Temper Him by Caitlyn Dare

Chapter Thirty-One

Kennedy

Silence echoes around us as my words hang in the air.

“Fuck, I need to talk to James.” Conner leaps up, raking a hand through his hair.

“It’s first thing in the morning...”

“So? I need answers. Charlie. Donny. Warren. Hadley’s ex...”

“Hadley’s ex?” I frown. “The guy from Gravestone?”

“Yeah, he showed up before the holidays. Tried to hurt Hadley. James took care of it, just like he seems to take care of all our problems.” Conner scrubs his face.

“What are you thinking?” I climb out of bed and tuck myself into his warm body.

“I don’t know... he said he’s involved with some dangerous people. But those photographs Warren had... the newspaper clippings and notes...”

“You saw her.”

“Hadley,” he breathes, a shudder rolling through him.

“There was a picture of Remi’s car too,” I add. “I don’t think Lylah keyed her car... it was Warren. It was all Warren.”

“Yeah.” Conner hugs me tighter. “I know you don’t want to think about what happened, and I don’t want to make you—”

“It’s okay, I want to help. But honestly, I didn’t see much more than you. Warren didn’t say anything.” Except for his taunts and jibes, which Conner doesn’t need to know about.

He lets out a defeated sigh before kissing my head. “Come on, it’s time to have a little chat with James.”

He goes to walk away, but I yank his hand sharply. “Conner, I’m not sure I should—"

“Babe, you’re my girl.” He cups my face, lowering his head to mine. “My every-fucking-thing. We do this together. In fact, from now on, I think we should do everything together.” He drops his hands, winding his arms around me. “It’s you and me, K. You’re stuck with me.”

Warmth fills my belly. “I like the sound of that.”

Conner kisses me, hard and bruising, as if he’s sealing his promise with every stroke of his tongue. Liquid lust floods my veins, but all too soon he breaks away, inhaling a ragged breath.

“Later.” He smirks.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Hand in hand, we leave his room. The house is quiet. Ellen hums a cheery tune somewhere deep in the house as we head for James’ office.

“Surely he’ll be sleeping?” I whisper.

It’s early, and after the events of last night, I feel like I could sleep for a week.

“Guess we’ll find out.” Conner doesn’t bother knocking, pulling me inside.

It’s empty, but the room is a mess. The huge desk is littered with papers and documents. There’s an empty glass on the sideboard and a half empty bottle of scotch.

“What is all this stuff?” I run my fingers over a couple of letters. Names I don’t recognize are printed along the top. Kingsley. Davenport. Cargill. “Rexford?” The word spills from my lips.

“What?” Conner leans in close and scans the document.

“It looks like some kind of roster.”

“But why would Hadley’s family name be on there?”

“What’s that?” Conner points to a watermark in the corner.

“It looks like some kind of cres—”

The door creaks open, startling us both.

“Why am I not surprised?” James says coolly.

“You owe us an explanation.”

He runs a hand over his stubble. There are dark circles around his eyes, and when I breathe in I get a faint whiff of liquor. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Mr. Jagger was hungover.

“You should be resting,” he says to me.

“I’m okay, all thanks to you.”

Conner makes a derisive noise in the back of his throat and I cut him a hard look.

“Ah, it would seem my son hasn’t told you the entire story.”

“Conner?” Dread washes through me.

“I thought I’d save that for you.”

Letting out a resigned sigh, James closes the door and takes a seat in his fancy wingback chair. “Sit.” He motions to the couch. “I’d offer us all a drink, but it’s a little early.”

“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” Conner mutters, tension radiating off him in thick waves. I squeeze his hand gently, my eyes flicking to his. His dark expression softens. “We saw it.” He says the words to his father, but he’s looking at me. “We saw it all.”

“I suppose you want answers.”

“I do.” Conner’s eyes finally slide past me. “I want to know why the fuck Warren had photos of Hadley, Timothy Davenport, and Bexley Danforth on that wall.”

“Son, keep your voice down. The last thing I want is Cole to—”

“Seriously? You want to keep this from him? He has a right to know. They both do.”

James runs a hand down his weary face. “It’s not that simple, Son. There are things—”

“Yeah, yeah... things we can’t know. But you gotta see it from my point of view. My girl was kidnapped and had a gun held to her head by some fucking psychopath who wanted to hurt us... and you left her there because of what—”

“What?” The words whooshes from my lungs. Guilt shines in James’ eyes.

“You were always safe, Kennedy, I promise.”

“N-no, that’s not—”

“Shh, babe.” Conner pulls me into his side and I cling to him, trying to make sense of what James is saying.

“Warren discovered some things. Things about me and the people I work for.” He slumps back in his chair. “How much has Hadley told you about Gravestone?”

“A little,” Conner replies. “She doesn’t really talk about it.”

“Understandable.” He runs his hand along his jaw. “Hadley’s dad is one of the founding families of Gravestone.”

“Founding families, what does that mean?” I ask, uncertain I want to know. But then, part of me wants to know what was worth leaving me there in that cage for.

A shiver rolls down my spine and Conner presses kisses to my hair.

“I’m right here,” he whispers, and my eyes flutter closed. “You’re safe now, K.”

I nod. When my eyes open again, James is watching me intently.

“For what it’s worth, Kennedy, I will never forgive myself for all of this. But I had to know... we had to discover his base of operations.”

“Base of operations?” Conner scoffs. “This isn’t some espionage movie, James. It’s our life, and I think we have a right to know what’s going on.”

Mr. Jagger lets out a long steady breath. “Our family is from Gravestone. The people I work for, the men who control the town... they are not the kind of people you want to disobey, Son.”

“So what, they’re like gangsters?”

“I guess you could call them a gang. One steeped in history and tradition.”

“You mean like a cult?” I blurt out, because he’s being so vague and mysterious.

“The details are not important. What matters is that the less you know, the safer you are. I am repaying a debt to them. A debt I do not intend being passed onto Ace.”

“Ace? But you said—"

“Conner, please. I’m going to need you to trust me on this. The less said about Gravestone the better. Warren is gone, he can’t hurt Kennedy anymore.” He releases a weary sigh, and it’s then that I realize how tired Mr. Jagger is.

“No way. You can’t expect me to just forget all those photographs. I mean, what does Bexley have to do with any of this? He’s been gone for months.”

“Conner,” James warns. “I’m asking you to trust—”

“Trust works both ways, Dad. He tried to kill her. He put a gun to her head and—”

I throw my arms around Conner and hold him tight, feeling his body tremble beneath me. “Shh,” I whisper. “It’s okay, I’m okay.”

“No.” Conner cups the back of my head and presses his brow to mine, staring into my eyes. “Nothing about this is okay.”

He wants to push his father, I can see it right there in his cloudy gaze. But I’m crashing.

“I’m tired,” I whisper. “Take me back to bed?

“Yeah, okay.”

We stand, and Conner locks eyes with his father. “If you’re lying to me, if she’s still in danger, I will—”

“She’s not, Son. I promise, Kennedy is safe. The same goes for Hadley and Remi.”

“And the rest of us?”

“You are my sons. It will always make you somewhat of a target. But I swear to you, everything I’ve done, everything I will continue to do is for the three of you. So that you can have the lives you deserve.”

Conner gives him a sharp nod before pulling me from the room. He doesn’t stop until we’re back in the privacy of his bedroom.

“Fuck,” he breathes, “fuck.”

“Come here.” I pull him into my arms and run my hands up and down his thick biceps. “Are you okay?”

“Honestly, I don’t know what I am anymore. I’ve been the one championing him, you know? Ace and Cole, they were both so fucking wary when we first got here... but not me. I wanted this life.”

“I don’t think he’s a bad person, Con. Look at what he did. He helped Remi and Hadley, and now me. He’s trying...” Maybe I should feel disappointed to learn I was a pawn in the game between Warren and Mr. Jagger, but he still came. He still got me out of there. I was only there to protect Conner and his family, and I can’t help but think Mr. Jagger is the same. He does whatever is necessary to ensure that.

No matter the consequence.

Conner inhales a shuddering breath. “You could have di—”

“But I didn’t, I didn’t. We get forever, Con. We get our happily ever after.” I let my lips slide against his, trying to distract him. I know he wants answers, part of me does too. But this—us—is more important.

Being here, at the Jaggers house, being safe and loved in Conner’s arms… it’s the best thing that could ever have happened to me.

“Two and a half months,” I whisper against his mouth. “Two and a half months before we can take off and never look back.”

“Yeah?” His voice cracks.

“Yeah.” I rake my hand through his hair and down the back of his neck. “Sometimes you have to go through the storm to find the rainbow.”

The corner of his mouth tips. “Does that make me your rainbow?”

“Hmm, no... it makes you my everything, Conner.”

My every-fucking-thing.