Bastian: A Secret Baby Romance

by Lauren Landish

  It was hard to face the pain in her eyes, and actually, it surprised me that she was hurt.

  When I left, I’d done it partly to protect myself from my emotions, not considering that I could possibly be hurting her.

  “You wouldn’t understand,” I muttered.

  “Make me understand,” Carly demanded. “I’ve spent this whole time feeling guilty over you leaving.”

  I let out a sigh and shook my head. “I can’t. I’m sorry, Carly, but I can’t. Some things are better left unsaid.”

  She glared at me for several long seconds and then threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. “Fine! Can you at least tell me if you wound up knocking up some tramp?”

  I laughed incredulously. “What?”

  Carly cut her eyes at me. “You were with a new skank every weekend, remember? I thought it was only a matter of time before you wound up with a few baby mamas.”

  I shook my head and continued to laugh. “No baby mamas here.” But there had been a close call, but I wasn’t going to go into that. I’d never hear the end of it if I did.

  “Amazing,” Carly muttered nastily. “You stuck it in more holes than Tiger Woods and none wound up pregnant? Shit, you probably have ten children you don’t even know about.”

  I sneered. “Come on, Carly. Jealousy isn’t sexy at all.”

  Carly rolled her eyes. “As if.”

  But I could tell she was. It was practically oozing from her. Why else would she care?

  “I know it may be hard to believe,” I said, “but I chilled out a little on that front. A little,” I reiterated. “Besides, I was only doing it because . . .” my voice trailed off and I stopped myself before saying something that could start a fire.

  Carly was staring at me intently. “Because . . .?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Tell me.”

  Silence filled the air. “You are so infuriating.”

  I winked because I knew it would irritate her further. “You know me.”

  Carly scowled. “I should totally slap you.”

  I turned my face to the side and patted my cheek. “Go for it. Right there, baby.”

  Carly snorted. “Please. Don’t tempt me.” She fixed a disbelieving glare on me and resumed her interrogation. “So does this mean you’ve settled down?”

  “My, my Carly, you sure are interested in my love life,” I remarked, trying to deflect. I really didn’t want to talk about relationships. The whole thing had been one big draining and traumatic experience.

  I thought that Maddy might’ve been the girl, but I was wrong. Oh so wrong.

  “I just wanted to see if you’ve matured, that’s all,” Carly said defensively.

  I flexed my muscles. “Well I can tell you right now you’re looking at a grown man right here. A hundred and eighty-five pounds of pure steel and an eight-inch cock that, while it doesn’t quite get used as much as it used to, is still the bane of women everywhere.”

  Carly rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. “Oh God.”

  “What? You’re the one so interested in my love life. What about you? Are you still so hung up fantasizing about what I’m like in bed that you can’t go out and find a man?”

  Carly shook her head. “Please, don’t flatter yourself. I’ve just been too busy — focused on my career, or pursuit of one. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve even had time for a date.”

  “Anyway, is there a reason why you just suddenly showed up on my doorstep out of the blue?”

  “Shouldn’t that have been your first question, and not about my love life? But yes, there is a reason,” I said succinctly.

  That brought her up short.

  I might as well lay it out all out there. “I’m running from the police.”

  Carly’s face went white with shock. “Uhh, what?”

  “I hacked into their systems and stole something from some so-called secure servers,” I explained. “While inside their network, someone from their security team noticed the data breach and latched on to my location. Normally, I’d never be so clumsy, but I was a little pre-occupied . . .”

  It still pissed me off that I fucked that up, even if my cock was getting sucked at the time.

  “Jesus Christ! You’re running from the authorities and you come here?” Carly demanded hysterically, resuming her pacing and wringing her hands frantically. “Oh my God. What our parents were saying is true. You are a criminal!” She started babbling incoherently and I feared she was going to have a mental breakdown. “I knew you were going to wind up taking that rebel bullshit too far one day!”

  I stood up quickly and grabbed her by the arms. “Calm down, Carly,” I commanded firmly. I was surprised at how soft her skin felt against my hands and it would have been so easy to begin caressing her, to rub my hands all over her luscious curves . . .

  Fuuuuuck, I thought. I’ve got to get a reign on my hormones before I do something stupid.

  My touch seemed to have a calming effect and Carly went still.

  “I had every right to take what I stole. They’re the fucking criminals,” I said, keeping my voice completely level to keep Carly unaware of the inner turmoil raging inside of me.

  She looked unconvinced. “Seriously? You steal from the authorities and they’re the criminals? What kind of fool do you take me for—”

  “I stole footage of a murder,” I cut in.

  Her jaw dropped. “What?”

  I nodded. “What I stole was a video of a crime, Carly. A crime that they’re desperately trying to hide. You see, they know exactly who committed this murder, and they’re trying to cover it up.”

  Carly’s pretty features crinkled in confusion. “Who? What person are you talking about?”

  “Brace yourself,” I warned her. As somewhat of a goody-two-shoes, I knew Carly wouldn’t believe me. But at least I had the video to prove it.

  Carly slapped me against the arm. “Well? Spit it out!”

  Damn, she was so sexy when she was agitated.

  I waited for dramatic effect until she was practically squirming with impatience for me to spill the beans. “It’s Mayor Bradley.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Carly exclaimed, immediately shaking her head, her strawberry hair whipping about. “I don’t believe it.”

  I knew she was going to say that.

  Carly scowled angrily. “Is this another one of your stupid little pranks?”

  “I swear it’s not,” I said seriously. “I know I joke around a lot, but I’m dead serious about this. Do you honestly think I’d show up after all this time and make this up?”

  “I wouldn’t put it passed you.” Carly was obviously unconvinced. “I know you call yourself a hacker, but do you honestly expect me to believe that you hacked into the SFPD servers and downloaded a video of Mayor Bradley committing a murder?”

  I grinned. Carly had no idea. “They don’t call me Razor for nothin’. You can’t even begin to imagine the things that I can do with my hands.”

  Carly’s face went red at my double entendre and my grin grew wider.

  “Oh come on, Carly. Get your head out of the gutter why don’t you? I meant on a keyboard, of course,” I amended. “And I have the evidence in my pocket.”

  Carly froze. “Really?”

  I nodded over at the small desk in the corner where her laptop lay. “I can load it for you.”

  “Show me,” Carly commanded breathlessly.

  My cell buzzed in my pocket. Someone had sent a text.

  “Hold on a second,” I told Carly, digging out my phone.

  I quickly scanned the text.

  Razor wru?

  I wasn’t sure exactly who it was, but it didn’t matter. I knew it had to be someone from Anonymous. I quickly tapped out a response.

  Nowhere.

  What do u mean nowhere? You know we want that video.

  I know. Give me a little time, damn. You’ll get it.

  We have given you over 48 hours . . .

>   I need a little more time. The police are on my ass you know.

  That’s bullshit and you know it. You’re not an amateur. Don’t make us do something we both might regret.

  I stuffed the phone back into my pocket.

  Carly stared at me suspiciously. “Who was that?”

  I ignored her and nodded at her laptop. “Do you want to see this video or not?”

  A moment later I was sitting at the desk and inserting my flash drive into her laptop. I brought up the drive and clicked the video file.

  “Oh my God,” Carly whispered in horror as the video popped up on the screen and began playing.

  In the video, a darkened alley could be seen. After a moment, a man and woman came into view. They appeared to be arguing bitterly, with the woman gesturing wildly in the man’s face.

  Suddenly, the man seemed to have enough of her bitching and began violently choking her. The woman fought valiantly, even appearing to grab something and slamming the man in the face with it. It allowed her to break free from him briefly and she stumbled off. He quickly recovered, though, and caught up with her. While struggling to contain his victim, he managed to produce something from his pocket and slid it across her neck. She clutched at her neck in horror as blood poured from her wound.

  The man brutally shoved the woman to the ground and delivered a solid kick to her ribs. After a moment, she grew still and he bent down, placing a hand on her neck. Satisfied, he got up and began walking off, but not before the camera caught a good glimpse of his face.

  Carly had her hand over her mouth, her expression horrified. “That is Mayor Bradley,” she whispered. “I can’t believe it.”

  “I can. He’s a slimeball and is as corrupt as they come.” I took the flash drive out and stuffed it back in my pocket, turning to face Carly. “And that, my dear sis, is why I have tracked you down. I need you to help me expose him for the dirt bag he truly is.”

  Carly was silent for nearly a minute, appearing lost in thought. “We need to take this to the police,” she decided finally. “Tell them that you made a mistake hacking into their servers and stumbled upon the video by accident.”

  “Haven’t you been listening?” I demanded. “They’re the ones covering for him. If I do that, I’m liable to be locked up and never to be heard from again. Meanwhile, the video will just disappear.” I shook my head. “No, what we need to do is get the evidence out to independent sources, that way there’s no way they’ll be able to stop it once the video starts circulating all over the internet.”

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” Carly muttered.

  “Believe it,” I said firmly. “This is no time for hysterics, Carly. The sooner you get over your shock, the better.” I pointed at her laptop. “How much traffic do you get to that news blog of yours?”

  “Not much. Just enough to cover the bills here, actually.”

  “What about analytics. Do you know about the type of people visiting your site and where they’re from?”

  Carly shrugged. “I assume that they come for my genius reporting,” she replied jokingly. “But I have no idea.”

  “Hmmm, I’ll look into that,” I murmured thoughtfully. I scratched behind my ear. “If we put this video on there, I think I could increase traffic to your site ten-fold. After that, I’m sure the video will spread like the Z-virus.”

  “How do you expect to do that?” Carly demanded.

  I gave her my most cocky grin. “I’m Razor, that’s how.”

  Carly snorted with derision. “Please.”

  “Seriously, though. Can I count on you to help me see this through?” I don’t know why her aid was so important to me, but it was.

  Carly’s response wasn’t immediate, and I must admit that it stung a little. I know she was angry with me for not even a phone call, but shit, cut me some slack. My freedom was at stake here.

  “I’ll do it,” she said finally, filling me with relief. “But I have a feeling I’ll regret it.” The last words she uttered under her breath but I still heard it.

  I wiped at my brow. “Damn, for a moment there I thought you were going turn me in.”

  “Don’t be silly. I’d never do something like that . . . even if you do deserve it.”

  “You sure about that? You were going to blow me when I walked through the door.” I gave her a mischievous grin so she could catch my meaning.

  Carly scowled. “In your dreams. You almost got your head blown off, though, that’s for sure.”

  In my dreams. Well she was right about that one. She most certainly had blown me in my dreams. On more than one occasion.

  “So what now?” Carly demanded worriedly, not waiting for a reply. “Are we just going to throw the footage up on my website or are you going to . . ?”

  “First,” I said rising from my seat and nodding towards her little couch. “I’m going to pass out on your sofa.” The thing looked too small to house my large muscular frame, but after nearly forty-eight hours of no sleep, even resting on a bed of rocks seemed like a good idea. “I’ve literally been running on fumes for the past two days.” I yawned, suddenly very tired. “I need a good sleep to refresh myself.”

  “Okay,” Carly agreed. “I want to get this done. I’m going to be on pins and needles around here.”

  “Right,” I replied drowsily as I made my way over to the couch and flopped down on my back. The fatigue that I’d been dodging for what seemed like forever was finally catching up to me.

  “One last thing,” Carly said.

  “Yeah?” My eyes were already closing.

  “What was the victim’s name?” Her voice almost sounded like it was underneath water.

  The last thing I remembered before the darkness took me was sluggishly uttering, “Ashley Collins.”

  Chapter 5

  Carly

  I can’t believe he’s lying right in front of me.

  Mason’s light snores filled the cabin as he slumbered on my couch, his long legs extending off the side.

  Sitting across from him, holding vigil, I watched as his flat stomach gently rose with each inhale, marveling at his body and then admiring his handsome face.

  He looked like the day he’d left. Nothing had changed. Well, there were some changes. Mason had always been cut and fit, even in his teenage years, but now he seemed bigger than I remembered — more filled out. More like . . . a man.

  I wanted to reach out and touch him, run my fingers along his body. It was something I always dreamt about doing. What was stopping me? He was in a deep sleep and would be none-the-wiser.

  Hell, he was so exhausted I could probably even take a peak . . .

  Carly!

  I let out an explosive breath. I’d been seconds away from reaching out to feel him . . . to feel it. Shit. I so badly wanted to know if he was all talk. It was suddenly stifling hot in the cabin. I needed to cool off, to get away from the tempting image of my slumbering stepbrother.

  Fanning myself, I got up from my seat and moved in the corner where I could still keep a watchful eye on him but maintain a safe distance.

  As I sat there, I wondered what he’d he been up to while he was gone? Where did he go? Most importantly, why didn’t he call me?

  Was he really in some kind of serious relationship?

  Thinking about it filled me with anger, even though it shouldn’t have.

  There’s no denying it. I was jealous then and I’m jealous now. But I need to stop and get over it. We will never be together.

  I was a little annoyed at myself that I was more worried about where Mason was putting his cock, than worrying about the explosive evidence that he’d brought to my doorstep.

  As a wannabe mainstream journalist, this could make my career.

  Sure, I was pissed at Mason for deserting me, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. Now was the time to seize the moment.

  I’d made a promise to Rosemary Collins. If Ashley Collins was to have justice, I needed to help Mason bring Mayor Bradley
down. Rosemary gets her justice, I jumpstart my career, and Mason stays out of jail and alive.

  It was almost too much to believe. Even now, I was having trouble believing that the charismatic Mayor could have done something like that, even after seeing it with my own eyes.

  And the police, they’re just as guilty covering it up.

  The whole thing disgusted me. These were our public officials that were there to keep us safe and to look out for us.

  I started to gain a sense of courage, of purpose. I felt like it was my duty to expose this corruption, felt honor-bound to get the truth out there — to be Mason’s sidekick in doing so gave me all the more courage to see it through.

  I’m going to make sure everyone who’s involved in this pays if it’s the last thing I do, I vowed. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be rewarded justly for my efforts. If not with a career, maybe with an eight-inch cock.

  Carly!

  Despite the dangers of helping expose Mayor Bradley, I knew that the potential reward outweighed the risks.

  With evidence that could rock an entire city, maybe even the whole state, there wasn’t an up-and-coming journalist on earth who wouldn’t want to be in my shoes.

  If we released the video on my blog, and Mason allowed me to take full credit, I’d be famous overnight. I’d finally get the recognition I deserved.

  Despite the grim circumstances, I was filled with excitement. This is what journalists lived for.

  I spent the rest of the evening doing menial tasks, sweeping the floors, cleaning the kitchen and occasionally peeking out the window for unexpected visitors while watching over Mason.

  It took some effort, but I managed to keep my lustful thoughts to a minimum.

  When midnight came, I was ready to crash. Mason was still snoring away, and I was getting too tired to keep watch. Besides, he had all but assured me that no one knew where he was . . . for now.

  “He really is exhausted,” I murmured quietly, watching his chest rise and fall as he snored gently. Noticing goosebumps on his arms, I dug a warm blanket out of a small storage container next to the couch and placed it over him. I stepped back and eyed it critically. It didn’t cover his whole body, but it would do.