Stolen: A Bad Boy Romance (16 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Janson

“What the fuck?” I wasn’t expecting to hear Greyson’s voice coming from my bedroom, but it woke me up out of a dead fucking sleep.

That motherfucker came in without my permission and burst in. He didn’t call or anything.

“What is going on?” he asked, seething.

“I think you know exactly what you are seeing here,” I answered. I wasn’t going to lie to him or play coy or do any of the things he would find disrespectful. I was lying in bed with the woman I loved and we were both clearly naked. “If you’ll give us a moment to get dressed, we can talk about this calmly.”

“Like hell we will. Where the fuck do you get off banging my little sister?” He started towards us but Kat spoke up.

“Greyson, stop. This is ridiculous. I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m a grown woman.”

“You aren’t that grown,” he countered.

“I am. I made my choice. I’m the one who seduced him.”

“What?” Greyson asked. “You don’t understand, Kathryn. This is revenge. I fucked his little sister, so he thought he would get one over on me.”

“I think you know me well enough to know I would never do anything like that, Greyson.” I was challenging him and I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to just let that stand. “And you didn’t seduce me, Kat. I was a part of the equation. I wanted you. And then we just kind of, fell together.”

“Fell together?” Greyson asked. “You expect me to just believe that?”

“It’s the truth,” Kat said. “I want to be with him. This is our decision. Not yours. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

“I don’t want to fucking talk about this. Get dressed. I’m taking you back home.”

“I won’t go there,” she warned. “You don’t understand-”

“I don’t care. You aren’t staying with him.” Greyson was furious, and he had every reason to be.

Kathryn

“You go deal with him. I need to get dressed,” I said to Janson as he stood up and started putting on his clothing. I was panicking and I knew it. Shit was going down everywhere. At home, and now with the only two people in the entire world I trusted.

As soon as he was out of the room, I thought about the thing I had in my purse. The thing I needed to do before anyone else knew. A pregnancy test.

I’d been late for two weeks, but I hadn’t mentioned it to him. I just kept ignoring it, hoping I would get my period or something. I was scared. I’d been taking the pill, but I forgot a couple of times. Just twice. That wasn’t enough for something to happen, was it?

Janson wanted it more than anything, but I wasn’t about to tell him. Not until I knew for certain. I needed to do it.

Best time might be while those two were hashing it out.

I ran into the bathroom and peed on that little stick, then stuck it on the sink to wait.

Three minutes, the box said. The three longest freaking minutes of my entire life.

When I looked at the stick I saw it. A plus on the damn thing.

I’d been silly, thinking that I could run away from this. I should’ve been more careful. I should’ve been sure each and every time.

It felt like my walls were closing in on me, trying to force me into defeat. But I wasn’t ready for that. I wasn’t ready for any of this. I didn’t want to go out there and tell my brother what was happening. I didn’t want to explain it to him. I didn’t want to let Janson know how I felt. Not when I was so unsure of his own feelings. He said he wanted me to have his baby, but did he mean it? Would he really come to my side out of love? Or would it be out of obligation?

I couldn’t breathe. It was all just too fucking much. Panic surrounded me and threatened to overwhelm. I just wanted to get the hell out of there. And I wanted to play violin. I couldn’t do that here. I couldn’t do anything I wanted. Coming back was a mistake. I should’ve stayed in Chicago.

I needed to get the fuck out. I had to do something.

I grabbed my phone and looked up the nearest bus station. There was a bus leaving in thirty minutes for Chi-town. If I could just get there, I knew that I could talk to Badger. I could stay there, play my music, and just have a few days to breathe. Then I could talk to Janson, tell him how I felt.

But right now, I needed the hell out of this situation.

So, I did what I did best. I snuck out the window and down the fire escape.

I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t stand this.

The boys could figure shit out on their own. I needed a break.

Janson

“What in the fuck are you thinking?” Greyson asked me as he grabbed my decanter and poured himself a glass of scotch. I would’ve said something, but it wasn’t the time. “You are a grown man and she is barely an adult!”

Besides, it was probably well deserved.

“Greyson, I didn’t need a reason. She was beautiful and kind and she saw me for who I really was,” I said as I explained it to him. “I didn’t mean to fall, just like you didn’t mean to sleep with my sister. You and I both know she is much older than her age. Besides, Joanna and you share an age difference. And you slept with my sister who is the same age as yours!”

I wasn’t going to back down from this. Not now. Not when I loved her so much.

“First of all, I very intentionally slept with your sister. I was a flaming dick and I wanted to see how far I could push boundaries. I deserved the fucking beating I got. Second of all, what do you mean fall?” he asked. It was too fucking emotional for either of us, and I just wanted to dance around it.

But I couldn’t. He had to understand.

“I love her, Greyson.”

“What?” he asked as he squinted at me.

“I love her. I want to be with her. Marry her, make her mine, whatever she wants. I want to take care of her.” The words came out more forcefully than I intended and when I looked up, I realized Greyson was gape-mouthed. I’d never even expressed interest in a woman that went beyond physical before, so this was a shock to us both. “I’m not going to hurt her, Greyson.”

“You better fucking not,” was all he said, but we both knew the fight was lost.

There was no way he could forbid this. Not after what he’d been through.

Silence passed between us and then there was nothing.

“Where in the hell is she?” Greyson asked as he looked around. “Kathryn should be out here by now.”

“So you can yell at her, too?” I asked. I was being witty and we both smiled. It was going to be okay. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure why I was nervous. I’d spent so long running from the truth and convincing myself this was going to be more than it was, that I felt like a fucking fool.

“Something like that,” he answered.

“Well, I’ll go get her.” I walked down the hall to our bedroom and knocked on the door. Nothing. “Kat?” I asked, but she didn’t answer.

So, I turned the handle on the door. It was fucking locked. Panic rose up in my chest. There was no reason for this goddamn door to be fucking locked. “Let me in right the fuck now,” I growled as I turned it again.

Fucking hell. She wasn’t responding. I grabbed the handle and turned it so hard that I heard a snap and it released its hold. The lock wasn’t that strong, I just didn’t want to replace it.

The room was completely empty. No sign of her. My Kathryn. I looked around the room, checked the bathroom. Then I saw it. The pregnancy test in the trash.

It was positive. She was pregnant with my baby and I felt like I’d been kicked right in the fucking chest.

She’d taken off. Run away through the open window that led down the fire escape.

Just when I’d secured everything, she’d taken off, and she was pregnant with my baby.

“Greyson, get in here,” I said as I fought like hell to control my temper. I threw the stick back in the trash and washed my hands.

“What is it?” he asked as he stormed in. He saw what I did, the empty room.

“She’s gone,” I answered.

“Where did she go?” he asked.

“Probably back to where we found her,” I admitted.

“But how?” he asked.

I grabbed a pair of my pants and pulled out my money clip. It was empty.

“Plane, train, or bus,” I guessed. “How do you want to proceed?” I asked.

I was losing control, my senses shutting down, filled with anger, hurt, rage. How could she just leave me like this? Right when things were tough? I expected more from her. I expected so much more, but there it was. The truth. She hadn’t so much as tried to fight for us.

She just fled.

“We’ll set up a flight and fan out. She won’t get far,” Greyson said. “And when you find her, you’ll just have to show her the way things get handled.”

I nodded. I was going to get her handled, all right. I was going to put that woman over my knee for this nightmare.

Chapter Eighteen

Kathryn

I wasn’t at the bus station for ten minutes before I got my senses and realized what I’d done. It was stupid. It was useless. A moment of panic that I let rule me. I’d taken off without a word, and I knew it wasn’t going to last. They’d just find me and bring me back anyway. And I didn’t want to run again. Not really.

I was just scared of all the changes. The world was spinning with all the possibilities, and the truth was, I’d completely fallen for Janson. And I was afraid he wouldn’t catch me.

“Can I help you?” the teller asked. I was in line and next to purchase a ticket.

“I need to stand up for myself,” I said as I turned away from the office. The woman called after me, but I kept walking. I could take the metro back to the apartment and clear my head. Hopefully, the boys wouldn’t be too worried, but I knew I was in trouble. As soon as I got out onto the street, I pulled out my phone and looked down at the number of messages I had. Thirteen calls and twenty texts. Shit.

It’s why I didn't see him when he came up behind me. Why I didn’t realize what was happening when he grabbed me and threw me into his car.

Why I was still in shock when I saw his face as he grinned down at me.

“Hello, sister.” I’d recognize that voice anywhere.

David.

“What, isn’t this a little bit of a tired routine for you? Kidnapping innocent women?” I asked, fear turned into biting wit. It was my only defense mechanism.

“From what I know, you haven’t been acting like a lady lately.” He grinned. “But you are still useful.”

“What do you plan on doing?” I asked as I reached into my jacket pocket and fished for my phone. I knew some of the buttons by memory. I just had to get a message to Janson.

“Oh, no you don’t,” he said as he reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, but not before I could press send. It was only one word, but I hoped it would be enough. “I’m not as stupid as you somehow think.”

“You got caught once,” I said, still acting smug. “They’ll come and find you again.”

He didn’t strike me, but he looked like he wanted to. “That’s what I’m hoping, but this time… this time, I’ll take their lives.”

“What about Dad? Do you want to piss him off, too?” I asked.

“Oh, child. Who do you think put me up to this? He wants to teach you a little fucking lesson. I’ve been tracking you since you went to Chicago. Who do you think his eyes were?” He grinned, the evil in them sparkling up at me, but what he didn’t know was that this was telling.

I knew exactly what my father saw now. Which meant I had an idea of what David perceived. Knowing what your enemy knew could be quite powerful.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“You’ll find out soon enough. But until then, you keep your fucking mouth shut. I don’t want to hear jackshit out of you.” He glared at me. “Father told me not to harm you, but I’m sure he would forgive a few slaps to the face.”

We drove for what felt like forever, up I-95, then along some back country roads until we were lost in the woods and farm fields of what looked like the countryside. I saw that because new developments encroached on them at every turn, the cookie cutter mansions leaving tell-tale signs of the city. We weren't so far away that no one would find us.

It was a matter of time. I didn't know what David was hoping for, but it seemed like he wanted a confrontation. I wanted to ask him, but the look on his face told me that I was better off keeping my damn mouth shut.

We pulled into a long drive and up to an old farmhouse. Was this where he was keeping me?

I was really getting sick and tired of being fucking shuffled around without a goddamn say.

"Get out of the damn car," he said as he opened the door.

"You first," I said, my mouth clenched shut.

"Oh no, not in this place. Ladies first."

"I thought you said I wasn't a lady."

He pulled me up and kicked me out. "I said get the fuck up and go."

It wasn't polite, but it didn't hurt. I tumbled out into the driveway, then stood up, determined not to let this asshole get to me. He might have been a biological half-brother, but he was no family of mine.

This was too fucking far. And at my father's own request.

I was vibrating with irritation. I didn't know how I was going to get out of this, but I promised myself I would.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked.

"That's an easy question. Because it's far enough out of the way and during hunting season, that if I shoot your rescuers, no one will hear me."

"Father wants them dead?"

"Not them, but Greyson. Doesn't want him to be the heir. Not tough enough. Can't say I blame him."

"But the baby."

"Will be raised the proper way. With Joanna and me. Just like I always wanted. He might not be my blood, but I'll raise him that way."

"She," I corrected.

"What?" he asked.

"It's a girl. Don't you know anything?"

"No one told me, I just assumed," he started, but trailed off. "A girl. Even better. Then the legacy can still be mine. I'll fight for her. My Joanna."

I rolled my eyes. "Why in the fuck are you so obsessed with her? It isn't like she wants anything to do with you."

"Maybe not yet, but she will. I've wanted her from the first time I saw her. She was kind to me when she had no idea who I was. I just never got the chance, and then I saw her again, and I knew that I had to try."

"By being a psycho?"

That earned me a smack in the mouth. Fuck. It hurt like hell, but I just looked up at him and smiled. "You think you are going to hold me here? You think this is going to be easy, that I'll just bow down to you?" I asked. "You are an idiot, David. You'll never run this fucking family because you have no idea what it would even take to do it."

He grabbed me by the arm and shoved me into the house. "Shut the fuck up. Tie her up boys. At least for now."

Men that I thought I'd known my entire life grabbed me and tied me to a heavy steel chair, their eyes on me as I struggled. I wasn't going to make it easy for him.

"If she doesn't knock that shit off, I'll fucking knock her upside the head to keep her quiet," one of them said.

"No, we cannot leave any marks or bruises. Nothing permanent," David barked. "Those are our orders."

"Fine," another man said. I swore I knew him, but I just could not remember his name. They called him something. It was on the tip of my damn tongue.

The Butcher.

They brought the fucking Butcher to handle me. How would I make it out of this alive?

"Why is he here?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"Because he is good at killing and your father wants a very tricky man dead. It's pretty simple, really," the first man, the one who threatened to smack me, said. He grinned at me now, leering at me. "She's a pretty one. You sure I can't just have a go?"

"You want Fitzgerald to lop your fucking dick off?" the Butcher said to him. He was serious as he said it, too. Fuck. This was too real.

"You're fucking dicks," I said as I sat there, the binds finally on me. "I fucking hate you all."

"I don't care. It'll work," David said as he grabbed my phone out of his pocket and hit dial. He turned on the speaker.

"Hello?" Janson was on the other line.

"It's a trap!" I screamed, but a hand covered my mouth right away.

"Get your master, dog," David said. His voice was nasty and terrible.

"I'm here," Greyson growled. "What the fuck do you want, David?"

"I'm sure by now you've gathered that I have our sister?" he asked.

"Yes. What do you want?" Greyson barked.

"You and your little minion. Bring no one else. We'll settle our shit once and for all."

They'd be outnumbered. Greyson's two against at least five that I could count of David's men. It would be a fucking slaughter.

I tried to call out, but no one would uncover my mouth.

"We'll meet you, just tell us where," Janson said this time. He sounded positively filled with rage.

"I'll message you the coordinates. Remember. No one else or she dies."

It was a fucking bluff.

"We fight it out the hard way," Greyson said. "No one else?"

"No one else."

"Fine."

It was going to be a damn bloodbath.