. The cops won’t do anything, but thanks for the thought.” Brent managed a weak smile. “I think you need to be more worried about yourself right now. I don’t even want to know what he said to you. The guy already gives me nightmares.”

I clenched my teeth, heat burning through my flesh, a fury from deep inside me. Bullies were bad enough, but bullies with means were dangerous.

Questions swirled around in my head as Richard’s words surfaced.

I sat on the bench next to Brent and pulled him against me. “Has Mr. Hathaway ever dated before? I got the impression that he’d never had much to do with women, but Richard said something…”

“I’ve only ever seen him with one woman before, about eight years ago, right when I started working for him. Mr. Hathaway’s father had only been gone a year or two.” Shifting closer, he crossed his legs, the top one bouncing with nervousness. “He was different then. He treated everyone like people instead of dogs, took me out to lunch once in a while to say thanks. Then one day, Richard blew into town and everything went to hell.”

“And?”

Brent sprang up and pulled open the door. “I can’t.”

I followed him out. “Does that day have something to do with why you’re so afraid of Richard? Did he do something to Mr. Hathaway’s girlfriend? Is that the real reason he shut himself away? So Richard wouldn’t have anyone to use against him for whatever it is he wants?”

“No.” In a childlike fashion, Brent put his hands over his ears. “No, no, no! I can’t!”

My shoulders slumped, and I thought myself out of unloading another deluge of questions on him. “Look, I’m sorry. I won’t ask again.” I touched his arm until he looked at me. “Just forget it for now, okay? I won’t let that fucktard ruin our evening. Now where are those perfect shoes you found for me?”

Brent gave a little laugh and wiped away his tears. “Why aren’t you afraid of him? Just the sight of him always makes me want to pee my Lululemons.”

After my burst of laughter dwindled, I sighed through a grin. “I am afraid of him, Brent. He terrifies me, in fact. But I’m so fucking tired of bullheaded pricks it makes me sick. If I can’t go through the law, there’s more than one way to bring down a giant.”

I remembered how scared and broken Ben looked after Richard had left that day, as if the very sight of his brother had evoked the sort of memory assaults I often endured. What did he see when his past haunted him? What had broken his heart so completely he’d cut himself off from human contact? If I could find a way to take the fear out of his eyes, it didn’t matter how afraid I was, I’d do it.

“I’ll talk to Ben and we’ll figure it out.”

Brent gaped at me, raised an eyebrow. “Ben? You just called him
Ben
.” A slow smile grew across his face. “You’ve got a bigger thing for him than you let on, don’t you?”

I snatched the shoebox from the floor at Brent’s feet and went back to the mirror at the end of the hallway. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. So he lets me call him Ben.” My shoulders heaved up in a shrug. “What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is we definitely need to work on your underwear situation.”

Thursday and Friday passed by in a blur without any sign of Ben’s evil twin. The security cameras I’d quoted for Ben had arrived so I busied myself installing them to keep my mind off our date later and what to do about Richard.

Brent and I sat in his car outside work at a quarter to seven Friday evening. I fidgeted with my new haircut, the long bangs sweeping across my brow, the rest Brent had dried over a big, round brush. He’d primped and polished me for an hour and a half at his place, including some light makeup—which I never wore—painted my nails with French tips, even dabbed some perfume behind my ears.

Turning in the seat, he handed me a black beaded clutch. “He’s not going to know what hit him.”

I tried not to grin but my lips twitched, anyway. “I bet he won’t even flinch.”

“You’re so on. Twenty bucks says you’ll render him speechless.” Eyes shining with laughter, Brent held his hand out to me.

I grabbed it and shook. “An easy twenty. Make sure you have it on you Monday.” Squeezed by emotion, I pulled him close and hugged him. “Thanks for this, the dress, the makeup. I actually feel like a girl for once.”