Wicked Stepdad: Jack Tower Books 4 - 6 Read online

  Contents

  Wicked Stepdad

  copyright

  Dangerous JT

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Jacked with Desire

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Jacked in the Box

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Continue Reading

  WICKED

  STEPDAD

  Jack Tower Series

  Books 4 - 6

  Carrie Breeze

  Also by Carrie Breeze

  Bad Stepdaughter Christmas

  Big Bad Stepbrother

  Stepbrother Lover

  Got Jacked

  Wicked Stepdad

  by Carrie Breeze

  Copyright © 2015 Carrie Breeze

  The Dangerous Jack Tower

  by Carrie Breeze

  Copyright © 2015 Carrie Breeze

  Jacked by Desire

  by Carrie Breeze

  Copyright © 2015 Carrie Breeze

  Jacked in the box

  by Carrie Breeze

  Copyright © 2015 Carrie Breeze

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE

  No part of this book may be copied,

  reproduced, or downloaded to the

  internet without prior written consent

  from the author.

  The characters and events portrayed

  in this book are fictitious and come

  Strictly from the mind of the author.

  All characters portrayed are 18+

  at the time of sexual activity

  The

  DANGEROUS

  Jack Tower

  Jack Tower Series 4

  Carrie Breeze

  Chapter 1

  I look a wreck as I check myself in the rearview mirror. Bags under my blue eyes, fly-away brown hair, darn new crop of pimples sprouting around my stubby nose. What happens when your editor calls you out of bed at seven on a Saturday morning. I’ve just driven two hundred miles down from Cummings Cove in my beat up Subaru. Luckily, being a Saturday, traffic on I-95 is tolerable. The Boston skyline looms up ahead. One of those shiny glass and metal towers is the headquarters of Tower Intel Technologies.

  Brandon Gersh, my editor at the Cummings Cove Clarion gave me the assignment. I have to interview Jack Tower, the handsome hunk genius CEO of Tower Intel. Stomach butterflies have ridden with me all the way down. Can’t believe my luck in landing this one. I’m just a journalism intern and here I’m going to interview a billionaire. I guess the regular staff reporters love their weekends off. Brandon told me Mr. Tower called him asking for a human interest story. His theory was that Tower needed to do a little damage control. Seems that certain questionable practices and strange occurrences have been going on around the Tower mansion. But, I have no idea what that’s all about. Brandon just gave me a list of questions to ask. Don’t know why it couldn’t be done over the phone. Maybe Tower wants to show us his warm personal side. What he’s like at work. Whatever. I’m just thrilled to meet him. If he’s anything like his photos he just might make my heart go thump, thump. Might have to hit on him. After all, he is single, now.

  Whew, it’s getting hot.

  Once downtown, I roll down my window, let some air in. It’s ten in the morning and already there’s a big bad burning sun hovering over the city. I feel my antiperspirant failing already. I can tell right now, the navy-blue blazer I grabbed from my closet is going to make me suffer. I cross the Longfellow Bridge and head toward Kendall Square. My GPS takes me straight to a tall futuristic twelve-story steel and blue glass building on the edge of the MIT campus. TOWER INTEL TECH, sculpted in glistening stainless steel, adorns the main entrance. I drive by and enter the sub-street-level parking garage.

  “Sasha Moore, Cummings Cove Clarion, here to interview Mr. Tower” I tell the security woman just inside the building. She takes my I.D. and punches my info into her keyboard.

  “Welcome to Tower Intel Technologies, Ms. Moore. Mr. Tower is expecting you. Would you please put your cell phone and all other electronic recording devices in the tray. Also, if you could remove all metal objects and put your backpack on the conveyor belt to be scanned.

  “You sure don’t take chances here, do you?” emptying my pockets and removing my earrings.

  “The research conducted here, Ms. Moore, is cutting edge. If it fell into the wrong hands the consequences would be global. Would you mind stepping through the detector? Thank you. You can collect your belongings on the other side.”

  “What about my cell phone?”

  “We need to retain that. We can’t take chances. You can pick it up on your way out.”

  I feel naked without my phone. But, what can I do? After gathering up the rest of my stuff, another security guard hands me a security pass. I clip it to my lapel and he shows me to an elevator.

  “It’s programmed to take you up to the twelfth floor,” he says. “The receptionist there is expecting you. Enjoy your visit.”

  “Thanks,” stepping into the waiting elevator. The doors close shutting out the exhaust tainted smell of the parking lobby. The ride up is swift and silent. My thoughts gravitate toward the enigmatic and handsome Jack Tower. Several magazines have put him on their “top ten sexiest men alive” lists. I still can’t believe I’ll be meeting him in person. My knees feel slightly wobbly and those butterflies in my stomach are at it again. None of my journalism classes prepared me for this.

  The elevator stops and the doors slide open onto a large lobby. Floor-to-ceiling windows look out across the Charles River toward Beacon Hill and the gleaming skyscrapers behind. I step out into another world. The air is cool and smells faintly of ozone. It’s surprisingly intoxicating. I inhale deeply and find myself feeling more relaxed. Do they pump something into the air? Brainy looking people in white knee-length lab coats breeze by carrying clipboards and stainless steel cases. I cross the white tiled walkway and step into a beige carpeted foyer. A young slender brunette woman sitting behind a stainless steel desk, also wearing a white lab coat, smiles and rises to greet me.

  “Ms. Moore, welcome to Tower Intel. Mr. Tower will be with you momentarily. Would you care to have a seat,” gesturing to a cluster of chocolate leather chairs. “Are you thirsty from your drive? We have mineral water, gourmet coffee, fruit smoothies….

  “Maybe just some mineral water, please,” sitting down and digging out the interview packet Brandon had prepared for me.

  “Mr. Tower will be right with you,” the receptionist smiles, handing me the water.

  “Thank you.” My mouth is parched, probably because I’m a little nervous. The water tastes good. This interview could be a career changer. You never know what powerful men like Jack Tower have in store. I browse his bio; all-American quarterback in college, drafted high by the pros but shunned a promising football career to go where few have gone before - to explore the fast evolving world of artificial intelligence. He took Tower Intel basically from garage to global in just half a decade. He seems to be a risk taker, impetuous, unconventional, but also, so arrogant.

  “Sasha Moore?”

  Looking up. a stunning petite blonde, about my own age, dressed in a classy gray suit, stands before me.

  “Hi, I’m Jamie Tower. My father is ready for you now.”

  “Oh, pleased to meet you,” standing, my backpack falls from my lap, spilling papers onto the carpet. “O
h, sorry, clumsy me,” kneeling to gather everything up. Suddenly I feel dizzy. “I’m usually not this klutzy,” standing back up, slinging my backpack safely over my shoulder and grabbing my water.

  “Relax, dear, my father is a real down to earth guy. Shall we?” leading the way to a large open door.

  Chapter 2

  There he is. I can’t believe it’s him. It’s almost surreal. I feel goosebumps rise on my arms under my blazer. My whole body tingles. He is like a god; tall, dark, his skin is burnished copper, his blue eyes blazing like sapphires. He walks to greet me, wearing an expensive Italian suit. No tie. White shirt open at the collar showing a wisp of chest hair. I may just swoon into his arms.

  Miss Moore, what a delight to meet you. I’m Jack Tower,” taking my hand and squeezing it warmly in both of his. His hands are large and virile yet tender. I feel my fingers vibrate, touching so much fame and power. “I take it you had a pleasant drive down from the Cove?” His voice is deep and warm and masculine.

  “Yes,” I squeak. I take a sip of water, then try again. “Yes, traffic was sparse.”

  “Good, you’ve met my daughter, Jamie,” touching her shoulder as she steps forward to join us. She smiles, flashing perfect teeth.

  “Just briefly.”

  “Jamie is my personal aide, she’ll be sitting in on our interview today.”

  “Just as an observer. So, are you ready to get started?” Jamie asks, leading the way to a leather couch by the floor-to-ceiling windows with a coffee table perched in front. I sit in the middle with Mr. Tower on my left and Jamie to my right. Feeling surrounded, I place my backpack on the table and dig out my list of questions. And, since my phone was confiscated, preventing me from recording his answers, I dig out a pen and note pad.

  “I’m a little nervous,” fumbling with my papers. “Okay, ah, I’ll start off with just some very general questions…. Could you tell me, ‘Who is Jack Tower?’” I look up at him. He is leaning back, right leg up, ankle resting on his left knee. His right arm is stretched out along the couch backrest behind me. He sure is no stranger to intimacy. My body feels warm and tingly.

  “Good place to start,” he says, smiling into my eyes. “Jack Tower is just a down to earth guy. No different than your local plumber, electrician, or auto mechanic. It just so happens that fate has placed in my hands the key to unlocking the next step in human evolution.”

  He is so ungodly arrogant but so damn handsome. His cologne is subtle yet intoxicating. Like something woodsy and smoky with something like raw meet mixed in. Never quite smelled anything like it before. It makes me want to draw closer to him, to get a stronger taste of him.

  “That’s an interesting paradoxical answer,” scribbling it down in the most horrific handwriting imaginable. “I’ll ask you what that key is in a moment. But, first, could you tell me, ‘What should the world know about you that it doesn’t already know?’ Any secrets?” Gosh, what a stupid question. I should have screened these before hand.

  “Excellent question. And a good opportunity to clear up a widely held misconception. Jack Tower is, first and foremost, a man of science. And science is about uncovering things, not hiding them. And this is what Tower Intel Technologies is all about. Everything we do here, from reverse engineering the human brain to inter-cellular nanobots, is closely scrutinized by the government and is eventually made public once the appropriate channels open up.”

  “That’s impressive,” What a stock response. He’s hiding something. But I don’t dare press him. Stick to the questions. I take a sip of water, brush an errant lock of hair from my forehead and move on to the next question. “To what do you owe your success?”

  “Short and sweet - my family.”

  Bull-poop! “Speaking of which. I’m sorry for the recent loss of your wife. From what I’ve read you were very close and she played a huge role in your company.”

  “Thank you for your sentiments,” patting my knee, penetrating my soul with his deep blue eyes. His touch sends heat waves up my leg. I blush and look down and take another sip of water. “You’re very kind. Kate was indeed irreplaceable. However, Jamie is doing a remarkable job filling her shoes. And, I would like to stress, with Jamie on board, along with our fine staff and colleagues world-wide, Tower Intel is now my family.”

  “How many people do you employ?” I murmur, mesmerized.

  “Oh, what is it up to now, Jamie? The company is growing so fast it’s hard to keep track.”

  “We have four locations,” Jamie says. “Our mother house in Cummings Cove, our headquarters here in Cambridge, a research facility in Zurich and our newest facility in Hong Kong; altogether we employ just over three thousand. And, we’re considering erecting a new facility in Gallop, New Mexico.”

  “That is quite impressive. I never realized you were so huge.” So huge?” What a stupid thing to say. Why don’t I just say, I want you, Jack Tower. Come on, get a grip. “I understand you have a younger sister, Jamie. Is she involved with the company?”

  “In the near future, yes,” Jamie continues. “But, at the moment she is in Switzerland acclimatizing herself to the rigors of scientific inquiry.”

  “You have a fancy way saying she’s going to school, right?”

  “Haha, You’ll have to excuse Jamie. We scientists do have our own special argot, don’t we. My youngest daughter, Jenny, will indeed join the company when the time is right. You know, Miss Moore, you remind me an awful lot of Jenny. Your sweet innocent style brings a certain freshness to your profession that’s very enduring.”

  OMG. Now I’ve blown it. How could he ever go for someone who reminds him of his daughter? I try to conceal my embarrassment.

  “So, let’s talk about artificial intelligence,” trying to get him off his daughter. “What interests you in it?”

  “Now you’ve pushed my button. I’m interested in expanding human potential and A.I. is the next frontier.” His right hand subtly creeps up from the backrest to behind my head and ever so lightly begins stroking my hair. Why is he doing this?

  “What do you hope to achieve with your research?” I’m now sweating profusely. Can he smell it?

  “I’ll be blunt. As we stand right now, we humans as a species are dying. In order to survive, we need to evolve to the next level of human development and that leap forward will only happen with advances in artificial intelligence.”

  “Can you just do whatever you want?” Another stupid question. Idiot! I hope he doesn’t end the interview right now. “I mean, this is serious stuff. You can’t just take the future of the human race into your own hands and mold it into the shape you want, can you?”

  “Well, basically, I’m held accountable to the future of the species. And, also, there are certain congressional committees that have a modicum of control over our operations.”

  “Is it true, what the media says, that you’ve developed a functioning artificial human brain?”

  “We’ve developed a prototype, yes. But, its functions, up to this point, have been based upon mere computer simulations. A true test of its viability would have to be based upon a living human subject. For which, we would need government approval.”

  “Can your artificial brain feel emotions such as love?”

  “I certainly hope so. But, we really won’t know until we have that living, breathing human subject. That would be the litmus test. We know the artificial brain can beat a master at chess. What we need to find out is, can it fall in love with a lonely cubicle dweller? That would be something phenomenal.”

  “It sounds like I’ve stepped into a science fiction movie. Can I see your artificial brain?” God, what a bold request. I feel his hand suddenly press harder against my hair, stroking it with impunity.

  “Sure….but I’d have to kill you. Hahaha” My heart suddenly leaps into my throat. I take a sip of water and chance a look up into his glaring eyes. What I see are the eyes of a tiger. He smiles broadly, realizing my recognition.

  “It sounds like you hold
immense power in hour hands. Do you ever feel the temptation to want to control the world?”

  “Don’t read me wrong, Miss Moore. I want to cure the world, not rule it.”

  “That’s very admirable. What is your guiding moral principle?”

  “My belief is that if ignorance were to be banished from the face of the earth we could exponentially expand our happiness, our productivity and our life spans.” He wants to turn everyone into robots… or clones of himself.

  “Jack Tower, Jack Tower, Jack Tower. Your name is seen everywhere. It’s on everyone’s lips. You are the quintessential American success story. What is next for you?”

  “In my lifetime, I would like to see living, functional, human-AI hybrids.” There you go, robots.

  “That’s kind of a scary thought.”

  “From reading the papers and blog sites, many people say the same about me.”

  “But, sitting here with you today, I know that’s not true.” Liar!

  “I appreciate that.” Stroking my hair harder. Where is he going with this? This is getting scary.

  “Do you have any other interests?”

  “Nutrition. We need to stop feeding junk to the under privileged and get them on healthy diets. Healthy diets make for healthy minds. That’s the first step in increasing the general well being of the planet.” Now he’s coming back down to earth.

  “What do you do to relax?”

  “For me, danger is a wonderful relaxant. I like fast cars, fast boats, fast living, fast everything. Beyond that, I workout daily - Jamie is my personal trainer. She keeps me on a tight leash.”

  “I think that’s a good thing. Hahaha.” Watch it. Don’t blow it.

  “Are you a killer, Mr. Tower?” His hand moves to the back of my neck and begins squeezing uncomfortably hard.

  “Sasha, look at me,” He penetrates me with his steel gaze. “Why would you ask such a silly question? I may present an intimidating public persona, but I am not a killer. That is hyperbola drummed up by the media to sabotage our progress. Misinformation drummed up to turn the public against us and all that Tower Intel stands to achieve.”