The Deadly Series Boxed Set

by Jaycee Clark

  “I cannot believe this. Why didn’t you wake me up before now? I’m new for God’s sake. I can’t just miss work because I’d rather lie in bed with you all morning. I already take Friday afternoons off for Ryan’s doctor appointments. I’ll be lucky if I don’t get fired. After the Gibbons fiasco, I’ve been assigned the most boring mundane cases, which is all fine and well.” Taylor turned the water on in the shower, hoping it heated fast. After nine. Jenkins was going to kill her. While the water ran, Taylor went back to the bedroom intent on calling her boss because she was running late—as if the woman wouldn’t have figured it out by now.

  Gavin was leaning against the headboard, his arms stacked behind his head and that crooked grin on his face. She’d love to kiss his grin if she had time, which she did not. His eyes narrowed a bit. “You are so sexy when you hurry around the room naked.”

  “Where is my phone?” He thought she was sexy.

  With a smirk, he leaned over and handed the phone out to her. She snatched it away and scrolled down to her work contacts.

  Having accomplished that, she hurried through her shower. What was she thinking? Her wet, uncooperative hair struggled against the braid she forced it into. She wondered how to get Ryan back to Ms. Johnson’s before work while she went to get clothes, which was halfway across town and in the opposite direction of her office.

  She stalked into the kitchen, dressed in a robe, hoping for coffee. Gavin, dressed in a pair of black pajama bottoms, sat at the table with two cups.

  “That was quick.” He held one of the cups out to her.

  “I have a problem.”

  One black brow quirked. “And that would be?”

  “Can you watch Ryan for me until I get off work?” If he couldn’t she would figure something else . . . Damn, the coffee was hotter than hell. Taylor took a deep breath and set the scalding brew on the table, pushing her burnt tongue against her teeth. “I should have thought of all this last night. I hadn’t planned on staying and . . .”

  Gavin’s look made her stop. It was expectant, but daring at the same time, and she didn’t understand it.

  Seconds stretched while they stared at each other. Finally, he cleared his throat and looked away. “I would love to watch him, if you don’t think he’ll have a problem with it.” His blue eyes locked back to hers. “I called downstairs for some clothes for you. It’s nothing fancy, some flats, and a suit from one of the shops.”

  He wasn’t getting her clothes.

  His hand shot up. “I don’t want to hear it. So stuff it, Taylor.”

  This time he stood up and walked to her.

  “You cannot buy me clothes. I know I didn’t order that alarm system at the house and I want to know how much it cost.”

  His arm settled on her hip before his hand cupped her chin. “Yes, I can, and I am not going to tell you. They are gifts, take them and don’t insult me.”

  The man was an idiot.

  “You can’t just buy me things.”

  Oh, she hated that supercilious brow of his. “Why?”

  Taylor scrambled her brains. She really didn’t have time for this. “Because, I can buy my own clothes and security systems.”

  His gaze ran over her face and settled on her lips. “So, I can buy you anything other than clothing or security systems?”

  “Yes. No.” The man drove her nuts. “You don’t need to buy me anything.”

  His chuckle rumbled between them. “You’re right, gorgeous, I don’t. But need and want are two very different things.”

  His voice could coax a moth to the flame.

  “Arrrgggg.”

  “I know I render you speechless. It is a charm I have.”

  “More like a curse.”

  The hand on her hip gently squeezed, and Taylor couldn’t help but turn her cheek and place a kiss in his palm.

  A knock at the door had them pulling apart.

  Gavin opened it to reveal a uniformed woman carrying a dress bag with a copper-colored pantsuit that looked soft and probably expensive. A sack tucked under her arm must hold the flats.

  Gavin thanked the staff member and shut the door. Then he turned and held out his gifts.

  “Go put these on. I don’t want you to get in trouble with your boss. What time do you have to be there?”

  Taylor just looked at him. Why was he doing this? She was out of her element here. She wasn’t used to gifts just because. True, both times they were things she needed, but Gavin just got them, without her even mentioning anything. He just knew.

  Walking to him, she took the clothing. “I don’t understand all this, but thank you.”

  He leaned over and kissed her, tasting of coffee. “You are welcome, now hurry.”

  When she turned around he slapped her bottom.

  Taylor glared at the smiling man.

  On a sigh, she quickly shucked the robe, tossing it to the bed. In the sack was a camisole and panties. Taylor fingered the bronze material. The flats were Italian woven leather, soft as butter. Shaking her head, she quickly dressed. The suit was exquisite. There were no real lines, everything just fell.

  She couldn’t believe she was wearing it to work. It probably cost more than she cared to think about. Even with her generous settlement she’d gotten out of the marriage and her inheritance, she still worried about money and never spent it just because she could. No, all and any extra earnings went to a college fund for Ryan and another trust fund for him.

  They lived extremely comfortably and she wanted to make certain they stayed that way. Which was why she never bought anything like this. The material felt like her vintage dresses, so soft as to almost not be there.

  She was so busy looking at herself in the mirror she didn’t see Gavin until he slipped his arms around her middle from behind.

  “You look lovely.”

  She looked into his eyes in the mirror. “Gavin, I can’t accept these things.”

  His sigh blew forgotten strands against her cheek. “You plan to go to work naked?”

  The man could always make her laugh. “No.”

  “Then?”

  Taylor knew she’d lost this argument. Turning the topic she asked, “Where will you and Ryan be?”

  He shrugged. “I have no idea. Why don’t I call you and let you know all the details when he gets back. When will you get off work?”

  “Well, that depends on what happens. Hopefully, five, but I’ll need to make up for the two hours I missed today, so it will probably be after six. Is that okay?”

  He turned her around and kissed her like she’d wanted him to all morning.

  “Fine,” he said, pulling back. “Now, get to work before you get fired and find a way to blame it on me.”

  “I wouldn’t do that,” she told him, picking her evening bag up off the counter. “Oh, my dress.”

  His hands waved her on. “Go, don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it all.”

  For just a moment she hesitated. The clock read fifteen until ten. Time to go. She leaned on her tiptoes and gave him a quick peck. “Okay, thanks. I’ll see you both tonight.”

  The door shut quietly behind her and she stood in the hallway wishing she knew which suite Ryan was in so that she could tell him bye. But she had no clue and no time. She tried not to worry about that as she made her way down to the elevator.

  As the doors slid home, she realized how nice that had been. How normal, as though it were an everyday occurrence for her to kiss the man bye as she went to work knowing he was watching her son.

  Taylor sighed. She was moving way too fast. Way too fast. This road could lead nowhere with a man like Gavin. Could it?

  • • •

  Gavin walked back to the bedroom whistling. He thought about his afternoon appointments, the last of which was at three. If Bray and the kids were going to be later than lunch, he’d just have to let them know that Ryan needed to stay the afternoon with them, or his parents. He’d work something out. He hadn’t been sure what, but he hadn�
��t wanted Taylor to worry about it all this morning. So, Ryan could spend the morning with Bray and maybe lunch with him, then with his parents or whoever was keeping Tori this afternoon while he saw patients and made any rounds he needed to. He’d be done by four. Then he and Ryan could do whatever until Taylor got there.

  A chuckle danced in the quiet air. Taylor was something he needed in the mornings. He hadn’t forgotten any of his thoughts on their relationship from the night before.

  Walking into the bathroom, he turned on the water in the shower.

  Taylor flustered was a sight to behold. She was always so calm, so gentle, that when she was anything but, it was surprising to say the least. Her cheeks would flush and that slight frown would pull between her brows. Not to mention it threw her off and let him get his way.

  This was something to remember. Maybe she wasn’t as against a relationship with him as he thought. No, that wasn’t it. Not a relationship with him, a commitment. That’s what he wanted.

  Commitment. Gavin swiped the water off his face while the hot spray hit his body. Commitment?

  Well, if she was his that only stood to reason. Didn’t it?

  The ringing phone had him turning the water off, grabbing a towel and hurrying to grab it.

  “Yeah?” he asked, knotting the towel at his waist.

  “Good morning, darling.”

  Gavin smiled. “Morning, Mom.”

  “Have you and Taylor eaten breakfast yet?”

  Gavin licked the side of his mouth and rubbed his forehead. Subtle, very subtle. Clearing his throat, he said, “No, Mom, I haven’t. Taylor had to go to work.” And she hadn’t eaten breakfast either. He’d make certain she ate dinner.

  “How was she this morning? Ryan was chattering away about another reel he wants to learn and Tori has decided she too wants to learn the violin.”

  Gavin knew his mother didn’t really care about the latter part of her dissertation, it was the beginning question that held all the information. “She was fine. In a hurry because she was running late.”

  “Hmmm . . . I’m sure she was.”

  Before he could think of a reply to that, she continued, “Well, get on over here and have brunch with us. Aiden and Jess are here with the twins, as is Quinlan. Brayden and Christian and the kids already left for some musical performance at the Smithsonian.”

  So that was where they had gone.

  Sighing, he agreed. “Fine, I’ll be there as soon as I get dressed.”

  His mother’s light laughter echoed in his ear before she hung up the phone.

  • • •

  “Kaitie lass, what are you smiling at?” Jock knew that look.

  “What exactly was the wager again, dear?” Without a care, she picked up a strawberry and popped it into her mouth. A mouth he’d just kissed the entire night before and one that could still work magic on him.

  “You know as well as I do.”

  “What wager?” asked his sons.

  He waved them off. “Nothing.” He wasn’t about to tell them that his wife, their mother, and he, their father, had a bet on one of their offspring. Jock had made the comment Taylor and Gavin would both be coming to brunch from the same suite. Kaitlyn had said it wouldn’t happen.

  “Both of them, wasn’t it?”

  Jock didn’t say anything.

  Her one dimpled smile still made his lips twitch, his stomach tighten. One brow rose above her clear green eyes. “Well, dear. You owe me an entire week of gardening.”

  Hell.

  “I was thinking of planting lots of petunias and several other things. We also need to take out the Oleander bushes. Ryan told me they’re poisonous, and he’s right.”

  He’d just planted the damn things for her not two weeks ago.

  “In fact,” she said, waving her fork at him, “I think we need to go by that large nursery on the way home and pick everything out. Don’t you agree?”

  He hated her damn flowers, well, planting them anyway. And she knew it. The woman kept telling him it did him good, kept his blood pressure down or some such. The kids were looking from him to their mother to each other. Jock felt no compulsion to explain their conversation or their wager.

  Narrowing his gaze on her he nodded, but couldn’t help adding, “My turn will come.”

  The twinkle in her green eyes made him wonder if she didn’t want him to win. Would he ever figure her out?

  If his son wasn’t coming with Taylor then where the hell was the girl? Surely he hadn’t been that off? If he had his guess he knew they’d spent the night together, so why in the hell had he lost the wager?

  Picking up a cube of cheese he looked again at his wife, who was talking to Aiden and caught the laughter dancing just beneath the surface.

  One day, one day before he died, he would understand her.

  Chapter 13

  Taylor finished filing the last report and looked at the legal papers sitting beside the phone. She’d just received them today, thanks to a perky clerk. Anger boiled in her. The ass.

  Her phone rang and she picked it up without looking at the caller ID.

  “Taylor Reese.”

  “Oh, good, I caught you.”

  Taylor closed her eyes and leaned back. Think of the devil and he’s likely to call. Just what she needed. “Charles. What do you want?”

  “Did you get the papers?”

  “Papers? I assume you mean the legal notice that you are no longer responsible for child support, having terminated your rights as Ryan’s father?” Amazingly she kept her voice even and calm, as though discussing the weather.

  He sighed. She could picture him, blond hair perfectly groomed, his suit pressed with no creases—lest it mar his gym-toned five-foot-ten-inch frame—sitting behind his dark wood desk, with his elbows on the blotter.

  “Taylor, don’t do this. It’s not like you’re not successful enough to not to have a job.” Backhanded compliments weren’t anything new in dealing with Charles.

  Taylor picked up a pen and tapped it.

  “Fine. I got the papers. Why the phone call?”

  “To explain.”

  He meant lecture.

  “I should probably tell you this in person, and Rhonda agrees, but this wasn’t a good time for me to travel and I knew you should know.”

  Something swirled in the pit of her stomach, tightening her already tense muscles.

  “I don’t think there is anything about the two of you that could possibly concern me.” She tapped the pen harder.

  “Your manners were always so gentle.”

  “And making you proud was always at the top of my list, dear.” She smiled the last at him in a smirk. Looking at her watch, she told him, “I’ve got to get out of here. I have friends dropping by the house soon before we go out to eat, and I don’t want them waiting at my house. Plus Ryan frets when I’m late.”

  Her gaze landed on the damn papers sitting beside her framed picture of a smiling Ryan and she wondered how this would effect Ryan emotionally. He’d lived his whole life with people not caring or giving a damn. In the last few weeks, her son had blossomed and had become more outgoing with the exception of the break-in. She knew Gavin helped with that, and didn’t want to see regression for any reason, especially not because of Charles.

  “Yes, Ryan, how is he?” His voice held only polite interest.

  Taylor ignored the question. “Charles, time is running short, so if you just called to make certain your papers arrived, they did.”

  “You were always different when irritated.” She could all but see his hazel eyes narrow on that one. “But that’s neither here nor there. I called to tell you that Rhonda is pregnant.”

  The words fell heavily between them. Thank God she was sitting down. If she hadn’t been, she would have made a fool of herself. Was he joking? No, the serious tone was one she knew all too well, and Charles never joked.

  Several moments passed, the only sound the cars on the street and the tick of the clock. Taylor b
rushed a strand of hair away from her face. She stopped tapping the pen. “How far along is she?”

  “Almost four months.”

  The math was quick. Four months went back to March. Their divorce had been final at the end of February, and a week later, the first part of March, he’d flown to Mexico and married Rhonda.

  “Perfect timing, huh?” Taylor pinched the bridge of her nose. Anger rose up in her, at him for not caring to wait until the damn ink was dry, at herself for caring at all, at Fate for what she couldn’t do.

  All the nights she cried herself to sleep, the depression at not being able to have children, the need and urge to bear a child so strong it felt like it was clawing from her insides, all that reared its head again to sink its talons deep within her heart.

  “I guess she could give you what I couldn’t?” Why the hell had she said that?

  A breath huffed through the line. Clearing his throat, he said, “I have something to tell you and I’d appreciate it if you listened to me, let me finish before you say anything.”

  There was more? What? Twins?

  Taking a deep breath, she leaned up on her desk, cradling the phone between her jaw and shoulder. Why did she feel defeated? Like crying? It was stupid, she had Ryan, but the old wound opened, bleeding within her for what she hadn’t been able to do. “What?”

  “I did something when I was younger, a dumb foolish thing because I thought at twenty-one I knew it all.” He paused. “I had a vasectomy.”

  It took several moments for his words to sink in, for their meaning to come clear.

  “Excuse me?” She had not heard him right.

  “Rhonda wanted to tell you all along, but I told her you wouldn’t understand, but now I am telling you so that maybe you’ll comprehend why I terminated my parental rights to Ryan.”

  The insult wasn’t lost on her, but she kept her mouth shut momentarily, wanting to know what other bombshells he was about to drop.

  “I was a child reared in foster and state homes. No family, no anything. I came from nothing. I decided I didn’t want children, didn’t want to pass that on to them, whatever had made the people who created me to not care enough, to just leave and never look back. I didn’t want to pass that on.” His words were some she’d never expected to hear from him, the pain of a little lost boy. Well rehearsed in any case. “So, I had a vasectomy. I didn’t want kids. Then I was worried about my career and never thought of it. Till you.”