Chapter 9

Nine

P retty

I was at my wit's end calling around to see about my son. They should have been back by now. What if this criminal has kidnapped my baby? What if he did the one thing all parents worried about? I knew there were some sick individuals out there that liked hurting children, the pain it caused in my heart to even think about it, left me rushing to the phone to call the police.

I should have known better than to leave the care of my child up to Vernon and his dumb decision making. He may not have cared for being a father, but I didn't play about my child. If something bad had happened to him, best believe the mama bear inside me would raise war on any outside threats.

Just as the operator on the line connected, the sound of keys in the door had me hanging up the phone and rushing towards the entrance, relief setting in to see Elijah and Paddy walking through the foyer.

"Paddy, where the hell have you been? It's well past five-thirty and you were supposed to have my son back hours ago." Bending down to examine his face, there was light bruising and small cuts that weren't there when I sent him off. If I found out this heathen has been hurting my child, he was going to lose more than just his job.

"Elijah, sweetheart. What happened to your face?" His face beamed with excitement, my brows cocking in confusion at his joyful account on his day.

"Mom, it was so cool! Mr. Sullivan took me to his brother's boxing ring. And they taught me how to punch, and duck, bob and weave. Then they let me take swings at the punching bags. I even got into the ring and fought someone." My confusion button switched to fury as I came to a stand with Paddy's smug expression staring back at me.

"He took you where ? Elijah, go to your room honey. Mr. Sullivan and I have to speak about something important." I said, scooting him forward as I waited until I heard his room door slam.

"Follow me," I instructed, as we walked into the kitchen and like the flicker of a light switch, something turned on inside me. "I told you, Mr. Sullivan. I told you that you only had one chance to fuck up and you were out of here. My son was supposed to be back here right after school. Not three o'clock, not four o'clock, and certainly not the time you walked through those damn doors. A boxing ring? You took my son to a damn boxing ring, letting him spar like some hoodlum on the street? What the hell were you thinking?" I chastised, cheeks hot, and blood pressure high.

All he did was look at me, a condescending glare in his unusual eyes. I was scared to admit that it terrified me sometimes. He had the eyes of a man who had seen some things, and while we were on the subject, had done some things.

"Are you done going on your little rant?" He challenged, fueling my anger more. "Why don't you do yourself a favor and sit down." My eyes shot open. He was high on audacity, and was about to learn quick that I wasn't the one.

"See what you're not going to do, is tell me what to do in my own house," I argued back. With an eerie amount of calmness, he stalked over to me, his intimidating frame and contrasting stare giving the impression that he wanted to hurt me. The trick of the light I thought I saw was actually present. The man had one blue eye and the other was mostly brown. It made his eyes look hella vicious and for such a pretty face, he had nasty, and I mean nasty facial expressions.

"If I have to tell you again to sit down, you're not gonna like what I do to get you there." A gasp left my lips, a feeling of both fear and intrigue curling up inside me. No man had ever talked to me that way, and right now, I did the smart thing by just listening to him. He took a seat from across from me, his sharp gaze dangerously sinister and commanding.

"What I was thinking, was I was trying to get the boy to open up to me. The lad's getting bullied at school, and I thought it might be a good thing for him if he learned how to protect himself. Did you know that at school he hides for hours at a time? The kid's scared. When you learn how to take a punch, getting into a fight don't seem all that frightening. And I would know."

At his confession, my thoughts filled with worry. I knew he was having a hard time making friends, but I didn't know he was getting picked on. Had I been working so much that I didn't notice a change in his behavior. I was his mom. I was supposed to sense these things.

But between my marital issues and deadlines for my next project undertow, I admit those aided in a lot of things slipping past me. Avoiding messing up my makeup, I ran my palms over my face, a sigh passing my lips.

"No, I didn't know," I paused, releasing another deep sigh. "Why didn't he confide in me? Or at least tell his dad?" I said out loud to no one particular, but giving it proper thought, his father would have to be around long enough for the two of them to even have that conversation.

"Take it from me, lass. Sometimes, opening up to a stranger is a lot easier than opening up to your folks. Another thing I have a shiteload of experience with. Some parents just have a harder time listening. I'm lucky that he even told me," he admitted, which reminded me. That still didn't give him the right to disobey my orders and have me worrying all afternoon. That shit still had to get dealt with.

"Look, I appreciate you getting my son to talk about something that's hard, but that still doesn't give you the right to keep him out past five. Or having him someplace I didn't approve of first. I don't want my son around just anybody. Like I warned before, I was only giving you one shot to fuck up. I'm sorry to have to do this, but you're gonna have to go. I'll make sure that you're paid for the work that you've done so far, but I need you out of here." His full lips stretched into a barely there smile, and instead of getting up, he took a cigarette from his waistcoat pocket and lit it right in front of me. I couldn't wait to see this arrogant man go.

"Listen, sweetheart, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not going anywhere." Anger blossomed inside me, and before I knew it, I was sitting up ready to drag him out myself.

"Paddy Sullivan, if you don't get up and pack your shit and get the hell up out my house!" I screamed, knowing I couldn't be making myself anymore clearer. He too came to a stand, but instead of cornering me like I thought he would, he walked over to the island, crossing his legs at the ankles like he didn't have a care in a world.

"You know, I'm a hell of a good liar. One of the best, I reckon. But this shite has gone on long enough. The kid I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical before I took this job. But your son's a good kid. Fun to be around and with the salary your husband and I agreed upon, was difficult to turn down. But you want to know the truth? I wasn't hired to babysit the kid. I was hired to babysit you." My brows furrowed, confusion coursing all the way through me.

"Babysit me? Boy , I am a grown ass woman. I know my husband didn't hire you to watch me while he goes on his lengthy business trips," I challenged, which was rich since considering when he was home, he barely laid a finger on me.

"There you women go, always jumping to conclusions. I wasn't brought in to spy on you. I was brought in to protect you. Apparently, you have a stalker, but he didn't want you to worry more than you already were. Whatever you stumbled upon, I reckon it's a lot worse than a few taken photos of you," he admitted, as my breathing returned to normal. I can't believe that Vernon would lie to me about that. If he was lying about this, what else could he be keeping from me?

Although I had to admit, I was a little stunned. How could someone care enough about my safety, but barely put in any effort to fix our broken marriage? I wouldn't even need anyone's protection if the man just was around more. Instead, I was stuck with a gentleman where other than his name and country of origin, I knew nothing the fuck about.

"I knew your ass wasn't no damn nanny. Who are you really, and what is it that you do?" I questioned and watched as this time his smile stretched into something deadly. Deadly attractive or deadly ferocious, I wasn't quite sure of.

"All you need to know is that I'm a degenerate. I put bad men away and send even worse ones home to their makers. I'm careful. I'm effective. And lastly, there ain't shite in this world that I fear. Your husband's a wise man for bringing me on. Anyone who wants to harm you would have to go through me first, and I don't break easily." He ended with a wink.

A wink that had me nearly clutching my pearls. If I were fifteen years younger, I may have mistaken it for a come-on, but if there was one trait a face like his was going to embody, it was the tempting skill of a snake charmer. I snatched the cigarette from his hand and brought it to my lips to take a drag. He laughed, the tension between us easing up at his admission of the truth.

"Well, I guess that means I can't fire you." Another laugh.

"Sweetheart, you never had the reigns to fire me." There his mouth went, dogpiling more of that tension.

"Well just so you know, the old rules still stand. No matter what my husband hired you for, we're still paying you under the guise that you're the nanny. To keep the peace, I'd rather not let him know that I know. We argue about enough things," I said, running a hand down my dress to compose myself. He had this look in his eyes, the smile spreading across his face both criminal and terrifying.

"Trust me, Mrs. Washington. If there's one thing you can guarantee with a man like me, is that I know how to guard a bloody secret."