Tyler's Undoing (13 page)

Tyler continued, “I thought Kyle was bad, but Liam is much worse. You do
not
want to be alone with him, Kacey. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

Oh my God, how could my brother want me around someone like that?
I knew what Tyler was referring to and I got shivers thinking of how different this would be if it wasn’t for my brother telling Liam to keep me safe.

Swallowing hard, I licked my dry lips and cleared my throat. “Yes,” I murmured hesitantly. “I understand.”

“All right, Kacey. We’re about an hour away from Vegas. I’ll be there as soon as I can. If that cocksucker so much as touches you, I’m going to rip his fucking dick off and shove it down his throat.” I could hear the venom dripping in his words.

“I’ll see you soon though. Be safe.”

“You too, Kacey.”

By the time we hung up the phone, I was no longer scared of the guy sitting beside me—I was furious. Liam knew who I was when he approached me at the bar. It was a set up. My brother had tried calling me for weeks, leaving me messages and asking how I was doing . . . and every single time I ignored him. So, of course, why wouldn’t he have a perv come take me out for a night on the town?

Finally, we pulled into my driveway and I hastily grabbed my purse, hand on the door ready to get out.

“Who were you talking to?” Liam asked, shutting off the ignition.

Snarling in disgust, I opened the car door and got out before storming up the front porch steps. “I don’t think that’s any of your business,” I snapped angrily, glaring at him over my shoulder. When I turned around to face him, he stopped on the bottom step and smiled up at me.
What an arrogant ass.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared down at him. “Or are you just trying to find out so you can report it to my brother?”

Immediately, his smile faded. “How did you know about that?”

“I have my ways,” I retorted. “But right now, I want you off my property.”

Slowly, he walked backwards toward his car and opened his door. “All right, I’m leaving,” he said, holding up his hands in defeat. Before getting in, he peered up at me and winked. “I have to say it was definitely a pleasure, Kacey. It’s a shame we couldn’t have more time together.”

Gritting my teeth, I waited on him to leave before pulling out my phone. Kyle would be getting a lot more than just information from me this evening.

MY HANDS SHOOK with rage as I dialed Kyle’s number and waited on him to pick up. Over and over it rang, most likely because he was on the phone with Liam. Finally, after calling him five times, his amused voice came over the line. I could see him now, sitting in the living room of his three story mansion, in front of the movie theater-sized television.

Kyle was three years older than me and we were both born with the same color hair, but now he bleached his to look white. He looked like our mother, with the same permanent sneer that made him look evil. What really made him a scary were his eyes; one was so dark brown it looked black, and the other was a pale green. Thankfully, I took after our father, and inherited his sea green eyes.

“Before you get all pissed at me, you have to understand why I did it,” he greeted calmly.

“Are you serious?” I snapped. “How could you do this to me?”

“If you’d answer my calls, I wouldn’t have to take such measures. I figured it’d be easier to do it this way than come out there myself. How did you find out who Liam was anyway?”

“That doesn’t matter,” I growled. “In the end, I found out. Not to mention some vile things about his past.” I didn’t exactly know what he’d done, but I could guess. “How could you put me into a situation like that? What if he’d done something to me?”

“He knew not to touch you, Kacey. If he did, I would’ve killed him. I just wanted to know how you were doing. You’re my sister, and believe it or not I care about what happens to you.”

Incredulously, I burst out laughing. “You can’t be serious right now. Since when do you care about someone other than yourself?”

“Don’t be like this, Kacey,” he warned.

“If you don’t want to hear the truth, stop calling me, Kyle. After tonight, I have no desire to ever talk to you or see you again. Just stay away from me!”

As soon as I hung up the phone, I sat down on the steps and let the tears finally fall down my cheeks. Was I ever going to be free from my brother’s clutches? The simple answer was no. The guy who used to be my brother wasn’t there anymore.

“Kacey, are you okay?” Cindy asked, joining me on the front steps. “I take it from that phone call you were talking to your brother.”

Sighing, I set my phone down and looked over at her. She smiled and handed me a steaming mug of hot chocolate . . . my favorite when I was stressed. Cindy knew me well.

“I don’t know what his problem is. That guy I went out with tonight is his agent, and I had no clue. It was Kyle’s way of getting close to me.”

Furrowing her brows, Cindy bit her lip and shook her head. “I’m astounded at the kind of things going through your brother’s head. He’s truly unstable.”

I snorted and took a sip of my hot chocolate. “You think? As much as I want to stay here after Nana passes, I think it might be a good idea to disappear. It’s the only way to know my family can’t find me.”

“What about Tyler? Have you told him about the issues with your brother?”

Setting my cup down, I leaned on my elbows and ran hands through my hair. “They already know each other. Tyler’s an MMA fighter.”

“Oh dear,” she remarked, eyes wide. “I take it they aren’t friends?”

“Not exactly. What’s worse . . . Tyler doesn’t even know I’m Kyle’s sister. He’ll hate me when he finds out.”

“He won’t hate you,” she murmured softly. “If he’s as good of a guy as your grandmother believes he is, then he’ll know you aren’t like your brother. It’s best to be honest and up front with him.”

As much as I didn’t want to do that just yet, I knew I needed to. Nodding, I turned my attention toward a set of headlights coming into view. It was Tyler.

“I’ll tell him tonight,” I agreed. “It’s better to do it now before things get too serious.”

Cindy patted my hand and got to her feet. “All right, child, I’m going to go in and finish separating out your grandmother’s medicines for the week. I’ll check on her before I leave.”

“Thanks, Cindy. I appreciate you doing that.”

Sadly, she smiled and started for the door, but then stopped and reached for something in her pocket . . . it was an envelope. “Oh, before I forget, your grandmother wanted me to give this to you.”

“Thanks,” I said, taking it from her. It had my name scribbled on the front in my grandmother’s writing. It must’ve been what she was working on earlier at her desk.

Cindy smiled and nodded toward the black truck entering our driveway. “Good luck tonight, Kacey. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

I had severe doubts about that.

Disappearing inside, Cindy left me alone with Tyler who bolted out of his truck, his temperament wild and black. He had on a baseball cap that hung low on his head, making his eyes look even darker. I got to my feet and met him halfway, my stomach in knots.
He’s going to hate me after tonight.

“Are you okay?” he asked, putting his hands on both sides of my face, searching.

Swallowing hard, I nodded my head and licked my dry lips. “Yes, I’m fine. He didn’t give me any problems when I told him to leave.”

Tyler grunted his uncertainty and took my hands in his, leading me up to the front door. “That’s surprising. He usually doesn’t give up so easily. I’ve seen him with women at the club all the time.”

“And you said he’s an agent?”

He nodded. “Yeah, to Kyle Andrews. Be glad you don’t know that motherfucker.”

And there it was . . . the opening that was going to change the course of the evening.

“Actually,” I began, letting go of his hands. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

I knew that once I confessed to him, he’d turn his back on me and leave just as fast as he came. Taking a deep breath, I looked up into Tyler’s unsure gray gaze.

Cindy interrupted by opening the front door and I jumped. Her lips were trembling.

“Cindy, what’s wrong?” I asked, rushing over to her. Tears were streaming down her face when she clutched me so tight in her arms, I could barely breathe.

“She’s gone, child,” she whispered, her voice pained. “I went to check on her because I just had this feeling. When I noticed her chest wasn’t moving, I rushed to take her pulse . . .” She trailed off, shaking her head.

Taking off inside the house, I ran straight to Nana’s room, bursting through the door to her bedside. Even though my grandmother was destined for death, it still didn’t make it any easier. She was the only person who truly knew who I was, the only one who was always there to take care of me. Just gone.

I had no one now.

She had a small smile on her face, like she would open her eyes any moment and say ‘I fooled you.’ Yes, that was morbid, but my grandmother loved to tease. Her hands were perfectly clasped together on her stomach, but I kneeled down and undid them, cupping one inside of mine. They weren’t cold, but they weren’t warm either.

Holding her hand to my face, I closed my eyes and hung my head, listening to the sound of my tears thumping as they hit her bed. “I love you, Nana. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

“And she loved you,” Cindy said behind me.

Lifting my head, I placed my grandmother’s hand back on her stomach and stood, secretly hoping she’d open her eyes and talk to me. “What do we do now?” I asked hoarsely.

Cindy put her hands on my shoulders and turned me around, her warm hazel eyes full of tears. “You, my dear, are going to go outside with your friend and let me handle the details. He’s really worried about you.”

Nodding, I turned and looked at my grandmother one more time. “Okay,” I murmured. “I’ll be outside.”

“Are you going to call your mother and brother?”

“No,” I answered automatically. “It’s not like they care.”

My mother was probably hoping she was in the will to inherit money, but little did she know, it all went to me. Nana didn’t want my mother getting a dime, and I didn’t blame her. Turning on my heel, I slowly walked out of my grandmother’s room, knowing that everything was about to change.