36. Kat

Chapter 36

T hey're all worried, and I can’t say I blame them. Although, I feel they should be more worried about Addison than me, but what do I know, I guess.

I’d literally just convinced Nathan that they could go back to work, only for everything to go very, very wrong.

At some point on the way home, I’d fallen asleep and ended up sleeping through the night. I wake up in Nathan’s room, and although the clock says it’s six in the morning, he isn’t here. Instead, I find him, Desmond, Alex, Oliver, and Vince in his office.

I’d heard their voices before I knocked, but the second I knocked, the room went quiet behind the door.

“Come in,” Nathan calls, and I’d been about two seconds from just walking in anyway.

Pushing open the door, all eyes turn to me, and for a moment, I contemplate turning around and walking back out.

Each of the guys sits in a high-backed chair opposite Nathan, who sits at his desk, with the exception of Vince, who is leaning against the far wall.

Nathan pushes back from his desk, his chair easily rolling back on the hardwood floor. “Come have a seat, Kat.”

I stand still, unsure what he means at first; there are no open chairs. I’m going to go ahead and blame the fact that I just got up, not to mention everything that happened yesterday, for how long it takes me to make sense of what he’s saying.

On his lap. He wants me to sit on his lap, in front of everyone.

It shouldn’t be a big deal. Not after our conversation, and definitely not considering the fact that I’ve been naked or fucked by most of them. Yet somehow, this seems almost more intimate, for reasons I can’t put my finger on.

Finally, I make myself move, looking down at my feet as I move across the office to drop down onto his lap. The second my ass touches his leg, his fingers close around my chin, forcing my head up so that he can press his lips to mine, oh so gently.

It’s one thing when Desmond or Alex do something like this. PDA doesn’t seem to be a big deal to them, but I would have taken Nathan as more reserved, especially because, for the last few weeks, he hadn’t really touched me outside of our time together away or in his bedroom.

“Rub it in, old man, real mature.” I chuckle against Nathan’s lips, hearing the sass in Desmond’s voice and his growl.

“How’s Addison?” I ask once Nathan’s pulled back. I’d almost gone and checked on her before I came to find them, but if she’s still asleep, I didn’t want to wake her.

A gentle smile turns Nathan’s lips up, and he shakes his head. His hand moves from my chin up my cheek, his thumb ghosting over my cheekbone, and I can’t help but flinch back.

That’s fucking tender.

“How about you take a second to worry about how you are? I assure you Addison is fine, and I can only assume that is in large part thanks to you.”

He sounds so sure of himself, but he’s wrong, and I’m shaking my head before he’s finished speaking, making his brows furrow in confusion.

“They were only there because of me. They knew Addison meant something to me and planned to use her against me. She was in danger because of me.”

The room is silent around us, and I realize too late I’d been yelling. Embarrassed, I look down, wringing my hands in my lap, but I can feel all eyes on me. I wasn’t trying to yell, but my emotions seem to have gotten the better of me, and they continue to get the better of me as tears gather in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.

“Katherine.”

Nathan’s voice is stern but not unkind, but still, I kind of feel like I’d rather run than meet his gaze right now. How could he possibly want to keep me around when I’m a danger to Addison, to all of them, honestly? No, I should have left after my run-in with Trevor. They already had to pull Addison from her school with all of her friends because of me.

Slowly, I lift my head until I can look up at him through my lashes.

He raises a brow at me, and I lift my head the rest of the way, meeting his gaze.

“Carter is a sick man, one you’re in no way responsible for. His being there wasn’t something you could have known was going to happen, and when faced with him, you still chose to keep Addison safe. I know he left his marks on you. Not everyone could have made the choice to put their fear aside, even for the safety of an innocent child.”

His words hit me hard, and I lose the fight against my tears, one rolling down my cheek before it’s quickly joined by another.

“You care about Addison just as much as we do, as much as any mother would love their own child. Believe me when I tell you, there isn’t anyone I could have chosen that would have been a better nanny for her.”

The tears roll a little more freely now, and I quickly move to wipe them away, only to instantly regret it.

“Ouch!”

Fuck, that hurt. My eye throbs and Nathan quickly pulls the handkerchief from his breast pocket before gently dabbing at my eye.

“The doctor will be here soon to check you over,” he says, folding the handkerchief and dabbing at my lip. I dart my tongue out and taste the blood on it before I remember Carter backhanding me.

As if the memory unlocks something, I feel sore and tired, like I’d just gotten over being sick and done a major workout.

I also remember Carter got away.

Shit.

“What about Carter?” I ask, my voice high-pitched, my panic leaking through.

“That’s actually what we were here to discuss.” Gently, Nathan’s arm snakes around my waist before he turns me on his lap to face the others and moves his chair back in toward his desk. Feeling their eyes on me, I take a deep breath and steel myself to meet their gazes.

Desmond is to the far left, his eyes intense and almost angry, but the second our eyes meet, they soften. His eyes jump around my face, no doubt seeing the damage Carter did. His brows pull together before he huffs and looks away. I try to tell myself it’s not me, it’s him, he’s upset with Carter, but I’d be lying if I said it still didn’t sting. I’m not sure how he knows or if he can just sense my change in mood, but Nathan’s arm tightens around me for a moment in almost a backward hug. It makes me feel much better than it has any right to, but it also gives me the strength to look to Alex.

Alex’s eyes look sad as he looks me over, but I can see the anger in them too, same with Nathan and Desmond. I have a feeling that’s something they all share right now, but it’s nice to know they aren’t mad at me, at least.

“Still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he says with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, but I know he means it all the same. I chuckle, and while it pulls at my lip and hurts my eye, it feels good—a much-needed break in the tension.

Oliver sits next to his father, and I almost can’t bring myself to look at him. He made it clear in the beginning he wasn’t on board with all of this. Maybe me as Addison’s nanny, but even that he hadn’t seemed super excited about. Yes, in the last few weeks, he might have been less likely to hide away, but he never should have felt the need to hide in the first place.

No, if he’s mad, I need to face it.

I let my eyes fall on him, and instead of anger, I find… I’m not even sure what emotions swim in his eyes, but they don’t look unhappy.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Kat.” His voice is low, making him almost sound unsure, but it’s more than I dared hope for. I have to remind myself of my lip so as not to smile so wide I risk splitting it again.

His cheeks tint with a slight red. I quickly avert my gaze down to my lap feeling mine do the same.

Vince is in the back of the room, which is mostly cast in shadows right now with the sundown and only the small desk light on. But even though I can’t see him, I can feel his eyes on me. Something about his gaze is comforting. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s become something of a savior to me over the last few weeks or because he’s just got that kind of energy, but I can’t help but be grateful for him the same as the others.

He’s the reason Carter didn’t get me into the back of that car and no doubt the reason Addison was able to get away from Trevor after I was gone, too.

Trevor!

“What happened with Trevor?”

“That’s the other thing we're here to discuss,” Nathan says, his voice a little deeper, angrier, I assume, not that I can blame him. “Vince?”

Vince doesn’t move, but all eyes turn to him. I hear him fold his arms over his chest and feel his gaze on me.

I have to fight the urge to run to him and thank him for saving me. This is a serious conversation, and I can do that later. Not to mention, I’ve done enough crying for now, and I can almost guarantee that would only lead to more. Okay, maybe I should skip the hug and simply go with a good thank you.

Yeah, that’s probably a safer idea given my emotions, not only about yesterday but the confusing ones I’ve had about him for the past week or so.

Now is definitely not the time.

“Trevor doesn’t know where Carter is,” Vince says, and his voice sounds gruff and angry, not at all like I’m used to. “I’d like to say he’s lying, but he’s held to that despite attempts at persuasion.”

Attempts at persuasion… What the hell does that mean?

I don’t ask, not sure I want to know, but also not wanting to interrupt.

“I’m pretty sure Carter was using Trevor as a way to get to Kat when he wasn’t here, like a go-between. The problem is, in doing so, I’m pretty sure he created an obsession for Kat in Trevor. He thinks Kat should be his the same way Carter does. He views her as a piece of meat to own,” he hisses, his voice full of disgust, and I can’t say I disagree. Trevor’s always given me the creeps, but this is a lot even for him.

“He’s a danger to her, you should just fucking kill him.” Desmond huffs as if it’s the simplest solution and not like he just suggested Vince murder someone.

“Desmond,” Vince growls, his tone warning, but I get the feeling it doesn’t so much have to do with what he said versus me being here.

“What? Afraid to scare your ‘Little Beauty’?” Desmond snaps, using quotations on the nickname Vince had called me yesterday.

Suddenly, I wish I’d stayed in bed because the tension in the room is enough that I feel I could cut it with a knife.

Vince pushes off the wall, his long legs carrying him across the office in just two steps as Desmond pushes out of the chair, quickly moving around the chair to meet him chest to chest.

“Enough.”

Vince and Desmond both stop, turning to look at Nathan, and I do the same.

His jaw is set, his eyes cold the way they often seemed when I first met him, and I get the feeling he isn’t playing around right now. Judging from the way Vince and Desmond step away from each other, I’d bet they see the same thing I do.

“We’ll deal with Trevor, and if he has to be killed, that can be discussed later. Vince, right now, I want everyone you have looking for Carter. Kat is ours, and nobody gets away with threatening what’s mine.”