The Billionaire Babe

31. AJ

It’s been a week since Val was in my bed, and every night since, I’ve been in hers. The sex is fucking phenomenal and the sleepy conversations we have afterward are bonding. I now know more about her than I do almost anyone else. She has also learned more about me, and the only people who know more are Cody and Brady.

The three of us boys have discussed at length how best to organize ourselves to protect Val. I stay with her every night and have a few boys following her whenever I am not with her. The Van Cleef Security cars still follow us, though, which is something I am not happy about. But they seem harmless, so I am focusing on bigger things. Val.

I am not used to sharing my life. Not just my history and troubles but also my day-to-day hours. But everything has panned out this week. I have been to the gym to do my daily workouts. I work on Fortress with the boys, train Levi and check in on him, but my days start and end with her. It is new, and I like it.

Now as I clean up the gym from our workout today, I look at Levi who has his head straight into his laptop.

“What are you doing?” I bark, wondering what he is up to.

“Trying to hack into the pentagon,” he says like the smart-ass he is.

“Stop being an idiot.” I throw a boxing glove at his head.

“I am, see.” Showing me his screen, I see a whole bunch of numbers and code that mean absolutely nothing to me.

“I’ve got no idea, but if that is what you are really doing, you better stop, because you will get put away for life.” I walk across to him and slam his laptop shut. He is a smart kid, but he needs to channel it for good, not evil.

“You”re no fun.” He bites and puts the computer away in his bag. “How’s Val?” he asks, and I look at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Valerie is none of your business,” I tell him.

“What do you mean? She is my lawyer. I’ve never had a lawyer before, AJ. I’m feeling very loved,” he jokes, placing his hand on his chest like he is in love with her himself. My heart stumbles in my chest a little at the thought of possibly loving Val.

“Stop being a smart-ass.” I throw the other glove and hit him in the face, and he laughs, then his expression grows serious.

“Can I stay with you tonight?” he asks. He has stayed at my apartment a few times over the past year. But I know he sleeps on the sofas of friends a lot whenever things at home get bad.

“Where”s your mom?” I ask. Zipping up my bag and standing, I wait for him to gather his so we can leave.

“She had a bad hit. She’s in the hospital. Dad hasn’t been home for a few days.” Which means he has been on his own, probably with no food in the house, and random people knocking at his door asking for money. My shoulders tighten, the familiar feeling of anxiety and fear swirling inside of me, remembering those days when I was a kid. They were the shittiest days I ever lived.

“Why didn”t you tell me? You can stay. Let me just call Val and tell her that I’ll be at my own place tonight.” I see a smirk on his face as we walk outside to my bike.

“Oh shit, you are sleeping fancy now, hey?” he comments, and I punch him lightly in his arm.

“Watch your…” I am about to scold him and stop short as I get to my bike. “Who the hell are you?” I ask the two men who stand near my bike in tailored suits and sunglasses, like they fell out of a James Bond movie.

They remain quiet and still as the back door of a black town car parked nearby opens and a man in a full, tailored, gray three-piece suit gets out. He is thin and short, angry-looking, and something about his eyes is familiar.

“AJ Steele,” he says, walking up to me. I don’t acknowledge him. Something about this feels off.

“John Van Cleef,” he says, stepping right up to me. Well, shit. I straighten my spine. I want to punch him for the way he treats his daughter, but also get his approval. It”s a weird feeling.

“You need to stay away from my daughter,” he threatens.

“Why would that be?” I ask, my tone level, watching him and his men like a hawk. I don’t trust any of them.

“Because you are no good for her,” he states like I am wasting his time.

“True. But why should I? She seems to like my company.”

“You’re bad for her. Bad for the Van Cleef name. I know you are from a broken home; you have no money in your bank account. This bike is the only thing of value you own.” Another guy walks around from the car with a baseball bat, and I grit my teeth.

“I think you need to leave,” I grit out as I push Levi behind me. He takes a few steps away and lowers his bag against a tree. He rolls up his sleeves; the stupid kid thinks he is going to back me up.

“I heard that you have a record.” He huffs. “Only my daughter would fall in love with a felon. She is so stupid, she probably doesn’t even know.” I do have a record for some minor crimes. I was in jail for less than a few weeks when I was eighteen. Not that dissimilar to Levi, although I never had a fancy lawyer to help me out back in the day. Hard times like that make a person think about their life, and that was rock bottom for me. I should be thinking he is right, that Val shouldn”t want to be with a felon, but I get stuck on the words he used. Love. Val loves me?

“She is getting married to another man, so you need to stay away.”

I almost snort. This guy is delusional if he thinks a woman like Val could be told who she was going to marry. I know he is feeling threatened because Val is making moves to be CEO. And like a snake, he is starting to hiss.

“And if I don’t?” I ask, tilting my head. He has thrown a lot of words around, but I don’t yet know what he is wanting. He looks at the guy who holds the baseball bat and nods. I swallow roughly, understanding what he is about to do. The guy walks forward quickly and hits my bike.

“What the hell?” I yell as I strut toward him but am pulled back by the other two men. I struggle to get out of their grip, but with one holding me back on each arm, and Levi looking like he is going to jump in the fray, I still as they make me watch while they break my Harley, the one thing that I saved years for. The one thing that told me I could succeed in this fucked-up life.

“I know all about your little friend Marcus and your rigged boxing matches. I know all about that money you get under the table from him to fight, which no doubt has funded your silly little Fortress. I have lawyers who I pay more per hour than you will ever get, and they will ensure you are arrested and incarcerated if you even think about coming near my daughter again,” he spits out, pure venom in his eyes.

I growl and start to fight again. I want him to experience pain. He watches me and sees my anger, knowing that the Harley damage hurts, but his daughter means more. His scowl morphs into a sick smile.

“I’ll give her the CEO position if you leave her alone. If you try to stay with her, she gets nothing but married to a man of my choosing. Either way, you lose. You wouldn’t want to stop her from her birthright, would you?”

I stop fighting, and his smile widens. He found the trigger for me and pulled it. I want Val more than anything, but I never wanted her to come down to my level. I never wanted her to suffer. Now her father will give her what she wants if I leave her alone. I don’t like it, but I will do it for her.

“I know you came from nothing so have no fear of going back there. You leave and I will give her the CEO job. But be assured that if you even look at my daughter again, I will hurt her. Maybe an accident in her apartment. Lord knows that stupid dog won”t be able to save her. It is entirely possible that she could burn herself cooking. She is such a terrible cook. It would be a shame to have hot oil run up her arms…” he threatens, and I want to fucking gut him. I feel sick. Losing the bike, harming Fortress, I could handle all those things. He is right. I came from nothing, but I can rebuild again. But Valerie can’t be touched. She is too precious. Too precious to me. She is everything I didn’t know I needed, and the last thing I want to do is leave. But she needs to be CEO and needs to be safe, and if that means I need to stay away from her to make that happen, then I will do it.

“Do we have an understanding?” He watches me closely, knowing the answer already.

“We do.” I nod, my jaw tight as I grind my teeth, hating this fucker with everything I have within me.

“Good. For your trouble,” he says, throwing a wad of cash at my feet. The two men holding me push me to the side as I watch them all pile back into the car and drive down the street. I look at the cash near my shoe. It is a roll of hundred-dollar bills, probably about ten thousand there, but I don’t want to touch it so I kick it away from me.

“Are you alright?” Levi asks me, and I look at him. My gaze must be murderous because he takes a step back, and I pull out my cell to call Brady to bring the truck.

I’ll take my bike. I”ll stay away from Val. But I am not touching his fucking money.