Escaping With the Bad Boy

by Violet Walker

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  Escaping With the Bad Boy

  Bad Boy Billionaire Brothers

  Book One

  Violet Walker

  Bad Boy Billionaire Brothers: Escaping With the Bad Boy

  Chapter One - Callie

  Have you ever been so bored out of your mind that you wonder if you’re even alive anymore? That’s how I feel right now watching my mother and my Aunt Pearl discuss wedding plans. My wedding plans, to be specific. They have decided pretty much every single aspect of this wedding except my dress because…well, because a girl has to have some standards. Although, I admit my standards are pretty low.

  They would have to be since I’m set to marry a man I don’t love in about six weeks. Actually forget love; I barely even like Stuart. He’s boring as hell, stiff and there’s not an ounce of attraction between us. My father picked him out at birth because he and Stuart’s father are fraternity brothers,. More specifically, he was chosen to run The Morgan Group, the family business, which is made up of nearly one hundred high-end and mid-range restaurants throughout Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. You see, Father prefers that a man heads up his company and, since he was unlucky enough to not produce any male progeny, I need to marry a CEO.

  In fact, I could run his business. I have an MBA and did an internship at one of the most prestigious consulting firms in the nation, but does any of that matter to him? Of course not. I’m a woman, which means by default I am inferior and therefore relegated to the background of some man’s life. Specifically Stuart’s life. The problem is that I want more from my life than that. I expect more from my life than that. Father only paid for my MBA because he hoped I’d meet a husband on my own. Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t my focus.

  I hate this life with a fierceness I can’t explain. On days like this, I think of running away, screw Father’s threats to cut me off. I’m 27 now and have access to the trust fund set up for me by Grandma Mary. It’s only $5 million, but it’s more than enough to start a new life somewhere. Anywhere.

  The question is: where would I go? Pathetic though my life may be, everyone I know is here. Maybe that’s the problem, my snarky inner voice taunts. The truth is, she’s right.

  So, I stew and simmer on the inside while mother and Aunt Pearl stress about things like cream versus ecru cake frosting and white versus off-white china for the reception. They’ve made all the decisions because I haven’t cared to. Since I’m the sacrificial lamb, I think maybe that should change.

  “Callie dear, what do you think for your china?”

  Mother, not Mom or Mama but Mother, looks like your average pampered socialite. Her smooth brown skin makes her look a decade younger than her real age, but her plain grey slacks and pink blouse are so ugly and shapeless you’d never guess the dynamite body she hides. The sad part is that I dress just like her. In this world where everyone has more money than any one person could ever spend, it’s fit in or be exiled. “I like this one,” I point to the teal plates with the silver trim.

  Mother gives me her disappointed sigh, which under normal circumstances would have me rethinking my choice to something she deemed more appropriate. But as the wedding draws near, I’m finding it harder to be the obedient daughter I’ve always been. “Really Callie, sometimes I think you say things just to shock me.”

  I sit up and slam the book on the table. “Why did you ask me if you didn’t really want to know the answer?”

  “You don’t think that will send the wrong message?” Aunt Pearl is an expert on society etiquette, at least according to her.

  “If people judge me based on dinner plates, then I assure you, those are people whose thoughts mean less than nothing to me.” I lean back and cross my arms and legs, sending them both an icy stare. “Besides, it doesn’t matter if we’re happy or whether we entertain the masses, right? All that matters is that Father finally gets the son he’s always wanted to run The Morgan Group. Since I’m the one being sacrificed, I want jewel tones.” I slam the book shut and stare them down.

  “I just think you’ll regret it later,” Mother tries to use her reasonable voice. The problem is that she doesn’t have a reasonable voice.

  “Just get this butter color. It’s elegant and stylish.”

  “It’s ugly and old.” I stand up and gather all their wedding junk. “Look, this is my wedding and since I’m being forced into it, I’ll get what I want. Thank you both for your help, but it’s no longer necessary.”

  “Really Callie, we are just trying to help.” Mother’s exasperation is off the chart if she is willing to crease her forehead for me.

  “Unless either of you are willing to step up and marry Stuart, I’ll take care of it.” No response except stunned stares and silence. It felt good. Really good.

  Tag

  Damn I haven’t been back in this city for longer than a few days in years. Probably since the day I graduated from high school. I stayed here just long enough to grab my diploma and give the hottest girl in school-- so hot I nearly came in my pants--a kiss. A few hours later, I was packed and ready for boot camp.

  I’m back in the city that I have a love-hate relationship with because my brother Levi is missing. Not kidnapped--well probably not kidnapped. More like off-the-grid. The last me or my other two brothers heard from Levi was on his way back to the States from an off-the-books mission. He’d sounded like he’d seen some heavy shit and we figured he’d go somewhere to unwind, maybe with a few bottles and a few women, but that was nine months ago and now we’re all worried. There’s been no trace of him in Boulder, where our private security company is located. That’s why I’m back in this city, sitting in a dark corner of a dive bar called The Diplomat: to see if Levi shows his ugly mug around here.

  So far, all I’ve seen are men and women like the ones in my old neighborhood. Drunks getting their fix or dead beats down on life who sense a lack of opportunity, using the booze to numb themselves. I hate the memories that flood me whenever I am in the city. The only good memories I have are of starting shit with my brothers and a mocha-skinned beauty who once looked at me like I mattered.

  I didn’t see Levi, but I’d give it another half hour at least. Instead of staring into the dark abyss of this shithole, I look up little Callie Morgan and see what she is up to these days. The first item that pops up is an engagement announcement and, I have to admit, I am not the least bit surprised. The guy standing next to her looks exactly like the kind of guy I expected her to marry. He was buttoned up, stiff. boring. Callie, she looked even more gorgeous than she did as a teenager even in this lousy black and white photo. But she didn’t look happy, not like a woman in love should look. Then again, how the fuck would I know what a woman in love looks like?

  My mom split when my youngest brother Reece was just five, leaving us with that drunk son of a bitch known as our father. Dad always had women around, but they knew jack shit about love or raising children. All they wanted was the endless supply of booz
e and fucking, not four rowdy boys looking for a new mom. Those days were fucked up and should tell you everything I know about a healthy relationship. I hope Callie’s happy, but I guess that’s probably not a priority among her social class.

  I need to shake these pitiful thoughts, so I stand up and make my way to the men’s room in the corner. Before I even push the door open, I can hear the dirty grunts of someone thrusting into something dark, wet and deep. I pause for about half a second, but I need to take a piss and they weren’t doing anything I’d never seen. As I expected, they were drunk idiots, fucking in the only stall in the bathroom without a door. Fucking amateurs.

  I keep my gaze anywhere but on them because, contrary to those popular flicks of girls fucking each other, drunk sex is about as hot as watching pigs fuck. When I turn to wash my hands, though, I catch a glimpse of a familiar face, a face I’d seen just a few minutes ago. Holding Callie Morgan in their engagement photo. Yep that was him, Stuart dumb shit or something, thrusting his drunk dick inside some skanky woman with too much lipstick and not enough hair product.

  I picked up my phone and pretended to take a call while I snapped a few photos. Thanks to my little brother, this phone takes high quality digital images that rival any professional lens.

  Asshole.

  Chapter Two - Callie

  A few days after upsetting Mother and Aunt Pearl I decide it is time to do something for myself, so I go shopping. But I don’t pick up any designer slacks or blouses; instead, I buy jeans and t-shirts and even—the horror!—bohemian dresses and skirts. I figure that if I am going to go through with this farce of a marriage and pretty much relegate myself to a life of unhappiness, I may as well do things that make me happy. Starting with redoing my wardrobe.

  The day was one of the best I’d had in a long time. I decide not to call any of my so-called friends and go solo. It is a first for me, but without the air of wealth surrounding me, I find that the sales women are nice and honest. One even recommends a pair of bejeweled flip flops…and I buy them! The day felt freeing. It is the first time I’d felt free since that time I went on a roller coaster at thirteen. There is no fancy luncheon requiring reservations and dress codes. I buy a pretzel from a guy on the street and I think about pizza for lunch.

  All in all, my day is fantastic. Since I know I will do as Father wants and marry that wet blanket Stuart, I decide that I won’t do anything else I don’t want to. He is getting the job and the company that should be mine, so he wasn’t getting a doting wife, too.

  When I step out of Francesca’s Boutique, I see a delicious male specimen leaning against a piece of chrome and leather machinery that would have any girl’s lady bits quivering with delight, and my bits were no exception. He is big with short hair and his jeans and t-shirt hug him so close that I didn’t have to imagine what kind of muscles were hiding underneath. If life worked that way, I’d almost think it was the source of all my teenage desires. But if life worked that way, I wouldn’t be marrying Stuart.

  “Hey, Princess.”

  I knew that sexy Chicago drawl anywhere. “Tag? Tag Howard? How are you?” I surprise him--and myself--by flinging myself into his arms and squeezing him tight. Man, he was definitely squeeze-worthy with all those hard muscles on display. “You look incredible! I guess the army agreed with you after all.”

  He gave me that slow sexy smile and I felt my stomach clench. Damn. “So much that I became a Ranger, did some cool shit and now I’m retired. How about you? What have you been up to other than buying up all this poor woman’s inventory?” He waved towards Francesca’s with that killer smile.

  He always was charming even if most people didn’t see it. “Well this is what is expected of me, so I recently decided to start wearing clothes I actually like.” I probably shouldn’t have said all that to him, but I couldn’t help myself.

  “That’s too bad. I kind of like these stuffy old lady clothes because I can picture all the sexy lingerie you’re wearing underneath.”

  Damn. Tag Howard was even more potent than he’d been nine years ago. My body is reacting the same as it did back then, pulsing just because of his proximity. Now my mind is flashing back to that kiss at graduation. It was the hottest and best kiss I’d ever had, back then or since. Pathetic, I know. “Well I’ll still have all of my sexy lingerie, they’ll just be under clothes I like and not those ‘stuffy old lady clothes’ as you so eloquently put it.”

  “I’ve never claimed to be eloquent, honey.”

  No, he hadn’t. Tag is honest about who he is, what he wants and what he expects. It is refreshing. I step back and absorb every detail of this grown up and massive new Tag. “I’m guessing you’re not here by accident?” I couldn’t figure out why the light dimmed in his eyes until he opened his mouth. His brother Levi was missing and the Howard brothers were worried, so he came back to Chicago hoping that Levi sought out a taste of the familiar. So far, there’s been no luck. I was sorry to hear that. I didn’t know Levi well, but he was nice to me when I saw him and, like all the Howards, he was hot enough to melt even starched cotton panties on girls like me. “I’m sorry Tag. You want help?”

  “Nah. He’s definitely off-the-grid, so I’ll just keep looking.”

  “Okay. So you decided to look up an old friend? How did you find me by the way?”

  The right side of his mouth tugs up into a smile as he points at himself. “Army Ranger, remember?” He laughs at my shocked face. “But yeah, I was curious about you, being back here and all, and decided to do a little recon. I found your engagement announcement, by the way. Congratulations.”

  My shoulders sag at his admission and congratulations. I mean, I knew I was marrying Stuart, so why did I feel so disappointed to let him know? “Don’t congratulate me. It isn’t a love match, more like a sacrifice.” I cringed; that sounded bitter. “Sorry.”

  Tag tosses his head back, giving me a clear view of the strong line of his neck and those sexy shoulders as he laughs loudly and long and too damn hard. He looks at my crossed arms and finally settles down. “I’m not laughing at you, Princess…just, it’s been a long time since someone made me laugh.” He pulls an envelope from some compartment on his motorcycle. “That makes what I came here to do a lot easier,” and hands me a large, nondescript white envelope.

  I can’t imagine what Tag has for me since this is the first time we’ve seen each other in almost a decade. They are obviously photos, but it isn’t until I pull them all the way out and really look at the photos—very detailed photos—that I realize what the earlier look was about. When he thought I was in love with Stuart, he felt bad about these photos. Damn sweet man. My hands begin to shake. I am so angry that I swear I felt my blood bubbling. That rotten piece of crap!

  “Shit Princess, uh…Callie. I’m sorry to be the one to give you this after we haven’t seen each other in forever. But, I thought you’d want to know.”

  Damn. He really is so sweet underneath that bad boy exterior and I have to laugh. “Oh I’m not upset in the way you think, Tag.”

  I tell him all about how I am marrying Stuart so he can take over my family business. “But you, Tag, you’ve just given me the golden ticket! I owe you big time. Thanks.” I take advantage of his surprise and lock his sexy lips in a quick, passionate kiss before I pull back and steady my legs under me. “I’d like to see you again before you leave, Tag. Do your Ranger thing and call me in a few days.”

  I walk the few blocks to the parking garage and head to Morgan House, the pretentious name of my family home, to settle some business.

  Free. I am finally going to be free.

  Tag

  Other than seeing Callie and that hot ass kiss she laid on me, the past forty-eight hours have been hell. I rode all through our old South Side neighborhood hoping to find Levi or someone who’d seen him, but I came up with jack shit. I even visited our old man in the assisted living home we pay for every year in advance. The drunk bastard is half-blind and his mind is slowly going. None of u
s ever visit him, but he is well taken care of, so that is something. He hadn’t seen Levi, but even if he had, Travis Howard wouldn’t recognize the son who looked most like him. All he wanted to know was who’d won the Bears game.

  From what I can tell, Levi hasn’t set foot in this city in years. I need to check in with Max. “Yeah, there’s no trace of him here.”

  “I know, I was just about to call you. We got a hit on his emergency credit card in St. Louis.” Max pauses so I can let those words sink in. If Levi is using his emergency card, it is because he wants us to know he is fine but not fine. “I still want you to drive down there just to be sure. The hotel billed the card for a week, so you’ll get there in plenty of time even if you drive.”

  I didn’t want to drive all the way to St. Louis on the bike I rented. “Why do I need to drive at all?”

  “Seriously Tag, you gonna give me shit right now?”

  I rub my hands over my face. “Why shouldn’t I? You’re not the only one worried about Levi, so just tell me.”

  “Fine. I don’t want him tracking you and leaving before you get there. So take out a bunch of cash and hit the road, okay?”

  “Fine, Max.” I hang up because I don’t want to argue with him. He can be a pushy prick when he wants to and he always wants to. So much for seeing Callie again. I decide to call her before leaving town. I want to actually say goodbye this time and see how she is doing. “Callie, it’s Tag.”

  “Oh, Tag! I’m so glad you called. Can you stop by for a bit?” She rattles off her address and I turn at the first light and head to her place on Lake Shore Drive. I could have sworn she’d live in some swanky building, but when I pull up, the building is nondescript at best. There are no gold ornaments or trimmings, no fancy name. Hell, there isn’t even a fancy awning displaying the ridiculous name of the building. It was pricey just based on the neighborhood, but not flashy. The doorman asks for my name and I give it to him, already prepared to turn around and forget about this visit. but he scans the list and opens the door, even tells me to enjoy my visit. It is strange to see someone in this neighborhood look at me like something more than trouble or the help.