CHAPTER 16
“Welcome back,” Hector said as Ares entered the conference room and took a seat at the table.
“Glad to see your seat filled again,” Argus said with a smile. As a media mogul and self-help guru, he was beloved to millions of people around the world. Despite that, the guy was humble. He took neither his looks nor his fortune for granted. And he thanked his lucky stars for his fiancée, Diana.
Perseus leaned back in his chair. “Things haven’t been the same without you.” Like Argus—and unlike Hector in his flannel shirt—Perseus wore an impeccable suit. As head of a robotics conglomerate, he video conferenced with Japanese and Chinese colleagues
regularly, and formality and proper attire were akin to respect.
Only Darius wasn’t here, as he and Nathalie were in Hawaii for their honeymoon. Ares hoped they were having a great time in the
sand and sun—they both deserved it.
Looking at his friends, he realized how damn good it was to be home. “I have to admit I actually missed your ugly mugs.”
The Baddricks had been together for twenty-five years, brothers without sharing blood. They fought for one another, stood up for one another. They were the men they’d become because of one another. Ares would do anything for these guys, and they had his back in return.
In the squalid Chicago neighborhood of their youth, they’d been on the cusp of manhood when they’d sworn a pact to get the hell
out. And they had all succeeded. Ares with his investments. Hector with his hands and craftsman’s tools. Perseus had employed his
inventive mind. Argus had tapped into the perfect combination of charisma and empathy. And Darius had turned his innate ability to recognize what people truly desired into an import-export empire.
Ares couldn’t have done it without them. Or without Sally and George. Alone, he would still be in the old neighborhood, breathing
the dirty air, cowering from the ghost of his father.
The Baddricks had saved him.
He felt doubly guilty for having gone dark on them the last month. He hadn’t turned to the people who mattered to him most. He wouldn’t allow himself to make that mistake again. Not even when keeping everything locked away inside seemed to be the far easier route.
In these meetings, they normally jumped right into a discussion of any business ventures with top priority. But Ares life had been
anything but normal lately.
“I’ve got an announcement.” He steeled himself to say the M-word. “My mother’s returned.” He paused to let that sink in before
hitting them with the rest of the shocking news. “Along with a brother and sister I never knew about.”
The jaws of each and every Baddrick dropped.
“This has got to be a joke,” Perseus said. “You’re trying to screw with us, right?”
“I wish I was.”
“Your mom?” Hector asked, his eyebrows rising almost to his hairline.
“The one who ran away?” Argus added with a glower.
“Yeah. Tessa.”
“What about these two siblings you mentioned?” Hector threw off his jacket as though the room and the conversation had suddenly
gotten too hot. Which it most definitely had.
“They’re twenty-five years old. Twins.”
They all stared at him, barely blinking, obviously trying to take in what he was telling them.
“Did you even know she was pregnant when she left?” Perseus looked dumbfounded.
“That was why she ran. She found out she was having two more babies.” Ares hadn’t been able to forget the way she’d said it at his
house: I was so scared. Two more children for him to hurt.
Three pairs of penetrating eyes homed in on him as they digested the shocking news.
“Are you sure they are who they say they are?” Hector sounded as suspicious as Ares had initially felt.
“Tyler looks like me at that age, and Kathy isn’t far off, just with longer hair and a heck of a lot prettier face. And their mother is
definitely her.” It still felt way too raw to call her his mom.
“What the hell do they want?” Perseus asked.
Perseus had been through something similar when Sam’s long-lost brother, Giorgel, had shown up. So far, Giorgel hadn’t appeared
to want anything from either Perseus or the other Baddricks. Although, given that he’d made contracting and home improvement his
trade after getting out of the Army, it had made sense for him to take a job working for Hector’s company, Top-Notch DIY.
“They’ve said they’re not after my money.”
“Do you believe them?” Hector wasn’t generally as cynical as the rest of them, but he obviously didn’t like the sound of three of Ares relatives showing up out of the blue.
Ares didn’t feel ready to jump in wholeheartedly either. “Kelsey thinks I should.”
Their collective gazes settled on him like laser pointers. “Kelsey met them?” Argus asked.
Ares worked the hardest he ever had to school his expression into something normal. A countenance that wouldn’t give away the two
scandalously sexy kisses he and Kelsey had shared. Or the fact that he was fighting what might prove to be a losing battle against
wanting even more from her. So much more.
“She came by the house after returning from Chicago.”
“Probably wanting to check on you,” Hector mused.
Ares hoped he could get by with a nod. Because the truth was a million times more complicated. “She met the three of them. Liked
them.” Steering them away from Kelsey before they caught wind of anything, he quickly boiled the story down to the main points.
Why Tessa left, how she got to Modesto, the TV show they’d seen him on, Tyler and Kathy wanting him to keep an eye on Tessa’s
abusive boyfriend. “She claims she’s not going back to him.”
“You want us to drive over to Modesto and take care of the guy, just in case she’s tempted to go back?” Hector rolled up his sleeves
as if he was ready to go right now.
“We’ll make sure he never comes back.” Argus cracked his knuckles.
“Business can wait,” Perseus said, obviously in agreement with the others.
The Baddricks were always ready to jump in with their fists when it was required to protect one of the others. But this was Ares
problem. His brother and sister had come to him for help. And while he’d been the one who needed defending when he was a kid,
now he was a defender of the weak.
And he realized he wanted to take on the guy. Not just for Tessa and for Kathy and Tyler. But for himself.
It was long past time to face down a few of his own demons—with men who bullied his mother sitting right at the top of the list.
“I’ve got it covered. I’ll be taking a trip over there this afternoon.” The Lowells Group could go one more day without him.
He actually felt his blood heating, his ire rising, his muscles bunching for the fight. He’d never been a warrior like Darius, but he
suddenly itched for a shot at Paul.
It wasn’t a shot at his father—but it was as close as he was going to get, so he’d take it.
Hector looked at him pointedly. “Have you told Mom?”
Ares stomach dropped. He hadn’t called Sally, despite having all of yesterday to think about it. Any way he looked at it, allowing
Tessa back into his life felt disloyal to everything Sally was to him. Yes, he knew that his foster mother would tell him that was
absolute bull, but his insides were all tied up in knots right now.
Knots that were also tangled up with Kelsey. He’d touched her, kissed her, and now he couldn’t get beyond the guilt of how badly he
wanted to strip off the rest of her clothes, drag her beneath him, and take every ounce of pleasure she was willing to give.
What if he called Susan and she somehow figured out his emotions with her X-ray mom vision? What would he possibly say then?
But no matter how twisted up he felt inside, he owed her that call. “I’ll take care of this guy in Modesto, then I’m on it.”
* * *
After lunch, when Ares meeting with the Baddricks ended, he picked up the car he kept at his headquarters, ready to head for Modesto. By the time he was passing over Highway 680 in Pleasanton, he had a ferocious need to hear Kelsey’s voice. It would be wiser to keep his distance—given that every time he got close to her, his need for her only amplified—but the thought of never talking with Kelsey again, never laughing with her, never seeing her beautiful toffee-colored eyes, made his chest and his gut twist up tight.
But she beat him to the call. Just seeing her name on the screen in his car made his heart beat harder. Faster.
“Ares,” she said once he picked up the call. “Thank you so much for the flowers. They’re beautiful, and they smell so good.”
The flowers weren’t nearly enough to thank her for all she’d done on Sunday—for the support and comfort she always gave him—
but he was glad she was enjoying them. His hands relaxed on the wheel, and he suddenly realized he hadn’t been able to loosen up
until the moment he heard her voice. “I’m the one who needs to say thank you to you again.”
“Nonsense. It’s what family does—be there for each other.”
Hearing her talk of being family churned him up all over again. Because kissing her, needing her this badly, definitely wasn’t the
way he should treat his family.
“Juliet Rose are my favorites. How did you know?”
Because I’ve never been able to stop noticing you.
But he couldn’t admit that to her. Couldn’t even fully admit it to himself.
“I’m glad you like them,” was all he let himself say. To further throw her off the scent, he divulged, “I’m driving out to Modesto to
see Tessa’s boyfriend.”
“Are you crazy?”
He sure as hell was crazy. And not just because he was going to battle with some guy who was abusing the birth mother he’d sworn
he didn’t even want anymore.
But also because he couldn’t stop falling harder for Kelsey with each smile, each kind word. Each kiss.
“I thought you wanted me to get involved.”
“I want you to get to know your family better. Not confront some creep.”
“I can handle him.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“Thanks for worrying about me.”
“Ares,” she said softly, her voice filling the car. Filling all of him, whether he wanted her to or not. “Promise me you won’t lose it.”
Couldn’t she see? He’d already lost it. He couldn’t stop wanting her again. Wanting her now. No matter how certain he was that it
would end badly.
“I won’t do anything I can get arrested for,” he promised.
“Good.” But she didn’t hang up. Unlike him, she wasn’t someone who avoided the difficult conversations. “After you do this for
Tessa, we need to talk. About what happened between us in the library.”
“Yes,” he said as visions of her gorgeous eyes, lush mouth, and silky skin landed one after the other, until he was damn near ready to
turn the car around and drive straight to her. “We do need to talk.” If only he could figure out how to discuss it without wanting more
of her.
“Be careful, Ares.”
“I’m always careful.” Except with Kelsey, when he kept throwing caution off the highest skyscraper.
“Call me tonight and let me know how it goes.”
Ares knew that if he called—when he called—he’d have no more excuses to avoid examining what was happening between them.
Which meant he had until tonight to get his baser urges fully under control.
“I’ve got to go,” she said. “I’ve got a patient now.”
He wanted her to stay on the line, wanted to tell her that her voice centered him. That she made him feel like everything would be
okay. And that somehow, in the very same breath, he was terrified by how much he was starting to need her.
Instead, he ended with, “I’ll call you.”
The GPS led him to Paul’s front door. He’d imagined he’d have to worry about the Tesla getting stripped while it was parked, but the
neighborhood was middle class, with kids riding bikes on the tree-lined street and the houses neatly kept. Even the car in the
driveway wasn’t the beater he’d expected.
It took two tries on the doorbell before anyone answered.
The man wasn’t precisely what he’d expected either. He’d envisioned the guy drinking his way through daytime TV while sitting in
a stained, threadbare lounger. But Paul McCartney was dressed in brown slacks and a yellow polo shirt. His face was clean-shaven,
his clothing uncreased and stain-free. He was fairly trim with only a slight beer gut, and at least ten years younger than Tessa.
But despite the clothes and the fresh shave this morning, he smelled like the inside of a brewery. His eyes were bloodshot, and his nose had the fine red lines of someone who drank too much. Or snorted too much cocaine.
“Who the hell are you?” His words ran slightly together. Drinking his way through daytime TV wasn’t a bad guess after all.
“You recognized me easily enough on TV a couple of weeks ago.”
Paul’s bloodshot eyes widened with dawning realization, and Ares identified the meanness Kathy had seen. “Mr. Money Bags,” he
drawled.
“Yeah. So invite me in,” Ares said, like a vampire who needed an invitation before he took your soul. He intended to crush this guy if
he ever went near Tessa again.
“Sure, why not?” Paul backed up and allowed his own personal devil into the living room.
The room had a big leather sofa and a large flat-screen TV, its volume muted on the replay of a hockey game.
“As I understand it, my mother—” Ares used the title only for effect. “—has ended her relationship with you.”
“I apologized,” Paul said with a shake of his head meant to correct Paul. “She forgave me.”
“You apologized.” Ares gave the appearance of mulling it over. “So you believe leaving bruises on a woman is fine as long as you
apologize.”
“It was an accident. Didn’t realize my own strength.” Paul puffed up his chest. “Told her it wouldn’t happen again.”
“You’re right. It won’t happen. Because you aren’t seeing her again.” He stared the guy down. “Ever.”
Paul snorted, then bunched his fists and clenched his teeth with all the bravado he could muster. “That’s up to her to say.”
“She’s already said it. You just don’t listen well.” Ares crowded a step closer. Paul stumbled a step back. They were the same height,
over six feet, but Paul was stooped, and Ares towered over the older man. “Don’t go near her. Don’t try to talk to her. And especially
don’t touch her.”
“I didn’t do anything.” The skin beneath Paul’s eyes sagged from the abuses to his body.
“Right. Her bruises just magically appeared.” Ares took another step, until Paul backed into the coffee table. “I see who you are. A
pathetic loser who takes his frustrations out on women. The only way you can feel like a big man is to rough up someone smaller
than you.”
“You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’ve been through. You’re rich as Bill Gates, and you got no idea about having it tough.”
Spittle appeared at the corner of Paul’s mouth, and his pupils had dilated with fury.
“I know exactly what it’s like. And I know that only weak men hit women and children. Only weak men can’t control their drinking
or their anger. Only weak men have to use their fists on their wives and their kids.” He pointed his finger in Paul’s face. “You yell
and you browbeat and you enjoy everyone’s fear of you. It makes you feel big, like you’re important. But inside you’re just a scared
little wuss who can’t even handle his liquor.”
“I’m not pathetic. I’m just having a hard time right now because I lost my job.” The man’s expression set sullenly. “So, fine, you
want me to leave your ma alone. Then pay me to get out. Isn’t that what rich guys do? They write checks to get rid of their problems.
Write me a check, and I’ll leave her alone.”
The man actually had some balls left. But he used them in all the wrong ways.
“I’m not giving you a dime,” Ares said, his voice terrifyingly soft. “But I am going to keep my eye on you. Someone will always be
watching you, Paul. When you wake. When you sleep. When you go out. When you come home. Who you talk to. Who you piss off.
If you make a move on her, I’ll know.” He paused to make sure the guy didn’t miss a word. “And I’ll grind you into pulp.”
Paul swallowed, his Adam’s apple struggling to get the spit down. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. “You don’t scare me.”
Even though Ares thought the guy might pee his pants in another second.
“Here’s the truth, Paul,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You aren’t worth scaring. But I will protect my family any way I
have to. I don’t give a crap if you drink yourself to death, but you’re not going to take her down with you.”
Paul’s mouth opened, sucking in air. “I just need a little cash, that’s all.”
“Then get a job. Now repeat after me: I will leave Tessa alone.”
Paul’s voice rose to a whine. “I already told you, I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
“All that matters is you did hurt her.” He cupped his ear and leaned closer. “I don’t hear you repeating those five important words
yet.”
The beads of nervous sweat on Paul’s forehead suddenly let loose, cascading down his face until one hung on the end of his nose.
“I’ll leave Tessa alone.”
“Don’t forget, I’ve got my eye on you.” Ares picked up a half-full bottle of beer from the coffee table, two empties beside it. The rest
of the six-pack was on the carpet by the sofa. “Maybe you oughta think about throwing the rest of these out. The beer is rotting your
brain.” Then he shoved it into the asshole’s hand.
Ares left him in the living room, clutching the beer bottle to his chest as if it were an elixir to ward off evil.
* * *
Back in his Tesla, Ares contacted an acquaintance high up in the ranks of the San Diego Police Department. With his help, it didn’t take long to arrange for a Modesto patrol car to drive by Tessa’s house occasionally. If there was any trouble, Ares would get an immediate call.
Once he hit the Bay Area again, the traffic stopped and started, but the Tesla zipped through every small break, easing ahead faster
than the rest of the cars. And somehow, instead of ending up at home, he found himself outside Kelsey’s condo.
Walking beneath an overhang of trees to her first-floor unit, he took in the little brook that babbled over river rocks. Ivy spread its
fingers across the ground, and ferns sprouted. It was pleasant, calm, restful. While his house was a showplace, Kelsey’s home was
comforting. It showcased, yet again, the differences between the two sisters—ostentatious versus homey, gaudy versus warmhearted.
Climbing the wooden stairs to her front porch, he pushed the bell, the tinkling sound of it ringing through the interior. She opened
the door, looking both beautiful and surprised to see him.
He didn’t want to desire her. He didn’t want to need her.
But, God help him, he did.
