She kept her gaze away from Ink. She had a feeling that as soon as she looked at him, she’d be confessing everything. Including her real feelings for him.
However, he must have grown impatient with that, because he reached out and snagged her chin, raising her face.
“Tell me that it was all a lie.”
“I wasn’t there by chance,” she cried.
“I know that.” He waved that away. “We’ll talk about your sons and who is behind all of this in a moment. I’m talking about you right now. Tell me that you’re not my sub and this will go differently. But tell me that you are, that your feelings were real, your submission was real, your Little is real and then you are mine. And if I claim someone. I never let them go.”
Maybe it should have scared her. And she knew she couldn’t have him. But she also didn’t have it in her to lie to him.
She just shook her head. If she told him and he went after Forrest, he’d be signing his own death warrant.
She had to protect him.
Her gaze dropped. “I can’t.”
It fucking hit him hard.
She couldn’t admit to having feelings for him? To wanting to be his sub?
Because she doesn’t want it and you’re forcing her. But there was something about the way she held herself. Her shoulders were hunched, her hands tightly clenched together.
She’s lying.
“All right then.” He stood up. Her shocked eyes went to his. Had she expected him to push her?
Well, he would. Maybe just not in the ways she’d anticipated.
“I am not going to force you to admit to things you don’t feel. We’ll still help you if you need it. You and your sons.”
Christ, she had kids.
As much as he wanted to pull her into his arms and never let go, he couldn’t force her.
He turned away. It was one of the hardest things he’d ever done.
Two sets of incredulous eyes looked at him. Duke and Brody. But Reyes gave him a knowing look. He’d likely seen what Ink had.
“Wait,” she cried out.
He forced himself to keep his face a blank slate as he turned back. Yeah, he was a manipulative bastard. But fucked if he was letting her go without a fight.
“It’s okay, Betsy. I get it. I don’t know all the details but if they were threatening your sons, I get why you pretended to want me. To be a Little. Me helping you isn’t dependent on you giving me anything. Including a part of you.” He turned away again. “Duke, can you take over?”
Duke gave him a knowing look. He’d caught on.
“Betsy, right? We need you to tell us who you’re working for. Who is threatening your sons,” Duke prodded.
“No, wait, please. Please. Ink.”
He tensed, hating the sound of her in such distress. But he had to separate himself. He walked towards the interconnected door.
“Betsy,” Duke said. “I need you to tell me what’s going on.”
“I want to talk to Ink.”
“Betsy, he just needs a moment—”
“Please,” she cried out. “Ink, I do want you. None of that part was fake. Not after the first time at the club. When I was your Little girl, it was like there was nothing else. Nothing bad. Nothing could hurt me. I felt free. Please, Daddy. Please.”
He heard the first sob, was turning before the first tear trickled down her cheek. Fuck. She never cried. Not during anything. She was kneeling on the floor, her distress clear.
Asshole. You pushed her too hard.
He hadn’t expected this. He’d just needed to find a way through that barrier to what she truly felt.
And you also wanted to know what she would do if you tried to walk off. You pushed her too hard.
He sat on the floor and pulled her onto his lap, holding her close and rocking her. “Shh, button. Shh. I’m here.”
“Please don’t leave. Please don’t leave. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for it all.” Another sob racked her body.
He tilted her chin up. “Are you mine, Betsy?”
“I can’t be.”
He stiffened.
“I went to the club because he made me. He told me to seek you out. To get close to you. I was scared out of my mind, but I had to, otherwise he’d hurt them.”
“Your sons.”
“Yes. I’m so sorry I lied to you. I should have tried to tell you, but I didn’t even know what he had planned then and I had to protect them…” her voice cracked.
“Shh, brown eyes. Just tell me. I’m not angry.” Not at her. But this unknown man, this person threatening her children to get her cooperation, who was setting him up?
He was a dead man.
She wiped at her cheeks. She wasn’t a pretty crier. Her eyes swollen and red, her face too pale, mascara smudged.
But he didn’t want to interrupt her to clean her up. He needed to hear this and she had to get it out.
“When I discovered that I’m a Little…it was like finding a piece of myself I never knew was missing. Everything slotted into place. And that was because of you. It all felt right because of you. Once I found out what his plan was, that he was setting you up to take the fall for the senator’s murder…I knew I had to warn you. If the threat was only to me, I would have warned you earlier, I promise.”
“Hush, baby. It’s all right.” He rocked her back and forth as she cried against his chest.
“Betsy, I need you to tell me who he is,” he said quietly. “We can protect you and your sons, but I need a name.”
“If I tell you, what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to destroy the son of a bitch.”
She shook her head. “He’ll kill you.”
He got it then. She wasn’t just protecting her sons. She was trying to protect him as well.
“You can’t go after him. He’s too powerful. I warned you so that you would be safe.”
“And what about you? Was I expected to just forget about you?”
“I know I’m on borrowed time.”
“What the fuck does that mean, borrowed time?” Ink snapped.
She flinched at the fury in his face. “When I stop being useful, he’ll kill me. I just have to stay alive long enough to figure out a way to get my sons safe.”
Anger flooded him.
“Enough,” Ink snapped at her. “I don’t want to hear you say things like that, understand? He is not going to hurt you. You are not dying.”
“I haven’t lived for a long time,” she told him quietly. “The most alive I’ve felt in the last ten years is when I’ve been with you.”
“And you’re going to stay alive. With me. Because I need you. Do you trust me, Betsy?”
“I shouldn’t trust anyone.”
“Do you trust me?”
She closed her eyes. “Yes.”
“Then trust me to keep you safe. You and your sons.”
He stared down at her intently. “Show me that what was between us at the club wasn’t all an act.”
“It wasn’t!”
“Prove it. Tell me what’s going on. Trust me with the truth.”
It sounded so simple and yet she was in an impossible place and he knew that. She was being torn in two.
But doesn’t he deserve to know it all? To know who’s coming after him? To protect himself.
If Forrest ever found out that she told him though…
She looked around at the others. It was one thing to trust Ink but she didn’t know these guys.
“You can trust them as well, Betsy. I own Callahan Security, and you know that I’m ex-Special Forces. Well, so are most of the guys I hire. Brody here is my tech expert. He’s worked for me for years. Duke and Reyes are my MC brothers. I grew up with Duke. There’s no one I trust more. Reyes is our President. He might seem like a scary bastard, but he’s got a soft spot for women. We’ll all protect you.”
Reyes grunted at that but didn’t say anything to contradict what Ink said.
She licked her dry lips. W
hat choice did she really have? “You have to get my sons to safety.” They were most important.
“Of course. Where are they?”
“At a boarding school in Texas. He’ll have people watching them, though. I can’t just go in and take them out.”
“Their names?”
“Royal and Baron.”
“Dates of birth?” Brody asked.
“They’re twins. They were born January nineteenth, two thousand and four.
Ink frowned. “You were only fourteen when you had them?”
“What? Oh, no. They’re not my biological sons. When I met my husband, the boys were eight. I love them like they’re my own.”
“And your husband?” Ink asked in a tight voice.
“Dead,” she said in a flat voice. “Long may he rot in hell.”
Quiet filled the room.
“There’s no record of your marriage,” Brody finally interjected.
“There was a ceremony, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the officiant wasn’t licensed. I signed documents. Maybe he didn’t have them filed. Or maybe the whole thing was faked. I was still young and naïve back then.”
“Who was your husband?” Ink asked her.
She’d reached it. The point of no return.
Like you’re not past it anyway. You were past it the moment you gave Ink that note, warning him.
“His name was Rex Harrison.” She sucked in a breath. “My husband was an abusive asshole who worked as a bodyguard for the only man I’ve met who was more evil than he is. The man attempting to frame you for murdering the senator.”
“And his name?” Ink asked. “Who is this asshole?”
“Forrest Robins.”
14
Ink froze.
Forrest Robins?
Who the fuck was that? Then it hit him.
Shit.
He glanced over at Duke and Reyes.
“Senator Jonathan Robins’ brother?” Duke asked. “Why would he want to frame Ink for his brother’s murder?”
Betsy looked so stressed it made him want to scoop her up and hold her tight. But right now, he needed answers from her.
Then he’d comfort her. And lay down a few rules. Including never lying to your Dom. Never believing that your life didn’t mean anything. And to never keep any threats from him.
She had one hell of a spanking coming her way. But only once he made certain that she understood she was actually his.
No more pretending.
Duke paced back and forth. “Why is the senator’s brother out to frame Ink? It doesn’t make sense. Wouldn’t he want the real killer found?”
And they all knew that was likely impossible. If the Fox didn’t want to be found then no-one was getting close.
“So your husband worked for Forrest Robins?” Duke asked.
She nodded. “I didn’t know what Rex was into when I married him. And until he died, I thought Forrest was charming. That he was a good man.” She shook her head. “I thought Rex was his bodyguard because their family was so rich. Forrest’s dad had bodyguards and his brother was a senator.”
She shook her head. “I was so naïve. I should have figured out there was something more to it. The number of times that Rex came home with injuries, the late nights, the way he wouldn’t talk to me about his work…I should have asked more questions. But then, nobody asked Rex Harrison questions, least of all his wife.”
“How’d you meet him?” he asked her.
“Through his grandma. She went to the same church as my mother. She helped me a lot with Mama’s care when she grew ill. I hadn’t met Rex, but he would often send his sons to stay. Their mother wasn’t around. I fell in love with those boys. They came down for Mama’s funeral. And Rex came with them. He was charming. He said all the right things. I was lost. I didn’t have a job. I had no real friends.”
“He preyed on you,” Ink snarled.
“I think I knew deep down he wasn’t a good man, but I Ioved those little boys so much. When he convinced me to move here, I sold everything. It wasn’t long until we were married, or I thought I was, and I was situated in his house that things changed. He showed his true colors.”
“Did he abuse you?” Ink demanded. His hold on her had tightened.
“He hit me a few times. But mostly he used intimidation and verbal abuse. He could be cold and removed one moment, yelling and angry the next. The worst thing was never knowing what mood he was in. I had to always be careful of what I said, and to make sure the boys kept out of his way. When he was home, we tiptoed around the house, scared of waking the beast. Thankfully, he was never that interested in me sexually. He’d come home smelling of other women and it was a relief. Weird, huh? To be relieved that your husband was having affairs with other women. I ended up sleeping in the same room as the boys, to keep them safer and he never cared.”
God. How long was she with this asshole? How long had she had to live like that? No wonder she was so jumpy with loud noises. This probably had something to do with her issues with being touched as well.
“When did he die?” Duke asked.
“Seven months ago,” she whispered.
Ink felt ill at the thought of his fragile brown eyes living with an abusive asshole. Except, she wasn’t as fragile as she appeared. There was a strength to her that went core deep.
“What I never realized was he was the lesser of two evils. Forrest was the truly evil one. He just hides it behind a veneer of charm and civility. You don’t even realize he’s the devil until you’ve sold your soul to him.”
“Is that what happened to you?” Duke asked her in a gentle voice.
“I thought he’d help me. I thought that we would be free.”
“Free? After your husband’s death?” Ink asked her.
“It was an accident,” she murmured. “Baron didn’t mean to do it.”
He shared a look with Duke. Reyes hadn’t moved, hadn’t said anything and Brody kept his gaze on the computer screens.
Taking her hand in his, he cursed as he realized how cold she was.
“Duke, get her a blanket,” he murmured.
She blinked down at him. “I’m always cold.”
“I know, brown eyes.”
He was gonna make it his job to keep her warm from now on.
“Betsy, what did Baron do?” he asked gently.
“He killed his father. But it was an accident,” she added hastily, starting to shake.
Duke handed him a blanket. He frowned, it was too scratchy and his brown eyes liked soft things. But he lay it over her.
“Shh, brown eyes. No one is accusing him of anything. Just tell us what happened.”
“He was screaming at me because we’d been out to dinner and a man spoke to me. Rex was very possessive. When we got home, he dragged me into his office. He hit me. And I fell, I knocked something over. A lamp, I think. I was trying to get him to quiet down so he wouldn’t wake the boys when I spotted Baron behind him. Rex must have seen something on my face. He turned. Baron ran at him, he shoved him.”
She tried to smooth the blanket out.
“Rex tripped and fell backwards. He landed hard. I got up, I told Baron to run, certain that his father was going to come after him. But Rex never moved. He’d hit his head on the coffee table. It was marble. I searched for a pulse. I tried CPR. But he…he was dead. I told Baron to get upstairs. He was white. He looked so scared. I told him it would all be okay. I would take care of it. I was going to call the police, tell them that I had knocked him over while we were fighting. Then I realized that if they arrested me the boys…there was no one for them. They had no other relatives. I was debating what to do…wondering if we could possibly run when Forrest arrived. I didn’t know they were supposed to have a meeting.”
She stared off into the distance. “I thought he would be angry. I thought he might hurt me. But he was calm. Even nice. Caring. Wrapped me in a blanket. Sat me down with a cup of tea. Told me he’d take care of everything. Had his men
take care of Rex’s body. It should have been a warning sign, right? He took the three of us home to his house. To help us. When I…when I told him I wanted to go home. He laughed. Then he told me I was home.”
She ran a shaking hand over her face. “I asked him what he meant. Told him I was taking the boys and leaving. That’s when he told me I wasn’t going anywhere. Ever again. That he owned me. Wouldn’t it be a shame, he said, if the police discovered that Baron killed his father? I told him I’d tell them I did it. That it was self-defense. He just laughed again. Told me anyone could be bought. Judges. Cops. No one would believe me.”
She let out a deep breath. “I tried to escape with the boys that night. He caught us, of course. He beat me then locked me in a windowless room for days. I don’t even know how long. All I had was a bucket and a few bottles of water. When I was finally allowed out, my boys had been sent away and I was his prisoner.”
Ink growled. “That mother-fucking asshole.”
Duke sighed but said nothing about his language.
“I’m not sure what he told the boys. They know something is wrong. But they seem to think I’m in a relationship with him.” She winced. “He never lets me speak to them alone, always makes me put them on speaker. They’d ask me what was going on and I couldn’t tell them the truth. Eventually, they stopped asking. They barely speak to me now.” She sniffed. “They think I didn’t want them. I failed them.”
“You didn’t fail them,” Ink told her fiercely. “You protected them.”
“They think I abandoned them. Sent them away to school because I didn’t want them. He didn’t even let them come home for holidays. Not that I want them around him.”
“What else has Forrest had you do since then?” Duke asked her.
“Nothing,” she croaked. “To be honest, I’m not even sure why he’s kept me around. Why not let me leave? I would have left with the boys and never looked back. It’s not like I ever knew anything about what he does.”
“He couldn’t be sure what Rex told you,” Ink said to her. “He had to contain you.”
“Then why not kill me?” she asked dully. She sounded so fatalistic. As though she was just waiting for it to happen.
He tilted up her face. “I, for one, am glad he did not.”
Hero Daddy Page 15