Levi stared straight ahead as he walked Emily out of the party. Now what?

He’d talked Emily into leaving with him so he could get her away from Hunt, and now he needed to show her some secret spot he had no idea existed. Since when did his brothers have a spot at Club Tahoe that Levi didn’t know about? Considering Hunt, he’d probably made the whole thing up. Which left Levi forced to figure out what to do with Emily after getting her alone.

Not that it was a bad thing to be stuck with a beautiful blonde in a killer dress that had him thinking of all sorts of interesting scenarios. Every single one of which involved the removal of said dress.

He blew out a breath. It had been a long while since he’d escorted a woman anywhere—out to dinner, or to his bed. Ten, eleven months? Jesus. Since before his accident. And this wasn’t just any beautiful blonde; it was Lisa’s sister. He couldn’t actually do anything with her. Which left Levi…in a quandary.

Emily glanced back, her body swaying a bit. How much champagne had she drunk? “Are you sure it’s okay to leave the party?” she said. “I want to make sure Esther is happy and enjoying herself.”

He carried her bag, which he’d remembered to grab from behind the bar before they’d left, and guided her down the hallway to the main lobby. “Don’t worry about Esther. She’s got most of the company fawning and making future lunch plans with her. With the pension my father set up for her, she’ll be enjoying retirement for a good long while.”

Emily glanced back once more. “All right. If you think it’s okay.”

He smiled down at her. She was a sweet kid. Woman. Full-blown woman now, he reminded himself.

He scanned the area, searching for something to show her that might seem like something significant—damn Hunt—and caught sight of the prodigal son.

If it weren’t for Adam ditching them to work at Blue Casino, Levi wouldn’t be in this mess of running the club and escorting pretty, vulnerable females away from Hunt. “Adam.” There might have been a threatening edge to Levi’s tone.

His brother swaggered toward them with his fiancée at his side. “Sorry we’re late. We…”

Levi glanced at Hayden, whose hair—now that Levi was paying attention—looked a bit off. As in, off to the side, when the swirly bun thing—whatever—should be centered. And her hair was wispy, and not in the intentional way.

Levi sighed. He knew exactly what his no-good brother had been doing with his beautiful fiancée.

Lucky bastard.

“Well, you’re here now,” Levi said. “Go to the party and make it up to Esther. Keep an eye on Hunt too, will ya? You know how he is.”

Adam scanned Emily. “Where are you two going?”

Levi wanted to punch Adam in the face. What was with his brothers checking out his assistant? “This is Emily Wright, my assistant. And Lisa’s sister.”

“Sister?”

“Sister.”

“Hi, Emily.” Hayden reached out and shook Emily’s hand while Adam just stood there with a look of shock on his face. “I’m Hayden Tate, Adam’s fiancée. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Emily smiled, but Levi caught her wobble to the side.

He slid his arm around her waist, holding her up. “We’re just going for a walk.”

“A walk, eh?” Adam grinned just as lewdly as Hunt had earlier. Damn his brothers. Even Hayden was looking at them with a knowing smile.

“Good for you, Levi,” Hayden said as Adam grabbed her hand and dragged her off toward the party. “You two enjoy yourselves.”

Levi dropped his arm from around Emily’s waist as soon as they were out of sight. This was ridiculous. He didn’t have time to babysit. He couldn’t get rid of his lusty youngest brother from the party—Hunt was co-owner of Club Tahoe and had known Esther nearly as long as Levi. But Emily didn’t need to be there. And Levi didn’t need a good reason to send her home. He was the CEO. He could do whatever he wanted. Except touch. He couldn’t touch. Which supported his next decision. “You should go.”

Her face fell. “Is something wrong?”

“You’ve had too much to drink. I’ll call you a cab.”

Emily’s lips parted and her cheeks turned bright red. “I—I, yes. Of course.”

“Here.” He handed over the workbag and pulled out his phone. “Any taxi service you prefer?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I mean, don’t bother. I’ll take care of it. Goodbye, Mr. Cade,” she said, and scurried off toward the entrance, her head tilted down.

Levi watched her go and wanted to kick himself. He’d been a jerk. He didn’t possess the smooth words that spilled out of Hunt’s unrepentant mouth. Even when Levi was trying to protect a woman, he screwed things up.

He rubbed the top of his head and let out a harsh sigh. “Fuck this.” He walked out of the lobby and past the pool toward the one place that wiped all this bullshit away.

Making his way down to the dock, he slowly took off his shoes, socks, and belt. His jacket and shirt went next, landing in a heap on a wooden bench. As he neared the end, he twisted around and allowed the weight of his body to pull him back and into the water.

Pins and needles peppered his skin, his face sinking under the sixty-degree water. He splashed up and whipped his head back.

Clearing the droplets from his face, he stared out where dark sky met dark lake. This was the place that brought Levi his best memories. Back to his childhood when his mother had been around and the world was safe and balanced. They used to visit the dock during the day and play for hours. It had been peace, and the loss of her had brought uncertainty and chaos to him and his brothers ever since.

Levi tried to right things. To bring some semblance of security to his brothers’ lives. By controlling their environment. By becoming a parent figure and planning for a future in which nothing could go wrong. Lisa had been a part of that safe plan. Beautiful, sweet. But Levi had been wrong about Lisa, and he’d floundered ever since, trying to make things right again.

The dock and water reminded him of what security and happiness felt like, and allowed him to decompress. He had other favorite places, but none he’d been able to spend quality time at since he started working for Club Tahoe. The lake would have to do for the time being.

He wouldn’t allow Club Tahoe to fail. It was his family’s last bit of security in the world.

* * *

Oh my God. “You’ve had too much to drink”? How dare he! Emily knew her limits. And okay, she’d had a little too much champagne, enough that she knew she shouldn’t be driving, but she wasn’t drunk!

She pulled out her phone. “Siri, call Uber.”

Emily paced the front of the Club Tahoe entrance. And paced some more, her anger rising. Why had she allowed Levi to treat her like a child?

She glanced back, expecting to catch him watching over her like she needed her shoes tied, but it wasn’t Levi who hovered nearby.

“Leaving so soon?” Hunter walked forward until he was standing at her side.

Hunter Cade was the bad boy of the Cade brothers, and he played up his role whenever possible. But Emily wondered how much of that was genuine, and how much of it was to get attention amongst a group of arrogant alpha males.

“I’ve had a long day.” Understatement. She’d busted her ass to make Esther’s party special, all the while attempting to pull off a miracle and get an entire agenda for the Korean group planned by next week.

Hunter frowned. “Where’s Levi?”

“I don’t know.”

His mouth twisted angrily. “Did he send you home?”

Levi had crossed the line tonight, telling her what to do. It probably didn’t help that she’d had a touch too much to drink and that she wasn’t used to walking in spiked heels. Never should have listened to Lisa. But although Levi was bossy, he was her boss. And she understood he’d been trying to be a gentleman with the taxi thing. “He’s under a lot of pressure.”

Hunter shook his head sharply and glanced away. “Don’t let my brother tell you what to do. He thinks he’s in control of all of us. Stay as long as you like. You’re welcome here.”

She gave him a quick smile. “It’s fine. I really should go home and get some sleep. Big week coming up.”

Hunter stepped closer. “Look, Emily. I know you’re aware of my history with your sister. The thing is”—he pushed back the sides of his jacket, his hands on his hips—“I cared about her. I didn’t want to see her hurt.”

She wasn’t sure she could trust Hunter. That any woman should trust him. “Okay,” she said cautiously.

“I don’t want to see you get hurt by Levi the way Lisa did. He’s a rock, and Lisa bashed up against that rock until she couldn’t take it anymore. Don’t let it happen to you.”

Deeper things were going on between Levi and Hunter that Emily was only beginning to understand. But the one thing she knew was that Levi didn’t deserve what Hunter and Lisa had done to him. Even Lisa felt guilty for what she’d put Levi through. “What you did was wrong.”

He lifted his chin. “I’m not proud of it. But I’ve paid for my sins. I pay every day, but that’s not what this is about. Be careful, is all. I wouldn’t want to see you get your heart broken.”

Emily didn’t remember Lisa having a broken heart—more like a guilty one. “It’s not like that between me and Levi. He’s my boss, and like you said, he can be overprotective.” A gray sedan pulled up. “My Uber’s here. I have to go.”

He nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets, watching her as she got in the car. The car pulled away and Emily saw Hunter turn and walk back toward the party, his stride a casual gait, though she sensed tension in the way he held his shoulders.

Levi and Hunter had serious baggage Emily had no intention of getting caught up in.