Lily's Forced Freedom

Prologue

Harvey was going to kill Jaret Malone.

Lily kept staring at the other man and Harvey didn’t like it. At all. Harvey didn’t care that he seemed like a decent guy who loved Clem.

Lily’s attention should be on him and only him.

And if he had to get rid of Malone in order for that to happen . . . well, he wasn’t above a bit of murder to get his way.

Despite what his oldest brother might have to say about it. Ronan was obsessed with discretion and keeping under the radar.

Harvey was obsessed with Lily.

And he wanted her to feel the same way about him.

Lily spent so much of her time staring at nothing, so it was surprising to see her looking at Jaret the way she was.

Harvey was growing increasingly worried about her. She appeared to be more blank every time he saw her. Like her mind wasn’t even there.

As though she was fading away.

Which was completely unacceptable.

He was fully prepared to pick her up and take her out of here, but he was waiting to see how things played out.

Clem had come back to Boston for Lily’s wedding to Rick.

The dick.

Harvey liked Clem. She was funny and kind. She deserved to be happy.

And so did Lily.

Which is why she would not be marrying Rick the Dick.

Lily got up and walked over to where Jaret had been cornered by her mother and those bitches she thought were her friends.

They weren’t.

He would get her better friends.

Harvey worked hard to keep his feelings under control as he watched her.

Rick was whining at Clem when he turned to him.

“Rick, you might need to get your fiancée,” he said coolly.

Fucking asshole didn’t deserve Lily.

But that was okay. He was going to suffer. Harvey would see to it. Clem looked furious as she gazed over at her sister and Jaret.

“Clem?” he asked.

“What?” she snapped.

“You okay?”

“Why are you friends with him?” she asked. “He’s such a dick.”

“He really is.”

She gave him a questioning look. “So?”

Harvey shrugged. “I have my reasons.” He stared over at Lily.

Who had become the main reason.

There was something wrong with Lily. And when he found out what was going on, he’d fix it.

That’s what he did. He fixed things. For the family business.

And now for Lily.

The family business was a complicated thing. On the surface, they seemed like a fine, upstanding family. Old money.

Old, dirty money.

Illegal gambling. Money laundering. Blackmail.

With Ronan in charge, a lot of things were now above board. Mostly.

He employed men and women who worked as bouncers and bodyguards. Security specialists. However, their biggest income earner was spying and secret gathering.

It was who they were.

It added a bit of spice to their life.

However, that part was kept tightly under wraps. Ronan liked them to present a strong, law-abiding front.

Must keep up appearances and the family name.

His gaze went to Lily’s mother, Roberta. The bitch. “You know she’s trying to set us up?”

“A T-Rex would be subtler,” Clem muttered.

Harvey had to smile. “I always liked you, Clem. You’re way too good for Rick.”

“Got that right.”

They got called away to lunch and he was forced to sit by Clem. Yes, her mother was being very obvious in her desire to put together. Their food arrived and Harvey stared down at the servings in shock.

God, Roberta was a bitch.

It was immediately obvious that she’d put far less on Clem’s plate than anyone else. Harvey quickly switched their plates, ignoring Roberta’s surprised look.

“I think that was meant for me. Trying to watch my waistline.” He patted his flat stomach.

“You look in perfect health to me,” Roberta simpered.

Gag.

Old witch probably thought he was flattered by her words.

“Nice of you to say. But I need to stay on top of it.”

“Maybe you could give Clementine some pointers. I’m certain it would be good for her to lose some pounds.”

Fucking bitch.

There was nothing wrong with the way Clem looked. At least Malone came to her defense. Which drew Roberta’s ire. Harvey tuned them out as he stared at Lily, who wasn’t eating.

Pick up the fork.

Eat, Lily.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t mastered the art of telepathy. When she was his, he’d be able to ensure she ate properly.

“Harvey is a lawyer,” Roberta stated. “And he comes from an old Boston family.”

Right. An old Boston family with a veneer of civility and some very dodgy roots.

He had to hide a sigh. He really couldn’t be bothered engaging with this woman.

“My job is dry, stuffy, and boring. Nothing all that interesting.”

“But you’re good friends with Rick, and he’s on his way to the White House. Such a good match with my Lily,” Roberta said.

Like fuck he was.

It took every ounce of control not to launch himself at Rick’s smug, ugly face. While he struggled to control himself, he lost track of the conversation around him.

Before he knew it, Jaret and Clementine had walked out.

Well. He couldn’t blame them.

But things would get better for Clem soon. Rick’s life was going to implode.

And Lily would be his.

Fuck.

This was boring.

Time to make a move. Harvey was over pretending to be civil and a good guy.

Not that he wasn’t a nice guy. He was. When he got his own way. Rick and Roberta had been standing between him and Lily for too long. He’d held back from making a move because Ronan had wanted him to watch Rick closely.

But Rick’s life was over. And Harvey intended to take his prize.

Before he could make a move, though, Clem stormed into her mother’s living room.

This might be interesting.

“Hello, sorry we’re late,” Clem said, chin high.

Good for her.

“Clementine, what are you doing here? I didn’t think you were coming,” Roberta practically snarled.

Clem just smiled. Grabbing a few grapes, she ate them. “Ooh, juicy.”

“Here, baby, let me help you.” Jaret wiped a bit of grape juice off her chin.

“Clementine, perhaps you and your friend could come to my office with me,” Roberta said stiffly.

“Nah, I don’t think so.” She winked at Harvey.

He could barely hold back his grin. Finally, some entertainment. He’d been stuck here with Rick and his horrid mother and arrogant father for what felt like forever while Lily sat next to Rick.

“And Jaret isn’t my friend; he’s my boyfriend,” Clem stated.

“I think we might need to make that fiancé soon, baby,” Jaret told her.

Harvey glanced at Lily, but she was just staring off into the distance.

“That is not a proposal.” Clem pointed a finger at Jaret, who grinned and stretched his arms above his head.

“Damn, I have some kinks in my back. Thinking I might need a massage. You know, Senator, you look like you’d know where to get a special massage.”

Here we go.

“Excuse me, who are you?” Rick’s father asked angrily.

“Sorry, I forgot my manners. The name is Jaret Malone.”

Senator Sampson grew pale. Interesting. Maybe he should look into the Malones. He remembered Ronan mentioning a Malone family who lived in New Orleans a few times. Were they related to Jaret?

“Malone?” the senator said.

“Yep,” Jaret replied.

“You’re not part of the New Orleans Malones, are you?”

“Aw, you’ve heard of my cousins. How nice. I’ll be sure to send your regards.”

That answered that question.

“We need to leave now,” the senator said hastily, standing.

“What? Why?” Rick asked.

“It’s probably because he’s worried I know things about him that he wouldn’t want to get out,” Jaret said. “My family is good at ferreting out secrets. Like your gambling addiction. And your father’s massage addiction. Oh, and then there’s the fact that your family is completely broke.”

“What?” Roberta gasped. “You have a gambling addiction, Rick? You’re broke, Barry?”

“Don’t forget about the massages,” Clem said. “I didn’t even know that massages with a happy ending were an actual thing.”

“I’ll show you one later.” Jaret winked at her.

“Can’t wait.”

“Do you mind!” Roberta said.

“Nope, don’t mind at all,” Clem replied.

“We’ll be fine. Especially once our families align,” Barry said.

Stupid asshole had no idea how bad his life was going to be, did he?

The reason he was broke wasn’t just because of Rick’s gambling. Nope, it was because Ronan and Harvey had worked over the last year to systematically take the whole family down.

“That’ll be a bit hard considering mommy dearest is broke too,” Clem said.

“What? Clementine, what are you talking about?” Roberta said with a gasp.

“The fact that you don’t have any money left. What happened to all the money, Mother?”

“I think we should leave,” Senator Sampson said.

Roberta sat up straight, drawing her shoulders back. “Perhaps you should. I feel deceived.”

“No more than we’ve been deceived by you. Needless to say, the marriage is off.”

Roberta gave the senator a sneer. “You disgust me. I will make sure that everyone knows what was revealed here.”

“Not unless you want us to do the same.” This came from Rick’s mother. “We can both go down that hole, Roberta.”

Roberta smiled. “Perhaps you’re right. Best we all keep quiet.”

Hmm. He didn’t think so.

He watched as the senator dragged Rick out, his wife following.

“What the fuck have you just done!” Roberta screeched, grabbing hold of Clem’s upper arms. “You ruined everything.”

Before Harvey could move, Jaret pulled the old bitch away and threw her down on the sofa.

“Be careful,” Jaret warned. “I’ve never hit a woman, but after seeing the marks on my baby yesterday, I might change that rule for you.”

Marks? Harvey didn’t like that. He ran his gaze over Lily. Had this bitch touched her?

Roberta paled. “Clementine, are you going to allow him to treat me this way?”

“Mother, all my life you’ve ignored me or manipulated me. Why would I defend you? And trust me, Jaret is actually being very restrained. Where did the money go?” Clem asked.

“That bastard, Marc, stole it all! All the money your father left me. Your inheritance, Lily’s, it’s all gone.”

That didn’t matter. Lily wouldn’t need that money. He would take care of her.

“And you kept that from us. It must have killed you when Granny June left me that property and not you. That would have filled the coffers slightly, huh?” Clem said.

“That property should have been mine!” Roberta spat out. “God knows, I deserve it for taking care of that old bitch.”

“Taking care of her? You never visited her; you never did anything for her!”

“She did nothing for me! I wasn’t raised the way I should have been.

How I deserved to be. That property was mine and I would have sold it as soon as I got my hands on it.

But no, you had to go have these grand ideas of living there.

Well, I knew I had to dissuade you, didn’t I?

Once I got you away from there and safely married off, I’d have gotten the money I needed from selling that property to Myers and you’d be married to him. ” She waved at Harvey.

“I might have had a say in that,” he said dryly. “Not that you’re not amazing, Clem. But my interests lie elsewhere.” His gaze went back to Lily.

Around him, the conversation swirled about the land Clem inherited and how her mother wanted it. How she’d hired someone to try and scare Clem off the land so she could sell it.

Bitch.

Jaret pulled out his phone. “I’m calling the cops.”

Harvey returned his attention to them.

Clem was gaping at her mother. “How could you do that? To your own daughter?”

“Because I needed the money! How do you not understand that?” Roberta said.

“The cops are on their way,” Jaret said.

Roberta sobbed. But he felt no empathy for her. And it was time to go anyway.

“We’ll be leaving now. If you have any problems with the cops, send them my way,” Harvey told Clem as he stood.

Clem glanced over at Harvey, then at her sister. “Lily?”

“Yes? Is something wrong?” Lily asked, staring around at them all.

Harvey frowned. “I want to take her with me, Clem.”

“You’re not taking her anywhere! It’s bad enough I have one defective daughter! I need her.” Roberta leaped for Lily, but Harvey stepped between them and shoved her back.

No way was this bitch getting her hands on her.

“I don’t have much compunction about taking down someone who comes after anyone that belongs to me,” Harvey warned. “So be very careful.”

“Are you sure he’s a lawyer?” Jaret asked Clem.

Harvey grinned. “What else would I be?” Then he turned to Lily and crouched in front of her, pulling her up into his arms.

She was far too light. It was scary.

“Will she be safe with you?” Clem asked.

“She’ll be as safe as I can make her. I won’t allow anything to happen to her, Clem. I promise you.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “If she needs me, you know where to find me?”

“I do.”

But she wasn’t going to need anyone but him. Harvey would see to that.

Lily stirred in his arms, blinking up at him. “Harvey?”

“Yes, it’s me,” he told her.

“Where are we going?”

“Home.”

“I don’t like it at home.” Lily shuddered.

“That place wasn’t your home, Lily. Your home is with me.”