Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Shepperd

“Ready to go? Are you hungry?” Law asked as we headed toward the front door to leave. “We could always hit a drive-through on our way back. Or the way there. You pick.”

I felt like I was headed to the gas chamber the way my body was physically reacting to taking this perfect man to that fucked-up house.

I shook my head. “I’m not really hungry right now. My stomach is all in knots, to be honest. But if you want to get some food, I’m cool with that.” I gave a quick shrug, trying to don the cloak of little concern I wore around my family like a shield. If I didn’t let them get to me, I could manage the pain.

“Will they be home from work at this time? Maybe we can get in and out and not have to see them. Though you’re going to have to deal with all this stuff eventually, babe.” He paused at the door, and I wanted to just push past him and hightail it out of there.

Instead, I looked up at my handsome boyfriend and sighed. “Yes, I know. I can only take small doses and remain sane, though. And to be honest, my cup is pretty full here, so if we could move on to a different topic now, I’ll be in a better headspace when we get there so we can just get this over with.”

I silently threw up a prayer that he would drop it. So much had been said between us since he picked me up from work. Normally, I’d prefer to sit quietly with my thoughts and review all that had been discussed. I mean, we’d just committed to being exclusive! That was huge!

The next best coping mechanism I had in a heavy situation was to just shut down. I couldn’t process any more deep conversation, so I hoped like hell my parents, or at least my dad, wouldn’t be home.

It was a short drive to my parents’ house, and that was probably a good thing. I didn’t have a lot of time to get worked up more than I already was. We turned down the long driveway, and my body temperature rose. Both of their cars were parked close to the house.

I groaned. “They’re both here,” I mumbled into my hands.

Law parked behind my dad’s sedan and scurried around to open my door. I would’ve thought this kind of treatment from a guy would annoy me, but I loved it. Every gesture, touch, or look reinforced how much he cared about me. Constantly being reassured that way gave me confidence I was so desperately lacking. The weirdest part about all of it was that I didn’t realize what I was missing until being around him.

God, don’t let me fuck this up and scare him off.

“They’re either going to be obnoxiously fake and friendly or just open fire on me. You should probably not say much either way,” I advised.

He just returned a blank stare, and I didn’t know what to make of it. Did saying that hurt his feelings? Maybe I was too blunt? In my own twisted mind, I was trying to protect him. It was too late to explain, though, because the front door whooshed open with a flurry, and my mom stood beaming in the entry.

“Hey there!” she said brightly. “I thought I heard car doors.”

Total lies. My dad always blasted the volume on the television so loud that you couldn’t hear a conversation you were having in the same room. She watched out the window as a hobby. That’s why she knew we were here.

Whatever. It wasn’t worth pointing out the truth.

“Hey,” I mumbled.

“And who’s your friend, Shep?” she asked, wiping her hands on the dish towel she was holding, preparing to offer one in greeting.

“Oh, right. Mom, this is Law, my…ummm, boyfriend.” I looked at him with an uncomfortable shrug. I wanted to run and hide more than anything.

Luckily, Law took over and approached my mom. “Hello. Nice to meet you,” he said in his deep, sexy, and oh-so-confident tone.

Christ, just the sound of his voice sent shivers through my entire body.

“Hello. I’m Lisa, Shepperd’s mom,” Mom said as they shook hands. She made a big show of looking behind her to the empty space and then back to Law. “My husband, Dave, is around here somewhere.”

“It’s nice to be here. Shepperd’s told me so much about her family,” he said. It wasn’t the whole truth, but it wasn’t a lie, either—just the basic pleasantries someone said when meeting someone new.

“I’m just making dinner. Are you two staying?” she asked toward me with a hopeful expression. Was this really the same woman who threatened to commit me to an inpatient treatment facility just a few days ago?

“No,” I rushed out before Law got us into something that would surely be the death of me. “Just picking up some stuff. I’m going to be staying at his place.”

“Oh?” my mom asked in surprise.

I hurried past her and beelined toward my bedroom, towing Law behind me. The moment we were behind the closed door, I leaned against the thing and let out a huge gust of air. He watched me as if I had been a grenade with its pin pulled, not sure if he should take cover or dive on top and try to smother the pending explosion.

“I’ll just grab whatever I can. I knew I should’ve done this alone. This was a huge mistake,” I grumbled while frantically moving around my room. I was spinning myself up into a frenzy and getting nothing accomplished because of it.

Law stepped in front of me on one of the pointless laps I made around the room and wrapped me in his arms. He kissed the top of my head and held me close. “Calm down, darling. It’s fine.”

I scoffed. “You have no idea how fine it’s not. He’s going to be at that door any moment now. Once he has me cornered in here, things will get ugly. I’m not in the mood for this tonight. I knew we shouldn’t have come here.”

“Baby, listen to me,” he said, putting an arm’s length between us. “It’s fine. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay?”

Knowing I didn’t want to get into this with him again, I just sighed. “Let me just get some clothes and we can go.” I swung my head from side to side with no clue how to make that happen. My brain was locked up, and I was moments from a breakdown.

“Do you have a suitcase? A duffle bag or something?” Law suggested, clearly sensing I was coming unglued.

“Yeah, good idea.” I gave him a half-hearted smile. “Thank you.”

“I’m here to help you. Where should I start? Where are your pajamas and underwear?”

“You want to pack my panties and bras?” I smiled genuinely, letting some of the tension slip away.

“It will be a tough assignment, but I’m up for the challenge,” he said with a wink.

I dragged a suitcase and a couple of other bags out from beneath my bed and tossed the totes on top. Rolling the suitcase on its rickety wheels, I headed to my closet. There, I dropped to my knees and opened the case like a giant clam shell and scurried deeper into my closet to pull out some work clothes.

In no time we had three bags packed and the suitcase I stuffed beyond capacity. Law leaned on the top while I secured the zipper. He had to stand the thing upright because it was way too heavy for me to manage, and it hit me like a bucket of cold water.

“Dude,” I said and let my shoulders fall.

“What?”

“Is this going to fit in your car? Does it even have a trunk?” I smacked my forehead, and the sound echoed around my room.

“Please don’t do that,” he said quietly and kissed where I just cracked myself.

“Sounded way worse,” I muttered but continued staring up at him.

“Yes, this will fit in my car. Surprisingly, the trunk is pretty big. What about toiletries? Makeup or any of that stuff?”

I hadn’t even given those things consideration, and since we were on borrowed time, I shook my head. “No let’s just go. What I need and you don’t have, I can just replace. I’ll get back over here while they’re at work and pick up the things I can’t part with.”

With two bags in hand and one slung across his body, Law reached to open the door.

I was right behind him, struggling with the suitcase when the dreaded knock-knock-knock came on my door. I knew just by the sound that it was my dad. Law shot his stare over his shoulder to me and then back to the door. Then back to me again with a silent question.

“What?” I shouted and winced at how ugly it sounded. No wonder people turned and went the other direction when they saw me coming. If I knew someone like me, I’d do the same thing.

“Shep? Can I come in?”

With a gentle hand to Law’s abdomen, I moved him out of the way so I could lead our escape. I whipped the door open and clearly caught my dad off guard as he stepped back in surprise.

“Hey, Dad. We’re in a hurry here, so…yeah…” I rushed out and pushed past him with my suitcase.

“Here, honey, let me help,” my dad offered and tried to take the case from my hand.

“It’s fine, Dad. We’ve got it.”

That seemed to be the first moment he realized I wasn’t alone. Did my mom really not tell him I had a man in my room with me? A man I introduced as my boyfriend? Once again, proof that they didn’t listen to me when I spoke. Either that or they didn’t really care enough to process the information and react like a parent should.

“Hello,” my dad directed to Law. He wasn’t friendly, necessarily, but he wasn’t rude either.

“Hello, sir. Law Masterson. Nice to meet you.” Law thrust his hand forward, and my dad gave it a solid shake.

With a raised brow, he asked, “Masterson? The business mogul Masterson?”

“Yes, sir. My father and his father before him have been involved in many businesses in the city for decades.”

God how I wished I possessed a fraction of this man’s composure.

“What’s going on here, Shepperd? What’s with all the bags?” my dad asked as he took inventory of all we were lugging through the doorway.

“I’m going to stay with Law,” I said defiantly. He put me in this predicament. I was serious as a heart attack when I told them I wouldn’t be going to a treatment program I didn’t need.

“I see,” he said thoughtfully.

Before he could organize an attack, I tilted the suitcase back on its wheels and hurried down the hall. I prayed Law would just fall in step behind me but didn’t look back to ensure it.

At the front door, I slowed enough to open the thing but hustled right through the second it was open wide enough to fit.

Law held the panel open so I could wrestle the suitcase over the threshold, and I mumbled a quick, “Thanks.”

I rounded the back of his car and finally inhaled fresh air deep into my lungs. It felt like I was about to pass out from all the adrenaline, and so far, there really hadn’t been an altercation. But that’s when I saw my dad following right behind Law to the back of his car.

“Nice car, young man,” he said with a nod toward Law’s pretty sports car.

“Thank you, sir. I really enjoy it,” he answered politely. I had to hand it to him. He was handling the situation like a pro.

“Please, call me Dave,” my dad said with a friendly smile.

What the hell was he playing at?

I narrowed my eyes with serious suspicion. A few possibilities danced around in my head while Law loaded my bags into the trunk. Either my folks were really glad to see me go, or my dad was smitten with the idea of who I was leaving with. My father knew who was who in the Los Angeles business scene and had once told me to never burn a bridge you might need to cross one day. Was he trying to get in good graces with the Mastersons? I didn’t really know how successful or powerful Law’s family was, but I didn’t miss the way my dad’s facial expression changed the moment that last name was spoken.

Each thought made me as sick as the other. Was getting ahead at work more important than, say…my safety? He didn’t know this big man I just announced I’d be living with, yet he was fawning over him like he wanted to claim dibs on an invitation to the bachelor party.

Law shot a quick glance my way while slamming the trunk closed. “Looks like we’re set here.”

“See you later, Dad,” I said as Law opened my door for me to slide in.

“Shep? Not a hug or anything?” my dad asked, looking like he just lost his puppy.

What a bunch of bullshit. And now what was I going to do, ignore his request? In any other circumstance, I probably would. But with this whole nightmare taking place that Law was witnessing, I wanted to be a better human.

I climbed back out of the car and stepped up to my father. He gave me a tight squeeze, and my entire body trembled.

“We’ll see you soon,” my dad said and kissed the top of my head. The gesture instantly reminded me of Law, and I wanted to kick my dad in the shin for tainting one of my favorite things in my new relationship.

“Take care of my baby,” my dad said to my boyfriend, and the two shook hands.

“I’ll do my very best,” he replied then stepped back. “She means the world to me.”

I mean the world to him?

Tears immediately filled my eyes. Between that incredibly sweet comment and the stress of the past half hour, a meltdown was approaching. We had to get out of here. Now.

Law slid behind the wheel and pressed the ignition. The engine roared to life and settled into a throaty purr.

My dad looked on with a beaming smile. The man had always loved cars, and this one was right up his alley. At least they’d have that in common if we ever happened to be stuck in the same room with them again.

Rest assured, I’d do everything in my power to keep that from happening.