He stiffened, but she did have a right to know. “No, she found her mate and moved up north. But as I said before, there are a few women in our pack that will be a little put out, but they’ll come around.” R.D. kissed the side of her neck.
“Do you think she could have anything to do with your son missing?”
“No, she was as crushed as I was. We’ll find him eventually and when I do, they’ll pay.” He glanced over at Logan and smiled. “You’re turn, bro,” R.D. smiled and he moaned.
“There are two women from the pack that I’ve seen on and off over the years. Lisa and Greta, but not to worry, I’ll talk with them.”
“No, if this is going to happen between us, you two are going to have to allow me to deal with the others. Even though my mom does not think I can take care of myself, she will soon see how wrong she is.”
“So who was the second man in your life?” Logan asked, and she grunted.
“He’s my martial arts instructor. That man can move both in and out of well…you know,” Jasmine looked down at her hands.
“You’re still seeing him?” R.D. stilled waiting for her to answer.
“No, that part of our relationship ended last year. I see another instructor at the place since it was awkward after I broke it off. Seems I wasn’t the only one he was so-called teaching,” she shrugged. “So now you know about the two men I dated, are you happy? Does it help?” she asked and he sighed.
“Jasmine, we want to know all about you, not just the men that were in your life. Now, tell us about your company? What do you do that father knows nothing about?” R.D. asked.
“I heard that and we will be talking when you are done,” his father shouted from the bedroom.
“Damn it, I thought they left,” she sat up straight. “You don’t think he heard about Daman, do you?” she asked him, but didn’t have to say a word.
“Yes, I heard every damn word, young lady,” Cole shouted out.
“Son of a bitch,” Jasmine jumped up and would have fallen backwards if R.D. hadn’t caught her. Her legs had instantly given out beneath her.
“Easy baby, we told you you’re not ready to stand up yet. And don’t worry about Dad. Come on, we have to wash your hair.” For the next half hour Logan and R.D. shared their lives growing up on the ranch, trying to calm her while they washed her hair and her body.
By the time they stepped out of the tub and dried her off, no one was in the bedroom. There was no mistake, his stepfather would have a few choice words with her former guards.
“He’s calling them, isn’t he?” Jasmine asked as he placed her down on the bed.
“What do you want to put on, PJ’s or get fully dressed?” Logan asked from across the room as R.D. handed her a protein drink.
She eyed the drink, then looked over at Logan. “My purple dress. It slips on nice and it’s comfortable. This better not taste like donkey crap,” she mumbled and gulped the drink down fast, holding her breath just in case.
He laughed, handing her the next one when she was finished. “One more Princess, then we’ll take you downstairs.”
“Are you going to stay with me all day? Don’t you have stuff to do, a ranch to run?” Jasmine asked, taking the next drink and gulping it down like the first one. “I hope that is the last one. They weren’t bad, but I sure wouldn’t buy them.” She shivered and handed him the empty glass.
“Just today, you need to drink two at each meal. Is this the dress you were talking about?” Logan asked coming over with a purple dress.
“Yep, that’s it.” She held out her hand and Logan shook his head.
“I’ll do this.” Logan slipped the dress over her head as he reached down and took the towel from her.
“I’ll get her brush. We can do her hair downstairs. I’m sure Dad is waiting for us.” R.D. said, grabbing the brush on his way out the door. He moved quickly, wanting to speak with his father before Jasmine came down.
Sure enough, as they were walking into the family room, his father was yelling at the man Jasmine had dated, Daman.
“That is my fucking daughter, what the hell were you thinking messing with her?” Cole snarled as he grabbed Daman up by the shirt, ready to rip the man into shreds.
“You might want to put him down, Dad. Jasmine is on her way down and we have a bigger issue here. Did you know she started her own business?” He asked both his father and Daman.
“What? That girl has a lot to explain.” Cole dropped Daman.
“Daman, did you hear her mention anything about it?” R.D. asked as he took a seat on the sofa watching the man.
Daman stayed where he was, looking back and forth between him and Cole. “She told all of us about her business. Jasmine is very proud of what she has accomplished and we all offered her suggestions. Last I heard, she has over six properties she is renting out, and her online business has taken off like hot cakes. Did you know she majored in business? She has three people who work for her online, each one was checked out by Granger, why?”
“Her company is on the list we’ve been watching. Our money has been disappearing from the firm and three of the transfers were made to her company.” He announced watching Daman take a seat across from him.
“Do you have any idea who? Damn, I knew I should have done the checks myself!”
“Why didn’t you do the background checks?” Cole asked, looking up.
“Granger said he had the contacts and he could have it done by the next day.” Daman stood as Cole did when Logan brought Jasmine into the room. He placed her on the couch next to him. Her gaze flew around the room.
“Okay, I know you were talking about me, so spill it,” she glared at him, then at his father.
“Don’t you look at me like that. Why didn’t you tell us about your company? Why all the secrets?” Cole asked.
“I told you and mom I was going to start my own business. You both said go for it, just finish school. Well, I finished school and set up my business. As far as my relationships, they were not your business. I’m old enough to make my own decisions, so you have no right being mad at Daman.”
R.D. reached over and turned her so he could brush her hair. She had beautiful long thick brown hair, with blonde highlights. “We were discussing a problem we’ve been having at the firm. It seems someone has been wiring our money to other companies. We don’t have access to these companies yet to see where the money is going.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “How big of a withdrawal from your firm? If they were big enough your account should have seen it? But if they were in small increments, that would be a problem. So what does that have to do…You mean someone has been giving me your money?”
Jasmine went to jump up again, but R.D. was ready for it and wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her still.
“You have to stop doing that. I told you right now your body is changing and you are not going to be able to walk for a little while,” he grumbled, and placed her onto his lap, holding her tight.
“How much?” she asked tears streamed down her cheeks. “Never mind it doesn’t matter, they can shut me down now.” Frowning she looked back at him then at Logan. “What is the name of your firm?”
R.D. didn’t like the way this was going, not one bit. “O.S.M. Inc. or Old Senile Madox, my grandfather’s joke.”
Her hiss had him cussing. R.D. should have known something else was going on. “What?” He asked her as Logan slid in next to her, taking her hand and squeezing it.
“What’s going on Jasmine?” his brother asked again, and reached up, wiping the tear that rolled down her check. Behind them her mother came into the room, looking at Jasmine, and frowned.
“What happened?” she asked.
“O.S.M. has been trying to close me down for about two years now. At first they wanted to buy my company and I told them no, that’s when things got a little nasty. I’ve had two federal agents show up in the first year after I said no, going through my books, but they didn’t fi
nd a thing. That’s when that asshole, Jared whatever his name is, called to gloat about the federal audits. He knew and then he proceeded to tell me they would get worse if I didn’t sell to him. Well I told him to kiss my fat ass and hung up the phone, the stupid ass. I’ve kept daily logs, everything was written down just to cover me, but now this…” she slumped against him.
“Why R.D. did you guys want my little company so badly?” she whispered as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Oh Princess, we had no idea, I promise you,” Logan said leaning in and wiping her tears away, placing kisses all over her face.
“Well at least we know one of the people behind all of this. Now we need to figure out why and how big this is.” R.D. rubbed Jasmine’s back. “But baby, you have nothing to worry about. Do you know the name of the guy who did the audit, because he has to be connected to this somehow?”
“I scanned his business card into my laptop along with the papers he gave me. But he could be innocent maybe hearing a tip or something? I just hate to cause anyone trouble when they don’t know anything,” she looked at him.
“Do you really think we can straighten this out before my other clients hear about it? I’ve worked so hard on keeping my nose clean with all the Wall Street crap going on. I wanted a place where individuals could come and trust me.”
“I promise we’ll get this all cleared up, but first I believe you need to eat some breakfast. Come,” R.D. lifted her up into his arms just as one of his father’s guards came into the house.
“We have visitors at the front gates wanting to come in and speak with Miss Jasmine,” Hank announced.
“Oh my God, they’re going to take me away and lock me up,” Jasmine squeaked, her fear had his wolf growling and needing to protect his mate.
“No one is going to touch you, Baby. Hank, let them in. Logan, get Grandfather here now, he’ll be able to help us. He knows most of the contacts in the Bureau,” R.D. placed Jasmine in Logan’s lap and moved toward Hank.
“Daman, find out whatever you can on Granger and Jared. I want that file in my hands in two hours. And Daman, I’m counting on you.”
Just as the two men, Hank and Daman were about to leave, the interior alarms started to go off in the west wing of house, the same place where Jasmine’s bedroom was located.
Chapter Five
One minute she was sitting in Logan’s lap, the next he was running with her in his arms, his father next to them with her mother in his arms.
“Safe room, now! Daman, Hank, head towards the alarms, ignore the people at the gate for now,” R.D. yelled behind them.
The wall opened up like something right out of some movie and Logan flew into the room behind it. Jasmine had never seen the room before. Logan placed her on a sofa. “Do not leave this room till we come to get you,” he said holding onto her chin, staring into her eyes before bending and placing a hard kiss on her lips.
“Be back soon.” He turned and left the room, as did Cole. A heavy steel door closed and locked, sealing her and her mother inside.
She glanced around the room, seeing that it was filled with books, a fridge and there was even a bathroom. “Did you know this room was here?” Jasmine asked her mom who sat in a chair across from here.
“No, and I’m going to have a talk with my husband. Every time I turn around, he’s throwing something new at me, like this about my daughter. Why didn’t you come to me?” Her mother asked, her gaze moving around the room, scanning for ways out other than the door.
“There’s a vent above your head we could squeeze out,” she said and nodded. “I don’t know about the bathroom. I want to save my strength if we’re going to need it and I did try a few times.” Jasmine glanced at her mother and shrugged.
“I know you had a new life with Cole, but sometimes I was the third wheel, so I worked on making sure I could support myself without having to depend on anyone. I didn’t want you to have to take care of me…” she frowned and started to tap her fingers on the chair.
“You know all of this happening at once is a little bit too much… Why didn’t the courts make me go see father? Have you heard from him?” Jasmine grabbed the pad of paper next to the chair and nodded at the pens and pencils near her mother. “Can you throw me one of those please? I want to figure something out.”
Her mother grabbed a pen and moved to sit on the arm of the couch watching her. “I don’t know how Cole’s lawyers did it, but he did. You had to visit your father once in jail, before I met Cole, but I don’t think you remember it. You were sick that week and I tried to get you out of it, but I had no choice but to take you. That’s how I met Cole. We were on our way to the prison when I stopped for some medicine for you. Anyway, after that visit I started to date Cole and when his father found out about your dad, all he had to do was make one phone call. No more visits. That man loves you very much. I swear you walk into the room and it’s like night and day.”
Jasmine smiled and sat back in her chair. “He’s awesome. He’d come over and I’d crawl into his lap feeling safe, like nothing in the world could touch me. Sort of the way I did with Cole, but more. Cole’s father has this pull,” Jasmine laughed.
“I hate to say it, but R.D. has that too. Do you think it’s wrong that they want me? I mean technically we’re family already,” she asked her mom, who laughed and squeezed her shoulder.
“They are not blood and I couldn’t ask for two better men for my daughter,” her mother nudged her. “Two, wow. Are you going to be okay with this? I know it’s a lot to take in?” Katherine leaned in reading what she was writing. “What are those dates?”
“These are the dates, roughly when Nightmare Man was able to slip through the wall I created to keep him out. At least the ones, I remember. Now I don’t know if he could penetrate at night or not while I was sleeping. But I have a feeling all of this is tied together: the audits, the money missing from R.D.’s firm and even this attack or whatever is going on out there.”
“Think about it. Wouldn’t Dad hate Cole? I mean he took you away from him in his warped mind. Not to mention this thing has stayed in contact with father. Now, I don’t know when the money started to disappear, but I bet the dates will be similar. The first time I was contacted by Jared was a day after I felt his presence in my head. What I don’t get is if this creature knew all this, I know he could have found me. Why wait until now?”
“Because we were getting ready to claim you,” R.D. stated, coming into the room followed by Logan and Cole.
“What happened?” she checked both Logan and R.D. for any signs of being hurt, but nothing.
“By the time we got there, whoever had been there was gone, but they left this on your bed,” Cole held up the stuffed bear she had lost as a child that awful night.
***
He watched her eyes roll back in her head, the papers in her lap falling to the floor as his mate passed out. “Damn it, Dad!” R.D. growled, rushing to her and picking her up, cradling her in his arms as he carried her out of the safe room.
“How was I supposed to know it meant something to her?” his father snapped. “What is it?” Cole asked Katherine who was at his side.
“My father gave it to her when she was a baby. She used to take it everywhere,” Katherine reached over and took it out of Cole’s hands and growled. “It stinks, but it still has her scent on it. I searched for days looking for this and kept asking Jasmine where it was, but she wouldn’t say a word.” Tears rolled down her mom’s face.
“He took something so beautiful and turned it into something ugly,” Katherine mumbled against R.D.’s father’s chest when they stopped in the hallway.
“What the hell is going on?” his grandfather snarled, looking at Jasmine, then at Katherine, the beast riding him strong. His eyes were glowing and fangs were hanging low. “Does it have anything to do with the feds outside?”
“Fuck,” R.D. growled and sat down on the couch, brushing Jasmine’s hair back. “They’re here for Jasmine
. Something about her company. Seems the ones messing with our company are also trying to take down hers. We’re stable since we’ve been around for years, but Jasmine’s isn’t.” He looked up at his grandfather. “Do you know a Vampire named Hisao?”
“He knows him, we both do. All of this—the attack, the money disappearing…They could all be connected,” his dad said, but was interrupted by his grandfather.
“Wait, what attack? Who was attacked and why is my granddaughter now one of us? Someone better start talking.”
“Stop growling, old man,” Jasmine said as she raised her head and turned towards his grandfather, slowly smiling. “The attack was when I was a child. As for turning me, that was their decision. Their need to protect me.” Jasmine curled up closer to R.D., holding onto his shirt and rubbing her cheek against his chest. She didn’t realize it, but the bonding was already starting to form. Her body recognized his and Logan’s, needing to touch them, just like they needed to touch her.
“He’s here. I should go and lead him away,” Jasmine looked up at him and he tightened his hold on her.
“You are not going anywhere but to our home. It’s more secure and we’ll have the pack there to help with protecting you.” R.D. tightened his hold on her and rubbed his cheek on the top of her head. “He’s not going to get you, Princess, we won’t let him.”
“Hisao is here? He attacked you? Don’t move.” His grandfather headed to his father’s office.
“What’s going on?” Jasmine tried to sit up, but he held her tighter. “Let me up, R.D. I want to see what he’s doing.”
“He’ll explain himself to us soon enough,” he said as R.D. watched Daman come into the room, followed by three men in suits.
“Sorry for the interruption, but they wouldn’t wait any longer,” Daman nodded to newcomers men as R.D. placed Jasmine onto his brother’s lap and turned to meet them.
His father joined him in front of Jasmine while her mother took his seat, sitting next to Jasmine. “Gentlemen, what is so important this couldn’t wait for another day? As you can see, she is not feeling well right now.” R.D. stated, not even introducing himself.
Her Stepbrothers' Demands Page 4
