Wicked Dynasty: The Untouchables | Book Two

by Vincent, Callie

The burner phone weighed heavy in my pocket. I didn’t want to know what it contained, but it was my job to protect Audrey, even from herself. After spending half an hour scanning through the phone, everything was starting to make sense. I couldn’t even be sure if her attraction to me was real anymore. Had it just been the stalker's direction that pushed her into my arms?

  “You stole my phone?” she asked.

  I nodded. “You left me no choice. I knew that you weren't going to tell me what was really going on.”

  “So you dug through my personal effects just to get your answers? Well, I hope it was worth it for you.”

  “Oh, it was. I learned a lot about you. More than I think I wanted to, but I got what I needed. We should be able to track the stalker with the number he’s been using to contact you.”

  “Wait,” Declan shot in. “The stalker has been contacting you? More than you told me about?”

  “She told you about the stalker contacting her?” Dakota asked.

  “It looks like you’ve got a lot of questions to answer,” Declan grumbled.

  My heart ached when I looked at Audrey. There was a panic in her eyes I’d never seen before. Dakota was still scrolling through the phone. From the look on his face, it appeared he’d reached the conversation about Audrey and myself. I’d shared his pained expression when the stalker sent Audrey images of the three of them together, yet another threat to get what he wanted from her. She was terrified and being controlled by a madman.

  “Take it easy,” I said. “This isn’t Audrey’s fault. She was only doing what she thought was best for everyone. Now that we can trace him, our job will get a lot easier. Until then, though, we still need to keep this guy on the hook. I don’t want him to get spooked.”

  “Is this why you turned away from us?” Dakota asked Audrey.

  She nodded, her eyes dropping to the ground. “I couldn’t do it. Not like that with someone else in control. It wasn’t right.”

  “But you had no problem playing me,” I hissed.

  “You still got what you wanted, didn’t you?” Dakota shot in as he scrolled through the phone. “I have the pictures right here to prove it. Even knowing that she was under immense pressure, you jumped right in there to lend a shoulder.”

  “I thought it was a mutual attraction, it had nothing to do with you, and it still doesn’t. We are here to get a plan in place for Audrey. The phone has to go back to her, and we’ve got to keep him on the line until the trace is complete.”

  “Of course you’d suggest that. Send us back to DC while you’re here with Audrey. I'm sure you just love the stalker’s last directive.”

  “What is he talking about?” Declan asked. “Audrey, please tell me what’s going on.”

  “Fine,” Audrey snapped. “Everyone is so fucking interested in what I’ve been dealing with, so why don’t I share? For once, why don’t I tell all of you how I really feel instead of giving two shits about hurting your precious feelings or starting a riot.”

  My mouth dropped. “Audrey –”

  “You shut up,” she hissed. “I am so tired of tiptoeing around the three of you and your damn feelings. I’ve been strung along like a puppet by that fucking stalker. I’ve been threatened, humiliated, and emotionally crushed thanks to that piece of shit. Now having the three of you bickering and pissing around is more than I can deal with.

  I’ve had to force intimacy with a man that I care about and very much enjoyed but wasn’t ready to initiate nonetheless. I’ve been ripped away from the two men I love more than anything else. I’ve had every intimate detail of my life invaded by the stalker and my own staff since all this happened. I haven’t had a single second without being or feeling watched. And you know what, assholes? I’ve done it all with a smile on my face to protect every single one of you pricks.

  Declan and Dakota, I had an amazingly intimate moment with Kylan a few nights ago. While the motive was to please the stalker, I did enjoy myself, and I’m not ashamed of that. Kylan, you and Dakota both hurt each other in the past, but you both need to get over it if you want to be a part of my life. I don’t have any room in my heart for hate. You are both strong and wonderful men, the same as Declan.

  If any of us are going to survive this, there needs to be transparency between us. I won't have it any other way. I shouldn’t have kept the stalker contacting me from any of you. I was scared, and it was all I could think to do to protect everyone.”

  Outside, the main doors opened. It would be the security detail sweeping the house before the vice president and senator arrived back from dinner. There was no time to discuss the details any further. I’d already set things in motion the second I’d pieced together the puzzle. Audrey needed all of us to work together; otherwise, everything was going to fall apart, taking each of us down in the process.

  “Audrey, we need to go now,” I said quickly. “Dakota, the senator is going to extend her hospitality for another night when she gets home. I suggest you accept, and we can talk about this more in the morning.”

  “What are you talking about?” Declan asked.

  “There’s no time. I have to get her out of here. We’ll meet you back here at nine. She’s going to need that phone back.”

  Dakota tossed it to me. I snatched it out of the air. Grabbing Audrey’s hand, I tugged her out of the room to the main door where the men had already come through. They were busy checking the rest of the house as we darted to the waiting car. We rode in silence for a few minutes before I finally had to speak up. I’d been so captivated by her earlier that we hadn’t gone over code words or security. I couldn’t assure that anywhere was safe.

  “Audrey –”

  “I don’t want to talk about it. Not here and not now.”

  “We have to talk about it at some point, but I agree that right now it’s a bad idea,” I said. “But when we get back to the hotel, we need to talk. You can drop your purse off in your room and change if needed, but then please come to my room.”

  “Wow, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all,” she hissed sarcastically.

  “I’m not going to argue with you. I’m sorry you’re upset, but this is not the time to discuss it.”

  “Whatever.”

  She fell silent next to me, but I didn’t push the issue. There was nothing more I could say without it becoming an argument. I was starting to think that the phone Audrey had was bugged. For once in her life, I just needed her to keep quiet and be patient. The night hadn’t been what she’d expected. I knew she was still reeling from the meeting with the Hartley brothers. A wave of comfort washed over me, knowing she hadn’t slept with them. There was more to her than met the eye.

  The hotel came into view as the car moved around to the back of it. We moved quickly through the halls after taking the back entrance up to our floor. I didn’t want anyone seeing us sneaking in. No one was paying attention to Audrey since she was behaving, and that’s the way I wanted to keep things. We reached her room, and she stormed inside, slamming the door in the process. Before long, I was in my own room, my head still reeling.

  I sat in the silence for several minutes, wondering if I’d have to go drag Audrey out of her room. It would complicate things, but I’d be happy to do it if that was necessary. My room had been swept for bugs. I didn’t keep a laptop or security camera anywhere in it. All of my communication was done outside the space. It had to be awful for Audrey, wondering who was watching all the time. My heart raced as I jumped to answer the door, the soft rasp telling me it was her.

  “Why did I have to come to you?” Audrey snapped. “This whole thing is just ridiculous. Why did you tell the others to stay another day?”

  “I know you have a lot of questions. Your room isn’t secure, nor will it be until after we catch this guy. We’ve swept this room, and it’s clean. You left the phone behind, correct?”

  “Of course, I assumed that’s what you wanted me to do. I’m not as stupid as you think.”

  “Audrey, I don’t
think you’re stupid –”

  “Well, I guess I did manage to let you steal it in the first place, so maybe I am that dumb. What did you want to tell me that was so important it had to be tonight?”

  “Several things, if you’d let me get a word in edgewise,” I growled.

  Her mouth snapped shut.

  “That’s better. I don’t like being the mean guy, but you’ve got to start listening to me. I know this can’t be easy for you, but this is how it has to be for now. Any conversations of substance can only happen in this room or the sitting room at the senator’s house.”

  “How did you get her to let the brothers stay another day?”

  “I knew that your mother and the senator both would approve of the work that Dakota has been doing. Your mother's schedule today and tomorrow are packed. The only time I could fit in a meeting with Dakota about funding the project was tomorrow evening.”

  “That’s very slick of you,” Audrey said.

  “It’s my job to make things work smoothly. Molly will be back tomorrow night, and she can leave with the Hartleys the following day. I don’t think anyone will notice that she left and not you. You’ve been off most people’s radars for a while now.”

  “Thank god for that. What are we going to do about the stalker? He’s going to know that I didn’t do what he wanted tonight.”

  “Do you think that you can buy more time with him?”

  “I honestly don’t know. The last time I didn’t do exactly what he said, he sent you that picture and got you tangled up in this whole mess.”

  “I was already tangled up in it,” I muttered. “From the second I took this job and knew I was attracted to you, it became a part of my world.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

  “Don’t be. This wasn’t your fault. Granted, you lead an interesting and slightly taboo lifestyle, but that doesn’t mean someone has the right to exploit it.”

  Audrey sighed as she slouched down on the bed. I could tell that she was tired of going rounds with the man who was harassing her day and night. It felt wrong to let her go back to her room where she would be alone with him. I sat down beside her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders as she let her weight sink against me. There was no way I could let her go back to the hotel room alone. She’d reach for the phone the instant she got there, ready to martyr herself to protect us all.

  “How would you feel about me spending the night in your room?” I asked.

  Her eyes found mine. “Listen, it’s not that I’m not attracted to you. I just don’t think that right now is the best time –”

  “It’s nothing like that. Not that I wouldn’t love the chance. I was more thinking it would give you an excuse to not look at that damn phone tonight.”

  “Oh, I guess I didn’t think about that. He’ll be wanting an answer for why I didn’t sleep with them.”

  “How does he know that you haven’t done it before?” I wondered.

  “Honestly, I think they’ve been watching me since the very beginning, but I don’t know when. Was it when I started dating Declan or Dakota? Did they already know about Derek and me? I have so many questions, it makes my head spin.”

  “Well, we aren’t going to get any more answers tonight.”

  “You’d really stay with me?” she asked.

  I nodded. “In a heartbeat.”

  23

  Declan

  We didn’t get a chance to talk again in private until hours after Audrey was jetted out the doors by Kylan. I was still shaken from the encounter. In our world, though, you didn’t let anything stop you from saving face. We spoke with the senator and vice president for a few minutes before Hazel had to leave for the evening. Her visit had been an impromptu one, with the formal meeting to follow the next night. It continued to amaze me how professionally Dakota could handle himself despite what we’d just endured.

  We’d finally retreated to the adjoining bedrooms that would house us for the next two nights. I watched Dakota pace back and force as his public façade started to slip away for the evening. It was a routine I’d seen many times before. Still, I usually knew what was just below the surface. With everything that had happened, I couldn’t be sure what to expect from my older brother.

  “That son of a bitch has been going after Audrey the whole time,” Dakota seethed. “I can’t believe she didn’t tell us. To think he made her do things with Klaus.”

  “Easy Dakota, you and I both know she wasn’t forced. There is something there, now we can get over it and figure out where to go from here or dwell, which is more productive?”

  “Since when did you become the voice of reason?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “Well, one of us had to do it. Listen, I don’t like Kylan, but Audrey obviously cares about him for whatever reason. You and I both know the quickest way to push her away is to start drawing lines in the sand.”

  “Then when do we draw the line? What if Kylan isn’t enough for her either?”

  “I know that no matter who comes into her life, she’ll always be mine. You should know that too. It’s just how it is with her.”

  “Yeah, well, how would she feel if we went out and started dating other women?”

  “I don’t know, maybe that’s something you should talk to her about. I have no desire to sleep with or date anyone besides Audrey. What we have is special, and I know it.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Dakota grumbled. “I know it is as well. I feel the same way. I just wish it wasn’t him. Why couldn’t she find someone else?”

  “Look at the bright side. He knows what he’s doing as far as protecting her. So, we know she’s safe, even when we can’t be here.”

  “How do we know he’s not the one behind the messages and threats?” Dakota asked.

  “Well, to start with, we got the first message before his team was brought in,” I reminded him. “Plus, he has no motive.”

  “I’m sure lining his pockets with Hazel's money is a good motive.”

  “Dakota,” I warned.

  “Yeah, I know it’s not realistic. I just don’t like him.”

  We weren’t going to get anywhere if I couldn’t get Dakota to drop the subject of Kylan. I could understand where he was coming from, given their history, but it was time to look into the future. His charity work gained more support by the day, making the stalker more dangerous as time passed. No matter what, we had to keep up appearances until Kylan did his job.

  “Kylan and Audrey will be back tomorrow after the senator heads out for the day. We need to figure out what talking points to have ready.”

  “This isn’t an interview, you know,” Dakota said.

  “It doesn’t hurt to be prepared. Kylan said that he had a plan. I know I’d like to go along with it.”

  “Of course, you would. You seem to be landing on your feet in all of this. Or have you forgotten that you still get to see Audrey?”

  “We’ve got extra time here now. We can find a few minutes for you with her.”

  “Don’t treat me like a charity case.”

  “I’m not,” I snapped. “I know that Audrey wants to see you, and it’s killing her that she hasn’t had the chance. If you don’t believe me, check my phone, and the messages will tell you as much.”

  “This whole thing is just bullshit.”

  “You aren’t telling me anything I don’t know,” I reminded him.

  Dakota finally settled down enough to slump down in one of the armchairs. He tapped his fingers on the antique leather, glaring off into space. There was nothing else I could say to him. On top of the drama unfolding around us with Audrey, we still had an active charity and the possibility to be running for office in the next year. Everything was falling into place. Yet, the lingering presence of the stalker weighed on my mind.

  He had enough ammunition against all of us to destroy our careers. Yet, he seemed hesitant to do anything with the images. Everything pointed to David. The sick manipulation of Audrey, the empty threats,
even the way he managed to follow her around and access secure lines. David was smart enough to pull all of it off, despite no one giving him his due credit. It didn’t sit well with me that we hadn’t seen him sniffing around lately either.

  “What are we going to do if those images go public? We know he’s got pictures of us with Audrey and her with Kylan.”

  “I don’t know. It depends on how it goes live, really. We might be able to do a good bit of damage control working with the Klaus siblings. Love them or hate them, they know what they’re doing.”

  “You really think that Kylan can be an asset? So far, all I’ve seen is a trail of disasters every time he shows up. What about Molly? That woman is pure evil.”

  “She isn’t so bad,” I muttered. “She is the one who first showed me the picture of Kylan and Audrey.”

  His fists balled. “Oh, really? Happy to see you two getting chummy.”

  “No, asshole. What it shows is that she does everything Kylan tells her. He would never approve of that picture getting out unless there was a reason. Don’t you see? He didn’t want it to be a huge blowup.”

  “So, he showed you, through his whore sister, and now me? I think you’re giving him too much credit.”

  “And I don’t think you are giving him enough,” I said. “He could be an asset if you just let him. He knew better than to show you the picture, right? You’d have flipped out in DC and shot over here.”

  “You don’t seem to have much faith in me controlling my emotions.”

  I chuckled. “I have faith in you, brother. I wouldn’t be on your team otherwise. Come on, man, this isn't like you. Audrey is strong, and she loves you.”

  Dakota still looked like he was enraged, but I could see him starting to calm down. Time would help to soothe him. It was hard to keep my cool, considering how I felt. He was right to feel slighted. We were still left in the dark, and it would stay that way until after we talked with Kylan tomorrow. The weight of the afternoon continued to weigh on me. I rubbed my hands across my eyes, doing what I could to hide my fatigue.