Dirty Money (Bad Money #2) Read online

  Jon picked up the large file on his desk and tucked it under his arm as he walked numbly through the police station. He needed a long nap, but it wasn't happening. He needed to know about Kate - truly know about her before making his decision to pull back, or risk it all.

  There had never been a woman who felt so good beneath his touch, her moans and whimpers leaving him craving more of her. He let out a slow breath as he pushed the door to the police station open and walked into the early spring afternoon. He could go see her, make love to her and spend the afternoon in her bed, but that would make things harder when he decided to break it off.

  It seemed like the only viable option.

  Jon tucked the file into an empty backpack he left strapped to his motorcycle and tugged it onto his back. Getting on the bike, he had the urge to just forget everything and go to her. Her presence changed everything and made him want to fight like a mother fucker for her, for Marcus, for all of them.

  "I'm becoming bi-polar," he mumbled and started the bike, turning to head toward a small bar at the edge of town. He couldn't very well go to Expulsion to dig into Kate's past. She would be right beside him and he wouldn't be able to keep his hands off of her.

  He released his thoughts and drove toward an old dive bar near the edge of the plantation homes he so badly wanted to take her to see. Why couldn't they have a simple life? A life filled with the tension of trying to figure each other out? A life that included making a few bad decisions that would lead to building the relationship up with great make-up sex? They could get married eventually and have a couple of kids together. He would work to make her life everything she had once hoped for.

  She had wanted a normal life at one time, right? Jon wasn't sure. They hadn't known each other long enough to really discuss anything of that nature. The last few weeks had been filled with tragedy and horror. The fact that she forgave him for leaving her to deal with Victor's lackey was a miracle. That she didn't get raped and chopped into small pieces was almost too much to consider. She was tough... She was tough for a reason. He needed to know who she was. What made her into the woman she was now.

  He could just go through the file, read up on her and hopefully the information would help him make a decision about what to do next. There was no one to help him work through his next steps, and Kate had made it perfectly clear the last time they spoke that she had to go forward with whatever Victor wanted. Something in her almost seemed to snap, as if she wanted to move toward that old lifestyle again.

  Did she?

  Could he?

  No. He never wanted to be a monster again.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Kate

  The bar was finally opened again to the public, the fire that had effectively closed them down a week having been written off as part of the drug violence that swept the city. Kate sat at the bar, her fingers tapping softly along the worn-out wood. Marcus had left more than four hours ago and she hadn't heard a peep from him. Something about it nagged her.

  Victor expected her to come, but she simply wasn't ready to face him yet. Power was sexy and seductive, leaving everyone breathless who stood at the epicenter of it. Victor Parence was powerful and scary as fuck.

  Marcus's old drug lord, Seth, had left her and Marcus at a huge disadvantage. Not only had he put her life in danger multiple times before everything went down, but he caused Victor to think she was someone that she wasn't - at least not anymore.

  Sadness seemed to be a constant companion each time she thought of Jon. The last time she saw him wasn't more than a few days ago, but he was different - distant. He wasn't going to be able to live in a world where evil won. The only reason she knew that she would survive it was simply because it had been a huge part of her past, a substantial part of her raising.

  There had to be a way to get him out of the mix. Maybe Victor would simply allow Marcus and her to work for him and they could just ask Jon to turn a blind eye to them. He didn't need to be a rat on the force. They could get someone much better suited for the job to have it. Jon wouldn't even have to know about the new guy.

  "But what about us?" Kate ran her fingers through her long hair and let out a painful sigh. There would be no "us" soon. He would realize that she had no choice but to become the monster she was destined to be. The trajectory of her life had been toward the coming darkness for as long as she could remember, but Marcus had worked to change it. It just wasn't meant to be. She and Marcus would forever be locked in a life they didn't choose, Marcus wanting it and her hating every minute of it. Jon didn't have to though. He was a good guy and always had been. She would negotiate him being released.

  Kate stood and turned at the sound of a knock on the door behind her. Her phone buzzed in her pocket as she walked toward it. Pulling it out, she let out a long sigh. Marcus had finally let her know that he left Victor's an hour or so ago and the bastard was headed her way.

  It had to be him at the door, but maybe not.

  "Please God, not." She pressed the button beside the large bolt that held everyone out. "We're not open until eight. Come back then."

  "Katelyn. Let me in."

  She shivered as chill bumps broke out along her skin. The last thing she should do was let him in and yet she didn't really have an option. For a moment she considered telling him to go to the back door so she didn't have to deal with the levels of protection that would have to be pulled back at the front of the club. Victor just didn't seem like the type of man who appreciated being told what to do in any situation.

  Kate began to work on the locks before pressing her code on the panel next to the door to shut the alarm system down. She glanced down at her jeans and tank top and almost regretted not looking more put together. She would have to curse Marcus later for not texting her the minute he left Victor’s. A little heads up would be nice.

  Victor stood in the brightly lit street, his sunglasses only seeming to bring out the tanned hue of his skin. His white button down shirt tucked into his slacks, which fit him beautifully. If he wasn't a monster he would be stunning. Kate had yet to place his age and nationality yet. He could be a lot of things, but the less she knew about him, the better off she was.

  "Morning, boss," she spoke with authority, the sarcasm woven through her words.

  His smile caused her stomach to tighten and she turned away, pushing the door closed as he walked in.

  "Partner, Katelyn. Partners." He turned and slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks. "How are you feeling?"

  "Much better, thanks. Must have been something I ate yesterday." She nodded toward the back of the club. "Let's go to my office and we can talk there."

  "Sure. Whatever you like." He moved toward the back as Kate walked quietly beside him. The need to continue the conversation died inside of her. There was no need to placate him or come up with something silly or trivial to keep them chatting. He was more than comfortable with who he was and what his desires were. She had no clue of either anymore.

  Having spent the last twenty years of her life trying hard to push away anyone who even began to promise love or kindness, she was lost after meeting Jon. He promised both and came through on neither. She knew he was struggling, but she was too. He was supposed to rescue her, to offer her this great relationship she could see in his eyes, but at the first sign of trouble he had turned away - running fast and hard, and leaving her to fight alone.

  Kate opened the door at the back of the club and moved into the darkness as Victor spoke.

  "What is the security code for the front door?"

  "Twelve forty-six." Kate moved into her office, flipping on the light and walking around her desk to try and put something in between them.

  "Any significance to the number?"

  "No. It's just a number. I'm not a sentimental type of woman."

  "So I gather." He pulled off his sunglasses and set them on the desk before taking a seat in front of her. "The code for the office?"

  "Same."

  "You shoul
d change it. If someone were to get into the front, they would be in your office within minutes."

  "I'll look into it." Kate crossed her arms over her chest.

  His voice was almost caring, but the devil never did come as evil incarnate. He always showed up as a savior with a kind smile and a seductive voice. Jon would pass well for the position too.

  "You'll change them while I'm here." Victor leaned forward, reaching across the desk and brushing his fingers along a picture of her in front of the club. The smile on her face in the photo was genuine - one of the only times in her life where goodness reigned. "You're my future. I don't want anything to happen to you."

  "You're putting a lot of faith into someone you barely know, Mr. Parence." Kate slid her arm away from him and clasped her hands in her lap.

  "It's Victor and I know far more than you think I do, Katelyn."

  "It's Kate. I would appreciate you respecting my space too. I'm not a touchy feely kind of person." Kate pulled her arms back up and locked them around her.

  Something about the villain in front of her made her skin crawl. She wanted to get up and run until the warmth of the sun covered her and yet there was a part of her soul that still craved the darkness. It was the power of getting lost in its hold, of never knowing if you would make it out unscathed because of its vast power. It was thrilling and horribly frightening. It was Victor.

  "I think that once our relationship blossoms to its full potential you'll almost come to crave my touch, Kate." Victor stood and pressed his hands to the desk.

  Kate stood as well, wanting to make sure he knew that she wasn't a docile flower that was going to bend beneath his power. She was grateful for Marcus pulling her out, but she was quite capable of handling her own. She leaned toward him menacingly and let her gaze move across him. Would she come to crave his touch? Something about wanting to know felt forbidden, tainted, taboo.

  "Business partners share many things, Mr. Parence, but the best of them never cross the line. You and I are going to usher in a new era right here in the heart of sin city, but that's all we're going to do. I didn't send Marcus this morning because you scare me or because I'm not capable of handling your wayward demands on my own."

  "No?" He stood and moved slowly around the desk.

  Kate stiffened before forcing herself to relax. Many times in the past she had found herself in the presence of various monsters. This one would be no different. The fear that pulsed through her had everything to do with drowning in his powerful gaze and nothing else. He was beautiful and quite deadly. Victor Parence was a man that had yet to be told no. She planned on changing that.

  "No." She slid her hands into her jeans as he moved closer, stopping only a foot from her. She glanced up at him and relaxed her shoulders subtly.

  "Then I apologize. I thought perhaps you realized the potential and it scared you, frightened you to the core of your being." He took another step and Kate held her position, the tall drug lord almost pressed to the front of her.

  He scared her in the apartment a week ago when he and his lackey had come to teach her a lesson. He was overwhelming, but the only way to make it through the new deal they had stuck between the two of them was to push each chance she got and hope like hell it would be enough to keep him at bay.

  "You thought wrong. You do nothing at all for me. I showed you respect for the position you hold when we first met. Don't over-exaggerate where we are headed. You've called me out of a peaceful life and back into the fray. I'm not anything other than ready."

  He hovered there for a minute, breathing in deeply before taking a step back, his lips lifting into a sardonic smile. "Good. I want you ready. Work hard to continue pushing against me, Kate. I like breaking a fighter more than anything else."

  "Why are you here tonight? You have fifteen minutes before I'm meeting with my staff to start the night's laundry list of chores before we open."

  "I wanted to see you, face to face. I felt the need to let you know that it's not me you need to fear. It's what's to come."

  "I fear nothing."

  He chuckled and moved back around the desk, his smile only making him more handsome. "I fear desolation. I fear having an empire that rules the darkest corners of the world and never having anyone to share it with. I fear the need that pulses inside my stomach when I think about how good it's going to feel to break you."

  Kate swallowed hard and tried to calm her nerves. He was only trying to get her worked up and it was working. She wasn't sure if being overwhelmed by the monster and wanting to know the depths of his fear made her a bigger one than him.

  How long would it take for her to resort back to the woman she was before?

  The one who was willing to do anything for power - even kill.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Jon

  Jon took the first seat he could find at the bar before pushing the other barstools away. He needed a little bit of room to look through the file without those around him checking out the contents. The information on Kate was hard to get a hold of and not that anyone else would be looking for it, but his paranoia was getting the best of him. He had been one of the good guys too long to enjoy the feelings of guilt that clung to him. He had used the file manager's feelings toward him to check out the file while showing no record of doing so.

  He had to know about the woman he was currently willing to give everything up for. Who was she really and why did he sense that pushing their relationship to the next level was the worst thing he could do? Maybe he was reading her wrong. Maybe she wasn't as into him as he wanted her to be. Kate was guarded. She protected her heart at all costs from what he could tell. She had let him in a little, but not much. Sex seemed to be the key - almost as if physical touch was the language she best understood. Jon shuddered at the thought of Victor, or even Marcus, touching her intimately now that he had. Could he stomach that?

  "Fuck no," he grumbled and glanced up as the bartender stopped in front of him. It was an older man with a cheeky grin and a rather cheerful disposition.

  "What'll it be for you, son?"

  "Jack and coke, double please." Jon glanced back down at the file, opening it as the bartender moved away, whistling a tune Jon knew, but couldn't place. He would need to get through the information on Kate before the liquor took its hold on him. Otherwise he wouldn't get through it. It had been a long time since he'd drank to simply escape.

  Sitting at the top of the large stack of papers that made up the file was a picture of Kate. It was the one he'd first seen when he and Seth had begun to look into her. That file was a condensed version of this one, a need to know only version. This one held everything from her days of criminal activity.

  "It's about to get thicker," Jon mumbled as the glass of liquor was set down in front of him.

  "Enjoy. Want me to start you a tab?"

  "Sure do." Jon glanced up and took the drink, lifting it to his lips and tensing at the thought of getting blitzed in a bar in the middle of the day. His need to drown himself in liquor was a place he never wanted to visit again and yet here he was.

  He took a long drink and set it down, enjoying far too much how badly the liquor burnt his throat and chest. He tugged at the clips at the top of the file and pulled the picture of Kate off the top, lifting it toward his face. Dark circles sat beneath her eyes, her expression rather deadpan. Even in the midst of tragedy, she looked gorgeous. The need to save her roared to life again and Jon put the picture down, not needing any more fueling the fire inside of him where the woman was concerned.

  He moved quickly through the various facts containing her height and weight, eye color and birth information. He didn't care about her family past or where she grew up. The goal was to understand better what type of criminal mind he was falling in love with. Was she simply a bystander that got wrapped up with the wrong crowd, or was she another Seth?

  Had she fooled him like his partner had? It was highly likely, and the thing that would hurt the most. He had no faith in himself
after watching Seth turn the tables on him so easily. If he didn't believe in himself, why the hell would he believe in her?

  She had almost seemed willing and ready to join Victor the last time he saw her. True colors or simply resignation to what was coming her way? She couldn't stop the bastard so why not man up and join him?

  Jon pulled off a handful of papers, leaving them to lay on top of the picture as he leaned over and scanned the next part of the file, the information exactly what he was looking for. She had been brought in on two counts of possession and one attempted murder. The file labeled her as the right hand of Billy Turner, which wasn't too surprising. He was the drug lord that Seth had worked diligently to bring into the station. The man was a piece of shit and a scary one at that. Marcus and Victor had nothing on this guy, and somehow Jon's preppy-ass partner had busted him.

  The picture began to clear up more and more though. Seth wasn't anything he said he was. No wonder he had access to Billy. He was part of his entourage as well. Which meant that he knew Kate...

  Heat rolled over Jon as he tried to push through the buzz the liquor afforded. He needed to figure out what it all meant. Kate had never seen Seth, or at least not while Jon was around, so maybe he had her as fooled as he had Jon about everything? Or maybe Kate was well aware of who Seth was. Maybe she was helping him.

  The file included the details of the drug busts Kate got wrapped up in, but nothing on the attempted murder. Jon flipped through the file once more and then again. His mind moving frantically through the details of what he had, trying to piece together anything that might bring him to a clearer conclusion. Was she who she said she was?

  Did she need a savior? Someone to bring her out of the darkness and love her into being the good woman she was capable of being, or was she as nefarious as Seth? One thing was for certain - she knew Seth. Why had she acted differently in the old warehouse when they came face to face?