Donovan’s expression softened. "Mia had cancer, but she didn't die. The ten million was for her to build a new life under a new identity so you could take hers. I still talk to her. She lives in France and works at an art studio."

  "Did Tabitha know?"

  "No." Donovan reached for my hand, but I pulled away.

  "This is a lot to take in. Jesus, I would have done anything for them growing up, but I would have found another way. I spent years without my friend, and she left everything for me. Her friends, her job. God, she left the man she loved." My voice must have grown louder, because Paxton stepped into the room.

  "Is everything okay?" Paxton frowned at Donovan.

  Donovan stood. "I'll always be here for you, Mia, even if you don't want my help. As for you." Donovan turned toward Paxton. "Take good care of her. She deserves the world, and I've looked into you. You're a good man, but you're trusting the wrong people."

  "Hey!" I jumped up from the couch. "Brock and his team are the best. I can guarantee nobody in his company is bad."

  "Never said the people he shouldn’t trust was Blackwood's security." Donovan tilted his head to the side. "If you want to know more, here's my number." He pulled a card from the pocket of his jacket.

  The Calhoun family worked with the scum of the earth and didn't care who they hurt. I thought that was the case for years, but if so then Brock wouldn't have allowed him nearby. Donovan was the only kind man to me years ago. Was I being selfish for withholding his son? "Do you want to meet him?"

  Donovan’s feet froze. For once, I was the one to give him shocking news. He quickly blinked before nodding. "I don't know what to say."

  "Talk to him." I shrugged. "I'll go get him and be right back."

  I walked toward Paxton, but he didn't follow; instead, he stepped into the room and lowered his voice. I left them to their conversation.

  Sebastian, Brock, and Eric were around the table inside, talking. I found Kat and Lucas drinking sodas on the back patio. A very pissed-off Antonio stood to the side with his arms crossed. He had on his signature jeans and a black T-shirt.

  "Hey, Antonio."

  "You have a good kid. Kicked my ass in basketball." He then waved toward his wife. "Do you still need us? My wife and I need to have a little conversation about what goes on a grocery list and how stopping to set up a sniper post can't be added after the fact." He held up a white slip of paper which listed bread, eggs, and milk, but at the bottom she'd written “sniper post.”

  "You're so damn dramatic, hon," Kat replied. "You get to go to work all day. I stay home with our kids and get to have no fun."

  "Woman." Antonio took two gigantic steps across the patio, swooped down, and threw his wife over his shoulder. "You come into the office and drop the kids off in the daycare. You worked three missions last month. I'm close to hiring a live-in nanny and strapping your ass to the bed while I'm not home." His hand came down on her ass as he marched toward the door that led to the house.

  Kat raised her hands and looked through her red hair. "I'll text you. But remember, the girls are here for you."

  I sat in the chair next to Lucas. "How are you doing?"

  "He's in the house, right?" Lucas asked and glanced at the house.

  "Yes. Things are so complicated and confusing, even for me. He's about to leave, but I wanted to give you the option to talk with him. This is your choice."

  "I don't want to hurt you, Mom."

  I pulled my son into my arms. "You could never hurt me. Let's head to the study, and you can talk with him for a little while."

  The smile on my son's face stretched from ear to ear. My hand rested on his back as we headed to the kitchen where everyone else had congregated. Donovan and Paxton talked low but immediately stopped when we entered the room. My son ran across the room and wrapped his arms around Donovan. Paxton came to my side and pulled me close. "Should we step outside the room?"

  "Yes."

  Paxton pulled me against his chest, and I rested my head against it. His arms wrapped around me felt good. My feelings for Paxton kept growing, and I wasn't sure how I wanted to handle them. My life was currently in danger, and I wasn't sure what to do about Lucas. I wanted more than anything to bring him into my life full time, but his safety was more important than my wishes.

  CHAPTER 6

  Ashlyn

  I stared down at the spreadsheet and tried to figure out where I'd gone wrong.

  I hoped the issue with the calculations was as simple as a wrong number or formula in a cell of the spreadsheet.

  I'd spent all my life living in a house that didn't care about anyone. This was supposed to be my way out, but the numbers were wrong. Millions were missing.

  If I didn't figure out how the accounts were bleeding dry, I would have to close the company I worked to build. None of my parents' money went into my clothing business.

  The door to my office swung open, and my little sister Lydia sauntered in. My parents spoiled her rotten; she lived off Mom and Dad's blood money. Sebastian was so far into the business he didn't care about anything but making our parents happy. Dalia left me years ago.

  Lydia’s heels clicked against the marble floor as she headed for the guest chair next to my desk.

  Her tight red skirt slid up her thigh. Typical.

  Sometimes I wished I could have abandoned the family, like Dalia. "What are you doing here, Lydia?" My sister coming into my office in the middle of the day and expecting me to drop everything for her annoyed me. I'd thought about adding her to the list of people security was not to allow in after she took three of my designs from the workroom and wore one to the club and gave away the other two.

  She only ever came to my office because she wanted something. Most of the time it was to gain access to one of my contacts for a new designer purse or shoes. Of course, then she would expect me to pay for her purchase because she blew through her ten-thousand-dollar-a-month allowance before the first week was over.

  "I can't just come and see my sister?" she sighed in feigned sadness. "It's not like you ever call or come visit me."

  "I was at our parents' house this morning."

  "Only because Dad demanded you come. I'm not sure the last time you stepped foot in the house before that. I miss you, sis. We don't hang out or talk about what is going on in our lives."

  I closed the spreadsheet and leaned back in my chair. "What are you here for? We both know it's not to catch up."

  My chair squeaked as I shifted to give my sister my full attention. Unlike my siblings, I hadn't touched a single cent in my trust fund. Some days I contemplated taking a few thousand out just for a better office chair or something other than ramen noodles. But then I’d be no better than them.

  She abandoned the pretext, getting to the point. "We need to throw Mia a huge party. I think we can use your warehouse and have the party catered. When I first had the idea, I considered Mom and Dad's house, but your main floor of the building was empty when I walked through the warehouse. Seems like you aren't using the space."

  "My place of work is not an event venue. Furthermore, I don't give a shit about her coming back. She left years ago." All Mom and Dad cared about was Dalia, growing up. My sister promised to take me with her when she married Cyrus. Except she left without a word. Then I saw her years later in my parent's office. The news said she had died, but she hadn't. Once again, she walked out the door, leaving me in the hell we grew up in. The only thing she ever cared about was herself.

  "Come on. A party will be so much fun." Her eyes skimmed over my blouse, and she wrinkled her nose. "Isn't that from your collection last year?"

  I needed to get her out of my office before I reached for the gun in my desk drawer and killed her. It sounded extreme, but I’d be lying if I said the thought of taking out my baby sister hadn’t crossed my mind a couple of times. She was a spoiled brat who walked over anybody in her way. "Mom loves to throw parties. Why not talk to her about this? I don't have time to help, and I could not care less about her. She left years ago."

  "She was the lucky one," she replied. "She could have had everything. Don't you want to know why she turned her back on her inheritance? I bet she could have taken over when Cyrus died."

  Her voice was soft and dream-like. I never understood how she was okay with the body bags dragged out the back door. Or our brother's bloody knuckles. I hope in time, my sister will get what she deserves, and nobody will be there to help her. "Send me a text of when you and Mom are planning for this party, and if I have time I'll come."

  "Excellent. Do you want to go to lunch with Amelia and me?"

  A new intern strode past my door, but I couldn't remember his first name. I waved, and he stopped at the entrance to my office. "Mr. Parker."

  He looked at me curiously.

  "Can you tell Richard I'm running a few minutes late, and I'll be on my way soon?"

  His brows drew together, but he nodded. If I had money, I would give the kid a raise because Richard wasn't in today. Mr. Parker masked his confusion quick with a nod.

  "I need to get back to work, sis."

  She stuck her lip out. "But I thought we could spend some time at the spa after lunch."

  I shook my head. "Not today."

  "Fine." She rose from the chair and marched out of my office.

  I picked up the phone and called the only person I trusted. He picked up on the second ring. "Did you find anything?"

  "No, and your plan failed."

  He didn't need to tell me; I saw the evidence of my failed plan at my parents' house. "You going to call your man and find out why he didn't finish the job?"

  "Careful how you speak to me. Our families have been friends for a long time, but our friendship doesn't give you an excuse to act like you own me." He paused. "We might not have much time. From the looks of things, the plans are already in motion."

  I blinked back the tears. If I didn't manage to somehow fix my company, my family would find out what I did, and I would be in the body bag taken out of the house.

  "I won't let them win."

  Luther let out a long sigh. "You might not have the option. The families will be angry if they find out what you did."

  CHAPTER 7

  Paxton

  All the blood had rushed from my brain to my cock when Mia rested her head against my chest. We stood outside of my office while her son spoke to his father for the first time. I wasn't sure about the man, especially with the information he'd dug up on me. Information I'd spent years trying to find.

  He'd told me my adoptive father holds all the information about who killed my mother and baby sister. I'd wanted to call bullshit, but some of his reasoning made sense. We could never figure out why the Ellison family wanted the four of us. A month after my mother’s death, Ruben Ellison showed up to the group home and asked to adopt all four of us. They had two kids, billions of dollars. Marisol and Javion were out of the house, and at the time Kaeden was almost eighteen. He opened his arms, took us in, and paid for our college. A few times, we questioned their motives, but stopped because they gave us so much.

  The thumping of the helicopter blades pulled me from my thoughts. "I'm sure it's my brothers or someone from Blackwood Mercenary. Do you want to stay here, and I'll check to see who else arrived?" I turned and glanced into my office. Donovan was talking with his son, but he gave me a raised brow.

  "I'll come with you." She took a step back, and I immediately hated the loss of her touch. We walked next to each other until we got to the dining room, where a tall man dressed in a designer suit strode through the floor-to-ceiling glass doors. I'd seen him only on television, never in person, and I sure as hell never thought he would be at my house.

  "Hey, asshole," Brock said. "Did you have to come by helicopter and alert the world you're here?"

  "Did he just call the former president an asshole?" I whispered to Mia. I wasn't sure what was harder to believe, that Zack Tucker was in my kitchen or that someone called him an asshole to his face.

  "Brock and Zack have a close relationship," Mia replied, like that was a valid reason to call the former president a name. "If I had to guess, Brock's making decisions about everything without talking to him."

  I glanced over to the kitchen, where Eric and Wes didn't seem fazed by the newcomer. Sebastian stared open-mouthed as the former president took a beer from Brock and popped the top off with a pair of keys from his pocket.

  "Hi, Mia!" President Tucker waved. He strode in our direction and held out his hand. "Sorry for landing on your basketball court. But Brock called in a favor, and I have to get back to Virginia, so I figured I would stop here to pick up the package before heading out."

  "No problem. Is there anything I can get for you, Mr. President?"

  The man rolled his eyes. "Stop with the ‘Mr. President’ crap. It's Zack. I would stay and chat longer, but I need to get back home."

  "I'm not going," Mia announced. "You can take your safe house and shove it up your ass."

  "That's why I like you, Mia. I'm sure the CIA would take you back," Zack winked. "So I'll let you in on a secret. You're not the package I'm picking up. I'm here for your son."

  Mia growled. "I didn't agree to that. I have no clue if your safe house is protected. Yes, your Secret Service agents can shoot, but they can also be bought off."

  "Zane and Sophie are heading up to Virginia also," Zack replied. "My brother-in-law is there as well. I promise to protect him with my life."

  "There was no chance I could get you to drop the case and go underground," Brock offered. "This was my best compromise. Lucas needs to be kept safe until we know who we are working against. And you can’t afford for your focus to be divided between solving this and protecting him."

  Mia pointed over at her brother. "Are you going to really talk about safety when you let my brother and Donovan know my current location?"

  "I'll explain everything when we sit down," Brock waved toward the table. "But we need to get Lucas out of here and to safety until we can figure out what the fuck is going on.”

  "You're right. I'll go get him," Mia said as she rushed out of the room.

  My eyes stayed on her until she disappeared around the corner.

  I wanted to demand she join her son in the helicopter, but from the fire in her eyes I knew she wouldn't listen. Once she finished up her meeting with Brock and his team, there was no reason she wouldn't leave. The case I'd hired her for didn't seem important in comparison. I would meet with my brothers and figure out our next step with Club Rose.

  For a moment, I thought about using her injury as a reason for her to stay, but she lived in the apartments above Blackwood Mercenary, which would give her access to other people to help her. I had a waiting list at work years out which meant I couldn't take the week off to stay home. Not all the surgeries I did were because someone wanted larger breasts. I did many reconstructive surgeries on burn patients or patients born with cosmetic issues.

  Zack and Brock were deep in conversation when Mia shuffled back into the room with her son, Donovan a few steps behind her and his eyes never leaving her. I recognized the look of longing. Mia had everyone under her spell. Donovan might be a crime boss, but he was also the father of her son. Was it right of me to want her for myself?

  Mia cleared her throat when they entered the kitchen area. "Lucas, I want to introduce you to Zack Tucker. You will stay with him until I figure out who killed Tabitha and took you."

  Lucas's eyes widened as he took a step forward. "But you're the president."

  Zack let out a long-suffering sigh. "Former president. You met Kat and Antonio earlier. Think of me as the same as you do Antonio."

  "So, you have a wife who keeps alligators in your backyard?" Lucas asked without missing a beat, and everyone burst out laughing.

  Mia pulled Lucas in for a hug. "Zack is single, but I would be surprised if he didn't have a few gators, thanks to his sister-in-law. Check in with me every night, and we will figure this out."

  Lucas glanced over to Donovan and bit his lip. "Can I call you too?"

  Donovan glanced toward Mia. "Only if your mom approves."

  "Yes. You can call him."

  Zack nodded toward the door, and Lucas followed him outside. Four Secret Service agents followed them down to the helicopter.

  Mia was running her hand through her hair, and I wanted to pull her into a hug, but I stepped toward the fridge, grabbed a beer, and sat down at the table next to her brother. Brock was at his computer. Eric was on a second one, while Wes paged through a file.

  There were two open seats, and for a second, I felt like the nerd back in third grade who hoped the popular girl would sit by him, but I expected her to sit next to Brock. Donovan made his way over to the table, but Mia took the seat next to me and placed her hand on my thigh. Her action threw me for a loop, but I wasn't about to question her. So, I twined our fingers together, and he sat next to Brock.

  "Mia, can you think of anyone from your prior cases that would have an issue with you? Wes is looking, but you've taken on so many, it might be easier to figure out if you made someone from your past mad," Brock asked.

  "All my clients are happy when I complete the case."

  "How about Edward Knight?" Eric asked, looking up from the laptop. "There was also Karen Ritcher…and let's not forget about Wiley."

  "Edward deserved a kick to the balls. The old man grabbed my breast. We had an understanding by the end of the case. Karen needed an attitude adjustment. Just because her husband had millions didn't mean she could speak to people like she did. We have lunch every other Sunday. And Wiley, he died of a heart attack." She shrugged. "Why haven't we investigated the man Tabitha was dating or the two men at this table? Donovan has a well-crafted story, but when did we stop checking facts?"

  "I'm still looking into your family, and Donovan’s operation on the outside looks dirty. But we have someone who works closely with him who was able to give me inside information," Brock replied.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17