Caleb (The Unseen Series Book 1) (8 page)

“I have two brothers, Grayson and Logan. Two step-brothers, Aiden and Kade, and a step-sister, Jessica. My father was Leo Slate, Angelo Buccieri’s underboss.”

“Your father was the underboss of the Decavalcante crime family?” I ask.

“You know about the different organizations?”

“Only really the New Jersey one. My mom said my father was something called a Caporegime.”

“Capo,” he says. “Do you know his name?”

“No, mom said I wasn’t allowed to know, it was too dangerous,” I tell him.

“So your mom isn’t part of the family?”

“No, my mom’s a whore,” I say simply and watch his eyes widen at my brashness. “This guy was paying her for sex and then when she found out she was pregnant, he threw a small amount of money at her and told her to get rid of it. She went into hiding for a while, had me and then carried on with what she was good at. Even after she met my step-dad Ken and they got married, she was still whoring herself. Ken was great though, he taught me so much,” I explain.

“Where’s your mom and step-dad now?”

“My mom abandoned us when I was seventeen. One day she just didn’t come home. We thought the worst and filed a missing persons report, the police found her and she told them to leave her alone she didn’t want to be found.” I turn and take my shot, missing the red by miles. “Ken was a mess, everything got out of hand and a couple of months before I turned eighteen we lost our house. We spent three nights on the streets when someone must have reported us to child protection because they came and took the twins. While Ken drank himself silly, I was trying to do everything I could to get the twins back to me as soon as possible. I didn’t see them for nearly two months.”

“SJ, I’m so sorry,” he says so genuinely and I almost believe him until I remember he is kicking us out in just two months and child protection is going to come and take Maddie and Mitch from me again.

“You’re not sorry though,” I say and watch his expression change from sympathy to defensive. “You’re kicking us out of our homes. I’ve already had my social worker at the apartment last week, telling me there is a wonderful foster home for the children in the Washington Highlands. They will take the twins, put them in the system and I’ll never find them again.”

“Let me help you then,” he argues. “I’ll find you somewhere so the twins aren’t taken from you again.”

“And what are you going to want in return?” I sneer.

“Nothing, I just want to help you,” he argues.

“Then leave our building alone!” I yell and tears start to well up. Damnit, I’m not going to cry in front of him. Rita was right, he is the enemy and I’ve stupidly allowed myself to start feeling something for him. “It’s not just Mitch and Maddie. Rita’s children, Claire’s children, all of them will be taken away from us. That many children going into the system at once will be hectic and they’ll lose track of them. You have no idea what it is like to have nothing or what it feels like to have everything ripped away from you. Our apartment building might just be a derelict building to you, but it’s a palace to us, a safe haven.”

“I’ve just told you about what happened when my mom died, so don’t tell me I don’t know what it’s like to have everything you love taken away from you,” he growls.

“Don’t compare us, rich boy. You wouldn’t last a week on the streets without your fancy bath tub or your ridiculously expensive coffee.”

“I managed to drink your coffee flavored water didn’t I?” he taunts cruelly. I give him a look of disgust. This man isn’t just the enemy, he’s the spawn of the devil, his father was an underboss and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. “Fine, challenge accepted.”

“What?” I ask, wondering what he’s up to now.

“I’ll be homeless and poor for a week. If I make it through the week, then the demolition goes ahead as planned.”

“And if you don’t?”

“Then I guess I have one hundred and two new tenants.”

I smile and hold my hand out, he takes it and we shake on it. His smile is slightly unnerving me.

“I think it’s time I got home,
we
have an early start,” I tell him.

“Why?”

“We have to go shopping,” I reply, my grin getting bigger.

“What?”

“You can’t be homeless and poor in your expensive tailored Armani suit now, can you?”

“I have plenty of other clothes I can use,” he says, starting to sound a little nervous now. Did he really think I was going to make it that easy for him?

“You can’t wear cashmere and fine silks or whatever it is you rich boys wear. You’re homeless.”

“So where are we going shopping?” he asks and my grin literally splits my face.

“South Dakota Drive,” I reply like it’s a high end shopping strip.

“What’s there?” he asks through gritted teeth.

“Goodwill.” I smile and pat him on the shoulder.

“No,” he states simply. “Plus I have a tone of stuff I have to do this week.”

“Then you lose. I’d like to go home now.”

He throws his cue at the wall and huffs out of the room. I’m glad he wasn’t watching me because I jumped a little. Angry Caleb isn’t someone I want to provoke, obviously.

Chapter 8

I
storm
out of the room after throwing the cue at the wall, only slightly satisfied when I see SJ flinch from the corner of my eye.
What the hell did you just agree to?

Too determined to prove a point, my ego answered before my brain had a chance to catch up. Now this time tomorrow, you’ll be wearing someone else’s sweat-infested clothes and sleeping on the street.
Fuck!

“Wow, you throw a better temper tantrum than Mitch does.” She chuckles, jogging to catch up with me.

“I can’t do it this week, I have too much going on,” I say, avoiding eye contact with her.

“Tough, you made the bet,” she argues.

“I’ll do it, just not this week.”

“This is a time sensitive situation. You might have a little work to do but this is our livelihoods on the line here.”

Rip into her Caleb, put her in her place!
my head screams at me but my cock appears to be pulling the strings to my mouth.

“You’re right,” I reply.
What the fuck?

“I am?” she questions in surprise.
Believe me princess, no one is more surprised than me.

“We can shop tomorrow.” I wince at the thought. “But I can’t start this challenge until Tuesday, I need to spend Monday rearranging all my meetings for the rest of the week.”

“Okay, that’s fair,” she replies.

I nod, wondering how long it will be before I regret making this impulsive decision. “Let’s get you home,” I say and lead her back to the main part of the house.

“I just need to get changed,” she says.

“Just grab your things, don’t worry about changing.”

I follow her out to the car and open the door for her, rearranging my dick when I close the door. The sight of her in my huge t-shirt and sweatpants that swamp her in black heels will do things to a man.

I pull up outside her building and turn to her. “What time tomorrow?” I ask.

“Noon sounds good,” she mumbles and I notice she’s wringing her hands in her lap. Is she nervous?

“That’s fine, I’ll pick you up then,” I say. She nods and I open my door to get out, while she climbs out her side. “I was going to open the door for you,” I say. She chuckles and blushes, sits back in the car and closes the door. I can’t help laughing as I reopen the door. “M’lady.”

“Thank you, good sir,” she replies in a British accent that reminds me of my friend’s wife, Dana. No wonder Edward is whipped, listening to that voice all day must leave him with a constant hard on. I take her hand and help her out of the car, and then walk her up to her apartment. The moment we hit the second floor, Rita’s door flings open. She takes in SJ’s appearance and then her narrowed glare settles on me.

“No need to ask how your evening was, I can clearly see it for myself,” she mutters to SJ.

SJ looks confused for a moment. “What are you talking about?”

“When you come home wearing another man’s clothes, it’s pretty obvious what has gone on.”

“Rita, it’s not what it looks like.” SJ chuckles. “Caleb took me to a restaurant, I was uncomfortable. He asked me what my ideal date was and I told him. A night in wearing sweats, a t-shirt and eating grilled cheese sandwiches. He took me back to his place and that’s exactly what we did. He was a perfect gentleman.”

“Gentleman? The man’s a player,” she grunts.

“We’ve come to an agreement,” SJ tells her friend excitedly. “Caleb is going to be a homeless and poor for a week. If he makes it through the whole week, we still have to move out as planned, but if he doesn’t make it, we get to stay.”

Rita appears to think about this, when a nasty grin begins to grow across her face. “I’m going to make this the hardest week of your life,” she says. “SJ, I’ll see you in the morning.”

SJ says goodbye and when she turns back to me, she’s looking really nervous again.

“Can I kiss you?” I ask.
You’ve never asked permission before.

She nods her head and I lower my lips to hers, gently nipping at her bottom lip. She tastes so good, like strawberries and vanilla.

I pull back when she moans into my mouth. A man only has so much self-control.

She smiles at me, her cheeks glowing and I’ve decided I prefer her wearing aroused pink more than embarrassed pink. “I’ll see you in the morning?”

“I’ll be here at noon,” I reply with my own grin. “Goodnight, SJ,” I say and turn toward the stairs.

“Goodnight, Caleb.”

***

As I drive to Grayson’s place, SJ’s scent is still lingering around me. Her taste, her eyes, those gorgeous pink cheeks—I just can’t seem to get her out of my mind.

Pull yourself together man!

I knock on Grayson’s door and he opens it instantly, looking rather surprised to see me.

“Either she’s easy or you should change your name to shotgun,” he mutters and lets me in.

“Shotgun?” I question.

“You know,” he says and then imitates the sound of cocking a barrel and then firing the gun. I, unfortunately, am still none the wiser and look at him confused. “Oh come on Caleb, you know,
pump, pump, squirt
.”

“Asshole,” I grunt and punch him in the shoulder. “We didn’t have sex.”

“You’re losing your touch,” he replies, seemingly unaffected by my assault.

“I thought you wanted my help? Maybe I should just go home,” I suggest.

Grayson just stares at me, arms crossed and jaw clenched. By not biting back with some smart ass remark, this is Grayson’s way of calling a truce.

“I didn’t think so,” I chuckle. “What do you need?”

“I need to find her, I told you that,” he huffs.

“Grayson,” I start. “Your obsession with Evangeline isn’t healthy. Maybe now is the time to start distancing yourself from her.”

“No!” he yells, startling me. “She needs me.”

“She doesn’t even know you exist and when she finds out who you are, she’ll wish she didn’t,” I remind him.

“I am not obsessed with her, she just won’t take the money. I need her to take the money.”

“You can’t force her to take it, it’s up to her. You’ve spent the last eight years trying to atone for your mistake. Leave her to get on with her life now. Her grandma took the money, and you made sure she never went without. You sent her to collage for god’s sake.”

“Her grandma only took the money after something happened with the step-brother,” Grayson practically spits. “And I still don’t know what happened.”

“Did you ever ask the old woman?”

“She told Mike to tell me it was none of my business,” he replies, referring to the head of Slate Security’s legal team.

“But she happily took your money?” I ask.

“Yes, and now the grandmother has died, and Evangeline wants nothing from me.”

“Can you blame her?”

“Maybe she’s right—I deserve to be behind bars for what I did,” he muses.

“Grayson, it was an accident. What you did was dangerous and stupid but it was still an accident,” I try to reason with him.

“Will you look for her?” he asks but doesn’t acknowledge me.

“I’ll look into it. I can’t promise anything, but maybe it’s time you let this go,” I tell him and he just scoffs in reply. “I have to clear my schedule tomorrow and I won’t be available for a week, I’ll look for her after that.”

“Where are you going?” he asks suspiciously.

“I’ll be being a homeless and poor man,” I respond and wait for the laughter to erupt.

“Why?” he asks with no trace of humor. Not the reaction I was expecting at all.

“I made a deal with SJ. If I can be homeless for a week, she has to let me get on with my job and stop trying to guilt trip me about evicting them.”

“And if you don’t make the week?” he asks.

“I will, so it’s not a problem,” I reply and that’s when the laughter starts.

“Again, I’ll ask. What if you don’t make the week?”

“I have to let them stay in their homes,” I mutter and Grayson’s laughing gets louder.

“You idiot,” he laughs and then takes a deep breath. “Congratulations on your new tenants.”

“What makes you think I’ll lose?” He doesn’t answer, he just looks me up and down and starts laughing again. “I’ll see you in a week,” I say, grabbing my things and heading out the door.

I’ll make it through the week. I have to.

***

After a horrible night of broken sleep, I finally make my way to SJ’s, stopping at the store on the way and preparing myself for the inevitable trip to Goodwill.

I run up the stairs, taking them two at a time and knock on SJ’s door.

“Hey, come in,” she says when she finally opens the door. “I have a small problem, you may have to go shopping without me.”

“Why, what’s up?” I ask, picking up the duvet from the couch and folding it.

“You don’t have to do that,” she replies, pointing at the now folded duvet.

“It’s okay, why do you sleep out here?” I ask.

“The kids have the bedroom,” she replies and then points at the couch. “That turns into a bed but I never pull it out.”

“So why can’t you come with me today?” I ask.

“Rita had to go out so I don’t have anyone to watch the twins,” she says simply.

“Can’t they come with us?” I ask.

“You wouldn’t mind that?” she asks a little shocked.

“Of course not,” I say and furrow my brow. “Why would I mind?”

“I don’t know,” she says, looking suddenly nervous. “I just assumed I guess.”

“Are you tarring me with the
rich boy
brush again?” I joke and watch pink color her cheeks again. “I love children. My best friend has two and they’re amazing.”

“Okay, well as long as you’re sure?” she double checks. I nod and she goes to the bedroom to get the children ready.

“Caleb!” Maddie yells as she runs from the bedroom and jumps on to my lap.

“Hey there kiddo,” I laugh as she wraps her little arms around my neck.

“Mommy said we are going out with you,” she says. “Where are we going?”

“Shopping,” I reply through a forced smile. “Then maybe we can go for something to eat afterwards.”

“Only if you’re paying, rich boy,” SJ jokes and I realize this is the first time I’ve heard her joke about money. Usually she’s pretty serious about it and would have shot down the suggestion, telling me how many people we could feed with that money. Maybe she’s just relaxing around me now.

“Of course I’m paying, it was my idea,” I say not making a big deal of it.

“So if I said let’s go get food, does that mean I would have to pay?” Mitch says as he comes up behind me.

“Yep,” SJ jumps in with a grin. “You’d have to pay for everyone’s dinner.”

“I won’t ever suggest it then,” he responds. SJ and I burst out laughing.

“You’re growing up too quick, little man,” SJ says and wraps her arms around Mitch.

“Are we ready to go?” I ask.

“Yeah I think so, let’s go.” SJ smiles brightly. “Hands, please,” she says to the twins once she’s locked the door. Mitch grabs her hand and surprisingly, Maddie grabs mine. Once we exit the main door, I head to my car as SJ heads to hers.

“We’ll take mine,” I say, really not wanting to get in her death trap. If she’d allow it, I’d replace it with a safer car, but the woman is stubborn and will just refuse it.

“I’ve got car seats in mine,” she replies.

I open the back door of my car, revealing the two new seats I picked up at the store earlier. “So do I,” I reply.

“Why do you have car seats?” she asks, a look of confusion crossing her face.

“In all honesty, I thought we were taking the children today anyway and picked them up before I came over.”

She smiles brightly and I can’t help wanting to always put that look on her face—she’s so beautiful.

“Thank you,” she finally responds. “Please keep your feet off the seat, Mitch.”

After she finishes buckling Mitch in, I turn her toward me. “Don’t worry about the seats SJ, they’re kids and I expect it.”

“I just don’t want them to ruin your car,” she answers.

“It doesn’t matter, its just material. I hope you don’t think I’m being bossy, but I don’t want them to worry about that sort of thing, at least not today, let them be kids.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”

“Maybe I am, but you know as well as I do about having responsibility thrust upon you at an age when you should be being a kid.”

“Yeah I guess so but if they rip the leather, I’m so going to tell you I told you so.” She laughs, walking around to strap Maddie in.

“Show me how to do this, so I can help next time,” I tell her.

She smiles at me like a child would with a new toy. Composing herself, she turns to the seat belt and starts explain how to attach the seat.