Children of Redemption (Children of Vice Book 3)

by J. J. McAvoy

  Darcy must have busted his gut because the laughter got louder.

  “Darcy, shut up! And, Dad, don’t call me lame!”

  “Don’t call me old.”

  I rolled my eyes even though I couldn’t help but smile, too. “That’s a little immature.”

  “Just as you enjoy teasing your brother, I enjoy teasing the both of you. So if I’m immature, so be it, the joy is worth it.”

  “Enjoy your gangster, Dad. Love you! Bye!”

  “Love you too, Chipmunk —”

  “What did I say about the nicknames?”

  “You said not to call you Gummy Bear. So I didn’t.”

  “I meant—”

  “Sorry, Chipmunk, losing signal, love you,” he said before hanging up on me.

  Glaring at no one in particular, I took out my earpiece, setting it down and rising to look in the mirror. Turning to the side, I grinned. I wasn’t sure how long it would take before Darcy and my father finally realized they were on a wild goose chase. My mom was going to be at foundation meetings all day with Evelyn…so this was as good a time as any to spend time with him.

  “Make him eat his heart out,” I said to my reflection.

  WYATT

  “I’m in a very bad mood. Would you like to know why?” I tilted back in the chair, closing my eyes as I breathed in, slowly enjoying the sound of my heart as it beat steadily in my chest. It was so silent, it was all I heard, and had it been any other time, I would have appreciated it more. The sound of life, my life.

  “I had a very busy day yesterday. Came home to deal with…a personal matter. And just as I was about to call it a damn night, I was suddenly called into the hospital, twelve car pile-up on I-58. Can you believe that shit? The nerve of them. So before I could even lay my pretty little head on my handmade Italian goose-feathered pillows, I had to go to the ER. Didn’t complain to their faces, of course. I mean, I had been taking a lot of time off. So I did the graveyard night shift. Saved everyone, they all lived. I even let a random stranger, a grown-ass man, hug me. He was that grateful to me. He even confessed it was his fault he was speeding. I was still the good doctor. And just as I was about to leave, at the end of my heroic night, as the sun came up, a bloody ambulance wheels in right in front me. In that ambulance? A hemorrhaging, elephant-sized pregnant woman. I nearly lost my shit. But even then, I still maintained my composure, emergency C-section at the crack of dawn? Fine. I saved the elephant woman and her big-headed baby. And apparently, because I must look like Jesus fucking Christ, she also decided to confess to me that she was out at the crack of dawn looking for her husband. She was scared he was cheating on her…he most likely was, but it wasn’t my business. I smiled, nodded, and tried to leave, but the elephant woman kept talking, saying she didn’t mean to speed…or get into an accident on I-93. To save her life, I upped her dosage and just helped her sleep a little bit, so I didn’t let my temper get the better of me and end up choking a bitch. I washed up, pretended not to hear or notice anyone, and drove myself back home…but due to my lack of sleep and annoyance, I didn’t realize until I was on I-93 that they hadn’t yet cleared the wreckage, so I was stuck in traffic. I tried to escape and ended up on I-58. So a commute that should have taken me thirty-seven minutes took me three motherfucking hours! And couldn’t call a helicopter because of the fact that the press has been far too interested in my family lately.” Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes, glaring across the table. “Finally, I make it home, dreaming of my handmade Italian goose-feathered pillows, and instead, I’m told you two have made a damn house call…so Major Gutpa, Chief Mataka, what is so GODDAMN IMPORTANT I CAN’T GO TO FUCKING SLEEP?!”

  They both shared a look. Major Gutpa nodded to Chief Mataka. She sat up straighter in the leather chair. “We’ve come to stop the bad blood from worsening.”

  “You’ve fucking failed. Have a nice day,” I said, raising my hand toward the door.

  “Orton and McCoy are planning something…against you,” Major Gutpa spoke quickly as Chief Mataka reached her wrinkled white hand to put the file on the desk. I stared at it, then back at her, not speaking. “We also brought you the names of the officers who stole the drugs.”

  “Like I said,” Chief Mataka smiled, showing the cracks on her pink lips, “we don’t want there to be bad blood between us and your family.”

  “Your wife is dead,” I said, pointing at Major Gutpa. With my other hand, I pointed to Chief Mataka. “Your granddaughter is dead…yet you come to me with outstretched hands?”

  “We said it that night, too,” Chief Mataka leaned back in the chair. “We knew what we were getting into when we joined hands with your family. Besides, she was my least favorite granddaughter.”

  I looked over to Major Gutpa, and he frowned. “I loved my wife. But this city needs a leader…one who can keep it stable when chaos rages all around.”

  “And you’re that leader?” I asked, lifting the file off the table, opening it and thumbing through the profiles of each of the officers they had essentially laid at my feet.

  “And I got to that position knowing what bridges not to burn,” he replied.

  Before I could speak, there was a knock at the door, and without a reply from me, the door opened. I nearly wanted to cry. Why? Why? It wasn’t right! I didn’t even fucking close my eyes! Why the hell was the world driving me mad? How the hell could she just walk in dressed like a fucking femme fatale and expect me to pretend I didn’t notice…without bloody sleep!

  “Major Gutpa, Chief Mataka, it’s a pleasure to see you both again. I’m so sorry about your loss.” She had the nerve to give them such a sincere-looking face, outstretching her hands to them…well, at least it would look sincere to those who didn’t know her.

  “Helen Callahan,” Major Gutpa shook her hand and seemed to me like he was fighting with himself to keep from grinning like a mad man…was his wife’s corpse even cold yet? “Thank you for your kind words. You really are beauty inside and out.”

  Gag me, lord.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too, Helen, and thank you. It’s been a hard time for all of us.” Chief Mataka nodded toward Helen, shaking her hand.

  “Well if there is anything you need, please let me know.” Helen still spoke softly before looking at me. I immediately didn’t trust the look in her eyes. “Wyatt, Ethan called. He’d like you to meet him and go over some plans?”

  What the hell? And that sickly-sweet voice, like she had no idea about anything going on, was…apparently part of whatever game she was playing this morning.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it.

  “Major Gutpa, I’ve spoken to some of the woman from the foundation, and we’d love to open a park in your wife’s name. Hopefully later, next time, we can talk about it. Maybe you’ll join us for dinner?”

  “Yes,” he said, a little too quickly.

  And Helen smiled. “Brilliant. I’ll call.”

  “Major Gutpa, Chief Mataka.” O’Phelan came to the door.

  “It seems my brother has summoned me. You’ll have to forgive me for not walking you out.” I nodded toward the door. “And thank you again for your…partnership.”

  “Of course,” they both replied and walked toward the door.

  I watched them leave, nodding to O’Phelan to make sure he understood…they were not friends.

  “You know you’re going to have to kill them, right?”

  She sat in one of the chairs opposite me, crossing her legs. How she managed to do so in such a tight skirt was beyond me. She leaned back, allowing me to see the sliver of skin exposed between her barely-there, long-sleeve, tight-fitted black crop top.

  “Is this for me?” I asked, waving my hand over her whole outfit.

  “Do you want it to be?” she asked without a moment of hesitation

  My eyebrow rose, and I couldn’t help but smirk. “I thought I told you to be mindful of your clothes.”

  “You did. I never told you I would listen,”
she replied boldly.

  “And here I thought you’d be freaking out trying to avoid me,” I said, leaning back into my chair. “Or at least question why I am not against this—”

  “Does it matter?” she questioned back, rising from her seat. I watched helplessly as she walked around the desk and stood right beside me, resting her ass against the edge of the it. “I know you, Wyatt. You don’t like mulling over things. You either do it or not. You’re either in or out. Half of the time, you don’t even know why, but you’d rather be on a clear side than be dangled in the middle. All or nothing. That is who you are. Right now, you are all in with me. How long that will last…God only knows, but I don’t want to waste the time I do have trying to pick through your brain.”

  “Not fair.” I pouted, turning in my chair toward her. “You’ve always seen me as...a—”

  “My lover?” she said easily. “And you saw me as your cousin. If this isn’t fair to anyone, it’s me. I mean, look at me. Do you know how many more men I could have fucked if I didn’t get so hooked on you?”

  I clenched my jaw, trying not to be annoyed by that knowledge. “If you were really hooked on me, you wouldn’t have fucked anyone else to begin with.”

  “Selfish bastard.” she giggled. “While you’re fucking maids, I’m supposed to be pining for you in the corner? Hoping against hope that you’ll see me as more?”

  “Hoping against hope?” I asked, getting up from my chair to stand in front her. “That can’t be right…because here we are.”

  “Yes, if only I knew I’d get lucky. I wouldn’t have fucked—”

  “Are you trying to make me jealous right now?” I asked, quickly cutting her off.

  She stood up straighter. The heels she wore brought her right to eye level with me. “No, but I won’t lie, I wouldn’t mind if you were.”

  “So, all of this…this morning is to—”

  “To tell you I’m not going to be easy for you. Unlike the other girls you’ve had, I’m not going to fall at your feet. Everything you have, I already have. So, you can’t give me anything but yourself…the guy I dreamt about. But what if now, in reality, you aren’t that guy. What if even now, in reality, you could not live up to my fantasies. That means you can’t offer me anything, and I wasted a decade of love on you.” She reached up and fixed the collar of my shirt. “So, I came to you, dressed as beautiful as I always am to tell you, don’t ever think you have me, because I am more than capable of going back and pretending like none of this ever happened.”

  “Is that so?”

  Her hands shifted to the side of my face as I glared down at her. She leaned forward and kissed the side of my lip. “It is. Now get some rest. You look like you need it.”

  She moved to walk back around the desk… away from me, swaying her hips slowly. Reaching to the desk, I pressed a single button before going up behind her, grabbing onto her waist and holding her still beside me. The curls of her hair brushed my faced as I brought my lips to her ear.

  “You’re right, Helen. When I make a decision, I’m either in or not, fuck whatever happens after that. So, when I made the choice about you, I realized I was going to face another problem,” I told her as my hands slowly worked down to her ass.

  “And what was that?” she whispered back, leaning against me.

  “How the hell was I not going to fuck you right away,” I replied as I slowly unzipped the back of her skirt, just a tiny bit. “You see, some men pretend that they really care so they can get between your thighs. Me…oh you are just my kind of sinful today.”

  I added the last part realizing she wasn’t wearing any underwear.

  “Ahh…” She gasped when my hand reached under her skirt.

  “What was I saying?” I asked, stroking her pussy lips. Grinning, I licked her ear. “Right, some men lie in hopes of fucking. Me. I prefer to fuck first. To me, knowing how much I enjoy fucking a woman is the very foundation of how I go about approaching that woman. So, I was conflicted, Helen. You’re important to me. I respect you. I didn’t want to start off the same way for you…but I am the way I am. I love sex. I love licking, touching, sucking…fucking. The dirtier the sex, the better for me.”

  “Oh…” She grabbed onto my hand as I rubbed her clit. When she did, using my free hand, I reached up, lifting her top and then her bra, in order to grab her left breast, pinching her nipples.

  “So, what do I do, Helen? I can’t treat you like those women, but we can’t just date either. Dating is meant to get to know each other…you know me. I know you. What do I do? How do we do this?” I asked, kissing the top of her ear.

  She tilted her head back, resting it on my shoulder, and exhaled deeply, and I couldn’t help but inhale, the scent of roses filled my nose. My cock hardened against her ass. She had grabbed onto my wrist, slowly taking my hand out from under her skirt. Standing up straighter, she fixed her bra and top.

  “Zip me,” she demanded. Glancing down at her skirt, I pouted. And somehow, despite not looking at me, she must have guessed my expression. “I promise, you’ll get another chance to unzip it, later.”

  She’s dangerous. I smiled to myself, zipping her skirt back up. Once done, she turned around, facing me. I could see the lust so clearly burning in her brown eyes.

  “Come to my room in an hour, but know we aren’t sleeping together yet.”

  “So why do you want me in your room?”

  “So we can have a date.”

  “Here? At the manor?” I questioned.

  She smirked and nodded. “It will prevent us both from getting so comfortable we fuck each other.”

  “Are you sure?” Because she didn’t realize how close she was now.

  “One hour,” she said with ease and just walked away from me, her red-bottomed heels clicking as she walked away and unlocked the front door. She didn’t even look back before closing the door.

  Did I go too far too soon? No.

  She was trying to play me…she did play me. Most women…actually all of the women I’d been with in the past, I made it clear what I wanted…just like I had done with her. The only difference is that all of those women gave in, immediately. Helen came in here to tell she’d be different, and left proving she was. I always knew she understood me, but now I was wondering just how much more she knew that I didn’t.

  Walking around the desk, I turned the cameras back on before leaving the office. Before I slept, I was going to need a cold shower. My second one in two fucking days thanks to her.

  Seductive minx.

  HELEN

  I wanted him…badly. So badly it actually hurt to leave. How the hell could he just turn on and off like that?

  Probably the same damn way I did it.

  I spent so much time setting up my room…while going over what happened in my head in the study, that an hour blew by before I’d realized it.

  Knock.

  Knock.

  “Special delivery,” he said when I opened the door.

  He leaned against the door frame. I could see how tired and stressed he was so clearly on his face, yet somehow it actually made him look sexier.

  “Right on time,” I said moving for him to come in.

  He stepped inside and looked around, taking it all in before looking at me. “A movie?”

  I looked at the small projector playing the black and white movie on my wall. I’d moved my vanity and plates to the side of my bed, throwing all of the pillows I could find on the floor.

  Looking at the door, I stepped out of my heels and moved to the pillows, taking a seat. “You’re not a fan of black and white silent movies?”

  “So, we’re watching one?” he asked moving to take a seat beside me.

  I shook my head. “I’m watching one. You’re going to sleep.”

  He laughed, a little surprised. “You want me to sleep while you watch a movie?”

  “Yes,” I nodded, reaching up and brushing his dark brown hair from his face. “You’re exhausted, right? And you’re
most likely going to be busy later on, too, so we’ll spend time together now and you can get your rest.”

  He just stared at me. “This wasn’t what I was thinking when you called me here.”

  “I know, don’t overthink it. Come on,” I said, tapping my lap for him to rest his head on me.

  Again, he stared.

  “Wyatt, lie the fuck down.”

  He grinned and nodded, laying his head in my lap. “Your legs might go numb.”

  “With all the squats and leg presses I do, I doubt it.” I lifted a few of the grapes to the side of me up and into my mouth before pressing play on the movie.

  “How am I supposed to sleep with your beauty all in my face?”

  At that I actually snorted and giggled, shaking my head. “Oh, that was so cheesy.”

  “You like cheesy lines…I bet this movie is filled with them.”

  “It is, now go to sleep.”

  “You’re not going to look at me?”

  I shook my head, swallowing the grape in my mouth. “Nope.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t want to molest you while you sleep.”

  At that he outright laughed, and I still didn’t look down at him. “Please, go ahead.”

  “You better not complain and give a long-winded story about how you couldn’t get sleep later,” I said before eating another grape.

  “My story was not long-winded.”

  “It was so long-winded that I took a nap and you still hadn’t gotten to your point,” I replied, and he laughed again, this time softer.

  “You’re cute.”

  “Not the look I was going for today, but I’ll take it.” I shrugged, and in all honestly, I wasn’t really paying attention to the movie. He made me too nervous for that.

  “Helen.”

  “What?” I sighed.

  “You’re free to touch me whenever you want,” he whispered, shifting onto his side, still a little on my lap. I waited until I saw his whole body relax and his breathing start to even out before I finally exhaled. He was a little heavy, but my thighs were fine. Nothing on earth was going to make me move him.