Unconditional (15 page)

Ashley nodded. “Yes. They were upset when they found out he was seeing me. He actually hid it for a long time. They wanted him to marry someone else. I came from the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak. But he was funny and charming. He had a way of making me agree with him even when I didn’t want to.”

Yes, the little fucker had used Ashley’s natural desire to please the people around her to manipulate her. He’d kept her a secret and talked his way into her bed without giving her anything real back.

Was Trevor Reid any different from him?

“He actually stayed with me after his folks discovered we were together,” Ashley continued. “His dad was furious. He kicked Trevor out. He cut him off from his trust fund. Trevor moved in with me and we seemed to be happy for a while. He asked me to marry him. I said yes. We thought his parents would come around when they realized we were serious. And then I found out I was pregnant. I told him and he shook his head and walked out. He sent me a text saying he wasn’t ready to be a dad.”

“Son of a bitch,” Karina said under her breath.

The little fucker should be glad he was dead. He knew it wasn’t right to think that way, but he would like to get his hands around the kid’s throat. “Let me guess. He went back to his parents.”

Jill nodded. “Yes. That was right around the time that Ryan and I broke up. I went home and helped my sister. She tried to reconcile with Trevor, but he wouldn’t see her. He cut her out completely.”

“I ran the asshole down though,” Ashley said with a little smile. “I found him at a bar with his new girlfriend. I was five months pregnant. Yeah, that was a scene that no one will forget.”

Jill closed her eyes. “The cops got called in. When baby sis blows her top, it really goes south. After that night, his father slapped her with a restraining order. They didn’t want to have anything to do with Emily. They made that plain. When she first got pregnant, they offered to pay for her abortion and nothing more.”

He kind of wanted to kill the parents, too.

He thought of his parents, who had been there when John Michael was born, who tried so hard to be there after he died. Did they still mourn him? Did they sit together at night and wish they’d told their only son the truth?

“None of this explains to me why this asshole is following my…Ashley.” He had to stop. He kept wanting to call her his sub, but he wouldn’t do that around the PI. He had to take his cues from the others. He’d been asked to change clothes. The rest of them had changed as well, and Karina wasn’t showing any signs of submission to the Doms in the room. Taggart was treating her like a partner, and that meant they were all in business mode.

The door opened and Adam Miles strode in, a grim look on his face. He set a folder in front of Taggart, who started flipping through it. From what he’d learned about McKay-Taggart Security, Miles was the computer expert. They called him the head of communications, but Keith knew what that meant. Adam Miles was a hacker and one of the best.

He didn’t look happy with what he’d found.

Taggart nodded his way.

Miles stepped forward. “Were you aware that your employer recently hired an attorney who specializes in custody cases?”

Ashley started to tremble.

Oh, fuck. They were coming after the baby. They’d lost their only child so now they were going to try to take Ashley’s. “Like fuck they are. Who’s the attorney? I can buy the asshole off.”

He had money. He had billions at his fingertips. He could give her that.

The PI shook his head. “Yeah, the attorney is the one who actually hired me. Look, I’m just doing my job.”

“They’re trying to dig up dirt on me,” Ashley whispered.

“I followed you around for a couple of days and thought I was shit out of luck. But then you came here. What is this place? It’s some kind of club, ain’t it? It’s an underground club,” Harper said with a leering little smile. “You working here? Or do you just pick up some guy for the night? Who’s with the baby because this looks a little like a family affair to me. That’s your sister and your brother-in-law. It looks like you’re into some kinky shit.”

If she hadn’t been sitting right next to him, he would have gone over the table at the guy. “If you say one thing about her to anyone, I’ll kill you.”

Derek Brighton walked in followed by another man. Jesse Murdoch. He worked for McKay-Taggart as well, but Derek was Dallas PD. Great. He’d threatened to kill someone in front of a cop. He was batting a thousand tonight. Brighton walked by him, slapping him lightly on the shoulder in what he took as a show of support. At least he wouldn’t get hauled to lockup. Jesse carried what looked like a laptop. Or it used to be. It was pretty mangled.

“Boss, I found this outside in the parking lot.” Jesse grimaced. “You know how clumsy I am. I dropped it. And then I drove over it a couple of times. Three really. I get confused about forward and backward sometimes. It’s the PTSD. Do you think it will still work?”

Taggart took the sad-looking thing and gave his employee a high-five. “Nope. This is an ex-laptop.”

“Hey, that’s my property. It was in my truck,” Harper said. He reached into his pocket. “I’m calling the cops.”

Jesse grimaced again. “Yeah. I think you dropped your phone outside, too. I might have thought it was an IED. Again, PTSD.”

Taggart shook his head. “Poor Jesse. All that time in an Iraqi prison really did a number on him. It’s okay, buddy. You did your best. Did you run over the phone, too?”

“Nah. I kicked it into the sewer. You could go look for it, I guess.”

Keith was starting to like the kid.

Harper was turning a nice shade of red. “Where’s my camera? It was in my truck, too.”

Taggart leaned forward. “You mean the camera you used at my private place of business to take pictures of my clients? That camera?”

“Yes.” Harper’s voice trembled a little.

Taggart smiled. “No idea, man. Jesse, did you see a camera when you looked through his truck? Which, by the way, is sitting on my property. My private property.”

Jesse shook his head. “Nope. I haven’t seen a camera at all.”

He was a good liar. Thank god for Taggart and his team or Harper might have e-mailed his client pictures that could damage Ashley. Keith’s brain raced. He already knew the lawyer he would call. He would put the guy on retainer tonight and slap her ex’s parents with a harassment suit.

“I’m calling the cops as soon as I get out of here. You guys are dicks,” Harper snarled.

Derek pulled his badge. “No need. I’m right here. Mr. Taggart called me in when he realized he had an intruder. I asked him not to shoot you. Next time I suspect he will, so I would watch myself. Mr. Taggart, would you like to file a complaint? I can have the DA here in five minutes.”

Karina shook her head. “She spent a little time with Damon there. She’s still recovering. Better give her ten.”

Derek smiled slightly. “Ten minutes then.”

Harper threw his hands up. “Fine, I get it. You’re power players. I fucked up. Are you going to arrest me?”

Derek sat back, looking at Karina. “What have you got on him?”

Karina looked down at a list in front of her. “Two arrests in Wyoming for drunk and disorderly. He was a college kid. Divorced twice. Second wife accused him of battery, but it looks like he paid her off. He came to Texas a couple of years ago and now he works nasty divorce and custody cases for corporate types. Reid Industries is one of his major clients.”

Keith looked at Ashley. He knew that company well. “You were engaged to the heir to Reid?”

She nodded. “Yeah. His dad inherited the company. He doesn’t run it anymore. He hired a CEO and settled into small-town life. I think they liked being the lord and lady of the town.”

And they’d judged her. From what he could tell, everyone in that town had judged Ashley.

“I think I’ll forgo arresting you tonight,” Derek said. “But if I see you anywhere near this place of business again, I’ll haul you in.”

Taggart smiled one of his barracuda grins. “I’ll just shoot you.”

When he was offered the door, Harper nearly ran.

“I’ll follow him,” Jesse offered. “Make sure he doesn’t hang around.”

“Let’s get this party down to family,” Taggart said with a frown. Everyone left with the exception of Taggart, Ryan, and Jillian. “Ashley, you’re my employee. I’m offering you my services. I’ll get Adam on the parents and the attorney they’ve hired. Keith?”

“I’m calling her an attorney tonight. He owes me a couple of favors. He’s a shark.” He squeezed her hand.

“I can’t afford any of this.” Ashley shook her head. “And I don’t understand. They didn’t want her. They wanted me to abort her.”

“Grief makes people do crazy things,” Taggart said with a sigh.

“The Reids were always obsessed with their bloodlines,” Jill explained. “They expected Trevor to continue the family line. Now that he’s gone, Emily is the only one who could possibly do it. She’s the last Reid.”

“She’s not a Reid.” Ashley’s hands turned into fists. “She’s mine. Only mine because no one else wanted her. She’s a Paxon. They don’t get to take her away from me because their plans didn’t work out. God, Jill, it’s like I’m right fucking back there and everyone is watching me, waiting for me to screw up so they can shake their heads and say they knew I was bad all along.”

“You’re not bad.” He had to reinforce that. He couldn’t let this set her back.

“I think a bunch of people would disagree with you. He was taking pictures to prove I’m a bad mom. They’ll haul me into court and say that I was out having sex when I should have been home with my baby.”

Jill reached out. “That’s not true. Ashley, she’s asleep by eight o’clock. Sanctum doesn’t even open until ten. You’re there to put her to bed. Ryan’s mom is watching over her. You get to have a life.”

Ashley shook her head. “No. I don’t. At least not now. Until this is cleared up, I need to stay home with her. I can’t give them anything to use against me.” She looked up at Keith. “I think we need to modify our contract, Sir.”

“What does that mean?” He didn’t really want to know.

She sniffled a little, tears falling. “I can’t come here for a while. I’m sorry, Ian.”

Taggart held up a hand. “I agree it would be better for you to play privately until this blows over. I have some data entry work you can do from home. You’re still on the payroll and I’ll still take care of this. Your kid is the important thing here. We’ll all support you.”

Her shoulders shook. “Thank you.”

Taggart stood up. “I’ll have Adam call when he finds something out, Keith. I’ll give you two a minute.”

He stepped out and Jill and Ryan followed after they hugged her, giving Ashley promises to stand by her.

Keith sat watching, his whole body still as though he’d just stepped on a land mine and wasn’t sure when it would go off. It would go off. The minute he stepped forward, it would blow up.

The door closed and he was left alone with Ashley, who had just lobbed a grenade his way. He couldn’t get the image of his carefully planned world being blown all to hell out of his head.

“I’m sorry to drag you into this, Sir.” She reached out a hand for him. “But I have to admit, I’m so glad you’re here.”

But she wasn’t asking him to be here. He could be here every night. That wasn’t a problem. She was asking him to be there, at her home, with her and her baby.

He sat back in his chair, trying to put off the moment that had always been coming, the moment when he showed her just how unworthy he was. He’d thought he had more time.

“I can’t.” He said the two words that meant the end of his relationship with her. “I can’t.”

* * * *

Ashley could barely see him. Tears kept glossing over her vision, but unfortunately her hearing worked just fine. “What do you mean? You can’t come home with me tonight? Could we go to your place? I have to admit, I’m kind of scared that they’ll show up on my doorstep.”

He was her Dom. He was supposed to protect her, comfort her. Comfort and protection sounded damn good right now. She was sure he had a big place. She and Emily wouldn’t take up too much space.

“I can’t.” He stared at someplace just to her left, his face a blank mask.

She was brutally confused. “You just promised to help me. If it’s about the money, I can try to come up with it.”

His mouth tightened, the words grinding out. “I’ll handle the lawyer. I’ll pay for everything. I won’t let them take your kid, Ashley.”

She breathed a little easier. He’d been so good, holding her hand while they’d talked to the private investigator. He’d been a big old wall between her and the nasty world. “I can’t tell you how much I thank you for that. It’s okay if you can’t come over tonight. I’ll stay in the big house.”

He nodded, finally bringing his eyes up to her. “Good. You should. Ryan’s got a top-grade security system. He’ll take care of you.”

She knew that. She’d just wanted to spend time with him. Keith was busy. It was a Friday night, but he could easily have meetings on a Saturday. “Can I see you tomorrow night?”

He went still again, like a man who wasn’t sure what to say. He stared at her for a moment before slowly responding. “Of course. I’ll see you here at ten.”

Had he not listened to a word she’d said? “Keith, I can’t come here for a while.” It didn’t make sense. He didn’t act like a man who didn’t want to see her. “Please come over to my place. I need to see you.”

“We have a contract.”

Frustration welled. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“This is a D/s relationship, Ashley. I’m not your boyfriend. I’m your Dom. Our contract states we don’t see each other outside the club.”

“I thought you were supposed to take care of me. You can’t do that in the club right now. The world outside doesn’t give a crap that we have a contract, Keith. Reality doesn’t care that I signed on the dotted line.” Another, nastier thought occurred to her. “That contract also states that our training period ends in a couple of weeks. Were you going to dump me then? Was this relationship only supposed to last six weeks?”

His silence made her heart ache.

He’d been planning on leaving her.