Undone (Unbound Trilogy Book 2)

by Kathy Coopmans

  Leaning forward, he places his head against my cheek, winded, his chest heaving at my back as he continues to slam into me. “You are priceless. A dream come true.”

  “So are you, Logan.”

  It hits me then as he stills and I feel his warmth spill inside of me, that he tied my hands and my feet while fucking me from behind and not once did my fear of not being able to move enter my mind.

  Chapter 16

  Logan

  “I’m not going on another date with you if you don’t let me go. We both have work to do.”

  Ellie lets loose a giggle as she slips off my lap and darts toward the door. Her ass covered in a pair of baggy cut-off sweats. Flip-flops on her feet, not an ounce of makeup. She looks sexy as fuck. All casual and laid back, hair a mess from my hands. Free-spirited. And here I am in a suit, body going rigid while waiting for someone with a twisted lifestyle to come knocking on my door.

  I don’t know how she defines a date; this sure isn’t what I have in mind. Although, I could get used to her surprising me and making me feel like a king. This woman had single-handedly made me feel like one. Washing away my insecurities in a short period of time.

  I was worth it — worth everything she gave me.

  “You deserve to go on a real date.” The irritation in my tone comes out rougher than I expected. She hesitates briefly with her hand on the doorknob before swinging around and aiming a frustrated expression my way to where it pins me to my chair at my desk.

  Shit. Wrong thing to say.

  “To you, a definition of a date is an expensive dinner, maybe going to a dance club afterward and then what? Sex? A date doesn’t always have to be going out, Logan. It can mean several things. Like your girlfriend showing up on a Saturday afternoon with an early dinner that she made herself. Staying home and watching movies. I love you, but I’m getting tired of you telling me what I deserve. I understand you have a lot on your plate, and you want to take me out and spoil me. I appreciate it more than you know. That isn’t what I want, and it isn’t what I deserve.”

  Disappointment dances across her face, making me feel like an ungrateful jackass instead of a king.

  A peasant is more like it.

  I’d been sitting in my office with a pile of applications in front of me when Ellie unexpectedly showed with a basket full of food she prepared. Beef fajitas, chips, salsa, and the best guacamole I’ve ever tasted. The perfect distraction to a morning full of interviews and not one I’ve felt comfortable enough to fill Maggie’s traitorous shoes.

  The last two interviews nearly had me going out of my mind listening to them drone on about the perks of being our secretary more than the actual duties of the job. The only perk they have is not paying a membership fee and insurance. Otherwise, the same rules apply. The one before them came onto me before I had the chance to ask the first question.

  I needed a secretary weeks ago. Lane’s has been helping as much as she can, it’s appreciated, it’s just not enough. I have papers that need to be filed. Contracts that need to be drawn up, monthly invoices sent out, plus a shit ton of other things that I don’t have time to do.

  If it weren’t for Eric stepping up and taking over by doing inventory, I’d have lost my shit by now.

  My eyes drift past Ellie to the door wishing like hell the next person would be the woman or man I’m looking for and take this load off my chest. I’m wearing myself thin, and it’s building inside to the point I’m about to lose control. I’m ready to untwist the last thread of this goddamn place that’s dangling like a noose around my neck and come undone.

  “You didn’t just throw up my past in my face with that sex comment? Think I told you I rarely dated? I know what a damn date is, Ellie, and I appreciate what you did, it’s just…”

  The second I released that first sentence, I regretted it. Especially now as she stands there quivering those lips my mouth were devouring in between her feeding me while sitting atop my desk.

  Ellie needs to get out of here before we end up fighting over something as mundane as a date.

  She puts up a hand to stop me from getting out of my chair. Tears are gathering in her eyes. She fights them back. I know they’ll fall the minute she’s out of this building.

  “That’s not what I meant. I don’t care if you’ve gone on a million dates or none. There isn’t a ‘just’ here with me and you, Logan. I told you I’m not like the women you are used to. I don’t care what we do as long as we’re together. Get it through your thick skull, damn it. I have to get to the store. I’ll talk to you later.” Her delicate throat bobs, hurt shining in those eyes that were vibrant mere minutes ago.

  “Ellie wait, damn it. I’m sorry.” The thought of her leaving this way, hurt, emotional, feeling unappreciated is cutting me wide open.

  “No, I have to go. I told Gabe I’d be ready in an hour. It’s been longer.”

  Every cell in my body tenses as she spins around, flings open the door and slams it shut.

  “Motherfucker.” Both my hands fly to my temples, and I rub, fighting the headache that’s coming on as quickly as our disagreement.

  “Fuck!” I roar.

  Nausea churns through my guts, I should go after her and beg for forgiveness, but when my phone vibrates on my desk and I glance down to see Rocco’s name lighting up my screen, it holds me back. That, plus it’s probably best she gets out of here before we open.

  “If anyone deserves anything right now, it’s you, asshole. Someone needs to kick your stupid ass,” I mumble to myself. At least I know there isn’t anyone else in the building except the stock crew and me. With the way my day is going, Ellie will stumble across one of the girls carrying a box full of condoms down the hall or a handful of sheets to change the bed.

  Jesus Christ. That’s all I need to hurt and piss her off more.

  “You want to tell me why I’m here interviewing secretaries when it should be you?” Rocco is the distraction I need not to high-tail my ass out of here and chase after Ellie.

  Unlike me, Rocco hasn’t been taking a break from the brewing storm. Still, I know he hasn’t found out a thing. The same as Lazaro came up empty-handed with his New York mafia connections. They all have men in prison for life; not one of them have someone in federal prison willing to risk taking a man out. Can’t say I blame them.

  What they do have are hitmen willing to blow Shadow’s head off the minute he’s far enough away from the prison. Doesn’t do me a bit of good when Gabe or I have no problem doing the same.

  I’ve done a lot of thinking these past few weeks, and I’m so tired of trying to figure out what the hell Shadow is up too that the lining around my skull is thinning. It’s ready to blow with keeping so much in and working overtime to let even more out. I’m ready to explode, and afraid Shadow will do some significant damage to Ellie if we don’t get this situation under control before he’s released.

  My hands curl into fists, wanting to take my irritation out on someone’s face. If only the son of a bitch I wanted to pummel to death were standing in front of me. I’d kill Shadow with my bare hands and love every bloodthirsty second of tearing his flesh off his bones.

  “Right, asshole. First thing I’m doing when I come down there is meeting this dark-haired beauty of yours. You’ve kept her to yourself long enough. Afraid she’ll dump your ass if she meets me?” The idiot laughs, causing me to do the same.

  “You wish, motherfucker. You want to meet Ellie then get your ass down here. Bring your secretary with you so I can persuade her to work for me until you take over.” Rocco has a damn good secretary. She’s married with a couple of college-aged kids. Has no desire to interact in club business outside of doing her job. She’s loyal and sincere.

  “That would be a no on the secretary. Mine is irreplaceable. Far as meeting Ellie, I’ll meet her soon enough.”

  “You’ll like her, Rocco. She’s tough, sweet, and she cares. It’s genuine, not sugarcoated with bullshit and lies.”

  Right now she�
��s upset with me. Has every right to be.

  Comfort strums through my chest. I’m looking forward to the day where happiness can bleed free. To wake up, go to work and do something meaningful with the rest of my life. Something that makes Ellie proud. A man that if I’m blessed with having kids, they’ll look up to.

  “I know I will, Logan. In the meantime, I got nothing on Shadow, brother. What I do have is someone I trust to run the business so you don’t have to be there at night. He’ll be running the place once I take over, may as well let him start now. You do know that’s what a manager is for, right? The owner trusts the managers so the owner doesn’t have to be there day and night. Thought I’d drop that bit of information in your lap, you know, in case you want to use it in the future. I’m opening a door for you, Logan. Walk through it and don’t look back. Life’s too short. Trust me to do you right until we sort everything out.”

  I bark out another laugh — this one filled with humor that hits my ears. I haven’t laughed over shit that really isn’t funny in years. Because honestly, there wasn’t a damn thing hilarious with anything Rocco just said. It was the truth that sobered me up.

  I was married to a woman I hated and married to a job I thought I loved. Didn’t quite know how to decipher that notion. To fully grasp onto the true meaning of love, when, for years, all I loved was revenge and money.

  “Pretty confident Seth will say yes, eh?” More assurance than Rocco has is the fact me and my brothers aren’t far off from ridding ourselves of a business that for years has been more of a burden than anything else. Seth will say yes, that I’m positive of. He has no choice. I won’t let him near this place anymore than I want Lane.

  “I ooze that shit, my friend.”

  “Sure, you do. Speaking of managers, mine can take care of the club just fine. It’s the women I want staying away from Ellie they can’t control. With me being here, it keeps them away.” Even though I enjoyed every second of Ellie surprising me the other night, not one woman has approached me since and that alone sends up red flags that the pot is about to be stirred.

  I know how these women work and to be honest, I’m surprised they didn’t approach Ellie the second they learned about her. Not that she can’t handle them if they did. She can; I’ve no doubt. The thing is, after what happened with Rocco and his woman years ago, I don’t trust the crazies to not try and hurt her in the physical sense.

  And the idea of anyone hurting her has death sitting on the edge of my tongue.

  “I hear you, but I ain’t listening. My guy will be there tomorrow night. His name is Leon. Has a wife, couple of young kids and they aren’t swingers. Pretty sure you met him a time or two. He’s solid. He’s been helping me out here for years. He knows what he’s doing, Logan. Take some goddamn time off. Take Ellie to the spot you been itching to take her. Fuck that place and get gone. The hell was the last time you did something for you anyway,” he responds, voice all tucked around anger. The guy is more than likely remembering his nightmare again.

  He’s right, though. I haven’t taken time off and went on vacation the entire time I’ve been working.

  I can picture the look on Ellie’s face if I took her to the place I told her about. Can see me staring down at the girl of my dreams while she gets a piece of her happy. The shock and the good memories that would run through her mind. Ellie would be free, and that’s all I’ve wanted for her.

  If only we could be that lucky to escape the pending storm and be free from it all.

  “Ellie can’t leave right now. It’s the store’s busy season. Listen, I have to go. It’s looking more and more like I might have to take Shadow out as originally planned. Send your guy down; I’ll work the office during the day.”

  I have no idea how I’ll take Shadow out. I will though if it’s the last damn thing I do.

  “I think you should leave-taking Shadow out to Gabe. Don’t go playing superhero and risk getting caught. Shadow suspects you’ll be coming for him, you made sure of it when you went to visit him last. Not saying that was a mistake, it wasn’t. It has him simmering in his pile of shit. The thing is, he knows you as well as you know him, Logan. If he’s working with someone on the inside, he’ll be guarded like Fort Knox when he gets out. Gabe can shoot him between the eyes with twenty men surrounding him. The man is a professional, Logan.”

  A hero I’m not. A desperate man to kill Shadow myself, I am.

  “I know Gabe is capable, but I’m not listening.” I toss his remark from minutes ago back in his face and go to hang up just as he begins to swear like a sailor.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck. Wait a second. Something you said a bit ago just now struck me. Goddamn it, why didn’t I think of this when you came here a while back worried about the women in the club telling Ellie about Whitney. It’s a theory, but it’s sinking into my bones. It’s obvious Shadow has someone covering his ass in prison. What if the person who’s making it possible is someone from the outside? Someone who wants revenge on Ellie for taking you out of the club scene? Someone like a woman with enough money to pay off a warden, a guard, or anyone they need on their side?”

  I blink, trying to process what he said. To see through the foggy mist that was right in front of me all along.

  Fury. It vaporizes the haze.

  “Shit. I had my regulars, but it could be anyone, Rocco.” I have enemies as well. Most I haven’t seen in years. Don’t mean they haven’t been sitting in the background waiting to strike me down and what better way to do it then go after the woman I love. I know all too well how it works. You wait, digging through the rubble until you find a person’s weakness. Once found, you wait until the moment is right, then you shoot the enemy down. Leave them behind the line with no way out.

  I should have seen this coming. Shouldn’t have been so hung up on Ellie finding out my secret that I was blind to the fact someone else wanted revenge?

  Who though? Who would be that messed up in the head that they’d dig up information about Ellie and find out what Shadow did? It has to be someone Whitney confided in. Some sneaky friendship she had behind my back.

  Son of a bitch.

  “You need to announce you’re selling as soon as you can. That’ll piss whoever it is off, and they’ll come out. We want them angry; it’s the only way to catch them. Make Ellie aware. She needs to watch her back closely. For the time being, I’ll have Leon stay here. That means you put your manager to work and stay the hell out of there, Logan. Gather up Lane and Gabe; I’m on my way, we’ll figure out who this is in no time, and I’ll take them out.”

  Adrenaline flows, soaking into my muscles that stretch and threaten to burst.

  I end the call. With shaky fingers, nerves ready to explode, I pull up both Lane and Gabe and shoot them a text asking them to meet me at Ellie’s. Fire and ice meeting each other in my veins. Producing steam that burns like a motherfucker.

  I try calling Ellie, and when it goes to voicemail, I plan on leaving her a message, but a light rap on my door stops me.

  My interview. I’m in no mood for it. I need to get out of here and get to Ellie. I don’t trust anyone keeping her safe but me or Gabe anymore, especially when women walk in and out of her store. At least Gabe is the one keeping an eye on her until I get to her.

  Standing, I check for a response from Gabe or Lane. When there’s nothing, I slip my phone in my suit pocket where it hangs on the back of my chair and make my way toward my next interview with the intent of letting them know I need to reschedule. Flipping open the door, I glare at one of the last people I’d hire to work alongside me.

  “The fuck you doing here?” I hiss. The tension that’s been winding up inside of me so tight is ready to snap when Lauren strolls in and sits in the chair across from my desk.

  Is it her? If it is, how the hell she could tie herself up with Shadow when she has a daughter to think about beats the fuck out of me.

  Her designer white suit and matching pumps are a little too innocent for the witch and her spells as
she crosses her legs at the ankle and places her hands in her lap.

  Anger bleeds around the hole of worry carved in my gut. It rages until it churns.

  “I’m interviewing. It’s my understanding you need a new secretary since Maggie up and vanished. I’ve been working alongside my father for years as his assistant. I’ve answered the phone, sent out letters. You know I’d be perfect for this job, Logan. Just as I’d be perfect for you.”

  I internally scoff — suspicion clouding my eyesight with rage. There’s not a chance in hell she knows about Maggie’s death. If she does, she’s an idiot for coming here alone and lying about wanting a job when we both know what she wants is me.

  Studying her, I wonder how much she knows, how the possibility that maybe it could be her working with Shadow. The screwed up thing about this whole theory, most of my regulars hated Whitney as much as she hated them. Suppose it’s easy to set hatred aside when you want the threat of getting what you want to be removed from the picture.

  “This innocent act of yours doesn’t appeal to me. Cut the bullshit, I see right through it. Tell me why you’re really here, Lauren. Is it to try and convince me to fuck you? If so, not only does it make you look like a desperate whore in heat, it’s a waste of both of our time. You have one chance to tell me the truth.”

  Her entire body trembles, giving away her fear. It shouldn’t escalate inside me that she is when I’m not sure if it’s her. Doesn’t fucking matter when it comes to Ellie, everyone from here on out is a suspect.

  “A whore? That’s rich coming from you. Of course, I want you. We were perfect together, Logan. I came here because we make a good team. You’re scaring me with the way you’re looking at me, what’s going on?”

  No, we weren’t. Lauren was as much of a whore as I was. She took dick from anyone. Especially men, she didn’t bother asking their name.

  “I guess it takes one to know one, doesn’t it? You want to know what’s going on? Let me lay it out for you one last time. I’m sick and tired of women like you not leaving me the fuck alone. Not giving two shits that I’ve found love and it sure the hell isn’t with any of you. I’ll give you one last warning to knock the bullshit off. There will be no mercy, no fucks given next time. I will toss you out of here and make sure your daughter’s school knows all about what the president of the PTA does while her child sleeps at night.”