Page 4 of Deviant Bastards

Once we get back to the house, I get out of the car and slam my door. “Hey, just because you couldn't listen doesn't mean you can take it out on my car.” Deacon chuckles as he gets out and opens Ellie’s door. She’s sound asleep, utterly oblivious to the fact that just a short time ago, we almost knocked people over and lost control of the damn car. Deacon’s right, though. Just because I’m pissed off that doesn’t mean I can hurt the things around me. And now, because I’ve defied Dad's order, I’m going to be in shit... again! I gently lift Ellie from her seat and walk into the house with her, Deacon following closely behind us. Anna meets me at the door and takes her from me, saying, “I’ll put her to bed, Miss Harley.” I nod my agreement and walk towards my dad’s office. Knocking on the door, I wait until he gives me the command to enter.

Dad sits behind his desk, looking up as I enter the room. Running a hand down his face, he turns his stern gaze on me. “I thought I made it clear, Harley. You were to stay within the confines of the house until we figured out what the fuck is going on. But no, of course, you wouldn’t fucking listen,” he huffs at me. When I was young, Dad’s tone would have made me cry, but now? Now, I’m not so easily scared.

“You expected me to stay locked up in this tower forever?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at him, my tone rising in anger. My father glares at me, and then he sighs as he stops glaring at me like I have ten heads. “I know you don’t like it, but until we find out what happened to Marcus, I need you and Ellie safe. Which means... Ineedyou to listen to me.”

I sit down in the chair on the opposite side of his desk. “What happens with the treaty now? Are we heading into war?” I ask. My dad won’t look at me, but he picks up a stack of papers and begins thumbing through them. “Can you please just remain in the house or on the grounds of this property? It’s... it’s for your safety?” he pleads, completely avoiding my question. “Dad, I know that Kendric Olliston has taken over as the boss for his dad. I remember him from when I was a kid, the day that the treaty was signed.” Again, I’m met with silence as my father continues to shuffle through the papers that he has in his hands. I sit on the edge of the chair as I wait to see if he’s going to answer me, he doesn’t. “So, I take it from the silence that you’re not going to answer my question then?” It infuriates me that he expects me to take over for him, and yet, he keeps me in the dark. Better yet, if I had been born with a dick, you can guarantee that things would have been different.

We remain sitting in our seats in complete silence, waiting for the other to say something, when the ringing of my dad’s desk phone breaks the tension in the room. “Hello,” Dad says as he picks up the phone. “Ah, yes, thank you. Send him in.” He hangs up and faces me once more, an annoyed look on his face, and I can’t tell if it’s because of my questions or because of the phone call he’s just had. “Stay in the fucking house. Do not put yours or Ellie’s life in danger again!” he growls at me. I stand up, marching out of his office, and as I do, I collide with a wall.

“Shit!” The wall chuckles at my cursing.What the fuck?I look up and see that I’ve actually walked straight into a guy. He takes a step back, and I get a good, proper look at him; he’s gorgeous. He has to be well over six feet tall and has these piercing, green eyes. He’s wearing a backwards baseball cap and a fitted grey shirt. It’s so tight that I swear I can see some of those sexy muscles he has hidden underneath it. Moving my eyes lower, I find he has on some fitted jeans that also show off a nice package.

“Careful, Princess,” he drawls at me as my eyes find his after checking him out. I should feel guilty about being caught, but I don’t. Instead, I grin at him. His deep voice sends a shiver of need down my spine.Well damn, this one might be trouble. “What are you made of?” I ask. My damn brain has turned to mush, and my filter has been deactivated, making it hard to process anything else. He just chuckles at me. As he manoeuvres past me, he bends down and whispers in my ear, “Wouldn’t you like to know?” I turn around, my mouth dropping open as I watch him walk into my father’s office. “Mr Cairns, thank you for attending this meeting,” I hear my father say as the door closes behind the sexy man.Just who the fuck is Mr Cairns, and why is he having a meeting with my father?I wonder as I make my way towards my room.

Barnett is doing a lap as I walk up the stairs to my room. Before he can pass me by, I place my hand on his arm, stopping him and asking, “Hey, any idea why my dad would be meeting a man named Mr Cairns?” Barnett looks down at my hand and frowns. He shakes off my hand and starts to walk away. “You know, one day when I’m the boss, you won’t be able to avoid me!” I shout at his back. A laugh from the top of the stairs has me turning to look at whoever has just witnessed my interaction with Barnett. “You know why he avoids you, right?” Deacon asks as he waits for me to start walking again.

“Hey, don’t go trying to say that it’s because I’m the boss’s daughter. I know what you did,” I tell him as I walk into my room. Deacon doesn’t respond, he just merely takes up guard outside my room. I slam the door, so I don’t have to look at his stupid face.Well, this fucking sucks. How the fuck do I get out of here now?I need time away from this house, and yet, I can’t because of the order from my father. Time to call in reinforcements.

“Don’t even think about it, Harley. I mean it,” Deacon growls out, and I open my bedroom door. I smirk at him and let out a chuckle. “Do what? I wasn’t even thinking about anything.” I say innocently as I close the door again; he always seems to read my mind somehow. Deacon is ten years older than me, and before he became part of my dad’s organisation, he was training to be on the police force. It makes me laugh now; the big, bad bodyguard training to be a law-abider. If only his superiors could see him now. Knowing all the things that he’s done in order to, not only protect my father’s business, but also to protect me would shock them.

“I know you, know exactly what you’re thinking, Little Princess. Don’t forget that I taught you everything you know.” He’s got me there. “Alright then. Is it acceptable if I go visit my daughter then?” I sass as I shoulder check him. He silently follows behind me. I see that dad has sent Leon to stand guard outside of Ellie’s room. I’m glad that he has sent Leon because he’s one of the best, and I know that he will protect Ellie no matter what. “Hey, Trouble,” he greets me as I get closer. Leon has been part of my dad’s organisation for over fifteen years. Dad has tried to promote him to his second-in-command so many times, but Leon prefers to be head of security; that’s why when Dad met Deacon, he instantly asked him to be his second.

“No trouble now, I just want to have fun with Little Miss,” I say as I give him a hug. Through the open bedroom door, I hear Ellie giggle, and Anna asking her to lie still. As I walk in, I can’t help but feel sorry for Anna; she has Ellie lying on the floor, trying to change her into pyjamas, but Ellie keeps wriggling, trying to get away. “Come here, you,” I say to Ellie as I scoop her up off of the floor. “It’s okay, Anna, I got her. You should go have something to eat, and enjoy the rest of the evening.” While Anna walks out of the room, I make my way towards Ellie’s bed, saying, “Okay, baby, let’s get you ready for bed. How does that sound?”

“No,” she sasses back at me, and I look down at her.Where did my sweet, little girl go?She’s going through the terrible twos right now, which means lots of tears and use of the word no. I pull her pyjamas from where Anna left them on the pillow and start getting her undressed. Just as I’m almost finished pulling her top over her head, she starts to scream, “NO!” I pull her top off the rest of the way and hold her close to me. “It’s time to get ready for bed, baby. Let me finish putting your pyjamas on, and then we can get you a snack before bed. Would you like that?” I ask her gently.

She shakes her head without responding, and instead, she takes her pyjama top in her tiny hand and pulls it on by herself. I can’t help but smile. So that’s what was wrong; she just didn’t want me to do it for her. Deacon and Leon’s hushed tones right outside the door catch my attention. “What’s going on?” I ask as walking towards them. They both turn their gazes to Ellie and me. “Nothing for you to worry about, Trouble. Why don’t you take Miss Ellie here down to the kitchen for that snack you just promised her?” Leon says as he turns back to Deacon. They’re avoiding my question, and I want to know why.

Later that night, I’m lying on my bed, and my phone rings. Kayla’s face fills my screen, and I instantly answer the video call from my best friend.

“Hey, babes, are you going to Ivy tonight?” she asks. I shake my head and begin to tell her what’s been going on. But what I don’t tell her is that my father has no idea what the hell is happening with the treaty. “Want some help escaping?” she asks me with a grin on her face.

“What exactly did you have in mind?” I ask her as I get up to ensure the coast is clear. Kayla tells me what her plan is, and I have to agree with her; it’s genius. I hang up the phone and start to get ready. I’m about finished with my dark, smoky eye make-up when there’s a knock on my bedroom door. I open it, expecting it to be Kayla on the other side, but instead, my father stands there with his arms crossed over his chest. “I thought that I made my fucking point clear; you’re not leaving this house,”

I school my face into a mask of innocence. “I’m not going anywhere. Kayla and I were going to have a girls’ night in, and I just wanted to put on some make-up,” I sass. I glare at Deacon, whose face perks up at the mention of Kayla. He may be older than us, but he can’t hide the attraction that he feels for my bestie. “Don’t blame Deacon, he’s just doing his damn job,” my father chastises as he turns to retreat back down the stairs. It’s funny how easily he believed what I said, but now, I need to figure out how the fuck Deacon knew what I was thinking. Maybe he doesn’t, and my dad was just guessing. I walk back into my room and grab my phone.

Step one is complete.

I send the text to Kayla, and then I finish doing my hair and make-up. The floorboards outside of my room creak from Deacon leaving his spot, letting me know that my best friend is most likely here. “Hey there, sexy,” Kayla’s musical voice says from the other side of my door. “Are you ever going to grow a set of balls and take me out to dinner?” Kayla asks with a laugh as she opens my door. She stops dead in her tracks and lets out a whistle. “Damn, you look gorgeous,” she tells me as she takes in my hair, which is falling down my back in tight curls. I’ve topped off my look with a black dress with silver sequins sewn throughout it in a cool, flowy design. I twirl as she closes the door behind her.

ChapterThree

HARLEY

“You do realise that your dad has about five goons outside your room and roaming the halls, right?” Kayla asks quietly.Shit.He’s increased security then. “Guess he didn’t believe we were having a girls’ night in after all, huh?” I say with a laugh. “Plan B it is then.” Kayla grins and walks back outside. Her job is to distract Deacon and the guys so that I can sneak out of the house without them knowing, then Kayla is going to meet me out front. I can hear her talking softly to Deacon. I have no idea what she’s saying to him, but whatever it is has him chuckling slightly. I wait until I hear their voices start to fade before slowly and quietly opening my door. I peek out and see that Deacon has his hand on the small of Kayla’s back, leading her away from my room and down the stairs, ever the gentleman.

“I thought you ladies were having a girls’ night in?” Leon’s voice startles me, and I almost scream as I clutch my chest. He looks down at me and laughs. “We were, but... Kayla forgot to grab the ice cream, so that’s where she’s going,” I say, trying to keep my voice even. If Leon suspects for even a second that I’m sneaking out, he will lock me in my room and report to my father. “Well then, in that case, continue on, Trouble.” He whistles softly to himself as he walks back towards Ellie’s room. I softly close the door behind me before closing my eyes. “Fuck!” I whisper yell.Out the window, it is then.Thankfully, I’m an expert at climbing down the drainpipe. I grab my shoes and clutch from my bed, making sure that my phone and cards are inside. Walking to the window, I gently drop everything onto the grass below.

I double check to ensure that none of the guards are doing a lap before slowly climbing out of the window. About halfway down the pipe, a snap draws my focus. “Careful, girl, don’t want you to hurt yourself before we get to the club,” Kayla’s amused voice says from below me. “Bitch.” I chuckle as I finish my descent. Once I hit the grass, we break out into a run towards Kayla’s car. I feel guilty leaving Ellie, but she’s settled for the night. Ellie has always been a good baby, she started sleeping through the night at eight weeks old, so I know that she will be sound asleep until morning.

“You have to duck down, or the guard at the gate will see you,” she mumbles as she unlocks the car. I slide in and duck down as low as I can in her tiny Fiat 500. It’s no easy feat.

She waves to Tony, who’s on gate duty tonight, and peels out onto the street. I watch as Kayla checks her mirrors to make sure that we are clear before she gives me the signal to sit up. Once I do, I fix my hair and readjust my dress so that it covers my arse again since it decided to ride up a little when I ducked down.

“Well, that was fun.” Kayla laughs as she drives us towards Club Ivy, which is owned by her big brother, Luke. “So, Marcus is dead then?” Kayla asks. “Yeah, and apparently, his son has taken over,” I tell her. I neglect to tell her that I’ve met Kendric when I was younger because then she will want every tiny detail that I can remember, seeing as my best friend has always been a nosey bitch. Plus, she would go nuts over the kiss on the hand thing, being the hopeless romantic that she is.

“Can we please not talk about my father’s business tonight? I just want to let loose, get drunk, and maybe find someone to dance with,” I grumble. Kayla agrees and luckily doesn’t ask any more questions. She pulls up outside of the club, and a guy I’ve never seen before rushes over to take her keys. “Thanks, Jace,” Kayla says as she leans up on her tiptoes and kisses the guy on the cheek. She turns and grins at me before grabbing my hand and pulling me inside the club. Kings and Queens by Ava Maxblares to life as we walk into Club Ivy as if Luke was expecting us, he knows this is my favourite song.

“You tell Luke that we were coming out tonight?” I ask my best friend as I scan the club looking for Luke, find him at the DJ booth, and give him a wave before we wind our way through the sweaty bodies grinding on the dance floor. Kayla walks straight to the front of the floor; she signals for me to dance with her, which of course, I do because, after the day that I’ve had, I need to relax and chill out.

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