Page 56 of Balthazar's Fire
“More than I’ve ever liked anyone, Balthazar, and I know some of what you’re feeling, believe me. I’ve had to keep Rebecca here, out of the way of her blasted father. He’s threatened all sorts of shit since she left. You should see the messages he sends; they’re sick…”
“Shit, Seb, I’m sorry.”
Balthazar didn’t know much about Jonas Monroe, save what Michael had told him, but based on the attitudes and actions of the son, it wasn’t difficult to imagine how repulsive the father was. Plus, he knew how he would feel if someone sent appalling messages to Cherie. He’d want to rip the fucker’s head off with one bite.
“Will you give her a chance?” Sebastian blinked away the angry tears that had formed in his blue eyes. “And not just assume she’s like the rest of them?”
“Listen, if she’s important to you then, of course, I will,” Balthazar replied. “But please understand she still represents a conflict of interest. If I’m sitting around planning a move against her brother, how do I know she won’t call him and give him a head’s up?”
“Because I’m telling you she won’t.” Sebastian’s voice was deadly solemn. “Because I trust her with my life, Balthazar, and she trusts me with hers.”
Balthazar bit down on the instinct that wanted to laugh at Sebastian’s ‘drama queen’ performance, although only a week ago, he suspected he would have chortled regardless. Cherie had changed him. She’d smashed into his life and altered his perspective. Who was Balthazar to laugh at his brother’s passion? Balthazar understood only too well how fast feelings could overwhelm a man, and he knew he would likely react similarly if Cherie was in the same boat.
“What do you want me to say, Seb?” he asked. “That I trust her one hundred percent because you say so?”
“No, of course not,” Sebastian scoffed. “No more than I trust Cherie because you say so. Trust takes time to build, and having partners in our lives is an adjustment we’ll all have to make.”
“What then?” Balthazar demanded, a little riled by the inference that Sebastian didn’t trust Cherie, although rationally he understood why. She was a stranger to him. Hell, he’d only known her for a matter of days. Everything had happened so fast.
“I’m just asking that you give her a chance,” Sebastian concluded. “Don’t judge her because of her kin. She’s been through a lot and she makes me happy.”
“Okay.” He lifted his palms in a conciliatory manner. “I promise to give Rebecca a chance.” But if I get so much as a whiff that she’s feeding our secrets back to her bastard brother, then she’ll have me to deal with.
He didn’t vocalize the last line, though he wondered if it showed in his eyes.
“Thanks.” Tension eased from Sebastian’s shoulders. “That means a lot to me.”
“Of course.” Balthazar and Sebastian had been through so much. He had no intention of letting anyone come between them. “So, when do I get to meet her?”
“Well…” Rising from his chair, Sebastian strode toward the door. “There’s no time like the present.”
Chapter Twenty
Cherie
Cherie hadn’t been lying. The view from the penthouse apartment was beyond impressive, but as she stared at the distant tower blocks, she couldn’t help but be reminded of where she used to work and the rollercoaster of events that had happened since she walked away from her job.
Pressing her palm against the glass, she sighed, her breath steaming the pane. She watched as the obscured glass cleared, the slow reveal striking a chord in her head. The haze her breath created was like the life she’d known so far, confused and aimless, mainly running on autopilot. But life since Balthazar had arrived was a far cry from that muddled sense of going through the motions. He inspired sentiments she’d never known before, and a longing for something more. She craved that with him more than she had a right to after so little time together.
Glancing down at her watch, she noticed the time. How long was the impromptu brotherly tête-a-tête going to take? She understood why Balthazar and Sebastian wanted time alone, but staying on her own in the enormous lounge was doing nothing to assuage her growing sense of unease.
Sebastian had inferred that he wanted to tell Balthazar about a woman he’d met, but what if she was really the subject of their chat? Cherie realized how close Balthazar was with his brothers—the fact he’d called on all of them to rescue her was testament to their intimacy. If Sebastian had some unknown objection to Cherie, then perhaps he’d talk Balthazar around and her new lover would want to cool things.
“Stop it,” she muttered under her breath. “Stop overthinking.”
Cherie had no reason to doubt Balthazar, and she knew it, but her history of low self-esteem and accepting less than she deserved haunted her, planting the insidious seeds of self-doubt. Whatever happened with her handsome dragon-man, she had to learn to silence that paranoid inner voice.
“Hey.”
Cherie leaped at the sound of a female voice, spinning to see a smiling redhead in the doorway.
“Oh, hi,” she gulped, trying to calm her racing heart.
The woman walking toward her must be the one who’d stolen Sebastian’s heart, and with her flame-haired beauty and broad smile it was easy to see why.
“I’m just waiting for Balthazar and Sebastian to talk,” Cherie explained. “I’m Cherie.”
“Hi, Cherie.” The woman thrust her palm out in Cherie’s direction. “I’m Rebecca.”