Her Regret, His Resolve; Bouncing Back, Book 2

4

Anne raised her head off the pillow as her husband came through the door. Sitting on the edge of their bed, he groaned. “Della wanted to run all the way home tonight. Can you believe that? Her stamina hasn’t decreased a bit since she was a puppy.”

“That’s what you get for adopting a Rottweiler, Vince. So, what do you think about what happened tonight?” Anne asked, her hope waning with each passing minute.

Her husband got to his feet and walked into the bathroom. Running the water, he came back wielding a toothbrush. “Honestly, I’d heard a rumor when I was talking to a few of the other dog owners at the park. One guy told me that the girls we hired all quit for a reason. I bet if we looked into it, they all quit because of Cooper.”

“I didn’t know he was so… so… God, is there even a word for it? He made us look like fools, but he’s the biggest name in investing this side of the border.” His wife replied. She marked her place in the book she was reading and put it on her nightstand. Looking back at him, she sighed heavily. “I really don’t want to lose our only investor, but I also want our agency to be above the rest. To give our models a safe, secure workplace, but that can’t happen if we have a pervert backing us.”

He nodded. “I know. Hey, where’s that card Mr. Marks gave us?”

“I put it here,” Anne answered, pulling it out of the bedside drawer.

Taking it from her, Vince’s eyes went wide. His heart started to pound as he collapsed to the floor. “Jesus. Did you see the name on this?”

“I didn’t bother. We left in such a hurry, I just shoved it into my purse until we had a chance to look at it.” Anne told him.

Vince shuddered. “We need to call them. This man is literally the most powerful man in all of Ontario, and the Marks family knows them? It won’t end well for us if we get on this man’s bad side.”

Suddenly, the front doorbell rang through the empty, dark halls of their flat. While it wasn’t strange to have visitors, they lived in Rosedale—a quiet suburban town where high-end amenities were available a five-minute drive away. Locking eyes with her husband, Anne felt her heart pick up the pace as she scrambled for the tablet in the bedside table. Pulling it out, she plugged in the code and pulled up the doorbell camera.

“Vince,” she whispered in fear. “It’s Cooper’s thugs.”

Paling, Vince moved to take the tablet from her hands. Putting on the speaker, he motioned for her to call someone. “Can I help you, gentlemen?”

“You can open the door,” one man said.

Another laughed, “Yeah, we got a message from the Boss. He ain’t happy that you turned on him tonight, so we was sent to teach you a lesson. Know what I mean?”

Shaking in fear, Anne sobbed as Vince muted the tablet. “What are we going to do?”

“Call someone, anyone. Hell, call Ms. Marks for all I care, but we have to hold them off. What the hell is Cooper thinking?! I was his friend in college, and he does this the moment he doesn’t get what he wants?” Vince wasn’t shaking in fear but rather in anger.

Leaving the room, he left his wife alone to make the call while he ran to double-check the locks on the windows and doors. She could hear their dog, Della, barking and growling down on the first floor.

“Please be safe,” Anne whispered as she grabbed her phone and called Skylar.

Three rings later, the girl answered in a groggy voice. “Hello?”

“Ms. Marks? It’s Anne, I… I need help.”

“What?” Skylar asked, suddenly sounding more awake. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Cooper Greyson. He sent thugs after me and Vince,” Anne pleaded, praying that the young woman believed her.

******

Bolting up from the couch where she’d been taking a small nap, Sky gasped. Her father and brother turned to her in concern as David got to his feet. “Are you serious? Why?”

“We apparently offended him tonight at dinner,” Anne said, her voice shaking.

Apparently, Russell’s comments about her father’s sharp hearing were spot on as he moved quickly. Plucking the phone from his daughter’s hand, he put the device to his ear. “Give me your address.”

“It’s 124 Cherrywood Park. We live in Rosedale.”

David grinned. Rosedale was only a fifteen-minute drive from the Towers. “Do not answer the door. Leave everything to me.”

“Okay,” Anne sobbed. “This has never happened before, honestly. We just wanted to be different from the rest of the industry and make sure our models were safe and secure.”

“I understand, Mrs. Samms. Trust in me, and you’re going to have that dream come true like nobody’s business.” Hanging up, David turned to his daughter. “So, up for a mission?”

Sky grinned, running to her room to change into something better suited for the task at hand. Returning as her father was reiterating his orders to her brother, she checked the ammo in her handgun. Sliding it into her hip holster, she smiled. “Daddy, he knows all this and probably tuned you out about two minutes ago. Jax, call Luke to help you hold the fort.”

“M’kay,” the teen replied absently as he sent his best friend a message. “Done.”

Guiding Skylar to Callum’s office, David let himself in and rummaged for the paperwork he needed. Grabbing the contract, he shoved it into his inside pocket and turned to see his boss leaning against the doorframe.

“Awful late, Dave.”

“Remember how Sky got the job with Desert Rose?”

Callum scowled. “And?”

“Well, Cooper Greyson’s gone off the deep end by sending thugs to their house in Rosedale,” David told him.

A small growl escaped Callum’s lips as his eyes darkened, turning from brown to black. “He what? Are these the people you told me about earlier?”

“Yes, Sir,” Sky answered. “Anne and her husband are good people, Sir. I won’t beg. It’s easier to ask forgiveness anyway, but their house is under attack and I won’t just stand by.”

Raising a brow at the young woman in front of him, Callum couldn’t help the swell of pride rising in his heart. He’d watched her grow from a little girl terrified to raise her voice to a young woman capable of killing without remorse. He had seen them all grow, knowing that his son would choose his friends to be his team from the very start.

“Very well,” he said. Placing a call, he ordered the garage to get the car ready. “Sky, you got a vendetta against this nut that’s gone after the agency owners?”

She nodded.

“Then you go after him directly. Call in Memphis and Markus to back you, and keep in touch. David, you’re with me at the home,” Callum replied.

“Sir.”

Running ahead, Skylar grabbed the keys to her bike from the guard stand and waited for Miguel to bring her Sportster 1200 Custom. The anticipation was nearly unbearable as she bounced on her toes. She could already hear the roar of Memphis’s bike outside, a familiar and comforting sound. As the elevator doors opened, Markus Roberts stepped out, immediately recognizing the urgent nature of the situation.

He ran over to her as soon as he spotted their bikes. “This is your doing?”

“Yeah, sorry about interrupting your night,” she replied, her voice tinged with urgency.

He shook his head. “Can I know why we’re doing this?”

“An i***t invested in the company that hired me as a model. He’s a pervert who wanted to get me alone, got called out, and is now nursing a bruised ego. He sent his underlings to the agency owner's house tonight. You down?” She asked, straddling her bike, the engine rumbling to life beneath her.

“Down? He messed with my boyfriend’s big sister. Let’s get this guy,” Mark growled as he donned his helmet, his eyes hardening with resolve.

Switching on their comms, she tuned out the white noise until Memphis’s voice softly called her name. “You… you did what?”

“I told Ken what was going on. She told me that I can’t come back to the hospital until she hears from you that the job is done,” Memphis repeated, his voice steady but filled with underlying tension.

Holding back her laughter, Sky shook her head. “Let’s go.”

Within half an hour, the three of them arrived at Cooper Greyson’s opulent mansion, the grandeur of the estate starkly contrasting with the grim task ahead. The perimeter was poorly guarded by a few meager, weak men who were swiftly neutralized by Markus and Memphis, their efficiency leaving no room for error.

Skylar broke into the manor, moving with a predatory grace as she hunted Greyson down. Kicking in the door to his lavish bedroom, she found him cowering in fear. Without hesitation, she dragged him out to the front steps, forcing him to his knees on the cold stone.

She pulled out her phone as Greyson begged and pleaded for his life, his voice trembling with terror. When the call connected, she smirked. “Sir, the target has been neutralized and is awaiting judgment.”

“Kill him.” Callum’s no-nonsense tone left no room for doubt. The situation at the Samms' house had been resolved, and there was no longer any reason to keep Greyson alive.

“As you command, Don Callum.” Greyson’s screams of disbelief filled the night air moments before Sky’s gun left a neat, final hole in his head. Completely unfazed, she sneered down at the lifeless body. “Did you really think that you only offended me? When you offend one, you summon the army. It’s done, Uncle Callum.”

“Tell the boys to head home. I want you to come to the Samms residence.”

Relaying the orders, she sighed, feeling a mix of relief and grim satisfaction. “On my way, Sir.”