Chapter 19
—Tonight’s forecast? Ninety-nine percent chance of wine.—
Lucy sat at the island countertop of a huge house in the Garden District. There were a whole lot of people in the house right now, but most of them were in different rooms. Someone was taking care of the man who’d been shot. Or, “nicked” as the man had said. She was pretty sure his name was Axel.
Not that it really mattered. Her life might have more or less imploded if her uncle had figured out she’d been involved with tonight. She really wished Leighton was with her, but he’d asked her to sit tight while he took care of some things. Like “things” wasn’t cryptic. Ugh.
“You look like you need a drink,” an older man said as he stepped into the kitchen, carrying a mug. He had green eyes and dark hair with auburn and gray peppered through it and appeared to be fit. Like he’d been in the military at one point. Or maybe still was. Who knew? “And I’m not talking about coffee,” he continued.
“It’s late to be drinking coffee anyway.”
He shrugged his shoulder. “Never too late for coffee. So is there anything I can do for you? Leighton is still tied up.”
“You don’t have to do anything for me.” If the man was here, Leighton must trust him, but she wasn’t sure of anything at this moment.
“I know I don’t. But you just walked into chaos and I’m guessing you’re not used to it.”
She gave him a wry smile. “Well, I work at a hotel and casino so that’s not completely accurate.”
“How do you feel about wine? Or beer?”
“Red wine would be nice.” Hell, at this point, she needed something to ease her nerves. Leighton and his friends had gotten into something serious tonight—most of which he hadn’t really told her about, but the guy who’d been shot was a big giveaway that it wasn’t good—and she felt adrift right now.
He nodded and started rummaging around in a cabinet. She recognized the bottle he pulled out and it was a nice one.
“Leighton tells me you had quite an eventful night.”
“Not as eventful as him, I’m sure.” Her voice was dry.
The man laughed at that. “True.”
“What’s your name anyway?”
“I’m sorry, I forgot my manners. My name’s Colt. But everyone calls me Senior. My son isn’t here, but he should be back soon enough.”
Almost on cue, the back door opened up and a man and woman strode in. The man looked like the older one with dark hair and green eyes—though he was holding a ball cap and wig in his hand.
“Hey Dad, I didn’t expect you here so soon.”
The woman shut the door behind them, a grin on her face as she nodded at Senior. Then, to Lucy’s surprise, she stripped off her top, only to reveal a bunch of layers of padding, which she also ripped off to reveal a skintight black tank top underneath. Lucy recognized her as the woman from the hotel. She then ripped off a platinum bob and gave the older man a big hug. “It’s good to see you. Sorry I’m all sweaty.”
“You two okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Took care of what we needed to take care of.” The woman shot her a quick glance, nodded once.
Lucy was silent, intently listening to their conversation and hoping she might learn something. Her mind might be a jumbled mess but she understood the value of being quiet because people tended to forget about you when you blended into the scenery. She’d learned that at work.
A man she’d met earlier—named Brooks, she thought—came into the room and hugged the woman from behind. The auburn-haired woman looked as if she was in the third level of hell as she stood there accepting the brief squeeze of affection.
“Thanks for bringing my girl in,” he said. “She said you set it all up behind our backs.”
The woman just grunted and shrugged off his hug.
Brooks simply laughed and clapped Colt on the shoulder once before heading out.
It was like that for the next ten minutes, with people milling in and out, talking about random things she knew nothing about, grabbing food or drinks. It was fairly late, and even though a man had been shot earlier and they’d very clearly gotten into some sort of gun battle, all these people were just going about their business.
Lucy was starting to get edgy, wondering where the hell Leighton was. She wasn’t sure where to go or how to extract herself because technically she couldn’t leave the place. They weren’t even sure if her uncle knew she’d been involved with placing the tracker. They weren’t sure of anything. Apparently someone was sitting on her condo, keeping an eye on it, and no one had approached her place. At least that was good.
But she hated all this sitting around.
Finally, Leighton stepped into the kitchen, looking exhausted, but he smiled as he met her gaze. “Have you eaten?” he asked, ignoring the two others, Nova and Senior, in the room.
She shook her head. “Wine’s fine.”
He frowned and headed for the fridge. “You two, clear out,” he ordered to the others. “And tell everyone else to stay out of the kitchen for a while. We need privacy.”
Nova raised her eyebrows while Senior simply got up. But they both left.
And even though they’d been perfectly polite, a weight lifted from Lucy’s chest. “You take care of everything you needed to?”
“Mostly. Had to make some calls,” he said as he started pulling out food from the oversized refrigerator. “We’ve got Chinese or Italian. It’s all takeout but fresh.”
“Italian sounds good.” She hadn’t thought she could eat, but right about now she realized she was famished. “So…can you fill me in more?” she asked as he started preparing two plates of pasta and sausage in a cream sauce and a whole lot of fresh vegetables that looked amazing.
He turned back to her after putting one plate in the microwave. “I reached out to a Fed contact of mine. A friend. I trust her,” he added.
Lucy didn’t like the weird twinge in her chest when he said “her.” Jeez, he could have female friends. She really did need sleep. Or something.
“They have no idea if your uncle knows you planted that tracker. They also say there’s nothing linking him to any of the dead men from tonight.”
“The Feds know you guys were involved?”
He gave her a dry look. “Hell no. I mean, my friend knows, but not officially, and I haven’t admitted anything on the record. It seems your uncle is busy moving certain accounts right now. They’ve got someone on the inside willing to testify against him but it might not be enough so they’re having this person try to get something on the record.”
“Like a recording?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, okay.”
“They’re hoping to get what they need by tomorrow night. There’s some deal going down. They don’t have the details, but apparently it’s big. And they’re gearing up to bring your uncle down.”
“Good.” She hoped he rotted in prison forever.
“I can almost guarantee the Feds will want to talk to you.”
“Me? Why?”
“You’re related to him and work for him.” He pulled the steaming plate out and put it in front of her. “Go ahead and start,” he murmured before putting his own plate in.
“Thank you. And…that makes sense. I guess I just didn’t think about that.”
“We’ve already contacted an attorney to be your representation if and when you talk to them.”
“I don’t need one.” She blew on the bit of pasta on her fork. She hadn’t done anything wrong so why would she need a lawyer?
“Yes, you do. And you’re not going to talk to anyone in law enforcement without her present.”
“Her?”
When he said the woman’s name, Lucy blinked. “She’s good. Really good. Even I’ve heard of her.”
“Yes, she is. Promise me, no matter what, you won’t talk to anyone by yourself.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket with the high-profile attorney’s name and number written on it.
“I promise.” She was definitely in over her head right now. “So…weird question. Of many. I’m supposed to work tomorrow. I should call in, right?” Lucy knew she wasn’t a prisoner. Not exactly, but she wasn’t sure of what she should be doing right now.
“Yes. Until we know more about what’s going on.”
“What is going on? What happened earlier tonight?”
“The place had a bunch of armed men sort of ready for us.”
“Sort of?”
“These guys were local thugs, not trained. And the backup were more gang members. But they were waiting for someone. And the Audi was in the driveway with the tracker on it.”
“Your Fed friend tell you that? About them being locals, I mean.”
“No. We took their fingerprints and ran them. Well, Gage did.”
She blinked at that and took another bite. “Does anyone know where Marco is?” He was another one she was certain needed to be in jail.
“Nope. My Fed friend said he’s gone to ground.”
“Great,” she muttered. “What about all those security runs I downloaded? Is there anything useful on them?”
“A couple of the guys are scanning them now. If there’s anything linking your uncle to anyone bad, we’re forwarding it to the Feds.”
Setting her fork down, she rubbed her temple as he sat next to her.
“I’m sorry you’re anywhere close to this,” he said, reaching out and cupping her cheek. He rubbed his thumb over her skin softly, watching her with an intense expression that made her stomach muscles tighten.
“I’d rather be aware than in the dark.”
He nodded as he let his hand drop.
Immediately she missed the feel of his touch. “So I’m staying here tonight, right?”
“Of course. I’m not letting you out of my sight. This is the safest place possible for you.”
“Am I staying in your room or do I have one of my own?” she asked carefully. He was being affectionate but she wasn’t sure of anything.
He stilled at that. “Whatever you want. You’re under our protection no matter what.”
“I’d like to stay in your room. I’d really like that.”
He shoved out a breath. “Good. I plan on making you come at least twice tonight.”
Warmth flooded her cheeks as she speared another bite of sausage. She couldn’t believe he’d just said that.
“I love it when you blush,” he continued, leaning close and brushing his mouth over hers. “Maybe soon I’ll get you to talk dirty.”
“Maybe,” she murmured, smiling against his soft, perfect mouth.
* * *
“So how many people are even staying here?” Lucy asked as she and Leighton stretched out in front of the fireplace on a tufted, very comfortable blue and cream loveseat. They were on the third floor of the big home and their room was huge. King-size bed, huge bathroom that seemed to hold a lot of the original charm, a small balcony and a little kitchenette that had likely been added on recently.
“Ah…I’d have to count it up. We recently got a few additions.”
“Yeah, I gathered that from some of the conversations. The one named Skye surprised some of the men by flying their wives here, right?”
“Yes. She said they were acting like sad pandas and needed to be at full capacity for this job.”
Lucy laughed lightly. “So everyone’s married?”
“Mostly. Engaged at least. Except Colt’s dad. And me, of course. The only one whose significant other isn’t here is Savage.”
“The one who thinks I set you guys up.”
“He doesn’t think that anymore.” Leighton wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.
“So…what’s going on as far as the trafficked women are concerned?”
Leighton made a frustrated sound. “We’d hoped to find them tonight.”
“Instead you walked into a trap.”
“Not a great trap, thankfully,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head.
She turned slightly to look up at him. “How are you doing? I know men shot at you. I’m really trying not to ask too many questions but…are you okay?”
He rolled his head back, looking up at the ceiling, pausing for a long moment. “We infiltrated the home. All the men were armed. They fired on us, we fired on them…they’re all dead, and I killed two of them.”
Oh. Wow.
He looked at her, his expression shuttered. “It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last.”
“I’m glad you’re okay,” she whispered.
Leighton blinked. “You’re not…disgusted?”
“No.” Maybe she should be but…what she knew of this man, he didn’t seem like he’d kill unless it was in self-defense or to protect someone. “What happens with the women now? You said the Feds might be bringing my uncle down tomorrow. But I also remember what you said about him basically cutting his losses and getting rid of ‘evidence.’”
He sighed, looking back at the fire. The shadow from the flames danced off his handsome face. “We’re still working on that. Colt and Skye might have a lead on where they are. Or, they’re hoping to soon.”
“Does that have anything to do with them coming in wearing disguises?”
He snorted softly. “Yeah. If they do get a lead on where the women are being held, I’ll have to leave. And I can’t take you with me.”
“I get it. Completely.” And she did. Sighing, she laid her head on his shoulder. “I feel so useless right now.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“You just kicked ass a couple hours ago.”
He let out a short laugh. “I don’t like having to wait.”
She didn’t either. “Maybe we could get to know each other better. I don’t actually know your last name. I understand if you can’t tell me—”
“Cannon. It’s Cannon. And I probably shouldn’t tell you.” He kissed the top of her head again. “I just don’t give a fuck.”
Warmth spread through her at his brusque tone. “Thank you for trusting me. Now that I know that, I have a more important question. What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?” It was a silly thing, but she wanted to know a lot more about him.
“Strawberry,” he answered without pause.
“Interesting.”
“Good interesting?”
“Yes. Mine’s Mississippi Mud.”
“I’ve never had it,” he murmured.
“We’ll have to remedy that,” she murmured, lifting her head slightly to look at him. Being with him felt right on a level she wasn’t sure she grasped yet. While she felt adrift in general after everything she’d learned, being with Leighton grounded her, made her feel sane.
His gaze fell to her lips and he looked as if he wanted to kiss her, but he cleared his throat instead. “Tell me something about yourself I won’t know from the file.”
Disappointment lanced through her, but she settled back against him, enjoying the warmth of the small fire. “I play piano pretty well. I know I told you I took lessons, but I never stopped playing. There’s a great baby grand at the casino I practice on a few days a week. What about you? Tell me something about you.”
“I have no musical talent, but I like camping. Just disappearing into the wilderness for a week or so with a tent, supplies and myself.”
“That sounds…horrible.”
The warmth of his laughter wrapped around her, infusing her. “So that’ll be something we won’t do together.”
She loved that he was talking about them in the future tense. “Maybe glamping.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
After a few minutes of silence, he said, “I know you didn’t ask, but my parents aren’t part of my life. My dad does offshore drilling off the Gulf Coast. When I was young, he used to come home when he had leave, but my mom cheated on him—something I didn’t realize until I was older—and he stopped coming home altogether when I was about twelve. My mom stuck around until I was eighteen, barely. Then she split.”
“Where’d she go?”
“No idea. Last I heard she was living in some sort of spiritual commune or whatever the hell in India. But that was two years ago.”
“Do you want to find her?”
“No. I learned early that sometimes it’s better to have no family than shitty family.”
“The people in this house seem like your family.”
“They are. Not by blood, but they’re definitely my family.”
Lucy didn’t respond for a while as she digested his words. “You trusted me with your real name even before my uncle has been arrested.” And she really hoped he would be soon.
“Yeah.”
She sat up, shifting until she straddled him. She wasn’t going to wait for him to make a move this time. “If I was working with my uncle, I could give him that information, let him know your real name, and that would put your friends—your family—in danger.”
“I trust you.” It was as if it was that simple. And maybe it was.
She felt insanely humbled that he trusted her. Her entire world had been ripped apart in the last few days and she was patching and stitching it back together, and Leighton was threatening to pull her apart again. But in a much different way. She’d seen the world a certain way for so long, had been so certain of things. Now she was reevaluating everything.
Before she could get too lost in her head, Leighton kissed her, his tongue plundering and teasing as she started grinding against him.
With him, it seemed it didn’t take long to get her worked up. Not long at all.