Authors: Elisa Elliot
ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (126 page)
Liam’s cell phone began buzzing in his pocket. He answered it on the second ring.
“Lydia, you bitch! Where’s my wife?”
“Liam?” Audrey’s voice came through small and tired.
“Audrey? Baby, where are you?”
“Now Liam, what kind of kidnapper would I be if she could answer that?”
“Lydia…” Liam growled.
“Here’s the deal. You’re going to come to us, alone of course. If I even detect on little person with you, or in your case I should say large person, well…let’s just say that your pretty little wife will no longer be so pretty.”
“Where am I going?”
Liam snapped his fingers at Hank before cradling the phone between his ear and shoulder to pull his notebook and pen from his inside jacket pocket. He wrote the address down and handed it to Hank.
“Don’t delay, Liam. I think Audrey needs a doctor.”
Liam closed his eyes as Lydia laughed before the call ended.
Hank was putting the address into his phone.
“Is it pulling anything up?”
“Yeah, it’s a mainly empty industrial park in the outskirts of Highland Springs.” Hank lifted his eyes. “We going?”
“She said I have to come alone.” Liam said and began marching to his car.
“Yeah right.” Hank replied, and followed after him.
Hank and Liam pulled into the industrial park, a term used loosely based on the fact that the area was just an overgrown place with four abandoned warehouses. Liam’s skin pricked. He’s seen places like this before. Places like this could be a perfect playground for the paranormal, and would leave humans wondering if it was their imaginations or a haunting.
“Ok.” Liam said. “Let me out.”
“I don’t like this, Liam.”
“Well, I don’t either, but we have to do it.”
“What if she has an army of Werewolves in there?”
Liam considered then shrugged it off, stuffing an extra mag for his gun in his pocket. “If she had an army of Werewolves, she wouldn’t need me for a mate.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Lydia’s obsession with you being the perfect mate is like any other stalker case. You guys being werewolves is just a coincidence.”
“Maybe.” Liam looked at him one more time and exited the car in full few of the building he was supposed to go into. He listened but didn’t turn as Hank backed out and drove off the property.
Liam walked slowly towards the building. True to her word, Lydia had left the double glass doors open. He wasn’t sure what had once been there, but it looked like whatever it was had a place in the front for customers to come in. He lifted his head and sniffed. The faint odor of a human wafted into his nose, but not wolf. He really couldn’t smell Lydia anyway. He hoped Hank was out of the car already and heading back his way on foot.
Liam walked to the back of the dark room he was in and exited through a swinging door. The back of the building was in fact a warehouse, but there were rusted metal stairs that led to a second and third floor. He began walking carefully, listening to every sound, but trying to not make any noise himself. Lydia knew he was coming, so it didn’t really matter. If he could catch her and her accomplice by surprise it would be better.
The stairs creaked slightly under his weight. He continued up, and was about to go on to the third floor when he heard voices and saw a light moving like someone with a flashlight.
Liam pulled his weapon and moved as hurriedly as he could, hoping to intercept whomever it was before they had moved into his corridor. He heard someone moan at the exact time he caught a strong whiff of Audrey’s scent.
He rounded the corner and pointed his gun straight into Luke’s face. He had Audrey around her waist, and was practically dragging her instead of helping her walk.
“Let her go!” Liam hissed.
“I have to get her out of here!” The man insisted just barely above a whisper. “I have to before my sister wakes up!”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. “Your sister is Lydia Haddad?”
“Liam…” Audrey said weakly.
“I’m here, babe, hold on.” He lowered his weapon and took her into his arms.
“My head, Liam…it’s not right.”
“It’s ok. We’re getting you out of here.” Liam stood and pointed his weapon at Luke again. “You…walk ahead of me.” Liam picked Audrey up and cradled her like a baby. He whispered ahead. “Is she asleep or did you knock her out?”
“I really don’t know how I did it. Her reflexives are so good.” He shrugged and continued to walk. “I found an old pipe and just hit her as hard as I could.”
The sudden burst of light and the loud crack stopped Liam in his tracks, but seeing the side of the man’s head explode in the bright flash, caused his breath to catch in his throat.
Lydia walked out of the doorway she had waited in. “Guess he really didn’t hit me hard enough.”
Audrey was passed out in his arms. He didn’t know if it was from seeing the man die, or because of her head injury.
“You crazy bitch! He was your brother!”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Half-brother, as he liked to say.” She stepped forward. “He was your wife’s little friend Luke Carter. It pained him to have to hit her like that. He really did fall for her.”
“Drop the weapon, Lydia!” Hank’s voice came strong out of the darkness.
Lydia rolled her eyes and smirked. She tossed the weapon on the metal walkway. The clatter echoed all around them.
“Move!” Liam demanded, holding his gun in front of him, while still holding Audrey.
Lydia turned and grinned at Hank. She shook her head once and dropped to the floor.
“Get up, Lydia!” Hank yelled, taking a step towards her.
Lydia’s head shot up as her face elongated.
“She’s turning!” Liam shouted, and dropped Audrey as gently as he could. He had never seen a shift happen that fast. Lydia was shrugging out of her human clothes within seconds. A wolf, slightly larger than normal, and pure white stood between Hank and Liam. “Don’t shoot! You might hit Audrey!” Liam felt the pull of his own skin. Being that close to a shifter had set off a chain reaction within his own body. He felt the shake and pin pricks of pain as his body responded.
“Holy shit!” Hank breathed behind him as Liam’s body transformed. Buttons popped off of his clothes and made pinging noises as they hit walls and the metal floor. Liam stood moments later in his full werewolf form. His blue/gray fur rippling over taut muscles. He was sure Lydia was smiling.
Audrey moaned on the floor and tried to move towards him. Lydia the wolf growled low and pounced on her, teeth breaking the skin of Audrey’s neck.
No! Liam’s mind roared. He jumped through the air with a snarl and knocked her off of Audrey the two of them a rolling mass of snapping teeth and fur.
Hank ran forward and pulled Audrey into his arms. He checked her pulse and felt it beating faintly. With a curse, he looked at the fighting wolves once more, and ran as fast as he could down the stairs. Liam could take care of himself. Audrey couldn’t.
Liam felt his body slam into the wall as Lydia came on her hind feet and pushed as hard as she could. In her current form she was as strong as he was. He sensed, more than saw, Hank taking Audrey away.
Lydia moved off of him and tried to rub her head against his jaw, a common action of affection in wolf packs. Liam took the opportunity and bit her as hard as he could in the neck. Blood filled his mouth, as her whimpers filled his ears.
It couldn’t have been that easy.
Lydia’s form went limp and fell to the floor. She began changing before his eyes back to a human. He could hear sirens in the distance and looked regretfully at his ruined clothes.
Hank came thundering up the stairs. As usual he was always thinking ahead. “Here!” He thrust a bundle of clothes in Liam’s hairy arms. He yelled over his shoulder as he ran back down the stairs. “I’ve carried a change of clothes for you for two years!”
Liam forced his body back to normal and put the clothes on. Red and blue lights were illuminating the inside of the building. Liam knelt beside Lydia’s body and touched her throat. A barely discernable pulse beat, but her wounds were already becoming hot. She would begin healing soon. Liam leaned close to her face and whispered.
“Not now, not ever.”
The amazement of the other officers was only temporarily overshadowed by their curiosity as to why Lydia was naked, and her clothes were in torn heap.
Hank watched the ambulance drive away that held Audrey and Liam. Grateful he had decided to call everything in before entering the warehouse. His voice steady. “She was a nut.” He smiled at Lieutenant Corey and Sergeant McIntyre. “A true nut. Gum?” He asked, and held out a pack of spearmint gum.
Liam sat by Audrey’s hospital bed and held her hand. Her body was burning up. Lydia’s bite was meant to kill, but instead she had given Audrey and Liam the best gift possible. Audrey would be a shifter. As to what kind, Liam didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. Now she would live just as long as he would. He wouldn’t have to endure what his father had when his mother died. He was so grateful he nearly wept.
Two years later….
“Push, Audrey!” Liam was smiling and sweating at the same time. Audrey bore down hard, one last time, her head nearly touching her swollen stomach. Her body flew backwards, and Liam kissed her wet forehead and cheeks. “You did it, baby! You did it!”
A small crying began that turned into a full blown squalling. A nurse laid the newborn baby on Audrey’s chest.
“It’s a boy.” She beamed.
Audrey touched little hands that were reaching and grabbing at air. His wide open mouth soon closed and he nestled her emitting little cooing sounds.
“Well, I’ll be!” The nurse exclaimed with her hands on her hips. “Come on Dad. Cut the cord.”
Liam took the little scissors and cut his son from the life line of his mother.
“Want to help clean him up?”
Liam nodded. He knew it was a diversion so the doctor could finish with Audrey. He touched his son on the chest and stared into his perfect round face. Liam took a breath discreetly through his nose and mouth, allowing this new scent to permeate through him. He smiled broadly.
“You’re my little shifter.” He whispered.
“What’s that?” The nurse asked.
“Nothing.” Liam said quietly. “Nothing at all.”
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Wind whipped through Taylor’s hair and sand stung her eyes. She ran along the beach wishing she hadn’t thrown the temper tantrum that forced her to run away with such drama. Her bare feet could still feel the heat from the day’s sun, though night had fallen over an hour ago. Startled, she glanced to her right just as lightening lit the sky over dark angry waters.
She heard voices, now farther away and muffled from the roar of the ocean, as she darted into an abandoned shed. She crouched, pulling her arms and legs in to herself.
I’ll just wait here. I’ll wait until they’re all sorry. Her eyes narrowed and her full lips stretched into a grin. Yeah, let them feel bad.
Taylor awoke an hour later when rough hands jerked her from the dank confines of the shed. She looked into the angry faces of the shoot director and her manager. They had enlisted the help of two of the resorts employees. They both stared at her wide eyed in the moonlight. Neither one could have been over twenty one, which made them both older than her.
“What were you thinking?” Jason asked as he shook her. “You don’t pay me enough for this crap!” He let go of her and handed each of the young men from the resort a bill of some sort. They nodded their heads and trotted off into the night, their flash lights sending streaks of gold up then down as they ran.
Taylor smoothed her tawny hair and began marching back towards the other end of the beach where the house they were staying in for the week was located. It had cost a mint to reserve this section of the beach for a whole week, but the shoot wouldn’t go well with throngs of people interfering.
Jason caught up with her in two quick strides. “He’s going to quit you know.”
“So? Find another.”
Jason yelled an expletive into the sky then looked at her with glaring eyes. “I spend days, weeks; hell even months away at a time from my family for you! My wife thinks we’re having an affair!”
“She does?” Taylor dropped her chin and looked at Jason coyly. Too bad it was dark, her light gray eyes were like a weapon when she wanted something.
“Yes, she does! Why do I do this?” He threw his hands up in the air and let them flop back to his sides.
“Because I pay you six figures a year to manage my career, and you promised my father, on his death bed, that you would!”
The shoot director caught up. “Why exactly were you so mad?”
Taylor looked at him like he were stupid. “Because I specifically asked for John Marquee to be part of this shoot! And I asked for specific food items that were never delivered. I mean, seriously, I thought this was a five star resort!”
Jason leaned back and caught Rich’s eye. He made a twirling motion beside one ear and shook his head slightly.
“Maybe we can get him next time, sweetie. I found two very nice looking men to be in the photo shoot tomorrow. I don’t know about the food items.”
Taylor sniffed. “Ok.” She simply said and marched ahead. Her blue summer dress swirling around her ankles.
“Something has to be done.” Jason said as he poured bourbon into a glass tumbler and swallowed it with two gulps. “She scared the religion out of me tonight!”
“You have no religion, darling.”
Jason glared at Constantine Givens as he poured another tumbler full. The bourbon burned as it went down, and after the second glass, he was feeling calmer.
“She’s your daughter, Constantine! Can’t you do something?”
“Like what?” She laughed, turning another page in the magazine on her lap. “She’s twenty years old. She’s the most sought after model in the country…in the world! She’s entitled to a few tantrums.”
Jason glanced at Rich and motioned with his head for him to leave. He walked in front of the chaise lounge she was laying on. The white ceiling fan above them made a low whump whump sound. How could this woman be so unconcerned?
“You’re in my light, darling.”
Jason clutched the empty glass, his eyes hard. He didn’t move.
Constantine looked up, her red lips (always red lips) drew slowly downward. “What?”
“Are you aware that she received another text message?”
Constantine shrugged. “So she has a few…intense…fans.” She flipped another page. “Change the number again.”
“I did.” Jason replied quietly and walked out of the room.
Taylor laid in the bed with thick pillows strewn across the top and around her. Her finger tips moved back and forth along the satin material. It was her favorite shade of green, the kind that is muted and makes one think about the promise of spring, but she took no pleasure in it that evening. She wished she could just be Taylor, the one that was born with the silver spoon in her mouth, the one that had once begged for a pony because she wanted to be a Veterinarian. She had gotten the pony of course, but she had to promise she would put all thoughts of nonsense out of her head. To her mother being a Vet was nonsense. Her mother had groomed her for modeling from birth. Being a retired model/actress herself there was no other option for her daughter.
Taylor grabbed a pillow and threw it against the full length mirror across the room. The frame made a slight creaking noise, but to her dismay didn’t break. She thought about a shoe, but thoughts of seven years bad luck stopped her. She was more than a pretty face. She was more than a perfect body. She threw tantrums because she didn’t know what else to do. She wanted conversations with people that involved more than where the next shoot was, or where the next runway show would happen. She read Ivanhoe and Sense and Sensibility when everyone else thought she was sleeping. She wanted to discuss the books. She wanted to watch a movie and have someone listen to what she really thought about it. Taylor sighed and felt the prick of tears. She hated tears. What she really wanted was a friend.
“I’m hiring a body guard.” Jason confided in Constantine as they watched a nearly naked Taylor roll around on the sand while smiling and posing for the camera. Two desperately handsome men posed around her, and at times on her. Her bikini was worth nearly a thousand dollars and the manufacturer was praying for record sales after Taylor was seen in it.
Constantine dabbed more sunscreen on her face, oblivious to the fact that they were in the shade. “Do what you must, but she won’t like it.”
“Maybe she will, and honestly I need a little more free time before I’m divorced.”
Constantine clucked her tongue. “Divorce isn’t so bad.”
Jason fanned himself with his wide brimmed hat. Of course she would think that. Taylor’s father was husband number two, and there had been husband number three since John Randall had died. When John had died, Taylor was only fourteen, her career already blossoming into something truly promising. She had been devastated. After that, Constantine pushed her child beyond reasonable limits, well beyond, and had created the monster that was currently Taylor. Not Taylor Randall. No, she was so full of herself that she was known only as Taylor.
“I put a few calls in early this morning. She needs someone at least for the short term. I should have a couple of guys to interview today.”
She waved him off. “Do what you want.”
“Budget isn’t a problem?”
“Is it ever?”
Jason looked out over the sand. Taylor was being outfitted with a sarong to match the bikini. Her full breasts barely fit into the bathing suit top. He forgot his recent thoughts and wondered if Maxim would like another photo shoot.
Namir Stone walked into the lobby of the Fair Lady lounge at noon exactly. He tucked his dress uniform hat under one arm and approached the back booth where a rather tall gangly man in his early forties was waving.
“You must be Namir!” The man said and stood to shake his hand.
“Mr. Jones?”
“Yes. Thank you for coming under such short notice.”
Namir wouldn’t have cared if it were a five minute notice. He needed a job, a permanent job, and he needed it yesterday. He nodded curtly and waited for the invitation to sit.
“Please, have a seat. Would you like a drink?”
“Just water, thank you.”
Jason raised his eyebrows briefly and motioned for the waiter. A young man with braids running along his scalp approached the table. Jason ordered the water and a Margarita for himself.
“So, you’re ex-military?”
“Yes, Sir. I served eight years.”
“Impressive. So, you’re how old now?”
“Twenty-six.”
“The security company highly recommended you. They said you have been doing a temp job as a security guard at one of the Casinos here on the island. How did you land that job?”
“I was stranded here, Sir.”
“Stranded?”
“Yes.” Namir clenched his jaw. “I came here with some friends and…it went badly, sir. I was stranded. I needed a job.”
“I see. Please, stop calling me “sir”. Just call me Jason, ok?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Jason sighed, grateful that his Margarita had arrived. This man was so stiff that starch was jealous. “Look, the job I have is a security job. A bodyguard really.”
“For you?”
“No. For Taylor.”
Namir frowned. “Taylor who?”
Jason laughed delightedly, nearly choking on the large gulp he had just taken. Cutie little umbrellas and straws were always thrown to the side when it came to his alcohol. “Wow! A strapping young man like yourself, and you have no idea who Taylor is?”
Namir shook his head.
Jason looked at the young man’s dark eyes and tan skin. He was built like a linebacker, tall and muscular. He would be perfect for keeping Taylor in line.
“Do you want the job?” Jason asked bluntly, motioning to the waiter for another drink.
Namir’s eyes widened. “Don’t you want references, or a job application, or…anything?”
Jason waved him off impatiently. “No, the agencies good word is enough.”
Namir swallowed. It seemed too easy. “What are the responsibilities?”
Jason threw the umbrella and straw out of his new drink. “Do you have obligations elsewhere?”
Namir thought about his few possessions sitting in storage in his mother’s basement. He thought about Rebecca and her hands all over a complete stranger. His mouth formed a thin line.
“No. I don’t have obligations.”
“Great!” Jason said and clapped his hands together. “You’ll travel with Taylor when need be, and you will reside at her home in the Hamptons.”
Namir felt like his mind was going to explode. “May I ask what it pays?”
Jason’s face went blank. Man, I really suck at this job. “How does a grand sound?” He sipped his drink and held up a finger, smacking his lips before he spoke. “Of course all meals and room and board are free too; even if you’re on the road with her.”
“A grand a month?”
“Hell no!” Jason laughed, the skin around his eyes creasing. “A week.”
Namir was positive this was all a joke. He was positive a man with a camera would jump from behind something and say, “You’re on candid camera!”
“So, will you do it?”
Namir nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’ll do it.” A grand a week! “When do I start?”
“Today. Meet me here with your stuff in an hour and we’ll go to Taylor.” Jason stood and slapped him on the shoulder. “I hope you’re as tough as you look; she’s a little bitch!”
Namir held his duffel and back pack awkwardly waiting for Jason to come back. He had changed into khaki’s and a white polo that was a little too tight across his chest. Jason’s final words to him about his new employer being a “little bitch” had rang in his ears. He just wasn’t sure he wanted the hassle, but at a grand a week, he could put up with it long enough to stash some money. Once he had done that, he could start over. Really start over.
A black limo pulled to the curb and a back door opened. Jason motioned him in, as a large island native jumped out of the driver’s seat and hurried to put his bags in the trunk.