Valentine's Daddy To Go: A Holiday Bad Boy Romance (The To Go Series Book 6)

by S. C. Adams

  But I have to calm down. Before leaving my car, I stare at the entrance. I take in a shaky breath. I don’t want to storm into the house and come off incoherent. I’m going to make sure that Nash feels my anger, but it’ll be full of concise sentences that articulate my feelings. He’s going to know exactly what he did wrong.

  I let out a shaky breath, swinging the car door open before setting my feet on the ground. I stand up, pushing the door shut. It closes with a satisfying thud.

  I walk up to the door, breathing deeply. My hands keep going in and out of fists, as I do my best to control my rage.

  When I reach the door, I yank my keys out of my pocket, and they fall on to the ground.

  “Shit!”

  You need to calm down, Nellie. You need to calm down, I tell myself. I can’t lose the last bit of control I have. The control over myself is all I have left after Nash decided to rip the rug out from under my family.

  I unlock the door and push it open, ready to call out Nash’s name, but when I walk in, he’s standing right there.

  “Nellie,” he says.

  I’m so shocked to see him right in front of me that I freeze up. All the angry words I had stored up in my brain whoosh out as I’m confronted with the man I’ve found myself falling for over the past two months.

  The alpha male himself looks distressed, the hair on his head a little messier than usual. He even said my name like he was relieved to see me. I have no idea what’s going on, but I also don’t feel inclined to ask.

  Nash brings me into a hug, my hands letting go of the door as he envelops me. I flinch when the door slams shut, but Nash doesn’t let go. I go limp in his hands. I don’t want to give him any affection because it would show weakness.

  But to tell the truth, it’s a struggle not to wrap my arms around him. Nash always feels so good, and now is no exception. Every time he touches me, all kinds of amazing sensations rush through me. Ones that I’m feeling right now. I almost give in when I catch a whiff of him, inhaling deeply. He smells woodsy and earthy, his musk seeping into my brain and setting off thoughts of home. But then I remember why I’m here, and I use that anger to hold me down.

  “Nellie?” Nash says my name again, pulling back a little bit to look at me. He looks like he has so many questions. I’m still crying because I’m not just angry, I’m also sad. This whole situation is fucked up. I take a deep breath and summon my rage.

  “How could you?” I spit at him.

  Nash looks confused for a second, but then realization hits him like a bucket of cold water. He knows exactly what he did.

  “Nellie, let me explain.” He takes his hands off of my shoulders, holding them up. Of course, he goes immediately on the defensive. Like he can even justify his actions to me.

  “Explain what?” I scream. “The deal was that Brian would have a job as long as I was your plaything. Right?” He doesn’t answer me, so I get closer, holding up my finger to his face. “Right? Or do I mean so little to you that our deal doesn’t matter?”

  Nash looks pained.

  “It’s more complicated than that.”

  I shoot daggers at him again.

  “No, it’s not! I kept my end of the bargain. Why couldn’t you keep yours? Huh? You’re the one who set this whole thing up. Was this a game to you? Do you enjoy playing with people’s lives?”

  “Nellie, I didn’t have a choice, okay? I had to fire Brian.” Why is Nash so damn calm? He shouldn’t be calm when he’s fucking me over like this. He needs to feel bad and show some god damn emotion!

  “What are you talking about?” I demand. “You don’t have to do anything. You’re the boss at Jaybird, or have you forgotten?” I add sarcastically.

  He sighs, rubbing his hand along his chin. It’s like he wants to keep this to himself. What he should have done was come to me if he didn’t want my brother there anymore. I’m the one who can get through to Brian if he’s having trouble at work.

  But, no. Nash went behind my back and is now asking for forgiveness. I wonder if he ever planned on telling me, or is the truth a mere inconvenience for him?

  “Listen, it’s more complicated than you think. It wasn’t about Brian being late, or not completing his projects. He was stealing from the till, okay? I mean, not literally taking money from the cash register, but he hacked into our accounting system, and he’s been skimming off the top.”

  “No,” I shake my head. “You’re lying.” What is Nash saying? Brian wouldn’t steal. That’s preposterous. It’s beyond preposterous. It’s must be false.

  He shakes his head.

  “That’s part of the reason why I wanted you at the house and not at Jaybird. We started suspecting Brian of financial misdeeds a long time ago, and began an investigation before he was fired the first time. If you started looking through our numbers, it wouldn’t take you long to learn the ugly truth about your brother. Brian may have been able to do some slick hacking, but he was still sloppy. He left his fingerprints all over.”

  No, no, no, no. He’s just saying all of this, so I won’t be mad at him. This is his way of keeping me from helping my brother because, for whatever reason, Nash hates my brother. Whenever I brought him up, Nash would make a face and want to change the subject.

  Brian’s right that Nash and Colt have some kind of beef with him. I don’t know what it is, but there has to be something else going on.

  “That’s not true,” I retort, shaking my head. “I know Brian. I’ve known him his whole life. He might not be the smartest guy out there, but he wouldn’t be dumb enough to steal. Or mean enough. He’s not malicious like that.”

  I think back to seeing him at my apartment just now. All those nice things he said to me show that he’s a good person. My brother could never be a thief. That’s just not the person he is.

  “Why would he steal? Tell me that,” I demand. “I already got him his job back. Maybe his family wasn’t rolling in dough, but they were fine.”

  Nash shrugs, which means he has nothing to back up his claims.

  “I don’t know, Nellie. I mean, why does anyone steal?” he says, evading my question.

  I spit at him.

  “We’re not talking about anyone, we’re talking about my brother.”

  Nash looks really pained and rubs his chin. But then he speaks again.

  “Nells, I know this is going to be hard to hear, but I think your brother is stealing to support a drug habit.” I stare at him, my brain short circuiting.

  “A drug habit?”

  What the hell is he talking about? There’s no way my brother is doing drugs. Brian’s not that kind of person, and he’s never been that kind of person. All of this bullshit is coming completely out of the blue. Brian definitely doesn’t act like an addict or anything.

  Nash nods.

  “I think he might be using crystal, though I can’t be sure. Just from the way he acts, with the jittery movements and agitation. There have been some shady visitors coming by the garage asking for Brian too. It’s what makes the most sense.”

  What?

  “Actually, I’m starting to think he’s might even cook meth occasionally. I know this is a hard thing to hear about family, but the truth is important.”

  My body doesn’t even feel like my own right now. This can’t be happening. I don’t know what’s going on.

  Rage boils up inside me, and I just snap. I rush towards Nash, my hands balled into fists as I go for his chest.

  “You don’t know anything, Nash Keller! You don’t know anything about my family or my brother or me!” I’m screaming at him, practically frothing at the mouth. I don’t land a single blow because Nash has my wrists in his hands. That doesn’t stop me from fighting against him.

  “Nellie!”

  “Shut up! Everything you’re saying is unfounded and stupid and you’re pulling it out of your ass, so you can feel less guilty about being such a shit person! This is Brian we’re talking about. He’s never been the sharpest tool in the shed, so
how could he even hack your systems?”

  “Nellie, that’s not how that works.”

  “Isn’t it? He would need intense computer skills and an understanding of computers. My brother can barely type! Plus, he’s never shown any signs of addiction, so you’re wrong. You’re wronger than wrong.”

  I’m breathing heavily, Nash still holding my hands above my head. I’ve stopped trying to physically hurt him, but he hasn’t let me go. We’re staring at one another, with tension filling up the entire room.

  “I’m not wrong, and I’m not lying,” Nash growls. “You need to deal with the truth, Nellie. If you don’t, things will only get worse.” He finally lets me go, my arms dropping to my sides. I take a few steps back from him, not even wanting to breathe the same air.

  “No, you need to stop lying! I can’t do this anymore, Nash. I thought I could or maybe that we—” I stop short. I’m not about to reveal how much I’ve been thinking about the two of us and the future.

  “That we what?”

  “Nothing, it’s not important. I quit. Our deal is off, if it wasn’t off already. Don’t worry about paying me what you still owe. I want nothing to do with you. Don’t call me, don’t text me, don’t contact me ever again. In fact, I’d prefer it if you didn’t even think of me.”

  I don’t want to be having this conversation anymore. I turn around and storm out of the house, slamming the door behind me.

  “Ugh!” I scream as I stomp to my car. I don’t know how much more disappointment I can take.

  I get to my car and zoom away from the house. I drive for a few miles and pull off to the side of the road. I don’t want Nash to see me banging on my steering wheel in intense frustration.

  I can’t believe that just happened. I’m so incensed right now. How could he so say those things about my brother? Why would he make up all those lies? Did he think it would make him look better? If he wants to fire Brian, fine. But why did he have to accuse my brother of being a meth addict and a thief?

  I mean, I doubt that Brian got fired for no reason. He’s a little wishy-washy when it comes to being on time and stuff, but I was hoped he was improving. Plus, some allowances should have been made because of this fucking arrangement I made with Nash!

  I’ve got to go talk to my brother and find out the exact reason why he got fired. I’m sure it’s something similar to before. Brian just needs to work on his work ethic.

  But we’ll talk about that after I rip my sibling a new one.

  I drive like a maniac over to Brian and Vivica’s house, ready to tell my brother off. I’m still hot off the heels of my fight with Nash, so I’m more than ready to give Brian what he deserves.

  I get to the door, knocking a little too enthusiastically. Then, I remember that my nieces are here and calm down a little bit. I don’t want them freaking out or anything like that.

  Just because I’m mad doesn’t mean I have to take it out on everyone around me.

  The door swings open, and Vivica is standing there, looking rather concerned.

  “Vivica?”

  “Nellie! Oh my goodness, thank god you’re here!”

  I look at her, really confused.

  “What’s going on? I need to talk to Brian.”

  “He’s not here. I don’t know where he is. He’s gone!” She’s in a clear panic, and I hold up my hand, placing it on her arm. Everyone’s emotions are running wild tonight.

  “Vivica, I’m sure he’ll come back home. He always does.” Brian isn’t a social butterfly who neglects his family. Maybe he went to go cash that check I gave him, and it’s taking longer than usual because of how big it was.

  “That’s not the problem!” Vivica cries with worry. “He came home, but then he took Mackenzie and Madison and took off.”

  I stare at her.

  “They’ll be fine with him, right?”

  “No, they won’t. He was clearly high, so God knows where he took them. And he’s not answering his phone. I’m worried something bad is going to happen to my girls.” She’s wringing her hands, her nails digging into her skin. I’d be more concerned with her if I wasn’t so caught up on something she said.

  “He was high? What do you mean he was high?”

  Vivica starts blinking back tears, realizing what she just told me.

  “He was high. Like on drugs.”

  I stare at her.

  “Brian does drugs? For how long?”

  Vivica bites her lip tearily.

  “Um, yeah, he does. He wasn’t a regular drug user, it was just here and there, but it was the reason why he was late each morning to his job. He was always trying to recover in the mornings.”

  “But how did he hide it? I mean—” I’m at a loss for words.

  “Brian’s always been a great talker, you know? He was always able to hide it from you. I mean, you always gave him the benefit of the doubt, but he’s changed,” she says in a tearful voice.

  “Okay, um, is he dangerous when he’s high?”

  Vivica begins to cry again.

  “I don’t know.” She’s starting to pull back. But we don’t have time for that. I need the facts, and I need them now.

  “Vivica, you need to tell me everything. Is he dangerous when he’s high?”

  “Kind of. I guess.” It looks like she’s not ready to answer that question, but I have a whole bunch queued up in my mind.

  “Where does he get the drugs? Does he cook them himself?”

  My sister-in-law sniffles, wiping at her pink nose.

  “He didn’t always. Over the last year, he fell in with a harder crew, and he’s been using more, so his work has been suffering a lot. It’s gotten to the point where this crew offered him a position cooking meth. So he’s been going to Jaybird during the day, but then he’d head over to their encampment at night to cook for them. And as he used more and more, he grew erratic and his anger management has been all over the place.”

  “His anger?” I ask, dumbfounded. I’ve never seen Brian fly off the handle before. He’s always been more of a crybaby, but I guess if he’s doing drugs, it could really warp his brain.

  “Yeah, it’s been getting kind of bad,” Vivica says before wrapping her arm around herself and looking down at the ground. “I wish I had told you sooner, Nellie.”

  I stare at her. How could I have been so out of the loop with everything? How did I miss all of this? But there’s no sense in kicking a dog that’s already down.

  “Do you have any idea where he could have gone?”

  “I don’t know. He just stormed in here and grabbed the girls, before turning around and leaving. He got fired again, so I think he’s unraveling,” she chokes up a little bit. “Madison and Mackenzie haven’t seen any of the bad stuff. I’ve been doing my best to hide it from them, but it’s getting hard as Brian’s behavior becomes more erratic. I don’t know what to do.”

  “What you need to do is calm down. Panicking won’t help us find Madison and Mackenzie.”

  Vivica nods, tears falling down her face.

  “What should I do, Nell?” she whimpers, wiping her face.

  “You should stay here in case he comes back.”

  “Okay, but what if he doesn’t come back?”

  “I’ll figure that out. In the meantime, you go inside and just wait.”

  Vivica nods, sniffling. She goes back into her house, closing the door. I’m so exhausted after that conversation that I plop down on to the porch.

  I don’t know my brother at all. Not anymore, at least.

  I mean, Brian’s changed so much, and I didn’t even notice. Looking back, it’s clear that there something was wrong with him. I mean, when we were younger, he was a mess, but he was never malicious or evil. It was little things like never cleaning his room or constantly getting into scrapes from the dumb stunts he’d pull. They were humorous, more than anything.

  But now, I don’t even know what to say. Stealing? Meth? Addiction?

  I hold my head in my hands, on the
verge of tears. But I don’t have time for that. I need to find Madison and Mackenzie. If Brian is getting more and more erratic, then the two of them are in danger.

  Vivica said something about an encampment where Brian goes to cook crystal. I know there’s one by the river. That’s the closest one to their house, although it’s still a distance away. That’s probably where he’s at. No one really goes there if they can help it, so it would be a good hideout.

  It would be a good place to cook drugs.

  I get up from my pity seat. Now is not the time to feel bad for myself. There are things I could have done differently that maybe could have prevented this situation, but sitting on this porch feeling sorry for myself won’t solve a damn thing.

  I go to my car and get inside. I’m not going to waste another second. Not with my nieces’ lives in danger.

  21

  Nellie

  I park my car. Getting out, I look around and see thick hedges, overgrown and unwieldy. There doesn’t appear to be any other way to get to the encampment from this side, and I don’t want to waste my time driving around. I decide to just go through the brush.

  I plunge through the overgrowth, getting a few small cuts and scrapes along the way, but it’s not horrible. There isn’t too much foliage, and it only takes a few minutes to get to the encampment.

  I step out from the shrubbery and brush whatever leaves and sticks stuck to my clothes. I look around, and the encampment is just as daunting as I thought it would be. Since most people avoid this area, including the police, a lot of homeless people make the clearing their home.

  There are tents set up all over, and more than a few look patched with duct tape. I wonder what they do when the weather gets bad? Even when the weather’s good, this place isn’t looking too hot. Since there’s no one to take care of the grounds, trash is everywhere. It’s entirely unsanitary.

  I can’t believe people are forced to live like this.

  I walk a little further in. I have a singular mission, and I’m here to accomplish it. Thankfully, no one bothers me. In fact, I don’t really see people wandering around. Occasionally, the fabric on one of the tents will rustle, but that’s about it.