I catch my breath and feel the tears welling in my eyes. I don’t know his sister but I can just picture the scene.
He carries on in a low voice. “She was to be kept for Marshall until she turned 21 and then offered to him as his wife. She had to be a virgin, and it was only if both criteria were in place, Marshall would sign the contract making our father an equal partner with him. If not, he would be fired and left with nothing and nowhere to go. Nobody would touch him and he would be destroyed.”
I feel overwhelmed with grief for Tyler and his sister and say softly, “What about your mom?”
He shakes his head. “She wouldn’t agree to the deal. She wanted no part in it and threatened to take Ashton far away where nobody knew them. She became a problem that needed solving and nothing was going to stand in the way of the two men’s dreams.”
I say softly. “What happened to her?”
Tyler looks down. “They planted drugs on her and informed the authorities. They didn’t stop there. They discredited her among her friends and spread vicious rumors about her sanity. Gradually, she was fed drugs into her food and she became addicted. My father wasted no time in becoming the poor struggling husband and father who had tried everything. He had our mother committed to a sanitarium where she died of an overdose two years later.”
He breaks off as the tears spill down my cheeks. I look across at Lucy and her face mirrors mine. This is heart-breaking.
Lucy says softly, “So how does this concern Sydney? From the sounds of it this Marshall Emmerson creep is toxic. He’s a bad as Michael Santobello and that’s saying something. He’s not going to take kindly to her showing up so what’s your plan?”
Tyler looks up and the steel in his eyes makes me shiver. “I have some information that has just come to light showing Emmerson senior had a crisis of conscience in his last months. He had another will drawn up that makes for interesting reading.”
He looks at me and smiles tightly. “You are in that will, Sydney. You were given equal shares in the company he created, alongside his son. He instructed a private investigator to find you and bring you to him. He wanted to meet you and try to make amends for the life he stole from you.”
I gasp and a sob bursts from me as the news hits me hard. Lucy stands but Tyler is faster. He moves across and takes me in his arms. Then he pulls me close and strokes my hair and whispers, “It’s ok, I’ll make sure of it.”
Just for a minute, we stand in my little apartment clinging to each other. The man who lost so much and the girl who never knew she had it. Both victims of two incredibly cruel men. This is life-changing and I have no idea what will happen next.
Lucy comes across and stands at my side rubbing my back saying softly, “It’s ok, honey. We’ll sort it out, you’re not on your own.”
She turns to Tyler and says harshly. “So, what’s the plan?”
He pulls me down on the couch next to him and pulls me in close. His arm lays across my shoulder, comforting and strong. He provides a circle of protection that puts me at ease. I’m not sure why but he belongs next to me. I felt it as soon as I laid eyes on him.
He says gently, “We leave for Texas and set about getting Sydney what’s rightfully hers.”
Lucy laughs bitterly. “Yeah right. I’m sure he’ll just fling open the door with his check book in hand. This creep won’t give her anything.”
Tyler growls. “Marshall is the reason she was never found. The private investigator was on his payroll and told his father you weren’t to be found. Marshall waited for his father to die and destroyed the revised will with the help of the solicitor who was also on his payroll. Like your guy Michael, Marshall’s reach was long. He looked for problems before they even became ones and crushed them before they reached the light of day. The original will was read, and no one was any the wiser.”
I blink back the tears and say with confusion. “Then how do you know?”
He laughs. “I have powerful friends. They discovered that an assistant to the solicitor has a fairly large ax to grind and had kept copies of all the important documents he tried to destroy. It was her pension policy and when she wanted a pay-out, he refused and sent in the heavy mob. However, she had taken out an insurance policy, and the documents found their way to a reliable organization whose job it is to punish people who step out of line. She went to them for help and they set her up with a new identity in a place far from Texas and the mess she left behind. The payment was the evidence. Now I have the evidence because the men who she turned to are also the men I turned to for help. My sister is currently under their protection for as long as it takes to set her free. My intention is to return to Texas with you, Sydney and blow their world apart.”
Lucy shoots me a worried look and I fall silent. This is huge. This is bigger than all of us and doesn’t bode well. This man, my stepbrother, sounds evil. The thought of setting myself in his path is as frightening as it appears foolish. I almost can’t breathe but the feeling of Tyler pressed next to me with his arm around me wraps me in a comfortable bubble. If I refuse my future is hard and desperate. If I go with him it’s the same. However, I will walk with him by my side so it will be a journey shared. I think I made my decision when he first stepped before me in the studio. I knew then it was him; the one I’ve been waiting for. Every image in my mind of a future is connected to him.
They say you can find love at first sight. Now I know you can.
10
Tyler
Sydney is nervous. She is biting her lip in that adorable way that makes me long to take it in my mouth and taste the sweetness within.
It didn’t take us long to get things together and set off on our way. Sydney packed a bag with Lucy’s encouragement. She told her she would stand in for her at the studio and say she had been called away on urgent business. There was fear in their eyes though. Those girls are strong and brave because they are setting themselves up against a ruthless adversary.
Sydney accompanied me to my hotel where I checked out and now here we are, on the hardest journey we will ever have to take. A journey that will end in someone’s tears and I’m damn sure they won’t be ours. Whatever happens I will get my revenge. Using Sydney to get it is necessary. She’ll understand why I need her and it’s just a small part of me that allows the doubts to creep in. Will she ever forgive me for the way I intend on doing it? I’m counting on it.
She shifts in her seat and says quietly, “Will Lucy be ok?”
I shrug. “Why wouldn’t she be?”
She sighs heavily. “Michael will be angry. Nobody goes against him and he may take it out on her.”
I laugh softly. “You’re kidding, aren’t you? That little firecracker will eat him for breakfast.”
She grins. “You think? She’s all talk. Lucy is as damaged as the rest of us. For all her front she’s just as scared as me. She’s trapped in a relationship she can’t control and that comes with her job. If she breaks away, she loses everything.”
I look at her in surprise. “What do you mean everything?”
She sighs sadly. “Lucy was set up in the apartment by her boss. Her married boss. She only found out about his wife when it was too late.”
I snort. “It’s never too late.”
Sydney’s eyes flash and I smile to myself. There’s a strength in her that I like. She may have some of the Emmerson steel, after all, running through her veins.
She says angrily, “He tricked her. She thought he was single and fell in love with him. As soon as she discovered he had a wife, she wanted to end it. He wasn’t having it though and wore her down with violence and control. Theirs is an abusive relationship, and she has nowhere to go.”
I shake my head. “Sounds familiar. What is it with guys who have money and power? I’m guessing he has both.”
She nods miserably. “Yes. Like Michael, he has a certain power, and it’s just easier for her to play along. He spun her the usual line that he’s married only in name but we both know it’
s a lie. I’m just worried that instead of one man controlling her now she’ll have two. Michael won’t like being left without his new toy and she may pay the price.”
We fall silent and I think about her words. I’ve met these men several times through my life. Hell, my father’s one of them. I feel angry on their behalf and thank god I got Sydney out in time. She’s right though, Lucy’s vulnerable. Maybe she needs an insurance policy of her own.
It doesn’t take long before Sydney falls asleep. The journey will be hard but necessary and won’t be the most comfortable of trips.
I pull into a gas station and smile as I see her blonde head resting on the window. She’s in a deep sleep and looks so beautiful with no worry to line her face. She sleeps like an angel and I feel my cock twitching for her. I think this is the moment I decide for sure. Sydney won’t just be my wife in name. She’ll be mine in every way possible—forever.
I turn away before I lose my mind. I need a clear head and now it’s time to make the call needed to protect Lucy.
I move away some distance and remove my cell. It answers on the second ring and I say harshly, “It’s Tyler.”
The man on the other end is not one to mess around with. He’s hard and ruthless and eats men like Michael Santobello for breakfast. He’s rough and crude and a killing machine. My heart lurches as I remember the last time I saw him. I feel sick as I remember how I felt when I sold my sister to him and then watched as he married her not two hours later. Then I feel the bile rise as I remember how I felt when I walked away from her. Leaving her in the pit of hell chained to Satan himself—Ryder King.
He says in a low voice. “What’s up, Tyler?”
I say in a low voice. “How’s Ashton?”
There’s a short silence and then I detect a softness to his voice that wasn’t there before.
“She’s good. Do you need a word with her?”
I picture my sweet innocent sister and my heart lurches. If I hear her nervous voice, it will make me come apart. I need to keep a clear head so I say harshly, “No I need a favor.”
There’s another short silence and then he says, “What?”
I tell him of Lucy’s problem and wait. The silence on the other end must only be a few seconds but it feels like a lifetime. I know I have no right asking him. He doesn’t need to fight my battles and has much bigger fish to fry. But then again, he has someone I care for and he owes me now for bringing her to him. It’s in both our interests that I’m successful because it was him who gave me the information I need. He will want to set Ashton free probably more than me.
Then I hear him call out. “Jet, get yourself packed and ready. You’re going on a road trip.”
I expel the breath that I must have been holding and feel the relief hit me hard. Thank God - actually, thank Ryder King. Now I know Lucy will be safe. I take a moment to imagine her face when Jet rocks up. I wonder if he’s prepared to deal with that particular firecracker. It would be interesting to watch.
Ryder says softly, “Consider it done, Tyler. Do you have everything else you need?”
Thinking of Sydney asleep in my car I smile to myself and laugh softly. “You could say that, Ryder. I think I’m all set.”
There are no more words that pass between us. I text him the address and then head to the filling station. We need to fill up and get the hell out of here. I’ve got a wedding to go to and don’t want to wait a minute more.
Sydney
I ache all over and the bumps in the road do little to help the situation. I think we must have been driving all night and I look through blurry eyes at the place we’ve stopped. Tyler looks wrecked, but it only adds to the pure, potent sexiness of the man. He looks rough, hard and so damn sexy my heart pants at the sight of him.
His hair is tousled and begs for my attention. He nods as he parks the car outside a motel just off the highway.
“Sorry, it’s not much but is all that’s on offer. We need to grab some sleep and food before the next leg of the journey.”
I feel my limbs screaming in protest as I stretch out and exit the car. Squinting in the gloom I see we’re at some kind of motel off the freeway. It looks pretty basic and Tyler sighs beside me.
“It’s not ideal but will have to do. We need some sleep otherwise we might not make it there at all.”
He smiles softly in the light of the street lamp and my heart skips a beat. There is something compelling about him. He is a closed book that I long to blow the dust off the cover and sample the delights within. An enigma that intrigues me and begs to be explored and discovered.
A shiver of excitement passes through me at the thought of the road ahead. The thought of finding my family and discovering where I came from. But most of all it’s the thought of discovering the man behind the enigmatic smile. Tyler Donahue is a man with many layers. I can see that and it draws me to him. What you see is a man with power and confidence wrapped up in a breath-taking package. Yet lying underneath the surface is a maelstrom of excitement that threatens to pull me under and engulf me.
I turn away and swallow hard. This is it. My life begins tonight—for real and the thought I’ll find it walking beside this man is filling my heart with excitement for what lies ahead.
11
Tyler
We crash at the motel until the sun creeps through the tattered blinds and reminds us we have a long road to travel. I look across and my heart leaps as I see the head resting on the pillow on the bed across from mine. We took one room with twin beds because it felt safer that way. This neighborhood is not for the faint hearted and there was safety in numbers. We were so tired we never thought about anything other than sleep but it’s a different feeling when I wake and see the angel lying in the bed next to me.
Shit, this isn’t good. I feel my interest aching between my legs and begging to claim its prize. Sydney is sleeping peacefully and one arm is flung at an angle above her head and the covers have slipped showing the rise and fall of her perfect breasts. The t-shirt she wears molds to them and her perfect lips are arranged in a contented smile. Fuck this, I’m getting a cold shower. I need to keep her on side and if I react to the temptation beside me I ‘ll scare her away for good. There will be lots of time to work my way into her bed and now I must deal with the thought of what it will involve in a cold shower with only my hand to relieve the pressure.
I smile to myself as I think about my predicament. Tyler Donahue, billionaire’s son and dealer of beautiful women reduced to relieving himself in a cold dirty shower in a rundown motel in the middle of nowhere. How the mighty have fallen.
As soon as I’ve dealt with my problem I head back into the room and see Sydney sitting up rubbing her eyes sleepily. My cock twitches beneath the towel slung around my waist and I take some satisfaction in the heightened color in her cheeks and the way her eyes flick nervously over my body and then quickly away. I smile cockily, “Morning. I hope you managed to get some sleep in this fleapit.”
She smiles softly and raises her eyes nervously. “Yes, thank you. Did you?”
Smiling, I reach for my clothes and smirk as she looks nervously away. “Yes, strangely. Even though the bed was hard as fuck and the sheets threadbare and stained, I slept well. Now we just need to head off and find somewhere passable to grab some breakfast before the next part of our journey.”
She looks up and I see the curiosity in her eyes. “Where are we heading?”
I stare at her and relish the flush in her cheeks as I say, “We’re off to Vegas to get married.”
The shock hits her hard and her head jerks up and her mouth drops open.
She stutters, “What do you mean? Why would we need to do that?”
I sit on the bed opposite her and take her trembling hand in mine. Thankfully, the towel covers the interest in her before I scare her away for good and I say softly,
“I’m sorry. This isn’t the way a woman wants to be proposed to. I’m pretty sure you thought when it came to it you would have a v
ery different scene than this. The fact is, we need to be married to achieve our aim and Vegas is the best place to make it happen. There will be no questions asked and nobody will think anything of it. The legal side will be taken care of and we can move ahead with our plan firmly in place.”
She raises her eyes to mine and I see the questions in them. A thousand thoughts must be crowding her brain and I long to pull her close and tell her everything will be ok. Sydney deserves the type of man who will treat her right and like a princess. When this is over I will be that man. We will start again and I will do the right thing. For now, though she needs to understand this is a business deal. Something that will get us what we want and set us free. I won’t fuck this up by letting my new surprising feelings get in the way. I sought her out for a reason and I shouldn’t forget what that was.
She bites her lip nervously and says quietly. “Why do we have to be married?”
The Billion Dollar Baby_A Billionaire Romance Page 5