My Name Is Desire: The Bad Baker Boys: Mark's Story

by Tonya Brooks

  Mindy and Angel were a couple of working girls that he allowed to hang out at the bar, as long as they didn't openly solicit business while they were there. He let them know when to meet him and the women assured him that they would be there on time and bring all of the toys that he had requested, as well as a few that they thought might come in handy. Mark closed the door behind them in grim satisfaction.

  Now all he had to do was wait.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Thursday, August 22, 2013

  That afternoon he came face to face with Kylie's father and it took every ounce of control he had not to beat him senseless on sight. “Senator,” Mark greeted cordially and offered the other man a drink. “I have a bottle of thirty year old scotch that I've been saving for a special occasion.”

  It appeared the other man had better taste in whiskey than he did women. “It's a little early but, like you said, it is a special occasion,” Kyle agreed cheerfully. “Where's the kid?”

  “At the apartment,” Mark lied easily as he poured them both a drink. “I thought it would be better if you met her in familiar surroundings.”

  “Does she know I'm coming?” he asked curiously and took a swallow of the scotch. It was as smooth as he'd ever tasted. “Damn good whiskey,” he acknowledged in approval and drained the glass.

  “Glad you approve,” Mark nodded and tossed back his own shot. He poured them both a refill and replied, “The kid's thrilled that she's going to meet her father. Apparently she's been harassing Desi about you for years.”

  “What did you tell her?” he asked in amusement because this was going to be even easier than he'd expected.

  “That she was going to stay with you for a while and get to know you,” Mark said and swallowed the bile rising in his throat that the lie produced. “She's already got her bags packed.”

  “Then what are we waiting for?” the other man asked in satisfaction and was eager to have this whole ordeal over with. He had a nanny waiting on board his private plane and as soon as they dropped him off in Washington, the woman was going to escort the brat to a boarding school. He'd had to scramble to get everything lined up on such short notice, but it would be worth it in the long run. Kyle's aim was to make it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the kid was his one way ticket there.

  “Just to make sure we're clear on one point,” Mark said clearly for the benefit of the tape recorder in his pocket. “Once you have Kylie, there’s no backing out. The last thing I need is a kid underfoot.”

  “I know exactly what you mean,” Kyle agreed. “I'm shipping her off to boarding school to keep her out of my hair. The only reason I'm even bothering with the little bastard is to make damn sure the party puts me in the White House.”

  Mark suppressed the rage that threatened to consume him and said calmly, “Then I suppose it’s a good thing Desi didn't have the abortion you insisted on.”

  “I thought it was a good idea at the time,” he nodded. “I'm glad the damn stupid woman didn't go through with it now. The kids my ticket to the Presidency.”

  Mark’s leg twitched with the urge to kick the other mans teeth in as he rose to his feet. “I think it’s time you collected your just rewards, Senator.”

  Once they were in Mark's car, Kyle asked curiously, “How the hell did you convince Desi to give the kid up?”

  “I've never had a problem convincing a woman to do anything I wanted them to,” Mark admitted. Those were the first truthful words he'd said to the man.

  Kyle was beginning to feel slightly disoriented, which is the only reason he confessed, “If I'd had that kind of luck I probably wouldn't have had to drug Desi to get her in bed to begin with.”

  The car veered dangerously close to the curb as Mark stared at the other man with raw fury burning in his eyes. “You drugged her?” he rasped.

  “Just a little something to make her amiable. Gave her too much though. Damn woman was unconscious the whole time. No sport in that,” the Senator said and shook his head to try and clear it.

  The ruthless streak that he had inherited from his father reared its ugly head, and for the first time in his life, Mark felt the compulsion to kill another man with his bare hands. Hell, it was exactly what he deserved. Kylie's father was no better than the bastard who had raped Harley since drugging Desi amounted to the same damn thing. Now he understood exactly why Matt had tortured her rapist unmercifully and was seriously considering doing the same thing himself.

  'Kylie would never forgive you.' his conscience assured him and Mark knew it was true. The girl would hate him if he killed her father, and he knew he could never do anything to hurt her like that. Having a conscience really was a bitch. Without another word, he drove them to the apartment complex and unlocked the door to his unit. By this point, Kyle was staggering unsteadily and he helped him none too gently inside and over to the bed to sit down.

  “What the hell was in that scotch?” Kyle asked in a slurred tone as he lay back on the bed, his head spinning.

  “Nothing in the scotch, but your glass had a little something to make you amiable,” Mark snarled as he lifted the senator’s feet onto the bed. “Consider it poetic justice, you son of a bitch.”

  “You drugged me?” the politician asked in disbelief and tried to focus on the other man.

  “Damn straight,” he agreed with a malevolent look of sheer hatred and pulled out the disposable phone. He made a call and said, “It's time.”

  “Son of a...” Kyle's voice trailed off as he passed out cold.

  When a knock sounded at the door, Mark opened it and said grimly, “Make it look good.”

  ~~~~

  Desi had run by the apartment to get her bathrobe and was pulling into the parking lot when she saw Mark's car. She braked and debated coming back later because the last thing she needed was to see him. The pain was still too fresh and she knew that seeing him again and not being able to touch him would be like a knife in her heart. Before she could back out of the driveway, she saw two women get out of a car parked a few doors down and walk to his apartment. That they were hookers was more than obvious by the way they were dressed and the breath lodged in her throat when Mark opened the door and let them in.

  What was left of her heart crumbled into dust. My God, seeing him with another woman would have been hard enough, but the knowledge that he was paying women to have sex with him was beyond belief. After what they had shared, she couldn't imagine how he could be so cold and unfeeling, but the evidence was damming. He didn't even have the excuse of wanting another woman because of a physical attraction. This was even worse. This was just sex with no emotional attachment at all. Yes, she knew just how voracious his sexual appetite was, but dammit, how could he? How could he go from making love to her to having sex with hookers?

  Then his declaration from a few nights ago floated through her mind, 'I'm not sure I know what love is.' and Desi gasped in raw anguish at the realization. Mark didn't know what love was, so how could he have made love to her? Had it just been sex for him, she wondered a bit wildly. Had he felt no more for her than he would for a hooker? At times he had taken her with wild abandon, but others, he had been so very tender and gentle. My God. Was he like that with everyone?

  'Mark is a very loving, caring man.' Harley had told her. 'The fact that he's genuinely affectionate only adds to the bad boy charm.' Desi had her answer. It had just been sex, she realized as the tears streamed down her face and she knew she'd lost him. Not that Mark had ever really been hers, but any hope that he had loved her at all was gone. She'd never felt so lost and alone as she did at that moment. Putting the car in reverse, she backed out of the drive and barely made it to the Baker home before she broke down completely.

  ~~~~

  Kyle opened his eyes and looked around the dimly lit apartment groggily. His arms ached like hell and when he tried to move them he was shocked to discover that he was chained to a wall. He tried to sit up and fell back onto the bed with a groan. He was still too out of it to co
mprehend what was going on until he saw the man sitting in the corner watching him with a cold, hard gaze. “What the hell did you give me?” he demanded and tried to focus on the other man.

  “Something that won't show up in a drug test in a couple of hours,” Mark said evenly. Or so Angel had assured him when she'd given him the drug and told him how to use it. It was a little something she kept on hand in case a client got rough and she needed to get away in a hurry. The effects only lasted about an hour, so they'd had to move quickly once he'd consumed it. The timing couldn't have worked out better as he'd just finished downloading the pictures onto discs.

  “Turn me loose,” Kyle demanded and rattled the chains that held him in place. “Do you have any idea how long you'll spend in prison for kidnapping a United States Senator?”

  “You're free to leave at any time,” Mark assured him. “However, you might have a hard time explaining the way you're dressed.”

  Kyle glanced down at himself and was incredulous to discover he was wearing a black leather teddy and from the strange tightness around his throat, a dog collar as well. “You son of a bitch!” he seethed. “What the hell have you done?”

  Mark rose and placed a laptop on the nightstand so the other man could see the slide show that he had prepared. “I don't claim to be a photographer, but these are pretty damn convincing,” he said without humor. “I particularly like this one.”

  The photos played across the screen in rapid succession and Kyle was shocked to see himself cavorting with two hookers in what appeared to be a scandalous and perverse liaison, especially since one of them was brandishing a whip. “Any fool could tell these pictures are staged.”

  “Do you really think the press will care about the details?” Mark asked grimly. “I'm pretty sure your political aspirations will be ruined before they figure it out.”

  “What the hell do you want?” the senator asked furiously because he knew Mark wasn't bluffing. Once the press got hold of these photos, his chances at the presidency would be over.

  “For you to relinquish any and all rights to Kylie,” Mark informed him.

  Kyle was shocked at that. “You'd go to these lengths to make sure the damn brat stays with her mother?” he asked in disbelief.

  “You have no idea how far I'd go to protect them from you,” he said in a deadly serious tone filled with menace. “If it weren't for Kylie, you wouldn't even be breathing right now.”

  “You're risking a hell of a lot for Desi and the little bastard,” Kyle realized.

  “I don't have a damn thing to lose,” he assured the other man.

  During the long night of soul searching, Mark had realized that his businesses now held little interest, his money was useless without someone to spend it on, and his car was just a worthless possession like the Super Bowl ring he kept locked in the safe. Hell, the mansion he lived in didn't feel as much like home to him as Desi's little studio did, and food that she hadn't prepared wasn't worth eating. Desi was the only woman he really wanted and thanks to this bastard, he'd lost her. Without Desi, his life held little meaning and he had nothing left to lose that he gave a damn about. “You, on the other hand, stand to lose everything if these pictures go public.”

  Looking for a way out of this ridiculous mess without having to give the kid up, he commented in a reasonable tone, “Still, it’s a hell of a risk for a woman and child that aren't even yours. I'm curious why you'd do something this insane.”

  “Because you tried to use me to take Desi's daughter away,” Mark admitted angrily.

  Kyle actually laughed at that. “For a minute there I thought you were going to claim you loved her,” he said in genuine amusement. “But the real reason is because you feel guilty.”

  Guilt didn't even begin to describe what he felt. “I won't be responsible for a bastard like you keeping Desi and her daughter apart.”

  “Don't get all sanctimonious on me, Baker,” Kyle said shrewdly. “You're no better than I am. We both used that tasty little morsel.”

  Mark slammed the laptop closed and barely resisted the urge to beat the other man to death and to hell with the consequences. He removed the CD from the drive and put it in his pocket before he turned the tape recorder on. The sound of his voice filled the silence as it said, ‘Then I suppose it’s a good thing Desi didn't have the abortion you insisted on.’ and Kyle's damming reply, ‘I thought it was a good idea at the time. I'm glad the damn stupid woman didn't go through with it now. The kids my ticket to the Presidency.’

  Mark smiled nastily at the other mans furious expression and asked, “Still think a judge will rule in your favor, Chadwick?”

  Kyle knew when he was beaten. If the pictures didn't ruin him politically, the recording of him admitting he'd known about the abortion demand would destroy his chances of getting the kid. “Bastard,” he muttered grimly.

  Mark fast forwarded the machine until he played Kyle confessing to drugging and raping Desi and saw the other mans look of shock. “I'd suggest you drop the court order, Senator. If not, it'll only serve to prove that Kylie is your only heir and I’ll make damn sure she winds up with the Chadwick fortune.”

  This time he had hit him where it really hurt and Kyle was more than willing to give up the fight. “I'll drop it,” he said in defeat.

  “We have an appointment with an attorney,” Mark said as he unlocked the handcuffs. “Get changed and don't even think about trying to get out of signing that agreement. I will kill you if I have to.”

  The look in the other mans eyes sent a chill down his spine and Kyle didn't doubt he meant what he said. He rose stiffly from the bed, went into the bathroom, dressed in his own clothes and scrubbed the make-up off his face. “You will regret this,” he assured Mark when he joined him in the main room again. “I'm not a man you want for an enemy.”

  “None of my enemies are breathing,” Mark said in a tone that left the other man in no doubt as to the severity of the threat. They rode in stony silence to Luke's office, where he led the senator inside unannounced and said without preamble, “Luke, we need that custody agreement.”

  “Senator Chadwick,” Luke said in surprise as he recognized the other man and stared at him in disbelief because it looked like he was wearing mascara and eye liner.

  “Where do I sign?” Kyle asked bluntly.

  The lawyer picked up a set of documents and placed them on the desk in front of the senator. “You do realize that once you sign this you're relinquishing all rights to the child,” he was compelled to point out.

  “I do,” he agreed and picked up a pen to scrawl his name where indicated. “Will that do?” he asked Mark bitterly.

  Mark nodded curtly and told his brother, “Get those filed before he has the chance to change his mind.”

  “As soon as you walk out the door,” Luke assured him and wondered how the hell his brother had convinced Kylie's father to do such a thing. It was more than obvious that the senator wasn't pleased, but he hadn't seemed to be under duress so it should stand up in court if he tried to contest it later.

  “Make sure you let Desi know when it’s done.”

  “Don't you want to handle that?” Luke asked in surprise. He knew they were having problems, but surely this would help the situation.

  “I'd prefer you do it,” he replied flatly.

  “Okay, bro.”

  Mark drove Kyle back to the bar and they glared sheer venom at each other. “Well played, Baker,” Kyle commended and was grudgingly impressed by the way the other man had handled the situation. “Now give me the disc.”

  He handed the disc to him and warned, “Don't ever come near Desi or Kylie again.”

  “And if I do?” Kyle taunted foolishly as he opened the door and got out of the car.

  “The back-up disc will be shown on CNN within twenty-four hours,” he assured him.

  “Back-up disc?” Kyle repeated blankly and realized the bastard had kept a copy.

  Mark drove away and left the other man cursing hi
m to perdition. He went straight to the bank, put the disc and tape recorder in his safe deposit box and went back to the apartment to remove the i-bolts from the wall, patched the holes and applied a coat of paint. He disposed of the cell phone as well as any evidence that the other man had ever been there, dropped the handcuffs off at the police station and headed to the bar to open it for the evening.

  Not a bad day’s work, Mark assured himself in satisfaction. Desi would be relieved that the threat was permanently gone, Kylie was none the wiser about the bastard that had sired her and he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Kyle had been right about that much. The guilt had been eating him alive and he was glad that it was gone. It was time he dealt with the loss and moved on.

  Mark hadn't liked it when the other man had compared the two of them, but he acknowledged to himself that he'd been right about that as well. He had taken a good hard look at himself the night before and wasn't altogether pleased with what he'd found. He was the first one to admit that he was a player and always had been. Hell, he didn't know how to be anything else at this stage. The only difference in him and the other man was that Mark had a conscience and Kyle didn't.

  And his conscience assured him that letting Desi go was the right thing to do. The woman was already in love with him and if their relationship progressed, she'd only be hurt again later on. It was better to make a clean break now and try to get on with his life. Somehow that thought made the heaviness threaten to consume him again and Mark was determined to shake it off no matter what he had to do to accomplish it.

  ~~~~

  “Kyle did what?” Desi asked incredulously as she sank onto the sofa, her knees as weak as wet linguine.

  “Relinquished all rights to Kylie,” Luke repeated with a grin.