Stolen: A Bad Boy Romance (4 page)

Chapter Four

Janson

“No, you can’t come-” I pushed my way past a tiny little fuckwad and into the studio.

“What the hell?” Kathryn was less than happy to see me.

“You know, that’s a fucking question I’d love to ask you,” I said as I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards me. I wanted to get her out of the damn place, but I wanted to touch her even more.

“Get off her, dude.” I turned to see that little asswipe coming at me. Well, this would be fun and easy.

I clotheslined his ass and watched him fall to the ground. “Shut the fuck up. Moose, I presume?” I asked as he looked up at me.

“The fuck?” Moose asked as he moaned on the ground. At least two other people were coming towards us, but they started to back away.

“Janson, you can’t just come in here.” Kathryn had stopped struggling. “Boys, I have this, go on.”

The men who were crowding around us turned around and backed out. I had to give her that, she was handling it well.

“You know damn well I can do whatever the fuck I want. Did you think that I was just going to walk away and let you stay? You know why I'm here, it has everything to do with orders. I told you I could do this the hard way, and if that’s what you want, that's what I'm willing to do.” I was fucking furious with her. I wanted her in my bed, naked and writhing, not running from me back to these stupid punks.

“I’m not going.”

“You realize if you don’t, I’ll have to tie your ass up, right? Or worse, Greyson will call someone else to do the job. You won’t like that.”

“Will you let me grab my violin?” she asked.

I eyed her skeptically. “Depends, will you take off running the moment I let you go?” Kathryn shook her head.

“Fine, go on, get it.”

She turned and walked over Moose, who was still on the ground, grabbed her case and instrument, stowing it and turning it towards me. “I’m sorry, Moose.” She said as she stepped over him again.

He was still clutching his face.

She swallowed. “I don’t have much of a choice do I?” she asked.

“None of us do,” I answered as I looked her over. It was so regrettable that we didn’t have more time, but Greyson wanted her back home as soon as possible.

Kat looked white as a sheet and I knew then that she was avoiding something. Or someone.

“Let’s go, we have a long drive ahead of us.” As angry as I was, I couldn’t help but admire the way she looked in those clothes.

“We’re driving?” She’d stopped resisting and started walking.

“Did you think I was going to take you through an airport?” I asked. She was smarter than that. “Get your ass in the car.” I omitted the word I wanted to put in front of ass—sexy—and waited for her to slide in, then followed. It would be a comfortable ride, at the very least. One overnight stay and a private limo that would ensure there was enough space between us.

I still wanted her, though. My cock ached just thinking about her writhing under me. But I had to clear my head and figure out how I could make everything work. I had to.

***

I breathed a sigh of relief as we approached Glenburnie then passed through it. We had a place all set up for her, one of the private safe houses only Greyson knew about. The kind meant to keep him safe if there was an attempt on his life from any family member. Even his own father.

No one would look for Kat there.

“Where are we?” she asked as she looked out the window. She was tired. Last night was hard, for both of us. We’d shared a hotel room but I made sure to stay away from her. I’d positioned myself in the chair across the room.

Neither of us talked about the night before.

“Home. That’s all you need to know,” I said as the driver pulled up to the little set of row homes in Cherryhill. It was one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Ann Arundel County, but to us, it was perfectly safe.

Everyone knew who we were and what we were. They wouldn’t dare approach us.

“As long as you stay inside the house, you’ll be fine.” I got out first and held the door open. She got up and started walking, but not before she made it clear how she was feeling.

She glared at me. Fuck, just to have her eyes on me was enough to make me hard. I liked it when she was passionate. Even if that meant she was pissed as hell.

I watched her walk away from me towards the door of the row house, her ass swaying back and forth as she stomped towards the door.

She always was stubborn and hotheaded.

“This is where I’ll be staying?” she asked. She almost looked disgusted.

“Better than that place you were at in Chicago. A fucking co-op? If your brother finds out the kind of places you were, he’ll be so pissed.”

“That’s not the only thing he’ll be pissed about,” she said as her eyes flashed. She was trying to trip me up and I knew it.

I opened the door and did a quick survey of the small townhome. No one else was there. Good.

I wasn’t going to have it. “I didn’t hear you complaining the other night when you were begging me for more,” I said as I grabbed her and pulled her into me. She wasn’t going to manipulate me, that wasn’t my game.

She was so close to me, her breath short and ragged, coming out in spurts as she looked up at me. I knew exactly what I was doing. I bent my head down and kissed her, the pent up irritation with her coming out in the way my lips melded with hers. I wasn’t gentle, fuck, I barely knew how to be. So I took it all out on her, forcing her into me as we both kissed and bit and scraped our teeth against each other’s lips. I slid my hands up under her shirt and grabbed her breasts, running my thumbs along her nipples. I could tell by the way she sucked in her breath that it was exactly what she wanted.

“You act like you’re all tough, but deep down you are just as depraved as I am,” I said as I whispered it into her ear. “I’d fuck you right here if I could.”

“But you can’t,” she said, and pushed me away. I let her. I would never force a woman into anything they didn’t want. It wasn’t my style. “We can’t do this.”

Kathryn

I pulled myself away from him. I couldn’t kiss him. Not here. Anyone could walk in and see us. What the fuck was I thinking?

“I’m not going to let this stand in our way,” Janson said. He towered over me as he put his arms on my shoulders. “I know what happened the other night was probably a mistake, but I can't help it. I don't want to let this go, not yet.”

“Do you have any idea what will happen to you? What will happen to us? I know what my family is, Janson. I know what they're capable of. You can't just ask me to spit in the face of that and come back here. This isn’t the world I want to be a part of.”

“It's the world you were born into. That I was born into. There's nothing we can do about it. It doesn't matter how far you run, where you go, they’ll find you. I'll find you.” The way he said it, I knew it was more than a threat. He stood over me, so muscular, so handsome. I couldn't resist him. No, I was still angry. I didn't have a choice to come back home. He’d stolen me away from everything that I was working towards.

I had to keep reminding myself that I couldn't let him cast a spell over me. It was my fault. I wanted him all this time, and I finally got what I wanted. They always told me to be careful what I wished for. Having him did nothing to satiate my lust. Even standing there in the room with him, I had to fight every urge I had to walk over wrap my arms around him and kiss him.

“What am I supposed to do? You have me here in this house, trapped like a prisoner.” I crossed my arms and tried not to pout. I might be nineteen, but I had no intention of acting like a child. I was a grown adult and I could have exactly what I wanted. Janson.

“I have to follow orders, Kat.” He wasn't angry, but I knew I was pushing it.

“Does my father know I'm here?” I asked.

A knock on the door interrupted us, and I stiffened, but he answered as he explained. “Of course not. This was all Greyson's idea. Your father didn't care where you were.”

I didn't think it would sting, but it did. He never really cared about any of us girls; the only thing we were good for was bargaining chips. He wanted to use us to marry off to important men, to appease those in his organization. It might have been modern-day, but to him, it would always be the 1950s.

A man stepped in through the doorway.

“Did you tell him?” Janson asked.

“Yes, Greyson knows. I’ll be your second on guard duty.”

“Another babysitter?” I asked.

“Michael Leery, ma’am,” the tall lanky figure said as he stood over us. He was the same height as Janson, but his bulk did not match Janson’s.

It was still intimidating.

“How long do I have to stay here?" I asked.

“Until you aren’t a flight risk.” Janson was so intense as he looked at me. I bit my lip and fought all of the urges coursing through my body. “I have a feeling that we'll be a while.”

He was right. I had absolutely no intention of staying here. As soon as I was able to get out, I would head right back to Chicago. They would take me back, I just had to apologize for the way Janson treated them. Chances were they wouldn’t even ask any questions. They never did. It was how I found myself fitting in so nicely with the co-op in the first place.

Kathryn

Janson reached for his pocket. “Shit, I need to take this.” He walked out of the house.

I just stood there feeling numb. I wanted to scream, wanted to say something, anything, but Michael was there.

So I looked around nervously.

“Why don’t you take a seat, hon? It’ll just be a few minutes.” He gestured to the couch in the middle of the room, so I nodded and cleared my throat and sat down.

“Are you okay? Can I get you some water, tea?” he asked.

“I don’t need you to do that,” I said. I was determined to hold my ground. I wasn’t going to let my babysitter manipulate me.

“I know, but I’d like to. Water or tea?” he asked as he headed towards the kitchen.

I turned. I could see him from the couch. “Tea, please. With lemon?”

He rooted around through the fridge and then pulled out a small yellow fruit. “You got it.”

I didn't’ want to like him, I didn’t want to do anything but hate all of them, but I found myself glad I had someone to talk to. Someone who wasn’t Janson to tell me about himself.

“How long have you been with the family?” I asked. It was against my better judgement.

“About ten years now. My cousin was Oliver Leery, and when he died, I came down from Pittsburgh to work for the family. Shit was rough there, and your father took me in.” He walked towards me with a cup of tea, the bag still hanging out of it. “Well, kind of. I have to earn my keep.” He seemed upset about that. Another person my father caught up in his web.

My father. I fought the urge to spit just thinking about him. I was so angry at him. So red-hot.

“So, you ran away?” he asked as he sat next to me. I scooted a bit further away from him and shrugged. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want, but I did the same thing. That’s how I ended up here.”

“So you didn’t ever go back?”

“Not until a few years ago, and just to visit,” he said. He pulled out a flask and took a sip, then looked at me. “Want some?”

“No, that’s okay.” Did he even know I wasn’t twenty-one yet?

“Good choice. I ran away from some shit, a brother, well a half-brother, an organization back home. It was all I could do to keep my head on straight. So many expectations.”

“I know about those,” I said. And I did, too. It was a constant weight on my shoulders. But there wasn’t anything I could do.
Get married. Be a good wife. Make sure you always look good for the family. Go to college, but don’t do anything with it. Don’t expect to have a career.
All of those things were floating in the back of my mind. “Did they accept you when you came back?” I asked.

“Not really. Shit was going down, but they knew why I’d left. My brother, he was angry, but he told me to keep in touch. I have.” He shrugged. I could tell it was starting to get awkward for him, so I spoke up.

“I don’t know if anyone really wants me here,” I said at last. “I mean, my brother brought me back, but I know I’m just in the way. I don’t get why he did this.” It was the truth I was afraid of saying, the one that flew out of my mouth, and the moment it did, I was scared. Scared of what that meant.

“He wanted you home, Kathryn. Trust me. Janson knows it, so do I.”

I nodded. “But I don’t know if I want to be here.”

“Your life is your own, and sometimes you have to make decisions, even if no one else is willing to accept them.” He smiled at me and it felt so brotherly. I swore.

“Thank you. I needed to hear that.”

“But that doesn’t mean you should just run off again. Greyson would not be happy with any of us.” Greyson. He was right. I couldn’t just take off. It wouldn’t work, he’d just pull me back into this world. “You need to think about other ways to get out of this situation.”

He bumped his shoulder into mine and I smiled. I’d just met Michael but it felt like I’d known him my whole life. I chastised myself. I had to keep my guard up. He was probably trying to get on my good side so that I wouldn’t try and make a break for it again.

They were all the same, but a part of me wanted to trust him.

I just crossed my arms and looked at the door as Janson walked in.

“Oh, get yourself cleaned up. Got a bunch of clothing from your house. They are in your room. We’re going to dinner,” Janson told me. He looked at Michael, then me, and how we were both on the couch together.

I swear I saw his jaw tighten.

“Where?” I asked.

“At your brother’s place.”

I rolled my eyes. He was the last person I wanted to see.