Lawful: Gia ~ Hunter ~ Julian ~ Jarrod Read online

  For once in my life I feel tongue-tied. No one has ever spoken to me like that before and although I like to flirt I tend to go for guys who I know will be left tongue-tied by me. It’s never the other way around. Is he flirting with me or trying to frighten me? One thing I do know for sure is that I don’t like this set up one little bit. My father must be insane to dump me with this beast.

  He is a gorgeous beast, but obviously someone who is used to having his orders followed without a question. “We’ll see about that!” I mutter to myself. I’ll follow his instructions that I feel are safety related, but anything else he can shove his orders where the sun don’t shine. No one is going to tell me what I can and can’t do or whom I can be with. Even my father stays out of my business to that extent, but then again that is part of the deal to me living at home and not moving into an apartment in town. He wants me close and is having trouble letting me go.

  “I can see that brain ticking over.” Hunter rests one hip on a stool at the breakfast nook while watching me.

  It’s as though he has trouble keeping his eyes off me, but that is just plain stupid. There is no way he’ll be interested in me. I’m too young. He’s too old—at least I think he is. He looks to be in his mid-thirties, with a five o’clock shadow covering his square jaw. I can’t help thinking that he’s perhaps closer to my father’s age than mine. Ugh! Whatever.

  “Look. I’ll do what you tell me to do in regards to my safety,” I say, leaning against the doorframe, emulating his cocky stance with my arms crossed over my chest, “but there is no way you’re going to be ordering me around in my own home and as far as I’m aware there are no rules about whether or not I can continue to socialize.” I take in a lung full of air and continue, “So that being said, I’m going out with a couple of girlfriends tonight.”

  Turning, I try to make my way out of the kitchen before Hunter has a chance to react to my going out comment. I have nothing planned, and thought that up on the spot, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let him get the last word.

  “Just a minute Miss. Carrington,” Hunter growls, his tone making his irritation evident.

  I freeze on the spot between the kitchen and foyer as I hear him walking closer to me—his chest mere inches from my back.

  “You will not leave this house without me—under no circumstances. Are we clear? Or do I have to lock you in your room?” he sneers.

  Whirling around to face him, I take a step back before I end up with my mouth on his because of the sudden lack of distance between us. I can’t believe I actually stomped my foot like a two year old, the frustration getting the better of me.

  Oh, I’m angry now and by the tick at the side of his right eye, not to mention the tightening of his jaw, I’d say he is as well. He probably isn’t used to anyone disobeying him. I’m positive that most people take one look at him and say, “Yes sir.” But I’m not most people. I’ve spent years standing up to my father when he becomes smothering so I’m no pushover.

  “What? Used to getting your own way?” Hunter sneers. “Princess, that’s not going to work for me. I’m here to make sure what happened yesterday doesn’t happen again.” I flinch when he mentions yesterday’s experience, which pisses me off even more. “Yeah, it frightened the crap outta you, didn’t it?” he says but it’s more of a statement than a question.

  Opening and shutting my mouth like a fish, I inhale and take another step away from him, before carrying on. “I’ll be in my room,” I whisper, close to tears.

  Yesterday had terrified me. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t let it show, but Hunter has gotten through my defenses with just one comment.

  3

  Hunter

  I feel like a bastard reminding her of yesterday’s trauma, but I needed the stubborn girl to understand the danger. From what the file read, Jarrod has convinced Gia that the attack had been random and more of a sick prank. After all, if the guy had wanted to hurt her, he could have. But I know better. This was a message—he was letting them know how close he could get and it wasn’t a random act. He was coming back but it was simply a matter of when.

  It’s something that’s been on my mind throughout most of the day as I’ve surveyed the grounds of the Carrington’s home as well as the security of the house. Later tonight I’ll be emailing my friend at a security company with plans for the installation that will be taking place, but for now I head into the kitchen in search of something to eat.

  Thirty minutes later, I wipe my mouth on a napkin having finished the steak and potatoes that Maria had kindly kept warm for me. So with a stomach full of food, I decide now is the time to go in search of Jarrod as I’ve put our chat off for most of the day. I find him reclining back in the chair behind his large mahogany desk. Unobserved, I watch him and realize he looks like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

  One of the youngest judges on the circuit, he found his place on the bench a few years ago. According to the file, he was respected for his morals and firm convictions and had been respected throughout his career in law, hence the early appointment as a judge. He’d never married and had raised his daughter on his own until she was of school age when he’d hired a nanny.

  Appraising him, I realize that he’s in excellent condition regardless of the stressful job he has. Not a single glint of grey can be found amongst his ebony hair and I wonder if it’s dyed considering what a wildcat his daughter is.

  And what a wildcat! I need to get Gia out of my head because dammit it has been a hell of a long time since anyone has given me a boner from just entering a room. What the fuck is wrong with me? I’d gotten a hard-on for someone thirteen years my junior. How ridiculous is that?

  Shaking my head, I walk further into the room clearing my throat to make my presence known.

  “Sorry to interrupt.” I take the seat that I’m waved into by Jarrod as he himself leans forward in his chair.

  “Your meeting didn’t go too well with my daughter this morning, did it?” He laughs. “I have a habit of smothering her. She’s my only child—all that I have. I admit to going overboard with her. She is so like me that it’s frightening to watch her fight back sometimes.” Jarrod meets my eyes. “I love her and I will do everything that I have to do to keep her safe. Whatever you need. You tell me, and I’ll make sure you have it. Anything,” he insists.

  I have a feeling he means even beyond the law, but I decide to let it lie for now.

  “Colin told me you’ve convinced her it was a random act,” I ask, pausing as Jarrod begins to shake his head.

  “That was true when I spoke to him. But Gia was asking a lot of questions last night and she told me point blank that she wasn’t stupid and knew there was something going on. So yeah, I told her that I thought it was someone trying to get back at me for something. I didn’t give her any details but she knows it was deliberate.”

  I’m a professional and I’m used to hiding my thoughts, but since I’ve walked into this house I’ve been all over the place. Even now, I can feel the twitch beside my eye start up again. What the fuck is wrong with this place?

  Wanting to look casual, I place my ankle over my knee and wait Jarrod out. Jarrod wants to talk, that is obvious to anyone who is a trained observer.

  After a long pause, he finally says, “I’m not involved in this anymore, but I was before I accepted the appointment of Judge.” Jarrod leans forward and rests his elbows on the desk before placing his head in his hands. “For over a year I passed information to the feds about what drugs and human trafficking was taking place right in front of law enforcement noses. I haven’t for a while because my contact, Dave, disappeared. I’d known Dave for about six years at the time because of something I’d helped him with, way back when I was starting out. But when he disappeared, I went looking for him and found nothing. I reported his disappearance to the cops and they found him a week later. He’d been dead approximately ten days.”

  His eyes fill with caution and maybe a touch of fear�
�probably not for his own safety but for his daughter’s. His voice is full of emotion as he continues, “These guys don’t mess around, which I knew beforehand, but knowing Dave was dead brought it home to me just how dangerous what I was doing really was.” He pauses, breathing deeply.

  “Gia is everything. So I used Dave as an out and I’ve been trying to put it behind me—until now. I don’t know for sure that it’s those fuckers who are after me, but I’d put my money on them.”

  When he finishes, he sits back in the chair and watches me as though he’s sizing me up—seeing if I’m ready to run. The silence lasts for over five minutes while I process everything I’ve been told. It certainly sounds like a lead in the right direction, but why would they go after Jarrod and his daughter? Why now when he isn’t doing it anymore? Unless?

  “Were any arrests made because of the information you passed on?”

  I wait and watch Jarrod sigh in resignation, his shoulders slumping.

  Nodding his head, Jarrod replies, “Eight girls were rescued and returned to their families and over six hundred thousand dollars in drugs were confiscated. Four of the men were killed when the whole bust went down. Some got away, but three are incarcerated at Beaumont. So yeah, I guess I’m partly responsible for their losses.”

  I whistle. It’s very rare for a bust of that magnitude to go down, especially to find those girls before they make it over the boarder.

  “Did you have any contact with anyone about the case afterwards?”

  Sitting back, Jarrod answers, “No,” and sighs. “I passed on the information and they went from there. Reading between the lines I think they had someone on the inside. But I wasn’t privy to that information.”

  Done asking questions for now, I get to my feet and walk with Jarrod out into the foyer. And what a foyer it is. It spoke of the wealth the judge has behind him. The chandelier must have cost more than I make in a year—maybe two.

  “I’ll see you later. I’m sure you’ll find me when you have more questions,” Jarrod says, resigned. He holds his hand out to be clasped by mine before he walks off toward the kitchen, disappearing from sight.

  I stay where I am, continuing to take in the grandeur of the house. The Carrington’s are in for a shock when the security crew arrives. The security the family has is flimsy at best, the new one going in is state of the art and will detect anyone who shouldn’t be there—all without a time lapse.

  The biggest headache that I can see myself having is upstairs in her bedroom. No doubt pissed that she can’t go about her everyday life as a spoiled princess for the foreseeable future.

  The file on Gia hadn’t mentioned work of any kind, which tells me she does what she wants on her father’s credit card. I can’t put up with people like that, and I don’t really understand how parents let their kids get away with it. Whatever happened to letting them learn how to fend for themselves?

  Rubbing my neck in agitation, I place a foot on the stairs and glance up to the second floor where the wildcat’s bedroom is. There’s no better time than the present to face the lioness in her den. As I take the first resigned step, bells start going off seconds before the housekeeper walks to the front door.

  My ears are still ringing.

  As I look toward the door, I notice Jarrod leaning against the entrance to the kitchen with his eyes on the front door.

  Maria opens the door and two attractive young girls walk in, hug Maria before they stop dead when they spot me glaring at them.

  “You must be the pig-headed man. I’m Parker and certainly wouldn’t mind having you as a bodyguard.” She doesn’t offer a handshake, but bats her eyelashes instead, which causes an unexpected chuckle to burst from between my lips.

  “Ignore her. I’m Ivy.” She holds her hand out to me, which I take and swallow it up in my larger one.

  “Nice to meet you both. I take it you’re the friends Gia plans on going out with?”

  Parker reaches out and runs her hand down my chest, which I stop when it reaches the belt on my jeans.

  “Cut it out Parker.” Jarrod pushes himself from the wall and the closer he gets the more Ivy seems to grow nervous.

  “Gia is to do what Hunter says, which means when you’re with her you do too. It’s for your own safety and I don’t want anything happening to either of you. You both okay with that?”

  Both girls acknowledge Jarrod with a nod of their heads.

  “Where’s your bodyguard?” Ivy asks Jarrod, her concern for him written all over her face.

  “I don’t need one.”

  “Of course you do. What if it has something to do with your work? You’re at risk just as much as Gia. You can’t ignore this.”

  This is the most enjoyment I’ve had since I’d been in Lexington at Club Kenza teasing Rosie.

  There is an obvious relationship between Ivy and Jarrod but what the relationship is, is unclear to me. Ivy is obviously concerned about Jarrod’s safety and its obvious Jarrod wants to ignore it. She moves closer to him and grabs his arm. “Please Jarrod, nothing can happen to you.”

  I raise an eyebrow as it all clicks. She isn’t concerned because he’s her friend’s father. She’s concerned because she has real feelings for the guy.

  Clearing his throat, Jarrod replies, “I’ll think about it, Ivy.” He reaches out, his hand hovering as though he’s going to caress her face, and then he pulls it back, shoving both hands into his pockets. His facial features pulled tight. “If you have to go out tonight, stay together and remember to do what Hunter asks.” He faces me, “I’ll trust your judgment.” With that being said he leaves me with the two girls.

  Parker’s gaze is pure lust but Ivy has lost all interest in me—her eyes remain on the door that Jarrod has disappeared behind.

  “What’s going on?” Gia asks from the top of the stairs, causing me to whip my head around. When our gazes collide, it takes everything in me to keep my tongue in my mouth.

  She is the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen with her legs going on for miles. The slim fitting dress she’s wearing clings to every curve she has, not leaving anything to the imagination. Some women would probably look cheap in an outfit like that, but she makes it look classy. Her dark hair is in some sort of twist thing that falls over her right shoulder and down her ample chest. A light layer of make-up covers her flawless skin, and those blue eyes of hers sparkle.

  I mentally have to shake the image of her from my head before I become even more aroused. I need to get laid. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been relieved by anything other than my own fist.

  “Where are you going looking like that?” I ask once I’ve found my voice.

  Gia rolls her eyes. “Are you for real? You sound just like my father.”

  I scowl because I really don’t like the idea of sounding like her father, but I also don’t like the reason why I don’t like that.

  Putting one foot in front of the other, I walk upstairs and stop with mere inches separating us. “I’m not your father. I’m going to be telling you to do things that are going to piss you off, and unlike your father, I won’t bend.”

  “You’re an ass,” Gia whispers in an angry tone before turning her back to me. “I’ll grab my purse then I’m ready to go,” she calls down to her friends. I glance back and see them staring up at me, pure amusement clear on their faces.

  4

  Gia

  Pissed doesn’t even begin to describe how I’m feeling. The only guy to ever get my engine to overheat like that is my frigging father! This is the first clue I have that I need to stay away from him and it’s really the only clue I need. I sure as hell don’t want to be attracted to someone that treats me the same way as my father does. I’m drinking quite heavily and yes it is against what Hunter suggested, but I ignore him.

  He’s a dark, brooding guy and since we’ve been at the club, he’s been sitting at the bar watching—no—glaring at me. So much so that none of the guys I usually dance with have been anywhere near me. I love t
o dance. Sometimes I’ll dance with the children at the hospital where I volunteer. And because of Mr. Brooding Hottie at the bar, I’m on my lonesome. Yeah, I feel like a wallflower.

  I sigh and decide enough is enough. I’m going to dance, and if he wants to glare at everyone who offers then he can be my dance partner. He has no choice, right?

  Grinning, I start to walk toward him with determination written across my face. I know that the minute he realizes he’s my target by the tightening of his jaw and the twitch to the side of his eye. His whole body seems to tense as I stand in front of him with a stomach full of butterflies.

  “I want to dance,” I tell him before I lose my courage.

  “Well, find someone to dance with,” Hunter grumbles.

  “Well now, that’s the thing. No one wants to dance with me because there’s this big guy growling at anyone who comes close.”

  Hunter raises an eyebrow in surprise.

  “So, as you’re putting the fear of god into everyone, I figured you might as well dance with me.”

  I try not to laugh at the brief look of horror that crosses his face. I’ve noticed he’s good at hiding his thoughts behind a mask so having caught him unaware fills me with unexpected joy.

  As the music changes from the hard rock beat to a much more sensual one, I slide my hand into Hunters and drag him up from the stool he’d claimed a couple of hours before.

  Under no illusion, I know that I wouldn’t have been able to move him if he hadn’t wanted to be moved.

  The closer we walk to the dance floor, the more the butterflies in my stomach are trying to explode. Everyone, apart from my two friends, think I love nothing more than having a good time, but in truth it takes a lot to give everyone that impression. When, in fact, I’m completely opposite. I’m shy. I get tongue-tied often, which I hide behind rudeness. I hardly ever shop and what I do spend on clothes isn’t spent in designer shops unless I need an evening dress to wear to accompany my father to a dinner.