Nick smothered a curse and clenched his fists. Sasha Porter was in front of him. On her knees. Looking up at him with big hazel eyes that said she’d do anything to please him.
The fantasy of her oral adoration had been a favorite he’d cha-chinged from his spank bank repeatedly for nearly three years. He was more than a little tempted to unzip and let her go to town.
She reached for his fly. He grabbed her wrists in a harsh grip. His breath sawed in the silence between them.
Nothing about her demeanor screamed horny, but Nick knew females. When he’d had her underneath him, her body hadn’t been immune. Still, he couldn’t let that fact fuck with his head. Taking Sasha up on the offer he’d coerced from her would make him a terrible bastard. Well, more terrible than he was. Despite his conviction, he’d never violate a woman who wasn’t willing in every way.
“Nick?” she breathed. “Don’t you want me to…?”
Suck his cock? Fuck, yes. “When I say so.”
As she sat back on her heels, he stared. Who was this woman? Mike had called her modest, sexually restrained. In retrospect, Nick could see how months on the run had turned his buddy’s prim wife into a pragmatist willing to give him a blow job to keep her kid alive.
And didn’t he feel like a prick? Ten minutes ago, propositioning Sasha had seemed like the perfect antidote for his compulsion to touch her. If he spewed toxic bullshit that made her fear and loathe him, she’d stay far, far away. Then…boom. Temptation removed. Problem solved.
But here she knelt, blinking at him, pink lips softly parted. Blood surged to his cock until he swore his zipper would strangle it.
How’s that plan working out for you now?
Mike Porter had been a true-blue kind of guy. A good friend. Undoubtedly, a model husband. He’d definitely been a protective one. If Mike could have read the thoughts running through Nick’s head, his old pal would have wanted to castrate him. Unfortunately, neither that nor his guilt was stopping the endless loop of high-quality porn—starring Sasha—from playing in his head.
He had to get her the hell away from him.
“Hands down,” he barked as he released her.
She complied, still staring at him in question. Though she tried to hide it, he couldn’t miss the relief on her face. She was grateful for the reprieve.
“I’m sorry if I…” She bowed her head as if she wasn’t sure what to apologize for and searched for something that wouldn’t piss him off. Or maybe she couldn’t stand to look at him.
He had no right to, but Nick thrust his hand around her ponytail and tugged just enough to force her gaze to him again. Visually was the only way he should touch her, but he threaded his fingers through her strands. Her hair slid like silk against his skin. “For what, rushing me? Crowding me?”
“Yes.”
Liar. A grim smile danced at the corner of his lips. She apologized so he wouldn’t change his mind about helping her and protecting Harper. Because she was afraid of him.
God, that made him feel low.
He released her, stepped away. “Take a shower. Get in bed.”
“Y-yours?”
He’d fucking love that. The thought of unraveling her reserve and making her cling to him went straight to his dick.
“Stay with your daughter tonight. I’d rather have you once you’ve rested. Because once I start fucking you…well, expect a long night,” he warned.
As he suspected, she shot to her feet and backed away from him. She could barely keep her opinion of him off her face. Yeah, he was a vile asshole. Perfect.
“I’ll, um, leave you until morning.” Her back hugged the wall as she edged away.
Nick grabbed her arm. “Wait.” He brushed past her and grabbed a clean towel, a bottle of shampoo, and his comb from the master bathroom. He returned and put the items in her hands. “You’ll need these. Sorry. That’s the only comb I’ve got.”
She frowned, looking utterly confused by his consideration. “Thank you.”
“Rest. Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will.”
Another lie. If Sasha could afford to, she would walk away from him now. She’d certainly never ask him for anything else, believing every favor came with a price. The sooner they found Mike’s evidence, the better for both of them.
He just hoped that breakthrough came before desire crushed his self-control.
* * * *
Harder than ever, Nick woke to a half-empty king-size bed. The morning would have been a whole lot better if Sasha Porter had been naked and sated beside him.
With a sigh, he glanced at the clock. Shit. Twenty past eight in the morning.
Hopping into a pair of sweatpants he’d discarded at the foot of the bed, he rushed down the hall to the first of the spare bedrooms. Why the hell Xander and Javier had rented him a huge house rather than just a crappy apartment near his old stomping grounds, he had no idea. He’d bet London had a hand in it. He had a soft spot for the woman who had helped to save his friends from self-destruction. He’d bet she had one for him for roughly the same reason.
The vague smile widened when he found Sasha wrapped up with Harper in one twin bed, sound asleep. A nearly empty bottle of children’s Tylenol rested on the nightstand. Neither one looked as if sleep had helped much. Nick felt guilty that he hadn’t realized Sasha might need a hand with her daughter. Hell, he had no experience with kids.
He walked into the enormous shower. Fantasizing about having Sasha under the spray, clinging to him and panting his name in his ear as she rose to climax was definitely more exciting than soaping up with a bar of Irish Spring. He didn’t punch his express ticket to self-pleasure this morning. With Sasha under his roof, the idea fucking bored him. Instead, he cut the water, dried off, and made his way into a pair of jeans. His black T-shirt had a cartoon depicting terrified people fleeing a hulking figure pursuing from behind. The caption beneath read ZOMBIES HATE FAST FOOD.
Fingercombing his hair, he headed for the kitchen. When he reached the end of the hall, the doorbell rang. A glance out the window at the sleek Infiniti SUV told him exactly who stood on the other side of the door.
With a wry shake of his head, he opened up.
“Where is she?” London asked, her sweet face curious as she held her infant daughter and tried to peek around him.
“You forgot to say hello, belleza.” Xander’s smile revealed how much he adored his wife.
Javier didn’t look any less smitten. “She’s been pacing since she took Dulce out of her crib at six a.m. You’re lucky we got her to wait this long before we headed over.”
Nick opened the door wide and directed everyone to the kitchen. “Sasha and Harper are still asleep. Coffee?”
London walked in and gave him a loose hug around the neck. “Which I assume you want me to make?”
“Please,” Xander all but begged. “Nick makes terrible coffee.”
“It’s a single-cup brewer, asshole,” Nick shot back. “Foolproof.”
“And yet you fucked it up yesterday morning.”
Javier barked out a laugh as he carried in a couple of sacks of groceries. “You’re both helpless.” He plucked their seven-month-old out of London’s arms and handed her to Xander. “Hold Dulce.”
After Javier planted a kiss on the baby’s head, he disappeared into the kitchen with London and tucked items into the refrigerator or pantry. Nick lingered with Xander in the adjoining dining room. It looked so weird to see the former manwhore holding a little girl in a frilly dress. With her daddies’ dark hair and her mother’s bright blue eyes, Dulce was going to be a beauty.
“Bought a baseball bat to fight off the boys yet?” he asked Xander.
“Screw some stick of wood. Guns are where it’s at. I’m collecting an arsenal. Not one of those adolescent pricks is touching my daughter.”
Spoken like an overprotective father. “What about when her teenage hormones kick in? She might want—”
“If you’d like our help, shut your fucking mouth.”
Nick laughed. Yanking Xander’s chain had always been on the fun side, but now it was a downright blast. “Shutting it now.”
“Good man.” Xander glanced across the kitchen to see Javier pulling London close before he dipped his head to cover their wife’s mouth. Nick had seen them kiss before. Usually, they oozed passion; they still did. Both brothers had always looked at her as if she was their moon, sun, and stars. Their very happiness, in fact. But it was different now that they’d had a child. More reverent. More devoted. More sacred. They were a family in every sense.
Nick looked away and shoved aside a weird stab of envy he could totally do without.
“So what’s your plan?” Xander asked, bouncing his daughter in his arms and smiling when she giggled.
“Like I said last night on the phone, I think the little girl is too sick to be anything but a distraction to Sasha. We should be focused on keeping her and her daughter safe. And if we wait for Harper to recover first…I think the kid having a cold will be the least of our troubles.”
“Yeah. Given the contacts and resources Clifford has, he’ll find you fast. I think you’re right; Harper is better off with us and away from the danger.”
Nick nodded. “Convincing Sasha will be the hard part.”
“If she’s half as attached to her daughter as London is to ours? Oh, yeah. She’ll fight you like hell.”
“I’m betting on it. But the solution to this shitstorm isn’t going to magically roll up to my door. Sasha and I will have to search Mike’s old stomping grounds for whatever he left behind. A sick kid is a liability. If she and I find what we’re looking for, they’ll have a chance to live happy, healthy lives.”
“And the bastard who put you in prison will go down.”
“That, too.” Nick nodded.
“Then what? Got any plans beyond that? You haven’t talked about reopening your business or taking on new cases.” Xander looked at him as if he saw too much.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead,” he hedged. Who the hell would hire him now?
Xander raised a dark brow. “We’ll make you head of security at S.I. Industries.”
And fire the guy already occupying that position to create a vacancy for their ex-con pal? They had already done too much for him.
“Thanks, but you know I’m not much of a corporate guy. This is fancy office attire for me.” He gestured to his T-shirt.
Xander rolled his eyes. “Because you never tried. Look, you’ve had some tough breaks, and I know you’re probably thinking this is a pity hiring, but it isn’t. Just…think about it.”
“Nick?”
The sound of Sasha’s startled voice saved him from answering Xander right away. He pushed away from the table and approached Sasha, who held Harper, coughing with red-cheeked abandon. “Morning.”
She braced a hand on her daughter’s back and cut a glance at Xander, who closed in behind him. He heard London and Javier approach, too.
Nick didn’t follow Sasha’s gaze. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her clean hair looked rumpled and sexy in a pale cloud around her shoulders. Her hazel eyes were wide and wary. Then she looked to him instinctively for reassurance and safety. He felt a jolt of satisfaction—and the rise of his dick.
As he reached her, he couldn’t stop himself from curling his hand around her shoulder and bracing his finger under her chin until she lifted her gaze to look at him. “These are my friends. They’re here to help.”
“You’re sure they can be trusted?” she whispered.
Nick wasn’t insulted. She’d probably stayed alive this long by questioning everything and everyone in her life. “Positive.”
He forced himself to tear his gaze off her long enough to perform the introductions. London had backed away and now held Dulce so the baby wasn’t exposed to any of Harper’s germs. But she smiled and waved at Sasha with a warm friendliness that had Sasha almost smiling back.
“We brought groceries,” London said. “If one of my husbands will hold the baby…”
Javier turned to pluck Dulce from her arms. “Go ahead. I’m sure Sasha and Harper would like a home-cooked breakfast. I know I would.”
“Great. Maybe you’d like to talk to me while I get everything ready?” London asked Sasha. “We’ll send the men to the living room. I’m sure they can find some college football pregame to watch until the doctor comes.”
“Sure.” Sasha didn’t look as certain as her answer sounded, but she followed London into the kitchen, still carrying a limp, hot-cheeked Harper.
Reluctantly, Nick followed the Santiago brothers into the living room as the sounds of bowls clacking and the gas stove firing filled the air. Female chatter followed.
“Let London work her magic. She’s a warm, comforting presence,” Javier murmured.
Yeah, Nick had liked her immediately back in the day and known she’d be good for the overly driven executive. The fact that she’d also settled the younger Santiago had been nothing short of a miracle.
“Everyone loves London,” Xander assured.
“I just don’t want Sasha to feel abandoned. She’s out of her element as it is.”
“She’ll be fine.” Javier dragged him to the sofa.
The moment he was seated, Xander plopped into a chair, leaned closer, and leveled a direct gaze at him. “You, I’m not so sure about, my friend.”
“What do you mean?” Nick scowled.
“Why didn’t you level with us? This isn’t just about revenge, and don’t try to bullshit us otherwise.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Nick insisted.
“This is also about Sasha,” Javier insisted. “That’s obvious to me now.”
Fuck. They knew him too well. “Mike and I grew up together. If the shoe was on the other foot, he would have helped my wife out of trouble, too. I owe him. Before he died, he asked me to look into Clifford. I didn’t get the goods; I just got set up. That bastard found the perfect means to get me out of the way so he could off Mike.”
And if Nick hadn’t failed, maybe the kid who had single-handedly pulled him out of the gutter would still be alive and raising the daughter he’d had with the wife he loved. Neither of them had imagined Clifford would have the balls to use his own niece to fabricate charges against Nick. They’d underestimated the bastard—and paid a terrible price.
“Right, but this is about more than helping your late buddy’s widow,” Javier pointed out. “You want her.”
“You look at her the way my brother looks at our wife,” Xander added. “The way I’m sure I look at London, too.”
Desperate. Smitten. Hungry.
Fuck, what did he have to offer a woman? A bankrupt business? A prison record? Zero experience in making a monogamous relationship work? Life had already dealt her a tough hand. She deserved better, especially since Mike had been taken from her for good.
“Leave it,” he told the brothers. “She doesn’t want me and never will. I’ve made sure of it.”
Javier clenched his jaw, a sure sign his legendary temper was brewing. “What did you do, you stupid bastard? Now isn’t the time to be noble.”
Certainly that’s the last thing Sasha would call him. “I don’t need romantic advice. I just need to keep her alive and solve her problem.”
“We figured you’d say that.” Xander sighed. “So we left a new SUV registered to S.I. Industries in our parking garage for you.” He tossed the keys, and Nick caught them in his fist. “It should be clean. The gas tank is full. There’s five grand in cash in the glove box.”
“I’ll pay you back.”
“Shut up.” Xander rolled his eyes.
“Know where you’re going yet?” Javier asked.
“No. Sasha was too tired and worried about Harper last night for me to grill her with questions.”
Today, Nick knew he couldn’t afford to be so polite.
Javier pulled a device from his suit coat and slapped it in Nick’s palm. “Here’s a burner phone. Keep us posted. And we’re serious about that job offer. When this is over… That’s how you can pay me back.”
“I appreciate it, man.” He tried not to let gratitude choke him up. “I do, but…”
Xander cursed. “If you change your mind, the door is always open.”
With a tense nod, Nick reached for the remote and flipped on the TV to see a group of suits reliving their former football glory days by drawing Xs and Os on a whiteboard and blustering at one another about the college squads scheduled to compete.
A few minutes later, London poked her head into the family room. “Food’s on, boys.”
“God, I love that woman,” Javier professed as he rose, sniffing at something savory.
The smell made Nick’s mouth water, too. Damn, he’d missed country sausage and gravy.
He and Xander followed Javier into the breakfast nook. They all took their seats around the table, Dulce bouncing on Javier’s knee and sticking her little tongue out for some baby oatmeal London had fixed. Everyone else dug in to the hearty heaps of eggs, potatoes, and the amazing sage-rich sausage—except Sasha. She picked, far more concerned with trying to feed Harper than herself.
London finished a helping of eggs and some Greek yogurt, then pushed her plate away. “Sasha, why don’t you let me try to coax Harper to eat?”
“We’re fine. Finish your breakfast.”
The woman was so stubborn it made Nick want to grit his teeth.
“I’m done,” London insisted, wrinkling her nose. “I’ve still got a few pounds of baby weight to lose, and even though I’m not pregnant anymore, I still can’t eat breakfast with the kind of gusto I used to.”
At her grimace, Sasha looked down at Harper. The girl’s eyes were half open, her cheeks red as she shifted listlessly.
“If it upsets her, I’ll bring her right back. But no offense, honey”—sympathy filled London’s face—“you look like you could use a decent meal.”
Nick watched their conversation, more than a bit surprised when Sasha slanted her gaze his way. She wasn’t looking for permission, but she sought his reassurance. Interesting…
He bent close to the little girl. “Harper?”
The child blinked her big green eyes up at him. God, she had so many of Mike’s features that looking at her hurt.
The girl didn’t speak but he had her attention. “Would you like to meet my friend?”
London waved at the girl. “Hi, Harper. I have a pink donut with sprinkles on it just for you…”
That made the little girl smile. She wriggled on Sasha’s lap, seeking a way down. Nick plucked her up and walked her around the table to London. Harper went to the woman right away, looking up at her with unabashed curiosity as she brushed a honey-colored curl from her wary eyes with little fingers.
“Hi, pretty girl. I’m London,” she cooed. “I’m guessing you like donuts.”
Harper nodded. “Yesth.”
She had the cutest lisp, and it tugged at something in Nick’s chest.
“Can you get me the white bag on the counter?” London pointed vaguely.
“Sure.” Nick plucked the bag from the gray slab next to the stove.
“Find the pink donut inside. And how about a plate?”
Nick fished out the pastry in question, then retrieved a dessert plate for the kid, whose eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning. When he set it on the plate, Harper grabbed it.
Xander and Javier laughed. Sasha sent her daughter a fond smile so sad, it nearly ripped out his guts. She was questioning every decision she’d made as a mother, despite the fact that she’d had so few choices.
“Why don’t you break it into sections for her?” London asked him. “Then Harper will be ready to eat.” She peeked around to the girl’s face. “Won’t you?”
“Pleath.” Harper bounced on her lap.
Nick broke the pastry into four manageable pieces and set all but one on the plate. The last he handed to the girl, who grabbed it with a smile before she shoved it into her mouth with a noisy smack.
Everyone laughed again. She really was a cute kid.
As Harper settled in with her donut, London added a few eggs and potatoes to the plate. With a combination of jokes, smiles, and silly faces, London persuaded the girl to eat roughly half the food.
The doorbell rang. Nick whipped out his phone. Two minutes until nine.
“The doctor?” Sasha asked.
“Should be. Stay here.” He rose and headed out of the kitchen.
Once he’d cleared Harper’s line of sight, he unholstered his gun, keeping it tucked against his side as he cautiously opened the door. He made a mental note to ask Xander why the hell the place didn’t have a damn peephole.
On the other side, he found a young female. The Asian woman looked petite and intelligent and not at all put off by his demeanor. “Mr. Navarro?”
“Dr. Minn?” At her nod, he holstered his weapon and threw the door wide. “Come in.”
“Where’s Harper?”
“Finishing breakfast.”
He led the doctor to the kitchen. She hugged London and brushed a fond caress on the top of baby Dulce’s head, then turned her attention to Harper. After a glance she frowned and looked across the table to Sasha. “Can you bring her to one of the bedrooms so I can examine her?”
Sasha rose, plucked her daughter from London’s lap with a whispered thanks, then disappeared down the hall. Nick stood awkwardly and watched them go. He wanted to know what was happening, had the most irrational need to stay beside Sasha. But Harper wasn’t his daughter. Her medical condition wasn’t any of his business.
London nudged his shoulder with her own. “Follow her.”
“She wouldn’t appreciate my intrusion.” Nick already knew Sasha was a deeply private person.
“You’re too smart to act this stupid. She’s afraid and she needs a shoulder to lean on.”
Like she’d ever allow the man who’d ordered her to put out to comfort her? “I’m sure she’d rather have a calming female presence.”
Before he finished speaking, London shook her head. “Sasha feels like her sky is falling. She needs a pillar to keep the roof over her head.”
Another woman couldn’t do that for her?
London sighed as if she was losing patience. “She needs someone stoic who won’t bend under pressure. She needs someone she perceives as stronger than her to rely on.”
“But she’s already strong. Given how underhanded and relentless Walter Clifford is, the fact that she’s kept herself and Harper alive since Mike’s murder is pretty much a miracle.”
“But it’s been a struggle. Can’t you see that?”
Hard to miss. He nodded.
“I can guarantee that, at times, she’s felt both very afraid and very alone. At the risk of sounding hopelessly unfeminist, she needs a man.” London shook her head. “She needs you.”
Nick doubted he could be what she needed but he owed Mike. He owed Sasha, too. “I’ll take care of her.”
Letting out a nervous breath, he made his way down the hall and paused in the threshold of the bedroom. The doctor had her stethoscope pressed to Harper’s back as the child took rattled breaths. Sasha watched with worried eyes and a taut mouth.
Dr. Minn plucked the device from her ears and hung it around the back of her neck. “If I could X-ray her properly, I could tell you with absolute certainty what ails your daughter. Since that’s not possible, I’m going to say that given her high fever, wheezing, and productive cough, she has pneumonia.”
The air left Sasha’s body as she froze, stood unmoving, not even to draw her next breath.
Holy shit. Harper’s condition was far more serious than he’d imagined. Nick was damn glad Sasha had come to him when she had.
“Since it took her about four days to develop, it sounds viral, rather than bacterial, so giving her antibiotics won’t do any good,” the doctor went on. “But I don’t like the way your daughter is breathing. If you won’t admit her to the hospital, which is where she should be, she needs to stay home and rest a great deal, drink a lot of fluids, eat frequent but small meals, and be on oxygen.”
“That’s not possible.” Sasha’s voice trembled.
“Then I can’t guarantee your daughter will recover.” The doctor sounded clipped and disapproving.
The pediatrician didn’t know Sasha’s situation, so she couldn’t possibly understand the woman’s quandary. Still, Nick wanted to slap her and tell her not to judge.
Instead, he focused on Sasha. Worry stamped itself all over her face. How would Harper ever get that kind of rest and care when their very survival depended on them relocating ASAP—and probably more than once? He could actually see her weighing the probability that Harper would die if they stayed on the run versus the likelihood Clifford would slaughter them all if they risked calling a place home even temporarily.
In that instant, he saw what London meant. Sasha had borne everything, made all the decisions…and endured each painful consequence without anyone to take an ounce of the load from her delicate shoulders. Mike would never have wanted her to carry that burden alone. Nick didn’t like her enduring so much hardship and loneliness, especially when he could handle it and had more experience with criminals.
“Thank you, doctor.” Sasha fidgeted nervously. “Is there anything you can give Harper to help her or make her more comfortable for now?”
After a recommendation of acetaminophen and an over-the-counter nasal decongestant, along with rest and vitamins, the doctor tucked her equipment away. “I hope she feels better.”
“We’ll let you know if we need anything else,” Nick assured.
When the doctor shouldered her way past him and out the door, Sasha eased Harper back into bed, looking as if she was fighting tears.
“She’s worse than you thought.” Nick read her distress.
“Yes.”
“You look too overwrought to make decisions, so I’ll tell you what I see as your best course of action. Leave Harper with the Santiagos to recover while you come with me to figure out what proof Mike stashed and where.”
Sasha looked horrified. And ready to scream. She puffed up. Color raced to her cheeks as she squared her shoulders for battle.
Instead of screeching the no on the tip of her tongue, she grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him out of the bedroom, away from her daughter. In the hallway, she looked both ways in indecision, then tugged him toward the master—the only place in the house where no one would overhear them.
When she slammed the door and shoved him against it, Nick couldn’t deny that he was impressed—and harder than he’d like to admit.
“Look, I agreed to whore myself, to let you use my body however you want, to protect my daughter. I will not leave her with strangers. If you keep trying to separate her from me, I’ll—”
Sasha pressed her lips shut, as if realizing she was about to make a threat she couldn’t carry out.
Nick didn’t call her on it. Instead, he softened his voice. “I’ve known the Santiagos for years. They’re solid, I swear.”
“You swear? I don’t trust you, so your opinion means nothing. I won’t do it.”
He didn’t take pleasure in her distress, but he was glad to see her fighting spirit. She’d need it to make the right choice and survive the days ahead.
“Sasha, how will Harper recover if we drag her to hell and back? I’m sure Mike hid his evidence well. Searching every logical spot could take days…weeks. Some places we’ll have to search in the dead of night when they’re dark and deserted. Are you going to leave Harper back at whatever low-grade motel we crash in? Or wake her up, slow down her recovery, and risk our detection to bring her with us?” he challenged.
“I don’t know right now.” He heard the fear and frustration in her voice. “I’ll figure it out. But I’m all Harper has. All she’s ever known. I can’t abandon her. She’ll be terrified. She’s just a baby.”
“You know Clifford is dangerous or you wouldn’t have come here and agreed to my terms.” He raised a brow at her. “Harper will be safe with the Santiagos. That bastard and his thugs will never connect your daughter to my friends. But if we take her with us and we’re caught, what do you think will happen?”
She looked away, refusing to answer.
“What do you think they’ll do to Harper?” he pressed on.
Sasha closed her eyes and tensed. “Don’t.”
“I’m sorry to be blunt, but you might as well put a bullet in her head yourself. She’s your daughter, so it’s your call.” He shook off her hold and opened the bedroom door. “Let me know what you decide. We’re leaving tonight.”
* * * *
The sun sank toward the horizon as Sasha’s dread climbed. She had to make a decision.
She watched Harper on a blanket in the middle of the floor, clutching a new teddy bear under one arm as she scribbled with a fresh box of crayons across a pristine coloring book. At the moment, her daughter played more like a typical kid than she had in…well, ever.
Sasha swallowed and glanced at London on the sofa beside her. “Thank you for bringing Harper some toys. You didn’t have to—”
“It was our pleasure.” London grinned. “It gives my husbands a glimpse into our future.”
Sasha wondered how and why a woman with a seemingly sweet disposition and an air of innocence had fallen for two brothers. Not that she was judging. Little shocked her anymore. She’d spent years in New Orleans, in the heart of the Quarter, where most anything was not only possible but happened regularly.
Dulce cried in fussy whines and pants. The Santiago brothers passed her back and forth, doing their best with voices and funny faces to make their daughter smile. They loved her madly, and it showed.
Sasha’s chest tightened. Harper would never know a father’s love. Mike was gone forever, and Sasha couldn’t imagine a future in which she met another man she’d choose to share her life—or her daughter—with.
“She’s hungry,” she murmured to the pretty blonde with the big, winking diamond on her ring finger.
“Yep. Some things a mother just knows.” London paused. “Listen, I realize the choice in front of you is gut-wrenching. In your shoes, I’d be falling apart. I love my husbands more than life…but the love a woman feels for her child is something else altogether. So pure and unbreakable.”
Sasha nodded, too close to tears to speak. She’d been turning this dilemma over in her head all day. She felt nothing but tied up in knots.
London laid a hand over hers. “Your daughter will be safe with us. I’ll be with her. Javier and Xander are protectors, and I guarantee their first call once we leave here will be to Xander’s bestie, Logan. He’s a former Navy SEAL with twin daughters of his own. Logan will fix us up with the best damn bodyguards in the state. No one will let anything happen to Harper.”
Though that eased her mind some, Sasha bit her lip. “All that would turn your life upside down. And the expense—”
“Sasha, Nick once helped my husbands and me in desperate times. I wouldn’t be alive today if that man hadn’t stepped in. We can never repay him. This is the one and only favor he’s ever asked of us. You and Harper are important to him, so you’re important to us. Besides, your daughter is so precious. It will be a privilege to keep her safe while she recovers.”
Sasha was running out of reasons to refuse except the thought of being separated from her baby wrenched her heart. But refusing the Santiagos’ offer wouldn’t be best for her daughter, just easier for her own peace of mind. “You’re not worried about Dulce getting sick?”
“I can keep the girls apart until Harper is better. Frankly, that’s one of the perks of having two husbands.”
A smile flitted across London’s glowing face as if she paused to remember some of the other undoubtedly pleasurable perks of being married to two handsome, rich men.
Sasha cast a glance over at Nick. He watched her intently. At times, he seemed ruthless, like the hardened criminal she’d expected. And sometimes, he didn’t seem like a bad guy at all. He was definitely dangerous; Mike hadn’t been wrong about that. But even with Nick’s audacious sexual demands, he didn’t seem dangerous to her. And if she was honest, the memory of him on top of her, pinning her down, gaze penetrating hers, made her breath catch.
God, she was in way over her head. The situation—Clifford, the danger, Harper’s illness, Nick’s demands, her own crazy attraction to him—was spinning beyond her control. She had to start making some decisions now. Dithering could get everyone killed.
“Let us help watch Harper for you,” London implored, then cast a sidelong glance across the room. “You and Nick are up to your eyeballs in trouble, and I’m worried what will happen if you take your daughter along. We owe Nick. You’re the only other thing I’ve ever seen him care about. You need him…and I think he needs you.”
Sasha resisted that notion. “I don’t have anything left to give him.”
“You do.” London didn’t spell it out, just looked as if she knew the truth and thought Sasha was being a coward for not facing it.
“I’m helping him take Clifford down. That’s all he needs.”
“Don’t you want revenge, too? That crooked bastard killed your husband.”
Of course Sasha wanted vengeance for Mike, but she owed her daughter a normal childhood. So far, all Harper had known was being homeless, dirt poor, and afraid. Maybe…if she and Nick managed the seemingly impossible, her baby could someday have a home and toys and a safe school in a lovely neighborhood. Maybe Harper would forget all about this terrible time in their lives.
“All right. I’ll go.” Sasha’s voice shook. “Harper can stay with you.”
With a sigh of relief, London laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Thank God. I know that was a tough decision. I promise, we’ll do everything in our power to protect her.”
“I believe you.” And Sasha did. Something about London’s demeanor told her the woman had overcome devastation. Because London understood pain and suffering, she would never heap them on anyone else.
The blonde hugged her. Then Sasha heard London’s soft voice in her ear. “Nick needs you in other ways. Don’t be afraid of whatever is between you. He’s a good guy with a crappy past who got framed for a vicious crime. What he needs most isn’t your help, but your caring.”
Before Sasha could reply, London backed away and cozied up next to Harper on the floor. Blinking, Sasha stared. What could she say? The only thing between her and Nick right now was Mike’s missing evidence and her agreement to be his mistress for the month.
She lifted her gaze to the man. A tingling wave of awareness spread through her. Hunger darkened his face. Her heart careened wildly. Would he want the first installment of his payment tonight?
“Sasha?” he asked, glancing at London playing with Harper on the blanket.
“She’s not coming with us.” Sasha knew she would fall apart when the time came to leave her baby—her most important reason for living—behind.
“Good.” He nodded her way, then glanced out the window. “It will be dark in thirty. We’ll leave then.”
That meant she had to pack up the clothes Nick had washed for Harper, along with the pretty new things the Santiagos had apparently brought and her new medicine. In less than five minutes, she was handing a little bag to London, then pulling Harper into her lap.
God, the thought of leaving her baby hurt. She asked herself again what kind of mother would leave her daughter, but the answer was simple: the sort who wanted her child to live.
“Baby, you’re going to go spend a few days with Ms. London and Dulce. They have lots of toys and I’ll bet if you asked, they’d feed you some ice cream. Okay?”
“Icth cream?” Harper’s face lit up, her smile so much like Mike’s.
She nodded. “Does that sound good?”
Harper bobbed her head excitedly.
“We’ll have lots of fun,” London promised.
“Yeah!” Harper hugged the teddy bear in her grip.
It seemed like a blink later that Xander cradled a sleeping Dulce and hustled his brother out the door. Their wife followed, carrying all of Harper’s worldly belongings on her shoulder and holding the little girl’s hand. To Sasha’s surprise, Harper didn’t cling to her mother, just hugged her.
“I’ll miss you,” Sasha whispered.
“Miss you, mama.” The girl planted a sweet kiss on her cheek. “Come back soon?”
Sasha certainly hoped so, but she refused to make a promise she might not be able to keep. “I’ll do my very best.”
“Who wants chicken nuggets for dinner?” London distracted the girl.
With one last squeeze, Harper turned back to the other woman. “With frewnch fries?”
London laughed. “Of course.”
“I love you,” Sasha called out to her baby.
“Love you.” Harper waved, more intent on London’s promise of fried food.
As her daughter disappeared around the corner, London looked her way with a silent promise that Harper would be safe.
Thank you, she mouthed.
Then they were gone.
Sasha pressed her lips together and gripped the threshold, doing her best not to fall to her knees and sob. What if she never saw her daughter again?
Suddenly, Nick wrapped strong hands around her shoulders and braced her. He drew her back against his big chest and cradled her. “Harper will be all right.”
He said that like it was a fact.
“I haven’t been away from her since she was fifteen months old.” When Sasha closed her eyes, tears leaked from the corners.
Mike’s funeral. She’d left her daughter with a neighbor during the graveside service because it had been scorching and cloying and pouring down rain. With every word from the minister’s lips, she’d been silently praying to God to help Mike’s soul rest easy and to keep Harper safe.
“It’s better for her,” Nick reminded her in a calm voice.
Sasha knew that. It just didn’t feel that way. “We’re leaving here?”
“Now,” he confirmed as he released her.
She suddenly felt cold again. “I’m ready. I already gathered my things.”
It took less than two minutes for him to shut off all the lights, grab their bags, and lead her out into the alley.
The evening was crisp. Sasha pulled her sweater tighter around her. Nick watched everything around them as he slung his backpack and her duffel over his shoulder and guided her down the road with a hot palm at her back.
In fifteen silent minutes, they reached a parking garage. Nick sneaked his way around the security guard, ducked under a series of video surveillance cameras, then crept through the shadows and up the stairs until they reached a black SUV on the third floor, near an executive entrance door.
Glancing one last time over his shoulder, Nick knelt to grab the keys from a magnetic box under the wheel well and unlocked the vehicle with a beep. He opened the passenger door. “Get in.”
She did as he stowed their bags. “How are we going to get out without being seen?”
“Easy,” he assured as he climbed in beside her. “The license plate is registered to the corporation. Vehicle’s new.”
She could smell the pristine leather and off-the-factory-floor parts. “So?”
“The windows are tinted. No one will be able to see us. I’m sure it’s equipped with a sticker to get us out of this garage without having to even roll down a window. The question is, where are we going? What do you know?”
While Nick backed out of the parking spot and the SUV glided down the ramp, she tried to recollect everything she’d done to solve the puzzle Mike had left her. Nick’s big fingers around the steering wheel distracted her. His thumb tapped the leather beneath—the same thumb he’d brushed across her nipple last night. She shivered with pleasure at the memory.
True to his word, when they reached the exit, the security arm lifted without them having to engage the guard at the exit.
“Sasha?”
His deep voice demanded an answer. She didn’t know what to say. “I’ve been over and over this. He left me a message, and I’m still not sure what it means.”
“Tell me.”
Wringing her hands, Sasha tried to squelch hope from burgeoning again. So many times over the past interminable months, she’d thought she had the answer to this mystery. Failure dashed her every time. She wasn’t sure if she could take it again.
On the other hand, she had no choice. Her future—and her daughter’s—depended on it.
“The day before Mike’s murder, he arranged to have flowers sent to the house on what became the day of his funeral. Inside the envelope was a card that didn’t make any sense and this.” She pulled up a long chain she’d tucked under her shirt with a mysterious key attached.
Nick reached over and slid the key into his palm. She felt the heat of his hand radiating to her chest. A jolt of something more than awareness fluttered through Sasha. It refused to subside, no matter how much she tensed against it.
A bump in the road jerked them. His knuckles brushed the swells of her breasts. A gasp slipped out before she could stop it.
His stare zipped up to her, and she felt caught. Could he see her heart pounding? Feel her nipples beading?
Suddenly, he released the key and leaned back into his seat, focused on the dark road ahead. “What did the card say?”
Sasha tried to string two thoughts together. “Um, gibberish, really. Something about it being Han Solo’s turn to stop Darth Vader by finding the ammunition in the Death Star. He even signed the card as Luke Skywalker.”
Frowning, Nick heaved a long sigh. “That sly motherfucker.”
She tensed, searching his pensive face. “What do you mean? Did that make sense to you.”
Nick nodded. “I know where he hid his evidence. Sit back. We’re heading to New Orleans.”