by M. J. Perry
“It’s more a security firm, but yeah I do. I know things about you; in fact, I pretty much know everything about you.”
He sneered. “Oh, really?”
“Julian cut the crap. I’m going to help you, you can’t afford to piss me off.”
“I don’t need you.”
“Katie does.”
I watched him pale again; his face pasty white and satisfaction filled me. It was a low blow, but I wanted to hurt him.
“Fine, but I don’t like it.”
“Believe me, the feeling is mutual.”
“Tammy,” he whispered.
“She’s fine; I have a man watching her.”
“You do?”
“We’ve known about your little problem for a while.”
“Is Katie safe? Will that Eric protect her?” This was aimed at Lexi.
She smiled at him in reassurance. “I would trust him with my life.”
He nodded in understanding. “So you trust him with Katie’s.”
“Yes.”
“We need to know everything, Julian.”
He sighed. Before he could speak I nudged Lexi. “Can you make us some coffee, please, baby?”
She nodded. “Play nice.” She said as she left. Lexi wasn’t stupid; she knew I wanted her out of the way. No doubt she’d hound me later, but I didn’t want her to know everything. It would only upset her and make her worry more. I waited until she was out of sight. She wasn’t the type to ear wag, so I wasn’t worried.
“Right, I know that you’ve been using Katie and Tammy as shields.” He opened his mouth, and I put a hand up. “Don’t deny it, you bastard. I know it’s the truth. The old guy you owed money to never involved families, but Jacobson does. He is one mean son of a bitch and he doesn’t give two shits about who gets hurt.” He’d paled once more. Good. “A man was here earlier. As Lexi had walked into her kitchen, he was standing outside watching her.”
Julian gasped.
“I saw him on the monitor and surprised him. He’s in custody now and I’m waiting to hear what he has to say for himself. The point is you did this. You put my girls in danger and now you are going to help me get them out of it.”
“But how? I don’t know what to do. I can’t sell my house; Tammy would leave me if she found out the trouble I’m in.”
“You’ve fucked up, but she wouldn’t leave you. You need to come clean. She accused Lexi of bleeding you dry when they met in the supermarket. She knows something is up even though she’s on the wrong track.”
“Do you think she would stay?”
“Yeah, but to be honest, I don’t give a shit either way. As far as I’m concerned you can both become bankrupt and live on the streets.”
“I’m Katie’s father. She needs me, she needs stability.”
“Don’t kid yourself. She loves you but she’d cope without you. Lexi would be enough for her.”
“She’s my daughter.”
“I’m not disputing that, but remember what you’ve done and the situation you’ve caused. You’ve placed her in danger.” I pushed a pen and pad across the table. “Write down everything you can remember from your visits to Casino, Casino, I want to know who served you drinks, the people you spoke to, everything. I want names.”
“It could take a while.”
“Take as long as you need. You’re not leaving until I’m satisfied.”
“You do not have the right to talk to me this way.”
I just stared at him. He abruptly looked away picking up the pad and pen he started writing. I bit my tongue. I wanted to smack the pompous wanker, but it wouldn’t help. I’d have plenty of time after we resolved the situation to have a little chat with him. I grinned unable to help myself; I was looking forward to it.
“Have I been gone long enough?” Lexi asked as she brought in a tray from the kitchen.
I smiled. “Yes, baby, Julian is just writing me a couple of notes.”
“Ok,” She put the tray on to the table. I took the cup she pointed to and had a sip, just how I liked it.
“Has he been helpful?” She asked me. Her tone laced with doubt.
“I am right here you know.”
I ignored him and focused on Lexi. She was worried, and I didn’t like that. “He’s been helpful yes; what he is writing now will help me more.”
She nodded and picked up her cup. Leaning back into the cushions she had all over the sofa she wiggled to get comfortable and her thighs brushed against mine. The blush staining her cheeks made me happy. What she was thinking was clear on her face. I remembered every detail of her naked body. She was beautiful, a goddess and I couldn’t wait to taste her all over. Fuck, now was not the time for these thoughts. I could feel myself growing. I shifted to release some pressure.
“I’ve finished,” Julian said breaking the tension. It was obvious he was displeased with Lexi and me being together, but he had no rights to her.
He slung the pad and pen onto the table and stood up. “I’m going now.” He said and his tone suggested I’d have a fight on my hands if I tried to stop him. I ran my gaze over what he’d written. There were a few names I’d heard of and a couple I hadn’t. I hoped it would give us a start at least. He gave Lexi a blistering glare, and I wanted to smack him, but I fisted my hands.
“Don’t you want to wait for Katie?” Lexi asked despite his glare.
“No, I have things to do.” And with that, he walked out. Lexi jumped when the front door slammed. “Well, that was weird.” She said frowning. “What set him off this time I wonder?”
“I think he’s worked out that we have a relationship.”
“We’ve always had a relationship. Oh, you mean…” she trailed off finally getting it.
“I’m surprised Katie hadn’t already told him.”
She bit her lip. “I hope he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
“Why would he?”
“Well, when he found out my parents were trying to set me up he went ballistic threatening to take me to court for full custody of Katie.”
“He ran off with his personal assistant,” I said as if she needed reminding.
“I know, but he does not like the idea of me moving on.”
“He has no choice.”
“I know that. I’m afraid he’s going to make things uncomfortable for us.”
“He has enough going on surely he won’t?”
“I hope you’re right.” She said although she didn’t sound convinced. After getting a look at the worry in her eyes I wasn’t so sure of my words either.
Turns out I should have listened to her feelings because later on, Julian decided to really fucked up.
We were supposed to be cooking tea, well, Lexi was. I was supposed to be helping, but she’d kicked me out because I kept getting in the way. Lexi had a lot on her mind; I’d finally managed to explain why that man was here and what he was up to. She was not happy, she was worried for Katie and I understood that. The trust in her voice, in her eyes, when she’d told me she knew I would keep them safe was like a punch to the gut. Her beautiful eyes hadn’t strayed from mine while I’d told her the guy was here for her. We didn’t know why even he didn’t know why and wed been persuasive. Did they want to cause harm to her or did they want her for a different reason? We just didn’t know, and that was the worst part.
“Mummy, I’m not very hungry,” Katie said.
I rolled my eyes.
Lexi turned to face her, and I was surprised at just how normal she was acting considering what had happened. “Is that because Aunty Jen let you have two ice-cream scoops?” She asked her daughter.
Katie shook her head. “No, Aunty Jen said no, but I asked Uncle Eric and he gave me one.”
Lexi chuckled and if it sounded forced Katie didn’t notice. “You wait until I get my hands on Uncle Eric.” She grinned. “What do you want to eat then baby?”
“A chocolate spread sandwich please?”
“Ok baby, do you want to eat it while you watch
cartoons?”
Katie’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Yes, just this once. Just don’t sit on the sofa, remember what happened the last time. The chocolate stains took a long time to get out.”
“Thank you, Mummy.” She tugged on Lexi’s hand and then squealed before running from the room. I heard the TV blaring not one minute later.
“Lexi, are you ok?”
“Yes, no, I don’t know.” She whispered. “I’m tired.” She raised wet eyes to mine.
“When we’ve eaten you get Katie settled into bed and we’ll do the same. It’s been a long day.”
“She goes back to school tomorrow.”
“She’ll be fine. We’ve talked about this.” I gripped her hand in mine.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. I trust you, I just…”
“She’s your baby. I know, I understand, she’s mine too.”
“I think I knew that already, you’ve loved her from your first meeting.”
“She’s a mini you. She’s all you, sweetness.”
“And unfortunately she has a worm for a father. Have you spoken to David about the information Julian gave you?”
“Yes, he’s looking into it. We won’t know more until he confirms names. Eric is on it.”
“With Jen?”
“I expect so. I don’t think Eric would trust her to anyone else.”
“That’s nice.”
“That’s exactly how I feel about you and Katie.”
“Oh.” She looked shocked. “He loves her.”
“Looks like it.”
“I’m so glad. He’s caused her so much pain. I hope he can make up for that.”
“I’m sure he will.”
“Here,” she shoved a plate towards me. “That’s for Katie.”
I screwed my face up in disgust making her laugh.
“It’s actually very nice.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” I laughed as I headed to the living room. Katie didn’t even look up as I entered. She put her hands out for the plate. Once she gripped it I let go and watched her put it down on the floor, her little hand went to the plate and she grabbed a sandwich off it taking a huge bite. She was such a cutie. I walked back to the kitchen seeing Lexi taking the lasagne out of the oven I sniffed in appreciation of it. She made great lasagne but unfortunately, I was not in the least bit hungry, all this business going down had made me lose my appetite, but I knew if I didn’t eat Lexi wouldn’t and she needed to, she needed her strength for all the shit that was ahead of us.
Chapter Nine
Ryder
“What the fuck!” I growled into the phone. A look at the clock told me it was five in the morning. “How am I only hearing this now?” I asked David.
“Don’t get pissy with me. The guy who was supposed to be watching him is one of yours.” He argued.
“I’m sorry, you’re right. I’ll ring him as soon as we’ve finished. Right now, I need all the information you have.”
“Where’s Lexi?”
I looked over at her sleeping form and slowly got out of bed. She hadn’t flinched when my phone had rung showing just how exhausted she was. “She’s next to me but I’m just about to leave. Hold on a sec.” I said as I walked out the door closing it quietly behind me. I headed to the kitchen not bothering to turn the lights on. “Ok, what’s happened?”
“All we know is Julian went to Casino, Casino to have a meeting with Jacobson. We don’t know what was said yet.”
“So we basically know fuck all then. How could he be so fucking stupid?”
“Desperate people do desperate things, you know that.” David said, and I agreed but, “I’d offered him my help, but now I don’t know what the situation is or how bad he’s made it.”
“It’s messed up but we’ll find out.”
“How?”
“I have people on it. You’re too close to this. You aren’t thinking straight.”
“Fuck, David, of course, I am. My girls are in danger.” I snapped.
“It wasn’t a complaint Ryder; it was just an observation. I’m just saying that you’re not thinking right. If you were, you would have a plan. You always have a plan.”
“I have a plan. I’m going to find Julian and kick the shit out of him.”
“And there it is, you being a dumbass. That won’t help.”
“Maybe not, but it will feel fantastic.”
“Look, go back to bed, to Lexi and I’ll have some answers hopefully in a couple of hours.”
“That isn’t quick enough for me. I’m going to ring Brian right now and find out why he hasn’t done his job.”
“There’s probably a very good reason why he hasn’t called in.”
“There had better be otherwise he will need to move somewhere that I can’t find him.”
“Ryder, shit. You’ve got to stop threatening harm.”
“It isn’t a threat.”
I heard David sigh loudly. “Go back to Lexi. I’ll call you as soon as I have something.”
“Ok, bye.” I hung up still pissed off.
I dialled Brian and just as I was losing hope he was going to answer, he did. “What the fuck, Brian.” I hissed.
“Ryder,” he said in shock at my anger. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” I repeated. “You should have been watching Julian last night yet you didn’t report that he’d gone to have a cosy meeting with Jacobson.”
“Oh, god, Ryder, Lisa went into labour. I rang you but it went straight to answer phone. I tried a few more times but by that time Lisa was going into surgery to have a caesarean and it slipped my mind. I am so sorry.”
My anger evaporated just like that. “Well, fuck, congratulations. Are they both ok?”
“Yes, they’re both good. We had a boy, we’ve named him Daniel.”
“Good choice of name. Congratulations again, I’m sorry I went off on you.”
“You had a good reason. I’m sorry Julian did that, I guess he’s made everything worse now?”
“We don’t know yet what he’s done but we’ll find out. Take care of your family, me and Lexi will come see you as soon as you’re all home.”
“I’d like that. Take care, Ryder.”
“You too,”
I ended the call feeling like a complete dick, I would have done exactly the same thing although he could have left a voicemail. I shook my head; I might as well go back to Lexi and the warmth of our bed. David would ring me. There wasn’t anything else I could do. I slid into bed and pulled Lexi into my arms. She groaned softly, and I grinned. Cradling her closer to my body my hands roamed her body in a tickling caress. She moved into my hands when I cupped her breasts, gently squeezing them. Her whimper told me she’d woken up fully, and I brushed the hair from her face kissing her ear before whispering good morning. My hand slipped into her silk knickers and parted her delicate folds, running through her wetness. She pushed her body into my hand and I slipped a finger into her pussy teasing her with small movements, I knew wouldn’t be enough. I licked the shell of her ear, blowing gently on the wetness and she shivered. “Ryder, please.” She begged.
“You want me, baby?”
“Always,” She promised.
I took my hand away, and she groaned in disappointment. I moved down the bed pulling her knickers down her legs and I threw them to the floor. I looked at the clock and grinned. “Katie will be up soon so this will be short and sweet.”
He eyes widened as I parted her thighs and positioned myself between them. I pushed my cock through her folds testing her wetness; sure enough, she was ready for me I thrust in hard. I leaned down and caught her mouth with mine swallowing her scream. I knew it was from pleasure not pain that had her calling my name, the wetness coating my cock and the way she was pulling at my body told me that. Her eyes were closed in ecstasy and the expression on her face had me moving faster. Her breathing was quick and her muscles clenched around me so tightly I knew she was close. Using my thumb I reach
ed between us and rubbed her clit hard, she arched off the bed and I slammed my mouth on hers just as she screamed out in pleasure. Her whole body tensed and clung to mine. I didn’t have time to worry if Katie had heard her scream because my balls tightened and I groaned loudly as my world splintered. The pleasure so intense I felt like I could pass out from it. Never have I ever experienced anything like it before. I collapsed carefully keeping my weight off her using my elbows.
“That was one hell of a wake-up.” She said with a giggle and I leaned down to kiss her. “I think we might have woken Katie,” I said as I slipped from her lush body and tugged on my jeans just as I heard footsteps running down the hallway. Lexi grabbed the duvet and pulled it over her naked body as Katie opened the door and dived onto the bed, jumping up and down.
“Morning, Mummy.” She laughed as her hair fell into her eyes and she roughly pushed it away with one hand. “Where is Ryder?” She asked.
“Right behind you, baby,” I answered after I tugged on my t-shirt.
“I have school today; can I please have pancakes for breakfast?”
“Sure you can, mine or your mummy’s?”
“Yours please, they are the best.”
I looked at Lexi hoping it didn’t upset her that Katie thought that. I didn’t need to worry, she was grinning. “She’s right, yours are better.”
“Ok, cool, let’s get them started while your mummy gets up.”
“Can I stir?” Katie asked as we left the room.
“Sure, but I’m doing the measuring.”
I heard Lexi giggle, and I shook my head. Lexi had once before let Katie measure the ingredients for her muffins and they’d turned out disgusting. Of course, no one had had the heart to tell Katie, so we’d all eaten two each and sneaked the rest in the bin later when she’d gone to bed.
“Ok.” She sulked.
“We don’t have time this morning, but maybe at the weekend,” I added. I hated seeing her upset.
“Thanks, Ryder.” She bounced to the kitchen. That was much better.
We made pancakes, I started the coffee and Lexi finally appeared wearing black skinny jeans and a grey jumper. The jumper was slipping off one shoulder and fuck if it didn’t make me want to tear it off her and kiss the bare skin. What was this woman doing to me?
