Vengeance in Bloom (The Love Unauthorized Series Book 2) Read online

“Paisley . . .”

  But of course she doesn’t listen.

  “You already have guns pointed at us in every direction, so let’s cut the shit. What’s going on, and who are these people?” She waves her hand toward the strangers on the couch.

  “Oh, I’m glad you asked. Paisley, meet your family.”

  Did I hear him right? I thought we’d already established Paisley’s family died in the fire.

  “Wh-wh-what’re you talking about?” Paisley’s voice shakes as she assesses the family on the couch.

  The man turns to look at Paisley. I study him. Jacoby is telling the truth. One look at the man, and I can tell he’s related to my girl. The man stands, and I know he sees it, too.

  “Meet Andrew Sullivan. The man your mother fell in love with, your biological father. This is his family. Rebecca, the woman he married after your mother cut off contact with him, and their two kids—your brothers, Ethan and Justin.”

  Andrew takes a step toward Paisley, and every man holding a gun around us also steps forward. He freezes and holds up his hands.

  “Sorry, Andrew. Now isn’t the time for a joyful reunion. It’s time for Paisley’s punishment.” His attention leaves Andrew and focuses on Paisley. “I’d hoped you weren’t being deceitful when you asked me to meet you, but you were. So, this next part of the game is all thanks to you.” Without looking back to Andrew he directs him again. “Now sit, Andrew.”

  We all watch as Andrew takes a step backward and sits without taking his eyes off Paisley.

  “Here’s how this is going to work. The rest of the team should be set up at the safe house, so they’ll be able to act out any orders needing to be taken care of. Paisley, I’ll ask you a question. If you get the question right, then everyone is safe. If you get it wrong, then you have to decide who gets your punishment. Teagan or Andrew.”

  Paisley wails from under my arm, and her body shakes.

  “If she gets the question wrong, I’ll take the punishment.”

  “That’s admirable of you, Burke, but this isn’t your fucking game. Those are the rules. If she’s wrong, then her new best friend or her father gets punished. That’s how this is going to work.”

  Paisley pulls from me and wipes her eyes. Andrew’s wife sobs. He rests a hand on her knee in an attempt to calm her. There’s no consoling anyone in this situation.

  “Question one. Paisley, what was the name of the man you killed at the farmhouse?”

  Kai explodes. “This is fucking bullshit. You’re asking her questions you know she doesn’t fucking know the answer to.”

  Jacoby doesn’t respond to Kai’s outburst and simply stares at her, waiting for an answer. I lock my fingers with hers and can feel her hand sweat in mine.

  She stammers with her words for a bit, and then nothing comes out.

  I whisper in her ear, “It’s okay, Paisley. Take a guess.” I attempt to keep her calm.

  “John?” Her answer is a question.

  We all wait to hear the inevitable.

  “Make a choice, Paisley. Teagan or Andrew? Who gets your punishment?”

  All eyes are on Paisley.

  “Paisley, you can’t pick Teagan. You know everything she’s been through. I don’t think she can handle much more,” Kai pleads his case in an effort to convince her to choose Andrew.

  My thoughts are the exact same as Kai’s, but I can’t voice them. This is hard enough for her.

  “Paisley, sweetheart, look at me,” Andrew speaks from the couch. “It’s okay. Pick me. I’d rather they hurt me than your friend.”

  Andrew’s wife cries even harder.

  “You’re not doing this. I know that. Pick me. Every question you get wrong, pick me. I can handle it.”

  My insides unclench.

  “I need to hear your decision, Paisley. I need to hear the words.”

  “Andrew. I pick Andrew.”

  “Great! Fantastic! You”—Jacoby directs the man to his left—“beat the shit out of the guy until I tell you to stop.”

  The man marches forward and follows orders. He pulls Andrew from the couch and onto the floor. He throws punch after punch to his face. He only stops to stand and deliver a swift kick to his stomach. The beating lasts for minutes.

  Paisley hides her face and cries. Andrew’s family is hysterical. All eyes are on the show, but I can’t watch. I look anywhere but at the scene taking place on the floor. It’s the only reason no one else notices our new arrival. I’m not sure if I should trust his request for me to be quiet, but I do it anyway. I watch him from the corner of my eye, counting down in my own head as he holds up three fingers.

  Three.

  Two.

  One.

  A hail of gunfire follows.

  Burke

  On the count of three.

  Gunfire blasts across the room. Bullet casings pop. The shells spring to life, taking a diagonal dive to the ground. Two men fall, and blood splatters the once-white walls. The next guy goes down heavy from a single shot to his chest from my gun. I push Paisley down behind the couch, and Kai aims and shoots at the fourth man, who is standing, looking dumbstruck at the man shot in the chest.

  One second, we were surrounded and outnumbered, and by some miracle, the tables have swiftly turned. Jacoby no longer holds the power. His men lie in pools of blood on the cherry wood floors. He curses and pulls at the tape holding him to the chair. That bitch had better be ready for my wrath now that his games are over.

  Teagan rises from behind the kitchen counter that was previously hiding her.

  I look toward Callen for some explanation, and my weapon turns on him. “You’d better start talking. What side are you on, and why the hell would you bring her into this house?”

  “Burke, it’s okay,” Teagan speaks while I advance toward Callen.

  He holds one hand up and slowly moves the other, so he can place his firearm on the counter.

  “Callen is on our side. I’m not hurt. I’m okay. Just listen to him.”

  Kai ignores all of us and strides in Teagan’s direction. I watch, speechless, as my best friend scoops my sister into his arms. Her legs wrap around his waist while his hands fiercely clutch her face. Tears fall down her cheeks as she looks at him.

  Has she always looked at him like that?

  “Are you okay?” Kai questions my sister while checking her over.

  “Yeah, I’m all right.”

  “How are you even here? Why are you even here? You could’ve been fucking shot.”

  “Because she never fucking listens to anybody, obviously.”

  “Shut up, Burke. What else was I supposed to do? Stay behind like a sitting duck? I was safer sticking with Callen, so he could protect me.”

  I clear my throat, and Teagan jumps from his arms. I can’t deal with that . . . them today.

  “We should get out of here to avoid any more surprises.” Callen’s directive breaks me from staring at the two of them.

  “I’m somehow supposed to believe you’re the only one who isn’t dirty because you say you aren’t? If so, how could you not know they were all double-crossing us? How do we know this isn’t another bullshit fucking game?”

  “Well, I snuck into a building, risked my life, and helped kill the men with their weapons aimed at you.” His weapon still sits on the counter, a sign of his trust. “But I’m outsourced. I don’t work for J. Spencer. You needed such a big team that he had to bring on a few freelancers.”

  He doesn’t work for Jacoby. He works for himself. He’s already made that clear to me in the past.

  “I wasn’t on his payroll, so he gave me the solo job of watching Paisley. They could keep me at arm’s length. What are we going to do about them?”

  He nods his chin, and I turn to look over my shoulder.

  Andrew’s family is in a whole different world, frantically trying to help him. He groans in pain as his wife assesses his injuries, and his sons help him up off the floor. Paisley watches them, but she doesn’t move to he
lp. She’s an outsider even though that man is her father.

  I find a pen and paper on the counter and scribble down an address before handing it over to Paisley. “Talk to them. Be sincere and honest without making us culpable. We need for them to know they’re safe but also that they can’t report this. This is an address of a doctor who’ll help them with no questions asked. Callen will take them and also make sure they don’t alert authorities. He’ll know not to hurt them.”

  Paisley nods and heads toward the man responsible for her life. The second she’s in front of him, he pulls her down to his side on the couch. His blood smears on her skin and clothes as he hugs her, as he accepts her. They whisper back and forth, and I’m fairly confident he’ll do what’s right for Paisley. After all, he did sacrifice himself for Teagan without even knowing her.

  Satisfied that Paisley is safe, I turn to Jacoby. The brother Kai never knew about. I’m reminded of the ultimate goal. Make him pay, and then end his sorry excuse for a life. Dude definitely has mommy issues. He has found a way to blame every darkness in the world on women. He needs to grow the fuck up and see that the world isn’t so fucking simple.

  Paisley

  “You’re naive if you think this is over. Kai’s reunited with the girl he fucks in shameful secret. Paisley’s having a warm and fuzzy Hallmark moment with her father. Callen has saved the day while Burke has done nothing but maintain his sour face. I have one more advantage you all haven’t worked out.”

  I’m done with surprises. I’m done with Jacoby. I’m so done. I can’t take any more.

  “Do you really think I didn’t record our conversations? You confessed to at least a dozen felonies. I’ve got a complete file of evidence to link Jordan Harris’s death back to Paisley. My team is at the office, guarding all the proof I need to lock you all away for life. I die, and all this falls into action.”

  There’s the last thread Jacoby holds. Blackmail and damning evidence.

  “Fuck you and your pathetic threats. We’ll take care of the rest of your team. You’re not getting out of this alive, no matter what you have on us. Let the cops come at us. I’ll take the blame for each and every crime. I’ll rot in a prison cell happily as long as you’ve been taken care of!” Burke shouts hate-fueled words at the man trying to take us all down.

  Does he think we’ll let him walk away because he’s documented the many laws broken by the people in this room?

  It’s Callen who puts the debate to rest. “Oh, you mean these files, dick?” Callen upturns a backpack he was wearing. Papers and files scatter through the air and flutter to the floor by Jacoby’s feet. “The rest of the shit you have on them is in my truck. You don’t have shit. I’ve said it before; I don’t like dirty deals or shady business. The three idiots you had guarding your office rolled so quick, it was sad.”

  Jacoby sputters without saying words. He wasn’t expecting his last resort to be useless.

  “We have to fucking go. The men who are waiting for me at the safe house must know things didn’t go as planned. I’m sure they are on their way. Let’s move unless we want to be ambushed again.”

  Callen’s words have everyone scrambling into action, and it’s a lot of chaos. Who’s going with who? How do we get Jacoby out of the house without drawing attention to ourselves? Where do we go?

  Burke takes charge, and orders are barked out. Kai pulls his car into the garage, so we can move Jacoby without being seen. He and Burke will head to the warehouse, and Callen is taking Teagan and me in his truck to tag along while he drops Andrew and his family off at the doctor Burke knows. I’m positive that order was given to keep us away from any more bloodshed. Whatever they’ll do to Jacoby won’t be pretty. The plans are set, and everyone gets moving, except for Teagan, who stands before Jacoby with a blank stare on her face.

  Burke approaches her from behind, and she jumps.

  “I’m coming with you. I have to see it. I won’t be okay until I know he’s really gone. You can’t hide this from me. I need to be there, Burke,” Teagan pleads.

  But her brother is torn. The indecision is written all over his face. “Teagan, I don’t think—”

  “Don’t fight me on this. I need to see him die if I’m ever going to move on.”

  “Someone, make a decision. We have to go. Even if Teagan goes with me, she’ll end up back at the warehouse. It’s safer if we’re all in one place until we finish off anyone else coming after us. Once I head back, I doubt you’ll be able to keep her away anyway.”

  Burke ignores Callen’s two cents but relents to Teagan with a nod of his head.

  And we’re off.

  I ride with Callen to drop off Andrew and his family. Andrew is badly hurt, and it’s my fault. I wanted to know where I came from, but I never considered that I would actually have family still alive, let alone if I’d want to meet them. The choice was taken away from me. If meeting him were something I’d decided I wanted, I never would’ve wanted our reunion to be like this.

  “I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”

  “The blame rests on no one but that man your boyfriend just hauled off. Don’t give it another thought, Paisley.”

  I don’t know what I want from Andrew. I don’t know if I even want him in my life. I don’t know who he is or anything about him. But guilt eats at me. His skin is covered in blood. With the swelling and bruising on his face, he’s unrecognizable as the man who was pushed into that house earlier. He was kind and gentle every time he spoke to me once our relationship was revealed, but perception can’t always be trusted, as recent history has taught me.

  Did he know about me? Did he know Elizabeth was pregnant with his baby? Did he know she helped hide me from the world? If I decide I want a relationship with Andrew, how would it even be possible? I’m the reason he’s in this mess. He’s hurt because of me. His family must despise me, the bastard child who came back to haunt them. He’ll never forgive me, and he probably shouldn’t.

  “Did you love my mother?” I hide my eyes from Andrew’s wife. It seems like an inappropriate question to ask in front of her, but I really want the answer.

  “I did, very much. I never understood why she left me. It took me years to move on after her, especially after her death. I was a broken man for a long time . . . until I met Rebecca. She saved me from drowning.”

  I’m happy to hear my mother had some peace with him.

  “You love Burke very much. I can see it in the way you look at him, even in a situation like the one we just came from.”

  “I do. I never knew I could love someone the way I do him.”

  “That’s good. I’m happy you’ve found that.” Andrew reaches over and squeezes my hand.

  I try to shut off my brain, but there has been too much stimulation.

  Callen pulls up in front of a home with a winding driveway, and I’ve nearly sent myself into a panic attack on the drive here. These are worries for another day. I climb out of the back of the truck to say good-bye. Am I supposed to get out? Do they want as much space between me as quickly as they can? There are no etiquette rules for a situation like this.

  Paisley, shut off your fucking inner monologue, and just say good-bye.

  Andrew’s wife squeezes my shoulder in what feels like motherly comfort. She gives me a sad smile before she takes her boys to stand off to the side.

  Andrew sits halfway out of the car, looking exhausted. When he opens his mouth to talk, his split lip reopens, but it doesn’t stop his words. “Paisley, I never knew about you. Elizabeth never told me. We were making plans for her to leave her husband one day, and she disappeared the next. A week or so after I hadn’t heard from her, I took a risk and went to the house she shared with Charles.” His eyes close as he relives the memory. “Elizabeth broke things off with me. She told me she couldn’t leave her husband. She said she was tired of the double life.” His eyes reopen as he speaks. “I walked away heartbroken. She never told me she was pregnant. I didn’t know. I’d have come for you, I swe
ar.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “It’s not okay, but thank you for saying that. Will you give me your number? Can I call you once I’m feeling better? I’d like to get to know you, and we can take things as slow as you like.”

  I nod and give him my number before helping him the rest of the way out of the car. His boys come to lend their shoulders, and the family soon disappears inside the house. I get back in Callen’s truck, and we take off to the warehouse.

  Jacoby has done horrible things. Abhorrent things I’m sure he’s being penalized for at this very moment. It wasn’t his intention, but I think he gave me my father. I won’t credit him. He doesn’t deserve an ounce of my gratitude. If Jacoby was ever a pleasant child who played jacks with me, he isn’t that child anymore.

  The black-and-white tiles in the kitchen are my solace. I sit cross-legged in a chair, staring at the floor. I don’t know what they’re doing to Jacoby, and I don’t think I want to. Screams fill the space of this now-haunted warehouse. Every foul word known under the sun has been bellowed into the universe. Bangs and crashes vibrate my eardrums.

  Then, all goes quiet.

  The screaming is no longer.

  The angry words cease.

  Funny enough, it’s harder to sit alone in here with the silence than it was during the complete anarchy. I pick at my nails until they’re sore.

  Tomorrow, do we go back to normal life?

  What’s normal anyway? I’ve certainly never had normal with Burke yet. I don’t know that we ever will. They say normalcy is overrated. I’d happily settle for normal adjacent. No more murder plots or family secrets from the past coming back to haunt us.

  Right, normal adjacent.

  Burke walks in, covered in blood, and kneels in front of me. I don’t shy away from him. Instead, I reach up and wipe away the smear of blood from his cheek.

  “Is Teagan okay?”

  “Yeah. No. I don’t know. She lost it a little while things were going down. She’s out there with Kai. This is the last time they’ll be alone together for the rest of my life.”

  I scoff. There is no way that is going to happen. “Give them a break. They love each other, and deep down, you know that. Are you going to hate your best friend forever because he loves your sister? That’s stupid. Where’s Callen?”