Stolen: A Bad Boy Romance (10 page)

Janson

“Where have you been?” Michael Mactavish sat across from me, staring at me with a smirk on his face. The kind that let me know he had a theory and no matter what I said, it would be wrong.

My father was always like that. Ever since I was a teen. I could tell him I was at the library studying with Greyson all night, and it didn't matter if it was the truth. He wouldn't believe it. He was sure I'd been out partying all night and would accept no other answer.

Because it was what he wanted to hear.

“On a business trip.” It was the truth. I was on business doing what Greyson wanted.

“For Greyson?” he asked.  "His own business, or family business?"

“Yes,” I said. "A little bit of both."

I wasn't going to lie to him, but I wasn't going to tell him the details either. He'd already formed ideas in his mind about what I was doing and how I was doing it. There was no use in trying to argue the point.

“So your boy has you running all over town, and you don’t even check in with me?” Ah, there it was, the anger and snark I'd come to expect from him.

“You told me that he was my very first priority, Father. That my job was to fulfill my duties as second in command.”

Always Father.

Never Dad.

That was the way our relationship worked. That was the truth of what was between us. It was thinly veiled contention. Hate that started the moment my mother died, leaving him with the burden of me to raise. He'd never gotten over it. Over her. And he never stopped blaming me.

I had nothing to do with her aneurysm. It was a medical mystery, but it didn't matter. In his eyes, I might as well have caused it.

We'd never love each other. Never actually respected one another.

We both knew it.

“You did your duty. But you could’ve let me know. I had a lot of work for you and I had to find someone else.”

“Did you? Find someone else?” I asked, my lips pursed. I didn't want to do his damn dirty work.

“For some of the things. But I have a list of work for you.” He slid a laundry list of shit over to me. No doubt it was people that he and James thought deserved a lesson.

My hands were itching to pummel someone, but that wasn’t who I wanted to be.

I needed to be someone better. Something more. But this was my life. At least until he was gone. I'd been hoping for so long that something would happen, but I always thought it would be murder. Most men don't stay at the top until they retire. No, they go out by nefarious hands.

I just hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

I never expected it to be part of my own scheming. It almost made me feel dirty. Until I looked into his eyes. Then I felt totally vindicated.

“Anything else you need?” I asked.

“Yeah. I need to know what your deal is.” He flicked his cigar into the ashtray and then looked up at me with new eyes.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“You heard me. You come in here, acting like you’re better than me. What’s your deal, boy? Do you need another lesson?”

I could probably beat the shit out of him if I wanted, but that was the last thing I needed to think about. My best bet was to get the fuck away from him and do what I needed to do. We had a plan; it was going to work. I just needed to let it happen.

But I couldn’t shut my fucking mouth.

“My problem is that you only beckon to me when you absolutely need something from me. I’m your goddamn son. Maybe you could show an interest. Give a shit?”

He stared at me for a long moment and then he laughed. He fucking laughed. Right in my god damned face.

“You think I don’t give a shit about you? I’m setting up a goddamn empire for you, you ungrateful little shit. You never appreciated it. You never appreciated me. And now you come walking in here like you fucking own the place. Well, let me tell you, you ignorant little ass wipe. I brought you into this world and I can sure as hell take you out.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“You want to make this a thing?” he said, his snarl very real. “I don’t think you want to get on my bad side, Janson Michael Mactavish.”

It was meant to throw weight around, but it didn’t mean a damn thing. He didn’t mean a damn thing to me.

We were just two people who shared a name.

“You got anything else for me?” I asked again. I didn’t want to continue this conversation. I would take it to a place where I couldn’t get back from. We both knew it.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Actually, I need you to pick up my dry cleaning. Bring it to my place. Lacy will be there waiting.”

Lacy was my twenty-three-year-old “stepmother”. He seemed to trade up as soon as they hit thirty, but this one was a real piece of fucking work.

He knew I hated her; this was my punishment. I would take it if it meant defusing the situation.

“Fine,” I said as I stood. Fuck him. Fuck everything he stood for.

“Oh, and Janson?” he called to me.

“Yeah?” I asked. I was so done with him.

“Your job is to be loyal to Greyson, but your life depends on being loyal to me. Don’t fucking forget it.” He grabbed up his cigar and took a long puff.

I fought the urge to spit the sour feeling out of my mouth right onto his face. I needed to get the hell out of there.

So I turned and stormed off.

That man had the ability to make me feel like a petulant teenager even twenty years later.

But he would get what was coming to him.

Kathryn

All I had to do was confront my father. Go back home and live with him. Convince him that I was a part of the family. Then steal right from underneath him.

I sighed and thought sarcastically: That won’t be hard at all.

Leaving Janson. That was going to be the hardest part. No one knew what we were up to, and though I’d only spend a few nights with him, I didn’t want it to end. I didn’t have the nightmares when he held me. I didn’t dream about my uncle when he was close. It was like he was a drug I’d been looking for my entire life and I’d finally found.

He was the only one who could save me. I bit my lip and looked out the windows down onto the street. I liked staying here. I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to be in the house again.

But I did miss my mom. And my sisters.

I just wanted nothing to do with him.

It was a part of the plan. It would work out. At least, that was exactly what I needed to tell myself.

I wanted him gone.

I heard a slam on the door and looked up to see Janson coming through the living room. He didn’t even look at me. And then I noticed it. He was fucking covered in blood.

“What the hell?” I asked as I walked through the kitchen towards him.

“It’s fine. None of it is mine.” He was heading towards the bathroom as he said it and that worried me more than anything else.

“Then whose is it?” I asked.

“Do you really want to know?” he said. When he looked back at me, his eyes were so angry that I thought about saying no. I thought about turning around and never looking back, but I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t just walk away from this. So I swallowed hard, and I nodded. “Yes. I want to know.”

“I had a list of three men I had to fuck up. I made appointments. I went, I saw them. I fucked them up.”

“Are any of them-”

“Dead?” he finished the question for me. “No. I didn’t kill anyone. But at least one of them is going to need a few weeks to recuperate.”

“Orders?” I asked. I could’ve guessed as much, but he nodded at me. That told me all I needed to know.

“I’m a fucking demon.” Janson was shell-shocked. For the first time in my life, I saw the way a man felt after he’d caused an incredible amount of pain to someone else. “It’s not just that, baby girl. I craved it. I craved each blow they took to their bodies. I caused it all. And I liked it.”

He wasn’t shaking, but he was so calm. So quiet. It scared me.

“You need a shower,” I said as I pushed him into the bathroom. I made quick work of the blood-stained clothing and turned on the shower. It was easier not to think about it. Not to think about the ways he made them spill their blood.

He was a killer. The kind that did exactly what he was told and did it without mercy. I knew that.

Janson wasn’t lying when he told me he was a monster. He really believed that he was. Hell, a part of me believed that he was. Not because he was one, but because he was made to become one. Because his father and my father put him in that position.

The same position they put so many men in just for fun. Because it was all about business and money. It was fucking ridiculous. My blood boiled just thinking about all the things they made him do. And other men. Men like Michael.

I started the shower and waited until it was warm enough.

“You shouldn’t want to be here with me,” Janson said as he stared at me. He still looked so dangerous. Like he was fighting the urge to commit more acts of violence. But he would never hurt me. He made that promise, and I believed him.

“I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere,” I said as I grabbed him and pulled myself into him. He was covered in blood and dirt, and I didn’t care. The clothing could be replaced, and all of the stuff on his body was temporary. It could all wash away. It would all wash away. He was more important.

He was important to me.

He pulled me into the shower, the water of the multiple jets washing over both our bodies. It was wonderful and sinful even in the moment. I loved the way it felt against my skin. I loved the way he felt against my skin.

We were in so deep, and I knew there was nothing we could do.

“You have no idea the shit I’ve been through, Kathryn.” The words came out slowly. One at a time. But I just wrapped my arms around his torso and found a few of his scars. I fingered them softly. He was everything I'd ever wanted. I'd always loved him.

And now I had him. All of him. Scars and all.

And I loved that about him.

“I do have some idea. Not the way you do. But I understand what and who you are. And I don’t care about all that. I know who you are. You are a good man. You are a caring man. You want what is best for the people around you. You know better than I what that can cost. What it has cost. But I’m not walking away. Not now.” I looked up into his eyes.

He winced, but he didn’t look away.

“Are you sure about that?” he asked as he bent his head down. It was clean now, and I wasn’t afraid of his skin anymore. “Are you sure you can handle me?”

“I’m as sure as I am ever going to be,” I answered honestly. I reached up and ran a thumb over his jawline.

I loved this man. This crazy, strong, violent, scary man. I loved him. Nothing was going to change that.

I would do anything for him.

I would do everything for him.

He bent down and kissed me, his lips touching mine softly at first, but then they morphed into something stronger. Filled with need and lust and sadness and anger. All of the emotion he was feeling poured into me, and made me realize just exactly what was going on in his head.

He was scared. He was angry.

Janson was feeling all the emotions I was, but they were so intense that I could barely stand his touch. Yet I couldn't let it go. I couldn't let him go.

I clung to him, the fall of water from the shower enveloping us both as the warm rain coated our bodies. I didn’t know how long we stood there like that, clinging to each other, kissing deeply, but I knew that I never wanted to be any other way. I belonged to him in that moment, and he belonged to me.

And I was glad that we were together.

“I need you, Kat.” He was so earnest in the way that he said it that it almost brought tears to my eyes. “I don’t know what life was before you. I can’t remember it. I just know that you have filled me with so much need that I can’t walk away. I want to make a life with you. For you. I want to be a better man.”

“You already are a better man.” I meant what I said. He was a good man. He was trying so hard.

And I loved him.

I could feel his cock hard against my belly, and I knew that I wasn’t going to leave this shower without making love to him.

And I wanted it all.

Chapter Eleven

Kathryn

I untangled myself from Janson and pulled myself out of bed. He didn't even notice, nuzzling into a damn pillow and letting out a sigh. It was so fucking cute I wanted to just crawl right back in there with him. I could lay with him like that all day, but I knew if I didn’t get out now I never would.

We’d fucked and snuggled and fucked some more, and I had the hand prints on my ass to prove it. I was positively satiated and so content with him.

It was so much more than I ever expected.

He fucking loved spanking me. And I loved the way it made me feel. Especially the next day when my ass was still just a little bit sore.

I padded over to the dresser and found my cell phone. It was barely nine, and I already had five missed calls. All of them from Greyson.

I also had a missed text message.

Call me when you get up. I want to talk to you about something. - Greyson

Shit. My nerves spiked, and I could feel the anxiety overwhelming me as I ran through every single conversation I'd ever had with him. What did he know?

Did he know about us?  Anxiety turned to dread. I wasn't ready for that. I wasn't ready to admit to anyone what we were doing.

It meant that we might have to stop.

I turned and shook Janson awake. He even looked handsome as his eyelids half opened.

"What, baby?" he asked as he reached for me and pulled me to him. "Get back in bed. I want to feel your body against mine."

It was a damn temptation. One that I would've taken him up on any other time.

“Someone left me half a dozen calls and a cryptic text,” I said as I handed the phone over to him. "And that someone is my brother."

Janson took the phone and read through them. "Shit"

He grabbed his own and said, "Same thing over here."

"What do we do?" I asked.

“Well, we better get over to the office. He probably wants something.” Janson stood up and walked over to his closet, pulling out a fresh suit. He had at least a dozen of them, if not more. Damn.

Now that I thought about it, I realized I’d never actually seen him wearing anything else. Not jeans. No t-shirts.

Just custom tailored suits that cost more than some people’s cars.

“Do you always wear suits?”

“It’s the job.” He shrugged. “Don’t really have much time for anything else. Wear suits, sleep nude. It’s kinda my thing.”

He sounded like a total prick when he said it, but the boyish smile that graced his lips almost made me laugh out loud.

“What would you rather have me in?” he asked as he walked towards me and grabbed me, pulling me into him.

“Nothing,” I admitted. “But I’d also take you in a tight pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Seems your style.”

“I could probably whip something up like that.” He bent down and kissed me, the softness of his kiss a welcome distraction to getting dressed and going to my brother's place. I didn’t know what he wanted, and honestly, I didn’t want to find out. It couldn’t be good.

“Come on, Kat. Let’s get dressed and get going.” He smacked my ass right where it was raw, and I jumped.

We had shit to do.

***

"What exactly are you trying to communicate to me?" I asked.

“I want to make you happy. You are stuck here. I want to make sure you are at least doing what you love.” Greyson stood there looking at me. I thought we’d be meeting in his office, but we were at his home.

“What are you saying?” I asked him. He had been dancing around the issue for five whole minutes, and my heart felt like it was going to burst. I wanted to know exactly what he meant.

“I know all that you are going through. I know how hard it has been for you to come back home. I want to make you happy. I want you to be able to keep playing your violin.” He looked at me expectantly, but I wasn't having it.

“And how do you propose that I do that?” I asked. I had no network here. At least, not one that I could go to. They would probably have eyes on them, and then Dad would know. It would get me right back in the fucking shit.

“I’ve got you a gig. At a few of our restaurants.” He motioned to Janson and himself. "It's just small stuff, but it might lead to more."

“Did you have something to do with this?” I asked Janson.

“Well, I figured that you would want something more constructive to do with your time.” The way he said it was totally devoid of emotion, and I remembered. We didn't have a relationship.

At least not around Greyson.

We were pretending nothing happened. If my brother knew… we both would end up in serious trouble.  The kind where we may not end up on the right side of okay.

“I can do that,” I said, honestly. I’d been hoping to get back to playing ever since I got back and it would give me time to focus on my craft.

“Good. Now we have some business, but Joanna would love to spend some time with you, Kat. So, my driver will take you there shortly.”

The men stood and left, leaving me in the condo by myself.

“That’s right I would. I’m surrounded by cranky-ass men, and I am about ready to freaking pop.” Joanna walked out of the hallway and smiled, her hand on her belly. She was huge and beautiful.  And she looked positively exhausted.

“Is it that bad?” I asked, but I knew the answer before she even said it. “Of course it is. What can I do?”

“Take me out and get me pineapple smoothies. Greyson won’t let me go.” She pouted, physically pouted, as she sank down onto the couch and propped her all too swollen feet up on the coffee table.

“Ah, part of the captive program as well?” I asked, a big smile on my face. I didn’t know her very well, but I already liked her. I had a feeling we would get on fine.

“Yes. So. Smoothies?” she asked. The smile on her face told me everything I needed to know. She wasn't going to take anything but yes for an answer.

“Is there a shop around here?” I asked.

She nodded. “I’ll get you anything you like.” Her eyes sparkled.

“Do you want to break out?” I asked.

“I thought you’d never ask.”