Chapter One
Bailed
Amy Kendal
Amy’s attention flitted to the clock. She watched the hands crawling around the black and white face in the center of the vast room, each protracted gesture ratcheting her anxiety.
At five minutes to eleven, she was on the verge of Jonah’s bail hearing. She shuddered as the three words she’d never contemplated before rolled through her head— Jonah’s bail hearing . Seth had always been the one in trouble, the one she needed—and had failed—to keep an eye on, but frantic to keep up his studies and his numerous jobs, her youngest son had also fallen foul of the law.
Her heart ached as she thought about how low Jonah must have got to have considered taking amphetamines and then stealing to fund his new habit. The fact he hadn’t come to her for more help stung the most. They’d spoken only a few days before when he’d asked for the money for his revision program, and she hadn’t even noticed the desperation in him.
Some mother I turned out to be!
If it hadn’t been for Kyle—the wealthy stranger who’d become her employer and lover in a matter of days—she and Jonah would have been screwed.
Her throat dried. Kyle was also the man who’d managed to master her, the man who’d crept into her every waking moment and sometimes had the power to permeate her dreams. Only Kyle’s money afforded her the luxury of the fancy car ride to the courthouse, and it was his affluence that promised, when the time came, she could pay Jonah’s bail.
She owed William Kyle, though God only knew how she’d repay him.
Brow creasing, she shifted on her seat at the perturbing thought. Amy still didn’t know what Kyle would demand in return for his exorbitant generosity. Jonah’s call from jail had come the evening before, and there’d been no time to really discuss it. She’d spilled her heart to her interested employer, and he’d immediately offered to help.
He’d pay the bail costs.
He’d get her to the courthouse and allow her the time away from her duties .
No questions asked.
But there would be questions and a price to pay. She wasn’t na?ve enough to think otherwise.
There was always a price.
The ‘problem’—if that was the right word—was that the price had increasingly blurred into the sexual frenzy she and Kyle created together. In the course of a few days, he’d been able to wear down whatever defenses she’d erected after Graham’s death and not only get between her legs but, more worryingly, into her head.
She was even thinking about him then, pressing her thighs together as apprehension about Jonah churned in her belly. How was that right? She was there to save her son, yet she couldn’t stop recalling how good it had been at Kyle’s feet or how incredible he’d felt as he’d speared her in the Jacuzzi.
What’s happening to me?
She swallowed down the question, clutching at the knots in her stomach.
I’m falling for him.
Nausea threatened to rise at the conclusion.
I can’t be. I’m not so bloody stupid.
The sex was great, but it was only carnality. Lust wasn’t love. She was too old to confuse the two.
Love was what she felt for her sons. It was why she was sitting there trembling in the front of the courthouse. It was the capacity to sacrifice and lose for someone else.
The idea that she’d been playing Kyle’s naughty maid when Jonah was being arrested and carted off to jail tore at her insides, even though she was there to remedy the issue.
Love wasn’t the desire to cede to Kyle because of his money and the smoldering glint in his eyes. It wasn’t the tingle at the apex of her legs or the way her breath caught when he was around. That was something else, but she couldn’t deny how powerful it was.
In tangible ways, her life was so much better than it had been only a week before—all thanks to her enigmatic benefactor. She had somewhere lovely to live, and even if it was only temporary, the luxury wasn’t lost on her. She also had the prospect of earning a significant sum of money—enough to pay off her immediate debts and create ease in her life for the first time in as long as she could remember.
It was the way she earned that money, though, that disconcerted her. Kyle had hired her as his housekeeper, but so far, aside from a few cursory duties, she’d been more of a waitress and cleaner than someone paid to tend to his house. While she could live with either role so long as the fifty thousand was her reward, the skimpy maid’s outfit he’d insisted she wear had not been part of the original deal, and neither had the sex they’d both relished. She’d loved riding his cock, and despite her embarrassed protests, she had reveled in the denigrating ways he’d treated her, but she couldn’t reconcile that those were the things he was paying her for.
He said he wasn’t paying me for the sex.
She gripped the edge of her plastic chair as her gaze flitted back to the clock. Kyle had made his rejection of the idea of paying her for sex plain, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the costumes and capitulation made her little better than a prostitute. That feeling had only compounded when she’d discovered Jonah was in trouble.
She heaved in a breath, blinking away the lurking tears. Despite her best intentions, both her babies were locked up, and as the clerk called her forward, she accepted there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to ensure at least the younger of the two was at liberty.
***
“Thanks so much, Mum.”
Jonah threw his arms around her when the officer finally released his cuffs. The hearing had been thankfully efficient. The judge had accepted his apology, and because it was his first offense, he wasn’t a flight risk. She’d sent a message to Kyle, asking that he wire the money for Jonah’s bail, and was relieved when, shortly after, her son was freed.
“I can’t believe you managed to find the money.”
“Yeah.” She breathed in the scent of him, wanting to make the hug last forever. “That’s a long story.”
But it was one she would have to tell.
One of Jonah’s bail conditions was that he stayed at a fixed abode until his trial date, and, given that Amy had nowhere else to live, that abode was now with Kyle. She’d have to find a way to explain her current living arrangements to her son and pray Jonah didn’t judge her too harshly.
“I’ll explain on the way.”
She’d have to justify the waiting Mercedes, the new ‘home’, and her mysterious employer, let alone what work she was doing for Kyle. She had a horrible feeling that once that was all out in the open, the spell of gratitude in Jonah’s gaze would be broken.
“Why didn’t you come to me if you were struggling, love?” She didn’t want to rebuke him, but if she’d known he was overwhelmed, maybe she could have helped more, although how, she didn’t know.
“It all got out of hand.” He blew out a breath. “One line of speed to ‘give me a buzz’ became a daily habit within weeks, and that stuff doesn’t come for free. The only good thing about custody is that I haven’t been able to get my hands on any. I needed to break the habit.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Her heart ached for his poor choices. She was sure they were well-intentioned, but a drug habit and a criminal record weren’t going to help his career prospects.
“I’m sorry.” He was hoarse as she held him closer. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“I know.”
She whispered the words into his dark hair, wishing she could wrap him up and take him somewhere private to recuperate and prepare for his trial, but as it was, he’d be holed up in one of Kyle’s many guest rooms. She realized how grateful she should be for their host’s charity. Another man might have told her criminal son to take a hike, but Kyle had seemed understanding and kind when she’d explained.
He’s too good to be true.
“How are you, Mum?” Jonah glanced down at her when he finally drew away. “You look… different.”
“Do I?” She flushed at the idea her son might be able to discern a difference in her. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know…” His brow furrowed. “You seem to be glowing , somehow.”
“Glowing?” She forced out laughter, hoping he wouldn’t notice her rising guilty blush. She hadn’t realized how perceptive Jonah could be.
“Yes.” He sounded suspicious as he looked her up and down. “Have you started wearing makeup or something?”
“No makeup.” She smiled at his obvious puzzlement. “But there is something I need to tell you.”
Some one I need to tell you about.
The final line danced in her head, but she held it back.
“Okay.” Jonah’s brow creased. “Go on.”
She glanced around, considering taking him back to the uncomfortable plastic chairs, but hesitated.
“I have a new job.”
“You ditched the legal firm?” His brow rose. “But you’ve worked there for years, Mum.”
“Not ditched.” This was even harder to explain than she’d imagined. “I’ve taken holiday from my other jobs to trial the new one.”
“What’s the new job?” Standing before her, his stance and skeptical tone reminded her so much of his dad.
“I’m running a house and estate for someone.” She dressed up the position as best she could. There was nothing untrue about her response, but it conveniently glossed over the semi-naked dusting.
“Wow.” His soulful eyes widened. “I didn’t see that coming.”
“Same.” She laughed, then flinched at how nervous she sounded. “I got an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
That was one way of putting it.
“Intriguing.” Jonah grinned. “Let me guess… more money?”
“Considerably. Enough to pay off some of those nagging debts and help us move forward.”
“For estate management?” His version of her role sounded even fancier than hers had been.
“Yeah.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “It was a ‘right time, right place’ kind of thing. I got the offer, and I took it. We need the money, Jo-Jo.”
He nodded. “Don’t I know it? I’ve just been piling on the financial pressure, haven’t I?”
“It’s not on you.” She sighed. “I don’t endorse taking drugs, but I get it.” God knows she’d have sunk a bottle of whiskey a night if she could have afforded it. “Things have been tough since Dad, and… we needed this.”
“And you like the job?”
“I like it fine.” She hoped he didn’t notice the guilty blush growing on her face. “It includes somewhere to live, too.”
“Somewhere to live?” he parroted. “But you have somewhere?”
“I lost the studio, Jo-Jo.” She’d been hoping to avoid that part of the conversation. He had enough to feel bad about without getting into why she’d needed to default on the rent.
He paused and she could sense the cogs in his head were turning.
“Because of me?” He frowned. “You couldn’t afford to help me and pay the rent, could you?”
“That’s irrelevant.” She wanted to hug him again, but he backed away when she tried to close the distance between them. “I said I’d get the money for you, and I did.”
“Mum!” He rubbed his temple. “If you’d told me you’d be homeless, I’d never have taken the program.”
“But you did.” She tugged at his hand until he allowed her to grip his palm. “And I don’t regret anything I did. This new job gives me a great place to live, and you can stay there, too.”
“You’re sure?” To say he seemed unconvinced was an understatement.
“I’ve checked, and it’s fine,” she assured him. “You can stay there and continue studying virtually.”
“And after the trial?” he probed. “What happens to you, then?”
“I have a feeling I’ll stay beyond the trial.” She’d have to now that she’d given the judge Kyle’s address for Jonah. “It’ll be okay.”
“Mrs. Kendal?” Stevens stepped forward behind her son. “Are you ready to return to Brock Hall?”
“Yes.” She met Stevens’ stare pointedly, half expecting the flicker of judgment in his gaze. She didn’t like the driver much, but just like her, he was on Kyle’s payroll. “Thank you.”
“Brock Hall?” Jonah’s attention flitted between her and the stranger in the uniform.
It was strange to hear the name of Kyle’s property bandied around, but it was the place she currently called home.
“Yes.” She squeezed Jonah’s fingers. “That’s where you’ll be staying.”