House of Paine - (A Romantic Suspense - Book 2) (3 page)

Damien handed her a cup of coffee. “Thank you. Is that her boyfriend?” Damien turned and looked out the window just as Roxi kissed the man. He laughed and said,

“I’ve never met him, but for her boyfriend’s sake, I hope so.” Paige had to smile at that. She couldn’t imagine what things might have been like without Damien. He was truly saving her life.

“I don’t think she likes me,” Paige said as she watched Roxi flashing her brilliantly white teeth at her boyfriend. She had yet to smile at Paige and her eyes held nothing but suspicion when she looked at her.

“Roxi is just...hard to explain. I don’t know her that well myself. She was already gone by the time I came to New York. I’ve only seen her a few times when she visits for my uncle’s birthday or Christmas. She has this edge to her though. I’m not sure what happened to her when she was younger...or maybe it just comes from growing up in this fucked up family. She doesn’t trust anyone off the bat, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Do you want to go out there?” Paige giggled. She’d stood up to Jackson...she’d killed a man...and something about this tiny, beautiful little woman scared the crap out of her. It was funny.

“Sure,” she said. She followed Damien outside. Roxi looked up at them and said,

“Jake, this is my cousin Damien and his...step-sister?” she said with a cocked eyebrow.

Paige forced another smile and said, “Ex-step-sister.” Jake looked amused. He shook Damien’s hand and then Paige’s. His smile was genuine and warm and now that she saw him up close, Paige could see that he was also drop-dead gorgeous.

“Nice to meet you,” Paige said. Looking at Roxi she said, “Your home is beautiful. Thank you so much for letting us come here.” Roxi’s eyes seemed to soften just a hair.

“I didn’t really have much say in the matter. Dad said you needed a safe place. This place is safe. But since it’s my place, I’d like to know who you’re running from.”

“I killed Caine Kramer,” Paige blurted out. Jake looked like he would choke on his coffee and Roxi actually smiled.

“Well, I guess I don’t have to worry about your ability to be honest. I like that,” Roxi said, “Get the heavy stuff out of the way right off the bat.”

“He killed my brother,” Paige said.

“The cop?” Roxi asked. She’d obviously kept up with what was going on in the family.

“Yes, his name was Greg. Caine killed him because he was trying to bring their family down. I killed Caine because....”

“He was scum of the earth?” Roxi said, casually.

Paige laughed. “Oh, so you knew him.” She knew it was awful, joking about killing a man...but at the moment, it was keeping her sane.

“Unfortunately, I grew up with Caine. If there was walking piece of shit on this earth, Caine Kramer was it. How is his little sister?”

“She’s...”

“Still a bitch?” Roxi asked. Paige laughed again. She looked at Damien. He was smiling.

“Yeah, she still is.”

“She was born that way. I never could stand either of them. So Damien, how are you involved in this mess?”

“When Paige’s brother died, he left some evidence against the Kramer’s and...our family. I don’t know if Uncle Kevin told you...but I’ve wanted out for a long time. I have my own evidence. Neither of us is sure what to do with it.”

Roxi looked at Jake then and said, “This is what my father meant when he said you may be able to help, I guess. Do you mind talking to them about it while I shower?”

“Of course not,” Jake said. Roxi got up and bent down to give him a full open mouthed kiss. She wasn’t shy about PDA’s that’s for sure. She pulled her robe tighter around her and started into the house. Just as she got to the door her phone rang.

“It’s Dad,” she said. Putting it to her ear she said, “Good morning, Dad.” Her eyes fell on Paige and Damien as she said, “They’re doing fine. Okay, I’ll tell them. See you in a bit.” Roxi ended the call and then told them, “Dad will try and get here when he can. I’ll be out in a few.”

She went inside and Damien turned to Jake and said, “I don’t know how Paige feels...we haven’t had much time to discuss it...but I’d really like to do this without bringing my father down.” Paige felt her stomach roll. Was Damien backing out on her? She looked at him questioningly and he said, “If we bring my father down, Alex and Uncle Kevin and all of my aunt’s and uncle’s fall with him. I want out, but I don’t want to ruin my entire family in the process. That will be my bargaining chip.”

Paige understood his reluctance...and she wanted him out, but she was going to have a hard time walking away and leaving Jackson sitting at the top...King of the Roost as always. Caine may have killed Greg, but Jackson should have protected him. She looked at Damien’s blue eyes and she could see he’d made up his mind. Asshole or not, Jackson was his father and Alex was his brother. Loyalty to family she could understand...and respect. “That’s fine,” she said. “We’ll take the Kramer’s out of business and walk away.”

“What is it that you have?” Jake asked them. Damien told him what he had and what Paige had. Jake looked like he was contemplating it and then he said, “I’ll have to check into some things...bringing Kramer down with the evidence that also implicates your father, while leaving his family intact, won’t be easy.”

“Not easy?” Damien asked, “But possible?”

Jake smiled. “Anything is possible. It will just take some time to figure out how to do it right...and safely for all involved.”

“Do you need to see what we have?” Paige asked him.

“I do,” he said. “I’m leaving soon to head back to New York. I’d like to take it with me. The only person who will have eyes on it besides me will be my father. We can trust him. He’ll do what I ask.”

“Okay,” Damien didn’t hesitate. Trust is big in this family. Roxi trusts Jake so Damien does too. Paige was doing her best to trust anyone these days...but she knew they needed help. She didn’t have any choice.

“I’ll get it,” she told them. As she was making her way down the hall towards the guest room, she came face to face with Roxi. The other woman stopped and looked at her. At last she said,

“It took balls for you to deal with your brother’s murderer the way that you did.”

Paige wasn’t sure what to say to that. Finally she said, “Thanks. My brother was an amazing person. He didn’t deserve to die...especially not the way he did.”

“I’m sorry for your loss. I can tell by the way Damien looks at you that he cares a lot about you. Just keep in mind that no matter how much he wants to leave the family and be with you, it’s not going to be an easy transition for him. It took me a long time to adjust to life outside of that circle. I had a lot of trust issues.” Paige hadn’t even realized her face gave her away until Roxi threw her pretty head back and laughed. “Fine, you’re right. I still do. But you should have met me ten years ago. I might have even rivaled Kelsey for bitch of the year award.”

“That’s hard to imagine,” Paige said with a grin. Roxi laughed again.

“I think you’re okay, kid.” Roxi walked away and Paige was left standing there smiling.

––––––––

B
y the time Kevin arrived, Jake had already left with the evidence. Kevin hugged his daughter and his nephew and then he looked at Paige and said, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m doing okay,” she said. “Considering.”

“Killing a man is not an easy thing to deal with...even if he needed it.” Paige was grateful that at least none of these people seemed to be judging her too harshly for what she’d done. She knew that Damien had killed people...he told her. She was sure that Kevin must have at some point in his life, and she was beginning to believe that Roxi would, if she deemed it necessary to protect what she valued. This was a whole different world than the one Paige came from...she hoped that she and Damien would be able to return to that other one someday, not too tainted from their time in this one.

“I told Jackson what’s going on,” he said. Paige felt another pang in her belly.

“What did he say?” Damien asked.

“What you would expect,” Kevin said. “He’s worried about the evidence. He wants to know where you are so he can send Alex to collect it.”

“You didn’t tell him did you?” Paige asked with terror gripping at her chest.

“No. I didn’t tell him. I told him you were somewhere safe. Which leads me to the next item on our list. Lucas knows that it was you who killed Caine. He had cameras in the back room.”

“Shit! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. What are those rooms for anyways? Caine would never tell me.” Kevin and Damien shared a look. Finally Damien said,

“Who knows? Probably for clients who get to drunk or want a private spot to fuck.”

Paige had the feeling Damien wasn’t being totally honest with her...but she let it go, for now. “So what now?” she asked.

“Roxi says you can stay here as long as you need to,” Kevin said. “So we wait and see what Jake comes up with and go from there. I’ll do my best to help you up until the evidence is released. At that point, I may have my own time to do...”

“No,” Damien said. “I’m not turning over anything that implicates you in any way.”

Kevin smiled at him. It was easy to see the warmth there. Kevin treated Damien better than his own father did. “As much as I appreciate that, I don’t see how that’s possible. If your father goes down, the only way I don’t go with him is to testify against him. As much as my brother and I don’t get along...I still can’t do that.”

“I know,” Damien said. “I knew that would be your stance. Believe it or not, I understand loyalty to family. I’m not looking to destroy lives here. I want Paige safe and I want out. As long as Lucas Kramer, his brothers, and Kelsey for that matter are out there, Paige isn’t safe. So the Kramer’s need to fall. Hard and fast. But I only want one thing from my father and that’s my freedom to live my life the way I want to live it. I want a normal life and if he’s willing to give me that, then I’m willing to leave his operation alone.”

Kevin looked touched. “Do you want me to talk to him about that?”

“No,” Damien said. Kevin looked surprised. “I want to tell him myself. I have to look into his eyes and know that when he gives me his word on this, he intends to keep it.”

“Okay, I’ll arrange a meeting. I don’t think it’s a good idea for either of you to go back to the city right now. We’ll arrange it here in Rhode Island.”

“You can have him come to the club. I’ll provide a meeting room for them,” Roxi said.

“Okay good,” Kevin said. He looked back at Damien and said, “Once he knows where you are, protecting you is going to be more difficult.”

“I can protect us,” Damien said. He looked at Paige and she nodded. She trusted him.

Kevin stood up and looked at Roxi. “You’ll let your security both here and at the club know to be extra alert.”

“Will do,” she said. “Let me know when “Uncle” Jackson is going to show up. I’m sure he’ll bring his entourage. I want to make sure I have plenty of staff on hand.”

Kevin smiled and kissed her on the cheek. “Play nice,” he told her. He hugged Damien and Paige was surprised when he hugged her too and kissed her on the cheek. Damien walked him out. Roxi turned to Paige and said,

“You look nervous. Are you okay with all of this?”

Paige nodded. “I can’t really object to any of it, since this all came about because of me in the first place.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Roxi said. “This family has been fucked up since the beginning of time. It’s going to implode on itself sooner or later and it would have with or without you.”

Paige smiled at her. Roxi was like Damien, she was rough enough around the edges to cut you like a knife if you got too close without her permission...but underneath it all there was a good person.

*****

“D
amien wants to meet with you.” Kevin and Jackson were sitting at the bar in Jackson’s restaurant having a drink. Jackson chuckled. “That’s funny?”

“It’s just awfully cloak and dagger. If my son wants to see me, he should be sitting here next to me on the barstool.”

“You don’t think you’ve given him cause to be a little cautious?”

Jackson’s eyes narrowed and Kevin recognized the look. It was the one that Jackson got when someone tried to deny him his way. It bordered on murderous. “If he didn’t want to have to be cautious, he shouldn’t have gotten himself involved in someone else’s mess. Damien’s a good looking kid. Pussy is a dime a dozen, he can get it anywhere.”

“Do you realize this is your step-daughter you’re talking about...the one who you profess to care about?”

“Another good reason my son should have found his pussy someplace else.”

It was taking everything in Kevin to keep his temper in check. If Jackson said “My” son one more time as if emphasizing whose son he was...Kevin took a deep breath and said, “Can I tell him that you’ll meet with him tomorrow or not?”

“In Rhode Island?”

“Yes, at Roxi’s club.”

“So, he’s staying with Roxi?”

Kevin let out another heavy sigh. “What time should I tell him you’ll be there?”

Jackson smiled. He knew damned good and well where they were staying. He managed to know everything. If he didn’t know everything, he couldn’t control everything. When Jackson couldn’t control something that’s when he got dangerous.

“I’ll be there at ten. Tell him to make sure he’s on time and that he brings what I want.”  Kevin didn’t tell Jackson what Damien wanted to meet him about. He thought it best not to give him any advance warning. That might prompt him to send Alex out to Rhode Island tonight to “take” what he wanted.

“So what happens after you get what you want from them, Jackson?”

“What do you mean, what happens? You act like I’m a monster. These are my children. We all get on with our lives. Lucas and his family are grieving. He’ll realize when he’s thinking more clearly how dangerous it would be for him to do anything to harm any of my children.”

“You realize that they really aren’t “children” any longer, right Jackson?”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot,” Jackson said in a tone that implied he’d had enough of Kevin trying to tell him what he should do. Kevin dropped it. He’s not afraid of his brother. He’d been through too much with him. He knew that Jackson would never hurt him. He wasn’t so sure about Damien. Kevin watched his brother stick a knife in his son. When it came to Damien Jackson was a wild card. He always had been.