Tough Love (Hidden Secrets) (22 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Stalker

My
heart stopped when I saw the ambulance pull up to Jack’s office. Actually I started running toward the office until I saw them wheeling out some other guy. I saw another man run out of the building and then my Jackson running with Shannon to his car.  Anger boiled deeper in my gut. She got to be around for everything.  Well she hasn’t met his family yet. That would piss me off if he’d introduced her to his family. That was what he was supposed to do with me, not some slut with freaks for kids. I arrived at the hospital only a few minutes after they did. I walked around trying to find where they were, when I spotted my Jack pacing in the room.

“How
did I not see that? I’m a fucking doctor!” He yelled loud enough that I could hear him outside the room.

That
little bitch wraps her arms around him. A huge group of people came into the room and I watched as he embraced all of them. They were all upset. It was then that the similarities in the faces of some of them dawned on me. The fucking tart has met his family. They hugged her like they knew her anyway. Rage boiled strong and hard. I had to turn and leave to keep from drawing attention to myself. That’s the last thing I need right now.

Now
was time to plan. Now was time for action. The problem was I couldn’t do this alone. I needed help. So I went to visit the one person I thought might be able to get me that help. It was a long tedious drive and gave me far too much time to think about that little hussy making her way into my love’s life, but this time I needed the anger. I needed the rage. If I was going to get the help I needed, I needed to be plenty pissed.

The
house was set far back in the woods. The driveway was a dirt road that had many ruts and holes in it. There was a worn out wooden fence lining the road. Dead overgrown weeds and grass completed the creepy ambiance that surrounded the drive up to the house. The house itself was a perfect example of what a haunted house would look like. The wood siding was rotting, the roof was sagging so much that it was only a matter of time before it just broke right through. Probably one more good rain would be the end to this roof. Some of the windows were busted and the porch groaned under the weight of my feet. Dim light flickered through the windows casting eerie shadows on the walls.

With
a shaky hand, I reached out and knocked on the door. In my head I kept repeating,
this is for Jackson. This is for the love of your life. This is for your happiness.
I waited for one of the scary ass dudes to answer the door. Meanwhile, I’m trying to get my nerves under control. These men could almost smell fear. I didn’t want them to see anything but confidence. If I was to pull this off, I
needed
their help.

The
smell of cigars and cigarettes was almost suffocating as the door opened. Next, the stench of old stale alcohol hit me, almost making my stomach roll. A tall, bald, muscular  man stood in the doorway blocking all light out making him seem like a huge shadow.

“What
you want?” The man barks.

“I’m
here to see Hector.”

“Sorry
no one by that name here,” he starts to shut the door but I stop it with my hand.

“Tell
Hector that Ray is here, you pig!” I hiss with as much venom as I could muster.

“Mmm,
feisty. I have a thing for feisty bitches,” he says. “Wait here,” he barks.

The
minute the door closes my breath whooshes out. I’ve never liked coming around Hector when he was with his thugs in arms, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I’ve tried getting amateurs to get the job done, but it failed. I can’t afford any more failures. These guys lived for dirty, lived for wrong, lived for the thrill of making people suffer. They were what I needed to get this stupid bitch away from my man.

The
wait gave me time to over think my plan and I started to get flustered. It wasn’t until I smelled the stench again that I snapped back to action. My heart hammered in my chest, but on the outside I was cool as a cucumber. Well, that is what I hoped to portray. The door opened and the shadow of a man smiled.

“Come
on in sweet cheeks. Seems Hector is here after all.”

“He
was always here dumbass,” I said rolling my eyes as I walked past him.

Walking
in, there was a long hall that opened up to what was supposed to be a living room. However, this was not the actual place they lived in. They wanted the outside world to see this house as abandoned or poorly cared for when behind the house built into the mountain side was the actual house. This house was top of the line, but the only way to get to it was through the older house, into the pantry and through the door that most would assume led to a cellar. 

I
was familiar with this house. I’d been here a lot when I was younger. Hector used to be a friend of my father’s until the idiot sold him out to the cops. Now they were enemies, but Hector promised me that we were still okay. He’s not done anything toward me to show me otherwise so I tended to believe him on that.

Once
through the secret passage and into the actual house, the stench finally dissipated. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, I turned the corner and waited to be let into the room where Hector was. Shadow man walks in front of me, knocks twice on the door, waits then opens the door.

“Go
on in sweet cheeks, he’s expecting you,” he smiles at me.

Rolling
my eyes, I walk into the room. There sitting behind a desk is the grey haired man I grew up with. Though looking at him brought back good memories, I wasn’t letting my guard down.

“Hector,”
I said entering the room.

He
looks up and he smiles, causing the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth become more prominent. He wasn’t old by any means, but he wasn’t young either.

“Oh
Ray, it has been far too long. You’ve grown so much and you are so beautiful,” he stands walks around his desk and kisses both of my cheeks before hugging me.

“It
has been. Getting away from father proved more difficult than I thought,” I said sadly.

“Has
he hurt you?” Anger in his voice.

“No,
not other than showing me I mattered not to him, but as a bargaining tool.”

“Oh
Ray. You know you are always welcome here. I’d do anything for you.”

“I
know. It’s kind of what brought me here.”

“Anything
you just tell me what’s going on.” He says patting my hand.

“I
was wondering if I could get some of your guys to help me kidnap someone, possible torture, maybe even kill? Not sure the lengths that will need to be taken at this point.”

“You
sound like you might be in some trouble. Are you okay?”

“I’m
fine other than this stupid bitch that keeps getting in the way of my happiness,” looking up at Hector I put on my best sad face, “I deserve happiness. It was taken from me for so long.”

“I
agree, child. I agree. Well as much as I am the boss around here, when going off my work I’ll have to ask for volunteers. What is the payment offering?”

“Um,
I don’t have much. Father took a lot from me when I finally got away.”

“It’s
okay child. I’ll talk to them. If you want to go sit in the television room, I’ll have a quick meeting with those that are available. You’ll know soon.”

“Thank
you, Hector. It means a lot to me.”

“Don’t
mention it my child. You know I’m always here even when you don’t need anything.”

“I
know,” I smiled.

Leaving
the room, I walk down the hall into the television room. I couldn’t bring myself to watch anything. My stomach was in knots. These guys were being given a choice and I really didn’t know if they’d take the task considering there wasn’t really payment in it. All I could hope was that because Hector was asking that they’d do it for him.

Soon
Hector’s voice came over the intercom telling me to come back. As I made my way back to the room, my stomach was doing flips. Stopping for a second outside the door, I took a deep breath to calm myself before walking in the door. I held my head high and walked confidently into the room.

“
I have talked to my men. These are the three willing to accept other payment outside cash.”

“Okay…
What payment are you all wanting?” I asked looking at the men.

Shadow
man was one of them and the other two almost looked like twins. They had short hair, piercing brown eyes, muscular. Shadow man had blue eyes. All of them were easy on the eye but I could tell could be seriously scary if they needed to be.

“My
child?” I turned back to face Hector. “They want you in place of money.”

“As
in my body not me, correct?” I asked turning to the men.

They
all nodded their heads. Putting on my think face, I weighed the pros and cons of the whole situation. Was giving over my body to these three men, worth getting Jackson in the end? It really was a no brainer. Jackson was mine.

“Fine,”
I state.

“Child,
know that this is for the duration you need them. They can have you as they see fit.”

“I
understand.”

Shadow
man steps forward, “I’ll start by taking my payment now sweet cheeks.”

Nodding
my head, I let him lead me out of the room. He led me down the hall that leads to the bedrooms. Once inside, he immediately started taking my clothes off.

“I’ve
been wanting a piece of your ass since you mouthed off. I’m going to really enjoy this.”

“Well
what are you waiting for? You’re talking way too damn much. I sure hope you’re an action man or you’re going to need to pay me.”

He
growls and smashes his mouth down to mine as he finishes undressing himself. Then he carries me to the bed, throwing me on it. Quickly he climbs over me, biting my nipple hard causing me to cry out.

“Oh
yeah, get loud sweet cheeks. It’s about to get real good.”

Leaning
up on his knees, he slides on a condom then without any hesitation he just pushes into me. There was no build up, no getting me ready, he just pushed home. He pounded into me like there was no tomorrow. Did I feel cheap or dirty? Nope, because I was getting my Jackson in the end. His love is enough for me. Just as soon as I get this stupid bitch out of the way, he will see how much he loves me and needs me.

“Say
my name sweet cheeks,” he grunts in my ear.

“Asshat,”
I breathe.

He
bites my neck hard and I cry out. “Say my name, bitch,” he hisses.

“I
don’t know your fucking name,” I hiss back.

“Ceo,”
he moans.

I
moan his name. He pounds into me faster. His grunts get louder and out of nowhere my climax hits me and dug my nails into his ass and it sent him over the edge too. He roared as he jerked inside of me. Flopping to the side, he crawled off the bed, threw his condom away and pulled his pants on. There was a knock on the door. He walks to the door and the twins stand on the other side.

“We
want our payment now too.”

“Bring
it on because lord know asshat here didn’t do it.”

“Watch
it,” he growls, but leaves the room.

The
twins tag team me, and again, it was another pleasurable experience. Well at least it was good payment. It would have totally sucked if they sucked.

Back
out in the meeting room, I address each of the men. Together we come up with a plan. We head out to my place to get things ready to go. There was a bit of recon to do before we could achieve the goal. The night carried on with talks of what needs to be known and what will be done.

Before
I head to bed, I ask any of them if they wanted payment for the work they’ve done. Of course they all jumped on it. I sent her a text before I fell asleep surrounded by some damn sexy men.

Just
wait you stupid whore. You’ll be able to see your parents soon.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Shannon

Everything
was a whirlwind after Eli was rushed to the hospital. They kept him at the hospital for a few days before he was released. Jane was having a hard time letting him out of her sight. Jack seemed to be a bit clingy too. When Eli started to get worked up about all the attention, everyone seemed to back off a little. Not far off of course, but they weren’t hovering over his every move.  It was heart breaking. This was the same guy that joked with me about having a girlfriend and loved taking my brothers. Now I wonder if that was pushing him too much.

Jack
was happier now. Seeing Eli back to himself helped Jack get back to his normal sleep. He had held me so tight that night that I thought he’d break me in two. He still holds me tight but it wasn’t like it was that night. He’s smiling more now. We started getting the office under control and Larry has a great case built against Rachael. After contacting all the business, Jack paid a percentage of what was padded as an apology for not keeping a better company. All in all the companies were actually more interested in going after Rachael than Jackson which was really good.

The
evidence against Rachael was piling. I’m not a whiz at computers, but I’m pretty good. Jackson paid for some computer geek to come and look through the system for anything else and found a lot more than I did. Jack and I have decided that I will just stay on full time because he loves seeing me and the boys start school next year. Jackson said even if they didn’t the nurse on staff, loves the boys and agreed she’d have no problem watching them during her off times.

It
was a lot to think about and adjust to, honestly. Jackson has fully moved into my house. The boys are super excited about that. I love having him there. At first, I thought it was going to be awkward, but it wasn’t. He’s helped me with Sebastian’s night terrors so I’m not completely exhausted. Jackson hasn’t complained yet about how much time Sebastian and Atreyu can take up, but honestly, I didn’t expect him to either.

Lately,
I’ve had so much on my mind. I need to talk to Jackson about it all, but with everything with Eli I just didn’t want to take anything away from him. This stalker isn’t really laying off like I’d hope that she would. Then after the text I got almost a week ago now, I feared not only for myself but everyone else. I mean she kidnapped the boys, what’s stopping her from doing something else. It scared me because I didn’t want to be the reason that something happens to someone else. I couldn’t live with that…again.

Today
was my day to check on Eli. He said he loves it when it’s my turn to check in on him because I’m not as fussy over him. So for the first time in a week, my lunch hour was not spent having some quiet, but spectacular, office romp. It was going to be spent trying to cheer up Eli.

Knocking
on his door, I heard him yell for me to come in. Opening the door, I walked into the living room and he wasn’t there. I walked into his office he wasn’t there. To the kitchen, he wasn’t there either. I walked up the stairs to his room, knocking lightly.

“Eli?”

“Come on in Shannon. I could use your help.”

Opening
the door, I could see a suitcase on the bed. Looking around, Eli comes walking out of the closet with a handful of socks. I watch him pack his suitcase with a smirk on his face the whole time. The little shit head was going to take off. He waited for my day to do this too. Oh man I’m going to be in so much trouble.

“Eli?
Are you
trying
to get me in trouble?”

“I’m
not trying to do anything, but live what I have left. Please don’t stop me from doing this. I can’t explain it all to you right now, but I wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t important.”

Sighing,
“How long are you going to be gone?”

Smiling,
he hugs me. “I don’t know. I’ll call and check in often, but I’ve just found something that I can’t continue on without knowing. Please.”

“Okay,
but I can’t lie to Jackson.”

“You
don’t have to just tell him that I’ve found his reason. He’ll know what I mean. I think,” he winks.

“I’m
so glad to see you doing better, Eli. I…” my voice broke and I dropped down to sit on the bed.

“Hey,”
he says kneeling in front of me. “I know this is a shock to everyone, but no bigger a shock to you guys than it was for me. They practically told me, dude you’re dying, what do you want on your headstone.” He leans forward and catches my eyes. “I don’t want to be treated like I’m dying. It’ll make me regret whatever time I have left. Please don’t be like the rest of them. Let me be me. Treat me like the old Eli, please.” He pleaded softly.

“You
know they won’t do that. They’re going to worry about telling you anything that would work you up. They’ll worry about you doing too much.”

“Okay,
but I’m asking you Shannon. I’m asking you to not treat me like I’m weak or fragile.”

Smirking,
“I haven’t yet, have I?”

He
gave me a big sloppy kiss on my cheek and hugged me tightly. “Thank you!” Then he went back to his packing.

Leaving
Eli’s today seemed different. I was so glad he had a brighter outlook on his prognosis. It could really bring down the best of them. Eli was a force to be reckoned with. He was an inspiration to others around him and more importantly to me. No longer was I going to let the past bring me down. I was going to grab a hold of my present and push forward with a vengeance.

I
was practically skipping into the office. I still had about a half hour before I had to go back to work. Knocking on his office door, he called out a “Come in”. Opening the door, I see him going over a file with his brow furrowed. Quietly, I locked the door, unbuttoned my shirt and leaned on his desk.

“With
a look like that it seems you need a distraction,” I purr.

His
head snaps up, his eyes immediately falling on my cleavage. He clears his throat. “I could indeed,” he whispered huskily.

Walking
around his desk, I close up the file and set it on one of the shelves behind him before sitting down on his desk in front of him. He leans back and smirks at me. The smirk told me that I was leading the dance. I loved it when he let me have him completely. It was moments like this that I felt so powerful.

Scooting
off the desk, I kneeled between his legs. It was time to make him forget for a second. Running my hands up his legs, I lick my lips in anticipation. My hands run over his quickly hardening cock. Unzipping his pants slowly, I run my fingertips over his boxer clothed erection. He sucked in a breath as I reached inside his boxers holding him firmly in my hand. With the other, I undid his pants the rest of the way and pulled him free from the confines of his clothes. Stroking slowly, root to tip and back again, I blew gently over the head before twirling my tongue around, lapping up the little drops of pre-cum.

Blowing
softly again, “I love that this is mine to devour whenever I want, that you get this hard because of me,” I whispered.

Enclosing
my mouth around his head, I flicked my tongue over the slit and sucked gently. He moaned and shifted his hips forward. Pulling him slowly in my mouth, savoring every delicious inch, I lowered my mouth further down his shaft. As Jackson moaned, my eyes looked up just as his head dropped. Heady with power, I began to move more vigorously, suddenly craving his release more than my own. Jackson let out another deep moan and his fingers thread in my hair.

Knock!
Knock! Knock!

Jackson
tried to stop me, but I wasn’t having any of that. He groaned and caught my eyes in a darken, heavy lidded gaze. I winked at him and began to work him faster. The knock sounded again.

“Yes,”
Jackson croaked.

“You
have a call on line one, Dr. Williams,” Nancy called through the door.

Groaning,
Jackson’s breath hissed out as I pushed him further into my throat, sucking harder.  “Take a mmmessage please.”

“They
say it’s important,” Nancy calls back.

“Oh
fuck! Shit!” Jack hisses.

“I’m
sorry Sir, but if they hadn’t said it was important…”

“Oh
fuck me!” He roars.

“Sir?”
Nancy sounds confused.

“Give,
give me a second please,” he moans.

“Yes,
Sir.”

Jackson
grabs my head, holding it still and starts to thrust his hips into my mouth in a frenzy.  He pushed further and further into my throat. The loss of control made me hotter than I’ve ever been. Working my hand faster on his shaft as his thrusts picked up even faster, I could feel him thickening. Hungry for his release, I worked my hand faster and sucked harder. On a very deep growl, his hands tightened even further in my hair as he pumped into my mouth faster, cumming hard and long.

Jackson
falls back against his chair, breathing heavily. I restore his appearance, stand up and correct my shirt. Leaning down, I kiss him softly on his lips. As I was about to pull away, he grabs me around the waist and pulls me onto his lap kissing me deeply.

“You’ll
be rewarded for that when we get home and punished,” he said with an evil glint in his eyes.

“We’ll
see,” I smirked at him.

“Nancy
probably thinks I’ve lost my freaking mind.”

“And
you had,” I laughed.

Getting
off his lap, I walked out of the office and out to the reception desk. Nancy smiled up at me.

“You’re
back early.”

“Yeah,
Eli decided he didn’t need much company today,” I laughed.

“Sounded
like Dr. Williams was pretty happy you were back early,” she laughed.

Laughing,
“Yeah you could say that. Don’t tell him you know.”

“Oh
my dear, I love teasing that man so I can’t promise you anything,” she winks at me as she got up from the chair.

“Good,”
I laugh and Nancy soon joins in.

“What
are you two laughing about?” Jackson asks walking out of his office.

“Oh
nothing Sir. I need to get off… No I mean I need to beat off. Oh suck me. Never mind will you excuse me?” She says with a smirk and I double over in laughter.

“Oh,
you two are just a riot. Maybe you both are fired. How about that?”

“Oh
you can’t fire me. I know too many of your secrets,” Nancy said smirking as she patted his arm.

I
batted my eyes at him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “You won’t fire me because well, you love me,” I say sweetly.

He
growls, “That I do.” He laughs and I move back to my desk and the day continues on.

We
were finally back to operational order and things were running smoothly. It made the days so much easier and not nearly as long. Every other day we’ve gone out to see the boys at the ranch. They are having so much fun out there and learning a lot. Tobey has been helping Sebastian with his focusing by allowing him to work on the ranch alongside him. Sebastian is really responding well.

In
a week, he will be undergoing surgery to have the mass removed from this throat. Jackson has suggested that we run it through testing for cancer beforehand. The idea that it could be cancerous scares me, but more so that it hasn’t been suggested up until now to have it tested. I worried that damage could already be done. Then Jackson will tell me that nothing was happening to Sebastian because he was made to do something amazing in this world. That man was so perfect with the boys and with me, I loved him so much more every day.

“You
ready to head home, Princess?”

Looking
up, I smiled at Jackson. “Yes, in just a second.” Entering in the last payment and saving, I stood up and grabbed my purse. “Okay ready now,” I said smiling.

We
walked out to his car and drove home.  I knew I needed to tell him about Eli, but I worried he’d get angry at me for letting him go. He was suddenly super protective over all his siblings. His main focus was Eli, Mary, and Kayla. Then he’s worried about Nick. He’s real tore up about this Jennifer walking away. Jake remains in the forefront for his worry. He’s afraid that Jake’s going to end up killing himself. Honestly, I feared the same thing. I’ve asked Jack what started Jake down that path, but Jack says Jake has never said. We both worry with the added stress of Eli’s condition that it’s going to push Jake over the edge.

“Hey,”
he reaches over and takes my hand. “What’s the long face for?”

“Just
thinking, sorry.”

“Don’t
apologize,” he said as he climbed out of the car and walked around to my side.