Devastated (Anger Management Book 1)

by R. L. Mathewson

  “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?” he asked, as he leaned in to brush his lips against hers.

  “I’m not sure,” she said, frowning as she placed his shaving gel back with the rest of his things that he’d moved in here last week after he got sick of having to leave Kylie to finish getting ready in the morning.

  “Why do you have to make things so damn difficult, Miss Moore?” Hunter asked, sighing heavily as he placed his hands on the counter so that he could lean down and kiss the side of her neck.

  “Why do you want to know?” she asked, wrapping her arms around him as he continued kissing a path along her neck.

  “Just answer the question, brat,” he said, smiling against her skin.

  “Anywhere in the world?” she asked, absently running her fingers through his hair.

  “Anywhere,” he said, placing his hands on her thighs so that he could run his hands over her hips and pull her closer to the edge of the counter.

  “The Maldives,” she answered, taking him by surprise.

  “You hate swimming,” Hunter said, raising his head so that he could look at her.

  “I really do,” she admitted with a heartfelt sigh.

  “Then why do you want to go there?” he asked, not that he really cared where they went, but he was curious.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “And…”

  She sighed as she admitted, “They have private huts over the water where you can relax and not have to worry about…anything,” she finished off weakly, as he stood there, realizing that she wanted to go there because she’d be able to enjoy herself without worrying about someone seeing her back.

  She hated anyone seeing her back, even him.

  From the first touch to the last, she was always painfully aware of every glance, caress, and kiss that he pressed against her back. He felt it in the way that her breath caught and the way that her hands trembled. She never said anything, but then again, she didn’t need to. It was the reason why she never wore a sleeveless shirt and always stole one of his black tee shirts so that she could wear it over her bathing suit when they went swimming. Even then, it wasn’t enough. He’d seen the way she retreated into herself whenever Ryan stopped by during one of their swimming lessons. She’d go pale, mumble an excuse and quickly make her way inside, making sure that Ryan didn’t see her back.

  “Then that’s where we’ll go when this is all over,” he promised her as he leaned in and kissed her because he’d buy her a hundred houses on the ocean if that’s what she needed.

  “As much as I’d love to go there one day, I can’t afford that, Hunter.”

  Sighing, because she was just so fucking difficult sometimes, he pulled back so that he could look her in the eye as he said, “We’re going.”

  “Hunter, I wouldn’t feel comfortable with that,” she said, making him sigh.

  “Why is it okay for you to take care of me, but I can’t take care of you?” he asked, wondering why she was so damn stubborn.

  “I don’t need you to take care of me, Hunter,” she said, as she reached up and cupped his face.

  “Yes, you do,” Hunter said, leaning in and kissed her before she could argue, and he knew that she would argue.

  She was so fucking stubborn, he thought as he deepened the kiss, praying like hell that Ryan was able to save his ass because he didn’t think he’d be able to handle leaving her. Not when her family was determined to destroy her and not now when he’d realized that he couldn’t live without her.

  Chapter 33

  November 1st

  “I’m really glad that I could be here so that you could take your pissy mood out on me,” Ryan said with a glare as he helped himself to more bacon.

  “I’m not in a pissy mood,” Hunter bit out as he continued to glare at the man that had figured out a way to keep him out of jail.

  “You really are,” Kylie said, frowning down at the file in front of her as she tried to figure out where the July invoice was when the doorbell rang, alerting them to the fact that the man that Hunter had called a “fucking ungrateful asshole,” was here.

  “You have to do the therapy,” Ryan said, shifting his attention to the stack of files that he’d brought with him as Kylie tossed the file aside and-

  “I need to answer the door,” she said when she suddenly found herself pulled onto Hunter’s lap.

  “No.”

  “We talked about this,” she said, sighing softly, as she looked pointedly at the arms holding her hostage.

  “Don’t answer that fucking door,” Hunter bit out when the doorbell echoed throughout the house for the third time as he tightened his hold around her.

  “It’s either this or jail,” Ryan reminded him right around the time that Kylie decided that she’d heard enough.

  “Hunter-” Kylie began only to get cut off with a, “No,” that had her shaking her head because he was being ridiculous.

  “I have to answer the door,” she told him as she finally managed to wiggle out of his arms and climb off his lap before he could stop her.

  “I’m not kidding, Miss Conley,” Hunter called after her.

  “You’re making a big deal out of nothing,” Kylie said over her shoulder, wondering why he was being such a baby about this.

  It wasn’t an ideal situation, but at least he avoided prison and to be honest, she really didn’t see what the big deal was. Having therapy three times a week wasn’t ideal, but it was better than the alternative, she thought as she opened the front door and-

  “You must be Kylie,” the incredibly handsome man with steel-gray eyes and an angry scar running down the side of his face said with a boyish smile that almost made you forget that he was well over six feet tall, packed with muscle, and looked like he was ready to kill at a moment’s notice.

  Almost.

  “Are you here to kill me?” she whispered, not all that reassured when he laughed.

  “No, but I get that a lot,” he said, his eyes dancing with laughter as he leaned against the doorframe.

  “I believe it,” Kylie said, nodding solemnly as she suddenly found herself picked up and placed behind Hunter.

  “Thanks for coming, Grey,” Ryan said with a pointed glare in Hunter’s direction as he joined them right around the time that Kylie decided to make herself scarce.

  With that in mind, she turned around and headed to the office so that Hunter could have his therapy session in peace and found herself smiling when she thought about last night. Last night had been…

  Terrifying.

  Okay, so terrifying might not be the best word to describe last night, but it was close. Sort of. God, she wasn’t even making sense to herself, she thought, unable to help but smile as she pulled out the desk chair and-

  “It’s not fucking happening,” Hunter snarled as he stormed into the office and dropped his weight on the leather couch.

  “You don’t have a choice,” Ryan snapped as he stormed into the room after him while Kylie stood there, blinking and unable to help but wonder why they were in here right now.

  “Kylie,” Grey, Hunter’s new therapist and the man that he clearly hated, murmured in greeting as he walked into the room.

  “Get someone else,” Hunter bit out with a murderous glare aimed at Grey that the much larger man easily ignored as he strolled around the office, taking in the books on the bookshelves and the pictures and awards that she’d had framed for Hunter on the walls before pausing on the picture that Hunter had taken of her.

  “There is no one else, asshole,” Ryan bit out right around the time that she decided that she would probably be more comfortable in the living room.

  With that in mind, Kylie placed the small stack of files that she’d been working on, on top of her laptop and-

  “They only accepted this deal because I promised to find someone that you couldn’t scare off,” Ryan pointed out before adding, “Now stop acting like a whiny little bitch and let him help you!”

&nb
sp; “I don’t need his help,” Hunter said evenly, as he got to his feet and-

  “Hunter,” Kylie said, unable to hide the plea in her voice, terrified what would happen to him if he didn’t do this.

  His gaze swung to hers and immediately softened. After a slight hesitation, he nodded with a muttered, “Fine. Let’s get this over with,” taking Ryan by surprise.

  “Really?” Ryan asked, standing there, blinking in confusion as he watched Hunter drop back down on the couch.

  “Sounds good,” Grey said, throwing the picture of her one last glance before he sat down in the chair across from Hunter.

  “Well, okay then,” Ryan said, nodding absently, as he threw Hunter one last questioning look before leaving.

  Relieved that Hunter was taking this seriously, she picked up the stack of files that desperately needed her attention and-

  Bit back a heavy sigh as she sat down when she caught the glare that Hunter was sending her. Resigning herself to spending the next hour doing busy work, she set the folders that she needed to go through on the desk, opened her laptop and started going through this morning’s emails. There had to be a better way to automatically filter his emails, she thought even as she couldn’t help but wonder if what was described in the sexually explicit email that she was reading was even possible.

  Ten sexually explicit emails later and she found herself glancing up from the computer to find two sets of eyes focused on her. Swallowing nervously, she shifted in her seat, cleared her throat, and tried to focus on the next email only to risk another glance up and-

  “Did Hunter ever tell you about the nickname that he earned during basic training?” Grey casually asked, looking amused.

  “Nickname?” Kylie asked, blinking as she shifted her attention to Hunter to find him quickly getting to his feet and heading her way as he released an impressive string of curses.

  “I believe it had something to do with the latrine,” Grey murmured thoughtfully as Kylie suddenly found herself plucked out of her chair and thrown over Hunter’s shoulder.

  “Wait. What’s this about a latrine?” she asked, as Hunter quickened his pace and carried her into the hallway.

  “He never told you?” Grey asked, sounding amused as she suddenly found herself standing alone in the hallway, staring at the closed office door.

  “No! What was his nickname?” she asked, sounding hopeful when the office door suddenly opened and-

  Hunter was standing there, glaring as he leaned down and quickly kissed her as he handed her the laptop before she once again found herself staring at the office door. Not really caring that she was pouting, she reluctantly turned around with her shoulders slumped in defeat as she hugged the laptop against her chest as she headed to the kitchen with a sadly mumbled, “Damn it.”

  *-*-*-*

  “She’s cute,” Grey said, as Hunter turned around and found the large bastard that had made his life a living hell sitting in his office, looking bored out of his fucking mind.

  “Don’t fucking go there,” Hunter warned, somehow resisting the urge to beat the shit out of the large bastard and forced himself to sit back down.

  “Fair enough,” Grey murmured absently.

  “I don’t need therapy,” Hunter said, getting to the point as he faced the man that he never thought that he would see again.

  “Agreed,” Grey said, taking him by surprise before adding with a sad shake of his head, “I’m afraid there’s no cure for being an asshole.”

  “Then what are you doing here?” Hunter asked because last he’d heard, the bastard across from him had a thriving private practice in Boston.

  “Needed a change of scenery,” Grey said, throwing a curious glance at the folded blanket the little workaholic kept on the couch for those nights when she was down here working until two in the morning.

  “How did Ryan convince you to come here?” Hunter asked, as he pulled out his phone and sent a message to his corporate office in Boston to find out why the asshole was really down here.

  “Kylie.”

  “What about her?”

  “I’m curious about something,” Grey said, as he pulled out the old silver half-dollar that he used to carry with him everywhere and began rolling it over the back of his fingers, looking lost in thought and reminding Hunter of all those times that he wished that he could forget.

  “What’s that?”

  “Does she have empathy?” Grey asked, watching him as that coin continued to flip from one finger to the next.

  “She’s beyond fucking kind,” he bit out, noting the way that Grey nodded absently.

  “People pleaser? Apologizes a lot?” Grey asked, once again looking lost in thought.

  “Yes,” Hunter said evenly before asking, “What does this have to do with anything?”

  “They’re never going to stop,” Grey said, making everything in Hunter go still. “But you knew that, didn’t you?”

  “I figured out that much for myself,” Hunter said, even though he’d been hoping that they would get bored and move on.

  Nodding, Grey glanced at the closed office door before asking, “Do you know what a narcissist is?”

  “I’ve heard the term.”

  “It’s an overused term,” Grey explained before adding, “but not in this case.”

  Nodding, Hunter dropped his head in his hands and slowly exhaled as he closed his eyes, feeling sick to his stomach. “You’ve seen the file.”

  “And the letters, their online posts, and all the fake reviews that they’ve been having their friends post about Shadow Securities. They’ve been very busy.”

  “You think her parents are narcissists?” Hunter asked because he thought they were just sick fucks that belonged in jail.

  “I think she’s lucky to be alive,” Grey said, meeting his gaze head-on.

  “And that’s why you’re here,” Hunter said, dropping his hands as he stood up and headed for the open patio doors, feeling like the room was closing in on him and-

  Felt himself relax when he spotted Kylie through the kitchen patio doors. God, she was so fucking beautiful, he thought even as he couldn’t help but hate himself for not being there to keep her safe when she needed him most.

  “That,” Grey said, as he joined him, “and I still owe you for saving my life.”

  “Take care of her and we’ll call it even.”

  Chapter 34

  “That is so wrong,” Kylie mumbled hollowly to herself as she continued to hit Delete only to force herself to look away as the image of the woman old enough to be her grandmother, the glitter, cucumber and so many things that were wrong on so many levels seared into her brain.

  She was definitely asking for a raise, she decided, absently clicking on the next email as she stood up and headed to the refrigerator, deciding that she’d more than earned a second cheat snack this week. Trying to block that last image from her mind, and God, she didn’t think that she was ever going to be able to look at a bottle of vegetable oil the same way ever again, she grabbed a Coke from the fridge.

  Needing another minute, she walked over to the patio door and-

  Found herself releasing a shaky breath when she spotted Hunter through the office patio doors. When she took this job, she’d never expected anything more than a job that she hated and to move one step closer to her plan. Instead, she’d fallen in love with her best friend and she was scared out of her mind, she realized, as she once again pushed away the panic that threatened to take over. She’d never been this happy before and that…that terrified her. Every time something good happened in her life, something bad always followed.

  Every. Single. Time.

  But even knowing that this couldn’t last didn’t stop her from smiling as she met Hunter’s gaze. Right now, all she wanted to do was to enjoy this moment. Everything else could wait, she decided as she reluctantly walked back to the computer and-

  Felt the air rush out of her lungs when she saw the email waiting for her.

  M
r. O’Mallery,

  I’m sorry to have to write you this, but I’m afraid that I don’t have a choice in the matter. When we learned that your company Shadow Securities hired our daughter Kylie Davis, we became very concerned.

  We’ve been trying to contact you for quite some time now. We’ve sent you numerous letters, but we never heard back from you and can only assume that Kylie found a way to make sure that you didn’t see them. We flew to Florida to attend the convention, hoping to have a word with you in private, but we were turned away and escorted from the premises thanks to our daughter’s lies. I can only imagine the stories that she’s been telling your men. Kylie is extremely manipulative, always has been.

  We’ve tried our best with her, tried to get her the help that she clearly needs, but she doesn’t want our help. The last time we tried to help her, she attacked me, and we were left with the choice of kicking her out or having her institutionalized. We deeply regret not getting her the help that she needed when we had the chance and have paid for it ever since with her lies and accusations. She’s tried to ruin our lives as well as our daughter Denise’s life. It’s been a nightmare.

  When she moved out of state, we thought that would be the end of it, but she won’t let it go. She’s been spreading more of her lies about me and her father, and even our daughter Denise, who is very worried about her sister. Between Kylie’s criminal record, her drug abuse, her lies, and her refusal to seek help, we’re not sure what we should do anymore.

  After the convention, we went home and discussed the matter with our family and friends and they all felt that we should continue trying to reach you, especially after we saw the article written about your house arrest and found out that Kylie has been working as your assistant. We felt that you deserved to be warned about Kylie before she could ruin your life. She cannot be trusted. She’s been fired from so many jobs for lying, stealing, drugs, the list just goes on and on. We’d hoped that she would find a job where she couldn’t hurt anyone but working for your company will give her an opportunity to hurt so many people and we couldn’t sit by and let that happen.