The clicking noises must have drawn more attention than Kelley thought they would because the next moment Milana stood in the doorway with big eyes. He knew exactly how it looked. He had a safe full of legal and illegal weapons, ammunition and knives.Kelley stood in his study with the built in safe wide open and took off his jacket and shirt. He strapped the bulletproof vest tight against his body as she watched him. The t-shirt went over the vest and he could feel her eyes boring into him.“What’s going on?”Kelley grabbed his button up shirt and pulled it on, tying his tie around his neck and shrugging his jacket on. He looked a little bulkier but ultimately the vest was undetectable. Kelley took a rifle off the hooks in the safe and checked the magazine.“Go back to bed, Milana.”She rubbed her hands over her arms and Kelley couldn’t look at her. If he did he’d change his mind, drag her to his room and make her confess all the horrible things that had been done to her. His rage wa
Connor pulled the SUV into the garage and the doors closed behind them. Connor was still gripping the steering wheel tightly as he turned to look at Kelley. “Next time I’ll shoot you in the leg.”“I’m sorry.”“You can’t go rogue like this, Kelley. This whole operation falls apart if something happens to you. You’re the core component keeping it all together, don’t you get that? Every single person in your employ, those in your inner circle, they all depend on you.”“I get it.”Connor bristled. “Do you? You shot my fucking tyres out, Kelley!”“I didn’t know I was going to do it. But I kept my head, Connor, I got valuable information we wouldn’t have had otherwise.”“Someday your luck’s going to run out, that’s why you have a brain, Kelley. For fuck sakes, man. You know what, there better not be a next time.”Connor climbed out of the car and slammed the door closed. Kelley rubbed a hand over his face, he knew Connor would be pissed off but he hadn’t bargained on Connor’s rage exploding
“Kell … oh, fuck sakes, my eyes!”“Shit … Lee, get out!”“Sorry! I thought you were alone.”“Get out!”Lee stumbled against the doorframe as Milana cowered behind Kelley. He quickly shut the door behind him and waited in the hallway.Kelley closed his eyes as Milana started to laugh. Their position hadn’t been that compromising but Lee’s timing sucked. They’d just made progress and his hands had been under her shirt with her hands exploring his body, their lips locked together.“I have to go hurt Lee now.” Kelley pushed himself away from her, willing his erection to go down.“Don’t spill too much blood.”Kelley chuckled as he pulled his t-shirt over his head and pulled on a pair of jeans. He waited as Milana straightened her own shirt and then he opened the bedroom door. Lee pushed himself off the wall and Kelley walked past him towards the study.“This better be important, Lee.”“I have no idea why this shit always happens to me.” Lee made a gun with his fingers and placed them again
Carey stood looking at Andrea as Milana excused herself. The door closed and Andrea walked deeper into the office. Carey crossed her arms over her chest as Andrea looked everywhere except at her so she decided to wait it out.“I’m not here to make any trouble, Carey.”“Why are you here, Andrea?”She fidgeted with her hands and finally sat down in a chair across from Carey. “I wanted to meet Grace and explain things to Mason.”“So explain it to me too, Andrea, because the way I see it is that a woman who abandoned her baby is now back to claim a daughter she had no hand in raising.”“A lot of bad things happened back then. I left Grace with her father because I wasn’t in a position to look after her. I don’t know how much you know of what they’re all busy with, the playhouses and the forced marriages …”“What playhouses?”“I think you should talk to Mason … or Kelley.”“Where are you staying, Andrea?”Andrea looked down and Carey knew the answer before she even said it. “With Mason.”“
Kelley looked at the email and read it again. Why was he reaching out after three years? The police investigation had grown cold because there had been no evidence to corroborate Petey Johnson’s version of events.People had seen Kelley at the nightclub and his phone had pinged from the towers across the street. His car hadn’t left St. John’s City and Kelley knew that it had been closed as accidental, Petey’s license revoked and him being left paralyzed from the waist down.It had been a good day. Kelley smiled at the memory. Petey wanted to meet, that night in fact, at his house in Yorkdare Bay. The Johnson’s still lived in town and Petey now ran the online division of his father’s marketing company.Kelley typed a quick reply and hit send. He’d see Petey tonight. In fact, he was intrigued by Petey’s invitation but not dumb enough to think that Petey didn’t have ulterior motives. This week was turning out to be a good one for Kelley.On Wednesday JenCorp would sink and Hanson Chadney
Mason sat in his car in the dark garage. He was beyond pissed off. Did Marcus and Andrea have a history he didn’t know about? He couldn’t be referencing The Club because Andrea had been sold, she hadn’t been taken to their inner circle of perverts.Mason finally got out of his car and unlocked the front door. Andrea was in the living room and she turned to look at him where Grace lay on her lap, asleep. “You okay, Mase?”“I’ll take her up.”“Mason …”Mason shook his head and Andrea closed her mouth. He picked Grace up and carried her to her bedroom. He kissed her on her forehead and tucked the covers over her. He exhaled a shaky breath as he walked back downstairs to the living room.“Let’s take this to the kitchen.”Andrea stood up and followed Mason to the kitchen, where they could close the door and there were less chance of Grace hearing them. Mason opened a cupboard, took out the bottle of scotch and two glasses.“What’s going on?”“Did you ever sleep with Marcus Holt?”Andrea’s
Lee unlocked the front door with his key and stepped inside the house. Raised voices came from the kitchen and he headed in that direction. His heart was hammering in his chest and he couldn’t for the life of him think how Mason was feeling.“You called Lee!” Andrea’s voice was loud as he stepped into the room.“Miss Christie, I’ll advise you that anything you say from this point onwards will be recorded and used against you in any capacity we see fit.”“I can’t believe you, Mason!”“What did you expect me to do? He wants a paternity test and the only reason he’s asking for one is because you gave him the idea that Grace was his!”Lee carried on as if they hadn’t said anything at all. “You retained custody of Grace James for exactly six days since her birth after which point you abandoned her on the doorstep of Carey James’s residence. Your letter claimed that Mason James was the biological father of the baby. Since my client never denied having sexual intercourse with you during that
‘Good morning Yorkdare Bay. We’ve just received an exclusive tip from sources close to JenCorp. Last night as markets opened on the Eastern Islands, the market came to a standstill with the crash of JenCorp’s shares. Authorities believe that insider trading and embezzlement of funds are to blame for JenCorp’s sudden death. The shares have plummeted and are currently worth less than JenCorp’s business cards. We’ve been told that the police are investigating a silent partner, Hanson Chadney, who was arrested early this morning.’Kelley switched the television off and smiled as his phone started pinging. Milana sat next to him, her eyes wide as she turned to look at him.“Why do you look so happy?”“Because Hanson Chadney is finally getting exactly what he deserves.”Milana rose to her knees and straddled Kelley as he rested against the headboard. His hands went to her hips and he pulled her closer to him. “I overheard your conversation with Mason last night.”“Hmm eavesdropping now, are
It was a week later when Jesse called him. It was a go. Nobody talked about his little meltdown, instead they walked on eggshells around him. Lee and Mason hovered, worked out of his study and at night Milana occupied his mind with sex. It wasn’t a bad deal, except that they all watched him, constantly.Nobody told her that it was Ernesto that he had killed and neither did he. He kept quiet and he waited. He tried to be himself, it was hard, but he tried. It didn’t fool his brothers though. They knew something was up and Connor finally broke the ice.“I can’t really decide who’s the crazier motherfucker, you or Lee.”Kelley looked up from his laptop and Lee huffed out a laugh. “Kelley. Definitely Kelley.”“You stabbed your father over thirty times, how am I crazier than you?”Mason leaned back against the sofa and took turns to look at them. “Did you see that guy’s face? You caved his skull in with your bare hands!”“Soft in the head just took on a whole new meaning for me,” Kelley sa
The front door opened as Kelley walked up the two wide stone steps. “Welcome to Meadow Lake, Kelley.”“Ernesto.”Kelley followed him to his office and they sat down on the two sofas facing each other. Ernesto poured them each a drink, assuming that Kelley would want one. He didn’t really but he took it and emptied the glass.“So what brings you to my little town?” Ernesto looked smug and Kelley fought to keep the sneer from his face.“I want to know where Milana’s mother is,” Kelley said.“I see.”Kelley’s expression remained stoic and he could see Ernesto was thinking about his answer. It wouldn’t be a good answer, Kelley knew that too. Kelley shifted slightly and pulled the pistol from under his jacket.Ernesto’s eyes followed the movement and his left eye twitched as the pistol came to rest on Kelley’s thigh. “Where is she?”“She’s dead. She killed herself four years ago,” Ernesto said calmly.“You didn’t think to share that news with her daughter?”Ernesto shifted and Kelley’s han
Kelley walked into his study with a grin on his face. He’d barely slept the previous night, despite his exhaustion. Once hadn’t been enough and he’d reached for Milana a few times until the sun rose and he’d gotten up for Kyzer.He walked over to the couch area and moved the one he and Milana had been on back to its original place. His tie was on the back of the other couch and it slipped to the floor against the wall just as he reached for it.Kelley moved the couch away from the wall and bent down to retrieve his tie. The wooden part of the skirting lay on the floor and he pushed the couch further away and picked it up. He looked at the piece in his hand, the edges a little jagged, like it had been cut out.He pulled his phone from his pocket and turned the flashlight app on and directed the light into the hole that had been hidden by the skirting piece. He lay flat on his stomach as he moved his phone and something caught his eye.Kelley stuck his fingers inside and it gripped the
The dining room remained quiet for exactly twenty seconds when Kelley walked out before everyone started talking at the same time.“That was intense,” Sylvie breathed.“You!” Marley stood up and pointed her finger at Sylvie. “You couldn’t keep your eyes off him the entire time. Get over it, he’ll never love you. He loves her!” Marley pointed at Milana and sat back down.“Shut up, Marley,” Jesse said softly.“Is that true?” Mason asked. “Are you still in love with Kelley?”“I should go talk to him,” Lee said.“No!” Milana said fiercely. “I’ll go talk to him, if any of you go up there now he’ll probably kill you. He won’t hurt me.”“Says the one that tried to kill him,” Marley muttered.“You created this whole mess, Marley. You should listen to Jesse and shut the fuck up,” Milana hissed and walked out of the dining room.Nobody moved and then Jeannie stood up and glared at all of them. “This is all levels of fucked up but Kelley’s right about one thing. You all want to get angry and gla
The weeks sped by and Kelley became broodier and quieter than ever before. He spent more and more time in his study catching up on work and spreading their business further, moving across continents and into other markets.He went to sleep each night with his back turned towards Milana but they always woke up attached to each other in some way. Today would be a test for all of them. They were planning a family dinner and Kyzer was already three months old.He rubbed his temples, wishing the headache would go away. It was the one constant ever since the coma. He had one every night and probably would for the rest of his life. He had an hour before everyone would knock down his front door.Milana walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body as Kelley closed the bedroom door behind him. She didn’t look at him but rather looked past him. His grip on her arm made her waver because he hadn’t hurt her, not once since that night he gave his ultimatum.“Mila …”“I need to get re
Kelley was standing by the crib when Kyzer’s face scrunched up and he picked him up before he had the chance to scream. He changed him and then sat in the rocking chair as he fed him the bottle he’d made. He didn’t feel like he’d missed anything but Kyzer was bigger and heavier and his face had changed a little.The door opened and Kelley looked up just as he pulled the empty bottle from Kyzer’s mouth. He placed the bottle on the table next to the rocking chair and lifted Kyzer to his shoulder. Three burps later and Kyzer was already half asleep.Milana had remained standing in the doorway, leaning against it. Tears were running down her cheeks and she hadn’t bothered to wipe them away. Kelley tucked Kyzer in, sighing softly in his sleep, before he turned to face Milana.He gripped her hand in his as he walked past her and pulled her behind him towards their bedroom. His bedroom, since none of her things had been in the dressing room when he’d changed earlier. He waited until she was
Kelley’s eyelids fluttered and he blinked a few times before the ceiling came into focus. He tried to swallow and felt the nausea rising. Kelley’s hand rose to his face and he felt the tube going down his nose.He started pulling, slowly and swallowed the nausea down. The pipe seemed never ending and when the last bit popped out of his nose, he gagged. The beeping was low in his ears but irritatingly there. Kelley turned to look at it with a frown and then he switched it off.He ripped the patches off his chest and stumbled to the bathroom. His hand was against the wall because his balance was up to shit. Something was trailing on the floor behind him and he felt for the light switch and stepped back as his reflection appeared in the mirror.“What the fuck,” Kelley whispered.He looked down and saw the bag half-filled with urine. ‘Why the hell do I have a catheter?’ he thought to himself as he picked it up and placed the bag on the counter. His head felt fuzzy but he wasn’t in pain at
Five weeks later …Mason looked at his phone for the hundredth time. It wasn’t going to magically ring. He rubbed his hands over his face and walked out of his office at the warehouse. His calm veneer was cracking, his soul was splitting off piece by piece.Their family was breaking and he had no idea how to fix it or even if he wanted to try and fix it. Carey wasn’t talking to him, Marella wasn’t talking to Lee and Connor was like a bear with a sore tooth. Grace had been with Carey for two days now, she’d taken her for the weekend.Marley was the only woman that was talking to them. Steel had drifted to the other side, he’d had no choice. Milana was his detail and he stuck to her side. Connor had lost his shit, broken three chairs and Steel had had to drag him away from Milana.Kelley had survived brain surgery, even though the odds had been stacked heavily against him. There had been swelling, another brain bleed and another surgery, he’d survived that as well, even though his docto
Two weeks passed and they’d fallen into a routine with Kyzer. Kelley did most of the heavy lifting, bringing Kyzer to their bed so Milana could feed him. The doctor’s timeline had been four weeks and Kelley made sure she stuck to it.She looked healthier, her hair shining again although she hadn’t gained any considerable weight yet, though Kyzer had. His pediatrician was happy with everything and Kelley felt like he could breathe easier.He hadn’t heard from Sylvie and he doubted he would and as the days passed he felt more comfortable. Mila looked more and more like herself again and at night she slept in his arms, her head on his chest like they’d always done.Kelley opened his eyes and gripped his erection through his pajama pants. He hated sex dreams, especially now. It was still early, not even six am yet. Milana’s side of the bed was empty and his cock twitched at the thought of her.Kelley closed his eyes again and tried to adjust himself in the loose pants. “Do you need help w