“No. I didn’t tell him. I told him you were somewhere safe. Which leads me to the next item on our list. Lucas knows that it was you who killed Caine. He had cameras in the back room.”
“Shit! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. What are those rooms for anyways? Caine would never tell me.” Kevin and Damien shared a look. Finally Damien said,
“Who knows? Probably for clients who get to drunk or want a private spot to fuck.”
Paige had the feeling Damien wasn’t being totally honest with her...but she let it go, for now. “So what now?” she asked.
“Roxi says you can stay here as long as you need to,” Kevin said. “So we wait and see what Jake comes up with and go from there. I’ll do my best to help you up until the evidence is released. At that point, I may have my own time to do...”
“No,” Damien said. “I’m not turning over anything that implicates you in any way.”
Kevin smiled at him. It was easy to see the warmth there. Kevin treated Damien better than his own father did. “As much as I appreciate that, I don’t see how that’s possible. If your father goes down, the only way I don’t go with him is to testify against him. As much as my brother and I don’t get along...I still can’t do that.”
“I know,” Damien said. “I knew that would be your stance. Believe it or not, I understand loyalty to family. I’m not looking to destroy lives here. I want Paige safe and I want out. As long as Lucas Kramer, his brothers, and Kelsey for that matter are out there, Paige isn’t safe. So the Kramer’s need to fall. Hard and fast. But I only want one thing from my father and that’s my freedom to live my life the way I want to live it. I want a normal life and if he’s willing to give me that, then I’m willing to leave his operation alone.”
Kevin looked touched. “Do you want me to talk to him about that?”
“No,” Damien said. Kevin looked surprised. “I want to tell him myself. I have to look into his eyes and know that when he gives me his word on this, he intends to keep it.”
“Okay, I’ll arrange a meeting. I don’t think it’s a good idea for either of you to go back to the city right now. We’ll arrange it here in Rhode Island.”
“You can have him come to the club. I’ll provide a meeting room for them,” Roxi said.
“Okay good,” Kevin said. He looked back at Damien and said, “Once he knows where you are, protecting you is going to be more difficult.”
“I can protect us,” Damien said. He looked at Paige and she nodded. She trusted him.
Kevin stood up and looked at Roxi. “You’ll let your security both here and at the club know to be extra alert.”
“Will do,” she said. “Let me know when “Uncle” Jackson is going to show up. I’m sure he’ll bring his entourage. I want to make sure I have plenty of staff on hand.”
Kevin smiled and kissed her on the cheek. “Play nice,” he told her. He hugged Damien and Paige was surprised when he hugged her too and kissed her on the cheek. Damien walked him out. Roxi turned to Paige and said,
“You look nervous. Are you okay with all of this?”
Paige nodded. “I can’t really object to any of it, since this all came about because of me in the first place.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Roxi said. “This family has been fucked up since the beginning of time. It’s going to implode on itself sooner or later and it would have with or without you.”
Paige smiled at her. Roxi was like Damien, she was rough enough around the edges to cut you like a knife if you got too close without her permission...but underneath it all there was a good person.
*****
“Damien wants to meet with you.” Kevin and Jackson were sitting at the bar in Jackson’s restaurant having a drink. Jackson chuckled. “That’s funny?”
“It’s just awfully cloak and dagger. If my son wants to see me, he should be sitting here next to me on the barstool.”
“You don’t think you’ve given him cause to be a little cautious?”
Jackson’s eyes narrowed and Kevin recognized the look. It was the one that Jackson got when someone tried to deny him his way. It bordered on murderous. “If he didn’t want to have to be cautious, he shouldn’t have gotten himself involved in someone else’s mess. Damien’s a good looking kid. Pussy is a dime a dozen, he can get it anywhere.”
“Do you realize this is your step-daughter you’re talking about...the one who you profess to care about?”
“Another good reason my son should have found his pussy someplace else.”
It was taking everything in Kevin to keep his temper in check. If Jackson said “My” son one more time as if emphasizing whose son he was...Kevin took a deep breath and said, “Can I tell him that you’ll meet with him tomorrow or not?”
“In Rhode Island?”
“Yes, at Roxi’s club.”
“So, he’s staying with Roxi?”
Kevin let out another heavy sigh. “What time should I tell him you’ll be there?”
Jackson smiled. He knew damned good and well where they were staying. He managed to know everything. If he didn’t know everything, he couldn’t control everything. When Jackson couldn’t control something that’s when he got dangerous.
“I’ll be there at ten. Tell him to make sure he’s on time and that he brings what I want.” Kevin didn’t tell Jackson what Damien wanted to meet him about. He thought it best not to give him any advance warning. That might prompt him to send Alex out to Rhode Island tonight to “take” what he wanted.
“So what happens after you get what you want from them, Jackson?”
“What do you mean, what happens? You act like I’m a monster. These are my children. We all get on with our lives. Lucas and his family are grieving. He’ll realize when he’s thinking more clearly how dangerous it would be for him to do anything to harm any of my children.”
“You realize that they really aren’t “children” any longer, right Jackson?”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot,” Jackson said in a tone that implied he’d had enough of Kevin trying to tell him what he should do. Kevin dropped it. He’s not afraid of his brother. He’d been through too much with him. He knew that Jackson would never hurt him. He wasn’t so sure about Damien. Kevin watched his brother stick a knife in his son. When it came to Damien Jackson was a wild card. He always had been.
Chapter 6
Paige was becoming used to waking up in Damien’s arms. This morning she was facing him. He had his arms around her and she knew that if she moved, he would be instantly alert. She liked waking up before him and just looking at him. When he slept he was at peace. None of what had touched and tainted his life in the past ten years seemed to trouble him when he slept. His long dark eyelashes lay fanned out across his cheekbones and his full lips were curled up at the edges like he was getting ready to smile. She loved the stubble...it was sexy and gave him that “bad boy” look. She also loved the way his curls stuck out all over his head. She wanted to run her fingers through it, but she didn’t want to wake him up.
Damien was going to meet Jackson in the morning. He and Paige had a heated discussion after Kevin called about her going with him.
“You’re not going,” Damien told her. He had the same finality in his voice that Jackson held when he’d made up his mind about something. It only served to piss Paige off.
“You can’t order me around. I’m a grown woman.”
Damien looked like he wanted to strangle her. “Believe me; I realize that you’re a grown woman. This meeting is for me to discuss my plans with him. He’s expecting me to bring the evidence we have. I intend to tell him that it’s already been given to an attorney. I don’t expect him to take that well. Roxi’s security will probably have their hands full keeping my ass alive. I can’t worry about yours too.”
Paige drew her brows together. “Do you really believe he would kill you?”
He pulled up his shirt and Paige’s eyes fell on the jagged scar. “Do you reall
y believe he wouldn’t?”
Paige had given in then and taken him into her arms. The idea of someone’s own father being able to do that was beyond her comprehension. Paige’s father had been the kindest, most gentle man she’d ever known. Damien had taken advantage of the lull in her stubbornness.
He had his hands on her upper arms. He let them run up her neck and they came to rest on her face. He tipped her head back and held her there with his lips only centimeters away. He closed his eyes then and leaned in for a kiss. She felt his hands fist up in her hair and he used it to hold her in place. A moan rumbled deep in her throat. Electricity buzzed between them as they caught each other’s breath between parted lips.
“Bed,” he told her in a husky voice.
“I think we were still talking,” she said. Damien grinned.
“You’d rather talk than do this?” he asked as he nipped at my lips.
“I just think we...”
“Or this?” he asked, sliding his hands down her back and around to grasp her breasts and trace the outline of her nipples through her shirt. She moaned again.
“Um...we could maybe talk first and then...”
“Or this?” he said in a husky whisper as his hand dropped down between her legs and began massaging her through her pants. She was already soaking through her jeans.
She shuddered convulsively and said, “No...I’d rather do all of that...” They spent the next few hours exploring each other’s bodies, tasting and touching. Paige lost count of how many times he brought her to orgasm. By the time they were both spent, she’d forgotten all about her argument. Now as she looked at his beautiful face she realized that there wasn’t much she’d refuse to give him any time he asked that nicely.
“Are you staring at me?” Damien asked with a smile tugging at his lips. He still hadn’t opened his eyes.
“Can you see through your eyelids?”
“I can feel you,” he said. “Stop it.”
“Stop staring at you?”
“Huh uh,” he said. “I know that would be impossible since I’m so easy on the eyes.” Paige laughed and he said, “Stop worrying. It’ll be fine.”
“Wow, he sees through his eyelids and he’s a mind reader.”
“I’m a man of many talents,” he said, pulling her into him tighter.
“Yes you are,” she agreed. She wished that one of his talents was snapping his fingers and making this all go away...because he was right, she was worried. She was way more attached to him than she’d expected to ever be. If anything happened to him...she wouldn’t think twice before killing Jackson Paine.
*****
After Damien and Roxi left, Paige busied herself by washing the breakfast dishes and making the beds. When she finished with that, she had no idea what to do with herself so she decided to go for a run. When she was at home in New Jersey she went for a five mile run every morning. Since she’d been in New York, she’d had so many other things on her mind, she hadn’t found the time. Maybe some fresh air and exercise would help her not obsess over what was happening between Jackson and Damien. She put on her running clothes and tucked her phone into her waist pack. Then she called security to let them know. Roxi asked her to do that since they were supposed to be hyper-vigilante about any unusual movement on the property.
Roxi’s lavish house sits on two acres. The grounds out beyond the yard are lush and green and there’s a path that leads around the outside of it all framed by colorful flowers and verdant bushes. It’s private and peaceful and Paige tried to imagine what it would be like to live in a place like this. One of these days when she was working as a surgeon she would buy a place like this...One day when her life was finally back to normal.
Paige began to run and as the wind brushed against her cheeks, the worries and stress began to slip away. For a short while there was nothing but the constant right, left rhythm of her feet as they made their way along the cobblestone path. She ran until she felt a steady burn in her calves and quads and her breaths got so short that she was beginning to become dizzy. When she stopped running she dropped down on a bench that was situated underneath one of the large shade trees. While she was sitting there her phone rang, it was security at the front gate.
“Yes?”
“Miss Acosta, this is Jim at the front gates.”
“Yes.”
“There’s a Crystal Acosta here to see you.”
“My mother is here?”
“Her name is Crystal Acosta, I checked her I.D.”
“Wow, weird. Can I talk to her?”
“Yes Miss, one moment.” A few seconds later Paige heard her mother’s voice.
“Paige!”
“Mom? What’s wrong? How did you know where to find me?”
“I need to see you Paige. Tell them to let me in.”
Paige had a bad feeling about this but there was no way she could turn her mother away. She sounded like she was in trouble. What if Jackson was threatening her? “Okay Mom, give the phone back to the security officer.”
“Yes Miss?”
“Go ahead and send her in.”
“Do you want us to search her vehicle?”
“No. She’s my mother. It’s okay.”
Paige ran back to the house. When she got there, Crystal was already parked and banging on the front door. Paige pulled the door open and gasped. Her mother had a black eye and a swollen lip. “Mom! Come in here. What happened to you?” Crystal suddenly broke down into tears and fell into her daughter. Confused and scared, Paige put her arms around her mother’s thin shoulders and pat her back. She looked and felt like she’d lost a lot of weight since Paige left. “Mom, please tell me who did this to you.”
Crystal pulled her head up and looked around the room. “Are we alone?” she asked.
“Yes, we’re alone. You’re scaring me mom. What happened?”
“Is there another door?”
“What?”
“Can we go out the back door and get to security?”
“Mom...” The front door opened behind Crystal and a slightly disheveled looking Kelsey walked in. “What the fuck?”
Kelsey raised the gun she had in her hands and pointed it at Paige’s face. Then she smiled. Her eyes looked crazy. “Hi Paige. Surprised to see me?”
Chapter 7
At ten after ten, Jackson and his entourage walked in. Brad was with him, and Alex and two of his “bodyguards.” Damien suppressed a smirk as he sat alone at the table in the club. He stood up as his father approached. Jackson smiled at him and gave him a hug and a pat on the side of the head. Damien wasn’t surprised by that...it was classic Jackson and he would do that right before he stuck the knife in his son’s heart too. “Damien.”
“Dad, Alex.” Brad and the two bodyguards took a seat at another table. Damien’s father and brother sat down at his. Alex was giving him a look that said he had plenty to say to his brother the first chance he got. Right now, Jackson had the floor.
“Did you bring it?”
“No.”
Something dark and frightening flashed through Jackson’s eyes. Alex looked like he wanted to smack his brother upside the head. “Damien, I’m not in the mood for childish games. Lucas Kramer wants Paige. I want what you and that ridiculously misguided girl have. If you give it to me, I’ll make sure that Lucas leaves her alone.”
“I have a proposition for you,” Damien said. Jackson actually looked amused.
“You have a proposition for me?”
“Yes. Lucas Kramer is intent on bringing you down. Paige and I will use what we have to bring him down...and leave you and our family untouched in the process, if you agree to let me walk away and live my own life as I see fit.”
Jackson smiled. It was the same smile he had on his face the night he stabbed Damien and shot five men in the face. “That must be some fantastic pussy...” Damien saw red, literally. He didn’t give a thought to the consequences of his actions. His fist made contact with his father’s face seconds before
Alex could even react. Jackson and his chair were knocked backwards almost simultaneously with Alex diving onto his brother and knocking him to the floor. Brad and the bodyguards had their guns out and Roxi’s security had their guns trained on them.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Alex asked his brother as Damien struggled to get out from underneath him. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”
“Get off of me!”
“Listen to me little man! You’re damned lucky it’s me on you. One of these other guys would have shot your pretty ass by now.”
Damien stopped struggling. “Let me up.”
Alex gave him a long, hard stare and then stood up. Damien pulled himself to his feet, just in time to come into contact with Jackson’s fist. For a middle aged man, his father packed a hell of a punch. It didn’t knock Damien off his feet, but it knocked him back and it hurt like a son of a bitch. He wondered if his jaw was broken.
“Stop it! All of you!” Roxi was in the room suddenly. “Put those fucking guns away. You won’t brawl like animals in my club!”
Jackson wiped the trickle of blood off his mouth and gave Damien another intense glare. “Let’s go,” he told Alex. One of his bodyguards looked at Damien and said,
“What about him, boss?”
“Leave him be...for now,” Jackson threw over his shoulder. The “for now” was said with emphasis.
Damien and Roxi stood and watched the men leave. When they were gone Roxi turned to Damien and said, “You should get back to the house. I’m sure that’s where they’re headed next.”
Damien nodded. Jackson better hope no one lays a finger on Paige.
*****
Kelsey looked like shit, but the hands holding onto the gun that Paige was looking down the barrel of were steady as a rock. Paige looked at her mother in disbelief. “She held the gun to my head Paige. She said that she would kill me and then still find you and kill you. She says she just wants to talk. Right Kelsey...?”
Kelsey continued to hold the gun with her right hand. Her left hand swung out and made contact with the side of Crystal’s face, knocking the small woman back against the wall. Paige watched in horror as her mother crumpled to the floor. “What the fuck do you want Kelsey?”
House of Paine - (A Romantic Suspense - Book 2) Page 3
