Burning For Claire (The O'Connell Family Book 2)

by Steele, C. M.

  “Yes, we do,” Travis answered calmly but without backing down.

  Oh Lord. It wasn’t looking like it would be easy to get them to accept him. I was hoping they didn’t try to kill each other.

  “Baby, you go with your mother, while I have a talk with your dad. Once I’m done, I’ll come say goodbye before I go.”

  “You’re going to leave me?” I said in upset. I didn’t want him to leave me. I wasn’t ready for him to go. I felt like I needed him to keep me safe. I wanted him to hold me, and I didn’t want to sleep without him. My need for him had me confused. Was it because he saved me or was it because I wanted him before all this happened? Well, only time would tell.

  “I’ve got to get a start on this case, Claire,” he said as he slipped his arm around my waist, pulling me to him. “I’m going to miss you, though.” His mouth came down on mine in soft, quick kiss. “Now, go be a good girl and calm your mama’s nerves while I go aggravate your father’s,” he said with a laugh and a pat on my ass.

  “Now, come on O’Connell. I believe you wanted a word with me,” I said as I marched toward his house like I owned it.

  Chapter 8—Travis

  The moment we got into his study, he started his shit with me. “You’re going to stop seeing my daughter.” He stood tall, and gave me a menacing look, but I wouldn’t be deterred.

  I made my mind up about her this morning. I didn’t change my mind easily. He should know I was stubborn as hell. “No. I am not.”

  He rubbed his brow before looking up at me and almost pleading, said, “Look, this is between us. She doesn’t have to be involved.”

  “She’s involved as it gets, but this has nothing to do with the past. Seven years ago, I was an overzealous rookie at twenty-two, who latched onto your brother’s tail and mistakenly threw you and your son into the mix, but it’s in the past.”

  “So you’re not upset about me having you suspended, or is this about Rick and Samantha?” He thought he was on something, but he was way off as he tried to get in my face. “Were you interested in her and Rick got in your way? Now you’ve set your sights on Claire for revenge,” he hissed.

  “Listen, O’Connell, I’m trying to keep my promise to Claire and not fight with you over her, but you’re making it hard not to jump down your throat. I don’t want Sam, and I never have. Rick is an honest man, so I don’t have a problem with them. As for revenge, I got over you screwing me, six years and ten months ago. I’ve got no problem with your family, except that your brother is a criminal, no matter what he claims now.”

  Feeling like he was losing ground, he asked, “What were you doing at Claire’s apartment?”

  “That is a really stupid question to ask. Normally, what is a man doing at a woman’s place at three in the morning?” I said to piss him off, but I wasn’t done yet. I backed up and took a seat on his sofa in the office, crossed my legs then continued, “Claire’s right about one thing. What’s going on between her and me is none of your business. She’s a grown woman.”

  “If you do anything to hurt my daughter, my brother won’t be the only one in the family that’s a killer.” I was frustrating him, but I knew his threat was serious.

  “It’s not me you have to worry about hurting her. If I wanted to do that I would have walked away the moment we got out of the building.”

  “So tell me what the hell happened tonight,” he commanded as he took his desk chair and pulled it close to me, sitting authoritatively. As much as he didn’t like me, he knew I had the answers he needed.

  “Yesterday, Claire had a rough one. She had to work extra hard because her employees decided to play hooky.”

  He interrupted and shook his head. “Those lazy bitches. I told her to fire them.”

  I nodded my head in agreement and continued, “So when it was time for our date, she was too busy and too tired to go out. We ordered in, and I tried to help her with her work. That’s the start of when things got worse. It seems someone’s been stealing from her. I told her I would have someone look into it today.”

  “Someone’s stealing from her? Do you think they know she found out about it and wanted to get rid of her?”

  “I don’t think so. We’d just found out about the theft right before we went to bed. I was going to leave, but she asked me to stay.”

  I could see that he was ready to pound my head in, when he said, “So you took advantage of my daughter’s vulnerability?”

  “No, I didn’t. I didn’t sleep with her like you think. I just held her like she asked with almost all my clothes on. I’m serious about her and that’s not the way to start off our relationship.” I looked at him in a challenge, daring him to doubt me, but he didn’t.

  “At three, I woke up to the sound of glass shattering. I jumped up and looked out the window. There was a car fleeing. I didn’t get a great look at it since it was dark and almost out of sight, but it was a black sedan. I hurried to get her out of the apartment. Someone called the fire department or the smoke alarms triggered the alert, so when we got down the stairs they were already pulling up.”

  He stood, paced and then reluctantly said, “Despite my feelings about your relationship with my daughter, I’m glad you were there to save her tonight. She’s a heavy sleeper, and by the time she would’ve realized there was a fire, it would’ve been too late.”

  “I know. It took me a lot to wake her up. I’m grateful I didn’t leave either. If she hadn’t asked, I would have left.” I felt the reality of our choices that night. Fate stepped in and lent a hand.

  “So what are you going to do about this? You’re a cop.”

  “Actually, I’m a Federal Agent and currently undercover. Samantha is under my protection, so I’m going to need you and your wife to call me either Williams or Brady.”

  “Rick mentioned it to me. I get that. I just wanted to make sure Claire was your priority, not a replacement.”

  “She is my priority, but I’m going to have some friends of mine look into this until I can have my cover revealed.”

  “Okay, but something needs to happen. I’m not letting her leave here until I know she’s safe.”

  “That’s good because I wanted her protected when I’m not able to be around. I have to head back to my place to shower and change. Then I’ve got to see what they’ve learned about the fire. By the way, I’ll be staying on your property, even if it’s in my dirty pickup truck. I’m not letting her out of my sight if I can help it.”

  “Williams, you can stay in a guest bedroom if you’d like. Anyone protecting my baby and my son’s future wife, is welcomed to stay here.”

  “Thanks,” I responded gratefully. I wanted to be as close to her as possible.

  “Do you have any idea who is robbing her? I have a feeling it’s the same people who torched the salon,” Richard suggested.

  “I do too. I think it’s her employees.”

  “You can’t think Tad’s involved in this? They’ve been friends forever,” he said in dismay.

  “No, I don’t think so, but I’m not putting it past any of them. Claire says he can’t handle the books, so for him to be involved it’s highly unlikely.”

  “Yes, besides the fact that he doesn’t like women, the boy’s also got something else wrong with him; his dyslexia is terrible. Plus, he’s too damn excitable.”

  “You got a problem with him being queer?” I asked. Most people were for homosexuals these days, but as long as I wasn’t being hit on I really didn’t give a shit who did who. I liked women. Well, now I only wanted Claire. As far as I was concerned, gay men meant less competition for me. Now lesbians I’d have a problem with, especially if they tried to steal my Claire from me.

  “Not really. I’m a man who’s been interested in nothing but women. To me it’s off. I don’t care if he’s that way, but it doesn’t mean I get it,” he responded honestly.

  “Me too, plus the boy is too damn flirty. If it wasn’t unmanly, I’d been claiming sexual harassment on his ass. He’s
worse than a dirty old man with a pretty young girl.”

  He chuckled and added, “Well, hopefully he doesn’t get his ass kicked for hitting on the wrong man.”

  “Yeah, I have a feeling Claire would see red and go out for blood if he was beaten up for questioning a man’s sexuality.”

  “She thinks of him as her little brother, even though he’s about three years older,” Richard added.

  “Gotta love her,” I said with a smile.

  “Do you?” her father inquired.

  I wanted him on my side so honesty was going to have to happen. “Yes. I do.”

  “How long has this been going on between you two?”

  “We met the same day as Rick and Sam. I was picking Sam up when I saw your daughter.”

  “You’ve been dating since then?” He didn’t like that it had been kept from him. It was only four days now. It wasn’t that long ago, but I guessed I wasn’t his favorite person.

  I corrected, “No, actually since yesterday.”

  “So you’re not as nutty as my son,” he mocked.

  “I’m not saying I didn’t want to talk to her sooner, but I wanted to be sure. I don’t want to be associated with a family that has criminals in it.”

  “So, my brother is the reason you stayed away or was it because you still doubted us?”

  “Really neither is true. I just needed to make sure what I wanted from her.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Everything,” I declared.

  “Good answer. How about we go join the ladies?”

  “Sounds good.”

  We stood up and shook hands. I knew that there was still some tension and suspicion in his mind, but only time would ease his feelings for me.

  Just as we were going to walk out, Mrs. O’Connell came rushing through the door, in a fit.

  “What are you going to do about this?” she shouted at me before turning to her husband. “Did he tell you someone is out to get our baby?”

  Mama bears are no joke. Before either of us could respond, she continued in a huff, “So, what are you going to do?”

  “Mrs. O’Connell, I was about to leave and work on the matter.” I turned to my girl and with a shake of my head, I said, “Damn. Now I know where you get it from.”

  “Can we go talk somewhere in private?” she asked.

  “Sure.” She grabbed my hand and nearly dragged me from the room.

  We stopped in the garden where before I knew it, she was pulling my head down for a kiss. I took it from there. I lifted her up into my arms and wrapped her legs around my waist. I knew there were cameras back here, and I’m pretty sure she did too, but I didn’t care. I wanted her father to know that it wasn’t just a one sided thing; she wanted me too.

  “Babe, we need to stop before I strip you right here,” I groaned as I pushed away and set her down.

  “So I guess we should talk then?” she said begrudgingly.

  “Yes, I think that would be best…I’ve really got to go.” She took my pause the wrong way.

  She looked at me with complete concern on her pretty face before she asked, “What is it? Are you done with me?”

  “Done with you?” Did she think I was trying to cut ties?

  “Yeah. You know…did my dad get you to walk away?” The fear was strong in her words

  I pinned her to the wall of the house, lifted her a little, and pressed my hard cock against her belly. “Baby, I’m not leaving you for good. I’ve got things to take care of. Your dad offered me a guest bedroom here when I come back later on today.”

  “You’re coming back?!” she practically squealed.

  “Of course. I have to get on this right away. I’m not going to let someone get a second chance.”

  “Please, just be careful,” she pleaded.

  “Careful is my middle name,” I proclaimed.

  “Bullshit,” she snorted.

  “Okay, it’s Bradley, but I’ll still be careful. I want to come back to you as soon as possible. Just try and get some sleep. I know your parents have this place on lockdown, so you’ll be safe here. When I come back, we can talk and do other things.” I gave her a wink.

  “Hey, I thought you said no sex.”

  “Ha, that was yesterday. I didn’t make any promises for today.”

  “I guess that’s a valid point,” she replied timidly.

  “Babe, I’m just messing with you. If you’re not ready to take us there, that’s fine. You’ve been through a hell of a lot in the last twenty-four hours,” I said reassuringly.

  “It’s not that. We’re at my parent’s house. It’s a little awkward.”

  “We’ll have to wait until the coast is clear, and your safety isn’t threatened before we can go to my place. If I didn’t have to still look after Sam, I’d take you to Texas with me.”

  “Oh, yeah, cowboy?”

  “Sure thing, ma’am.” I gave her a long drawl, a wink, and a click of my tongue. “Now, let me get you inside. I know it’s secure around here, but I’m feeling a bit paranoid.”

  “I’ll be safe here, but I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself or how I’m going to be able to reopen again.”

  “Don’t think about those things right now. Just rest, and we’ll figure it all out.”

  “I hope you’re as real as you claim to be because you’ve got me wanting things I didn’t want before,” she stated.

  “I’m real, Claire. What is it that you want?”

  She blushed profusely but just shook her head. I don’t know what she wanted, but it didn’t matter because I wanted everything from her.

  “Well, my beautiful pixie, you can tell me when you’re ready,” I said reassuringly.

  Once I took her inside, I hurried out the door. My first stop was my apartment. I needed to shower and change. I couldn’t take it anymore; I could still smell the burning wood on my clothes. It was a reminder of almost losing her today. I needed it off me.

  I was halfway there when I got a call from my brother-in-law Eli.

  “Williams,” I answered using my Bluetooth.

  “Travis, where are you?” he asked anxiously.

  “On my way back to my apartment. Why?” I wondered.

  “Don’t bother going there right now. I need you to come to the office, ASAP,” he requested not so politely.

  “I can’t. There was a fire last night at my girl’s place, and I smell like a fire”

  “I don’t care if your ass smells like manure. The Lakes were killed last night,” Eli thundered.

  “What?!”

  “They were executed last night,” he reiterated.

  “Damn, do you think they’re after Sam?”

  “Could be. Then again, the detectives here think it might have been Sam who did it.”

  “That’s bullshit. It’s not her,” I roared.

  “I know that, but that doesn’t mean they do. Besides, like you said, she’s out of town with O’Connell.”

  “Yes, which means I’m going to have to make the call I don’t want to make. I’m going to wait to come in. I need to get changed and get back to Claire.”

  “So, what do you mean there was a fire?”

  “Someone burned down her salon, trying to take us with it.”

  “Oh, shit man! I thought you were talking about a small kitchen fire.”

  “Nope. It was full on explosion.”

  Eli asked a very good question. “Do you think this is all because of Samantha and her parents?”

  “I don’t know. They’d had to have been following me to know anything about my relationship with Claire.”

  “Or they decided to teach Rick a lesson for taking Samantha,” Eli suggested.

  “That’s true, but they could’ve easily just kidnapped her and took her in Sam’s place,” I countered hating that it could have been possible.

  “Good point,” he remarked.

  “I have to meet with the arson investigators today. After that we can meet,” I said.
/>   “Sounds like a plan. What time do you want to meet?”

  “I’d say about two,” I said.

  “Okay, that works for me,” Cole answered.

  I hung up with him as soon as I pulled up to the apartment. When I got to my door, I noticed it was unlocked and slightly ajar. I unholstered my gun and slowly crept into the quite apartment. Everything was torn upside down. It looked like someone who came here was really pissed off and looking for something. I moved from room to room quietly, avoiding all the debris. If I didn’t know better it looked like Sam was having a lazy, crabby day.

  I tiptoed around, and I realized whoever was here had already left. I reholstered my weapon and called Eli back.

  “You might have been right,” I said as Cole answered the phone.

  “Why? What happened?” he asked fearfully.

  “My apartment was broken into and ransacked. They were looking for something. I think they were looking for her or a way to find her.”

  “Well, get the hell out of there and get down here,” he replied frantically. I closed the door, but since the lock was broken I needed to get moving. I put a chair there to keep it closed for the time being.

  “I will, but I have to call Claire. I need to make sure she’s okay.”

  “Good. This is getting crazy. I have a feeling it’s one of the buyers from the Middle East. They were seen entering the airport in Greece, but we lost their whereabouts,” Eli said.

  “We’ll see.”

  I hung up and searched for my clothes. I just grabbed a clean shirt and walked into the bathroom. I didn’t shower, but I grabbed a cloth and washed up. I was going to shower at the O’Connell’s. I didn’t think it was safe enough here for that.

  After I rinsed my face, I called the O’Connell residence, “May I speak with Mr. O’Connell, please.” The housekeeper asked me to wait while she called him to the phone.

  “O’Connell, here,” Richard answered.

  “This is Travis. How is she?”

  “She’s been upset since you left.”

  “For real?” I was shocked that she fell apart. She didn’t look like she was going to break when I left.

  “Yes. The tears haven’t stopped.” He didn’t sound too happy with me at the moment like it was my fault.