Chapter Seventeen
MOTHERFUCKING TRINA.
How dare that shrew barge into his home and bedroom. She had no right to be in his personal space. Hell, she shouldn’t even be in Lithia. What the fuck was she doing acting as though they were anything more than exes who hated each other?
Damn him for forgetting to lock the door before going to sleep. Feeling Kelsie come all over him last night scrambled his brain so well he’d overlooked the simple task.
Now, he’d pay dearly for that mistake.
They were still laughing as they tumbled out of his bedroom and walked down the hall. That dried up the second they entered the den to find Trina making herself very comfortable on his couch. She’d shed the gaudy shoes and curled her stocking-covered legs under herself. Her damn skirt was so short half an ass cheek was on display.
Time hadn’t been too generous to Trina. The daily packs of cigarettes, alcohol, and whatever else she put in her body had taken its toll. She had wrinkled, leathery skin she tried to disguise with pounds of makeup and a body that defied physics. Had she had her tits enlarged again? What was that, four times now? He’d put money on them looking bigger than the last time he saw her a year or so ago. With her skinny, near-scrawny figure, she looked like a top-heavy doll that would topple forward.
“Aww, aren’t you two adorable,” she said with false sweetness. “A little girl and her daddy.”
Ty rolled his eyes as a disturbing realization smacked him in the face. Kelsie was the same age now as he and Trina were when they got together so many years ago. God, he’d been so young and stupid.
Christ, that made his brain throb.
Best not to dwell on that factoid.
Though Kelsie was worlds more mature than he and Trina had been combined. Life made sure she’d aged ahead of her years.
He kissed the side of Kelsie’s head to let her know Trina’s taunts didn’t faze him. The way she’d walked out with nothing but his T-shirt swimming on her made his fucking day.
Eat your heart out, Trina.
“Let’s get this over with, T. Just tell me what the fuck you want so I can turn you down, and you can get the hell out of my house.”
The over-filled, glossy red lips he’d once wanted all over him pooched into an exaggerated pout. “Don’t be like that, Ty. I just missed you.”
Kelsie did a horrendous job hiding her laugh behind a cough.
Her expression flattened, then turned sinister. “This was my house, too, you know.” She rose and walked—more prowled—toward him. He gently caught her wrist before she could rake those dragon-talon nails over his bare chest, and she purred like he’d grabbed her tit. “Mmm, we sure did have some good times in here, didn’t we?” she asked him though her gaze aimed at Kelsie.
“I don’t remember,” he said, snagging her attention back to him. “But I remember how I toured this house myself because you were sleeping off a high the day we went looking. And I was the only name on the mortgage because your credit was and probably still is shit. I renovated the entire place when we split, including burning the bed you slept in. So, I don’t think I’d be too quick to tell people this was your house. Pretty sure the only thing left from when you lived here is the doorbell.”
Trina’s eyes narrowed. She tossed her long extensions over her shoulder and strutted back to the couch, where she grabbed her sparkly purse. Of course, she bent over so far that they could clearly see her thong.
Classy lady, his ex.
“Fine,” she said with a huff. “If that’s how you want to play this. I’m in town for a meeting. Business. I got a call from a well-known, very wealthy entrepreneur yesterday. They’re looking for a commercial realtor to advise them on some spaces for projects they want to begin in the area.”
His spine tingled with unease. What the hell was she up to? “You don’t live or work here any longer. Haven’t for years. What the fuck are you playing at?”
She shrugged. “Just because I’m not based out of here any longer doesn’t mean I’m not the best choice.” Her grin morphed into one of triumph. “My client is looking to purchase quite a few buildings near the industrial park. You know the area, I believe.”
Ty’s blood ran cold. “You fucking bitch.” His shop had been in the same location for nearly twenty years. He ran a lucrative business that continued to grow each year. It was time to expand. The plan was to open a second franchise on the opposite side of town. The industrial park had a building that would be perfect for his expansion plans. He’d had his eye on it for the past year, and a few weeks ago, the company currently occupying the space closed down.
Horrible luck for them but incredible for Ty’s business endeavors.
Somehow, Trina found out about it and used it to her advantage.
This surprise visit was a threat in disguise.
“W-who’s the entrepreneur?” Kelsie was ashen and gripped the back of his recliner as though she’d fall without its support.
“I’m sorry, child, what was that?”
“Who? Who called you for a meeting?”
He frowned. Why did it matter?
“Oh, hmm…” Trina tapped her lips with a long fingernail. “I believe his name was Lorenzo something.” Her tone reeked of faux innocence. The Academy wouldn’t give this woman an Oscar if she were the last actress on Earth. “Gosh, on my life, I can’t remember his last name. Any chance you know it, little girl?” Her grin slithered along Ty’s spine like a damn snake.
Kelsie’s face had gone from pale to a sickly gray. She opened her mouth but didn’t make a sound. Her devastated gaze met his. Tears filled those beautiful eyes.
The sight was enough to boil Ty’s blood. “Okay,” he barked to Trina, “I don’t know what the fuck this bullshit is about, but you have five seconds to get out of my house before I toss you out on your boney ass.”
“Still thinking about my ass, I see. Guess some things never change.”
He lunged forward, making her jump, but her surprise morphed into a high-pitched cackle. “All right, all right. I’ve said my piece. I’m going.” She swung her glittery purse over her shoulder. “You’ve gotten so sensitive.” She turned toward Kelsie. “You need to take better care of him, honey. Pro tip… he loves a little submission in bed, so make sure you—”
“That’s fucking it.”
Kelsie seemed to deflate before his eyes.
He marched forward, but Tina scurried outside before he could reach her. Her shrill laugh lingered in the air after he slammed the door on her ass.
“Fuck,” he shouted, smacking the heel of his hand against the door.
The outburst made Kelsie jump and squeak behind him. He didn’t have to look to know she jolted hard enough to have her heart rate soaring.
Way to scare the skittish woman who’d been held against her will and subjected to violence, asshole.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said in a soft tone as he turned.
She stood behind him with her arms folded across her stomach. The position made her shrink in on herself, which, when combined with her ashen complexion, broke his heart. He rolled his shoulders, relaxing his stance as much as possible. Though he wanted nothing more than to gather her in his arms and kiss her breathless, he didn’t dare touch her until she granted him express permission. The last thing he wanted to do was make this clusterfuck worse. “Kels, sorry for everything that happened this morning, but mostly for scaring you just now.”
She blinked as though surprised he was speaking to her. “What? No. You didn’t scare me. You startled me, but…” She shrugged, letting her gaze drift to his windows before returning to him. “I’m not afraid of you. I don’t know why, but you are the only person who makes me feel completely safe. Even when you want to murder your ex.”
Well, damn, he grew ten feet taller in that moment. But Kelsie still looked seconds from vomiting.
“About what she said at the end…”
Shaking her head, she held up a hand. “I need to tell you something. It’s important.”
“Okay…” Was she about to end it? Did Trina’s comment about him wanting a submissive woman in bed change her mind? It wasn’t even fucking true. Nothing was sexier to him than Kelsie holding the reins. Whatever reassurance she needed in that department, he was happy to provide.
“Can we sit?”
He nodded and gestured toward the couch. “Of course.”
Kelsie walked in front of him. Her movements were stiff and uncomfortable, nothing like the woman who’d rocked his world earlier that morning. She sat, spine rigid and expression akin to drinking sour milk.
“Fuck this,” he muttered, sitting next to her. He scooped her up, ignoring her yip of surprise, and turned her to straddle his lap. As soon as her knees hit the couch, he cupped her face and kissed her until she melted into his arms.
“W-what was that for?” she asked, cheeks pink when he finally came up for air.
“You were tense as fuck. Now, you’re not. It was a sacrifice, of course, but I didn’t want you to get a muscle spasm or anything.” He winked.
Her answering chuckle was music to his ears. “Thanks,” she whispered as she traced a tattoo on his chest with one finger. He tried to keep from popping wood, but, fuck, she was too damn hot. It was a losing battle. “You might feel differently after I tell you this.”
“Doubt it.”
Her huff of laughter held a world of sadness. “My last name is Carver. I changed it to Nichols, my mother’s maiden name, after I left home at sixteen.”
That was it? His eyebrows drew down. “Okay. If you’re worried about that, babe, you can relax. I don’t give two shits what you want to call yourself.”
“If only it were that simple.” She blinked moisture from her eyes. “Carver, Ty. Think about that name.”
What was she getting at?
“I must be dumb because the only Carvers I can think of are that fucking corrupt family on the news all the damn ti—oh… fuck.”
She stared down at her short, manicured nails resting against his chest. “Yeah,” she said with a nod.
He crooked a finger under her chin to lift her gaze. “McCarthy Carver is your father?”
“Bingo.” She smiled sadly.
Jesus, the man had superiority oozing out of his pores. Ty had never met him, but in his interviews and social media, he portrayed himself as a pompous, power-hungry sociopath who didn’t give two shits who he crushed in his quest to keep his position at the top of the country’s socioeconomic food chain.
“That family is notorious. A ruthless group of hungry sharks.”
“Yes. And the second they smell blood, they attack. Even if the bleeding person is one of their own. ‘Family first, last, and above all’ is the family motto, but it’s bullshit. It only applies if you follow my father’s lead,” she continued, making air quotes. “It’s the biggest lie. There is no loyalty to family, only money and power.”
Kelsie was a Carver. His brain couldn’t reconcile who she was with where she came from. To him, Kelsie stood for everything anti-Carver.
“Rumors have been flying around social media for years about McCarthy Carver’s long-lost daughter. She fell off the grid as a teenager, and no one in the media has seen or heard from her since. The family doesn’t mention her anymore. It’s as if she vanished.”
He studied her. The sadness in her face, the longing for a family without the toxicity of the one she’d been born into. She’d mentioned being on her own since she was sixteen, just a baby. How lonely must she have felt, hell, still feels? Ty knew a bit about loneliness. When Curly was behind bars and his marriage crumbled to bits, Ty had gone through a dark period of isolation he never wished to return to. The family he had now might be comprised of a band of societal misfits, but they were loyal as fuck and loved hard. He wouldn’t go back to those solo days for anything.
“Yeah. That would be me. I was a pawn to that family from the moment I was born. My mother died in a car accident when I was barely three, and my brother was thirteen. Dear Old Dad wanted to portray the image of a grieving widower billionaire who somehow managed to devote his entire life to his children while dominating the business world. I was there to smile for the cameras, to draw in unsuspecting clients, and to help the wolf hide. I was the sheep’s clothing that made my father look good.”
He captured her hand, still playing with his tattoos, and flattened her palm over his heart. The steady thump reverberated through his chest into her. “Something drastic must have happened for you to leave at such a young age. To go from where you lived to nothing.”
She huffed. “Yes, going from spoiled princess to practically homeless was quite the culture shock.”
“I don’t mean that.”
“But it’s true.” She shrugged. “I went from living in a sixteen thousand-square-foot mansion to a studio apartment with roaches and mice. But I was so much luckier than most runaways. Had I not had an inheritance from my mother to keep me afloat so I didn’t have to work for my food, who the hell knows what would have happened to me? I chose my apartment, hoping it would keep me off my family’s radar.”
Christ, the thought of her living alone in Tampa at sixteen was enough to give him a month of sleepless nights. “What did happen to you?”
“I isolated myself. Became a loner. For a while, I thought I was successful in staying off my father’s radar, but that was just the naiveté of youth. He’d known where I was from the moment I rented that crappy apartment. His plan was to let me crash and burn, then wait until I came crawling back and offer me the world at a very steep price.”
“Ultimate loyalty.”
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t go home.”
She pursed her lips as she shook her head. “No, I did not. And by then, he was done with me. He decided it was a more fitting punishment to leave me to live without his riches in a shithole apartment alone.”
“Damn, he’s a coldhearted fucker.”
She snorted. “You have no idea. But, little did he know, my freedom was worth more than all his blood money. I wouldn’t take a dollar from him if I were bleeding out on the street, and it could save my life. So I was happy to be left alone.”
He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles before placing it back on his chest. This was the best way to talk. Maybe he’d have every conversation with her like this, with her straddled across his lap, feeling him up. The only thing that would make it better was if they were both fully naked.
And he was inside her.
Raw.
His fantasy evaporated as he watched the regret and sorrow play across Kelsie’s face. Frowning, he asked, “Wait, why did you bring this up now?” After his ex-wife dropped her little bomb.
She shut her eyes and blew out a breath. One lone tear escaped but clung to her eyelashes. Ty couldn’t keep from wiping it away. She opened her eyes to watch him lick the drop from his thumb.
“Because my brother’s name is Lorenzo, and I’m pretty sure my family is threatening to mess with your business expansion.”