"Sorry, you're going to have to speak up. I can't hear you." Black leaned in a little closer.
"I can handle it," I said with much more conviction in my voice.
"Good." Black smirked at me. "That's what I wanted to hear."
I shook my head. "Do you enjoy riling people up?" There was no other way I could explain how what he said made me feel.
"Do I enjoy it? No. But I do it out of necessity. I watched how Graham spiraled after what Charmaine did to him. If it didn't go against everything I was, I would've kicked the woman's ass. I couldn't do that, so instead, I make sure I protect my guys the best way I know how."
"And you do that by intimidating innocent women?" I raised my brow at him in which he only laughed in response.
"I knew from the second I met you that you were made of tougher stuff. You just needed to dig deep and find it. Sitting here, agonizing over what was happening, wasn't helping."
I did the one thing I never thought I would do since calling Matthew, I smiled. Black might not realize it but he helped ease my worries.
Granted it only lasted for a minute until my phone rang.
I snatched that damn thing up so fast it was almost like I had ninja-style reflexes.
"Hello?"
"Hey, sweetheart." At Graham's words, my legs gave out and I fell down onto the ottoman with a relieved sigh.
"Oh, thank God. I thought something happened to you." I was so happy to hear him speak, my voice shook.
"Well, it kinda did, but I'm okay now."
I nodded my head, even though Graham couldn't see me, as tears filled me eyes.
"Will you be home soon?" I asked with a sniffle.
"Man, I really like the sound of that."
I sniffled again before asking, "Huh?"
"Home." I could hear the smile in his voice. "I like you calling our place home."
Now I was full-blown crying happy tears despite Black standing back across the room probably thinking I was one screw shy of ending up in the nuthouse.
"See you soon," I finally managed to get myself together enough to say.
"Yeah, sweetheart. I'll see you soon."
I hung up the phone and looked over at Black. "That was Graham."
The man gave me a lopsided smile that I was sure had broken many women's hearts over the years. "I figured as much by the happy tears."
Using the sleeve of my shirt, I wiped my eyes. "How did you know they were happy tears?"
"I happen to have a wife who does the same thing when I come home from an assignment even though they are few and far between."
Of course the man was married. How could he not be with looks like that?
"How does she handle what you do for a living?"
Graham never mentioned Black other than to say he was the owner of Blackguard Security. I thought that would've meant he hardly went out on assignments, but clearly I didn't know much about his job.
"Kassandra and I found our way back to each other recently, so she would tell you she's just happy we have each other. I don't work in the field often but she knows it can happen, and like you, she worries. But I think at the end of the day she knows nomatter what, I'm going to come home to her. I waited too long to make her mine to do anything but come back."
