Caleb (The Unseen Series Book 1)

by K. M. Thompson

  “It’s difficult to explain, my brothers and I ran the company together until seven months ago. I made a mistake, one that I can’t forgive myself for and so I stepped away from Slate Security and started a new business venture.” He explains.

  “What mistake did you make?” I ask before I think.

  “Oh no, it’s my turn,” he says. “When you said you were hiding from someone, was it the twins’ father?”

  “Yes,” I reply. “My turn—”

  “No, you have to offer up an explanation, like I did,” he says.

  “You didn’t ask me for an explanation.”

  “I didn’t think I needed too.”

  “You should learn to ask your questions correctly then, shouldn’t you?” I reply with a smirk.

  “Probably,” he grins. “Okay, my turn—”

  “Hold up,” I say.

  “You asked me a question,” he says and I go to interrupt again. “You told me I should ask questions correctly.”

  “That wasn’t a question,” I argue, but the smirk on his face says otherwise.

  “It was as soon as you added ‘shouldn’t you?’ to the end,” he replies, grinning from ear to ear. I open my mouth and close it again, knowing I’ve been tricked. He laughs and asks me his question. “Why are you hiding from the twins’ father?”

  What the hell do I say to that?

  “He was an abusive alcoholic,” I say, deciding to stick to mostly truth.

  His eyes appear to darken and his jaw clenches, before he shakes it off. It’s a quick recovery, but the reaction was there.

  “Abusive how?” he asks, his voice slightly gruff.

  “No, my turn. What mistake did you make?” I ask my question from earlier.

  His chest puffs out and he’s clearly thinking whether he should answer me or continue his line of questioning. “I was protecting a young lady, she told me she loved me. When I didn’t return her affection, she ran away from me and straight into the arms of her killers,” he tells me, his eyes on the floor the whole time.

  “That’s not your fault, she made the mistake by leaving herself unprotected. You were being professional—”

  “I was hardly professional, I was sleeping with her,” he interrupts me.

  “Oh,” I reply not really knowing what else to say. Why am I feeling jealous?

  “That is why I no longer work for Slate Security. I fucked up and my client got killed on my watch. She was only nineteen.”

  “Everyone makes mistakes Caleb, trust me I’ve made my fair share of them. It’s if we learn a lesson from those mistakes that matters, so we know not to make them again,” I tell him.

  “You’re an old head on young shoulders,” he says and I furrow my brow. “It’s a saying, meaning you’re very mature and wise for your age.”

  “Thanks? I think,” I reply uncertainly.

  “It’s a good thing.” He laughs. “Now tell me about your ex?”

  “He’s not my ex,” I say, looking over his shoulder to avoid eye contact.

  “Then who is he?” he responds like he might be jealous.

  “I can’t tell you anymore because then I would have to lie to you. I need to keep the twins safe, telling you will be divulging information that only one person know.”

  “Rita?” he asks.

  I nod and bite my lip. “Please don’t push it, I’ll tell you when I think it’s safe to.”

  “I can keep you safe, SJ,” he says as he moves toward me. “It’s what I do.”

  “It’s not about being kept safe physically, I need to keep the twins a secret,” I tell him.

  “Is that why you didn’t tell me about them the first time we met?” he asks and I pray that he’ll stop this line of questioning soon.

  “Yes,” I reply. “I can’t have them taken away from me.”

  “Okay, but promise me that if you need me, you’ll call,” he says.

  I nod, unable to answer him, because I do need him. I need him not to make me homeless.

  “Shall we play this game then?” I ask, trying to change the subject.

  “Come on then,” he says and lines up his cue to break.

  We spend the game laughing, while throwing playful insults at each other. It was when Caleb opened up about his family that stopped me in my tracks. He may not have been poor but he’s had it pretty tough. After his mom died when he was a teenager, he and his brothers were sent here then split up and sent to different boarding schools.

  “I have two brothers, Grayson and Logan. Two step-brothers, Aiden and Kade, and a step-sister, Jessica. My father was Leo Slate, Angelo Buccieri’s underboss.”

  “Your father was the underboss of the Decavalcante crime family?” I ask.

  “You know about the different organizations?”

  “Only really the New Jersey one. My mom said my father was something called a Caporegime.”

  “Capo,” he says. “Do you know his name?”

  “No, mom said I wasn’t allowed to know, it was too dangerous,” I tell him.

  “So your mom isn’t part of the family?”

  “No, my mom’s a whore,” I say simply and watch his eyes widen at my brashness. “This guy was paying her for sex and then when she found out she was pregnant, he threw a small amount of money at her and told her to get rid of it. She went into hiding for a while, had me and then carried on with what she was good at. Even after she met my step-dad Ken and they got married, she was still whoring herself. Ken was great though, he taught me so much,” I explain.

  “Where’s your mom and step-dad now?”

  “My mom abandoned us when I was seventeen. One day she just didn’t come home. We thought the worst and filed a missing persons report, the police found her and she told them to leave her alone she didn’t want to be found.” I turn and take my shot, missing the red by miles. “Ken was a mess, everything got out of hand and a couple of months before I turned eighteen we lost our house. We spent three nights on the streets when someone must have reported us to child protection because they came and took the twins. While Ken drank himself silly, I was trying to do everything I could to get the twins back to me as soon as possible. I didn’t see them for nearly two months.”

  “SJ, I’m so sorry,” he says so genuinely and I almost believe him until I remember he is kicking us out in just two months and child protection is going to come and take Maddie and Mitch from me again.

  “You’re not sorry though,” I say and watch his expression change from sympathy to defensive. “You’re kicking us out of our homes. I’ve already had my social worker at the apartment last week, telling me there is a wonderful foster home for the children in the Washington Highlands. They will take the twins, put them in the system and I’ll never find them again.”

  “Let me help you then,” he argues. “I’ll find you somewhere so the twins aren’t taken from you again.”

  “And what are you going to want in return?” I sneer.

  “Nothing, I just want to help you,” he argues.

  “Then leave our building alone!” I yell and tears start to well up. Damnit, I’m not going to cry in front of him. Rita was right, he is the enemy and I’ve stupidly allowed myself to start feeling something for him. “It’s not just Mitch and Maddie. Rita’s children, Claire’s children, all of them will be taken away from us. That many children going into the system at once will be hectic and they’ll lose track of them. You have no idea what it is like to have nothing or what it feels like to have everything ripped away from you. Our apartment building might just be a derelict building to you, but it’s a palace to us, a safe haven.”

  “I’ve just told you about what happened when my mom died, so don’t tell me I don’t know what it’s like to have everything you love taken away from you,” he growls.

  “Don’t compare us, rich boy. You wouldn’t last a week on the streets without your fancy bath tub or your ridiculously expensive coffee.”

  “I managed to drink your coffee flavored water didn�
��t I?” he taunts cruelly. I give him a look of disgust. This man isn’t just the enemy, he’s the spawn of the devil, his father was an underboss and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. “Fine, challenge accepted.”

  “What?” I ask, wondering what he’s up to now.

  “I’ll be homeless and poor for a week. If I make it through the week, then the demolition goes ahead as planned.”

  “And if you don’t?”

  “Then I guess I have one hundred and two new tenants.”

  I smile and hold my hand out, he takes it and we shake on it. His smile is slightly unnerving me.

  “I think it’s time I got home, we have an early start,” I tell him.

  “Why?”

  “We have to go shopping,” I reply, my grin getting bigger.

  “What?”

  “You can’t be homeless and poor in your expensive tailored Armani suit now, can you?”

  “I have plenty of other clothes I can use,” he says, starting to sound a little nervous now. Did he really think I was going to make it that easy for him?

  “You can’t wear cashmere and fine silks or whatever it is you rich boys wear. You’re homeless.”

  “So where are we going shopping?” he asks and my grin literally splits my face.

  “South Dakota Drive,” I reply like it’s a high end shopping strip.

  “What’s there?” he asks through gritted teeth.

  “Goodwill.” I smile and pat him on the shoulder.

  “No,” he states simply. “Plus I have a tone of stuff I have to do this week.”

  “Then you lose. I’d like to go home now.”

  He throws his cue at the wall and huffs out of the room. I’m glad he wasn’t watching me because I jumped a little. Angry Caleb isn’t someone I want to provoke, obviously.

  Chapter 8

  I storm out of the room after throwing the cue at the wall, only slightly satisfied when I see SJ flinch from the corner of my eye. What the hell did you just agree to?

  Too determined to prove a point, my ego answered before my brain had a chance to catch up. Now this time tomorrow, you’ll be wearing someone else’s sweat-infested clothes and sleeping on the street. Fuck!

  “Wow, you throw a better temper tantrum than Mitch does.” She chuckles, jogging to catch up with me.

  “I can’t do it this week, I have too much going on,” I say, avoiding eye contact with her.

  “Tough, you made the bet,” she argues.

  “I’ll do it, just not this week.”

  “This is a time sensitive situation. You might have a little work to do but this is our livelihoods on the line here.”

  Rip into her Caleb, put her in her place! my head screams at me but my cock appears to be pulling the strings to my mouth.

  “You’re right,” I reply. What the fuck?

  “I am?” she questions in surprise. Believe me princess, no one is more surprised than me.

  “We can shop tomorrow.” I wince at the thought. “But I can’t start this challenge until Tuesday, I need to spend Monday rearranging all my meetings for the rest of the week.”

  “Okay, that’s fair,” she replies.

  I nod, wondering how long it will be before I regret making this impulsive decision. “Let’s get you home,” I say and lead her back to the main part of the house.

  “I just need to get changed,” she says.

  “Just grab your things, don’t worry about changing.”

  I follow her out to the car and open the door for her, rearranging my dick when I close the door. The sight of her in my huge t-shirt and sweatpants that swamp her in black heels will do things to a man.

  I pull up outside her building and turn to her. “What time tomorrow?” I ask.

  “Noon sounds good,” she mumbles and I notice she’s wringing her hands in her lap. Is she nervous?

  “That’s fine, I’ll pick you up then,” I say. She nods and I open my door to get out, while she climbs out her side. “I was going to open the door for you,” I say. She chuckles and blushes, sits back in the car and closes the door. I can’t help laughing as I reopen the door. “M’lady.”

  “Thank you, good sir,” she replies in a British accent that reminds me of my friend’s wife, Dana. No wonder Edward is whipped, listening to that voice all day must leave him with a constant hard on. I take her hand and help her out of the car, and then walk her up to her apartment. The moment we hit the second floor, Rita’s door flings open. She takes in SJ’s appearance and then her narrowed glare settles on me.

  “No need to ask how your evening was, I can clearly see it for myself,” she mutters to SJ.

  SJ looks confused for a moment. “What are you talking about?”

  “When you come home wearing another man’s clothes, it’s pretty obvious what has gone on.”

  “Rita, it’s not what it looks like.” SJ chuckles. “Caleb took me to a restaurant, I was uncomfortable. He asked me what my ideal date was and I told him. A night in wearing sweats, a t-shirt and eating grilled cheese sandwiches. He took me back to his place and that’s exactly what we did. He was a perfect gentleman.”

  “Gentleman? The man’s a player,” she grunts.

  “We’ve come to an agreement,” SJ tells her friend excitedly. “Caleb is going to be a homeless and poor for a week. If he makes it through the whole week, we still have to move out as planned, but if he doesn’t make it, we get to stay.”

  Rita appears to think about this, when a nasty grin begins to grow across her face. “I’m going to make this the hardest week of your life,” she says. “SJ, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  SJ says goodbye and when she turns back to me, she’s looking really nervous again.

  “Can I kiss you?” I ask. You’ve never asked permission before.

  She nods her head and I lower my lips to hers, gently nipping at her bottom lip. She tastes so good, like strawberries and vanilla.

  I pull back when she moans into my mouth. A man only has so much self-control.

  She smiles at me, her cheeks glowing and I’ve decided I prefer her wearing aroused pink more than embarrassed pink. “I’ll see you in the morning?”

  “I’ll be here at noon,” I reply with my own grin. “Goodnight, SJ,” I say and turn toward the stairs.

  “Goodnight, Caleb.”

  ***

  As I drive to Grayson’s place, SJ’s scent is still lingering around me. Her taste, her eyes, those gorgeous pink cheeks—I just can’t seem to get her out of my mind.

  Pull yourself together man!

  I knock on Grayson’s door and he opens it instantly, looking rather surprised to see me.

  “Either she’s easy or you should change your name to shotgun,” he mutters and lets me in.

  “Shotgun?” I question.

  “You know,” he says and then imitates the sound of cocking a barrel and then firing the gun. I, unfortunately, am still none the wiser and look at him confused. “Oh come on Caleb, you know, pump, pump, squirt.”

  “Asshole,” I grunt and punch him in the shoulder. “We didn’t have sex.”

  “You’re losing your touch,” he replies, seemingly unaffected by my assault.

  “I thought you wanted my help? Maybe I should just go home,” I suggest.

  Grayson just stares at me, arms crossed and jaw clenched. By not biting back with some smart ass remark, this is Grayson’s way of calling a truce.

  “I didn’t think so,” I chuckle. “What do you need?”

  “I need to find her, I told you that,” he huffs.

  “Grayson,” I start. “Your obsession with Evangeline isn’t healthy. Maybe now is the time to start distancing yourself from her.”

  “No!” he yells, startling me. “She needs me.”

  “She doesn’t even know you exist and when she finds out who you are, she’ll wish she didn’t,” I remind him.

  “I am not obsessed with her, she just won’t take the money. I need her to take the money.”


  “You can’t force her to take it, it’s up to her. You’ve spent the last eight years trying to atone for your mistake. Leave her to get on with her life now. Her grandma took the money, and you made sure she never went without. You sent her to collage for god’s sake.”

  “Her grandma only took the money after something happened with the step-brother,” Grayson practically spits. “And I still don’t know what happened.”

  “Did you ever ask the old woman?”

  “She told Mike to tell me it was none of my business,” he replies, referring to the head of Slate Security’s legal team.

  “But she happily took your money?” I ask.

  “Yes, and now the grandmother has died, and Evangeline wants nothing from me.”

  “Can you blame her?”

  “Maybe she’s right—I deserve to be behind bars for what I did,” he muses.

  “Grayson, it was an accident. What you did was dangerous and stupid but it was still an accident,” I try to reason with him.

  “Will you look for her?” he asks but doesn’t acknowledge me.

  “I’ll look into it. I can’t promise anything, but maybe it’s time you let this go,” I tell him and he just scoffs in reply. “I have to clear my schedule tomorrow and I won’t be available for a week, I’ll look for her after that.”

  “Where are you going?” he asks suspiciously.

  “I’ll be being a homeless and poor man,” I respond and wait for the laughter to erupt.

  “Why?” he asks with no trace of humor. Not the reaction I was expecting at all.

  “I made a deal with SJ. If I can be homeless for a week, she has to let me get on with my job and stop trying to guilt trip me about evicting them.”

  “And if you don’t make the week?” he asks.

  “I will, so it’s not a problem,” I reply and that’s when the laughter starts.

  “Again, I’ll ask. What if you don’t make the week?”

  “I have to let them stay in their homes,” I mutter and Grayson’s laughing gets louder.

  “You idiot,” he laughs and then takes a deep breath. “Congratulations on your new tenants.”

  “What makes you think I’ll lose?” He doesn’t answer, he just looks me up and down and starts laughing again. “I’ll see you in a week,” I say, grabbing my things and heading out the door.