Oh.
Surely not?
Was Alejandro her Papi?
Mind. Blown.
“Why did De Leon call you?”
“We have business dealings. That sort of thing requires some honesty when family is involved.”
Right.
“I’m not going home with you, Jared. Cat organized a lawyer for Razor. But I’ve got to see if I can get the camera footage from here so Reuben can build a timeline.”
“Reuben?” Jared asked. “Not Reuben Jones?”
“Yes, why? Do you know him?”
“I know of him. He’ll get your boyfriend out. Unfortunately, you’ll need to break things off with him. You’re coming home with me.”
“No, I’m not.”
“I’m afraid I have to insist,” Jared replied. “For your own safety.”
“She said she doesn’t want to,” Sav told him.
Jared’s guys reached for their guns. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
This was going to end really badly.
“Oh, goody, I didn’t miss the show.”
She gasped at the voice that came from behind her. Turning, her jaw dropped open.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
28
Both of Jared’s guards had their guns out and trained on the new guy, who didn’t seem to care. He strolled inside with a whistle and tapped at the glass of the fish tank.
“You’re not supposed to tap the glass,” she told him.
Sav shot her a look.
What? You weren’t.
“Who the fuck are you?” Jared snapped. “How did you get in here?”
That’s what she’d like to know.
“Oh, you aren’t?” the man asked her instead. “That’s too bad. You know, I’d quite like to get a pet but I’m never home. How often do they need to be fed?”
“Every day,” she told him. “Although you can get an automatic feeder.”
What was going on? Why was he here? This felt surreal.
As usual, he wore a cap low on his face. His beard had gotten longer since the last time she saw him.
“Perhaps I should get a human instead.”
Get a human? What the hell?
“Reynard? What are you doing here?” she asked.
He rocked back on his heels. “Oh, I’m here to talk to your cousin.”
“I don’t know you. Definitely don’t want to talk to you. Oh, and you’re not leaving here alive,” Jared snarled. “How did you get in here? You need mine or Tabby’s fingerprint to get through the system. You broke into the wrong house.”
“It’s amazing what you can get off a metal surface.”
What did that mean? Oh, wait.
“Off the water bottle you handed me? You took my fingerprint and somehow used it to get through my security?”
“You’re clever,” Reynard told her with a wink. “I see why Razor likes you.”
“You know Razor?”
“Hm.”
What kind of answer was that?.
“You’ve been following me? That’s why I often saw you out jogging?”
“You were the weak link, you see. I was going to use you to get to your cousin.”
“Get to me?” Jared asked.
“You have something I want,” Reynard said. “I have something you want.”
“You don’t have anything I want.”
Reynard turned back to her. “I was going to take you as leverage. But then you got interesting.”
“Interesting?”
“Not every person I know would run off to help someone in trouble. And then that person turns out to be Cat De Leon. That was very interesting.”
“How did you know who she was?” Cat had been careful to keep her face hidden.
“Oh, I had a chat with her kidnappers.”
A chat? Did he mean he forced the information from him? Had he been the one to kill them?
Reynard looked over at her cousin and his guards. “Boys, you’re not going to shoot me so put the guns away.”
“Why shouldn’t they shoot you?” Jared snapped while she stared at Reynard in shock.
“Because like I said, I have something you want. Or someone.”
“There’s no one I care about you could have.”
“No? Not a certain blonde bombshell?”
Jared stiffened.
Who was Reynard talking about?
“Where is she? What have you done with her?” Jared stormed towards Reynard, who didn’t look worried.
Was he insane?
Seemed that way.
Sav stood half in front of her and she peered around him, not wanting to take her gaze off either man.
“Oh, she’s safe. For now. But if you’d like to know where she is, there’s something you have to do for me.”
Jared clenched and unclenched his hands.
“And before you think to kill me, I should warn you that would be a bad idea. For her.”
Her mind spun.
Reynard had been going to use her as a pawn in a game that she didn’t understand. But then she’d become interesting to him because she’d helped Cat escape from Bert. Who was now dead. Killed by Reynard. Who’d lifted her fingerprint from a metal bottle.
“Why did you keep following me?” she asked in a strangled voice. “After I helped Cat, I mean.”
“Ah, that was for a different reason. I had to make sure that your cousin hadn’t sent you to spy on Razor.”
Her mouth opened and shut.
“Why would I care about that old biker and his garage?” Jared asked.
“Hey!” she protested. “That old biker is the man I love. Be nice.”
Reynard grinned. “Yeah, be nice. Anyway, this is how it’s going to go, Bartolli. You’re going to get me an invitation to the auction run by the Russian. And I’m going to look after your blonde friend until after I’ve been to the auction. Then I’ll send her home to you.” Reynard pulled a phone from his pocket and handed it to Jared. “Don’t lose this. It’s how I’ll get hold of you.”
With that, he turned and wandered out.
“Bill, follow him. Grab him,” Jared commanded. “Don’t kill him, though. I need him alive.”
Bill raced out. But she had a feeling the bodyguard wouldn’t find him. There was something about Reynard that told her he wasn’t as casual as he pretended to be.
“Who the fuck was that guy?” Jared snarled. “How do you know him?”
“I don’t know him. I just saw him jogging a few times. He stopped once when I wasn’t feeling well and tried to give me some water. He told me his name is Reynard.”
There was the noise of someone climbing the stairs. It sounded like two sets. Satisfaction filled Jared’s face, until the door opened and Reuben walked in.
But it was the man behind him that filled her vision. He looked exhausted. Grouchy. But he was here.
“Razor!” She raced towards him, throwing herself into his arms.
He caught her, holding her tight.
“I was so worried. I thought I wasn’t going to see you again. I’m so happy you’re here. Don’t ever leave me.” She sobbed as she spoke. She had no idea if he could understand a word she said.
But it didn’t matter. He was here. He wasn’t going anywhere.
Razor lifted her up and she wrapped herself around him. She wasn’t ever letting him go. Wherever he went, so did she.
“Does someone want to explain what the fuck is going on here?” Razor demanded.
* * *
Razor glared at the men in his girl’s apartment.
What the fuck?
Had Reuben known that Tabby’s cousin would be here? Razor wasn’t sure how Reuben came to be his lawyer. He guessed Reyes had hired him. Reuben hadn’t told him anything except that they should go talk to Tabby.
Which was fine with him.
But now he had her and she was fine, someone was going to answer his questions.
Like what the fuck her cousin was doing
here.
“Someone talk. Now. And why does that fucker have a gun out in front of my girl?” He glared at the goon he guessed belonged to Jared.
Razor remembered Jared from the night he and Reyes had dropped Luther and Tabby off to him. He didn’t like the fucker then, and he fucking hated him now.
“You’re Jared Bartolli,” Reuben said.
“Yes,” Jared said. “Reuben Jones?”
“Yep. What are you doing here?” Reuben asked.
“How did the two of you get up here?” Jared demanded.
Yeah, he definitely hated the fucker. Couldn’t he just answer some damn questions without asking questions of his own?
“Some guy was coming out and we grabbed the door as he walked past,” Reuben told him.
“Did he have a ball cap on?” Jared asked urgently.
“No,” Razor replied. “He looked like a goon-for-hire.”
Jared scowled at him. Razor just glared back.
“What’s going on?” Razor snapped. “Sav?”
“What’s going on is that my cousin is coming home with me. You don’t need any of this stuff, Tabby. I’ll buy you new stuff. Let’s go.”
“Like fuck she is,” Razor roared. “She’s going nowhere with you.”
Suddenly, Jared’s guard turned his gun on him. Only, Tabby was directly in the line of fire.
“Put your fucking gun down,” Razor yelled, seeing red. Fucker was dead. So dead.
Jared turned to his goon with a frown. “What the fuck are you doing? Put your gun down!”
“I could take him out.”
“Well, you’re not going to risk hitting my fucking cousin. Put it down, now!” Jared demanded.
The man lowered his gun and Razor’s heart rate started to slow. He still wanted to murder the bastard, though. How dare he have a gun aimed at his girl?
He needed to get her out of here.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs and he turned.
“Baby girl, get behind me.” He managed to get her down, pushing her gently behind him so her back was to the wall and he was in front of her. Protecting her.
The same guy that had let them in downstairs came into the room. He was panting, sweating.
“Well?” Jared demanded.
“He disappeared, boss. I don’t know where he went.”
“Mother-fucking bastard.”
Who disappeared? He looked to Sav who just shook his head. Right, he’d get the full story later.
Jared turned his gaze to Razor. His eyes narrowed as Tabby peeked around him. “Get out of the way. She’s coming home with me. It’s not safe for her here.”
“She won’t be staying here,” Razor countered. “She’s moving in with me.”
“With you? And how will you keep her safe? You can’t even keep yourself out of jail.”
“Actually, all charges have been dropped,” his lawyer said, flicking some imaginary lint from his sleeve. “They were completely bogus, which helped. Perpetuated by a disgruntled ex-employee and a corrupt detective.”
“What?” Sav asked. “Completely dropped?”
“Neighbors had cameras,” Razor told him. “Because of all the graffiti recently.”
“And on the video feed, you could clearly see who lit the fire. A Thomas Mancetti,” Reuben added.
Tabby moved up beside him. “Tommy?”
Razor kept an eye on Jared and his guys. Tabby leaned into him as though she was too exhausted to stand on her own. He put his arm around her.
“Yep, not only did he light the fire, but he was also Detective Andrews’ key witness,” Reuben informed her.
“It was a weak case that never should have gone that far. That detective obviously thought you couldn’t or wouldn’t fight back. Don’t worry, I’ll see he pays for that.” Reuben smiled. “Starting with taking his badge. That’s already in the works.”
“You’re scary,” Tabby breathed out.
Reuben nodded his head at her. Then turned to Razor. “You’re just lucky that your girlfriend has friends in high places.”
“What do you mean?” Razor asked. “I thought Reyes hired you.”
“I don’t know a Reyes. I was hired by your girl’s friend, Cat.”
“Cat?” Razor asked her.
“I’ll tell you later,” she whispered. “But Cat has connections.”
“Now that my job is done, I’m going to leave. Unless you need me here.” Reuben looked to Bartolli. “I’m certain that De Leon won’t want Tabitha upset. And it sounds like leaving with you would greatly upset her.”
Had the lawyer just threatened Jared? And with De Leon? The only De Leon he knew of was Alejandro De Leon. But that couldn’t be right. Could it?
But Jared gave a stiff nod.
“Good. Now that’s settled, I’ll be leaving.”
“Thank you,” Tabby said. “Really.”
“This was actually fun. While I’m in Montana and have a private jet at my disposal, I think I’m going to go visit my sister and her men.” He whistled as he left.
* * *
Her men?
Tabby shook that off. Not important. She turned to Jared, who appeared about ready to blow. She took in a deep breath, then tried to step away from Razor, thinking that might help her cousin feel better.
But Razor held her tighter, shaking his head when she glanced up at him.
“No.”
“But—”
“No.”
“I wasn’t going to—”
“No.”
“Stop telling my cousin what to do,” Jared ordered. “You have no right to control her.”
She huffed out a breath. What right did Jared have to say that?
“He’s not trying to control me,” she told him. “He’s keeping me safe. Who was that blonde that Reynard was talking about?”
Jared’s face closed down. “No one.”
Uh-huh.
“Reynard?” Razor asked.
“Explain later,” Sav told him.
Razor didn’t look happy, but he nodded.
“Right. You have your secrets, and you have a lot going on. I have my life. And my life is with Razor. Not you,” she gentled her voice for that last bit. “I love you, Jared. I always will. You’ve always been like a big brother to me. But I can’t live with you forever. And I can’t do what you want this time. I want to be with Razor.”
Jared just stared at her for a long moment and she thought she hadn’t gotten through. Then he suddenly nodded. “Fine.”
“Fine?” she repeated, shocked.
“You can go with him—”
Razor let out a scoffing noise and she squeezed him, asking him silently to be quiet.
“But he needs to guarantee your safety.”
“He can’t guarantee that,” Tabby protested.
“Done,” Razor said.
“And I want a promise that you’ll come to me if she ever needs protection or is in danger,” Jared added.
Her mouth dropped open. What the hell? Were they just going to leave her out of these crazy negotiations?”
“All right,” Razor said. “But you won’t interfere in our lives. No watching us. No cameras. I don’t want her involved with your shit.”
“Fair enough,” Jared said stiffly. “I still want her to check in regularly. She hasn’t been doing such a good job of that lately.” He shot her a look, but she couldn’t deny it.
“Fine,” Razor agreed.
“Hey!” she protested. “I’m right here. Is anyone going to ask what I want?”
“Do you object to any of that?” Razor asked.
“Well, no, but I’d still like to be asked.”
Jared smiled suddenly. “She’s going to be a handful.”
“Fine with me. I like her the way she is.”
Tabby huffed out an irritated breath. But both men ignored her.
“Now that you’re going to be family. We need to talk about how you’re going to support my cousin.”
“Family
?” Razor asked.
“You are going to marry my cousin.” There was no question in Jared’s voice. Just a firm demand.
She opened her mouth to tell Jared he’d gone too far.
“I am,” Razor agreed, shocking her. “But not because that’s what you want.”
Jared smirked. “As long as you’re marrying her. But how are you going to support her?”
“I can support myself,” she muttered, knowing she was losing the battle for control of this conversation.
“What are you going to do now that your business has been destroyed?” Jared asked.
Poor Razor. That business was his life.
“I have insurance.”
“That won’t be quick enough. You need an investor with plenty of cash flow.”
“I’m not taking your money,” Razor told him.
“It could be a good business relationship.”
“No.”
Jared huffed out a breath. “Fine, I guess I could release Tabby’s trust fund.”
“That would be good,” she started to say, “wait, what trust fund? I don’t have a trust fund.”
“You do. The old man kept it from you.”
“What? How did I not know? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You were hell-bent on leaving the safety of my protection and I didn’t want you to go.”
“You gave me a credit card, Jared,” she said dryly. “With no limit.”
“Well, I didn’t want you to do without.”
She shook her head. “That makes no sense.”
Jared growled. “Fine. I don’t know if there was a trust fund or not. But if there was, the old man would have taken it, right?”
“Yes. But you don’t know if there was or how much it was. You’re not going to just give me money.”
Jared growled. “So stubborn.”
“It seems to run in the family.” She smiled sweetly at him.
“Fine. No money. But you better sort out a way of taking care of her, Samuels. My cousin will not be supporting you. And I will not have her living in poverty.”
“Jesus, she won’t live in poverty, I have money,” Razor spluttered.
Jared just eyed him skeptically. Then he started to move towards the door. Bentley, one of his guards, moved ahead of him. Razor drew her behind him before slamming out his arm to stop the guard.
“One thing.”
Fierce Daddy Page 32
