Need You Tonight (33 page)

THIRTY-TWO

Kade listened to the clicking of the mouse and the tapping of keys as he held down
his post by the stairs, watching for any movement on the second floor. An hour had
passed, and he was beginning to worry that Tessa wouldn’t be able to find anything.
More than once, he wanted to go in there to help. He’d been studying financials for
ten years, so he probably could find things quicker. But he knew it was important
for Tessa to do this on her own. Plus, he had to learn how to tamp down that urge
to take over and handle things for her. It would be a challenge for him, but he didn’t
want to crush that independent spirit she had. That backbone and determination were
a big part of why he’d fallen in love with her.

All these years he thought he’d needed the ultimate control in all things in a relationship.
Looking back, he realized he’d probably been a nightmare for his ex-wife to live with
even before he discovered his dominant tendencies in the bedroom. He hadn’t negotiated,
he hadn’t compromised, he’d needed things his way all the time. No one could ever
get the best of him or have authority over him. And now he could see that part of
him had always been that scared teenager in the woods, determined not to give anyone
an opening to break him down.

Confidence. Decisiveness. Fearlessness. That’s what he’d layered on to protect himself.
He could be the nice, fun times guy on the surface. To most who knew him, he appeared
laid back and open. But in every situation, including with women, were opportunities
to conquer and hold all the control. It’d made him successful in business and desired
by the women he thought he wanted. But he’d never let anyone past that armor. It’d
left him with empty relationships and a constant sense of restlessness.

Until Tess.

She’d walked into his life and in the matter of a few weeks had turned him back into
Kaden Fowler, the boy who wore his heart on his sleeve, the boy who had hope for real
love, and the boy who had always loved Tessa McAllen.

And he’d sworn to himself that he’d never let any piece of that loser, Kaden Fowler,
back into his psyche, but maybe that boy wasn’t such a loser after all. He’d known
what he wanted and hadn’t been afraid to lay everything on the line. He’d been brave.
Even in the woods that night with Doug, he’d managed to survive. And maybe it was
time to forgive that kid his insecurities and weaknesses and stuttering words.

Maybe he could stop being so afraid of him.

“Kade.” Tessa’s urgent whisper broke him from his thoughts.

He glanced up the stairs once before heading over to the office to peek inside. Tessa’s
face was glowing blue in the reflection of the computer screen but there was no mistaking
the awed expression. “Look at this.”

Kade stepped around the desk. What greeted him on the other side made him do a double
take. Instead of rows of numbers like he expected, pictures were playing on the screen
in a slideshow. A pornographic slideshow. With all the photos featuring the house
they were in as a backdrop. Naked women, some whose faces were visible, others not,
all in compromising, often unflattering positions. And all from the same angle in
either the living room or a bedroom with a man’s back to the camera. A man who knew
how to keep his face concealed from the hidden cameras he’d placed. Doug. Some of
the photos had the little Play button superimposed on top, indicating it was a video
clip.

“Holy shit,” he said under his breath.

“You have no idea,” Tessa replied, glancing up at him. “That blonde is the wife of
a congressman. And that girl in the pink underwear is the daughter of one of his closest
friends. I’m not even sure she’s out of college yet. And there’re so many of Marilyn
in here, I can’t even count. He’s documented them all. Why would he keep all this?”

“To relive it and jerk off,” he said bluntly. “Or to have dirt on them in case he
ever needs it.”

“They can’t know that he’s taping them. I know Marilyn would never allow it for sure.
She’s a reporter and knows how damaging this stuff can be.”

The pictures continued to slide by, but Kade could tell they were going backward in
time. The locations changed and quality got grainy. Some looked to be scanned instead
of digital. Instead of full sex, they also switched to blow job shots, taken from
Doug’s perspective from above, ones where the participants probably knew they were
being photographed. Prostitutes most likely, based on the heavy makeup and come hither
eyes. And not all of them were women. Kade’s stomach turned with his own memories.

Then there was a photo of a familiar blonde stretched out naked and sleeping. Tessa.

“Oh, God.” Tessa’s hand flew to her mouth. She hit a button, trying to get the slideshow
to stop, but instead it just sped it up. Photo after photo of Tessa scrolled through.
Most where it was clear she was completely unaware he was there—shots of her in the
shower or getting dressed. But there were also a few sex shots in their bedroom, and
Kade had to turn away. The thought of that slime touching Tessa, recording her when
she wasn’t aware, made him want to break things.

“I feel like I’m going to be sick,” she said, gripping the desk.

He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her but also working
to keep himself in check. “Delete the ones of you and let’s go. If I don’t get out
of here soon, I’m going to go upstairs and murder the sonofabitch. Did you get anything
else we could use?”

She gave a quick nod as she clicked the mouse in rapid succession, deleting things.
“Yes, I emailed a bunch of stuff to myself. There are definite quirks in some of the
reports. But I need more time to look at them and maybe show them to someone more
experienced.”

“Good, then let’s move.”

She closed out all the programs and shut down the computer, then let him lead her
out into the living room. She’d tucked her suitcase and purse into the closet and
retrieved those before they both headed out through the back door. But when Kade slid
the glass door shut, he heard a yelp and a thud behind him.

He spun around to find Doug with one hand over Tessa’s mouth and the other hand pointing
a gun at Kade. Her suitcase and bag had dropped by her feet. Doug nodded at Kade.
“Either of you make a sound and I pull the trigger. No one would blame me for shooting
an intruder, especially one trying to break in to rape my wife.”

Kade put his hands out on front of him with calm, slow movements, even though he wanted
to charge the bastard. “She’s not your wife, Doug.”

“All these years and still trying to take my girl,” he said, holding Tessa against
his chest. “You think you would’ve learned your lesson last time. Found what you were
looking for in my office?”

“We found your photo collection,” Kade said, knowing that if he said they found nothing,
Doug wouldn’t buy it. “Interesting hobby you have.”

“Profitable one. It’s amazing what people pay for that type of stuff online. The people
that leaked my mother’s sex tape made millions off of it. You should see how much
I got for those photos of you, babe.”

Tessa made a horrified noise beneath his hand.

“I would’ve never released any of yours if you hadn’t left me. No one deserved to
see my wife, but once you weren’t—well, I needed the cash to make up for the money
you got in the divorce. Of course, I always blur out the faces. I wouldn’t want to
embarrass anyone. And don’t worry, they’re not all out there. I keep my favorite ones
for my private collection. Some things are too good to take money for.” He looked
to Kade. “I wish I would’ve had a camera that night with you. Seeing you sucking my
cock like a bitch, those crying blue eyes begging me for mercy, could get me off every
time. Bet you haven’t been fucked unconscious since.”

The words made bile rise in the back of Kade’s throat and that old feeling of shame
tried to leak in, especially with Tessa there hearing it all. But he refused to let
it claim him.

“Hey, I may have even cured your stutter,” Doug added.

Fury rose up in Kade like a tsunami, demanding that he rip this guy apart with his
bare hands. But he didn’t take the bait and let himself lunge at Doug. He had no doubt
Doug would shoot him, and then Tessa would be left with this sociopath. “Glad you’re
so proud to be a rapist, Douggie. How many of those people in your photo collection
were willing? My guess is less than half.”

His mouth twitched in a half smile, like he was fucking proud of himself. “You know
how it is, don’t you? You’re into that dominance shit. I saw that picture of Tessa
crawling for you. The fear is what gets guys like us off.”

Kade’s fists curled. “I’m
nothing
like you, you sick fuck.”

People like him were the reason he was fighting in court for his kid. Psychos who
took everything true dominants held sacred and twisted it into ugly, criminal things.

“Sure, if that’s what helps you sleep at night,” Doug said with a sneer. “But I bet
my dear wife here is soaking wet right now. She has no control. That’s what she likes,
right? You make her your whore. Maybe I should try it out. I could do whatever I wanted
to her right now.”

Tessa’s eyes darted from left to right, fear there, but also determination. Kade got
the sense she was scanning the yard, looking for some escape or weapon. But Kade knew
even if there was something available neither of them would be able to get to anything
without Doug seeing. Kade was going to have to do this with talking.

“Let her go, Doug. If you hurt either of us, you know it’s going to be too suspicious
to write off as an accident or self-defense. We can work this out with no bloodshed.
You’ve got photos we want back. And we have ones of you. I’m thinking that’s an even
trade. Everybody walks away and moves on.”

“No,” he ground out. “I need her to tell everyone she cheated and that I was a good
husband. My congregation doesn’t trust me and it’s hurting my business. I’m not going
to stand by and watch the reputation I built crumble. She needs to fix the shit she
caused.”

Tessa made a muffled noise.

“Let her talk,” Kade said. “She’s not going to scream while the gun’s on me.”

Doug moved his hand from around her mouth to a loose chokehold around her neck. “Talk,
but one loud noise and your boyfriend’s got a bullet in the head.”

“I’ll say whatever you need me to say,” Tessa said in a rush. “I can’t marry you again.
But I’ll say whatever you want at services tomorrow. I don’t care about what anyone
thinks of me. They can call me what they want. I just want to go back to Texas and
live my life.”

“To be his
slut
?”

She lifted her gaze to Kade’s, a glimmer of something beautiful there. “Yes. To be
his. I love him.”

Kade’s chest expanded with the words, everything in him soaring. She loved him back.

But they weren’t going to be able to celebrate that if they didn’t get out of this
backyard and away from Doug’s gun.

“Listen, Doug. It’s a simple business transaction. We can trade photos, and Tessa
will go to the church tomorrow to say what you want her to. Then we walk away from
each other and never speak again,” Kade said, trying to use his reasonable voice.

“You fucking love him?” Doug asked, turning red.

“I always have,” Tessa said, venom in her voice. “I married you for your money because
I had no choice. But you were always a jerk. And by the way,
you
were the one who was boring in bed. You’ve got a dick you have no idea how to work.
Now I realize just how bad at fucking you were. I used to fake coming just to get
it over with.”

Oh, shit.

“Tess
, stop
.” Panic zipped through Kade as she continued her rant. He could see what her words
were doing to Doug. The man was about to explode with rage. This was not the way to
get him to calm down and cooperate.

“Is that right?” Doug yanked Tessa away from him, holding her by the front of her
shirt and pointing the gun her way. He shook her hard and shoved her to the ground.
“You think I don’t know how to fuck? I tried to be gentle with you. I tried to respect
you. You were
my wife
. But, you’re about to find out what it feels like when I fuck a whore.”

Tessa was on her back and lifted herself onto her elbows. “Come on, then. Take out
your dick. I’m ready to laugh.”

Jesus Christ
, what was she doing? But when her gaze flicked Kade’s way and then to the gun, which
was now lowered at Doug’s side while he unbuttoned his pants, he realized what she
was doing. Raping someone would be a two-handed event. And in his moment of fury,
Doug had lost sight of the man standing nearby.

Kade gave Tessa a quick nod and she rolled out of the way in one swift motion. Before
Doug realized what was happening, Kade was barreling forward linebacker style and
knocking him sideways. The momentum carried them both to the ground and the gun went
off. Tessa screamed and pain lit up Kade’s leg, but he wasn’t going to let that stop
him. He pinned Doug to the ground and grabbed his wrist, banging it on the lawn with
all his strength until the gun fell from Doug’s grip.

Doug struggled beneath him, but Kade had learned a lot since that night in the woods.
He knew how to restrain someone in more creative ways than he could count. He pushed
Doug onto his back and wrenched his arms above his head. Doug was still fighting and
writhing beneath him.

“Take my belt off, Tessa, and get the gun,” Kade said in a rush. Tessa hurried over
to help, and Kade tied Doug’s wrists tight enough to cause pain. “Put your foot against
his wrists to make sure he keeps his hands down.”

Tessa did as she was told, and he took the gun back from Tessa. Without hesitation,
he put it to Doug’s mouth. “Open, motherfucker.”

“Please. Don’t.” Doug’s eyes were huge, true fear there, and he shook his head frantically.
Kade tapped Doug’s teeth with the gun and got a whimper of pain. But he also got compliance.