Relentless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series Book 5)

by Mallory Crowe

  So this was the buyer that Nathan had beat out. “Who are you? Why were you so interested in the inn?”

  “I need something. Something on your property. I think you and I can make great partners.”

  “Partners? Are you the one who sabotaged my roof? Who tried to destroy the Carriage House? Do you have any idea what a disaster both of those could’ve been? Give me one good reason not to hang up and call the police right now.”

  “Ms. Carey, I’ve tried to play nice. If you don’t agree to help me, there will be consequences. Understand?”

  A thousand different responses shot through her mind but in the end, she did what she thought would have the most effect and slammed the phone back on the receiver. Son of a bitch—calling her and threatening her after everything he put her through.

  If he wanted to make threats, let him. She wasn’t going to sit back and give in to demands, though. This was her inn, no matter who owned it. If he wanted a fight, she was going to give him one.

  Nathan was in the middle of showing his family around the inn when he got the text message he never thought he’d get. Well, he assumed he would eventually, but not this soon. A few simple words from Katy. I need you.

  That was his cue. He held up his phone. “I have to take this. I’ll give you all a call when I’m free.”

  “What’s it about?” asked Alex.

  “Nope. This is my place, remember? You all just relax and enjoy the view. I will talk to you soon.” Nathan turned and left all eight of his family members on the lawn of the inn. He’d managed to deflect their questions about his motives. Even though he’d overpaid for the property, it was undeniably a special place. Katy was right to have her heart set on owning it someday. From what he’d gathered, she was a large reason for why it was doing so well.

  Which meant it was damn important for him to make sure that whatever they had between them worked. Because if he overplayed his hand and she left, then he’d lose the inn’s biggest asset.

  He made his way to Katy’s office and tried not to pay too much attention to the uneasy way all the staff looked at him as he passed. When he entered the office, he didn’t know what he thought. It was nice-ish in the sense that it had a window overlooking the side view of the parking lot and some trees with the tiniest bit of ocean. But it wasn’t very large, and Katy had packed every inch of space with papers and binders filled with more papers. This was why he never spent time in offices. It was just a reminder of stress. “You called?” He raised his brows suggestively.

  Katy didn’t seem the slightest bit amused. “How’s your family?”

  Okay, they’d get right to business. “They’re doing good. At the rate they’re going, I should have Farrell Enterprises buy a stake in the inn, because they’re having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that they don’t own it.”

  “But they’re happy so far? No room issues? No complaints?”

  Nathan smirked. “Katy, this place is fantastic. There’s nothing to complain about. They think it’s amazing.”

  Katy started to smile before she seemed to catch herself. Apparently she was determined to not be happy. “That’s great, but there’s something more pressing we need to talk about.”

  “What’s up?” Nathan took a seat in one of the chairs on the other side of her desk. They weren’t comfortable, but this wasn’t the kind of office that held long meetings, so he figured they served their purpose.

  “I just got a disturbing call. It was from someone who claimed to be the original buyer who had contacted Burkhart. He said he wanted something from me.”

  Nathan sat up straighter. “What did he want?”

  Katy tightened her lips. “I don’t know. I asked if he was the one responsible for the Carriage House and the roof issues, and then he threatened me and then I hung up. In hindsight, I know I should’ve handled it better, but at the time...”

  “I get it. You were upset.” She probably handled it better than he would’ve. “Do you have the number he used?” Katy nodded. “I’ll give it to Hart and have him run it to see if anything comes up.”

  “If they’re calling to throw threats around, do you think they’d call from a number that could be tracked?”

  “This was a guy who was willing to shell out three million a few days ago. People with that kind of money tend to get cocky.”

  Katy scoffed. “You’re telling me.”

  He chose to let that go. “Anyway, I’d rather rule it out instead of not follow up on it.” While he spoke, he pulled out his phone. “What’s the number?”

  Katy read it off while he entered it into his phone. He was tempted to call the number right now to see who answered, but patience would be necessary for this. “Okay. Hart’s on it.”

  “Hart...the cop. Who is he?”

  “Uhh...he’s a cop?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You invited some strange man to the inn to wander around interrogating people. What do you know about him?”

  “I know I can trust him.”

  Katy tightened her lips once again and he could tell that wasn’t good enough for her. But he wasn’t going to give her the grisly details of Hart’s past. That wasn’t his place at the moment. “You said the caller on the phone threatened you. What kind of threats?”

  “The vague kind. Help us or you’ll be sorry kind of thing.” She let out a sigh. “I never should’ve hung up like that. If I’d even lied and agreed to help them, I could—”

  “You did exactly what someone who takes pride in her work would’ve done. I was with you in the Carriage House, remember? I know how personal that was.”

  Katy brushed a loose lock of hair behind her ear. “I hate this. I thought once you sealed the deal that all this would go away.”

  Nathan had hoped the same, but he’d prepared for the worst. That’s why Hart was there and it was the only thing that was making him happier about his family being around. They might ask too many questions and intrude on his personal life, but when he and his brothers, and even Colin Carter, got together, they made a rather intimidating bunch. For that matter, Jean and his sisters-in-law were intimidating in their own right. The inn was probably the safest place Katy could be for the time being.

  “What time are you going home?”

  “When I finish work. Why?”

  “I don’t think you should go alone. Let me know what time you’re thinking and I’ll drive you.”

  “If you drive me then I won’t have my car in the morning.”

  “Then I’ll follow you. I just don’t want you going alone.”

  She rolled her eyes. “My brother will be here soon. Trust me, he’s not the kind people want to mess with. I think I’ll be okay.”

  “Your brother is going to escort you home?”

  “He’s going to be around,” she said, noticeably not answering. “So what did you tell Julie about me?”

  “What?”

  “I met Julie this morning.”

  Fuck. How did she manage to see so many of them before he could be there to buffer? “Julie knows everything about me. It’s kind of her job.”

  “Her job?”

  “Julie was hired as my publicist a few years ago when I was...harder to handle.”

  “How hard?” He raised a brow and her face flushed red. “You know what I mean.”

  Nathan didn’t like talking about this stage of his life. For one, it wasn’t anyone’s damn business and secondly, he didn’t actually remember all that much that happened. “I was self-medicating with a steady intake of whiskey and women. But that also came along with tabloids hounding me everywhere, and Robert and Alex didn’t approve. They brought in Julie to calm me down. Wait. That’s not right. They brought in a bunch of people to calm me down and she was the only one who stuck.”

  “And you told her you were coming back for me?”

  “No. She has always had an eerie ability to read between the lines. Considering our last conversation, I’m not surprised she figured it out.”

/>   “What was that conversation?”

  Nathan smiled. He knew Katy didn’t approve of what he’d done by purchasing the inn, but here they were talking. Damn, he liked it when things went his way. “I’d been seeing a woman for a while. Nothing serious, but more than nothing. She’d told me that she and her husband were separated and I found out they weren’t. Since Julie came along, I have standards now. Morals. I don’t get in the way of a marriage.”

  “What a gentleman.”

  “I aim to keep chivalry alive. So I broke up with Carla and had a whole existential crisis.”

  It was Katy’s turn to raise a brow. “You had an existential crisis?”

  “I was feeling...numb. The breakup didn’t bother me. The fact I was screwing someone else’s wife didn’t bother me. Just nothing.”

  “And you thought I was somehow going to make you feel again?”

  “I never stopped loving you, Katy.”

  Her eyes widened and she stiffened. “You didn’t—”

  “For fuck’s sake, don’t say I didn’t love you.”

  “I mean, we barely knew each other. We never even went out officially.”

  “You were a hot sixteen-year-old who was completely into me. Trust me, the only reason I listened to Victoria when she stormed into my dad’s building and threatened me was because I loved you.”

  Katy abruptly pushed away from her desk and stood up, immediately going around him and to the door.

  “Katy—”

  “No. You don’t have the right to come in here out of the blue and claim to love me, Nathan. I’m sick and tired of telling you what you do and do not have the right to do.”

  “I’m not done with you yet,” he warned.

  “Oh, don’t I know it. But you’re going to have to wait because we have an inn full of billionaires and I have family coming soon. I know you’re my boss and I’m supposed to be kissing your ass, but at least for today, I’m not going to be able to muster up any sort of polite small talk at the moment. I’ll try again tomorrow.”

  Katy walked out, leaving him alone in her office. Nathan rubbed at his temples as he thought of how he could come at this next time. He knew she was mad at him, but he really hoped she saw that he was doing all of this for her own good.

  He thought that his purchase of the inn would be enough to chase away the buyers. Show that whatever they wanted off the land was too much of a hassle to get to.

  But this call told him that they weren’t nearly out of the woods yet. He wouldn’t feel comfortable unless he was keeping a close eye on Katy at all times. But based off that last conversation, hell would freeze over before she allowed him to follow her around like a lost puppy.

  Nathan let out a sigh. He supposed he was going to have to keep on going like he had been. Katy might not want him around but she had him. Now she would just have to get used to it.

  Katy giggled again, this time for no reason at all. Victoria and Dean just had that effect on her. Her brother had always been so gruff and closed off, she’d never dreamed he’d actually settle down with any woman.

  When she found out that he had opened his heart to someone, of course it wouldn’t be just any old girl to get his cold heart but Victoria Green, heiress to a huge retail chain of hardware stores. One look at the polished and sophisticated woman and it was hard to believe she had anything to do with screwdrivers and nails. But the second she started talking business, Katy had no doubt she was good at her job.

  It was the relationship that shouldn’t work but somehow did. Dean found a balance between being the control freak who had helped raise her and the doting husband to a powerful woman. Nathan could take a few lessons, she thought with another giggle as she took another sip of wine.

  “Whew.” Victoria pushed away the now empty dessert plate. She and Dean had shared the chocolate lava cake and Katy had devoured the entire blackberry cheesecake by herself. One of the lesser-known joys of being single was that you didn’t have to share your dessert with anyone. A fact she’d have to point out to Nathan the next time he was pressuring her.

  Dean leaned over and whispered something to Victoria and she immediately averted her eyes and smiled. Katy shook her head and took another drink of wine, only to realize that her glass was now empty. A sudden reminder that there were some perks to being in a relationship. “I’m sorry your normal room was taken. Like I said, it’s a full house today.”

  Victoria sat up straighter, cutting off Dean’s ability to whisper anything else. “No, I completely understand. I should’ve given more notice. But the second I heard who bought the inn, I had to come see you. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yes I’m sure,” she lied. “Nathan and I are friends, and when he heard the inn was going up for sale earlier than I ever expected, he stepped in to make sure it didn’t fall into the wrong hands.” There. That was halfway honest.

  “I still want to—”

  “No,” said Katy firmly. “From what I hear, you’ve already spent too much time having conversations with Nathan about me.”

  Victoria looked suitably guilty but didn’t back down. “You were younger then. I had a right to be protective.”

  “And now I’m older. So please respect my wishes and let me handle this.”

  Dean reached over to hold Victoria’s hand. “We’ll let Katy deal with this.” Katy smiled at him for understanding but then he added, “And if he does anything to piss us off, I’ll come back and pay him a visit.” He met Katy’s eyes. “A close and personal visit.”

  “Ugh. You two are impossible. I’m telling you everything is fine.” Except everything absolutely wasn’t fine. But if she told them about the vandalism and threats, they would absolutely refuse to leave. And if they refused to leave, she could only imagine the trouble that would cause between Nathan and her family. Not to mention the fact that the entire inn was filled with people related to him, so if there was some sort of rift, her side would be horribly outnumbered. Just the thought of having to go another day avoiding all the Farrells was enough to sober her completely. “I have a busy day tomorrow. Maybe it would be a good idea to head home.”

  “You’re right,” said Dean. “We dragged you out and I know you said you were busy.”

  “But this was a great dinner,” said Victoria. “We really need to do this more often.”

  “With notice,” said Katy with a smile, letting them know she wasn’t truly upset.

  “With notice,” agreed Victoria.

  After paying the bill, they all got into Dean’s sports car and they drove Katy back home. Katy had used the excuse of wanting to drink to get them to follow her home before going out to dinner, but Nathan’s warning had been floating around her head all day. Better safe than sorry, so she happily let Dean drive her home.

  Once there, she said a quick good-bye, but Dean wasn’t happy with that and he got out of the car to give her a tight hug. “Lunch tomorrow?” he asked.

  As much as she wanted to spend more time with her brother, she knew her schedule was stretched thin before the sudden sale and unexpected guests. “I don’t think I can make that happen. But I’ll try to make it out to the city soon. Then we can really hang out.”

  “I’m holding you to it. You know Rigby misses you.”

  Oh, that one hit her where it counted. Rigby was older now. She needed to make sure she soaked up all the time she could with him. “For sure. Within the month.” It would be tough but she’d have to make her schedule work around this. Some things were just more important than work.

  They stayed in the car as Katy made her way up the front porch and unlocked her door. Once she got the door open, she waved at Dean and Victoria. As they started to back out of the driveway, Katy walked inside her dark and quiet house.

  Maybe Nathan was right. She should get a dog. Coming home to an empty house like this was tiresome. Especially considering that she might be in danger. Maybe some big, intimidating dog would be a good thing. The dog didn’t have to be mean, of cour
se. Dean’s dog, Rigby, could be scary at first, but in reality he was an uncoordinated goofball.

  That’s what she needed. A scary-looking, sweet, uncoordinated goofball dog. As Katy passed the living room, she flipped on the lights and set her purse on the coffee table. Once she was in the kitchen, she pulled a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with tap water. She was just about to take a sip when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Something was wrong. She couldn’t put her finger on it but something... The dishes. There was a glass in the sink, but she distinctly remembered cleaning her kitchen meticulously that morning in case Dean and Victoria ended up coming inside. So who put that glass— Footsteps sounded behind her and Katy twisted around to see Nathan at the entrance to her kitchen.

  His hands were both held up as though to say he came in peace, but Katy still backed up into the counter.

  “Don’t freak out.”

  Katy stared at Nathan with eyes wide in a mixture of anger and fear. Nathan wasn’t sure which he preferred at the moment. He had seen her anger all too often in the past few days, but damn, he didn’t want to scare her either.

  “Nathan, you have two seconds to explain yourself before I call the cops.”

  He was willing to bet those two seconds weren’t out of the goodness of her heart but because that was how long it was going to take her to get to her purse, which was behind him. “I told you before, I’m worried about you.”

  She raised a brow as she set her glass down. “I do remember that conversation. That’s why I had my very intimidating brother drive me home, so I don’t need you inside my HOUSE!”

  “Until I know that there’s nothing to be worried about—”

  Katy was apparently past listening to what he had to say and she strode straight toward him as she tried to get to the living room. Nathan blocked her path and she gave him a look that would probably kill a lesser man. “Let me pass.”

  “I can’t let you call the cops on me.”

  “Then get the hell out of my house, because those are your only two options.”