Page 28

Kerrington

I’m in no mood to sleep, but I’m happy to see Nicole’s passed out. I think after she unburdened herself and told us everything, she’s finally able to catch up on her sleep, especially knowing we’ll keep her safe. Of course, all those orgasms we gave her probably helped, too. I’m also relieved to see her appetite coming back. That spread for breakfast really eased some of my worry. Especially with how she shoveled each bite in.

Our girl is on the mend, she’s safe, and she’s staying with us. I’ll give her every damn thing she wants from this day forward. Nicole wants a life that’s so spectacularly normal, it melts my heart. I honestly never planned on having kids or a cookie cutter life. But that’s only because it just didn’t seem in the cards for me and Landon. I always imagined we’d be cruising through our life together, traveling, negotiating new business deals, and curled in each other’s arms at night in a top tier penthouse with sleek leather furniture and glass tables.

I was happy enough with that future because I never dared to dream something beyond it. And now we have Nicole.

We’re going to eventually have crayons rolling across the floor, and piles of dirty laundry, weeds in the garden, and tons of shoes scattered by the front door. The TV will play in the background constantly with some kind of annoying cartoon and crumbs will be smashed into the carpet.

Fucking Hell, I can’t wait.

Too restless to sleep, I carefully get out of bed and make my way to the cold breakfast left on the table. Picking at a croissant, I pour a cup of coffee and grab my laptop. Everything Landon could find in his five-minute search is in a document still open on my screen.

The man giving Nicole shit is in his mid-thirties, single, and—

Something strange makes a sound in the living room. Our suite is big, but it’s also dead quiet, so the slightest noise can be heard. In my peripheral, I notice movement by the door.

What the fuck is that?

As quietly as I can, I snatch the envelope that’s been stuffed under our door. It’s from the hotel, so it’s most likely a bill. Opening the damned thing, my heart stops.

It’s not a bill.

It’s…

“Fuck.” Rage courses through my veins as I glare at the photos taken of Nicole, me, and Landon the other night on the balcony. She’s naked and handcuffed to the railing. My head’s thrown back while I fuck her. Landon’s to the side, holding a toy with one hand, his dick in the other.

Picture after picture has my vision tunneling.

There’s a sticky note on the last one that says, “Cinnamon Café Noon” and I’m already swinging open the door to catch this mother fucker with my bare hands. But no one is there.

Of course not.

Heading into the bedroom to get Landon, I find him already awake.

Sitting up and stretching his arms, he smiles at me. But when he sees the look on my face, his body kicks into serious mode. “What’s wrong?”

I press my finger to my lips, make a Shh gesture, and have him follow me out to the living room. Stuffing the envelope in his hand, I quickly grab our clothes while he reviews what’s inside it.

Tossing him a shirt and pants, I swiftly get dressed myself.

Nicole’s still passed out, and I hope she stays that way until we get back. I’d rather take care of this before she awakens because I know she’ll try to stop us from what we’re about to do.

Or join.

Landon’s fuming. “Where the fuck did this come from? ”

“It was slid under the door just now.” In a rush to leave, I grab Nicole’s car key and beeline for the exit with Landon hot on my heels.

He’s still trying to get his boots on when we hit the elevator. My heart races and I push the lobby button a million times before the damned thing starts moving.

“There’s no way he made it up here and delivered that shit himself.”

Landon’s right. The hotel is discreet and too private to let anyone up to our suite. You need a special card key just to get past the fifth floor.

The elevator takes a lifetime to bring us to the ground level, and when the doors open, we head straight for the front desk.

“I’ll do the talking,” Landon says quietly. “You look like you’re about to rip someone’s face off.”

Because I am.

And I know Landon well enough to understand that the tension in the tendons of his neck and the fake fucking smile on his face means he’s going to try to beat me to the first punch.

“Good afternoon,” Landon says with all the charm his murderous ass can muster. “Can you tell me who might have delivered something to our room just now?”

The woman looks terrified and face drains of color.

Great. Landon’s scaring her. And I’ll likely do worse because I have no charm when it comes to this shit.

“Umm, that was me,” she answers in a tiny voice. “I’m so sorry if I disturbed you.” Tears fill her eyes, and she panics. “Please don’t get me fired. It’s my first week here and I—”

“Hey, whoa, no, no, no.” Landon pulls out his best smile and calms her down. “I just was curious about the person who gave it to you.”

“He-he-he was young. Maybe thirteen, I guess? He said you were his dad and that he was sending tickets up to you for a show later this evening. I… I didn’t think to ask questions. Our guest’s privacy is important.”

“It’s fine. Totally fine. Thank you so much.” Landon waves off whatever else she was going to prattle, and we beeline for the front door.

“He hired a kid to do his dirty work,” I seethe. The car is just ahead of us, so I clutch my key and pull out my… “Fucking Hell. I left my cell in the room.”

“Already got it pulled up.” Landon waves his cell at me, with the map to the Cinnamon Café ready.

It says it’s fifteen minutes away.

We make it there in six.

Marching into the coffee shop, I see my target sitting in the corner, facing us. It’s not hard to pick out the problem. He’s staring at us with a smug fucking smile I’m about to punch off his goddamn face.

Without introductions, I storm over and haul the motherfucker up, hoping I pop his shoulder out of the socket, and frog-march his ass right outside.

“We’re Bounty Hunters,” Landon explains to the baristas, who I assume are gawking at us. “Have a nice day!”

I drag this piece of shit into the alley and slam him against the brick wall.

Then I punch him in the nose.

“Kerrington, where are your manners, bro?” Landon knocks me out of the way and slugs the fucker in the gut, making him double over, then upper cuts him in the jaw. “You gotta do a combo deal or the message doesn’t really click. Try again.”

He side-steps out of my way and the guy charges me, driving me backwards until I hit a dumpster.

“Boys, boys, we can’t make a lot of noise, mkay? That’s how cops are called. And we don’t want the cops called, do we, Tim ?” Landon wraps his arm around Tim’s throat and jerks him off me. “Let’s play nice for a minute before we go back to having fun.”

“Fuck you,” Tim snarls. Blood pours from his broken nose and his beanie halfway hangs off his head, about to fall off.

Landon tugs it down, fixing it for him, and slaps him on the back. “How’s it going, Timothy Barron Wade of 16 Crispin Lane? Is your sister Jenny doing okay? I’m sure teaching third grade must be brutal.”

His face pales.

“Aww, look at him, Kerr. He thought he was the only one who knew how to use the internet and a camera.” Landon pulls his cell out and starts flipping through photos he snagged from Tim’s social media accounts. They were set to private, but Landon has ways around that.

“So, what is it you wanted to see us about?” Landon fishes. “You need another photo op or something?”

“I’ll blast it.” Tim wipes his nose, smiling with a bloody mouth. “I’ll blast those pictures everywhere and ruin you.”

“Is this guy precious or what?” Landon puts his arm around him like they’re old pals.

“Why would we care?” I ask cautiously.

Tim scoffs. “The Greystone Heiress getting railed by her ex-fiancé’s two business partners would make headlines in all the celebrity news. I’d be famous for that credit.”

“So, post it,” Landon shrugs.

“What?”

“You heard me. Post it.”

“Why? So, you can take it down like I’m sure you did my other articles?” Tim spits on the ground by my feet. “No, that bitch needs to pay. She cost me my job.”

I clock him in the jaw, sending him tumbling, but Landon’s grip on his arm is strong enough to keep him upright .

“Call her that again and I’ll split your skull.”

“I’d watch your manners,” Landon cautions him. “Kerrington’s a grouch when he doesn’t get enough sleep.”

“What do you want?” I ask.

“A million for my silence.”

That makes me laugh. “Cutting out your tongue would be faster and also guarantees your silence.” I crowd him while Landon holds him so he can’t run. “And I’ll take every finger you have too.” Just to drive home my point, I snatch his hand, yank it behind his back, and break two of his fingers in a blink.

Tim howls in pain, but Landon covers his mouth. “Shh, don’t be a little bitch.”

“You will not go near Nicole, me, or Landon ever again. You will not have any contact with our friends or family or anyone we do business with.” I get in his face, pressing my forehead to his, crowding him even more. “If I even so much as catch a whiff of your nauseating cologne anywhere near our girl, her home, the stores she shops in, the restaurants she eats in, or even the street she walks down, I will fucking kill you. Do you understand?” Tim’s eyes blow wide with panic when I press a blade to his throat. “Are. We. Clear?”

“Crystal,” he sputters, trembling.

“Get out your phone.”

Tim trembles while searching his pockets for his cell .

“Wire Nicole the money you took from her,” I growl. “Now.”

“I can’t. I don’t have it.”

Pressing the blade harder to his throat, I’m perilously close to slicing. “You really want to lie to us right now, cocksucker?”

“Account one-four-double-oh…” Landon recites the fucker’s bank account number and balance down to the penny, making Tim’s expression go from terrified to sick.

“We only had five minutes to spare earlier, or I’d have your entire life memorized and at my disposal to destroy.” I twist the knife against him. “Now give her back her motherfucking money.”

Landon holds the phone out to Tim’s face and unlocks the screen himself. Then he taps a few things and stuffs his phone back into Tim’s pocket. “There, I did it for you. See, was that so hard?”

“Fuck you,” Tim snarls.

Landon elbows him in the face before tossing his hands up at me, looking exasperated. “This guy seriously has no manners.”

“I know who you are,” Tim says to him, stumbling back to his feet. “You’re the youngest of five. Have four older sisters and grew up in a tiny trailer in Maine.” He turns to me next. “And you? With your family’s bourbon distillery and horse farm in Kentucky. Your parents sent you off to live with your grandmother in Connecticut when you were ten. ”

I’m struggling to understand why he thinks any of this is relevant. “Are you trying to be relatable, or do you think it’s trivia night, my guy? Because you’re not saying anything mind-blowing here.”

“He’s bragging that he’s done his research on us.”

“Big whoop.”

Tim grins. “I know a lot about the two of you. And Mason, Gage… Leah .”

“Oh Helllll no.” Landon punches him again. “You keep her name out of your mouth, too.”

Tim spits a tooth out this time. “I’m going to sue you. Have you arrested for assault and battery.”

“Go ahead. Call the cops.” I tip my head and smile. “Because we’ve got enough money to make bail and get damn good lawyers. But you? Not so much. We’ll have you charged with aggravated assault, sexual harassment, stalking, blackmail, bribery of a minor, and…”

“Fine.” Tim yanks his arm out of Landon’s grip. “Fine! I won’t go near her again.”

“We’ll know if you do,” I warn. “And god help you if that happens.”

Tim tugs on his winter coat and stares at the ground. “I didn’t mean for it to go this far. I just…” He blows out a long sigh. “Fucking hell. I have no excuse. I was just greedy and power hungry and stupid.”

“Get therapy,” Landon says in a dull tone. “ Because if you step out of line again, you won’t be meeting us in a café or an alley. You’ll be a goddamn coffin.”

Tim backs away. “Yeah. Okay. Alright.” He bumps into a stack of cardboard boxes and catches himself. “I’m sorry, okay? Tell her I’m sorry and she won’t have any problems with me again.”

“Yeah, see, that’s not good enough.” I stalk towards him, peeling my coat off and dropping it on the ground. “You still have to apologize for trying to push yourself on her in her office.”

Landon and I work like two wolves circling dinner.

Then we close in.