Highest Bidder (A Bad Boy Romance)

by Mia Carson

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” he snapped.

  “I have to… You don’t understand,” she said and tried to shove past him again to get it, but he shoved her back until she landed on the couch. He towered over her, glowering, when his cell went off in his pocket. He reached for it, but Nikki stood up and pinned his hands in hers. “Please, just burn it…Get rid of it. For me. For us.”

  His cell rang until his voicemail picked up, and it dinged a moment later, announcing a new message. “Why?” he asked. “What’s wrong with that photograph? Do you even know who it is?”

  “Just do it,” she insisted louder and shoved at his chest.

  “Nikki, what the hell is going on?”

  She crossed her arms over her chest, the worry in her eyes real. “He said if I could get rid of the photo and files, he’d be sure to leave you alone as long as you left with me.”

  “Who said?” he asked, the gears turning furiously in his mind. “What are you talking about?”

  “He said he saw the heirlooms in Iris’s house before she sold them, knew who they belonged to, and heard you were digging around in the old town records with some old man,” Nikki muttered. “Then he saw the photo Iris had, and he thought she might know the truth about her family and the town.”

  Alec tried to keep up with her rambling. Jenson found out they were researching the Lundy family? The photograph. He wanted them destroyed so Iris wouldn’t find out? They hadn’t even told her anything yet. “Jenson… Why would he…?” He trailed off as the realization hit him of just how far Jenson would go to keep his family’s secret and get Iris back. His gut clenched painfully. “Where is he? Nikki, where is Jenson right now?”

  “How the fuck should I know?” she yelled and pulled away from him.

  “You planned this together, didn’t you,” he stated. “You would come here, and he’d go to her.”

  “He loves her,” she said, and the way she said it told him she believed the lying bastard. “He wants her back, just like I want you back, faults and all.”

  Alec cursed vividly and grabbed her by the arm. “You are going to get out of my house and never come back, understand me? Do you have any idea what you just did? That man nearly broke her nose, and you just set him loose on her!”

  Nikki tried to wrench her arm free. “What are you talking about? He said she was the one who smacked him and cheated,” she argued.

  “You’re a goddamned idiot,” he snarled and reached for his cell as it dinged again. He pressed play on the voicemail, putting it on speaker, and when he heard Iris’s voice filled with fear, his heart stuttered and his anger roared to life. She screamed, and the call cut off. “Now do you get it?”

  Nikki’s face drained of color. “I didn’t… but he said… I don’t know what’s happening.”

  He shoved her out the front door, closed and locked it behind him, and took off for his truck, leaving her dumbfounded on his front porch. He floored it out of the driveway, squealing the tires, and tried to call Iris back but she didn’t answer.

  “Come on, damn it!” he yelled and smacked his palm against the steering wheel.

  Cars honked at him as he weaved in and out of the little bit of traffic on Main Street, then ramped the curb as he parked his truck. Jenson’s cop car was parked down a ways, and as Alec rushed for the front door, he heard the man cursing and screaming at the top of his lungs, beating on something hard.

  “Iris!” Alec called out. “Answer me, damn it!”

  He thought he heard her yell, but it was drowned out by Jenson’s endless screeching. The man charged out from the back hall, his nostrils flaring and knuckles bruised and bloody from beating at a door, most likely. Alec set his jaw, facing down the man who would not let go of a woman who wanted nothing to do with him.

  “Where’s Nikki?” Jenson asked casually, though his voice shook with rage.

  “I left her, just like Iris left you,” Alec replied. “Just walk away, Jenson. Let it go.”

  He sniffed hard and shook his head. “No. Iris is mine.”

  “No, I’m not, you jackass!” she yelled, the sound garbled by wherever she was hiding.

  Jenson’s head whipped back around, and he opened his mouth to yell. Alec used the distraction for his benefit. He didn’t know if the man was armed, but he wasn’t giving him a chance to draw his gun if he was. They tumbled to the floor in a mad scramble of limbs. Alec wrapped an arm around Jenson’s neck, putting him in a chokehold in the hope of knocking him out, but Jenson flailed and his elbow clocked Alec hard in the face, loosening his hold.

  Jenson pushed to his feet, fast but unstable, and Alec caught the whiff of whiskey on the man’s breath. He rolled to the side as a boot slammed down where his head would’ve been. He managed to find his feet and get his arms up to block a wild punch before dealing out one himself, sending Jenson staggering backwards, holding his jaw. With a wild yell, Jenson charged forward again, but Alec side-stepped and hit the man in the back. He flew into a nearby table, crashing into it as his movements grew more erratic. He grabbed a broken table leg, wielding it like a bat, and Alec’s eyes narrowed.

  “You’re going to regret coming here,” Jenson leered with a dark laugh. “You’re going to regret ever laying a hand on Iris!”

  He ran at Alec, swinging the table leg, and caught him in the side. He gasped for air from the hit but didn’t go down. Jenson swung again but missed when Alec ducked out of the way. He needed to knock the man out, but his attacks were too frequent to look around for something that might help him out. His hands landed on a table he backed into to steady himself and wrapped around something cylindrical. He whipped it around just as Jenson brought the table leg down. It shattered against the metal rod. Alec pushed forward, disarming Jenson quickly of the table leg, but Jenson reached out and they fought over the metal rod before it clattered loudly to the floor. Alec curled his hands into fists and decked Jenson hard in the nose. He didn’t give the man time to recover and hit him again and again, aiming for his sides and his stomach until the man was bent over double, gasping for air.

  Alec let his fists fall, breathing hard and trying to hold back the worst of his rage, but thinking of what this man might’ve done to Iris made it extremely difficult.

  “Just give it up, man,” he said. “Before I put your ass in a sling.”

  Jenson turned away from Alec, still bent over double. Alec wiped sweat from his face, expecting him to fall over and pass out from exhaustion and the whiskey, but when he straightened, a knife gleamed in his hand and his lips curled in a sneer. He didn’t make a sound and ran at Alec, slicing with the knife. He cursed when it cut through his forearm and again at his bicep, but he kept it away from his vitals. Jenson managed a kick to his side, and Alec fell backwards into a table, crashing to the floor. He shook his head to clear it, dust stinging his eyes, when he heard a feminine yell and a thud.

  “Iris?” he asked loudly, trying to see.

  “You dumb bitch!” Jenson roared.

  Alec wiped madly at his eyes and saw Iris holding a broken bottle in one hand and backing away as Jenson stalked her with the knife.

  “No!” he raged, and instinct and adrenaline took over.

  Alec tackled Jenson to the floor. His hand reached for the knife and managed to pry it loose from the man’s hands. He tossed it aside and straddled Jenson’s chest, punching him hard enough to finally knock the man out. His head lolled to the side, and Alec fell off him, kicking his side for good measure.

  “Alec?” Iris asked quietly.

  He looked up, and Iris stood by the counter, the broken bottle clutched in her hand, her face as pale as the moon outside. “Iris,” he whispered harshly and pushed to his feet, needing to hold her. The bottle fell from her hand when he reached her, and she jumped into his arms, clinging tightly to him as he crushed her to his chest, kissing her cheek and holding her close. “God, I was so scared,” he whispered into her hair. “So scared I’d lose you.”

  “The do
or,” she gasped, “he was almost through it. I didn’t know what would happen!”

  “I’ve got you now,” he told her firmly and stepped away from Jenson’s unconscious body. “I’ve got you now, and I’m not letting go, ever.”

  He kissed her just to reassure himself she was there and she was alright as he carried her out the front door to his truck.

  Chapter 15

  Her hands shaking, she let the paramedics drape a blanket over her shoulders and took the warm cup of coffee they offered her. “Thanks,” she mumbled, her voice shaking.

  “You’re lucky,” the woman told her, one of the people Iris used to consider a friend. Linda eyed her closely and draped her stethoscope around her neck. “Listen, I know we haven’t talked in years, but you didn’t deserve this.” Iris tried to smile, but she couldn’t get her lips to work. Linda patted her hand. “You’re still in shock. It’ll pass.”

  “Right, and what happens when he comes after me again?”

  Sheriff Pueller’s furious yell echoed to them from down the sidewalk, and Linda shook her head. “I don’t think you’re going to have to worry about Jenson again.”

  “Iris!” Sam yelled, and she turned as her brother rushed to her side to hug her tightly, August right behind him. “Where is he? Did Alec kill him? Please tell me he did.”

  August rested his hand in comfort on Iris’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Iris.”

  “Don’t be. Your brother saved my ass,” she told them both. “I was damn lucky he got there when he did, though. Damned lucky.”

  “Where is my brother?” August asked, glancing around at the flashing lights and bustling crowd of people, mostly onlookers. There was nothing else to do in a small town when the entire police force was called out to a crime scene.

  “I think he was talking to Pueller about what happened,” she said. “He’s already been looked at by the paramedics. A few bruises and scratches from a knife, but he’ll live.”

  August bent down and kissed her cheek. “Glad you’re alright. I’m going to see if I can talk to him, figure out if he’s going to jail tonight.”

  “He’d better not,” she muttered as he walked away. She felt Sam’s worried frown and leaned against her brother. “I’m fine, promise. Just a bit shook up.”

  He nodded and held her hand. “I found the hole in the wall,” he said quietly, and she stiffened. “I thought maybe it was you on one of your bad nights, but it was him, wasn’t it? I heard a few things when I was at the hospital but never put the pieces together. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She shrugged. “I thought I could handle him, handle everything going on,” she admitted. “I think I was wrong, kid. Dead wrong.”

  Sam leaned her head against his, and brother and sister sat in the back of the ambulance, watching the spectacle around them. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Sheriff Pueller wandered in her direction, twirling his hat in his hands, his face a shade of maroon she didn’t know was even possible.

  “Iris, Sam,” he said nodding to them both. “I don’t even know where to start.”

  “Tell me he’s going away for a long-ass time,” she muttered. “That’d help.”

  Pueller nodded. “He was spotted at Danny’s bar, drinking all afternoon. A few bystanders said he walked out staggering while still on his damn shift, said he was talking to some woman beforehand. He still had his damn gun on him, too.”

  Iris reached out and patted his hand. “He fooled a lot of us, Sheriff,” she said gently. “But I’m alive.”

  “Yes, because of Alec Wolf,” Pueller said. “I should throw a damn parade for that man of yours. He’s pressing charges against Jenson, of course, as I’m assuming you’re going to as well.”

  “Damn straight she is,” Sam said, and for once, Iris didn’t bother to correct his language.

  “The mayor won’t like his son being in jail,” she said, and Pueller’s eyes narrowed.

  “Then maybe he shouldn’t have raised his son to be a bastard,” he muttered and slammed his hat on his head. “I’ll be in touch, Iris. Sam, watch out for your sister.”

  “Will do, Sheriff,” he said, and they watched the man saunter off towards his patrol car. “I kind of feel bad for him.”

  Iris did, too, but she didn’t say it out loud. Exhaustion weighed heavily on her shoulders, and all she wanted to do was curl up in a warm bed and forget this night ever happened. But she never would. Watching Alec fighting Jenson was an eye-opening moment to what that man was truly capable of, a wolf not letting anything get in the way of him and his pack. He’d been a nearly unstoppable force, a beast.

  “There they are,” Sam announced and pointed towards August and Alec hurrying towards them.

  “Sam,” Alec said, and Iris’s little brother let go of her hand to hug him.

  “Thanks, man, really,” he said when he stepped back.

  “I’d do anything for your sister,” Alec assured him and patted the side of his face. “But I think I’m going to take her home to get some sleep. August said he’d stay with you at the house again if you don’t mind.”

  Sam shook his head and stood beside August. Alec reached out a hand to Iris, and she slipped hers easily into his. He pulled her gently to her feet and draped an arm around her shoulders.

  “I think I could use a drink,” she murmured as they climbed into Alec’s truck and he started it.

  “I’m sure I have a bottle of whiskey at the house,” he said, but he didn’t pull away from the curb.

  “Alec? What’s wrong?”

  He sagged in his seat and took her hand. “Probably nothing, but Nikki was at the house the same time Jenson went to see you. They set it up together, and she… She tried to burn the photos of Gyda that Joe brought to my house.”

  “Why do you have pictures of Gyda Lundy?”

  “We’ve been doing some digging into the past of the town,” he told her. “I think those heirlooms you sold to Joe actually belonged to Gyda. We can’t prove it for sure yet, but we feel this town… your family—we think you’re actually the descendant of the founders, which means this town is yours, Iris.”

  She wasn’t sure she’d heard him right and sat in silence. Her parents always talked about Gyda Lundy and why they started the museum in the first place, and she knew how long they'd fought to open it. She’d always wondered what the mayor had had against her parents, but if he wasn’t supposed to own the whole town, then it made sense.

  “Iris? Joe is looking for more proof,” he said, but she shook her head. “No?”

  “No,” she repeated. “I don’t want it.”

  He shifted in his seat. “You don’t want the town that’s yours by right? All the land rights? The buildings, all of it should be yours and your brother’s.”

  “No,” she said. “This town hasn’t done much for me, and I don’t want to have the people turn against me because they think I’m trying to ruin the Drayers. I don’t want you to keep digging into the past, not now.” She squeezed his hand with a confident grin, and in that moment, everything felt right in her world. “I have you, and Jenson is finally going to be put where he belongs. I have Dad’s shop back and Sam’s healthy. That’s all I ever wanted.”

  He sighed and brought her hand to his lips, kissing the back of it softly. “You’re sure?”

  “I’m sure,” she said. “Call Joe sometime tomorrow and tell him to let the dead rest. I’m going to look towards the future and what we can build together on our own merits.”

  He nodded and placed his hands on the steering wheel. “Let’s go home, then, so we can get started on that future tonight.” Iris settled back in her seat and watched the flashing lights fall away until her eyes closed and she fell asleep before they’d even reached Alec’s home.

  Their home.

  Chapter 16

  Three Months Later

  Alec stretched in the early morning sunlight pouring through the window. The new-fallen snow covered the town of Lundy, and he grinned like a k
id, hoping Iris would wake soon so they could go play in it. Sam and August were probably already out in it, stockpiling snowballs like they had last week when the first major snow hit. Sadly, he and Iris had lost that first fight, so he was ready for some payback.

  Iris yawned behind him, and he turned to see her eyes fluttering open, a satisfied smile stretching her lips as the sheet slid down her naked body. It pooled around her waist, and her exposed breasts enticed him. He stalked towards the bed, loving how they hardened under his hungry gaze.

  “How long have you been awake?” she asked, running her hand over the empty spot in the bed.

  “Long enough to admire the new snow and make battle plans for later,” he said. Iris laughed, shaking her head. “What? They cheated last time, and I want my brother to pay.”

  “You’re just mad because he hit you in the face and gave you a black eye with a snow ball,” she reminded him, but he didn’t dignify it with a response. “Come back to bed.”

  “In a second.” He walked to the dresser. He opened the top drawer and grinned at the box sitting on top of his clothes. “I’ve been waiting for the right time to give you this. I think you’ve waited long enough.”

  He turned with the box in his hands, and Iris sat up straighter, eyeing the box curiously. “What is it with you and mysterious boxes?”

  He shrugged. “I enjoy watching your face when you open them up.”

  “Alright then, what’s this one?”

  “This is something I think you will enjoy,” he said and sank to one knee beside the bed. Iris’s eyes widened, and she glanced from the box to his face. “I know it’s not a traditional engagement ring, but I had a feeling you would like this more.” He opened the box to reveal the sapphire necklace Iris had sold months before to help pay the bills. “Iris Lundin,” he said, calling her by the name that should have been hers, “we’ve been through hell together and back. Will you continue on this path with me and be my wife?”

  Her dark gray eyes darted from the necklace to him and back again before she jumped into his arms and tackled him to the floor. “Yes,” she said between kisses. “I will!”