Chapter Twenty
CHAOS EXPLODED in the room and everyone was talking at once. As best as she could in the tight dress Jane bent down and patted Declan’s cheek. “C’mon, I taught you to take a punch better than this.”
“Everyone at ease.” Mick said. “Sit down.”
Declan opened his eyes. Jane saw the anger and hurt in his eyes. The time to come clean had finally arrived. “You okay?”
He jerked away from her. “Don’t touch me.” He stood.
Malcolm stepped forward and opened his mouth.
“I don’t want to hear it right now.” He turned to her. “What kind of game are you playing?”
Jane glanced at Fox who was sitting on the sofa his head in his hands. Cherry was sitting next to him glaring at her. “I have an explanation.”
“I’m sure you do.” Declan loomed over her.
“Don’t get in my face.”
“Then talk.”
Mick stepped between them. “Go in the living room. You talk to Fox first.”
Jane noticed everyone else staring at her. Jocelyn, Shane, Charlotte, Travis, Malcolm, his sister, and step-father all seemed to waiting for more fireworks.
Gavin’s face on the other hand had paled like he was ready to puke. “Are you okay G-baby?”
“I’m a perv. You’re my sister and I wanna bone you. I’m a sick perv. I’m never gonna…” He pointed to his crotch. “Again.”
Jane patted him on the arm. “We don’t share any DNA.”
Relief spread over his cute face. “My boy is back.”
All was right with his world. Jane went into the room and sat down on the sofa across from Fox and Cherry. She heard the door close behind her and turned around to see Mick standing inside the room. At least someone had her back.
The seconds passed and she wasn’t able to say anything. Her hands were shaking. Fox just looked so sad and broken. Of all the scenarios she envisioned if she ever met her father this wasn’t one of them. She stood and walked to the door and opened it. Everyone was waiting outside. Gavin even seemed to have his ear to the door. “You might as well come in.”
She sat down and waited for everyone to find a seat. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “It’s going to be easier for me if you just ask me questions.”
“Yeah,” Declan said. “Be careful she’s tricky.”
She rubbed her forehead. “I deserve that.”
Fox raised his head. “You’re pregnant? With Declan’s kid?”
She held up her hand. “I haven’t made any decisions about the baby, and I’m not marrying Declan no matter what Malcolm thinks. Any baby talk is off the table as well as a shotgun wedding.”
“Am I your dad?”
“Yes.”
“How long have you known?”
She took a deep breath. “I found out when I was vetted to work at the Pentagon after I graduated from college.”
“Where did you go to school?”
“West Point.”
“I’m impressed. What did you do at the Pentagon?”
“Thank you, but before we go any further, there are things I can talk about and things I can’t because they are classified. I will let you know, but I can tell you that I worked for Military Intelligence before I went to the Middle East.”
“Where is Yasmeen?”
“She died when I was six.”
He stared at her and the hope died in his eyes. A tear rolled down his cheek and Cherry grabbed his hand. “How?”
She thought about softening the blow, but she didn’t. “She was murdered.”
“Who killed her?”
“Her father.”
Charlotte gasped. “Oh my God.”
Declan glared at her. “You said you didn’t know who it was.”
She never lied. She’d chosen her words carefully. “I said there was never an arrest.”
“Why not?” Cherry asked.
“That is straying into territory I can’t talk about.”
“Fuck that.” Declan growled.
“Stand down.” Mick barked.
“He had diplomatic immunity.” Fox said.
That surprised Jane. Her mother never talked about her family with her. She found it all out later. “She talked about her family?”
Fox nodded his head. “He was a finance minister for Takar and his father was the Emir.”
“Yes.”
“Are you a princess?” Gavin asked.
“No. My grandfather divorced my grandmother when she couldn’t have any more children.”
Fox took a deep breath. “Why did he kill Yasmeen?”
“She was the mistress of a rock star and ended up pregnant and abandoned. She dishonored her family.” She said with an undertone of rage.
“I didn’t know.”
Jane fisted her hands. “Or didn’t want to know.”
Another tear slipped down his cheek. “She never told me. We were going to get married. I signed the divorce papers. I just wanted her and my boys. I didn’t care about the money. I gave Claudia everything. I’d bought a house in Brentwood. I came back to the hotel and she was gone. She took some money and her jewelry and left me there. I tried to find her.”
Things started making sense. “You bought a house in Brentwood?”
“We were going to live there. Why?”
Fox didn’t leave her. She’d run. “My grandfather had a house in Brentwood.”
“Do you think she found out he was there?”
That wouldn’t surprise her. Jane knew everything about her grandfather’s life. “He was in the society pages a lot. If she suspected he was on to her, she would have run.”
“How do you know?”
“She knew what would happen if he caught her. He might have even come after you.”
“Where did she end up?” Cherry asked.
“Here. It makes sense. New Orleans was a good place to get lost back in the day and had a small Arab community. She would have been safe.”
“Where is your grandfather?” Declan asked.
She smiled. “Dead.”
Fox’s hands shook. “How did he find her?”
That’s when Jane knew. He loved her mother. With everything he had. Her leaving broke him. She owed him the truth. “He had contacts in the US government, they probably helped.”
“How could they help him do that?”
“Her father was an asset for the CIA. His position as finance minister gave him access to a lot of valuable information.”
“What do you mean?” Cherry asked.
“Before 9/11 a lot of dirty money passed through Takar’s banks because of their loose banking laws. The PLO, arms dealers, opium lords, mercenaries, dictators. The United States had a vested interest on having a contact in those banks. Who better than a minister of finance and the someone who’s family owned several of those banks.”
“He murdered his daughter?” Trust Cherry the mother to ask this.
“Honor killing isn’t a new thing in the Middle East. It happens every day.”
“How could our government let her die?”
“Because her father’s information was more important than her life.”
Cherry pinned her with a hard glare. “Why did you take this job? To meet your father?”
Damn that woman would gut her if she had a chance. “Because Mick asked me to do it. I wasn’t even going to say anything. Although I was glad to meet you and to find out the truth. I’m going to go pack my things. If you want to contact me, Mick has my number.” Jane squared her shoulders. She stopped in front of Mick. “Paige can finish the job. I’ll call her and she can meet Declan in L.A.”
He nodded.
She had to get out of this house. Right now she felt like the bitch in this situation. She just drove a deeper rift between Malcolm and his father. She could add that to weight she was already carrying.
MALCOLM WATCHED Jane walk up the stairs. He knew Declan was forcing himself not to run after her.
Declan turned to him. “I didn’t know.”
This was a time to be circumspect. He knew Declan too well not to be surprised he pursued Jane. Malcolm shrugged. “Would it have stopped you?”
“Yes.”
Malcolm lifted his eyebrow. “Really?”
Declan blushed. “Maybe.”
“That’s the Declan I know.”
“Are we cool?”
“You got that Scotch?” Because he needed a drink.
“It’s at the restaurant.”
Before he could reply his mother walked over. Declan was going to get a new one ripped. Malcolm decided to enjoy it.
She poked Declan in the chest. “Declan Conner Shaw, what the hell were you thinking?”
“Cherry, I--”
“I’m speaking.” She interrupted.
Don’t laugh Malcolm don’t laugh.
Declan stared at his feet. “Yes ma’am.”
She rubbed her forehead. “Your bodyguard? That is so cliché.”
Declan’s head whipped up. “You say what you want about me, but you don’t say anything about Jane.”
Malcolm’s mouth dropped open. No one spoke to his mother like that. He waited for her to unload both barrels into Declan. Malcolm knew he liked Jane, but were his feelings deeper? This was poetic.
Cherry smile widened. “So that’s how it is?”
“What do you mean?” Declan asked.
Cherry waved her hand. “I’m done with you. Go see to your responsibilities.”
“I--”
She pointed to the stairs. “Go.”
Declan turned and headed for the stairs.
Malcolm turned to the other band members and lifted his hands, because he wasn’t sure he understood what just happened.
Cherry strokes his cheek. “How are you doing, darling?”
“Happy Birthday to me.”
She sighed. “Thirty was a bitch for me too.”
“You found out you had a half-sister?”
“I discovered my first gray hair and Jay threw me a surprise party. I thought I was going to kill him.”
“Is it me or are you okay with this baby thing?”
“I met her mother. My God, she was incredible. Nice, sweet, classy, and totally in love with Fox. I hated her guts. I wanted to kill her.”
Malcolm didn’t need any more truth for the next month. “Don’t go there.”
His mother didn’t act as ashamed as he thought she should. “That’s a lot of water under the bridge. I wasn’t always a mother. It was the eighties.”
“Ears bleeding.”
“I was thrilled to see her go. I moved in on Fox like a vulture. He was a basket case ripe for the picking and I saw myself as his new muse and then …” She sighed. “Well that’s another story.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why are you telling me this?”
“If she is anything like her mother she’s not a passing fancy.”
“I got that.”
“She’s your sister.”
“Newsflash five minutes ago.”
She pointed to Fox. “Your father is wrecked. Declan is your best friend. What are you going to do?”
What any sane man would do in this situation. “Start drinking.”
She put her hand on his arm. “Other than that?”
“I’m going to deal with this the way I always deal with disappointment.” He covered his face with his hands for a second. “Roll with it.”
“Your opinion is important to both of them. Be gentle. I love you all. I love the band. Stupider crap than this has ended bands.”
“It’s not just about the band.”
She inclined her head. “It’s mostly about you.”
“I can handle it.” He hoped his sounded confident, because he certainly didn’t feel it.
“Do you want to?”
“I want to get drunk.”
“Can you hold off until you talk to Fox.”
“I don’t know what to say to him.”
His mother massaged his arm. “Listen. He’s been sober for a while, but I think tonight he may fall off the wagon, because he just got a living breathing reminder of the love of his life, and if what Jane said is true, he going to blame himself and crawling into a bottle is a good way to escape.”
Malcolm remembered the expression on Jane’s face when she said her grandfather was dead. “I think Jane killed her grandfather.”
Cherry shrugged. “Good for her.”
“Gavin said she did some things we can’t talk about and she was involved in some pretty heavy shit in the Army.”
“I knew she was too good to be true.”
“What do you mean?”
Cherry sighed. “When she was recommended by the body guarding company, I did some checking on her. I read West Point and Silver Star recipient. I didn’t get past the National Honor Society. Had I seen a picture of her, I might have known. I’m sorry.”
Jane was the kind of woman that would impress his mother. “Don’t be. I just wish she’ been honest about who she is.” He checked on his father. Fuck now he was going to have to be the nice guy because he didn’t want his father to throw himself in a bottle again. “Go over to the restaurant, I’ll ride with Fox.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
He did. This shit wasn’t going to be on his dance card. “I know. If the man wants to drink, he’s going to do it. I’m not going to have it on my conscience that I didn’t at least try to stop him.”
“You’re a good boy.”
Malcolm rolled his eyes. Maybe that was his problem. “I’m not doing this for him as much as I’m doing it so I don’t feel guilty.”
“I understand.”
Frankly he didn’t see what was so special about Fox. He was a lousy father and according to his ex-wives, a crappy husband. “How did you get over Fox?”
She laughed. “You were about one at the time. You had the flu and I was supposed to fly to New York to meet with Cam Ashley--”
“From Yellowtail?”
“Jay wanted to sign them and since I knew them from my groupie days I had a better chance of getting a signature. Jocelyn was sick too so I couldn’t leave you, but Jay said he would stay with you so I went, knowing he’d get every intern at the office to do the dirty work. I came back two days later to find him covered in vomit and shit and said he’d marry me just so he could be your dad.”
Malcolm grimaced. “That’s gross.”
“You puked on his favorite Armani and he still loved you. That man earned us. I didn’t love him then, but two weeks later when you were our best man in Vegas I loved him.”
He studied his stepdad. He was graying on the top, and his face had a few lines. He wasn’t the tallest man in the room, but he was the most powerful. This was the guy who taught him to swim, to throw a baseball, and to be a man. When Fox screwed up Jay was there to hold him while he cried. With Jay, Malcolm never felt as he had missed out on anything. Even after Lana and Gavin came along he was still his dad. “He’s a good man.”
“If Fox hadn’t been such an ass, I’d still been trying to win him. I owe Fox and in a strange way so do you.”
“Jay did a helluva job with us.”
She reached up and kissed him. “You are a good son and wonderful man. Your heart is in the right place.” She stepped back. “What is everyone waiting for we have a birthday to celebrate.”
Malcolm watched everyone leave the room. He turned to Fox. “We need to talk.”
Fox couldn’t even look at him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Are you going to drink?”
“I want to.”
“Don’t.”
“I need to call my sponsor.”
“Get your head on straight, then we’ll talk.”
Fox reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone.
“Okay. Do you think Jane will … I can talk to her later.”Malcolm shrugged. How the hell did he know. “That is up to her. Call your sponsor.”
Malcolm watched his father dial his phone. Was there too much water under the bridge for them to ever make peace? There was still a part of him that was the boy waiting for his dad to come get him for the weekend, then if he did he just left him with a nanny or a groupie so he could go party. To this day he couldn’t decide which was worse not seeing Fox or seeing drunk Fox.
He had a lot of anger. Rage he kept hidden because it scared him. Part of him wanted to beat the crap out of him and another wanted to hug him, because that man was sad. What a shitty break.
No wonder he remembered Jane’s face, Yasmeen had been on Fox’s fourth album cover. She'd been dressed as a belly dancer with red scarves swirling above her head a ruby in her bellybutton. That album made Fox’s career selling millions. She’d been his father's muse as well as lover.
Now he understood his father’s melt down. Was Jane going to do the same to Declan? He didn’t want to go there. He had his own bag of crap to deal with. He would think about Declan after he came back from Florida.