Left in the Dust: A Standalone Bad Boy Romance (19 page)

The elevator zoomed up past all the floors. Sweat perspired down the sides of my face. My hands were locked to each other and I couldn't unravel them.
Act normal, Taylor. It's just your father.

Carter was no doubt used to doing things like this but for me, this was my first time. I took a couple deep breaths as the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

My father's secretary sat at her desk, painting her nails. “Ms. Kyle, what are you doing here so late?”

Oh fuck. The secretary was supposed to be gone by now.

Even if I was able to get my father downstairs, how would Carter get past the secretary?

My father came out of his office when he heard the commotion. Anger flooded my veins. I'd never forgive him for what he did to Carter. “Taylor? I didn't expect to see you so soon.”

I fought every urge to punch him right in the face. “I need to talk to you, Daddy.”

My father turned to his secretary. “I won't be needing you anymore.”

She nodded quietly and walked by me to the elevator, her perfume lingering in the air. I breathed a big sigh of relief. The whole plan could have been jeopardized if she stuck around.

“I was hoping we'd get to have another conversation,” my father said.

“Not here, Daddy. Can we go somewhere?”

My dad smiled. “Sure, honey. Let me just get my things.”

I waited for my father to get his briefcase and we took the elevator down together. My father was done working for the night so Carter had all the time in the world to get the hard drive.
So far so good, Taylor. Keep it up.

We rode down in silence. I didn't even know what to say to him. All my planning had only gotten me to this point. What was I supposed to do next?

The elevator hit the bottom floor and I quickly glanced at the supply closet. It was closed.
Good luck, Carter.

My father and I walked outside of his building into the cold night air. “I'm truly sorry about what happened, Taylor.”

I couldn't hold back the rage anymore. “Are you, Daddy? Are you really sorry or are you just saying that?”

“You're right, Taylor. I'm not sorry for what I did. Carter isn't the right man for you. I'd do it again if I had the chance.”

How could my father be so cruel? When I was a kid, he used to read me Winnie-the-Pooh and sing me a lullaby to put me to sleep every night.
What happened to that man?
“I love him, Daddy. That won't change no matter how much you try to stop it.”

“You're stronger than I ever gave you credit for, Taylor. You remind me a lot of myself.”

That was the greatest insult. “I'll never be like you,” I seethed.

My father looked concerned and started checking his coat pockets. “I think I forgot my phone. Let's go back upstairs and we can talk some more.”

My heart jumped out of my throat. Carter didn't have enough time. I reached out my hand to stop my dad. “No stop! We need to talk outside. You're phone can wait. I'm what's important right now.”

My father shrugged me off. “Don't be ridiculous, Taylor. We can talk in my office while I search for my phone.”

I had no choice. I quickly took out my phone and sent Carter a quick text:

On our way.

He wouldn't have time to go back down the elevator. He'd have to hide and ride it down while we were in my father's office.

We walked back into the building and to the elevator. My palms were sweaty as we waited for it to descend to the ground level.

“We can work this out,” my father said. “I only wanted the best for you.”

I couldn't concentrate enough to argue with him anymore. All my brainpower was focused on Carter.
Did he even get my text?

It would be all over if my father found him. Carter would go back to prison. My father might even prosecute me when he finds out I was the one that betrayed him.

The elevator opened and we stepped inside.
We're coming, Carter.

I waited patiently until Taylor and Mr. Kyle exited the building before jumping into the elevator. I didn't know how much time Taylor was going to be able to give me so I needed to work fast.

The elevator doors opened on a big room with tiles floors and a wood-paneled ceiling. I thought it was Mr. Kyle's office but realized it had to be the secretary's. Mr. Kyle's would be behind the big double doors.

I opened them to find exactly what I pictured his office to look like. It was bigger than my entire house. The view of Saint Marks all lit up was breathtaking. I could stand and stare at that scenery all night. But I had a job to do.

His desk and computer were on the far left side of the office. A framed photo of Taylor and her father from high school graduation sat on the desk. Taylor and Mr. Kyle looked so happy together. But so much had changed now.

I put the framed photo down and started taking apart the computer tower. In prison, computers and I became very close. They had me working on repairing computers night and day. They said that my background of fixing up motorcycles could help.

It didn't.

Computers were foreign to me but after a couple years I became somewhat familiar with them.

Once the computer was opened, I spotted two hard drives and unplugged them both. But I couldn't guarantee that everything I needed was on these. I searched the drawers for any papers that he might try to hide. A locked drawer piqued my interest. That's where
I
would hide the documents that could put me away.

I tugged on it hard but it wouldn't budge. He wouldn't keep the key just sitting around. It was probably on his person. I'd have to open this the old-fashioned way. I picked up the left side of the desk as high as I could, my muscles bulging through my leather jacket.

I let go and the desk slammed to the ground. I checked the drawer but it was still locked.

One more time should do it.

I picked up the desk again and heaved it to the ground. The lower drawers smashed and broke apart. The locked one was opened part way. I took the whole drawer out and spotted another hard drive.

Bingo.

The two in the computer probably held nothing. I tossed them to the side and took the hidden hard drive. “I got you now, you son of a bitch,” I said aloud.

The doors to the office opened and I froze in place. “Who are you talking to, Carter?” Mayor Trump asked, walking in with a gun pointed right at me.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Mayor?”

“Cleaning up some loose ends,” he replied. “Now drop that hard drive and put your hands up.”

I let the hard drive slip out of my fingers and to the ground. I slowly brought my hand behind my back to reach for my gun.

Mayor Trump shook his gun at me. “Not so fast, Carter. Hands up high where I can see him.”

I wouldn't be able to pull my pistol out fast enough. The mayor would get off two shots before I could even fire a first. I hesitantly raised my hands up.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Taylor was on her way up.

It was all over now.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened to the top floor.

Please be gone, Carter.

But it was worse than I ever could've imagined.

The door to my father's office was wide open and Carter stood there with his hands raised above his head.
Why didn't you try to hide?

“What are you doing in my office, Carter?” my father's voice boomed.

Mayor Trump came into view, holding a gun pointed right at Carter. My stomach flipped over. I wanted to scream but nothing came out of my open mouth.

“I'm glad you all could make it,” the mayor announced.

My father stepped forward. “Morty? You can't be serious. Put the gun down.”

Carter laughed. “Your name's Morty? Morty Trump? You must've been picked on a lot when you were a kid.”

Trump pointed the gun higher at Carter. “Shut the fuck up, Carter. You'll get what's coming to you soon enough.” He turned back to my father. “I won't let you control me anymore, Kyle. With you gone, I'll be free and Kyle Enterprises will be done for.”

My father stood in front of me and put his hands up. “Put the gun down and let's talk about this, Morty.”

The mayor swung his gun around and pointed it at my father. “We're done talking.”

Carter and I locked eyes. He was so calm in such a tense situation. That's when I knew he had everything under control.

Carter reached down behind his waistband in slow motion. He pulled out his handgun and pointed it at the mayor. The mayor realized what was happening in the corner of his eyes. He swung back around to meet Carter but it was too late.

Carter fired off two shots, hitting the mayor in the chest and head. Blood sprayed in large arcs, splattering over the ceiling and walls of my father's immaculate office. A scream finally escaped my lips and I grabbed onto my father for comfort.

Mayor Trump slumped to the ground like a bag of bones, blood pooling around his body.

Carter quickly jumped to the mayor and picked up the gun. He pointed both of them at my father. “Get on your knees, Mr. Kyle.” Carter's eyes glowed with rage.

I stepped in front of my father and spread my arms out. “Don't kill him, Carter. Even if he's a bad man, he's still my father.”

Carter stared at me, his chest expanding and contracting. The rage left his eyes and he lowered the gun. “Call the police, Taylor. Your father is going to prison for a long time.

The cops had everything they needed to take down Mr. Kyle. The DA made a deal with him to send Taylor's father to a lower security prison in exchange for a confession.

Mr. Kyle agreed.

He was going to jail just as fast as I did. And everything was right in the world again.

The next day, Taylor called me over to her father's house. When I arrived on my Harley, the place was swarming with government agents. Big moving vans were parked outside and they were loading furniture.

I walked into the grand entryway which was so familiar to me since that was as far as Mr. Kyle would usually let me into his home. A double staircase led to the second floor. A glass chandelier hung from above. “Taylor, you in here?” I called out. My voice echoed through the large room.

“Up here, Carter,” she replied, standing at the wooden banister of the second floor.

I smiled at her and made my way through the crowd of agents moving files and furniture. I walked upstairs to the unexplored second floor. I passed by so many different rooms: library, sitting room, gallery, and too many bathrooms to count.

I almost walked by the room with Taylor in it. “I thought you got lost for a moment,” she said.

Taylor was sitting on a tall white bed covered with stuffed animals, wearing a long black dress. The room was spotless like nobody had ever lived in it before. A bookshelf of porcelain dolls stood in a corner and a white desk with a lone sheet of paper in the other corner.

“Don't even say a word,” Taylor said. “I already know what you're thinking and you can save it. This is
not
what my room looked like when I was a teenager. I had a different bed, the dolls didn't exist, and I had boy band posters plastered all over the walls.”

I couldn't help but chuckle. Taylor was being so defensive. “So what happened then?”

“When I moved out, my father changed everything back to the way it was when I was five years old.”

I walked over to the shelf of dolls. They looked way too expensive.

“I always hated those dolls. They gave me the creeps.”

I could see how their always staring eyes could frighten a kid. I plopped down on the bed next to Taylor and stretched out my legs. “What's with all the government downstairs.”

Taylor lay next to me with her hands behind her head. “Pretty much confiscating anything that had to do with my father—including the house.”

“That's a bummer. We could've thrown some killer parties here with the MC.”

“They're also freezing all his assets. So I won't be getting any money.”

“No problem, baby. You're going to move in with me. We'll make it work somehow.”

Taylor nuzzled her head in my neck. “I'm so glad you came back to me, Carter.”

“Will you marry me, Taylor?” The question popped out of my mouth before I could even think about it. My brain was on autopilot.
How could I be so stupid?
I was supposed to propose in a romantic way—not in her childhood bedroom.

Taylor raised her head from my chest and stared me in the eyes. “Are you serious, Carter?”

“When am I not serious, Taylor?”

Water filled her eyes. “You better not be playing around with me!”

My heart drummed louder in my chest. “What's your answer?”

Taylor slapped me on the arm. “Of course the answer is yes, you big dumb biker.”

I squeezed her to me and kissed her hard. The rock in my pants pressed against Taylor's soft body. “Do you have a present for me down there?” she asked, biting her bottom lip.

I nodded and Taylor began undoing my pants like they were a bow. When my boner flopped out, Taylor gasped. “It's like Christmas morning.” She stroked my shaft, my body sinking deeper and deeper into the bed.

Taylor had no idea how much power she had over me. I'd do anything she asked just to make her tighten her grip on my cock and make me come.

Taylor let go of my length and rolled over next to me. She hiked up her dress to her hips, showing off her long legs. “Take me, Carter King.”

Oh fuck...she wasn't wearing any panties.

“
You're definitely the wife for me, Taylor.” I spread her smooth legs and slid into her gushing slit.

We moaned to our heart's content, not caring that every government agency could hear us. Taylor's hips bucked against my thrusts, shoving my cock deeper inside, stretching out her tight pussy.

We kissed as I pounded Taylor on her childhood bed. I pulled down her black dress straps until her juicy tits poured out. I ran my tongue along her cleavage, tasting the sweat that had collected there.

“Come with me, Carter. Come with me now.”

It wasn't hard to find my release—especially with Taylor tightening her pussy around my cock and shuddering as she came. I unloaded inside her, thrusting in and out.

“I love you, Taylor” I said, exasperated.

“I love you too, Carter. Can we go again?”

I laughed. “We're going to spend our entire lives together. That means a ton of sex. And you can't even wait a moment before you want more?”

Taylor rolled over and nibbled on my ear. “I can't help myself. You're too delicious.”

“Well I won't be the one that ever says no.”

We kissed and made love two more times before the government agents kicked us out.

The next day, Taylor moved into my house. She unloaded the last box of her things from her BMW onto the driveway.

I helped her carry the last box into the house. “Maybe we could sell your car for some extra cash? Help pay for the wedding,” I proposed.

“We won't need money for a little while,” she replied with a knowing smile.

“What are you talking about?”

Taylor waved an envelope in front of my face. “I totally forgot about it.”

“What is it?”

“The check for the painting I sold at the art show.”

I snatched the check from her.
Twenty thousand dollars.
My legs became like rubber and I had to sit down for a moment.

“There's more where that came from. The man who bought the painting has commissioned another one from me. We're going to be all right.”

“We're going to be all right,” I repeated.

Taylor was all mine. Could life get any better?