ROMANCE: Mr. Mystery: (New Adult Bad Boy Romance) (Contemporary Mystery Short Stories)

by Viva Fox

  “Is that so? That pretty boy wouldn’t last five minutes with my man.” Kiley glared at him.

  “I bet $5,000 that my man will win.” Everyone’s eyes grew in surprise.

  “Kiley… are you sure? $5,000 is a lot of money…” He whispered. Kiley shushed him, pulling the money out of her purse.

  “What do you say hot shot?” The man grinned taking the money.

  “Fine if you have a death wish for him, I won’t stop you.”

  Brad looked nervous. For some reason, he didn’t feel right about this fight. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach. He looked around and tried to calm himself down. It was not like him to get pre-fight jitters. As he looked around he locked eyes with Kiley who gave him a thumbs up. He knew he couldn’t let her down.

  Suddenly the fight broke out. Brad was doing well and holding his own when suddenly things got dirty. His opponent pulled out a knife. This took Brad by surprise. Before he could react the knife was already inside of him. He fell to the ground in pain. His opponent smirked, kicking him in the stomach.

  Kiley tried to run forward and help her boyfriend when someone grabbed her. They pulled her out of the alley. She kept screaming and struggling before a group of men threw her into the back of a van. Brad groaned as he watched everything from his fallen state.

  The men continued to hit him and torture him and it was a surprise they didn’t kill him. When they thought he was beyond repair the crowd dissipated. Brad watched in horror as a man in a red hoodie, the same red hoodie from the night when he saved her. This man got into the van and drove away as Kiley screamed for help.

  Brad tried to get up and run, but he couldn’t. Everything went black.

  Chapter 8

  A few hours later Brad woke up and cursed under his breath. He got up and winced as he felt the pain of all his injuries. He quickly pulled the knife out of his side, grunting in pain. He was bleeding, but he ignored it. He had other matters to attend to. They had taken Kiley and he needed to find her.

  Quickly he pulled out his phone. He was glad they hadn’t taken it from him. When he became Kiley’s bodyguard, he had gotten access to the tracking device on her phone. If Kiley had her phone on her he would be able to find her. He looked at his phone, quickly finding the information he needed to rescue her.

  It looked like she was in one of the abandoned subway stations. Brad started to run down the street. His heart was pounding in his chest as he thought about his girlfriend. He prayed she was okay.

  Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he broke down the wooden boards shutting away the entrance of the station. He crashed down the stairs and winced as he tumbled down the steps. He got up and started to search for Kiley.

  As he walked through the station, he noticed a light coming from an abandoned subway cart. He approached it slowly, peeking inside one of the windows. Kiley’s hands were tied to one of the subway poles and there were three men guarding her. Brad formed a plan before creeping into the train.

  He took down the first man easily. The other two men charged at him and he did his best to fight them both at the same time. Somehow, in the end he managed to slam both of their heads together, making them fall, unconscious to the floor. He looked up, ready to save his girlfriend when his eyes grew wide in horror.

  Before him, Kiley looked scared as the barrel of a gun touched her forehead. She was whimpering softly as the man with the red hoodie looked at Brad, a grin on his face.

  “Not so tough now are you?” The man grinned as he cocked the gun.

  “Don’t!” Brad pleaded as he looked at the man. “Kill me instead.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea…” He grinned and pointed the gun at Brad. Kiley’s eyes grew large as she shook her head in terror. She tried to escape her bonds as the man put his finger on the trigger.

  Suddenly the sound of a gunshot resounded through the subway cart. Kiley closed her eyes as her heart pounded in her chest. She heard Brad scream out in pain and feared the worst. She was too scared to open her eyes.

  The man with the red hoodie smirked as he watched Brad wither in pain. He pointed the gun at Kiley, taking his attention away from Brad. When he did, Brad quickly swept the man’s feet from under him, knocking him to the ground.

  He moved quickly, knocking the gun out of the man’s hand before raining down punch after punch on the man’s face until he was unconscious. Brad breathed hard as blood spilled from his bullet wound. Despite this, he got up and untied his girlfriend holding her close.

  She finally opened up her eyes to look at him. She kissed him deeply. She was glad he was alive and thankful that they were both okay. Or so she thought. She looked down to see his bloody shirt.

  “You’re… you’re hurt!”

  Chapter 9

  Kiley paced around the hospital hallway anxiously. The doctors said that Brad’s condition was critical. Kiley was scared. She didn’t want to lose him.

  She bit her nails as she paced the halls. She just wanted him to be okay. She started to blame herself for the whole thing. He didn’t want to fight, but she had made him. If she hadn’t been so stupid none of this would have happened. She felt like such a selfish idiot.

  “Miss. Bullens?” Kiley suddenly whipped her head up, forgetting her thoughts as she looked at the doctor. She walked up to him quickly.

  “Doctor! Is he okay? Tell me he’s okay!” Kiley demanded breathlessly. The doctor smiled warmly at her.

  “He is okay. He is stable now and should be released in a couple of weeks. His wounds were superficial. Lucky guy.” Kiley smiled in relief. “Thank goodness.” She looked at the doctor. “May I see him?”

  “Of course.” Kiley followed the doctor into the hospital room before running into Brad’s arms. He winced when she hugged him, but he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

  He was glad she was okay. He kissed her head before laying her head on his chest.

  “Are you okay?” He asked, looking at her with concerned eyes. She couldn’t believe that he was asking her such a question when he was the one lying in a hospital bed. She nodded, nonetheless. “Good.”

  “What about you…?” She asked softly, looking at him, her eyes starting to water. “I… I feel like such a fool… I’m sorry about everything… I should have never made you fight… “Kiley was crying now, her tears soaking into his chest. He gently ran his fingers through her hair trying to soothe her.

  “Hey… shh… it’s okay… we are okay now and that’s all that matters, okay?” She nodded and blushed looking up at him. She leaned forward and kissed his lips gently.

  “I love you,” she said for the first time. Brad was taken aback by her words and blushed. Kiley frowned, thinking he wouldn’t say it back. She looked away, embarrassed.

  “I love you too Kiley,” he said gently. Kiley’s head snapped up as she looked at him with big eyes.

  “R… really?” She asked a little surprised. He nodded and grinned before kissing her again.

  “Really.” He smiled at her. She giggled.

  “From now on I think we should stay away from underground and street fighting. Maybe you could join MMA or something? You know something with rules and regulations.” Brad thought about it for a moment.

  “I would like that… but on one condition.” Kiley tilted her head in question.

  “And what is that?”

  “I need you to be my number one fan.” She smirked.

  “I already am.”

  *****

  THE END

  Sweet Release

  MACY

  I sorted through the few remaining memos on my desk, searching for some work to help pass the time. Coming up empty, I sighed. Yet another to-do list completed before lunch. Yet another glaringly obvious sign that I was overqualified for this position.

  Not a huge surprise, though. I figured as much when I applied for the job six months ago but at the time it was more about getting back on my feet than finding something perfectly suite
d. I left perfect far behind in my old life. Perfect wasn’t all it cracked up to be.

  I was always expected to be the smart daughter, the loyal girlfriend, the dependable employee. But, little by little, things unraveled until I found myself here in this glorified secretary position, thanking the universe for my foresight to cushion my savings account while things were still good. Though at the time it was a nest egg for a house or a new car. I never expected my life to take such a sharp detour.

  And I never expected someone like Brenn Michaels to be into someone like me.

  But he was.

  I could tell by the way he watched me from his open door while I bustled around in the outer office. I could tell by the way he leaned in close over my shoulder while going over his daily schedule. I could definitely tell by the way his eyes would drift over my body. And if there was any question left in my mind, then that time in the boardroom sealed the deal.

  And a few months ago when I found out I was pregnant it wasn’t the deal breaker I was expecting it to be. I assumed once I started to show and my body started changing he would back off and we’d morph back into a mostly professional, albeit awkward, relationship again.

  Not the case.

  The bump could no longer be hidden under an extra layer but Brenn’s interest hadn’t waned. Not yet anyways. Just the opposite, he seemed drawn to my new curves. His mouth no longer nibbled at my tits, but feasted.

  And I tried my best to ignore the way his hands floated, lingered, over my stomach. I resisted the urge to flinch away from his attention, not yet accustomed myself with the unfamiliarity of my own body. If he noticed my hesitation he was good at hiding it.

  I’d spent a lot of time, too much time, wondering why someone like Brenn would be interested in me and my baggage. He’s smart enough to run this business, which from everything I knew was successful. He’s able to speak in full and complete sentences around a woman. And good god he’s handsome and definitely knows his way around a vagina, so no problems there.

  Why in the hell he was with a woman who, after learning her boyfriend was a cheater and her parents would rather see her married than happy, quit her well-paying job as a nurse, packed as much as she could into her tiny car and ran, was beyond me.

  And really, at this point in my life where I’d made so many bad decisions, Brenn hardly seemed like the worst thing. Even if I didn’t fully understand his interest in me I trusted him and that wasn’t something I could say about many people. I would take his cute, tailored suit clad ass for as long as he’d have me.

  And not because I loved him. Not at all. Because admitting that would be one of the worst decisions I could make. A one way ticket to disaster. Six months in and one baby on the way was probably the absolute wrong time to explore those thoughts.

  My stomach rumbled, a jack hammer pounding against me jumbling my thoughts, and I looked at the clock. Lunch time.

  Brenn’s door was closed. The little light on my phone indicating he was still talking to Mr. Merrell. I leaned back in my chair to peer through the glass transom that bordered his office door. His brow was etched in thought, hand rubbing the back of his neck.

  His serious face. Shaking his head and talking into the phone, brows pushed together, I could hear the tone of his voice in my head, the deep rumble as he bit out commands and I felt a hunger for something much better than anything the cafeteria had to offer.

  Yep. Definitely not smitten.

  My body ached like some kind of Pavlovian conditioning. Noon on the clock signaled a locked door and an hour of privacy with Brenn. I glanced again at that damn light on my phone and cursed these damn hormones for making me ache for him. Shameless.

  My stomach rumbled again and I sighed, resigning myself to the fact that the baby was going to win this round. I closed my eyes and practiced a few deep breaths to stymie the throb that pulsed between my legs before grabbing my purse and heading down to the cafeteria.

  Brenn’s company, which he co-owned and ran the day to day, held two floors in the building. The remaining floors were owned by other companies with a shared independently owned cafeteria in the middle. This job was miles from working at the hospitals and clinics I was used to, but cafeteria food remained the same.

  Stepping through the doors I scanned the message board for today’s menu and groaned at the all too familiar sensation. How could soup make me nauseous? Grabbing a dinner roll, an apple juice and a couple packets of individually packaged cheese portions I turned to find a table.

  From the far end of the room an arm shot up and I moved toward the friendly face.

  “I haven’t seen you in the cafeteria in weeks. I was beginning to wonder if I should call in a search party.” My friend Alison smiled at me from across the table.

  I met Alison my first day here. Though she worked a few floors above me for an investment firm she seemed to know the gossip throughout the whole building. An invaluable ally turned great friend when I needed one the most. Seeing her was my second favorite time of the day.

  “Sorry.” I said around a mouthful of bread. “Busy with work.”

  “I call bull shit, but I’ll let it slide. Only because it looks like you might eat me if I disagree with you.” She said, eyeing my random collection of food and the mouthful I was working on.

  I swallowed and cracked my juice before answering her. “Ugh, I know. I can’t help it, though. It’s like my body has a mind of its own.”

  “Now if you would have told me you’d been busy getting ready for that impending mind-of-its-own I maybe would have believed you.”

  I cringed. Truth was I hadn’t done much to prepare myself yet. And it wasn’t like I could put it off. It was happening. It was easy to forget what was coming at first, but now, with my first pair of maternity pants sitting in my closet and a pint of cherry chocolate ice cream calling my name from the dessert fridge, there was little room for me to be procrastinating anymore.

  “I wish that were the case.” I said, unwrapping a piece of cheese.

  “Why don’t we head to that cute little boutique over on Monroe this weekend? Might get you in the spirit of things.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t this weekend. It’s the Stakeholders Gala on Saturday.”

  “What about Sunday, then?”

  “I’ll be running around all day today and into the night Saturday for the Gala, so I’m thinking that Sunday will be filled with my new favorite hobby. Sleeping.”

  “I don’t know much about babies and I can appreciate the minimalist approach, but I think at the very least you’ll have to find a place for it to sleep. And I’m guessing there are other things out there that are considered necessities.”

  “You’re probably right. I should read a book or something. I just can’t seem to find the time. Or energy.” I reached for another piece of cheese and frowned when I realized there were only wrappers left. I balled them up and tossed them onto Alison’s tray. I leaned back in my chair and shook my head. ”What’s wrong with me?”

  “Maybe it’s that nice piece of distraction that’s looking at you like you’re the last pork chop in the buffet.” Alison motioned behind me with her carrot stick.

  I followed her eyes to the door where Brenn was standing, looking amazing in his charcoal suit and every bit as hungry as I felt. The fact that he couldn’t wait for me to get back upstairs echoed my own urgency building. My body warmed under his gaze even from across the busy room and I stamped my foot against the hitch in my breath, against the flutter I felt when our eyes met.

  Shit. I definitely, absolutely wasn’t in love with Brenn Michaels.

  BRENN

  I watched her stand, leaving behind her food and her friend. I could read the desire in the half hooded look in her eyes, the way they never left mine.

  “Ms. Sinclair.” I said by way of a greeting.

  She simply nodded, but her smile gave her away. She loved playing the employee to my boss, the taboo of it, though it was a farce at this point. Something
that got us both off in the beginning, now just a reminder of how far we’ve come.

  We’d moved so far from those little games and denials that it seemed like forever ago that we were just messing around behind my locked door. I think we were both surprised that things had progressed from that.

  Truth was, though, I was tired of playing games. I wanted something real, permanent. Something I never had before. I would give Macy anything, but she steadfastly held onto that wall, determined not to sacrifice her whole self to me. I could see that wall wavering, but my stubborn girl held tight anyways.

  We walked in silence, and I could sense her anticipation. We had made it to the elevators and the doors closed us into an unusually empty car. She was playing with the bracelet at her slender wrist, waiting for me to make a move.