by Linda Kage
After re-checking the date of the letter, I shook my head. “No. I was already born by this point.”
Gabby nodded. “Okay, so she probably did get an abortion then.”
“No,” I repeated. “She didn’t. Ah, fuck.” My breathing accelerated as I stared at the words on the page, then glanced blindly around the room. “Brick,” I murmured vaguely. “He’s not my full brother after all.” Shock coursed through me as I met her gaze. “He’s only my half brother.”
Gabby made a face before nodding yes and shaking her head no at the same time. “Or maybe three-quarters brother,” she amended, “since his dad is your other half brother, which wow, makes you his brother uncle. Maybe uncle brother? Or should we call it bruncle?”
When I just stared at her as if she’d lost her mind, she winced. “Sorry. Too soon?”
“Holy shit.” I swallowed hard as the truth finally sank in, like really fucking sank in. Everything I’d ever thought about Brick was built on a lie, a lie Lana had led us to believe was the gospel truth.
“Do I tell him?” I whispered, not sure what to think about it all. How would it affect Brick? How would it change our relationship?
Jesus, I couldn’t tell him this. What if he never wanted to talk to me again?
“Hell yes, you tell him,” Gabby said, shaking her head at me incredulously as if she couldn’t believe I’d even ask such a question. “This is his paternity we’re talking about. He thinks his father is dead. But he’s not. What if he needs a kidney transplant someday or—?”
“Then I’m not letting him take this fucker’s kidney,” I cried, lifting the letter in righteous indignation. Jesus, Isaac had to know Brick was his. Why had he never said anything? “If it were up to Isaac, Brick wouldn’t even be here right now. If Broderick gets anyone’s kidney, it’ll be mine. Holy shit, this is—” I shook my head slowly. “I wonder why Lana didn’t get an abortion with Brick. She’s not exactly the loving kind of mother.”
“Leverage,” Gabby answered on an easy shrug.
When I glanced at her, she flushed a little, then winced. “I mean, sorry. But if you think about it—you know, from her evil perspective—it’s obvious. You said she always wanted this Isaac guy, right? Before she even married your dad? And when he rejected her, she was hurt and pissed enough to marry his own father in retaliation. From the tone of his letter, he had no love lost for her whatsoever. I mean seriously, it sounds like he absolutely hated her. Makes you think the only reason they even sexed it up in the first place was because she lured him home for Christmas, or something similar by guilt-tripping him with words like, your father really wants to see you, only to spike his holiday punch with a roofie, and whoopsie, he woke up naked in bed with his stepmom. If she had his baby, she could hold it over his head forever. Of course she wasn’t going to lose that kind of manipulative opportunity.”
I sniffed and shook my head. “You’re getting to know Lana well, because that sounds exactly like something she’d do.”
Gabby shrugged. “That, or I’ve just seen too many of the telenovelas Papá watches.”
Her rueful grin caused an immediate wave of longing to tear through me. I don’t know if it was because she was just so fresh, and open, and genuine that it caught me so strongly, or because she was the complete antithesis of the kind of woman I was used to, or if it was something else, something that was pure Gabriella, but I was gripped by this overflowing emotion I couldn’t remember ever having for anyone else before.
Overcome, I reached out and grabbed a handful of her hair at the back of her neck and I hauled her against me, smashing my mouth to hers.
As my tongue spiked between her teeth, she met me lick for lick, clutching my face in her hands and slipping her fingers up into my hair as well.
When she broke off suddenly, she panted and rested her forehead on my shoulder. “What—” Glancing up, her eyes were dilated as she licked her lips and continued to pant. “What was that for?”
“Because you’re you,” I said simply, running my gaze over her face, then reaching out to catch a piece of unruly hair before I smoothed it down with the others. “Because you have no problem showing all the emotions I can’t. You’re fresh, and open, and honest, and—just being around you makes my heart race. And if I can’t be you, then I want inside you. You completely undo me.”
“Oh.” Her voice was high and breathless as she gulped once, then nodded. “Well, okay then.”
That was all the invitation I needed.
When she reached for me, cupping my face between her hands and pulling me back to her, I was right there, kissing her with everything I had. I buried my fingers in her hair while she clutched the front of my shirt before humming deep in her throat and slipping her hands around to grip the muscles in my back, right through my chambray shirt. Her fingers smoothed down to my ass, and suddenly I was hefting her up by the waist and setting her on the edge of my desk.
She opened her thighs, and I pressed in against her, warm groin to warm groin. We both shuddered and moaned, deepening and lengthening our kisses until they grew wetter and sloppier, our attention switching to our hands and bodies. I pressed hard against her, grinding with a rhythm that she matched and ground back to.
Buttons slipped free from our clothes and zippers slid down from our jeans. I kissed her shoulder as I slipped her blouse over it, and she toured my abdomen with her hands before sliding lower and clutching my cock through my jersey shorts.
“Oh God,” she whimpered, her fingers kneading and exploring my length. “I can’t wait to feel all this inside me.”
Words to render a man brainless.
Skipping ahead, I left her bra in place as soon as I got her shirt off and I started to shimmy her jeans and panties down her hips together as one. She let go of my dick long enough to clutch the edge of the desk and lift her bottom so I could pull the jeans away, toeing off her shoes as she went. Then she reached for me again, but I shifted my hips back and grinned into her eyes mischievously.
She caught the look and smiled back, shaking her head in warning. “What’re you planning, Carmichael?”
“Watch and see,” I murmured, kneeling before her until my face was directly between her spread thighs and I was staring feminine heaven right in the eye.
“Oh hell. Are you really going to—?” She gasped when I kissed her there, flicking my tongue and then swirling and tasting everything wet and musky. Fingers immediately gripped my hair as the thighs on either side of me tightened and flexed. “Jesus God, you are. Mmm.”
She clutched the desk with one hand while the other stayed firmly in my hair as she commenced to riding my face, her hips undulating and back arching. Her panting heaved louder and her groans grew thicker. I clutched her thighs with my hands and let my tongue do all the work as I stared up at the expression on her face, watching lips part and her head fall back.
“Hayden.”
The sound of my name on her tongue was paradise. I swelled in my boxer briefs and stroked myself through the cloth as Gabby’s body began to peak. Suddenly, she curled down her chin and clenched her teeth, bracing for the power of the first mighty convulsion as her orgasm struck. I watched her expression throughout the entire ordeal, while she tried to fight it and capture it all at the same time. Just as she was reaching the end, her lashes fluttered open, and she met my gaze.
Her mouth opened as if she wanted to tell me something, but all she could seem to do was stare down at me as my tongue worked, bringing her to the last of her completion. “You…” she tried, but she only shook her head and gave up trying.
I lapped up the last of her juices then sat back, watching her draw in a steadying breath. Then I reached into my pocket and drew out my wallet, flipping until I found a condom.
As I rolled it on, Gabby removed her bra, which left her naked on my desk. I began to rise before her, only to get distracted by the ripe, tempting berries at the tips of her breasts, so I paused there to taste and lavish them with a little at
tention first.
Soft, unhurried fingers stroked my back and shoulders before fingernails scraped gently through my hair and over my scalp. Her touch was peaceful and gentle; it probably should’ve calmed me. Except it did the very opposite, only making my body build with edgy need. When I let a wet, thoroughly sucked nipple pop free from between my teeth and finally rose before her, she smiled in approval.
“We should go to your room,” she said.
I nodded. “We should.” But then I looked down at her nude and open on my desk, and I stepped forward instead of back.
Wrapping my hand around the base of her spine, I slid her to the edge of the desk. She rasped out her surprise and clutched the wood with both hands as I took the base of my cock in one hand and drew it forward. We both watched as I pressed myself against her opening. Then we looked up together, right into each other’s eyes.
She nodded once, letting me know she was ready.
I wanted to say something, tell her how much this meant to me, how glad I was that it was her, how I knew nothing was ever going to be the same again, and I was honored by it. But I couldn’t find the words. So I pushed forward, watching her eyes flair with surprise and her mouth drop open as I sank deep.
“Holy fuck,” she croaked.
Exactly.
Straining against the pleasure and the pulsing need to go fast and hard, I pulled out and thrust back in. She moaned and clutched my arm for dear life.
“Jesus, Hayden.” Leaning forward, she pressed her face into my chest. “God, you’re so—Mmm. Don’t stop. Feels so damn good.”
No fucking way was I going to stop any time soon, but I couldn’t get as deep as I wanted to go either. My damn knees kept bumping into the desk whenever I penetrated her, preventing me from—
“Dammit,” I muttered in frustration before I pulled myself out completely.
Gabby gave a startled yelp. “What’re you—?”
But I was already shimmying her off the desk, turning her around, and bending her over it just enough to display her ass in such a way that I grew even harder than before.
“You okay with this?” I asked, stepping in behind her and finding her entrance once again.
She gurgled out a sound of shock and pleasure, even as she bobbed her head and scrambled to find something to hold on to. “Yes, yes—”
I thrust hard, finally finding the depth I’d been craving. Gabby cried out, pushing back against me and quivering, grinding on my cock as if she couldn’t get enough of it. Realizing I’d hit that spot in her that only the luckiest of bastards could ever discover, I reached around and gripped her breast in one hand, then her pussy with the other. When that seemed to ignite her even more, I went wild, fucking her like an animal.
As soon as she started to come, her body milking mine, I finally dropped my face to the back of her shoulder and released myself deep, my mind, body, and soul completely blown.
Chapter 26
Hayden
When we finally made our way to my room, Gabby curled into me on the cool mattress and tucked her face under my chin before she stroked her hand up and down my arm.
I banded an arm around her shoulders, holding her close, and kissed her hair.
This was nice.
I’d never felt this complete and satisfied before, as if I was a piece of a puzzle who’d just found its misplaced half.
Gabby gave a contented sigh and glanced up at me, smiling lazily. I knew we should probably finish going through everything we’d found at Lana’s earlier. Or I should decide what to do about the Isaac-Brick situation. But for the life of me, I couldn’t muster a single care about any of that shit. I just wanted to keep lying here, looking at Gabriella.
“I missed you today,” she murmured, walking her fingers up my bare chest.
My eyebrows lifted. “You missed me?”
“Yeah, you know, after work,” she went on. “I know getting picked up by you and driven home two days in a row doesn’t in any way qualify as a routine, but it just felt off for me not to get to tell you about everything that happened during my day or ask you about—oh geesh. There was so much to ask. How did your presentation go? Did Kaitlynn’s and your brother’s portfolio come out okay? How was your meeting with the detective? And, oh my God, I forgot to tell you about Diego and hitmen and—”
I set a finger against her lips to calm her. Then I smiled and admitted, “I missed that time we usually get to talk too.” Leaning in, I pressed my mouth to hers, only to pull back and frown. “Wait. Did you mention Daffodils and hitmen?”
“Oh! Yes. Oh my God, it’s pure craziness. I walked into Preston Estates this morning and crossed paths with Diego who, get this, had his face all busted up and a cast on his arm. He accused me of hiring a frigging hitman to scare him away from me. Can you believe that? Me? He said Mad Manny—or something like that—paid him a visit and threatened to kill him if Diego ever bothered me again. And then he—”
“Wait.” I cut in. “Did you say Mad Manny?”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure that was it. Diego called him the most dangerous hitman in the entire city.” Gabby rolled her eyes over such a dramatic phrase, only to take in my pensive expression and pause. “Why? Have you heard of him too? What the hell? Why has everyone heard of this guy but me?”
“No. I mean, hold on.” I leaned past her to reach for my phone on the nightstand. She hummed in appreciation when I brushed past and stroked her fingers up my rib cage, causing me to rumble out a sound of pleasure and send her a heated glance.
She wasn’t going back home any time soon; I was going to make sure of that.
Then I straightened and opened my phone to pull up a picture. “This was one of the few things I was able to take a picture of from Lana’s box tonight.”
I showed her the screen, where the photo on it depicted a scrap of torn paper with a phone number scribbled under the name Mad Manny.
“Holy shit,” Gabby gasped, slapping a hand to her forehead before turning to me. “It was Lana who called a hit out on Diego. Why did I not guess that before? It seems completely obvious now. Diego was hanging around her door Thursday morning, and that no doubt annoyed Lana into—Wait a second.” She gaped at me before pointing at the screen of my phone. “Lana has a fucking hitman’s phone number.”
“Exactly.” I stared hard at that number. “I wonder how she got it.” Glancing at Gabby, I winced as my stomach tensed with worse concerns. “Or what other jobs she’s hired him to do.”
Gabby gulped, her eyes huge with worry. “Diego did say Mad Manny usually killed his marks, not just broke their bones.”
I hissed a curse and ran a hand through my hair. “Jesus. I wonder if he can make his murders look like natural causes. Like, say, heart attacks.”
Her eyes widened. “What are you saying, Hayden?”
“This paper looks worn,” I noted, holding my phone closer and squinting at it. “She’s had it a while. What if Arthur’s death—?” Unable to finish that thought aloud, I shook my head, feeling sick. “Or even the missing married couple whose phones she has…”
Gabby just gaped at me before timidly asking, “Do you really think she’s truly capable of putting hits out on people, though? One of them being her own husband? This is taking someone’s life you’re talking about, Hayden. That’s a whole other level.”
“I know. But why does she have a phone number for this Mad Manny guy in the first place, stashed in a secret box she hides where no one would find it?”
Looking a little green, Gabby could only say, “I don’t know.”
We stared at each other for a minute longer, our expressions growing more troubled by the second. I’d only started this mission because Arthur’s will had sounded all wrong, because Lana had nosed her way into JFI, where she didn’t belong.
Life had been okay until then; it’d been manageable, at least. I’d finally felt as if I’d shaken loose of my mother’s controlling ways and could be my own person. She’d had no interest in the b
usiness side of things, so I rarely ever had to have contact with her. Arthur had hired me to work for him, and I was making my way up the ranks. Then Brick had come on board and seemed to be doing okay with his place in JFI as well. But after Arthur’s heart attack, there Lana was, strolling into the first board meeting following his funeral, taking over, and ruining everything once more.
I think she’d only decided to try her hand at running the company to spite Kaitlynn, to make sure her deceased husband’s adored daughter couldn’t go anywhere in the place. But it had affected a lot more people than just my stepsister. It had plagued all of us. And I had just wanted my fucking freedom back; the one bit of breathing room where Lana had never wanted to butt her nose before.
Who knew merely trying to nudge her out of JFI would lead me to finding these kinds of clues? Brick and I used to joke that she was behind that couple’s disappearance, and sometimes we’d even suggest Lana was the reason our own father had died. But we’d never seriously believed that. Except now—now it was beginning to look a lot less like jokes and more like reality.
Right when I’d pulled Gabby into this mess, too.
Jesus, what if she got hurt?
“What else did we get a copy of from her secret box?” she asked.
I shook my head, trying to control my climbing heart rate. “Other than the phone number for Mad Manny and the letter from Isaac, not much. Just a receipt for some kind of bank transaction.”
Gabby lifted her eyebrows. “An illegal transaction?” she asked.
