Chaotic (L.O.R.D.S. #7) — Epilogue One

EPI LOGUE ONE KASH TON

The clock on my dash shows al most ten p.m. I slam on my brakes and get out of the car, walk ing into the house like I own it.

A man comes rush ing into the living room with his gun raised, dressed in slacks and a button-down. “Goddammit, Kash.” He sighs, lower ing it to his side. “What in the fuck are you doing here?”

“You texted me,” I re mind him. He sent me one last night, but I never re sponded. I was busy with my wife.

“I asked if you could meet me today at noon,” he growls, checking his watch, knowing damn well it’s late. “And you never re sponded.”

“I’m here now.”

Giving me his back, I follow af ter him.

En tering his study, I slam the door shut behind me and notice there are two other men already in here.

They both stand in front of the couch as if they were sitting but jumped up when they heard me enter. “Kashton, this is the Decker—”

“Can you give us a minute?” I ask them, interrupting Adam. Re‐ spectfully, I don’t give a fuck who they are.

“Of course.” One of them nods before they both exit.

“Did you find her tapes?” I demand.

“No.” He answers with a shake of his head.

Of course not. That would be too easy, but I won’t give up until they are all found and destroyed. “Well, since I’m here…” I don’t even care why he called me here if he doesn’t have what I want. I brought something of my own. I slam the file on his desk, getting to the point as to why I stopped by.

He sighs, opening it up, and his shoulders stiffen. He immediately slams it shut and leans back, glaring up at me.

“You fucking piece of shit,” I say through gritted teeth.

He gets to his feet. “Kash—”

“No,” I shout, interrupting him. “How long have you fuck ing known that Eve was never pregnant?”

“I just found out,” he snaps defensively.

“Bullshit.”

“I’m telling the truth.”

I snort. “You’re telling me that you didn’t know she wasn’t pregnant when we all stood in the basement at Carnage?” I arch a brow.

“When you told her that she had a twin?”

He looks away, and I fist my hands. “Fucking knew it.” He had a chance to fill us in then, and he chose not to. “At the very least you could have pulled me to the side and told me.”

“It would have crushed her,” he snaps.

“She deserved to know,” I shout and take a deep breath. “I got what I wanted,” I tell him. “Another thing you’re keeping from us. It will never end.” Adam opens his mouth to argue when I go on. “Stay the fuck away from my wife. She has a new phone number and, in case you haven’t figured it out by now, she’s no longer working for you.” Eve isn’t happy, but she doesn’t want to fight me on this. She will live a life chained in our basement if that’s what it takes to keep her from working for him.

He opens his top desk drawer and holds out a manila enve lope.

I yank it from his grasp and open it up. “Daw son Hues.” I read the name out loud. “What about him?” I shut the folder and slap it on

his desk.

“You saved him.”

I snort.

“He was kidnapped while he and his mother were at the gro cery store when he was five. He’s now nine.”

“What does that have to do with me?” I growl.

“He was living with a man…a man he believed to be his brother.

When that man didn’t come home, Daw son went to a neighbor’s

house who called the police, and one of the officers recognized him.

Re membered his case.”

I run a hand through my hair. I’ve al ready been here longer than I

wanted to. “Who is his brother?”

“Christopher,” he an swers.

My neighbor kid? “So Christopher kidnapped him?”

He shrugs. “No one knows the specifics. Hell, it could have been my mother. But some how, he ended up with Christopher.”

I shake my head. I should have killed him more slowly. With out an‐ other word, I turn to leave, done with this conver sa tion. But I stop and turn back around to face him. “How did you do it?” I have to know.

His jaw sharpens as he looks away. I begin to walk toward his desk.

I’ll beat the answer out of him if need be.

He picks up his cell, glances down at it, and taps away on the screen before he hands it to me.

I huff, yanking it from him. It’s a video. I’m so fucking tired of watching my wife being raped and beaten. Not to mention the last one I watched where she was shot three times. “How the fuck did

you get a video of it?”

“Body cam,” Adam explains.

Making my way to the couch, I plop down on it and press Play. I sit mo tionless while watching my wife lying on the cathedral floor, all alone, bleeding out. I should have been there with her. I should have known that’s where she was going.

The cathedral is filled with gunshots, Adam barking orders, and blood—so much blood. Eve’s and Vivian’s. Hones tly, it’s hard to tell the difference once the bitch is lying where my wife was, now wear‐ ing her bulletproof vest and my zip-up hoodie. Getting a closer look, I see the gunshot wounds weren’t in the exact same places but close enough in order to make me think they were. Why would I even question it? A twin never even crossed my mind, but it should have. The signs were there.

I stop the video, having seen enough, and stand facing his desk.

“What if she would have died while she was in your care?” I growl.

“Would you have told me that I buried her sister?”

His eyes meet mine when he answers. “I wasn’t going to let that happen.”

All I can do is shake my head in disappointment and fuck ing rage that he took her from me. But as I look at him, I re alize I shouldn’t have been surprised. He knew where Ashtyn was and never told Saint. Four years he kept that se cret. I would have gone mad. Lost

my fucking mind.

I start walk ing toward the door.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” he says.

I turn to face him so I can look him in the eyes when I say, “For what it’s worth, go to hell.” There are a lot of things I can forgive, but making me think I buried my wife for three weeks isn’t one of

them.

“Kash—”

Ex iting his office, I slam the door shut. I pass by the two guys standing in the living room when I hear Adam rushing after me.

“I did what I had to do. You would have done the same.”

I spin around. “No. I would never take some one you love from

you.”

“You should be thanking me.”

“Thanking you?” He’s lost his fuck ing mind.

“Yes,” he snaps. “If I wouldn’t have stepped in, she would have been dead, Kash. I saved her.” He slaps his chest. “I fucking rushed to her side. I did that. For you.”

The fucking nerve of him. “You can say whatever you need to tell your self. And you can believe whatever you want to believe.” I step closer to him. “I don’t give a shit if you speak to Haidyn and Saint, but you died,” I re mind him through gritted teeth. “We buried our brother. And to me, you’ll always be dead.”

“And Bill?” He shoves his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “You going to cut him out of her life too? Where do you think I got my in‐ formation from, Kash? You can’t cut us all out of her life.”

“Just you, Adam. Just you.” I turn and storm out of his house.

I barge into Bill’s house. My second stop for the night. I’m just making my rounds while I have my chance.

“Kashton?” Bill greets me in the grand foyer with wide eyes. “Every‐ thing okay?” He looks behind me, searching for my wife.

“We need to talk.”

He leans into Janice, whispering in her ear, and she nods before walking off. Turning, I follow him down the hallway and into his study. “It’s late, Kash.”

“You have some explaining to do.” I get to the fuck ing point. Be‐ lieve me, this is the last place I want to be tonight.

“About?”

“What ever it is that you fucking know about my wife but have kept from me,” I snap. “I just came from Adam’s, and he said everything he knows about Eve he’s heard from you. Why in the fuck would he know more about her than me? Her husband?”

He leans back in his chair. His eyes drop to a picture frame on his desk, and he picks it up.

“Start from the begin ning. The night on theIsabella. My Lord was

going to rape her. Was that a setup?”

“Coincidence,” he an swers.

I snort. “I don’t believe in that shit.”

“Just because you don’t believe in some thing doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.” He frowns at me and I roll my eyes. “She was still a doll at the time.” Bill sighs. “Evan talked Isabella into letting him test her.”

“What the fuck do you mean by test her?” My pulse quickens at his choice of words.

“She had never been out in pub lic, Kash. Garrett kept her locked at Carnage. Then she was given to Dollhouse and re mained caged.

Evan had decided he didn’t want to sell her, but clients wanted to see her. In person. To them, she had come so far in her training. So Evan convinced Isabella to let him take Eve to the party.”

“How many?” I run my hand down my face, pacing his study.

“How many what?”

“How many was he going to sell her to that night?” I shout.

“Four,” he whis pers.

Evan was going to let four Lords pay to rape my girl. “I stopped

him…” I trail off. “But the others?”

“As far as I know, it didn’t happen.”

I stop pacing and turn to face him.

“Everything became so chaotic that night. I found my best friend dead. Isabella was inconsolable when she found out Trent had been killed. And Charlotte…they needed me. I looked for Eve but couldn’t find her anywhere.” He sighs. “I had a deal with Trent. If some thing happened to him, I’d marry his wife to pro tect Charlotte, but Isabella didn’t know that. So I went to her and told her I’d marry her to pro‐ tect her from getting regifted to another Lord if she’d re lease Eve. It wasn’t even a thought. She couldn’t get rid of her fast enough, but we couldn’t find Everett.”

“What do you mean you couldn’t find her?”

“Evan had her. It took me six weeks to track him down. He was holed up with her in a cabin. She was tied to a bed…severely beaten.” He swallows. “I thought she was dead.”

Eve told me there was lots of yelling and she thought she was in a cabin. Evan had drugged her, and she couldn’t re member much.

“You said you paid three million dollars for her,” I say, trying to re‐ member what I’ve been told.

“I did. I wired three million to Evan right then. But it wasn’t for Ev‐ erett. Isabella had al ready promised her to me, and she wouldn’t go back on that. She wouldn’t risk her life by being regifted to a ran‐ dom Lord who had the possibility to take down Dollhouse or over‐ throw her because of Eve. I paid him the money to walk away from Everett. I was walk ing out of that cabin with her either way. The money was an agreement I made with him to stay out of her life.”

“He didn’t,” I grind out.

“I didn’t know that,” he snaps. “Eve never told me—”

“He fucking had her brainwashed,” I shout, interrupting him. “You think he didn’t have his claws in her? He took your money and still managed to be in her life. To him, he had the best of both worlds.”

Bill looks away and I take a calm ing breath. “I thought I was doing

the right thing.”

I snort. “You abandoned her.”

His eyes shoot dag gers at me as he slowly gets to his feet with his hands on his desk. “I was there for her. She was in Gavin’s clinic for three months re cover ing from bro ken bones, surgeries, and with‐ drawals.”

I snort. “You’re proving my point. You were playing house with that fuck ing bitch while you left Eve alone.”

“I was there around the clock,” he yells. “Do you think Isabella fuck ing cared that I was her husband? No. All she cared about was that she wasn’t passed off to a Lord who was going to destroy her life.” He huffs and falls down into his seat. “Trent let her do whatever the fuck she wanted to do. I promised to do the same.” He lets out a long breath. “When Eve was ready for re lease, she wanted her own place. She found the house, and it wasn’t much later that your fa‐ thers were killed, and Adam was on the run.”

“How did she end up with Adam?” I demand. “Was that your doing too?”

His eyes meet mine. “You know how stubborn your wife is.” I snort at that. “She wanted to help. Her exact words were she ‘wanted to be useful.’” I get a pain in my chest at how many times I’ve heard her say she’s useless. “The missing girls were all over the news, and she wanted to do some thing. I set her up with a friend who then connected her with Adam.”

The detective from the private jet—Adam’s boss. “And you let her go off to Ve gas.”

“It wasn’t the best decision I’ve ever made.”

I give a rough laugh at that and stand.

“You know how you felt when you thought your wife died?” he asks and I stiffen. “How helpless you were? That you failed her? That’s how I felt when my wife was sentenced to be a breeder. I begged the Lords. I offered to trade places with her, but they wanted her. I vowed to devote my life to her kids. That I would save them.” He slams his fists down on his desk. “And I failed at that too. Everett…I don’t deserve the forgive ness that she’s given me. And Charlotte…I had to try and save her from the fu ture I knew Isabella had planned for her. She was hell-bent on making Haidyn pay for killing her hus‐ band. I had to choose—”

“So you chose to save the one who wasn’t already bro ken,” I growl.

“I couldn’t fuck ing save everyone,” he shouts. “I’m only one man.”

Taking a calming breath, his re gret ful eyes meet mine. “I gave her to

you.”

I frown, not un derstanding.

“While Eve was at Gavin’s clinic re cover ing, she talked about a woman in Carnage. A woman who was caged and how her son

would bring her food.”

I swallow nervously.

“I knew who she was talking about—you and your mother. Then she men tioned you on theIsabella. She said she hadn’t put two and two together at first, but that the man who saved her that night told her his name was Kash, and that was the same name of the boy— Kashton—who fed his mother.” He gives me a soft smile. “I knew she needed you.”

Taking a step back, I speak. “It was you. You ar ranged for Haidyn and me to pick up the Lord that night from the cathe dral.”

“I did.” He nods. “The Lord was a sacrifice.”

My brows pull down. “What do you mean?”

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Eve was in deep with Adam. I didn’t know he was going to give her ‘jobs.’ I never stopped to think how far she would go. I had to step in. I had to stop her.”

His eyes plead with me to see his side. “Adam was going to get caught, and in doing so, they were going to catch Eve as well. I committed a crime and framed the Lord for it. He was sen tenced to a confes sional that I knew Eve would as sist. I put her in your path.

You had seen her. You had found her. I knew it was only go ing to be a matter of time before you made your pres ence known. But then everything with Haidyn and Isabella happened. When Sin was in my office and got the phone call for his as signment, I made the deal with Adam to save Eve. Just in case you didn’t come through like I planned.”

I nod in understanding. “If you controlled him, you controlled her.

But I came to you…to marry her, and you acted like it was impossi‐ ble.”

“I wanted to see how far you’d go.” He smiles. “Eve deserves a Lord who is willing to risk it all.”

I run a hand down my face. “And her as signment with Dollhouse?

Is that why the Lords had you help me?”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “I set that up.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Lords never gave her an assignment, Kash,” he admits.

I just stare at him.

“Think about it,” he goes on. “Her as signment was a hallu cination.

It didn’t make her prove her loyalty to anyone or anything.”

Practically the same thing that Eve said to me the night we got mar ried. She didn’t think her as signment meant anything other than that the Lords wanted her to go crazy. “You put her through hell.”

My teeth grind. Son of a bitch.

“You said she could handle it,” he counters.

“So what now? The Lords are going to force her to do another as‐ signment?” I growl. She can’t go through some thing like that again.

My wife is strong, but she’s been beaten down too many times. I’ve promised her a better life.

“No,” Bill as sures me. “She’s been through enough. Eve gets to live a real life with some one who loves her.” He smiles. “She gets to have the family she’s always dreamed of.”

Adam said he got his information from Bill. “How long have you known that Garrett was taking her eggs?” He fuck ing knew she could be a mom one day. Maybe not carry them, but have kids, nonetheless.

“Laura had a big mouth. I knew she had an in with your fathers.

They had her husband, and they wanted her help with Eve. LeAnne, Isabella, they were all in their fuck ing pockets. If a woman wanted to be anything in our world, they started with the Spade broth ers.”

“Answer the question,” I demand.

Looking away, he licks his lips. “I had a hunch” is all he says.

I run a hand down my face. “What about the Lords? Eve was work‐ ing for them at the cathedral. How did that come about if Garrett kept her hidden all those years?”

“Also my doing.” He nods. “Eve needed to appear busy. De voted to the society. If she was working for them, then maybe they wouldn’t look into her life and see she was helping Adam. So I had Isabella set it up with LeAnne for Eve to help out at the cathedral.”

The doors to the study open behind me. “Bill, honey? I’m sorry to interrupt—”

“We’re done,” I inform Janice. I turn and give Bill my back, but he makes me pause.

“I’ll be right there,” he assures Janice.

I turn to him and she slips out.

He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest.

“Spit it out.” He’s going to tell me some thing that I don’t want to hear.

“There’s a ru mor…” Glancing down at the picture on his desk he continues. “That there was another baby.”

I frown stepping forward. “Who had an other baby?”

“That Everett was a triplet.”

“Who…who told you that?” I fall down into a chair, needing to sit.

“Vivian was allowed to run free. Word spread about the green-eyed blond-headed girl who was spotted at the cathedral from time to time with a woman. But I didn’t believe it until bodies started pop‐ ping up and they were targeting Eve.”

“What’s that have to do with a third baby?” Does this mean there’s another one out there who’s going to try and frame my wife?

“Supposedly Vivian talked…and, well, she mentioned another sib‐ ling.” He shrugs care lessly and it just pisses me off. “Of course, you know how rumors go…”

I run a hand down my face. “Fuck.” I stand and start to pace.

“When is she going to catch a fuck ing break?” I give a rough laugh.

“I sug gest you keep this between us.”

I glare at him. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m dead se rious,” he states, standing. “Eve is still re cover ing men‐ tally from a past that was noth ing but lie after lie. If she finds out she might have another sibling, she may spend the rest of her life looking for them. Is that what you want?”

“I—”

“What if it’s a lie too?” He shrugs. “She could be chasing a ghost.

She finally gets to have a family. Do you want to chance her giving that up on a ru mor?”

“Fuck you.” I shake my head and my voice rises. “For making me keep this from her.”

Bill gets to his feet. “I just told you what I know, Kashton. What you do with that information is up to you.”

I turn and exit his office, slamming the door. Starting up my car, my cell rings, and I see MY LIFE light up my dash. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves and hit Answer. “Hello, angel.”

“Hello, handsome,” she re sponds playfully.

I smile. I wouldn’t say my wife is a different person, but it’s amaz‐ ing how much some one can change when you show them what they deserve. Her training is going well. It’s some thing that we work on every day.

“How was dinner with the girls?” She went out with all of them tonight. It’s good for her to have re la tionships with the Ladies. To know what it feels like to have friends.

“Good, but my night will be better when you get home and crawl

into bed with me.”

“I’m on my way to Carnage —”

“I’m not there.”

I frown. “Where are you?” She’d better not be at that damn biker bar. I do not want her anywhere near there.

“Your house.”

“Why didn’t you go to Carnage?” I ask, al ready knowing the an‐

swer.

“I want you to play with me.”

I shift in my seat, my cock instantly grow ing hard in my jeans.

“Well, why don’t you get started?”

She laughs softly. “What do you have in mind?”

“Are you still dressed?”

“Yes.”

Not for long. “Take off your clothes. Leave your heels on.”

“Consider it done. Anything else?”

“I want you collared and your hands cuffed behind your back.”

Her breathing picks up through the line, and I can’t wait to bury my face in her wet cunt.

“Wait for me like the good girl you are at the door,” I order. “Do you

understand, Eve?”

“I un derstand.”

Click.

She hangs up, and I look in the rearview mirror, re laxing in my seat. Life is going to be different now. Better than I ever imagined it could be.

Bill was right. If my wife knew she might have another sibling out there, she would dig until she found what she was looking for. That night we sat in the cemetery talking about her mother, Eve told me that she had dug into her mother’s past after Bill saved her—Eve wanted to know if her mother had more children. I can’t let her spend her life chasing an idea of some thing. And what if she tries to get Haidyn on her side? Eve needs some one to put all their fo cus on her and that’s what I’m going to do.

I’m going to spend the rest of my life with the woman I love, and I’m going to make sure no one touches what’s mine.