Wicked Dirty Games (Dirty Billionaire Series Book 1)

by Gemma Berlanti

  He glared at her. “Why do you find that hard to believe? You can be…forceful, Lila. You’re a fucking spitfire. I fear your bewitching powers at times. And I’ll take you any way I can have you.”

  “I had no idea,” she breathed.

  “You have a gift of making people reveal their darkest, deepest fears. You used it on me just now.”

  She laughed. “You’re rubbing off on me.”

  There was a comfortable silence as he wrapped her into his arms.

  “I’ve got to get some things…done,” she whispered.

  Lila returned to the guest bedroom, and that’s when she saw it. The book on the nightstand. Business Ethics in Today’s Age of Business. Suddenly something crossed her mind, and she found herself running out of the room.

  “Killean?”

  She found him inside his bedroom.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “While you attended Columbia, was there a Russell Wesley—”

  The barbaric expression in his eyes and the clenching of his jaws had her dumbfounded.

  “How do you know about him?”

  “I met him in the library, and he asked if I could show him this book.” She held up the text. “A few nights ago, I saw a blonde woman asking Victoria to see you. She said the hyenas are out. Then I saw Russell outside Knight Tower with a dark-haired woman.”

  One minute she was talking to him and the next he was tugging on a shirt and sprinting out of the apartment as though the devil was after him with fire and brimstone. By the time she made it to the elevator, the doors had already closed.

  ***

  Lila glanced at her watch. It was 10:58 a.m. Where the hell was he? She had many virtues, but patience wasn’t one of them.

  He came at 11:00 p.m. Perhaps because she was with Killean she’d stopped noticing other men, but Russell was handsome in a boyish kind of way, and it seemed his eyes were always glittering with something unbidden.

  “Miss Montgomery, I heard you wanted to get a one-on-one session? I had no idea you worked here too.”

  Lila smiled. “Hello, again, Mr. Wesley. I offer my assistance to my father whenever he needs me. Shall I offer you coffee, tea?”

  “Tea sounds good, please.”

  She called her father’s personal assistant Paige to bring up two cups with tea.

  “I’m assuming you are wondering why I didn’t opt for the American flavor.”

  “No, I prefer tea too.”

  He crossed his leg. “Well, my mother was Irish and my father English, so I’ve mixed heritage. You?”

  “My mother’s side of the family is from Mexico and my dad came here from the Caribbean.”

  “How interesting. I do love when the family is all mixed up like that.”

  Paige came in and deposited the tray on the table. Wesley and she helped themselves.

  “So, this business venture of mine,” he started.

  “I heard you have a firm in Arizona. So why leave for New York? Wall Street is overcrowded.”

  He smiled. “Wall Street is never crowded. Those skyscrapers fool us and so do the tycoons who occupy it. New York is the hub of everything in America. Fashion, food, and business.”

  “And you’re going to manufacture?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “What?”

  “That’s top secret.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “Just kidding. I’ve been carrying this idea around for years. They say technology is good and bad for us, right? Well, I want to make it good, eliminate radioactive waves to the smallest level possible, and make it accessible to the average consumer. Don’t they want to live comfortably too?”

  Lila nodded. “I’m all about equal rights for humanity. Well, I hope you succeed.”

  “I’ve been doing research for years.”

  “Good. My father seems excited about it.”

  “He’s showed a keen interest. And I’ve noticed the mergers and acquisitions going on in New York.”

  “As you said, Manhattan is the hub of everything imaginable.”

  He glanced down at his watch. “Oh, I’ve to go. I’m meeting a friend and investor from Arizona.”

  “Okay, let me walk you out.”

  Lila pressed the call button and waited. She still didn’t know what to make of the man.

  Until the doors opened and Killean stood glaring at them, his eyes like ammunitions.

  “Killean? What are you doing here?”

  “I was in the vicinity on business,” Killean replied, his voice tight.

  His dark hooded gaze was on Wesley, and Lila couldn’t miss the hostility that passed between the two men. Bingo! Russell’s charisma seemed to melt off his face as the seconds ticked by. His new expression seemed like the real him.

  “It’s been good talking to you, Lila,” Russell finally said.

  “Yeah, anytime.”

  As the doors closed, Lila averted her eyes to Killean.

  “I didn’t know you knew my dad.”

  “Your father is a very good businessman, Lila. Why wouldn’t I? I have an appointment with him.”

  “What was that between you two? You know I didn’t forget when you ran out of apartment yesterday, right? You’ve got answers, I know.”

  “Later,” he promised.

  He kissed her forehead and strode off.

  ***

  Lila’s phone rang inside her purse. She pulled it out and saw that the caller ID was unknown.

  “Hello?”

  “You need to come to the hospital now.” The voice wasn’t familiar.

  “Hospital? What happened? Who’s this?”

  “There’s been an accident, Lila.”

  A sick feeling washed over Lila. In that instant, she knew it was Killean.

  “I just spoke with him less than an hour ago.”

  She started the engine of her car and sped out of the parking lot, causing the tires to screech.

  ***

  “Killean Knight, which room is he in?” Lila asked breathlessly. “He got in here some time ago.”

  The nurse at the desk stuttered.

  “Lila, this way,” came a voice.

  Lila glanced up to see a young woman standing a few feet away. Everything about her reminded her of Killean, the stark resemblance and the long dark hair, but it was the green eyes that gave it away.

  “Who—”

  “I’m Anna, his sister. Certainly this isn’t the situation I wanted us to meet.”

  Lila followed her down the corridor to the room where Killean stood buttoning his shirt. He wasn’t alone. There was a blonde woman and a dark-haired man with him. Both of them turned in her direction, and the woman smiled.

  “Killean!”

  He looked up and frowned. “Lila?”

  “You called her here?” he demanded of his sister. “Why don’t you ever listen?”

  “You were hurt. She deserves to know,” Anna snapped.

  “What happened?”

  Lila inspected Killean. There were some scratches on his arms, but he looked okay.

  “The car got out of control,” he murmured. “The brakes were tampered with.”

  He must have seen the look on her face because he reached for her before her knees gave out.

  “It’s fine, love. I realized and jumped out. I only hit my back and elbow.”

  He massaged her scalp with his fingers.

  “Ron, please call a cab for Anna to take her to Fifth Avenue. And I need all the cars in the garage to be checked. It’s possible they could have all been messed with. Then get Michael with a limo over here.”

  Lila glanced over her shoulder. Where had he come from?

  “Yes, sir.”

  He turned and left.

  “Lila, these are my parents, Genevieve and Franco,” Killean introduced them.

  Genevieve smiled as she reached for Lila, who held out a hand.

  “It’s so nice to finally meet your both, Mr. and Mrs. Knight.”

 
; The woman threw her head back and laughed, a trait she’d seen Killean repeat so many times before.

  “Let’s not be formal, love. Call me Gen.”

  Lila gasped as the woman pulled her into her arms, and the man did the same.

  “Come on, honey, let’s give your brother and his girlfriend some privacy.”

  They left the room, and Lila said what had been on her mind.

  “Killean, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  His eyes turned cold. “Yes.”

  “This is the length someone would go to get back at you. Dear God.”

  “Shh, I’m fine. You look hysterical. I’ve never seen your eyes so wide.”

  She pressed her face in his chest, and the tears started coming.

  “It’s okay, love. Shh.”

  He ran his hand down her hair, soothing her. Bringing her face up, he kissed away the tears until he took her mouth for a sweet, gentle kiss.

  “When I heard, I was just so worried. I realized then just how much I really cared for you.”

  Killean’s laugh was shaky. “You never knew that before? Because I certainly did.”

  “What, now?” Lila asked.

  “Come, let me take you home.”

  “You have to do something,” she murmured.

  “I am.”

  She peeked up at him. “What are you doing?”

  “I have some of my guys searching Russell’s loft as we speak.”

  “Killean, you have to tell me—”

  “I know, Lila, I have to tell you. But let me relax first.”

  She wrapped her arms around him. “However long you want.”

  CHAPTER

  SIXTEEN

  HER

  She had to be on constant lookout. She knew the bastard was out there somewhere. Killean was suspicious of her return. He shouldn’t be. Her intentions were good this time. If only she could prove it to him. She couldn’t leave New York until she knew Russell had left too. She didn’t know how to get to Killean, so she had to keep his girlfriend suspicious. That was the only way she knew she could get the information to them. So far she’d worked her magic to get Killean on Russell’s trail, but it wasn’t enough.

  Russell was up to no good where Killean was concerned. He wanted revenge, and it was entirely her fault. Russell had been hell-bent and obsessed with Killean years ago, and now he was in this predicament because of her. How noble was she for sleeping with him, and then causing the friendship and bond between both men to break?

  But it’s not your fault entirely. Both men fucked up their friendship because of Russell’s theft.

  “Ma’am.” She jumped. She glanced up at the waiter offering her the bill for her meal.

  “Thank you.”

  She signed it and gave it back to him. Since she arrived in New York, her nerves always got the best of her. Everything and everyone seemed too shadowed and suspicious. She knew what Wesley was capable of. Killean knew too. She also knew he wanted to protect that woman in his life. Maybe it was time Lila Montgomery knew everything. Keeping secrets from her wouldn’t protect her as Killean thought. Russell had already gone after her, and he noticed how smart she was. He thought she had no clue. He was probably stupider than she’d thought, thinking he was playing her when she was the one who was using him to leak the information she wanted. She stood to leave when a firm hand palmed her arm and thrust her down into the seat. She gasped and pulled her hand free. Glancing up, she found two glaring, icy blue eyes.

  “Sit!” Russell ordered.

  She glanced around the outdoor restaurant, but no one noticed anything. She swore East Village would have been safe.

  “You thought I wouldn’t know you were here?” he asked as he took a seat opposite her. “What are you doing here?”

  “Vacation.”

  He laughed, a bitter, chilling sound. “You notified Killean that I was here, otherwise he wouldn’t have known. I was the last thing on his mind.”

  “We have to keep the people we love safe.”

  Russell snorted. “Love? You think he gives a crap about you, Marisa? You were nothing to him but a good night’s fuck. All those women were just that. I was shocked to see him so savage with this one, Lila. Pretty little thing she is. I wonder how she is in bed. She looks wild. I will find out.”

  “You’re disgusting!” She stood, and he leaned back into his chair.

  “Sit down, Marisa. I see you’ve sharpened your little claws.”

  She kicked the chair back, and that’s when she saw it. The gun tucked down in his waist.

  “Sit down, now.”

  “You can’t shoot me here.”

  “Try me. Maybe you’re forgetting the time when I dangled you over that balcony when I realized you’d screwed Knight. You were afraid of me then, and I want to relive the fear I saw in your eyes that night, you little whore. Now sit your fucking ass down. I haven’t finished with you yet, baby.”

  A salacious smile spread across his face, and Marisa knew this wasn’t good.

  CHAPTER

  SEVENTEEN

  “What’s bothering you?’ Killean asked as they sat down for a late brunch.

  Lila shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

  She continued to stare off into space.

  “Lila?”

  “Killean, don’t push it.”

  That tiny muscle in his jaw ticked. “I will take you to bed and fuck it out of you.”

  Lila gasped and jerked away from him. She searched his eyes to see if he was joking, but that hard cold look in his eyes made her know he meant every word.

  “You said you had something to tell me?”

  He reached across the table and captured her hands in his.

  “Lila, I know how much you hate secrets, so I’m going to have to tell you if I want to keep you safe. And the worst part is he already met you. I’m sure he’ll make the connection soon.”

  “Killean, you’re starting to freak me out. Who are we talking about? Wesley?”

  “I did things in my life that I wished I could go back and change. Money and power change people, Lila. It did change me a lot. I got vindictive, and I didn’t trust a lot of people who wanted to be my friend. Russell and I were business partners some years ago before I established Knight Industries. We had a good business idea, and we both put capital into the business at our own risk. Two years later, I realized that he was stealing from the business, transferring funds to an offshore account.

  “I didn’t take it too well, and I decided that I was out. Russell wasn’t too happy, since I was the brain of our company. I came up with all the ideas and I knew how to execute well. I felt betrayed that I’d trusted him and he screwed me over, so I did the only thing I knew would tear him apart. Guess I was a fucker that way. He was dating this woman for a while, but she had always been hanging on to me at parties and she would give that inviting look. I knew she wanted me, but I didn’t lead her on. After all, this man was my friend. I warned her. But when I found out about what he did, I went to drink, and the next thing I knew I was in her bed, fucking her.”

  Lila swallowed the lump in her throat.

  “Russell was livid when he found out, and he vowed to destroy me someday. I hadn’t taken him seriously then, but I know better now. He’s a vile man, and I know that now.

  Lila didn’t say anything.

  “Should I regret telling you this? Lila, if you want out, you can tell me.”

  He said the words, but he didn’t mean them. He would never let her go without a fight. The truth was laid bare in those irresistible eyes of his.

  “I’m not leaving you, Killean. I’m just thinking about all your secrets and the skeletons hiding in your closet.”

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.

  Lila wasn’t aware she had held him under narrowed-eye scrutiny. Killean had been his partner. But how about the mystery blonde? They were sexually involved for one night years ago. She didn’t believe that hurting Killean al
one was his only plan. Russell was up to something bigger. Killean preferred brunettes, but that didn’t excuse the fact that he might have made an exception. He also loved beautiful women who had exquisite taste.

  Then suddenly it clicked.

  “Is she blonde?” Lila cried.

  Killean frowned. “Who?”

  “The woman, is she blonde?”

  “Yes.”

  “That was her, the one I told you I saw at reception talking with Victoria. She’s the one, right?”

  “Yes, her name is Marisa Cane.”

  “Wait…is this why you came to see my father? Russell is a businessman, and he came to my dad for financial consultation. He told me about his innovative idea to eliminate the amount of radioactive waves from the standard everyday technological devices people use and to make them more accessible to the average person.”

  Killean laughed. It was a cold, rough, raspy sound that was chillingly odd coming from him. Lila had never heard him sound like that.

  “Is stealing someone else’s idea the new innovation in business these days?” Killean asked, his voice bitter while he glared at her. “Stay away from him, Lila. That idea was mine from years ago. I went to your father because I wanted to warn him about Russell, though your father was already doing a background check on him, much to my relief.”

  “I’m glad you did. Um, did you tell Dad we were…?”

  “No, it wasn’t the right time for that announcement.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “What I should have done the moment he came into town.”

  Lila gave him a questioning look, but he gave nothing away, and she knew whatever he planning was nothing good.

  ***

  “Aren’t you coming to bed?” Lila asked sleepily.

  Killean looked up from the file at her, his eyes running down the length of her body.

  “In a moment,” he said.

  Lila loosened the knot of her robe, and he dropped the papers. “Come here.”

  She shuddered at the dark promises in his sexy voice. She didn’t hesitate. She sat astride his lap, straddling his hips. Feeling his erection, she rolled her hips against him, and he grasped her thighs to hold her to him.