Unconditional (Masters and Mercenaries #5.5)(36)

Her fingers tangled in his, squeezing lightly.

“Come here.” She needed comfort, and it was his job to give it to her. They were in the club. It was still safe. The fact that they were talking about the outside world made him nervous, but he would do it for her. This whole night was still salvageable. If he gave her the attention she needed, perhaps she could forget the rest. They could go on for a while. He would take whatever time she would give him. He pulled on her hand, tugging her into his lap.

He sighed when her arms went around his neck.

Ryan put a hand on his back, an obvious show of support. “That’s not all the bad news, man. Just wait for it.”

She hugged him again and then slipped back into her chair, her hand still in his.

There was more? Something Karina said finally penetrated his brain. “The private investigator is working for the family? Why are they following my…Ashley? They didn’t bother to even tell Ashley her ex was dead so I’m not sure why they would be following her now. How did he die?”

Did they think she had something to do with his death?

“It was a car accident. He wasn’t wearing his seat belt,” Ashley said in a monotone. “You have to understand. The Reids were the wealthiest people in town. They were very concerned with their image as a family, with their bloodline. Trevor was an only child.”

“Sounds very British,” Taggart said.

“Don’t look at me,” Knight shot back. “I’m an orphan. Blood doesn’t mean a thing to me. Talk to Weston. He’s the one in line for the crown. So the Reids consider themselves above everyone else? Is that why he didn’t marry you when you discovered you were pregnant?”

Ashley nodded. “Yes. They were upset when they found out he was seeing me. He actually hid it for a long time. They wanted him to marry someone else. I came from the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak. But he was funny and charming. He had a way of making me agree with him even when I didn’t want to.”

Yes, the little f*cker had used Ashley’s natural desire to please the people around her to manipulate her. He’d kept her a secret and talked his way into her bed without giving her anything real back.

Was Trevor Reid any different from him?

“He actually stayed with me after his folks discovered we were together,” Ashley continued. “His dad was furious. He kicked Trevor out. He cut him off from his trust fund. Trevor moved in with me and we seemed to be happy for a while. He asked me to marry him. I said yes. We thought his parents would come around when they realized we were serious. And then I found out I was pregnant. I told him and he shook his head and walked out. He sent me a text saying he wasn’t ready to be a dad.”

“Son of a bitch,” Karina said under her breath.

The little f*cker should be glad he was dead. He knew it wasn’t right to think that way, but he would like to get his hands around the kid’s throat. “Let me guess. He went back to his parents.”

Jill nodded. “Yes. That was right around the time that Ryan and I broke up. I went home and helped my sister. She tried to reconcile with Trevor, but he wouldn’t see her. He cut her out completely.”

“I ran the * down though,” Ashley said with a little smile. “I found him at a bar with his new girlfriend. I was five months pregnant. Yeah, that was a scene that no one will forget.”

Jill closed her eyes. “The cops got called in. When baby sis blows her top, it really goes south. After that night, his father slapped her with a restraining order. They didn’t want to have anything to do with Emily. They made that plain. When she first got pregnant, they offered to pay for her abortion and nothing more.”

He kind of wanted to kill the parents, too.

He thought of his parents, who had been there when John Michael was born, who tried so hard to be there after he died. Did they still mourn him? Did they sit together at night and wish they’d told their only son the truth?

“None of this explains to me why this * is following my…Ashley.” He had to stop. He kept wanting to call her his sub, but he wouldn’t do that around the PI. He had to take his cues from the others. He’d been asked to change clothes. The rest of them had changed as well, and Karina wasn’t showing any signs of submission to the Doms in the room. Taggart was treating her like a partner, and that meant they were all in business mode.

The door opened and Adam Miles strode in, a grim look on his face. He set a folder in front of Taggart, who started flipping through it. From what he’d learned about McKay-Taggart Security, Miles was the computer expert. They called him the head of communications, but Keith knew what that meant. Adam Miles was a hacker and one of the best.

He didn’t look happy with what he’d found.

Taggart nodded his way.

Miles stepped forward. “Were you aware that your employer recently hired an attorney who specializes in custody cases?”

Ashley started to tremble.

Oh, f*ck. They were coming after the baby. They’d lost their only child so now they were going to try to take Ashley’s. “Like f*ck they are. Who’s the attorney? I can buy the * off.”

He had money. He had billions at his fingertips. He could give her that.

The PI shook his head. “Yeah, the attorney is the one who actually hired me. Look, I’m just doing my job.”