Believing in Bad: A Badd Brothers Series Read online

  I’m not even sure what kind of bugs he is even talking about. Do they think I live with cockroaches or something? Assholes.

  Archer and Brayden follow Jaxon up the spiral staircase onto the second floor. Asher turns with his hand on the back of his neck rubbing furiously.

  “Sorry babe. My brothers have no filter and sometimes forget not every lady we come across wants to lay down with one of us... or all of us.” He shudders at an obvious memory.

  A few seconds later a buzzer sounds, scaring me to death. I all but jump on Asher causing him to laugh at my jumpiness and put his hand on my back to lead me to the steps.

  “It’s just to let us know the building is clear," he says softly. Then I realize they weren’t talking about insect bugs, they were talking about listening device bugs. I thought those were only in the movies. That twilight zone I stepped into last night keeps getting deeper.

  As we start up the stairs his gentle touch on my back grazes one of my whip marks and I tensed immediately, which in turn does wonders for my bruised ribs. I whimper and Asher must have noticed. Within seconds I am turned to face him on the stairs platform and he is searching my eyes.

  “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you? I was barely touching you.” His eyebrows are furrowed.

  I shuffle through my excuses that I’ve kept in my head to use over the years and when I don’t respond quickly enough I am flipped back around and he is gently raising my shirt.

  I close my eyes because other than Nick, no one has ever saw my marks after dad is finished. No one has ever seen the monster’s work.

  “What the fuck!” Asher bellows which in turn brings the other Badd boys running to the top of the stairs to see what the heck was wrong. I open my watery eyes to look at them and have to downcast my gaze from the shame I feel.

  “What’s wrong Ash?" I hear Jaxon’s concerned voice question.

  Without a word Asher flips me back around and three sharp inhales of breath sound behind me. I quickly grab the edge of my shirt and pull it to my waist like I should’ve done minutes ago, but I was in shock that he even looked.

  “Who. Did. This?" Asher grinds out through clenched teeth.

  “It um, it was an accident. I fell.”

  “Nope, not taking it babe. The truth.”

  I sigh and that’s when I realize I am now surrounded by the Badd brothers and I’m not getting out of explaining. With different levels of intense stares ranging from concern to fury, I finally concede.

  “My dad" I whisper.

  ASHER- Chapter 7

  “Your dad did what?" I hear Brayden ask her in a very serious tone, which is not like him. He's our jokester brother and for him to be serious, I know he is fuming on the inside.

  Bray is the type of person to play pranks, win someone over with humor and laugh at the expense of the bad guys we face. Serious isn’t in his vocabulary usually.

  Abby mumbles something under her breath so I take her chin and lift it gently with two fingers. She has tears streaming down her face and it takes everything in me to not hold her to me, but I need answers.

  “Abby. What happened?” I keep my voice calm as possible.

  She takes a shaky inhale before she starts speaking in a lowered voice. The room is silent while my brothers and I wait for her to speak.

  When she finally does speaks it sounds like she is speaking in a normal tone, not the whisper she is using. That’s how quiet the room is.

  “Last night after you dropped me off he was waiting for me in the living room. I’m usually better about guarding myself but he caught me off guard. He asked who I was whoring myself out to and slammed my head into the wall. I whimpered from surprise and impact, I knew I shouldn’t have- he hates when we're weak, so he kicked me in the side.

  Normally I’m okay but it was still bruised from last time so my ribs really hurt. I told him the truth about being at the park but I swear I didn’t tell about the men there. I told him you brought me home and so he whipped me with his belt. Each letter of the word whore I got a lash…” she ends so quietly I almost don’t hear her. None the less, I’m shaking with fury.

  I swallow the lump in my throat, asking hoarsely, “He beat you because I brought you home?”

  Her eyes get wide, knowing I’m feeling guilty. “No, no, no, this isn't your fault. I shouldn’t have snuck out after I cleaned the mess. I shouldn’t have been comfortable enough to leave. I let my guard down.”

  Jaxon clears his throat and I met his concerned brown eyes with what I know looks like devastation on my face.

  “Sweetheart, does this happen a lot?” he asks Abby tentatively.

  “Well, this is the first time he's put a mark on my face where anyone can see it". She runs her fingers into her hairline and I want to kick myself for not noticing the red and purple bruise that’s partially hidden by hair.

  “Last week he got mad because Nick didn’t take out the garbage. He forgot and I told him that I had told Nick I’d do it so Nick wouldn’t get in trouble. He ended up getting in trouble anyways because he tried to interfere when dad kicked me. He should’ve stayed back. I can't protect him if he jumps in," she says it almost to herself.

  Archer shakes his head and asks the question of the hour, “Abby, why do you stay. Your 18, right? …you could leave.” Abby sighs and looks up into my eyes.

  “I can't leave Nick and I don’t have the money from the insurance policy to fight for custody until I graduate nursing school. It’s the way it was set up through the courts. I can’t have the money until I finish school with a degree or turn 25. I’m not leaving Nick.” She says the last part with such a fierceness it almost makes me step back.

  We’ve never had to worry about money so it’s extremely hard to hear how money is holding her back from moving on from her troubled home life.

  I’m not putting up with this though. I will get her and Nick out. I have some ideas but I’ll have to talk to Jax about it later.

  Plus, I need to calm down; my heart is racing and my hands are shaking. I’m ready to do something irrational.

  Out of all of my brothers I have the worst temper.

  Jaxon is our fearless older brother; he keeps us on the straight and narrow, always with a plan and a clean head. He deals with our finances, making sure we have everything we need and is the level-headed leader we need.

  Brayden is less than a year older then Jaxon, but I swear the guy acts twelve years old most days. Brayden’s love of fast things often gets him in trouble. Fast cars, fast women, dangerous living- that is his motto.

  He always has a joke or sarcastic remark, which makes him the perfect person to infiltrate and become buddies with the local losers.

  He’s a chameleon, he can adjust his personality to any person, and he’s an excellent people reader.

  My twin and I are the youngest but Archer acts old for his age. He’s blunt, ruthless, precise and unforgiving.

  He has the nerd look about him and the guy can hack a computer system in minutes, but he is most definitely the one of us who gives zero fucks about taking someone down.

  No remorse.

  His soul purpose in life is to keep all of us safe.

  Me, on the other hand, I’m a lot like Brayden- reading situations and personalities. But where Bray can laugh off things and talk it out, I’m like a wild shot in the dark.

  I prefer to use fists over talking.

  My specialty in the group comes in the form of getting information and intimidation. I’m not opposed to do whatever is necessary to get that information, usually in alleyways.

  I’m probably the second biggest in bulk, close behind Jax- but the boxing ring is my favorite place to be, so my punch packs more bite compared to Jaxon’s.

  I can usually hide my temper well- but when it comes to someone fucking with my brothers or Abby, I can barely hang in there.

  Abby doesn’t know this, but last year when Jason Hardy was relentlessly picking on her because she turned him down for a date; I’m the one w
ho gave Jason a nice, crooked nose when I found out he was being an ass to her.

  Hopefully, she’ll never know I’ve been watching her for years, protecting her on the sidelines.

  “Okay sweetheart, let’s take you up to the conference room so we can talk business, but we'll talk about all the other later ok? We're not going to let this abuse slide any further.” Jax says with conviction in his voice.

  He’s using his “you’re not going to argue because I’m the boss, voice”.

  I nod my head in appreciation to him and she nods hers in compliance.

  Grabbing her hand, we start up the stairs following my brothers into our office. I lead her to a comfortable chair around the round table where I sit her in between Brayden and myself.

  Brayden sits a coke and a pack of pop tarts in front of her.

  “You must be hungry,” he says. Dang if he doesn’t always think of everything.

  She nods and opens the items taking a tentative sip looking at me with big green eyes.

  Jaxon puts our case up on the projection screen, calling our attention to the pressing matters.

  “Okay boys... and um, Abby, as you know we’ve encountered a little bit of a hiccup in our plans. It seems Lil-J and Pato have told Emilio that Ash will be bringing his girlfriend to Emilio’s Cinco de Mayo party on Friday night to be vetted into our operation.”

  I cut my eyes over to Abby who is looking wide eyed at the screen, pop tart gone and crumbs on her chin. Without thought I reach up to brush them off, which rewards me with a small smile that feels genuine.

  I wink at her and grab her hand under the table because I know in a minute, shit is going to be getting real for her.

  “Abby- as you know we are the Badd brothers and we work for Badd incorporated under our uncle, Max. We are currently under a three-year assignment from the DEA investigating a gang that has caused havoc to Tipton, Kansas over the last five years, Los Bandits.” Jaxon explains.

  “Los Bandits are wanted for a string of burglaries, murders and rapes in the area as well as extensive drug trafficking.”

  “We have successfully infiltrated but recent events have made us aware that there are speculations, and it’s possible that they are onto us… or at least don’t trust us. Neither are good for us.”

  “The suspicions have now risen with my brother claiming a girlfriend when we have been deemed as players and unattached for three years.”

  I squeeze her hand and she squeezes back letting me know she's with me.

  Archer picks up from this point, “Emilio Esteban is a bad man, Abby. We are close to closing this investigation and we have substantial evidence to put him away for life. However now that your involved we will unfortunately have to give you two options. Brother, why don’t you fill her in on what you’ve caused.”

  Archer is mad at me, I get it. But I have my reasons and I’ll stick by them.

  “Babe, we have two options. One- we could relocate you through the DEA. It would unfortunately only be you they would relocate and after discovering about your asshole dad, I’m sure leaving Nick behind isn't an option.”

  She shakes her head “no” confirming that I’m right, that’s not an option.

  I look at Jaxon and he nods at me confirming he knows where I’m going with this and he’s on board. He’s good like that. I always joke that Jax is a mind reader.

  “The other option is if you decide to work with us…”

  “Dad will never let me. I’ve never had a job. He'll never let me do this. What about Nick, I can't leave Nick in the evenings. No. I can't do it.”

  She is starting to have another episode so I turn her in the chair, put my hands on her face, and do what I did earlier in the morning.

  In a soothing voice, “Babe, calm down. Breathe. Okay good. Tell me something you see.”

  She looks around the room and locks eyes with Jaxon behind me. “Jaxon. I see Jaxon.”

  “Okay, good. Now a smell. Tell me something you smell”, she inhales before answering, “coffee”.

  “Good now feel. What do you feel babe?”

  Without realizing, she had put her hands on my thighs when I turned her, but as she starts running her fingertip on my jeans, I became very well aware of her hand placement.

  My dick pushes against the zipper of my pants and I have to remind myself now is not the time to accost Abby.

  “Denim, I feel your jeans.”

  “Okay, now last, give me a thought.”

  She replies immediately, “I’m thinking this is all nuts.”

  We all bust out laughing because really, it kind of is if you aren’t used to this lifestyle.

  “How about I tell you what your job will entail and tell you how we can protect you and Nick? Can I do that?” She shakes her head letting me know I can proceed.

  ABBY- Chapter 8

  So, I’m sure these guys think I’m nuts. In less than three hours I’ve: had two panic attacks, they’ve had two attempts from my family to try to intimidate them, and they’ve discovered my father beats me.

  How freaking weird that Asher Badd has been able to calm me down through both attacks and that I feel like I’d be absolutely lost without him.

  Until last night we’ve barely spoke two words to each other at one time.

  The boys sort of have a reputation for being bad asses and only associating with their own. That means countless girls have tried to woo them and countless boys have tried to friend them.

  Rumor is they only date college girls. Their looks alone could carry that to be true.

  Though, the way Asher touches me, I’m not so sure what rumors to believe. Then again maybe he’s just good at being a player and making a girl feel special.

  The other boys have been caring as well since I’ve arrived, but nowhere near on the intense level as Asher.

  When he saw the marks from my dad the anger was radiating off of him. And while I should’ve been scared, I was anything but.

  It was freaking hot how pissed off he was at my dad.

  I had agreed to listen to their plan so Asher starts when he is sure I’m calm and he has my undivided attention.

  “For the job we will have you play the role as my girlfriend. I will need you confident, affectionate, and quick on your feet. In return you will get a salary that upon accepting will be outlined with Jaxon.”

  “You unfortunately will have to postpone any schooling plans that won't fit into our job. You will move in with us here and you can choose to stay with me, as my girlfriend, or in your own room if you're not comfortable. But honestly, if we’re going to play the part we need to play it everywhere.” He swallows and I’m not sure if it’s because he hates the idea of me being his pretend girlfriend or loves it.

  “Nick will be allowed to move in as well but he will not partake in any aspects of the job and you will be his sole caretaker.

  This job is going to be dangerous, as these are bad men, but we will do everything we can to protect you. You can use a company car and we will provide meals. Should this be something you are interested in you will be taken care of for the rest of your life.

  If you chose not to go this route with us the DEA has requested immediate removal of you. We would allow you to tell Nick bye, give you a new identity and move you. You unfortunately will not be able to keep contact after that.”

  Now that pisses me off. I see red and I’m not even ashamed of my irrational outburst.

  “So your telling my because you drug me into this shit, I’m either be forced to play your girlfriend or leave my brother. Fuck. No. Not happening. Screw you and your ideas that are already set in stone for me. I didn’t ask for this and I’m NOT doing it.

  I have plans that I’ve been working on for years to protect Nick and I, and because you decided to include me, you think I’ll just shrug and say okay? No.

  Dad will fight me for Nick and I can't have my money to fight back until I finish school. Nick and I have plans and you're not ruining it!” I’m screaming at
this point and tears are running down my face.

  Neither scenario he gave me is a solution for Nick and me to get out immediately. I stand up causing the chair to go flying against the wall behind me and I turn towards the steps to head down them.

  Asher looks like I had physically slapped him, making me feel a small pang of guilt, but I can’t think about that right now, I need to get to Nick. We’ll just run away.

  I head down the stairs into the bottom of the warehouse where the cars are parked, desperately seeking an exit.

  I try a door that I assume is for the outside and when the palm reader lights up I know I can’t get out this way.

  I start banging my fists repeatedly against the door crying so hard I can barely see, when two strong arms wrap around my waist hoisting me up.

  I’m being thrown onto a mat nearby that I hadn’t saw a few minutes before.

  Stunned I look up to see Jaxon Badd looking at me furiously.

  On instinct, I fold into myself. “Please don’t hit me,” I whimper, making his features immediately soften.

  “I’d never hit you Abby girl. But first, you left your phone. You're going to text Nick back before he freaks out more than he already is. Then you're going to hit the bag with some gloves. Then you and I are going to talk, because you have a lot of steam, little girl. You’re going to need it, but unfortunately you’re pointing the “bad finger” at the wrong guys. Understand?”

  I nod my understanding. I’m completely shocked at his tone with me, but I don’t dare say anything. He hands me my phone and I see Nick’s text.

  NICK: Ab wuts the 411.

  NICK: Abby Txt me back.

  NICK: ABBY

  That was two minutes ago. I’m sure he's on the verge of breakdown. I turn the camera and paste on a smile to take a selfie. Putting on a filter so he can’t see my red blotchy skin and eyes from crying.

  Abby: *image attached*

  Abby: Im good Nick.

  NICK: Wut do I eat on my pb&j?

  I laugh because I’ve been making those peanut butter and jelly for years and I know he always wants me to add mushrooms. Yuck. Disgusting.