Page 8 of Indecent Villain

I turn to Jock and frown. “You call him by his family name?”

“Habit.” Jock smiles. “How about a warm drink in the kitchen. I could do with a cup of coffee myself.”

“Okay.” I follow beside him and come to a stop. “What are they carrying upstairs?”

“A bed.”

“He doesn’t want to sleep in my parents’ bed, so he brought his own.” I glance at Jock for confirmation.

He nods.

“I suppose that makes sense.” I sigh. “There are a lot of things that do not make sense to me, though. Many in fact, and I don’t know where to start.”

“Let’s have that cup of coffee,” he suggests and leads me toward the kitchen. “Problem?” he asks when I come to a sudden stop before stepping foot inside.

“I’ve never been allowed inside the kitchen,” I whisper.

“From what I have been told, this is your house, which means this is your kitchen.” He smirks and pushes his way inside. A growl comes out of his mouth when he sees Martha at the far end of the room. “You lay a hand on this girl again, and I will show you how hard a man as big as me can hit.”

Oh God.

“You took the words right out of my mouth, Jock.” Tiberius moves into the room. “This is your last chance, Ms. Green.” His steely eyes narrow on the woman before he shoots a look I can’t decipher at Jock. “Do not bring my niece over to the dark side while I’m in the office.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Tiberius snorts and turns his attention to me. His eyes linger as he grabs an apple on his way out of the room.

Jock claps his hands. “Show’s over. Now, can someone show us where we can make our coffee?”

“It’s behind you. Nothing too fancy,” a timid voice replies.

I turn to find a former employee. The young woman is maybe three years older than me. She’s also the daughter of one of Martha’s friends, and I’m sure she fears the vile woman too. “Thank you, Marie.” I smile at her. “I didn’t know you were working here again.”

“Mr. Beckett called the old staff back.” Marie moves closer. “I am sorry about your parents, Kinsley.” She grabs my hand and squeezes.

“Thank you,” I say, choking on the words.

I turn my attention to Jock, who’s pouring two cups of coffee. He passes me a cup, then places a hand to my back and guides me back out along the hallway.

“The girl seemed nice,” he says when we reach the living room.

“Marie is.” I sit at one end of the sofa and inhale the rich aroma before I take a sip. “This is very good.”

“I made it, so of course it is.” He chuckles. “No one comes between me and my coffee.”

“Did Tiberius ask you to be nice to me?”

His eyes dance. “He told me not to let you out of my sight.”

“Hmm,” I mutter.

I sit back and listen to the men putting the bed together upstairs. Hammering comes from the office, which I ignore. I don’t want to know what other changes are taking place. Instead, I wonder about Jock. I sense the man was truly angry when he discovered I was hit. He will follow Tiberius’s orders in the end, which means I can’t trust him as much as I want to. It would be nice to not be so alone anymore.

I guess I will be safe from the outside world in the house. But will I be safe from Tiberius?

5

TIBERIUS

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