Page 14 of Keeping Kasey (Love and Blood #3)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Logan

The victory I felt over my stunt in the office was short-lived.

When I realized Kasey’s retaliation was flirting with my men, I ordered Damon to keep her away from all of them. He assured me she only does it when I’m around, but that doesn’t make it any better.

I would have stopped her antics already, but more important things have come up.

A routine meeting with one of the officers on my payroll was leaked to the authorities, and now I have three men behind bars, and my main resource for getting them out happens to be one of them.

We haven’t been sabotaged in nearly four weeks, but I have no doubt that’s what this is.

Those who aligned themselves with Mason have been known to cut deals and run—just another reminder of why Kasey’s services are so important.

The sooner I can weed these traitors out, the less damage they can do to my family.

The first break I get—if you can call an hour between meetings a break—I call Damon and order him to bring Kasey to my office. I could call her directly, but I doubt she’d answer.

Besides, this is more impersonal, which, for some reason, feels important.

“What can I do for you?” Damon greets.

His light tone has the same effect it always does.

It pisses me off.

“Bring Kasey to my office in ten.”

There’s a pause before he says, “She’s going to say no.”

It’s nice to know her stubbornness isn’t reserved exclusively for me.

“Ten minutes,” I repeat and end the call.

I knew Kasey would be difficult, but after twenty minutes, I’ve reached the limit of my patience.

I grab my phone just as it begins to buzz with Damon’s call, and I know Kasey won’t be coming to my office.

Just before I answer the call, the Pac-Man icon pops onto my screen, and I click it to reveal her message.

Kasey: See you at the manor. XOXO

I answer the call. “You better be dragging Kasey here by the hair.”

“She left,” he says, and at least has the decency to sound annoyed. I’m not sure what I’d do if Damon bought into her antics.

Probably kill him.

“What do you mean she left ?”

“I mean, she convinced Elise to take her to the manor, but that’s not all.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “What else is there?”

“Since James went to check on the club opening next month, Don and I had to take Moreno’s car to stay with the girls.”

I hang up and clench my fist so tight it’s a miracle the phone doesn’t shatter.

Not only did Kasey blow me off, but she left me to ride home with the only person I hate more than her.

As if the thought itself called him, Moreno bursts into my office.

“What the hell , Consoli?”

Enduring a car ride with Moreno without giving in to the urge to drive into a tree is an accomplishment I should be publicly awarded for. He settled for tense silence over picking a fight, but my murderous thoughts for the man are incurable on the best of days.

Still, I manage to get us to the manor in one piece.

It’s only when we walk inside that I realize the real danger was never being in the car with Moreno.

Elise stands in the entryway with crossed arms.

“What has gotten into you two? It’s no wonder I can’t convince Kasey to leave her room. You’re both being assholes.”

“Elise—”

She lifts a hand. “I can’t believe you had Donovan act as my bodyguard . Are you really so afraid of Kasey? Or is it that you don’t think I’m capable of taking care of myself?”

She doesn’t give him the chance to answer before she turns to me.

“And you . Sleep with her, or don’t sleep with her, but if you keep being an obnoxious prick, she’s going to snap, and when she does, I’m going to laugh and say I told you so.”

“ That’s why you hired her?” Moreno says through a laugh. “No wonder you’re willing to put up with her attitude.”

I ignore him—mainly because the only response I have is to strangle him with my bare hands.

Elise smacks his arm, but his smug grin is unmoving.

“I get that you guys don’t trust her, but this is getting ridiculous. Kasey is good at what she does, so stop screwing it up, or we’re going to lose her.”

“She is good,” Moreno agrees. “ Too good. And we’re just handing over two families’ databases on a silver platter. That kind of power going unchecked is dangerous.”

“Which is exactly why you should be staying on her good side,” she counters.

That’s as much of their fighting as I can handle.

Without acknowledging my sister’s reprimand, I stride past her to the stairs.

Suddenly, the days Kasey and I have spent in a war of wills feel like a waste. I’m starting to wonder if getting to have her would be worth taking the hit to my pride.

“Where are you going?” Elise asks as I pass her.

“Wherever I want.”

“Leave her alone, Logan.”

I stop halfway up the stairs, more out of curiosity than anything.

“And why would I do that?”

She turns to Moreno, whispering something too low for me to hear. When he responds, the words are clipped, and I wonder if I’ll hear an argument through the walls tonight.

Today is just my lucky day.

Elise nods to him, and Moreno passes me on his way to their room.

“Because you’re mad,” she says, “and going to see her now will only make things worse.”

“I don’t see how that is any of your business, Elise.”

“She’s a good person, and you’re being a jerk for no reason.”

“If you think she’s a nice person, then you clearly haven’t spent time with her.”

“Have you ever spent time with her when you weren’t verbally attacking her?”

“She’s just as much the instigator,” I assure her. “Maybe Moreno’s right, and you’re blinded by the fact that she’s a girl.”

Elise’s jaw ticks, and I know I’ve struck a nerve.

“And when exactly did he tell you that?”

She’s handing me the opportunity on a silver platter, and I happily take it.

“A few days ago,” I say with a disinterested shrug. “He wanted to talk about putting security on Kasey to keep eyes on her at all times, like he does with you.”

Her face gets red, and I pretend not to notice.

“That, and he’s having Kade investigate Kasey for blackmail material.”

The anger rolling off of Elise almost makes Moreno’s intrusion in my office worth it.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

“Believe it or not, I have met other women. Kasey is not some rare, mythical creature brainwashing me into liking her. She’s a decent human who happens to be female.”

It’s not lost on me that Kasey was demoted from nice to decent, but mentioning that won’t get my sister to leave me alone any sooner.

“Thanks for the chat, Elise. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Just be careful. She’s a strong ally, so don’t make her an enemy. As much as I disagree with his actions, Joshua is right. Kasey has a lot of power going unchecked, so now isn’t the time to show how big and bad you are.”

The concern shining in my sister’s eyes is heartwarming, at the very least.

“I’m happy to have you around,” I say and descend the few stairs between us to kiss her cheek. “But I’ve been doing this my entire life. I know what I’m doing.”

She gives me a side hug and an expression that indicates she’s not quite ready to end this conversation but realizes she’s not getting anything else from me. She bids me goodnight and goes to her room.

Once I reach the top of the stairs, the hall splits in two.

The left leads to my room, the right to Kasey’s.

Despite my sister’s warning, I go right.

The hallway is silent, forcing me to take slow steps if I don’t want Kane to hear me and start barking. After what feels like an eternity, I reach the door and lean in.

It’s silent.

I inspect the bottom of the doorway for any source of light, but there isn’t any.

I don’t want to go to my room. I want to open this door and see Kasey. I want to talk to her for the first time in days.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I’ll fix things and finally get what I want.

“Excuse me?” James asks, staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.

Maybe I have.

“You’re fully capable of handling the call with the Nashville capos. Have Matteo take notes, and I’ll read them when I’m in this afternoon,” I tell him, pouring my coffee into a mug.

His shock is warranted. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve taken a morning off.

I wait for him to voice the obvious question: Why am I taking off on the one morning Kasey just so happens to be the only person in the house?

My pre-planned reasoning and excuses are locked and ready to go—consisting of some crap about getting more rest and taking time to myself—but the question doesn’t come.

James keeps his expression neutral. “I’ll handle everything.”

I nod. “Make sure Matteo’s notes are on my desk by the time I get there. And remind him to refrain from using explicit language in official meeting transcripts.”

“You’re sure about this?” he asks, the double meaning pathetically concealed.

“Yeah,” I tell him anyway. “I’m sure.”

Despite my morning off , I spend half an hour taking calls in my office. Just after nine, I figure it’s late enough that Kasey should be awake by now, so I close my laptop and stand to go to her room.

I hear the blasting music as soon as I open my office door. It’s some eighties song I recognize but can’t name.

A bark from the backyard tells me all I need to know.

When I come into the spacious kitchen, I stop directly in front of the sink, where I can look out the window without drawing attention to myself.

Kasey lies on her back in the middle of the yard, a blue yoga mat beneath her, and a half-empty water bottle at her side. Her hair is pulled into a pile on her head, with stray curls falling around her face, which glistens with a sheen of sweat.

She wears a black sweatshirt and skintight bottoms that resemble underwear more than shorts.

I stand in the window, watching as she transitions from exercise to exercise, listening to the music that blasts from the speaker on the porch. She rolls from her back to her side, lifting one straightened leg and lowering it down again in a repetitive motion that I can’t look away from.

Her lithe movements are mesmerizing.

One thing I know for certain: if she ordered me to her bed right now, I’d go.

I’m so focused on Kasey that I hardly notice Kane sprinting through the yard with a ball in his mouth. He takes it to Kasey, drops it, and waits patiently for her to throw it.

As Kane sprints across the yard, Kasey readjusts so she’s on her hands and knees, and my mind goes to downright deviant places. She takes turns lifting one bent leg behind her, then the other—only pausing to throw the ball Kane keeps bringing her.

I have no idea how long I stand there, watching her and listening to the eighties station that suits her surprisingly well, but by the time she rolls her mat up, I’ve decided I’m not above apologizing for the hickeys if it means finally getting to have her.

A worthy sacrifice.

I’m pouring a cup of coffee when she steps into the kitchen.

“We have a gym in the basement and at the base, you know,” I say, not bothering to hide my appraisal of her since doing so would be counterproductive—not to mention a waste.

She opens the pantry, but I think the only thing she’s looking for is an excuse to avoid eye contact. “It’s nice out,” she says. “And I thought I was escaping an audience this way.”

I don’t feel the slightest hint of shame.

“Not my fault you’re working out on my property.”

She tilts her head. “Maybe I should use the base gym. I bet Tony and Ryan would make great workout buddies. What do you think?”

I think Tony and Ryan are effectively fired.

“My men have been instructed to give you space during your stay with us.”

She lifts a perfect eyebrow. “You’re jealous?”

“I’m possessive.”

“Which is a narcissist’s way of saying jealous . Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting this morning?”

“You’re stalking me?”

“Coming from the guy who spent the last ten minutes watching me from the window.”

I bite back my retort, take a deep breath, and remind myself why I stayed home in the first place.

To get laid.

“Look,” I start. “About what happened the other day—”

Kasey lifts a hand and regards me with a grimace. “Yeah, no. I’m not interested in hearing your feelings . Just forget about it.”

“Screw feelings, but I do want to talk.”

She opens the fridge, grabs a water bottle, and walks out of the kitchen.

“No thanks,” she calls out as she goes.

I don’t follow immediately because I’m too busy figuring out what the hell is wrong with this woman. Sure, I haven’t exactly been out to woo her, but even when I try to make peace, she finds something to fight me on.

What am I doing?

It’s never taken more than flashing a smile to get laid, so why am I working so hard just to have Kasey?

The effort suddenly feels like a ridiculous waste of my time.

I’ll go out with James and Matteo to find an easy, agreeable girl to fill that role. It won’t be difficult, and she’ll be more tolerable than the terror currently under my roof.

Going out will be good for me. Time with James and Matteo will ground me and remind me that there are people who will give me the respect I deserve.

The way it should be.

The sound of Kasey’s bedroom door slamming shut snaps me back to reality.

I don’t want some easy, agreeable nobody.

For reasons I cannot fathom, I want the hot-headed, manipulative, psychopathic beauty upstairs.

I don’t remember ascending the stairs, but when I find myself at her door, I throw it open.

Kasey is facing away from me, digging through her dresser, and I faintly acknowledge the sound of the shower running in the bathroom. My aggressive entrance doesn’t provoke the slightest jump, flinch, or tension from her.

But me? I’m frozen.

Kasey’s hoodie lies in a pile on the floor, revealing the flawless skin of her back, covered only by a thin sports bra that matches her shorts—if you can even call them that. She’s taken out whatever bound her hair, so it falls over her shoulders and down her back.

Slowly, like a scene from a movie I’d happily watch for the rest of my life, Kasey turns around. My eyes go straight to her collarbone, where the shadows of my hickeys linger.

Seeing my marks on her skin makes me regret every second of this power struggle that kept me from her.

I swallow hard. "Not going to cover up?"

I don’t get the smug grin or eye roll I’ve come to expect.

Kasey’s features are schooled into a perfectly neutral expression. “You barged into my room while I was changing. You have no shame, so neither will I.”

“You left the door unlocked,” I counter, fully aware that my argument is a weak one.

“Don’t act like you wouldn’t have kicked it down.”

“I told you that we need to talk.”

Laughing, yelling, turning away, flipping me off. These are all things that would’ve made sense for her to do at this moment, but Kasey surprises me.

“I think we’ve done enough talking, don’t you?” she asks and glides to the bathroom.

She leaves the door wide open.

It’s an invitation that I accept.