Duplicity (Victory Lap Book 2)

by Mercedes Jade

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Secrets between friends are for childhood. You put yourself and this young lady at risk without seeking help sooner.”

  “I disagree. As you mentioned, the time this occurred over was short and it didn’t allow me to get to know Tess well enough to fully assess the risks. I am here now because I realized I need your resources. I do have a plan for how to deal with this problem. I’m an adult, not a child any longer. This is not a secret between friends. It was a frame job by a criminal organization and my friends rightfully requested their privacy earlier because the law is not yet on our side. We might be in over our heads, sir, but it isn’t because we are children.”

  His Da picked up the paperweight again, examining the polished stones for flaws.

  “My apologies, War. I have faith in you. Although you are my youngest, you are also the sturdiest. It’s why I trust your Mum’s well-being with you there when I cannot be as well. If you want to weather this tempest for Tess, I won’t force you to steer your course elsewhere. Tell me what provisions you need and the plan.”

  Something had changed between them in that moment.

  His Da had treated him like any of his older sons, a man and not the child. War had told his father what they had uncovered so far with Bastion’s investigators and Kade’s trips into the underbelly of the drug trade as a washed-up teenage loser looking for thrills, be it drugs, fighting, or gambling.

  His Da made some valid points about the validity of evidence gained with their methods. The only sure way to get the gang leaders arrested would be to have them caught red-handed, and preferably, publicly. No wiggle room. No bargains. They needed to hang themselves with their own rope, a tried and true method to dealing with overconfident criminals.

  Tess would have been pleased to hear his Da say it.

  She certainly had made an impression at dinner.

  It had taken War by surprise when she stood up for him in front of his father. He didn’t even know how she figured out that his father wanted to push him into business instead of the sciences he loved. It was an older argument and one his mother had fought on his behalf when he was younger.

  He didn’t remember mentioning it to Tess. She still had taken his side.

  Da hadn’t seemed as surprised.

  He’d listened and nodded like Tess had been preaching to the converted already.

  When War talked to Da tomorrow morning, he felt like he really had a chance of being heard. His wishes weren’t the dreams of a child.

  Part of his father seeing that had been Tess. She was the one that made War push with Da to be seen as an adult, trusted to take care of what was a serious situation. At dinner, her speech had solidified Da’s new perspective.

  It probably had revealed more of her feelings for War than she realized. He couldn’t wait to torment her sweetly for it, although the twins had her sandwiched between them for now. He would have to wait until later.

  They were all lying under the stars for the beach bonfire he’d promised.

  It was cooler than expected on the island, so War and Bastion had lit a bonfire on the beach. The cook had made homemade marshmallows for them to surprise Tess with roasting if she had room in her stomach after one and a half servings of chocolate soufflé.

  She had eaten the second half of Bastion’s soufflé, batting her eyelashes at him in a silly ploy that he was only too happy to fall for to keep in her good graces.

  He may as well ask if she wanted any of the marshmallows before the twins started making their moves on her. Their girl would need her stamina for what they had planned.

  “Tess, do you want to roast some marshmallows and talk? I wanted to discuss a bit of our plan for once we return home tomorrow.”

  Tess groaned. It was muffled by whatever twin she had been kissing.

  Okay, so he’d been a smidgen jealous and interrupted on purpose.

  “I’m stuffed,” Tess responded once given her mouth back. “Marshmallows are light and I really love roasted ones. Maybe just one or two?” she asked, trying to wiggle loose from between the twins.

  Kade made an oomph noise as he got an elbow somewhere tender.

  “I’ll roast one for you. How do you like them?” Keir asked, springing up beside Tess and giving her a hand up.

  He didn’t offer his other hand to his brother.

  “I like them either very brown and gooey or with a black crust and still a little firm in the middle.”

  “One of both, then? I’ll take the perfectly slow-roasted brown. Keir is more a fast burn kind of guy than me,” Kade teased, finally standing up beside them.

  “I’ll grab the marshmallows,” War said.

  Kade offered to get the sticks.

  “Let me rake the fire. The coals are best for cooking,” Bastion said.

  Marshmallows could be cooked over almost any fire. Heck, even the microwave could do in a pinch. War didn’t say anything to stop Bastion, however, glad that they were all getting involved.

  It made this feel more like a group-date.

  Keir walked closer to the fire with Tess. He took advantage with everyone else being busy to bend down and steal another kiss.

  The rest of them noticed, but let Keir have his moment. It wasn’t often he was without his twin since the accident that had thrown Kade into such a downward spiral. A few selfish moments were deserved.

  Their girl was still kissing Keir when War returned with the marshmallows. They were seated on the ground, Tess on Keir’s lap, leaning back against an arm he had wrapped around her as he aggressively ate at her mouth.

  She whimpered as he nibbled her lips and pinched a nipple with his free hand. He growled and deepened the kiss, shifting as if he was going to switch their positions and lay her down on the sand to be ravished. She held onto his shoulders tight, like she could hold off the tiger with her bare hands.

  The marshmallows had clearly been forgotten.

  War cleared his throat. He looked over to Kade, who was giving the pair some space, twirling the roasting sticks he’d fetched in front of him while watching them from the corners of his vision.

  “Kitten, are you planning on tasting the red candy-twin more or should we start roasting marshmallows?” Bastion asked, interrupting with less patience.

  Keir pulled up for air. “Bastard, why don’t you keep her warmed up while my brother and I prepare the marshmallows to order?”

  He didn’t sound put out that his seduction was paused for the moment. In fact, Keir looked over at Bastion as if expecting him to come take Tess off his hands.

  For her part, Tess seemed fine with being passed between them like their favourite treat. She gave Bastion a grin and wrapped her arms around herself, faking a shiver. It was chilly but not that cold out here.

  “Why red?” Tess asked as Bastion picked her up from Keir.

  “Red comes last,” Keir answered.

  “Isn’t that because the red is saved for last?” Tess asked, immediately getting the connection to the candy twins misnomer.

  The ‘candy twins’ was originally coined to be a bit cruel. The girls the twins drove wild by reputation alone, and then the term had been perverted by jealous guys in their school.

  Kade was blue not because of his hair, but in reference to his blue balls. He wasn’t getting any since he lost his status as the favoured son and a school prince after the accident.

  Keir tried to turn it around by making it a Smurf joke. He’d even found an online meme about the Smurfs portrayed as a bunch of over-muscled, half-dressed dominants led by Papa Smurf himself. Keir printed it out and taped it to the inside of his brother’s locker.

  Always a joke, even when it was serious. Keir smoothed images of his brother’s sharp moods, making it easier for all of them. Perhaps they ought to be doing the same as thanks.

  “Red ones are the best, right?” War asked Tess. “Go ahead and admit it. We’ll try to hold in our jealousy.”

  “Yeah,” Tess agreed, catching on agai
n quickly. “But I still want to eat the whole box. Is that okay?”

  Bastion nibbled her neck as he cradled her in his arms.

  “Only seems fair since the rest of us plan on eating you all up, Kitten.”

  Bastion resettled Tess on his lap, sitting down across from the fire’s other side. Kade and Keir each got one of the giant marshmallows, the cook had made, on a stick to start roasting.

  “We have to talk,” War said, eyeing up Bastion as he continued nibbling on Tess’s neck.

  She was going to have a few hickeys, although Bastion kept them low enough to hide under a collared shirt.

  “Yes, I heard you the first time,” Bastion said, annoyance evident.

  If anyone was going to have blue balls in their group, Bastion was in the lead. He’d had Tess all to himself in his room earlier and wasted that time spanking her instead of getting his dick inside her sweet pussy.

  War could testify that it had been near heaven to have that angel on top of him, squeezing his cock with her tight, wet sheath. Bastion had a right to be grumpy about missing that chance.

  “Did you get what we needed?” Kade asked, slowly turning his marshmallow stick.

  “Is your father still going to let us be friends or are we the bad kids you’re not allowed to play with now?” Keir added.

  “He wasn't happy that I kept secret everything that happened, but I explained to him that I felt it was your choice more than mine as the rest you have more to lose if things go south with Jensen,” War answered. “He doesn't have to agree with my decisions in order to respect them.”

  Bastion whistled softly. “You took a stance with your old man?”

  “Yeah, I did,” War admitted. “He’s always been generous with me, lets me take chances, but there's a safety net. I told him I can’t always have a net underneath me if he wants me to fly further than our backyard.”

  “You want him to be the wind beneath your wings instead?” Tess teased, giving War’s admission a light-hearted note.

  Of course, he might have started it by using the net and flying imagery that Tess’s magpie mind picked up on quickly.

  “In a way, I want him to trust that I'm strong enough to keep myself in the air and to know which currents to ride. I have my own fortune, admittedly seeded by my father, but I've made my own investments since I was twelve and I sit as CEO on a few international companies. I could fund the men we need to help us myself. It’s my father's trust and resources in his less legal connections that I asked for today.”

  Kade inhaled sharply. “You did what?”

  “We really are the bad kids,” Keir said, groaning as his marshmallow caught on fire.

  He quickly blew it out and Tess giggled at the forlorn face he made.

  “I wanted it burned, Bad Boy. Come over here and feed me that black, sweet heart.”

  “I don’t know how you eat them ruined like this,” Keir said, walking over and squatting beside her and Bastion.

  “Keir likes his marshmallows cold, out of the bag,” Kade said. “I’m almost done, too. Eat fast.”

  There was silence for a moment while Tess devoured her burned marshmallow and everyone else waited for War to keep on talking.

  He cleared his throat and decided it was better to launch into the plan instead of going on about the life-changing conversation he had with his father.

  “So Da agreed I’m old enough to deal with this problem we share without his involvement other than resources. We’re going to have enough guards each that they can rotate shifts between all of us, except my Mum. Da insisted he take care of Mum’s security personally. He also is going to tell her what’s going on. I expect she’ll have something to say to all of us, too.”

  Bastion sighed. “Ruby is gonna call us in like unruly boys for a lecture. Your dad isn’t treating you as old as you think.”

  “Be thankful,” Tess said, licking her lips of the last of the sticky, burnt marshmallow. “Ruby cares, and obviously, so does Grayson. Isn’t it nice to have two such caring parents? We shouldn’t belittle War for having such a wonderful family.”

  “No family is perfect, but I feel better having come here today and talked to Da about this in a mature fashion. I also appreciated what you said at dinner about what I want to do in the future. I’m going to have a serious talk to Da about it in the morning and I won’t let him brush off my wants this time.”

  “My turn for having Tess lick marshmallow off my fingers,” Kade said, giving his brother a foot to the butt. “She was awfully nice to War today. I want my sugar rush, too.”

  “I’m holding her because War’s trying to talk about our plan. You two have other things on your minds,” Bastion said, a bit testily.

  “Compartmentalization,” Kade said. “We’re listening.”

  Tess pushed Kade’s marshmallow stick aside and gave him a kiss, reaching up with one hand to grasp a shoulder for balance. She stayed in Bastion’s lap, his arms wrapped possessively around her.

  Bastion might say he was trying to get them all to focus on the talk, but War knew better. He felt like being selfish about Tess’s attention too, and that was understandable. Bastion had never been this serious about a girl and they all knew it.

  “Tess-girl, I don’t want you heavily involved in the plan to get Jensen in jail. It might drag down your father too, and it wouldn’t be right to ask that of you,” War said, dampening the mood.

  He had to get it out before he gave his father the final okay. If Tess really disagreed with the plan, he would rework it.

  Tess must have sensed War’s tension even with the twins and Bastion all fighting over her in distraction.

  “Wait, let’s listen,” she said as she pulled away from Kade’s lips.

  Everyone sat on the sand. Bastion kept Tess between his legs, her back facing him. The twins sat on either side of them. Tess was given Kade’s marshmallow stick to eat her last treat while they finally got down to talking.

  They waited for War to take a seat in front of them. The fire crackled as War decided exactly how much he wanted to present to Tess. Part of his plan was to keep her involvement down, as he’d just mentioned.

  It was protective and also part of his father’s suggestions. It wasn’t too late to keep themselves from getting fully entangled in the net they were using to catch Jensen.

  “We will have professionals following the information that the twins have already provided to track down new meeting points for the exchange of illegal goods or activities. Whatever we can use to tip the police to make arrests and collect evidence. It will all be passed on by third parties not connected to us. Bastion’s contacts may be less willing to talk to our hired professionals, so he will be their go-between. Ditto to any contacts Kade made that are shy, but that is not our first choice. Da wants us to keep our hands clean. He also suggested we destroy the coke. It’s contaminated evidence at best that won’t likely be enough to get an arrest for Jensen. We risk too much holding onto it.”

  Kade interrupted. War took a moment for a breather.

  “We appreciate what you did for us, Bastion. I could have ended up with my ass in jail straight from the hospital. Do you think you can handle the destruction?”

  “Yeah, I can get rid of it in the quarry pond. Nobody drinks the water there.”

  “What about the bodyguards?” Tess asked. “Won’t they stand out? Gary can sniff police from miles away and I doubt your hired professionals will be that different from cops.”

  “They’re entirely different,” War said.

  She wouldn’t know and that unknown scared her. He decided to explain more but hopefully without frightening Tess too much.

  “These guys are private militia. They only do corporate work now, like... well corporate espionage,” War admitted. Tess could read between the lines. “Da says they’ll blend into the community. They’ll keep their distance. You’ll have privacy. They’ll rent housing near you, so it’s natural that they are parked close to your house, and it’ll ev
en provide a safe place for you to run to if something goes wrong. You won’t ever have to worry about being alone.”

  “Why so many of them?” Keir asked. “Do you really think Kade and I need bodyguards?”

  Bastion laughed. “Don’t get your panties in a twist. Tess knows Kade’s a boxer and I’ll tell her now that you can lay out anyone your brother can, except you’ll do it dirty and with less regrets.”

  “It’s not a judgement on you,” War said. “This is about them. Jensen killed Haunani. We all know it even if we can’t prove it yet. He branded Kade. This asshole won’t play nice once the heat gets started. He’s the type to shoot the witnesses. Let these guys thwart any attempts to play dirty. It also keeps us at an arm’s length, which Da said is important considering what Kade has been accused of already.”

  “Yeah, it makes sense,” Kade said. “I’d feel safer knowing you had a bodyguard, Keir. I’m always worried that one of them is going to jump you next and I don’t care if that makes me a pussy. I want the bodyguards. And that means Tess better obey her guards and not try to ditch them, either. We’re all in agreement for this to work.”

  Keir had seemed like he was going to protest but that last bit about Tess shut him up.

  Bastion nodded, slower but sure.

  “No fucking around. If you go within twenty feet of Daniels, I’ll make sure your next spanking is public in the parking lot after I drag you out of there. I won’t let Jensen or anyone else think they can get you while you’re under our protection again.”

  “Yes, I’ve got it,” Tess mumbled.

  She dropped her eyes to her lap where Bastion was resting his hands on her upper thighs. He must have made quite the impression in the short time they had been alone in his bedroom earlier.

  “It scared us, Tess-girl,” War told her.

  “Well, it scares me to think of any of you taking the same kind of risks,” Tess said, looking back up. “I won’t go where you avoid too, agreed?”

  The other guys were grumbling about it but War cut them off.

  “Bodyguards for all of us, including our parents, although we won’t mention it to them. Tess’s mom is the hardest one to guard because access to her is already restricted, so I asked Da to help find someone to place as a guard for Mum at the hospital. He’ll talk to the hospital and get it arranged. He also insisted that we tell the hospital not to allow your father or his girlfriend to visit. If you’re willing to let Ruby disclose that you feel he is a threat to the doctors, they shouldn’t have much difficulty complying with the request.”