His to Punish (The Cleaners Book 2) (12 page)

“I don’t understand any of it. I should hate him, yet … fuck.”

Susie’s giggle seemed utterly inappropriate under the circumstances, but it also put Jeanette at ease.

“I know, yet you can’t help but love him, can you?”

Jeanette’s immediate denial hovered on her lips, but the knowing look in Susie’s eyes stopped her.

“I can tell you’re not ready to admit that to yourself, and that’s okay. There’s no need to say it, when your feelings are there for all to see.”

“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

Even to her own ears that protest sounded hollow, and sure enough, Susie simply smiled.

“You’ve come a long way in the last week or so, Jeanette. You wouldn’t have accepted Sir’s apology, which, by the way, I’m still amazed he made, at all a week ago. Probably would have kneed him in the balls I reckon, or at least tried.”

A grudging smile formed on Jeanette’s lips at that mental image.

“I still might,” she said, but she knew deep down that she wouldn’t. Not least because she dreaded to think how sore her ass would be if she pulled a stunt like that, but because it would hurt too much to see the disappointment in Ty’s eyes. “Dammit, I should hate them all.”

“But you don’t.” The quietly utterly statement held such conviction that Jeanette let it sit in the room. There was no point in arguing the truth.

“They killed my sister. They’re all criminals, for fuck’s sake.”

Susie stretched across the table to put her hand over Jeanette’s. The simple comfort made her want to cry again.

“They are, but they’re also good guys in their own right.”

Jeanette snorted in answer, and Susie squeezed her hand and leaned back in her chair.

“They are, and believe me I know how much of a mind-fuck that is to admit, especially to yourself, and especially with what happened to your sister, but Sir is right. The sister you knew and the one we met, are not the same. Not by a long shot. No offense but Myrtle was a royal bitch.” Jeanette flinched hearing those words, but she didn’t contradict Susie either. What was the point? She was right, after all.

“That raid they’re planning tonight…”

Susie’s voice broke, and when Jeanette looked up, it was her turn to reach out to the other woman, because she looked utterly terrified.

“They’ll be all right, I’m sure,” she said. “They seem to know what they’re doing after all.”

Susie offered her a wobbly smile.

“They do, but taking on the Priestlys like that is dangerous, not least because the police always seem to turn a blind eye to their schemes. I mean, I know Huntly has some of the police in his pockets, but clearly they do, too, and it turns my stomach. Their girls … well, they’re not there because they want to be, and some of them are so damn young. The Priestlys are scum, that’s all.”

Susie’s words gave Jeanette further pause for thought, and they also made her feel slightly better about her growing feelings toward Ty.

“The boys never discuss their work in front of me, because they know I don’t like to think about them out there, getting in harm’s way, but I know what they’re up to anyway. Tonight’s thing has been in the planning for months. It’s a major dent in the Priestly operation if they can pull it off.”

Jeanette gave Susie’s arm another squeeze.

“Surely Ty should be there, too, then?” she asked and Susie shrugged.

“He should, but Huntly needs me at the club, and those fucking injuries mean I’m not at my best, so Ren won’t let me attend.” Ty’s voice held a quiet fury which raised the fine hair on Jeanette’s neck, but it was the worried undertone that got to her more. Sure enough when she turned her head to look at him, a deep frown marred his features, and he didn’t quite look at her.

“Have you finished, because I really need to swing by somewhere on the way to the club?”

Jeanette shot to her feet, and nodded.

“Sure, but why… I mean, yes, Sir.”

Ty’s smile in answer didn’t reach his eyes, and nodding at Susie, he held out his hand and when Jeanette took it, he pulled her along and out of the house.

It seemed strange to be in the outside, and Jeanette blinked in the sunlight that hit her in the face the minute she stepped out through the front door. She blinked again, in sheer surprise this time, when Ty pulled her along to a huge looking motorbike, and handed her a helmet.

“Glad you’re wearing trousers, because there’s no time to change. The boys will need the cars, so this will have to be our transport. Here put this on, too.” He took a leather jacket off the seat, and draped it around her shoulders. “It will be a bit big on you, but it’ll offer you some protection, should anything happen.”

Jeanette swallowed hard at the immediate gruesome images that sprang to mind, mainly of them being tangled around a tree or something.

Ty laughed as he helped her into the jacket, when she struggled, and having zipped her into it he placed the helmet on her and secured the chin strap.

Flipping her visor up, he flicked her nose with his index finger.

“Ever ridden pillion before, titch?” he asked.

“No, Sir.”

“Well, then, you’re in for a ride. And don’t worry, I do know what I’m doing, and you’ll be perfectly safe. Just hold onto me and don’t fight the movements, okay? The back of a motor bike is not a place to be sassy.”

“Okay.”

“Good girl, hop on then.”

Ty put on his own helmet, and got on. Once she’d managed to climb on behind him, the engine purred to life underneath them, and Jeanette gasped at the vibrations travelling up through her core. Ty rolled the bike off its stand, and she scooted closer to him with a shriek. His big shoulders shook as though he was laughing at her, and Jeanette frowned.

“It’s not funny.” She had to shout to make herself heard over the roar of the engine. “Where are we going to anyway?”

Ty tensed under her hands.

“To see my mum.”

Chapter Twelve

Ty felt rather then heard her gasp of surprise, and to stop any further conversation, he flipped his visor shut and revved the engine hard before he cruised off the driveway. Opening the throttle he tanked it down the road, and despite the knot of worry churning in his gut, he grinned at the death grip his girl had on him. He was pretty sure you couldn’t get a hair’s width between them. Every inch of her delectable body was molded around him, and under any other circumstances, his dick would be making a bid for freedom right about now, but that particular body part had gone into hiding.

If he lost his mum now … no, that didn’t bear thinking about. Mama was tough as nails, and she’d had these funny turns before and been perfectly fine after them, or as fine as a frail old woman with a chronic heart condition could be. He took it as a good sign that she had refused to go to the hospital. The nurse he’d spoken to had sounded positively harassed and at the end of her tether, which either meant his mother was running rings around her, or she was sicker than the nurse had let on.

Mum would not want to worry him, but the staff was under strict instructions to inform him of any change in her condition, and as Ty hadn’t managed to visit her in close to a month now, he wouldn’t rest until he’d reassured himself of her state of health with his own eyes.

Taking Jeanette to see her so soon had not been in his plans, but that couldn’t be helped. Like it or not, until she had proven her loyalty, one of them—and preferably him—had to watch over her.

It made missing out on tonight’s raid slightly easier to bear. Ty smiled grimly at Jeanette’s terrified shriek as he leaned right over into a corner. He didn’t miss the fact that she did as she’d been told, which was just as well, because any sudden moves from her at the speed he was taking these bends would have ended up with a wobble of the bike he might not have been able to recover from.

Banishing all maudlin thoughts from his head, Ty gave himself over to the sheer joy of riding the Harley. When he had to slow down to weave in and out of traffic, he smiled at the glimpse of their reflection he caught in shop windows. If he had to hazard to guess, his little titch had her eyes screwed shut and was probably praying.

To reassure her a little he switched on the intercom between their helmets.

“How are you holding up back there, girl?” he asked. Her death grip loosened as she startled in seeming surprise, and her sharp intake of breath rang in his ears.

“You’re trying to kill me, right?”

She thumped his thigh when he laughed at that, only to grab tight again when he moved away from the traffic lights.

“There are easier ways of doing that than taking you on a ride, darling. Relax and enjoy it.”

He grinned at her lack of an intelligible reply, when he opened up the throttle again to take the A-road which would take them to the leafy suburb his mother’s nursing home was located in. She relaxed enough to talk to him when she realized he didn’t need to take any corners on the almost straight road.

“So, your mother?” she asked. “Why are you taking me to see her? I mean, won’t she wonder who I am, and such like. What do you want me to do? Pretend to be your girlfriend or something?”

“Or something.”

Another sharp intake of breath and a rather prolonged silence was his reward for that response. In truth he had no idea what he was going to say to his mum. It all depended on what he would find when he got there, after all. If Mum was with it, and he sure as fuck hoped she was, she would look through any lies, so he’d have to stick as close to the truth as he could.

“Let’s just play it by ear, titch. She’s in a nursing home, and she’s not well.” Another one of those sharp intakes of breath, which said a thousand things without the use of words.

“And before you ask, no, she does not know what I do for a living. She thinks I work in security, and I’m just a club bouncer. I would appreciate it if you didn’t disabuse her of that notion.”

Silence greeted his earpiece, and he could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. Nothing further was said until he pulled up in the car park of the former country house which now housed the exclusive nursing home. Ty waited for Jeanette to scramble off the bike, then pulled it up on its stand and killing the engine got off himself. By the time he’d taken off his helmet, Jeanette had managed to get hers off, and having plonked it on top of the pillion seat attempted to rescue her hair. He rather adored the messy locks she was currently sporting, but judging by the muttering she did under her breath as she tried to finger comb the ebony mass Jeanette was less enamored of her hair.

“Leave it, titch, you look beautiful.”

Jeanette pulled a face, and she looked all poised to argue with him, until he quirked an eyebrow, and fixed her with a look daring her to disagree with him. Placing his helmet next to hers on the seat, he held out his hand, and after a moment’s hesitation she took it. A gasp escaped her when he pulled her into his body.

“Come on, let’s go.”

The gravel crunched under his boots, as he rounded the corner to the entrance of the building, at which point he finally became aware of the reluctance at the end of his hand.

“Wait, Sir, please. I’m not sure … maybe you should go in by yourself.”

Turning on the bottom step of the wide stone entrance, he regarded Jeanette through hooded lids. The urgency to see his mother burned a hole in his guts, but seeing his girl worry her bottom lip with her teeth, as she followed the slow progress a nurse made up the ramp with an elderly man in a wheel chair, bothered him almost as much.

“I can’t leave you here,” he said.

“Why not? I don’t even know where we are exactly. It’s not as though I could make a run for it, now is it? Besides where would I run to? You Cleaners would only track me down, and I really don’t want to end up as the next lot of fish food.”

Her voice broke on the last few words, and Ty gentled his hold on her hand. A sigh escaped her when he ran his thumb over the back of her hand, and grasping her nape pulled her close enough to him to rest his forehead on hers.

“That’s not going to happen, girl. I told you already you’re mine now, and no one is going to touch you, but me.”

Another one of those rapid inhales, and when he pulled back and tugged on her hand again, she followed without any further resistance.

His gut churned anew as he approached the front desk, and the receptionist gave him a distant, slightly apologetic smile, as she continued her phone conversation.

She must be new, because he didn’t recognize her, and subsequently he remained rooted to the spot, rather than charging up to his mother’s rooms. Besides she might well be in the hospital wing, if she was bad, and that thought darkened his mood further.

He hadn’t realized he’d fisted his free hand by his side, until Jeanette stepped around him, grasped that hand, and smiling up at him briefly, turned to ring the bell on the desk repeatedly.

The receptionist glared at her, and Jeanette reached over and with a smile hit the disconnect button on the phone.

“Hey, you can’t do—”

“I think you find I just did. Especially as I’m sure you don’t get paid to make personal phone calls, especially when you have anxious clients waiting. This man…” She glanced back at Ty, who was watching the proceedings with a certain amount of amusement. Jeanette had beaten him to it. While he didn’t want to create a scene, he had been on the verge of throttling the raven-haired receptionist, when it dawned on him that she was on a personal call.

“He’s received a phone call saying his mother is not well, so, unless you want me to scream blue murder and take this to whoever manages this expensive dump, you give him some attention, and tell him what he needs to know.”

Jeanette pulled a much needed breath into her lungs, and Ty intervened before she could carry on ripping the now mortified looking receptionist a new one.

“Breathe, titch,” he murmured and pulled her back behind him. “I’ve got this.”

Jeanette shot one last venom filled look at the hapless woman behind the desk. Arms crossed under her impressive rack, Jeanette stepped to the side.

“I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t realize, I—”

“Never mind that.” Ty interrupted the meaningless apology with a flick of his hand, and the girl, Chelsea, according to her name tag, paled. “Theresa Mason, how is she and where is she right now?”

He took it as a good sign that Chelsea blinked and started tapping on her keyboard. Had there been any further emergency that morning, his mother’s name would surely have rung a bell with her. After all, private calls notwithstanding, she had to be good at her job, otherwise the home wouldn’t have employed her. Ty chose this place for its high standards, after all.

After several seconds of tapping, which seemed to drag on forever, she finally looked up and smiled.

“Ah, yes, I see. Mrs. Mason was seen by our in-house doctor early this morning, after complaining of chest pains. She was pronounced well, but then took a turn for the worse.” Chelsea shot him a glance from under her fake lashes.

“This must have been when you were called. Her carer logged a phone call to the next of kin. Mrs. Mason refused further treatment, but it says here, she brightened up considerably once she heard her son was on his way. Sounds as though she just wanted to see you. Happens all the time. I see it’s been a while since you last visited, after all.”

Again she smiled at him, and Jeanette made a rather disgusted sound at the back of her throat. She was positively glaring at Chelsea.

“So you’re a doctor now, as well as a useless receptionist?”

Chelsea blinked, her mouth doing silent goldfish impressions until she recovered.

“I’m not. I mean, I wasn’t suggesting that … heavens, I shall just find out where she is right now.”

“I would appreciate that, Chelsea.” Ty gave the flustered woman his best
melt any female’s panties in an instant
smile, and sure enough a slight blush spread over the young girl’s cheekbones.

Jeanette positively bristled next to him. It was almost as though she was jealous, which should have been a ridiculous notion, because that would mean that she had developed actual feelings for him, yet the way she continued to stare down the other woman, made him wonder.

Placing his hand on her nape he pulled her closer to him. It broke the death stare she was giving Chelsea, and he shook his head at Jeanette. A mutinous flare of something crossed her features, before she dropped her gaze to his collarbone and left it there.

“Ah, here we are.  I believe she’s in her room. Let me check with her carer.”

Chelsea picked up her phone again, and after a quick conversation she addressed Ty.

“Mrs. Mason is currently in the garden. She requested some fresh air. If you want me to—”

“No need, I know where she’ll be.” Ty interrupted the woman, and turning on his heel strode off, after nodding at Jeanette to follow him.

****

Jeanette stared at Ty’s departing back, and mindful of the curious looks she got from the other people milling about in the foyer, she hotfooted it after him.

What else could she do, especially after the foolish way she had acted in front of that Chelsea person?

Jeanette still wasn’t entirely sure what had made her act so out of turn, but seeing Ty all tense and worried left standing there, while that blasted woman planned her next night out, and then the shameless flirting the hussy had exhibited, not to mention the careless way she had dismissed Ty’s mother’s symptoms… Yeah, she had seen red. Okay, maybe to call it flirting was an exaggeration, but that blasted woman had definitely liked what she’d seen in Ty, and he was hers, dammit. And when he’d smiled at the damn woman…

Jeanette almost tripped on the stairs going down into the garden, as that thought slammed into her brain.

When had she started thinking of Ty as hers? He’d said she was his, but then he no doubt meant that in the possessive term only. She was his to punish, after all, and her butt still smarted a little bit, after the lashings with the belt he’d given her. The bike ride had aggravated the few leftover bruises. Bruises she had traced in the mirror after her shower with a small smile.

Yep, I’ve lost the plot, pure and simple.

As much as she would like to claim temporary insanity however, she couldn’t deny the tightness in her chest and the lump of emotion which clogged up her throat, when Ty’s rapid steps slowed to a halt, as he approached the pond. There under the shade of a willow tree sat an incredibly frail old lady. The clothes hung off her frame as though she had lost a fair amount of weight recently, and the mobile drip located next to the bench spoke volumes. Clearly Ty’s mother was far from well, a thought which must have occurred to Ty, too, because he scrubbed his palm over his face, blinked away suspicious looking moisture in his eyes—an act which made her already tender heart soften a little more toward him—and taking a deep breath in, visibly collected himself before he made his presence known.

“Mummy, will you stop scaring everyone?”

Ty’s mother startled, dropped the crossword she had been engaged in, and her lined face broke into a wide smile, when she spotted her son. Jeanette hung back, as Mrs. Mason held out a hand, fingers thickened and curled by arthritis, and her heart missed a few beats, when Ty got to his haunches in front of his mother, and kissed the inside of her hand, before his mother placed it on his face.