Keeping Katie (Syndicate Kings Book 5)

I knew he was bad news. The name sounded so familiar. Which is why I’m standing in front of Calvin Dunlap’s office with Bash, Killian, and Cage Black at my side. I don’t really know why Cage is here, but he said he wanted to join us, then gave me the most evil fucking grin I’ve ever seen, so there was no way in hell I was going to say no.

After my conversation with Kieran about Calvin, I reached out to Cage and asked him to dig up some info about the real estate agent. Cage came up with a lot of shit that I’m sure Calvin hoped would never be brought to light.

The young, pretty receptionist stands when the four of us walk into the pretentious office, her face going pale. There’s no doubt we’re intimidating. We’re all over six feet tall, have hand tattoos, and wear suits that cost more than most cars. Except for Cage. I’ve only seen him dressed up once. It was weird. Like today, he usually wears jeans, T-shirts, and some worn-in boots that I think are meant to look that way. I don’t think the guy is into fashion, but then again, I’m also pretty sure he’s a psychopath, so who knows what shit he’s into.

“Um, hello,” she says so quietly I barely hear her. The poor thing is shaking like a leaf. I wish we could reassure her that we’d never harm her, but I’m doubtful it would do any good.

“Hello. I need to speak with Calvin Dunlap. Can you point me to his office?” I ask.

She swallows and stares up at me for a few seconds before we’re interrupted.

“Doll-face, you gave me the wrong report.”

I turn toward the voice and glare. Calvin Fucking Dunlap. Past charges of fraud. Theft. A handful of other misdemeanor crimes. All of which he’s somehow gotten dropped. All by the same judge.

He pauses mid-step. When his gaze lands on Cage, his eyes bulge.

“Hey, old friend,” Cage says with a grin.

Calvin backs up, but Cage follows, and we go with him until the five of us are inside a large office. Killian closes the door and locks it.

“W-what are you doing here?” Calvin asks, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Cage shrugs, smiling at the asshole. “I’m just here for fun, and I’m having a fucking blast, man. How about you?”

I look from Cage to Calvin and back again. Okay, so obviously they know each other. Cage didn’t mention that. Whatever their history, it’s not good.

“Good, man. Good. Real good. Yep,” Calvin squeaks out.

Shaking my head, I charge toward him. “You’ve been working with my girl, Katie, on selling her parents’ house.”

Something flashes in Calvin’s eyes before he nods. “Right, right. Yeah, the old ranch house.”

“Yeah. You no longer work for her. As of today, you’ll never speak to her again. The list of bullshit you gave her to do to fix up the house, what the fuck was that all about?”

“I was just trying to help her get the most money for the house, man. She’s trying to pay off her parents’ medical bills,” he answers quickly.

I take another step closer, my irritation prickling the back of my neck. “Trying to get top dollar so you could line your fucking pockets. We pulled some financials on you, Calvin. Seems you’ve been getting a really high commission off your sales lately.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Bash scoffs. “Like hell you don’t, asshole. You know exactly what the fuck you’re doing. And it seems you must be blowing a judge on a regular basis to get all these fucking charges dropped over and over. You’ve been doing sleazy shit ever since you were a teen.”

Cage snorts. “I’ll say. Ole Calvin, or as I know him, Walter Boris Dunlap the Third. How the fuck did you come up with the name Calvin? You decided to give yourself a different name, and you fucking chose Calvin? Shows what a fucking idiot you still are. But I guess when your father is a judge, you can do whatever the fuck you want, am I right, Waltie?”

What the fuck?

“Walter’s parents fostered me for a few months,” Cage adds. “And boy, oh, boy, Waltie here always made me feel right at home. In between the times he was terrorizing neighborhood animals, of course.”

Oh, shit.

Calvin’s skin turns so pale it’s almost scary. It’s also fucking hilarious.

Strolling forward, I give the prick a shove, then grab him by the throat before he falls on his ass. “I don’t give a fuck who you are or who you know; you’re going to stay away from Katie. Cage might have let you live despite his hatred for you, but I won’t if you cross me. This is your only warning.”

I release him with another shove, sending him flailing backward into a wall. I’m surprised by how quickly he recovers and starts to straighten his suit.

“Whatever you say, man,” Calvin mumbles as he brushes off some invisible lint.

God, the guy is slimy. It makes me sick to think he’s ever been alone with Katie. I need to make that one of her rules. No being alone with any man but me or one of ours.

“I could have gone a fucking lifetime without ever seeing your ugly ass, and yet here you are, in Seattle of all fucking places, and I’m regretting letting you live. Won’t be so lucky next time, Dunlap. I suggest you keep one eye over your shoulder because your time is coming,” Cage says calmly, then smiles so fucking wickedly that even I get goosebumps.

Whatever Calvin did to piss off Cage, it must have been good. I’m shocked the guy is still alive. Cage isn’t known for being forgiving.

Feeling like I got my point across, I stride out of the office and don’t stop until the four of us are near the SUVs.

Turning to Cage, I narrow my eyes. “You knew who he was and decided to keep that little piece of information to yourself?”

Cage shrugs like it’s no big deal. “It wasn’t important for your situation.”

“Why is the piece of shit still living?” Killian demands.

“Because it was more fun breaking his arm in three places with my bare hands and watching his dream of being a star baseball player go down the drain one shitty hit at a time,” Cage answers with a smirk. “Besides, I went to juvie six months later, sentenced by his father. That’s when I was recruited onto my team, and I had to leave my past in the past. I hadn’t seen him again until today.”

Damn.

“Anyway, this was fun. I have shit to do. I’ll be in touch.” Cage salutes as he heads toward his vehicle.

Killian, Bash, and I glance at one another and shake our heads before we climb into the SUV. Cage is a mystery, but we really fucking like him.

Bash turns his attention to me. “What’s the plan now?”

I drive toward my realtor’s office. “Now, I figure out how to get Katie to move in with me. Do you think it’s too soon to ask?”

Bash laughs. “Why would you ask? Just move her shit to your house and cancel her lease. Decision made. Boom.”

Killian turns to look back at Bash. “Dude, how the fuck did you turn out like this? It’s like you see a line and dance right past it every time.”

Snorting, I nod. “It’s true. But I do like the way you’re thinking.”

“Jesus Christ. Are you seriously thinking of taking advice from Bash?” Killian scrubs a hand over his face and shakes his head.

I shrug. It’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard. Katie belongs with me, turning my house into our home. She needs a bedtime and someone to take care of her. I can’t do that like I want to if she isn’t living under my roof.

Killian sighs. “I never thought I’d be the sanest person in this group.”

Bash slaps his shoulder. “Just remember Declan stalked Cali for half a year before they got together, so I think we’re all sane compared to him.”

It’s kind of true. I’ve been lightly stalking Katie, but nowhere close to the degree that Declan did with Cali.

However it happens, Katie belongs with me. Whether she’s ready or not. I am, so she needs to get on board.

As soon as I walk into Twisted Bean, I know something is wrong before I even lay eyes on her. The air is different. Sadder. Heavier.

When I pass the espresso machine and finally see her behind it, making a drink, my chest squeezes. She looks exhausted. And her normally sparkling eyes are dim.

“Baby girl,” I murmur so only she can hear.

She looks up, and her shoulders drop like she’s been waiting to see me all day. “Hi,” she whispers.

I watch as she caps the coffee, sets it out for the waiting customer, and then meets me at the end of the counter. Right away, I pull her into my arms.

“What’s wrong with my girl?” I ask before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Letting out a deep sigh, she looks up at me. “Just a busy day, and I got an email from my real estate agent telling me he wouldn’t be able to work with me any longer because of scheduling conflicts. Whatever that means. I didn’t like him anyway, but now I need to find a new one, and I don’t have time to start all over. The insurance company is constantly pestering me for payment. They’ve been pretty patient up until now. I thought the house would be sold already, and then I could pay them off. Or mostly off anyway.”

My heart and cock both ache for her but in different ways. She’s so small compared to me. I’d never think of her as weak because it’s obvious how strong my girl is, but fuck, she’s struggling. As her Daddy, I need to step in before she breaks.

“Breathe, baby girl. We’ll handle all of this together. It’s not all on you anymore.”

She pushes against me and shakes her head. “Grady.”

Oh no. Fuck no. She’s not going to push me away and feed me a line of bullshit about whatever trash she’s telling herself.

“You don’t want to get involved with me. I’m a mess.”

Yep. Straight fucking garbage.

I look around, noting one of her employees cleaning a table, then grab Katie by the wrist and lead her toward the back room. I haven’t seen the entire shop yet, but there’s got to be somewhere private where I can make things perfectly fucking clear to her.

To the left is a small but organized office. I pull her in and close the door behind us.

“Grady, what are you doing?” she asks, her eyes wide and her tone tinged with fear.

Ignoring her, I spin her toward the desk and push her down roughly so her chest is resting on a pile of papers. Then I smack her ass.

“What am I doing, baby girl? I’m teaching you a lesson. That’s what Daddy is doing. Because you think you have to take on the world all alone, you’re pushing yourself to your limits. That’s going to end, right here, right now.” I smack her ass again, and she yelps. “When I sank my cock deep into your pussy, no condom, nothing between us but our souls, and told you that you were mine, I meant every fucking word of it. That means your problems are my problems, and you’re mine to take care of. You’re not allowed to push me away, Katie-baby.”

I smack each cheek a few times, though I doubt it hurts all that much over her jeans. She still jumps in surprise.

“You belong to me, Little girl. I’m not Grady to you. I’m Daddy.”

She’s breathing hard, but she doesn’t agree with me, and it makes my cock harden even more. She’s testing me. Pushing me. Too bad for her and her round ass, she’s going to find out this Daddy doesn’t back down.

“Unbutton your jeans,” I command.

“What?” she tries to rise from the desk, but I hold her down.

“Unbutton your jeans. If I have to tell you again, I’ll use my belt instead of just my hand for this spanking.”

“You can’t spank me here,” she whines, though it isn’t forceful.

“I can spank you anywhere I want. One.”

“What?” she asks, looking back at me in confusion.

“Two.” I raise my eyebrows at her, and she jumps into action, undoing her jeans.

Once she’s done, I tuck my hand around the waistband and yank them—and her underwear—down, baring her ass to me. There’s only a slight pink hue on her skin where I’ve already spanked her.

“Have you changed your mind about wanting me, baby girl?”

She quickly shakes her head, and I start to pepper her bottom with my hand.

“Ouch! Oh, God. That hurts!” she cries out softly.

“It’s supposed to hurt, baby. It’s meant to teach you a lesson, which apparently you need if you think there’s a chance in hell I’m going to walk away from you. And putting yourself down? Saying you’re a mess? That’s definitely not allowed. That’s one of your rules. No negative self-talk.”

“I wasn’t—” She yelps. “Owwie! Daddy…”

Now we’re getting somewhere. Too bad for her, this is only the start of her punishment.