I screamed out his name. Fireworks exploded behind my eyelids as my body convulsed. My legs tightened around his shoulders, the waves of pleasure crashing over me and taking control of my nerves. Kylan lapped at the sweet nectar of my orgasm until every stroke of his tongue made me jump. I was still aroused, wanting him to plunge his cock deep in my womb.
“Now that I’ve shown my appreciation for the show earlier, you should probably get some sleep,” Kylan whispered.
His arms wrapped around my waist, cradling my body as I struggled to catch my breath. His shaft pressed into my ass as I wiggled and silently pleaded for more. Kylan chuckled and kissed my neck.
“Nice try. I have to leave you wanting more, or else you might not come back for another round,” Kylan joked.
“That doesn’t seem fair at all. You’ve been getting teased all day, and now you don’t get your happy ending,” I said.
“Audrey, I get to hold you in my arms tonight and be a part of your world; if that isn’t a happy ending, I don’t know what is.”
“Have you always been so sweet?”
Kylan nuzzled against me, his body curving around mine. “No, but you bring out a side in me that I’ve never seen before either. I can’t explain it, but when I’m with you, I’m happy.”
“You make me happy too,” I said.
Despite my best attempts to stay awake and seduce Kylan, the weight of the day started to drag my eyelids down. Kylan brought with him a level of comfort that I longed for. I always felt safe in his arms. Despite our growing relationship, neither of the Hartley brothers had ever stayed with me through the night. I dozed off with his body pressed against me in an innocent moment of pure joy.
* * *
The morning found me alone again, but this time, I knew why Kylan had left. He’d texted me with the promise of returning with coffee and breakfast in hand. My phone had been surprisingly silent. The only message from my stalker was one of approval for the show, though I still couldn’t figure out what their motive was. I knew it was going to be a good day. Kylan was going to have the answers we needed and finally be able to put the whole issue to rest.
Declan’s name popped up on my regular phone, and I quickly answered the call. I’d hoped to see them again before they left for DC, but we were still playing everything by ear. My heart soared at the sound of his voice; he seemed just as cheerful as I felt. Things were finally starting to turn around for us. The call was brief, but by the end of it, I had what I wanted. Both of the brothers would be at my hotel in a few hours. We would get one final moment of passion.
It brought me a flurry of excitement and joy to know in a few more days, we’d have our stalker. For the first time in my life, I was going to be able to love the men that I wanted in a way that wasn’t manipulated by media or some underhanded pervert who thought they could control my world and get away with it. The stalker had messed with the wrong person. I knew my men would make him pay for what he’d done to me.
29
Declan
“Did you tell her we were walking into a meeting with Molly?” Dakota asked.
“Of course not. Do you want to piss her off? This is just a routine meeting for the charity. It’s not like we are talking about the stalker.”
“Good thing too. I don’t think Audrey would take kindly to us talking about that with Molly. When do we meet with Kylan again?” Dakota asked.
“Not until we get to the tarmac. He’ll meet us there with any new details and to set up our next meeting.”
Dakota chuckled and shook his head. “I still can't believe he is on board with all of this. I don’t know that I trust him yet, but he’s doing a decent job of proving himself.”
“Wow,” I muttered. “That’s high praise coming from you.”
We were seated outside on the senator's patio. Since the meeting had nothing to do with Audrey or the stalker, it was safe to assume no one was listening. Dakota’s work had won high praise from politicians who’d been in the business for fifty-plus years. With Molly helping us, we’d even brought on donors that didn’t agree with our father's political views.
It felt good to finally be getting back in a routine. Soon Audrey would be back in DC with us, and we could all let loose a little bit. I’d wanted her the night before. It took every drop of self-control not to beat down her door after everyone had left. We’d have our time together, all of us. It was a moment I looked forward to. Molly appeared through the back doors, her seductive smile falling short of Audrey’s beauty but not by much.
“There are my favorite boys! I’d ask if you guys missed me, but I’m guessing Audrey kept you well entertained.”
I rolled my eyes. “It was all business, not that it’s any of yours. How was your trip?”
“I set out for what I was after, as I’m sure you’ve heard by now, so I’d call it a success.”
My brow furrowed. “We were under the impression that you took the flight to distract the press from Audrey when she left. Did you have something else planned out?”
Her eyes grew wide. “Wait a second, you guys haven’t heard the news yet? I sent it to Kylan last night. I figured he’d have come running to share the good news.”
“What good news?” Dakota snapped. “What in the hell were you really doing on your little trip?”
Molly squealed with delight. “Oh my gosh, this is too awesome. I can't believe that he didn’t tell you guys! Damn, that’s hilarious.”
“What the hell, Molly?” I hissed. “You have an obligation to tell us what you know. We’ve been working side by side with you on everything.”
“Oh, bite me, the only reason I am working with the two of you is because Kylan forced me to do it. Granted, I’ve enjoyed it, and I plan on continuing to help you along the way, but you always knew I was working with Kylan to solve this.”
“That’s what you were doing?” Dakota asked. “So then you found out who the stalker really is?”
“Um? Duh? Jesus, I sent Kylan all of this information yesterday. I don’t know what he’s waiting on, honestly.”
“Well, who the hell is it?” I growled.
She shook her head. “As much as I would like to tell you that, it’s not my place or my job. Plus, the number I got was just a hunch. You’ll need Kylan to confirm what he found.”
“I can't believe that son of a bitch didn’t tell us this last night,” Dakota snapped.
“Really?” I asked.
It was strange that he didn’t believe Kylan was capable of doing something so underhanded. I wasn’t sure that I’d have done anything different in his situation. After all, had he given us all the details the night before, there would be no reason for the show with Audrey to go on. My anger came from somewhere else. Kylan had deceived us, all three of us, for his own selfish reasons. No functioning friendship or relationship would work with that level of mistrust.
“Tell us who the hell is behind all this. It’s David, isn’t it?” Dakota asked.
“Not going to happen,” Molly laughed. “Maybe my dear little brother was just waiting for me. This is going to be the best reveal ever. Why are you two so worked up, though? Waiting around here, you got to see your little girlfriend. Maybe he was just being a nice guy and giving you time.”
“Well, we aren’t going to wait around any longer to find out,” Dakota snapped.
“Wait! What about our meeting? You’ve got another ten donors looking to invest,” Molly said.
“Why in the hell would we keep working with you when you can't help us now?”
She glared at me. “Because I am damn good at my job, and you know it. Hell, I’ve proven it. I don’t care about your stupid relationships, either. All I care about is making you a rising star. My actions with Kylan should prove how loyal I am, not the opposite.”
I hated to admit it, but Molly made a good point. She’d taken our investments for the charity project from five figures to six in the short time she’d been working with us. Letting her go would be a mi
stake despite her ties to her brother. My hand balled into a fist at the thought of Kylan keeping secrets from us, but I tried to ease my temper.
“Fine, you’re still on the team, but this meeting will have to wait. We need to deal with your brother first, and I don’t think you want to be around for that.”
Molly rose. “Quite the contrary. If he’d told you last night, I’d be back in my DC penthouse by now instead of stuck in the hills of this hell. I want to see what he's got to say.”
“Then we should get a move on if we’re going to crash this party over at the hotel,” Molly said.
“Not a chance in hell,” Dakota boomed. “I appreciate everything that you’ve done for my campaign, but this is a conversation we need to have in private.”
“He’s my brother and my business partner. I have every right to be there with you.”
“Maybe, but this is also Audrey’s life. She already has some strong feelings about your role with us. I don’t want to upset her even more by having you tag along.”
“Are you kidding me?” Molly hissed. “After everything that I’ve done, you two are just going to kick me to the curb because I upset your precious little girlfriend? Wow, neither of you have the balls that it takes to make the hard decisions.”
“Look, Molly,” Dakota’s tone was firm. “I really don’t want to lose you as part of this team, but you need to understand that Audrey will always come first for us.”
“Then you are both complete idiots,” Molly hissed. “But I’m not going to walk away from the good work you are doing because of it. Go have your little meeting. You’ll see who you can count on before long. Just remember it was me finding your girlfriend's stalker, not Kylan.”
“He was busy protecting her from that same stalker,” I said.
“Sure,” she scoffed, “if that’s what you want to call what they’ve been doing to make yourself feel better. If you don’t want me around, then I’m leaving. You can find me in DC when you are done here.”
“Why won't you tell us what you found?” I asked.
She chuckled. “Because all I saw was numbers and letters. I could guess pretty well where the number was coming from, but Kylan is the one who can decode it all. I know I hit a ton of security in the process.”
“Then it was David. He had to get ahold of a phone without the Secret Service, but that isn’t hard. Hell, we were able to do it,” I said.
Molly shrugged, but something in her eyes told me that she didn’t think it was David. Dakota and I watched her go without another word. She wasn’t going to give up the information. I could feel Dakota's tension from where he stood a few feet away.
“I’m going to kill that little fucker. The only reason he didn’t tell us last night was so he could get in his show. Fuck, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was him behind all this.”
“You don’t really think that,” I said. “I understand why you’re pissed, though. I’m just as mad.”
* * *
I pounded on Kylan’s door. Making it through the hotel security and Secret Service was simple, given how well we knew all of them by that point. There was no movement on the other side. My stomach lurched. We’d come all that way for nothing. I didn’t want to wait around for him either. My nerves were already shot from the drive over. Dakota was ready to skin someone alive.
“Let’s go down to the bar and wait on the son of a bitch,” Dakota hissed.
“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” I asked.
His mouth opened, but the door next to Kylan’s opened before he could speak. It was Audrey’s room. We’d both assumed that she was out at various public events with her mother. Instead, Kylan skidded to a stop when he saw us. The broad smile dropping from his face as he opened the door all the way for Audrey to see that we were outside.
Her smile didn’t fade whatsoever when she saw us. Instead, she beamed and jumped off the bed, running to wrap her arms around me. I couldn’t be mad at her; there was just no reason. She wasn’t hiding her afternoon with Kylan from us. My jealousy was quickly squelched by her loving embrace, but I knew Dakota wouldn’t be as easily placated. Before I could react, my brother spun around and stormed down the hall.
Audrey chased after him, but he kept walking. I was torn between following them and hitting Kylan. By the time the pair reached the staircase, Dakota was talking to Audrey, and she seemed to be calming him down some. It freed me up to focus all of my attention on Kylan. He was long overdue for an ass-kicking. I moved on him, but he backed away, his hands flying up in surrender.
“Hey, what the hell man, what’s your problem?” Kylan asked.
“You,” I hissed. “You are my problem, and I’m done pretending like I don’t want to beat you to a pulp. You always seem to find Audrey when she’s alone, don’t you?”
“Have you lost your mind? I’ve told you about our relationship before; no one is hiding anything from either of you.”
“Bullshit. You enjoy keeping your lies and secrets, don’t you? You are just as sick and perverse as the stalker. We talked to your sister, Kylan. She told us all about how she already sent the information to you that you needed.”
“We were going to find you after lunch and tell you both,” Kylan said.
“Oh, really? Does Audrey know that you’ve had it since last night?” I asked.
His eyes shifted down the hall to the pair that was starting back in our direction. The look told me what I needed to know. Audrey was still in the dark. My voice was low as a chuckle emerged, dark and menacing. Kylan had dug his own grave with her. She valued honesty above everything else. He would never recover from keeping this from her.
“You don’t understand,” Kylan whispered. “This isn’t the sort of thing you talk about late at night after you’ve had a few drinks. This is going to change everything.”
“Whatever you say,” I grinned. “This is going to be good.”
30
Audrey
The news that Dakota brought nearly knocked the wind out of me.
It didn’t take long for me to understand his justifiable anger over the situation. Kylan had deceived us all. I felt used knowing that he’d watched my show despite having the stalker's information. Yet, I wasn’t as ready as the others to throw him into the burning pits of hell. After several minutes of persuading Dakota, he too understood the deception was out of character for Kylan.
“What the hell is going on, Kylan?” I asked. “You knew who the stalker was last night?”
He nodded. “I was almost positive last night, but I got the confirmation this morning.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” I asked.
Kylan eyed the brothers. “I planned on it last night when we met in the lobby for drinks, but the more we had, the more I realized that it wasn’t the right time.”
“Oh bullshit,” Declan snapped. “You didn’t want to miss out on the show Audrey was giving. Not that we can blame you, but still, that was a shit thing to do.”
Kylan shook his head. “Jesus, how I wish you were right. Part of it was probably that. I won't pretend like I didn’t love every second of it. But I didn’t want to believe it myself who was behind everything. I had to know for sure.”
“Well, now you do,” Dakota added. “So tell us who this is so we can go kick his face in.”
Kylan hesitated.
“What aren’t you telling us?” I asked.
“When we first started this case, we exempted certain people from the information search,” Kylan started. “We went through and eliminated those people that didn’t have a motive or had too high a security clearance for us to do much digging. For instance, the president is watched in everything he does. There was no way for him to be a part of this. He’d stroke out at the thought of seeing his sons in an open relationship.”
“Well, anyone could have told you that. I don’t understand what you’re getting at, and my patience is wearing thin,” Dakota said.
“I don’t really care if you�
�re patience is wearing thin or not,” I snapped at him. “Kylan is trying to tell us everything that he’s done. So shut up and let him talk.”
All three men looked at me in shock. I was getting tired of the petty bickering between them. It was doing nothing but wasting time. In the fifteen minutes since they’d arrived, I’d already had to talk Dakota off the edge and now deal with the smart ass comments every ten seconds. They needed to accept that we were stronger together and weaker the second we started the infighting.
“Listen, all of you need to take a chill pill. Kylan, keep going,” I said.
He grinned. “Like I was saying. We eliminated your father, mother, and of course, Hazel. After that, we went down the list. David was obviously a suspect, and we were able to confirm that he is working with someone, but he’s far from the mastermind.”
“Well, that’s something,” Declan muttered. “I mean, we were pretty sure he was a part of this already, but it feels good to have a paper trail, you know? Like confirmation that we weren’t just losing our minds.”
“You make a good point,” Dakota agreed begrudgingly. “It complicates things, though. How are we going to get him for this without alerting our parents? Dad will be livid, but at least he’ll see it for what it is.”
“I’d put money on mom and dad sending him back to the retreat,” Declan added.
“The retreat?” I asked.
Dakota nodded. “That’s what they call it, but really it’s just a mental hospital for the stupidly rich. He’s been there a few times over the years for different things, but this one will get him locked away for good. Jesus, whoever he was working with is going to pay.”
“No, kidding,” Declan agreed. “David will be safe and protected, but dad is going to destroy whoever it is. Let’s face it, we all know eventually we are going to go to him with all of this. He’ll use every political favor he’s got to make sure this prick is locked away for life.”
Wicked Dynasty: The Untouchables | Book Two Page 18