His Canvas [Suncoast Society] (Siren Publishing Sensations) Read online

  She jumped as Saul pounded on her door and she heard him try the doorknob.

  “Mallory!” he yelled through the door. “I’m not kidding. Either you come out of there and agree to grad school, or I will put your friends through a world of public shame and make sure they know you could have stopped it!”

  “Oh, will he?” Kel darkly said on the phone.

  “You heard that?”

  “Yes, I heard it. Sit tight.”

  “If you show up, I don’t know what he’ll do.”

  “Honey, listen to me.” Kel dropped into that same tone he’d used on her when he told her to text him her address. “Someone’s going to show up at your house in about twenty minutes or so. I won’t be far behind them, but I have some calls to make first.”

  “Who?”

  “Don’t worry about it. You’ll know them. Just let them in and let them deal with your uncle. You start packing whatever you need to get out of there. When I get there, we’ll grab as much as we can, but if there’s anything irreplaceable you need to take now, in case we can’t get it all, make sure to have it ready.”

  “What?”

  “You’re moving in here for now. At least until we can get this sorted out for you and find out what the hell he’s hiding. Understand me?”

  “Yes, Sir.” It slipped from her before she could stop it.

  “Good girl,” he said.

  Her innards fluttered in a good way, until she jumped when her uncle pounded on her door again, yelling at her.

  “Ignore him. If he puts a hand on you, call 911, and then call me back. Otherwise, I’ll see you shortly. Keep your phone on you, in your pocket.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  She ended the call and put the phone on the bed. Changing into shorts, she slid the phone into her back pocket as Kel had instructed before yelling at her uncle. “Go away. I’m not talking to you tonight.”

  “I’ll be the only one talking to you when I finish with your friends—”

  She yanked the door open and glared at him. “Then fucking do it,” she said. “You’re a nutless asshole, is what you are. I don’t think you have the sac to do it. You’re just fucking scared shitless that I’m going to find out whatever it is you’re doing with the trust. It’s funny how every time I mention the trust, you change the subject. What are you hiding, huh?”

  Impasse. Again.

  He glared at her, breathing heavy, staring at her, finally blinking first and turning to storm to his own bedroom, where he slammed the door behind him.

  The shakes hit her again. She leaned against the doorway, struggling not to burst into tears.

  Then, Kel’s orders hit home, driving back into her conscious.

  She ran out to the garage and grabbed a few empty boxes that had been stored out there, a couple of rolls of paper towels, and a box of garbage bags. Running back to her room, she locked the door behind her and quickly started packing her dragons. Some of them had been presents from her parents. She would hate to lose any of her books, but the dragons were irreplaceable.

  She also had her photo albums in her room, and they went into another box. She dragged her boxes of dragons out of her closet, stacking everything next to her bed before she started emptying her dresser and closet into the garbage bags.

  About eighteen minutes after her call to Kel, someone rang the front doorbell, then immediately pounded on the door before ringing the doorbell again.

  Mallory ran out to the living room, hearing her uncle’s bedroom door open behind her. Without looking to see who it was, she threw the front door open to find Tilly standing there. The older woman’s gaze swept the room and she didn’t even wait for Mal to invite her in as she walked right past her.

  “You all right, Mal?” Tilly asked as she focused on Mallory’s uncle now charging down the hallway toward them.

  Heat shimmers of rage seemed to wash off the woman. Slender, and shorter than her uncle, Mal still had no doubts Tilly could hold her own against the man.

  She’d seen Tilly scene at the club, both as a viciously sadistic Domme, and as a bottom to Landry and Cris.

  Her uncle stormed into the living room. “Who the hell are you?”

  Mallory pushed the front door closed as Tilly put on a chilling smile and walked over to him, extending her hand to shake with him. “Hi there. Tilly Cardinal. I’m a friend of Mallory’s. I’m here to help her.” Her cold tone would have frightened the crap out of Mal had it been focused on her.

  Her uncle sounded dumbstruck. “Get the hell out of this house before I call the cops!”

  “Oh?” Tilly’s eyebrows dangerously arched as her smile faded. “Then I suppose when they get here I should tell them how I saw you shove Mallory against the wall and you threatened to kill her, hmm?”

  When Mallory started to say something, Tilly held out a staying hand to her without taking her gaze off Saul.

  “What?” he thundered.

  “Why, yes. A friend of ours was on the phone with Mallory and heard you threatening her through the bedroom door. Of course, when I was called, since I’m so close, I rushed over just in time to witness you attacking her.”

  Tilly calmly stepped forward, her face inches from Saul’s. “You’re lucky I don’t have a concealed carry license, asshole. That, and I don’t feel like going to jail for premeditated homicide over someone as worthless as you.”

  She snapped her fingers at Mallory. “Keep packing your stuff while your uncle and I have a little chat. The others will be here any minute.”

  “Others?” her uncle yelled.

  Tilly snapped her fingers in his face before pointing at him. “I wasn’t talking to you, asshole. You will only talk when I tell you you can.”

  Mallory ran to follow Tilly’s orders. She wasn’t afraid of Tilly…

  Okay, screw that, anyone in their right mind would be afraid of Tilly when she was in full-on Domme mode. But for tonight, at least, Tilly was on her side, and Mallory would be eternally grateful to the woman for it.

  Tilly had subtly turned, forcing her uncle to turn and back toward the living room. “Now then,” Mallory heard Tilly say before she headed down the hallway, “you are going to sit your damn ass down on that sofa, keep your mouth shut, or I will call the cops and there will be about six other witnesses here by the time they get here, all of them swearing that you threatened to kill her, and me for helping her. Including an FDLE officer and a detective from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. Try me if you think I’m kidding, you goddamned cunt nugget.”

  Holy shit.

  Mallory felt glad these people were her friends and not her enemies!

  When the doorbell rang a few minutes later, Tilly called out to her. “I’ve got it, Mal. I’ll send them back. Don’t stop what you’re doing.”

  She heard several male voices enter the house. Then she turned.

  Kel stood in her bedroom doorway.

  That’s when her emotional dam burst. With him there, she couldn’t be strong anymore, no matter how much she hated herself for it. She started sobbing as he raced in, Seth, Cris, and Tony on his heels.

  Kel engulfed her in his arms. “Shh,” he said. “We got this. We’re here. You’re okay.”

  “Where do we start?” Seth asked him.

  She thought she heard another familiar male voice, maybe Landry, out in the living room.

  Kel looked around. “Grab anything already boxed or bagged up.” He cradled her face in his hands. “Did he hurt you?”

  She shook her head, unable to stop crying long enough to speak.

  He pulled her close again. “Okay, sweetie. All right.” He kissed the top of her head, stroked her hair, her back. “We got this for you. Ross will be here with some boxes in a couple of minutes, and we’ve got Josh, Ted, and Mark on the way with their trucks and more boxes, too. Where’s your purse and laptop and stuff?”

  She pointed at the bed.

  He scooped her purse and laptop case off the bed and onto his shoulder before sli
pping an arm around her waist and leading her down the hallway and out the front door.

  “Where are your keys?”

  She fished them out of the side pocket of her purse, and only then did she realize there were now three other vehicles besides Kel’s truck parked in her driveway and on the street in front of the house.

  He unlocked her car for her, ushered her around to the passenger seat, and then reached across her and started it, turning on the AC.

  “Lock yourself in,” he said. “Do you have any medicine or anything you need out of the kitchen?”

  “No. Just my stuff in the hall bathroom.”

  “We’ll get that. Garage? Rest of the house?”

  She thought about it. “The china cabinets, but don’t worry about those. It’s okay. Mainly the stuff in my room.”

  He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Do not unlock this car unless it’s one of us. You stay here. Okay? Do not move.”

  She nodded.

  He closed the door and waited until he heard her hit the lock button before returning to the house.

  She sat there, stunned and in shock as more people she recognized from the club arrived, including the three Collins brothers. Something akin to a well-organized military operation took place. Through the front windows, she watched Tilly and Landry standing over her uncle, who sat on the couch with an evil glare on his face and his arms crossed over his chest as he stared up at them. Meanwhile, the other men carried her things out, even her bookcase, dresser, and bed, and loaded them into various vehicles.

  Less than thirty minutes later, it was done. Kel handed his keys off to Cris, who took off in Kel’s truck, apparently leading the caravan.

  Kel walked back to Mallory’s car and tapped on the driver’s side window. She unlocked the door. He opened it and smoothly slid into the driver’s seat.

  Her uncle appeared on the front porch.

  Kel paused, waiting, arms resting on the steering wheel, staring at the other man until he finally went inside and slammed the front door shut.

  Only then did Kel lean in and kiss her forehead. “Let’s go home and get you unpacked.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kel handed Mallory off to Tilly when they reached his apartment, ordering Mallory to stay on the couch while the men first removed the bed in the guest room before bringing her furniture and other belongings upstairs.

  Tilly sat with one arm draped comfortingly around Mallory’s shoulders as Mallory glanced at her phone.

  “Do you want to call Chelbie tonight?” Tilly asked her.

  “I should.” It felt like she’d stumbled into an alternate dimension. In the space of just a couple of hours, her life had forever flipped on its axis.

  Whether or not it would shake out to be a good thing remained to be seen.

  “I’ll do it for you, if you’d like.”

  Mallory unlocked her phone. “No, I’ll do it.” She hoped her friend’s phone didn’t wake up her parents.

  When Chelbie answered, sounding a little sleepy, Mallory felt guilty for waking her up.

  “What’s wrong?” Chelbie asked, sounding more awake when she realized it was Mallory. “What’d that fucker Slimon do now?”

  Mallory tried to tell her, but thinking about how her friends had swooped into protect and move her overwhelmed her again. Tilly gently took the phone from her.

  “Hey, Chelbie? Sweetie, it’s Tilly.” Tilly gave her the condensed version of the story, then listened. “No, he didn’t actually hurt her, but I think by the time Landry and I got done with him, he needed a change of shorts… Yes, we’ll be here at Kel’s for a while yet. Come on over. See you shortly.”

  She returned the phone. “Done.” Tilly hugged her close. “Sweetie, don’t you realize you’re family to us?”

  “Some of these guys barely know me.”

  “Yeah, but I know you well enough to call you family. And Kel apparently thinks an awful lot of you. As far as I’m concerned, that’s good enough for me.” She brushed Mallory’s hair away from her face. “When we adopt someone, that’s it. We don’t let people fuck with our family.”

  “He threatened to out Kel and cause trouble for the club.”

  “Yeah? So? Kel’s out. Not like he’s a school teacher or something who has to worry about that. And the club, well, Derrick has all his shit in order, trust me. You don’t need to worry about the club.”

  “I’m sorry I’ve dragged everyone into my drama. I never wanted to do that.”

  “I really wish you’d confided in me sooner,” Tilly gently said. “If you had, we would have helped you get out of there long before now. I feel bad you’ve been going through this alone.”

  “I didn’t want to bother anyone.”

  “You’re not bothering anyone. Stop it. We want to help you. Let us.”

  “Now I don’t know what to do about finding out about the trust.”

  “You leave that to us. Seth’s going to handle getting the lawyer for you.”

  “I can’t afford that.”

  “Stop. Oh, my god. You don’t have to afford it. It’s going to be done, and that’s it. End of subject. If on the other side we find out you can afford it, he’ll work with you then on his fee.” Tilly gently shook her. “Until then, shut up and let your family take care of you.”

  A laugh finally escaped Mallory. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “That’s more like it.”

  * * * *

  Only being busy getting Mal’s stuff moved into his apartment had kept Kel focused on not wanting to go back and beat the everlovin’ snot out of her uncle.

  When Chelbie arrived, dressed in a T-shirt and Eeyore PJ pants, she stormed barefoot up the stairs, her car keys in hand and hair a mess, practically throwing herself onto Mallory.

  “Oh, my god. Are you okay?”

  Tilly slid over to make room on the couch for Chelbie on Mal’s other side. Kel walked in to join them, sitting on the coffee table in front of them.

  “I’m okay,” Mal sniffled.

  “Why didn’t you call me, girlie?” Chelbie asked.

  Kel took over telling Chelbie as much of the story as he knew it. He suspected once Mal calmed down enough to retell everything, it would enrage him all over again when he heard any details she’d left out of their initial phone call.

  Chelbie looked ready to kill. “I know that fucker’s up to no fucking good. Fucker. Fucking fuckhead.”

  “Tell us how you really feel,” Tilly snarked.

  Chelbie reached over and grabbed Tilly’s hand, squeezing. “Thank you for being there for her.”

  “Hey, like I already told her, she’s family. And so are you. We take care of family.”

  “I know my parents will let her move in with us if she needs to,” Chelbie said. She looked at Kel, and he caught the hint of warning, both in her narrowed gaze and dark tone. “I know this wasn’t in your plans. We can move her to my house once I talk to my parents tomorrow.”

  He didn’t want to piss Chelbie off, or come off sounding controlling, but he also knew he didn’t want Mal to move out. If nothing else, he wanted her there, safe with him, able to protect her if her uncle tried anything.

  “She’s welcomed to live with me as long as she wants or needs to,” he said. “Once things calm down, we’ll discuss rent and stuff. But seriously, it’s all right.”

  Chelbie looked from him to Mal and back again. “No offense, dude, but I’m going to be the voice of reason here.” She focused on Mallory again. “You’re upset and not thinking clearly right now. I’m beyond grateful he got you out of there and safe, but keep in mind that this is not your only option.”

  Tilly apparently cued into Chelbie’s thoughts. “She’s right. I know and trust Kel to be a stand-up guy, but he’s been in the lifestyle long enough, he won’t hold it against you if you decide you’d be more comfortable at Chelbie’s house. And, believe me, no one will mind helping you move again. Seriously. It is not an imposition.”

  Mallory met his g
aze. Kel nodded, wanting to assure her. “They’re right. I wanted you safe. This was the first and easiest option. You are not obligated to me, but I really mean it when I say if you’d like to live here, I am happy to have you here for as long as you’d like. No expectations other than friends and roommates.”

  Mallory grabbed Chelbie and Tilly’s hands. “Thank you. All of you. I think I’d like to try being here, at least at first.” She looked at Chelbie. “I love you, but moving in with your parents, I’m afraid that would be like another crutch. If I’m here and forced to make my own way, maybe that will help me stay stronger and get through all this the way I need to.”

  “Okay, girlie. I understand.” Chelbie hugged her, but shot Kel a warning glare he had no trouble interpreting.

  They’ll never find your body.

  Tilly joined in their hug and also met his gaze. Her dark stare was softened only by her wink, which he also could interpret.

  I’ll help Chelbie hide your body.

  He leaned in and wrapped his arms around all three women. “If any of you think I’d do anything to risk incurring the wrath of either of these two, think again. I value my boy parts too much to be an idiot.”

  Mallory laughed, lightening his soul with the sound. As Tilly and Chelbie released her, she leaned in and hugged him, snuggling against him.

  “Thank you,” she said. “I do trust you. You have no idea how much I appreciate all you’ve done for me tonight. I’m overwhelmed.”

  “I know.” He reluctantly released her. “That’s why we’re not going to discuss the finances for a little while yet. We’re going to get you an appointment with the attorney, get that ball rolling, and let you decompress for a while.”

  So much for me not inviting drama llamas into my corral.

  No, that wasn’t fair. This wasn’t Mallory’s fault. It wasn’t like she’d tried to stir up trouble. She was only guilty of being young and trusting and letting her uncle boss her around. Easy trap to fall into, considering the circumstances. He wouldn’t hold that against her.

  Especially when all he wanted to hold against her was his own body.