We walk over to the small couches that face one another and both take a seat, one on each.

“So, give me the update I know you’ve got,” I start. It’s best to just get to the point with Hank.

He pulls a manila envelope out of his jacket and opens it up. He’s written a report and provided pictures. “I’ve been keeping a guy on Sam for the past few weeks, but from what I can tell, it hasn’t turned up much. He’s checked back into the motel she was at a few times, but mostly stays at a Nico’s warehouse over on Queen Street. He seems to be pretty far under his thumb, running deliveries and sticking close to him.”

“I don’t care about what Nico is up to, I just want to make sure he isn’t coming after my girl.”

“Your girl?” Hanks says, giving me a half smile.

I give Hank a look that says he’s crossing a line, and he goes back to the report.

“I asked around and found out some interesting information you might like to know. Apparently brother dear was so deep in debt with Nico he had no way of paying it back. So he either had to work it off or come up with another offer.”

“What do you mean ‘another offer’?”

“Nico is in to some bad shit. Arms dealing, drug manufacturing, and there are whispers of sex trafficking.”

My heart stops beating at his last words, and I feel all the blood leave my face.

“Yeah. It’s what you think. Nico wants Rebecca. I think he set up bad deals for Sam in order to have him so far in debt, that was the only way out. From what I hear though, he isn’t looking to sell her, I think he just wants her. But my advice to you is you should cut your losses now before you get tangled in this. Nico isn’t a guy you want to get in the way of.”

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I glare at Hank and he just shakes his head.

“Thought you’d be like that. Look, I’m not going anywhere, and if it comes to it I know we can handle it, but what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t warn you?”

“I understand,” I say as I nod my head. It’s the only response to what he’s telling me. I can’t let Rebecca go. Not yet. Not ever.

“I’ve done as much research on Nico as I can, and it seems to me the best option we have is to offer him something else he wants just as much, or take him out. I’ll keep looking for other options, but so far this is it.”

I have no doubt Hank would take Nico out without a second thought. “What else could he want more than her?” I question, because I can’t think of one thing that would be more valuable than her. How often does one find a fairy?

“I don’t know. But if this gets ugly, you ready to go down that road?”

I nod my head, and it’s all the confirmation Hank needs. He grabs the envelope and puts everything back in his jacket and walks out. There’s no way I could let Nico, or anyone for that matter, get their hands on my Tinkerbell.

After he shuts the door behind him, I sit on the couch with my elbows on my knees and my fingers steepled against my lips. I think back to everything I’ve done to get to where I am now and what I would do in order to keep my life how I want it.

I sit like this until the sun sets and Cindy walks into my office telling me she’s leaving for the day.

“Goodnight,” I say, and check the time. It’s almost eight and I need to get home to my fairy.

“Tink?” I say as I walk through the penthouse. When I walk in the door the first thing I see is one of Rebecca’s paintings and it makes me smile. My home never felt bare before, but seeing her art on my walls makes it a happy place to come to at the end of the day. I want every inch of my walls bathed in her. The smile her painting gave me freezes on my face when I walk into the kitchen. I only see one place setting, and it’s on the breakfast bar, instead of two place settings together in the dining room where we normally eat.

I walk all over the penthouse looking for Rebecca and calling her name. I finally go to the gym as a last option, and I find her on the treadmill. She’s in tight yoga pants and a hot pink cropped shirt. I’m instantly hard looking at her sweaty body, and think of all the things I want to do to her.

“Are you not joining me for dinner?” I ask, but she doesn’t look at me.

“No.”

I’m surprised by her tone. “Is everything all right?”

“Everything is fine, Mr. Spencer,” she spits at me, but still doesn't make eye contact. She stomps on the treadmill like it personally offended her, and I have no idea what’s happened.

“Why are you calling me that? What’s happened Rebecca?” My anxiety ratchets up, and I go through my mind, trying to think of what’s happened since I last saw her.

Finally she glares at me and answers. “Nothing. Everything is just peachy. Go eat your dinner.”

A rage comes over me and I can’t take her attitude anymore, not when it’s pushing me away. I don’t think about my control or the fact that this situation is out of my hands. I just react. I reach around to the front of the machine and pull the emergency stop button.

For a second I panic, thinking she might fall, but she rights herself and gets off of the treadmill, pushing past me with her shoulder.

“Rebecca, don’t speak to me like that and don’t walk away from me.”

She turns around before she exits the room and gives me a look that would take lesser men to their knees.

“I won’t ever change for you, and I sure as hell won’t apologize for being who I am. If I’m not good enough to be yours in public, then I’m not good enough to be yours at night when your dick is hard.”




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