The Billionaire’s Nanny: Halstead Billionaire Brothers Series (Book 2)

by Wood, Lauren

  But my silence said it all. I could see Margo putting the pieces together in her brain as her mouth opened wide.

  “No!” she bellowed dramatically. “Is it…Jason?”

  “I’m not saying a word,” I answered cheekily, breezing past her with the kids’ snacks.

  I was looking forward to the song and dance of her having to coax it out of me, just as Vanna would have done if she was here. A juicy secret is too much fun to just spill out too easily. But I froze when I walked into the living room to see the kids had vanished.

  They had been in there watching cartoons just moments ago, but now the living room was empty. I figured they must have gone upstairs, but then my eyes cut over to the front door swinging open in the wind.

  “You’re not getting off the hook that easy!” Margo squealed with laughter as she came running in after me, but she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the concerned look on my face.

  I shoved the tray onto the entryway table and dashed towards the door, peaking out to see if they ran into the yard. But they were nowhere in sight.

  “Where’d they go!?” Margo asked from over my shoulder.

  We both began calling out their names one by one when I heard a frightening clicking noise from behind that chilled my blood. I knew that sound, and Margo’s scream immediately followed—confirming my worst fears. It was a gun.

  I slowly turned to the sight of a barrel pointing straight at us. A man stood there with his arm outstretched and a creepy smile on his face.

  “Afternoon, ladies,” he said cavalierly.

  I considered making a run for it since I was so close to the door, but I knew I’d be shot in the back before I could make it far. He was quick to circle around us and begin corralling us towards the basement wine cellar.

  Margo tried asking through her tears who he was as he rushed us down the stairs, but he shouted for her to keep quiet and pushed us along. Once we reached the bottom, my heart sank at the sight of all five children huddled up together in the corner of the room, each one sniffling in fear.

  He shoved us towards them, but he really didn’t need to. I was filled with the urgent need to rush to their side and tell them everything would be okay. I gathered Bailey, Christopher, and Caitlyn in my arms and held them close. Margo did the same with her kids as the intruder stepped off into the corner and pulled out his phone, keeping his gun locked on us the entire time.

  “Jason Halstead. Old friend,” he beamed sarcastically. “This is a familiar scene indeed. Once again, you’ve ignored my demands, and left me with no choice but to remind you just how seriously you should take me.”

  I could hear Jason’s muffled, alarmed voice on the line as it dawned on me. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t guessed it immediately. This had to be the man who killed Anna.

  “I don’t think the terms of our original agreement were fair. I tried to negotiate peacefully, and you ignored me. So, now here we are.” He cut his eyes over to us with a terrifying smile. “You know, little Caitlyn looks just like her mother.”

  There was a string of ballistic shouting just before he hung up the phone and turned to stare us down. All we could do is wait for Jason to come and hope that none of us ended up like Anna.

  29

  Jason

  Every muscle in my body was clenched with panic and anger as Eric, Jesse, and I sped back to the manor. My mind was racing and blank all at once. I knew I had officially lost it. This guy had pushed me too far.

  I lost my wife to him in more ways than one. He left me alone with three kids to raise and threatened my entire family along with our multi-billion-dollar company. That should have been more than enough damage to inflict, and he got what he wanted out of it. Now he was back to destroy my second chance at happiness.

  “How did he get in anyway!?” Jesse asked as Eric’s driver maneuvered the car in full speed around sharp turns with the tires squealing. “You’ve had that place on lockdown level security since last time.”

  Eric shook his head while we were tossed around the backseat. “The asshole probably still had keys from when him and Anna were messing around. She’d do something like that. She’s almost as bad as he is for all the trouble she’s caused.”

  Jesse jumped to Anna’s defense and the two quickly began bickering over things that I’m sure they thought were very important to me. But none of that mattered anymore. Their words were all just a blur. Everything would be until Tara and the kids were safe.

  As we pulled into the driveway of my estate, I barely heard Eric ask what the plan was. I didn’t need a plan. I was running on pure adrenaline and rage and planned to use that to my advantage. I had worked with the architect closely in renovating the cellar, and I knew it had a door this intruder wouldn’t be expecting.

  I told my brothers to hang back and ignored their protests, marching straight into the house with determined but quiet steps. In the laundry room there was an old laundry chute opening that led to nothing anymore, except for the cellar.

  I pressed my ear to the floor and carefully made out my target’s pacing steps. When the sound of his shoes reached the floor beneath me, I yanked open the door and swung my feet down, kicking him across the room. Without a second to waste, I dropped down into the cellar and lunged towards him as he raised his head up and tried to get his bearings.

  He was barely back on his feet and scrambling for his gun when I kicked it from his reach and throttled my fist towards his face. I started pummeling him with all the pent-up rage he deserved to have unleashed on every inch of his body.

  The room went black. All I could see was him and wanted more than anything to kill him. I’m sure I would have, but a pair of arms overpowered me from behind. I slowly came back to my senses enough to realize Eric had pulled me off. Tara was standing there holding the man’s gun, pointing it at him and demanding he stay put.

  I tried to launch towards him again, not feeling the least beat satisfied with how beaten he was. He deserved to be hammered into a bloody pulp. But Eric struggled to hold me back.

  “It’s not going to solve anything if you kill him!” he insisted. “The last thing we need is another murder scandal to drag the company down. It’s time to set this straight for good.”

  He called Jesse over to make sure I didn’t try anything else. Eric pulled out his phone and began dialing someone while my attention turned towards the kids who were calling out to me with their arms stretched out. Margo was barely able to keep them in place. I wanted to run to them, but my eyes cut over to Tara who had the gun cocked and ready to go off on this monster if he even so much as thought of trying anything.

  Surveying the scene, I didn’t know what would happen from here or what Eric’s grand solution was. I just knew I needed to hold Tara and the kids and let them know they’d be safe. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to them.

  I marched towards him again, flinging Jesse off when he tried to stop me. With one last blow to his face, he went limp and unconscious, giving me time to take care of Tara.

  Any other woman would have been trembling and shaken up with fear, but she had been pushed over the edge just like me. She had tunnel vision for where the gun was pointed and didn’t seem to care that I was gently trying to get her to lower it.

  “It’s okay,” I whispered, pulling her into my arms. “It’s okay now. I’ve got you.”

  Her big green eyes turned to me, still absent of the fear I expected. They were filled with something else. It was like a determination to never be pushed around like that again. I imagined it was the same place she had gone to when Clinton finally pushed her over the edge.

  I wanted to tell her I was sorry for ever questioning her role in the whole thing. I had made the mistake of judging her for a reaction to that asshole’s abuse, or for even allowing it to happen in the first place. But now I could see more than ever that she was just like me. The only thing that got her into messes like this was her heart—her willingness to love and trust and hope for the best n
o matter how ugly the world and the people in it could be. And when it came down to it, she’d do anything to protect the people she loved.

  She slowly lowered the gun and threw her arms around my neck. We left Eric and Jesse to watch over things while we rushed over to comfort the kids. As the five of us wrapped around each other as tight as we could, I knew without a doubt that this was my family. Not just me and the kids, but Tara too. She made us a family again.

  I watched as my wife’s murderer was loaded into the back of a cop car, but I had trouble shaking the fear that this could truly be the end of things. The police officers were eyeing me, letting me know they would have plenty of questions about all of this.

  “Our lawyer is on the way,” Eric assured me with a pat to my shoulder. “He’s not going to be happy with us.”

  “Well, we’re all used to that,” I quipped. “He’ll be happy for the extra pay out at least. I guess we should have just called him the first time.”

  He raised his brows to me. “I may not know as much as you, Dominic, and Jesse about our business, but I know why you didn’t call him the first time.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh, which felt good to do considering the circumstances. Anna’s murderer had blackmailed us with some pretty heavy stuff, and a few of those were deals not even our lawyer knew about. He preferred it that way unless we were at risk of getting caught.

  “I think I get it now,” Eric grinned. “Why you two are so in the game. You get a rush from pushing the bounds of what’s legal, don’t you? Like corporate gangsters.”

  “I can’t say you’re wrong.” I turned to watch Tara tend to the kids nearby. She straightened their clothes and wiped the last of the tears from their cheeks. “But I think you’re onto something about getting out and settling down.”

  “Oh, come on. You’re already the most settled one of us. Really the most settled guy I know. You wouldn’t even join us at the strip clubs when we were entertaining potential clients.”

  “I’d never give up my role in the company, but once this clown is taken care of, I don’t think I’ll be risking anyone being able to dig up dirt on me again. I have too much to lose.”

  Eric stared off, looking more ready than ever to cash out of our family’s business. “I think I’m next in line for that trip to Paris after Dominic gets back.”

  Margo appeared next to us, watching the cop car drive off. “I feel like I need a trip to Paris now.”

  He looked over dismissively at first, but quickly did a double take. Their eyes met and Margo flashed a coy little grin.

  “Have you two met?” I laughed, stepping back from my place between them.

  Leaving Eric to what I could only imagine would turn out to be his new fling, I returned to Tara and the kids. Her face was twisted with a million questions, but I just kissed her and told her again that everything would be okay.

  “How do you know that?” she asked, watching the kids with all the concern of a mother.

  I pulled her to my chest and placed my hands around her cheeks. “Because you and the kids are safe. And…because I love you. Nothing else matters.”

  I dipped her down into a deep kiss, not caring that everyone, including the butler and Kelsey standing at the front door, were watching us in shock. I wasn’t going to hide it anymore.

  30

  Tara

  I delighted in the shock on Tara’s face as I told her about everything that happened while she was gone. Reuniting with my best friend would have been amazing enough on its own, but it was especially enjoyable since I had such a crazy tale to divulge her in.

  “So, the Halstead family lawyer is making sure Anna’s murderer gets brought to justice while protecting them against whatever he managed to dig up on them,” I explained. “And that’s that. That’s what’s been going on since you left.”

  “I can’t…I don’t even…My mind is blown!” she laughed. “I thought Dominic and I had a crazy enough story of how we came together. You just had to try and top it, didn’t you?”

  We turned to admire the guys standing on the other side of the room beneath the welcome home banner. All four of the brothers were together again, looking just as handsome as ever in their expensive suits with classy cocktails in hand.

  “I can’t believe how much has happened since these men came into our lives,” I marveled. “Well, my life anyway. You already knew Jesse all those years. It’s a wonder he didn’t get your wrapped up in all their charades sooner.”

  “To be fair, it was you who got us wrapped up in the charade last time,” Vanna quipped.

  “True, but...” I bit my lip and took a more serious tone. “Does it ever bother you? I know mostly they are just good guys who work hard and run a fair business. But obviously they have their secrets. Didn’t Dominic tell you he had been in jail before?”

  “I think they all have at one point or another,” she shrugged. “I guess that’s just what happens when you give cunning guys more money than god and enough smarts to know how to work the system. It’s like a game to them, and they like testing the waters of what they can get away with. I’m not complaining. I love Dominic and I have a new couture wardrobe from Paris. Anyway, there’s something sexy about it in a way. They’re the bad boys.”

  I stared at her in disbelief. “Wow, go Vanna. I never thought I’d hear you gush over a bad boy. You used to always scold me for that, and now I feel like I’m the voice of reason.”

  “Well, you practically have three kids now! You don’t need me to try and keep you grounded anymore.”

  My line of sight drifted over to the kids playing in the yard. Margo was chasing them all around, pretending not to make eyes at Eric. My heart was full of love for them, and I was glad I could finally feel secure with my place in their lives.

  Once the initial investigation into the whole incident was wrapped up, Jason insisted I move in with them permanently. He had all of my things brought over before Vanna even got home, but we still planned on having our own little farewell party at the house we used to share.

  It seemed weird for me to still be employed as Jason’s nanny now that we weren’t hiding our feelings from anyone, but I didn’t want to give up my role being their caregiver every day. Which left me somewhere between stay-at-home stepmom and girlfriend.

  The party to welcome home Vanna and Dominic carried on with lots of drinks and laughter. It felt less strange to be a part of this world now that Vanna was by my side. And while the Halstead brothers didn’t hesitate to go on lavish trips or throw big parties, this one felt particularly significant given all that had happened during the Paris trip.

  The evening carried on, and soon Jason was clinking a fork to his glass to get everyone’s attention. He welcomed Dominic and Vanna back to the states and got a big laugh from the guests when he joked that he hoped their next vacation would be less eventful for everyone back at home.

  Suddenly, in the middle of his speech, he turned his gaze to me. “But I am grateful you two had the time away, mostly for selfish reasons. Because you two nudged Tara into our home, and I quickly realized she had to be much more than just our nanny.”

  Charlie, Caitlyn, and Bailey all began giggling as they scattered off to get things they had planted underneath one of the tables. I couldn’t figure out what they were up to fast enough, and before I knew it, Jason was pulling me up from my chair. The kids stood behind him with big bouquets of roses in their hands.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, just as a string quartet appeared in the corner of the garden.

  “Tara, we tried our best to run away from how we felt for each other,” Jason started, lowering down to one knee as soft music waned in the background. “And I’m glad that we failed miserably at that because it made me face the obvious, which is that I’ll never find another woman who will love my children the way you do. Which leaves me with the challenge of making sure you never find another man who loves you the way I do.”

  He pulled a small black velvet box out
of his suit pocket, drawing a loud and tearful gasp from my lips. He opened it to reveal the most stunning diamond ring lined with sparkling emeralds—an engagement ring that perfectly matched the earrings he gave me.

  “Tara, will you marry me?” The kids dropped down to one knee in unison behind him, making us all laugh. “Correction…will you marry us?”

  “Yes!” I cried out, my heart bursting with happiness as I threw myself into his arms.

  It may have seemed too soon to get engaged to some people, but as I pulled Jason’s lips to mine and slid the ring onto my finger, I knew without a doubt that he was the man I had been looking for. He was imperfectly perfect, just like me.

  I hope you enjoyed The Billionaire’s Nanny! If you did, I would love if you could leave a review HERE to help other readers find it.

  * * *

  Sign up for my newsletter to stay updated with all my new releases, and free giveaways!

  * * *

  If you want to read more sizzling fire breathing romance?

  * * *

  Turn Your Page

  Next Door Daddies (Excerpt)

  A Contemporary Romance Series Box Set

  This Next Door Series collection contains four books that burn with sexy chiseled abs daddies and the women who make them melt!

  * * *

  Billionaire Boss, Next Door Neighbor, Hot Bad Boy, Single mother and Sizzling chemistry will keep you up all night long… and will leave you breathless!

  * * *

  Perfect Chaperone