The Billionaire's Secret Kink Box Set: Knox: Secret Alpha Billionaire Romance Bundle (Rosesson Brothers Book 1) (25 page)

Knox pressed another button on his computer as Mica sat down in the chair on the other side of his desk again.

A man's voice poured out of the speakers. "Knox! Good to see you, man! Did you get my package?"

Knox smiled broadly and Mica watched his face carefully, memorizing ever hard plane, every smile and frown line. "Hey, Hawk, no, no package. I had a favor to ask."

"Anything for you Knox, you know that. If it's in my power to do, I'll do it for you."

"Thanks Hawk, I appreciate that. I need you to look up a woman for me. She passed away eighteen years ago but I need to find any family she has left that are still alive. We are looking specifically for an uncle and a sister, but I'll take any name you find. Names, addresses, phone numbers if you can get them."

"Easy. What's the name and birthdate?"

Knox gave the name and looked at Mica questioningly for her mom's birthday. Mica supplied it, her heart beating harder in her chest. Would it really be so simple?

"Thanks, man," Knox said after giving Hawk the birthdate. "If you are able to put a rush on this we'd appreciate it. It's personal and very important."

Mica heard immediate concern enter the voice of the man on the computer. "Of course, I'll look into it as soon as I hang up. You ok? You need anything else from me?"

Knox shook his head. "Not right now, but I'll let you know. So tell me what's in the package."

"More cigars, man! Vivian had an ultrasound. We're having twins!"

Mica watched as Knox's face tightened for a moment, then pure happiness crossed over it. "Congratulations, Hawk. I couldn't be happier for you."

The two men exchanged a few more words as Mica thought about that. The thought of twins would be as scary as it was exciting. She hadn't thought about babies much over the years, purposely skirting the issue whenever it came up. It was something that just never seemed in the cards for her.

Knox hung up, but before he could move from his desk, the overhead intercom buzzed. Instead of a clear line, a loud rumble sounded in the background as the man spoke to Knox. Mica recognized the voice as Adam's, not quite as open as it had been yesterday. "Mr. Rosesson, I have a Thomas Covina here to see you. I turned him away but he says he won't leave until you at least know he's here."

Mica saw confusion on Knox's face. "Who is he Adam?"

"Uh, Mr. Rosesson, he says he's your half-brother, sir." His voice dropped low. "He's on a motorcycle, sir."

Knox nodded sharply and snapped his fingers. He spoke to Mica. "Damn, I forgot the results were coming in today." He pressed the button to speak to Adam again. "Tell him hold on a sec, Adam, while I check something."

Mica stared at Knox. As far as she knew, he had three siblings. Daxton, Bronx, and Phoenix, and that was it.

Knox stared intently at his computer, seeking something out. His eyes scanned the screen rapidly, then he stared straight at Mica, something like triumph on his face.

"I can't believe it! All three of them are a match!" Knox stood up excitedly and ran to Mica, lifting her out of the chair and twirling her around. "I've got three more brothers!"

"What are you talking about, Knox?" Mica asked, caught up in his excitement.

He put her down and grasped her arms lightly. "My father's a fucking dick, you already know that. But I haven't had a chance to tell you about this yet. I had heard that he cheated on my mom for most of their marriage, especially after she stopped talking, but there really was nothing to do about that, except hate him a little more, until one of his buddies let it slip that there was a woman he'd been seeing for decades who had three boys who looked an awful lot like him. I had one of my investigators contact the oldest one and we got all of their DNA tested. They are a match. My half-brothers."

"That's great, Knox, you seem so excited."

"Wouldn't you be? If you found out you had three brothers you never knew about?"

Mica thought hard about that. She'd be thrilled. But Knox already had brothers. She didn't know he thought his life was missing anything. But maybe it wasn't a matter of missing something. She saw how much he loved his brothers, how well they all got along. Maybe it was a matter of adding more to his life.

Mica hugged him. "Congratulations," she whispered.

The overhead speaker blared again. "Mr. Rosesson, uh, Mr. Covina is getting restless, sir."

In the background, Mica could hear the rumble of the man's motorcycle and a string of swear words.

"Tell him I'll be out to talk to him in five minutes, Adam."

Knox pulled away from Mica, still holding her hand. "Let's get a look at him."

He pulled her to the door she'd barely noticed at a back corner of the office. She'd assumed it was a closet, but when he unlocked it with a key and opened it, she realized she was looking at some sort of observation center, with tiny monitors that could see every corner of the house. The top five on the left all gave views of the green room from different angles, the monster bed at the center of each one. Mica swallowed hard, imagining what it would be like to be in that bed.

Knox pulled her attention away and to a screen in the lower right corner. "Rock didn't tell me he was a biker."

Mica crowded him, leaning close to the screen. The man she saw was young, twenty-five maybe, with dark leather covering his body. He sat astride a silver motorcycle, glaring at Knox's house. He didn't look friendly, or happy to be there. Knox didn't seem to even notice.

"Damn, I don't want to send him away, but I just can't deal with this right now," Knox mused, almost to himself. "We've got so much going on with Bailey ... " His voice trailed off as Mica watched the angry young man yell at Adam in the tiny house.

Knox turned to her. "I need to go talk to him. Are you ok if I leave you here in the house, just for a minute?"

Mica didn't answer, not sure if she was or not. Knox stuck his head out the door and whistled sharply, causing Tiny and Lulu to run in.

"I won't be long, and Tiny and Lulu would tear Bailey apart if he showed up. I know they look gentle, but they aren't. Besides, he's nowhere around. I promise you."

Mica nodded, now feeling more apprehensive that Knox would be out near the street by himself, but she knew they couldn't stay locked up in the house forever.

Knox sat her down in the chair in front of the screens. "Watch us from here." He pointed out the screens that would show him walking through the house and then down the driveway, then showed her the button that would call Adam at the guard house.

Mica waved him away and sat in the chair, both dogs heads in her lap. She watched Knox as he made his way to the biker, greeting him with a hearty handshake and then a one-armed hug, still oblivious to the man's waning hostility. Five minutes went by, then ten, then fifteen, as Knox and the man talked and talked. Finally, the man smiled at Knox, the first smile Mica had seen from him. She stared, fascinated by what she was seeing. Knox was a family man to the core, charming even angry bikers.

Mica stirred uneasily in her chair as she realized just how complex his life was, and how much she desperately wanted to be a part of it.

Mica

Mica climbed into Knox's truck, watching out the rear window as Knox carefully placed her overnight bag under the bed cover, then ran around to the driver's side.

Tiny and Lulu rested happily in the back seat, tongues lolling, ears relaxed. Mica was thrilled they were taking the dogs on the trip. It would make her feel so much safer.

When Knox had told her that her mother's sister had died of liver disease five years before, she'd felt a strange pang of loss, but it was nothing compared to what she felt now as they prepared to drive out to Keasey, Oregon to talk to her mother's half-uncle. Butterflies flitted in and out of her stomach, lodging in her throat, and making her insides quiver with anxiety.

They had his name, Paul Banning. And she'd seen a picture of his house out in the middle of a veritable forest in an unincorporated community near Portland. Practically the middle of nowhere.

Knox had sent an investigator out to Paul's home, but the man had refused to talk to him, to even open the door. When the investigator had shouted out he was there on a pressing matter regarding his family and the daughter of his half-niece, the man had been silent for a long time, then finally said he couldn't help them. He hadn't talked to anyone in the family for over twenty years and he didn't intend to now.

The investigator had called back to Knox and asked for instructions. Mica had said they should go themselves, that she bet she could talk the man into opening the door, or at least saying what he knew.

Knox had agreed immediately and they had decided to drive, so they could take the dogs. It was a ten hour trip total, five hours today, five hours tomorrow, and then she would be seeing family for the first time since her mom died.

If she could get him to open the door.

Mica studied the pictures of the small, neat house the investigator had sent. There was a gate at the end of a long driveway with several no trespassing signs on it. A high security fence surrounded the entire property. The investigator had watched the house for two days, then finally drove in when no one had gone in or out. The man hadn't sent dogs after him or threatened him with a gun, which was good.

Knox jumped in the truck. "You ready?" he asked her.

"I hope so," she whispered. They'd gone to her house to pack her more clothes, and found everything in order. Bailey hadn't been back there, or shown up anywhere else either. Both of their lives seemed to be put on hold as they waited for Bailey to do something, and even though Mica had seriously enjoyed the last few days, locked up in Knox's house, alone with him for hours on end, with nothing to do but fulfill all their fantasies, she was ready to move forward.

Knox pulled away from the curb and headed for the freeway. "Roadtrip!" he yelled, making Mica giggle.

They drove in silence for several hours, light small talk the only words between them. Mica opened her window to feel the California breeze on her face, delighting as they drove through mountain passes that made it chilly, more like home. Her emotions were chaotic, tangled, and she didn't try to sort them. She just let them be. Knox seemed to understand, occasionally touching her hand or smiling at her, but not pushing her to open up.

They stopped at a Chipotle to let the dogs out and stretch their legs. They herded the dogs back into the truck and Knox promised to bring them a burrito, then they went into the restaurant. Mica placed her order, then watched as Knox ordered three burritos and two more drinks. At the table, he lined his burritos up in a precise pattern and ate them with relish, his two drinks sitting seemingly forgotten. Mica remembered her earlier decision to ask him about how he always had to have two of everything, but decided to wait until they got back in the truck. She didn't want to waste driving time.

After the dogs got a few bites of burrito, they climbed back in the truck and started back towards Oregon.

"You still do that thing where you have to buy two of something, I see." Mica said lightly. Knox had been a bit sensitive about it when she'd mentioned it ten years ago.

He glanced at her, an amused look on his face. "I do, I'm surprised it took you so long to notice."

"I noticed days ago, I just didn't say anything."

Knox laughed. "Yeah, I'm worse these days."

"Worse how?" Mica asked, relieved that he seemed to not be sensitive about it anymore.

"My house? When I bought it I had to buy another one too."

"No!" Mica breathed, laughing. "Two houses? What did you do with the other one?"

"I gave it to the 5th Street Church so they could start a shelter in it."

Mica blinked as tears filled her eyes, taking her by surprise. One thing she'd never suspected about Knox was his generosity.

"What else have you bought two of?" she said when she trusted herself to speak again.

Knox thought for a moment. "When I get clothes, I always get two of everything. When I bought this truck I got another one just like it and gave it to Phoenix. All food and drinks. Anything really. If I can't think of a way to make two of something work, I have one of my brother's buy it for me or get it for me, that way I'm not breaking my rule."

Mica turned to him, fascinated. "But why is it a rule? What will happen if you don't get two?"

Knox shrugged. "I don't know, something bad."

Mica watched him openly, trying to figure out why such a smart, successful man would have such a weird ... eccentricity.

Knox squirmed. "Hey, it's not just me, we all have some sort of a weird superstition."

"Who's we all?"

"My brothers. And my dad." He said the last word with distaste, making Mica wonder if she ever really wanted to meet Felix Rosesson.

"What do your brothers do?"

Knox held up a hand and stuck out the thumb, then the fingers, counting off each brother.

"Phoenix always does everything to the left once first, even though he's right-handed. He kicks a ball to the left, writes one word with his left hand, eats one spoonful with his left hand, even tried to always fire his first bullet from his left side until his Drill Instructors broke him of that."