Deny Me (Southern Nights Enigma Book 4)

by Ella Sheridan

  King’s body automatically fell into parade rest.

  “I mean, Elliot is the best of the best when it comes to fighting, but she’s always been a wild card and we all knew it.” Dain shoved his hands into his pockets, but it couldn’t hide the fact that they were balled into fists. “But you… I never once figured you’d go so far as to sleep with a client.”

  “Dain—”

  “Do not”—Dain pointed a finger at King’s chest—“make a single fucking excuse for what you’ve done.”

  The trembling in Dain’s voice wasn’t weakness; it was rage. And he was right. King had known he was breaking every vow of integrity he’d ever given to his team, his company. He’d known that.

  But Charlotte came first.

  “I love her.”

  Dain’s dark eyes narrowed, and for a moment King thought he’d launch himself across the table. King wouldn’t fight him. Whatever Dain needed to do to punish him, he’d accept.

  “Fuckin’ A!” His boss whirled around, one hand digging hard into the Mohawk cleanly slicing across the crown of his head. “It was bad enough with Elliot, King. But here, with this family? We didn’t already have problems between her and the client.”

  “Not until we uncovered them later, no.” It was a jab and they both knew it. No one but Dain had known that Elliot was the daughter of the man trying to kill their client and his little girl. Their team lead had kept Elliot’s secret despite knowing what it could mean to the op.

  Dain jerked back to face him. “That is beside the point. I warned you to stay away from her.”

  “Then threw me in with her whenever you could, just to get us ‘used to each other.’” King shrugged. “Honestly, Dain, it wouldn’t have mattered. Keep us apart; put us together. What is, is.”

  He was right. Dain knew that even if he hated acknowledging it.

  “Is that what you plan to tell Ben Alexander when he finds out?”

  King didn’t tell Dain they’d already had a face-to-face with Kim that hadn’t gone well. No, they hadn’t been together at the time. That didn’t mean either of Charlotte’s parents wouldn’t blow up when they discovered their daughter was back together with the man they blamed for her inability to have children. Or maybe it was for getting her pregnant in the first place. That final piece of the puzzle had slotted itself while he was in the shower this morning. The over-the-top hostility hadn’t made sense until now.

  Now…well, he didn’t like it, but he understood it. If they needed to blame him, he’d let them. But he wasn’t walking away from Charlotte because of it.

  He should really share what he’d learned with Dain, but throwing fuel on his boss’s current fire didn’t seem wise. “Look,” King said, trying out a calm tone in hopes his boss would follow his lead, “I’m sorry I put you in this position. I’m sorry they might be offended. If it helps, I have no intention of upsetting the apple cart around here while we’re still in the middle of this investigation.” Being discreet, at least around her parents, wasn’t the same thing as being sorry.

  “But you do intend to keep sleeping with her?”

  “I intend to do whatever I need to do to keep her safe,” King said. “The rest is up to Charlotte.” Since they hadn’t had time to discuss it this morning—never mind what they’d been using their time for instead—he wasn’t going to presume to speak for her.

  Dain had started to speak when the door popped open. “Quit ragging his balls, Daddy,” Elliot said as she breezed through, teasing Dain with his call sign. “We won’t rat him out to the parents, and he won’t make out with their daughter in the middle of the front sitting room for them to see. Everyone’s happy.”

  Dain rubbed a thumb and forefinger into his eyes as if he could wipe away the image Elliot conjured up. Their resident troublemaker snickered.

  “Besides,” Saint added, following Elliot inside and shutting the door behind him, “if you think I’m taking over all that paperwork—”

  “You’ll do whatever the fuck I tell you,” Dain muttered, but there was a distinct lack of bite in his words. Instead, like the dad Elliot had named him, he looked too weary to deal with his annoying children. “I hope to God TC and Mark don’t get wind of this or my ass will be the one in the sling, not any of you.”

  “Get wind of what?” Elliot asked. “Nothing to get wind of that I’ve heard.”

  “Me neither.” Saint gave their team lead a cocky grin.

  “I hate you all,” Dain snarled.

  King figured he should make a break for it while the breaking was good. “Can we get to work now?”

  They all settled around the table, Dain with a distinctly sour look. “Situation report,” he barked.

  Saint cleared his throat. “Our FBI friends have gotten their feet wet in our case, although they haven’t demanded we turn Charlotte and Becky over to their protective custody.”

  “Damn right,” King growled. No one could protect them as well as his team could.

  “They did apprehend one of the intruders last night. Jason West. Our contact tells me not to count on him being in custody long. He lawyered up immediately, and his employers have big bucks, so they’ve got the best at their backs. More than likely he’ll be out sometime today.”

  “No sign of the other one?” Elliot asked.

  “No.” Saint shuffled through the reports in front of him. “They’ll probably play tag and release, see where West leads them.” He eyed King a moment. “They have asked to interview Becky and Charlotte as soon as is convenient.”

  King grunted. Convenient really meant get your ass down here. They shouldn’t hold their breath. Keeping their clients—his woman and an almost-ready-to-deliver mom-to-be—safe in that kind of environment would be impossible.

  “The man who tried to grab Charlotte admitted they were after Becky’s baby,” he shared.

  “I can only imagine her reaction to that.” Elliot waved a hand dismissively. “But that little tidbit won’t hold West. No need to rush into interviews.”

  The looks on his teammate’s faces said they agreed.

  “They have Violet in protective custody,” Saint continued, “as well as another girl who is also looking for her infant.”

  “When was that baby taken?” King asked.

  “Three years ago.”

  Elliot’s curses accurately reflected each of their feelings on that news.

  Saint tapped the screen on his phone. “Sending you all the names of the women they’re currently tracking, a couple of whom they believe ‘allegedly’ accepted money from West’s associates for their own babies.”

  King felt a headache coming on.

  “Have we passed along the intel on this nurse from Fulton County Memorial?” Dain asked.

  “Glad you asked.” Elliot pulled out her phone and scrolled through a couple of screens. “I tracked down our nurse friend, Jessica Arnold. She recently transferred to a hospital outside of Atlanta, in Walton County.”

  “Convenient, with things getting hot,” Dain said.

  “My thoughts exactly.” Elliot tapped her phone screen. “I figured I’d send that information along to our FBI friends later today.” She flicked a glance at King. “Turns out dear Nurse Jessica isn’t on duty today. Might give us time to check in with her before any official visits might occur.”

  King’s grin felt grim. “I can make that happen.”

  “Take Saint with you,” Dain said. “I doubt our friends are gonna make another run on the house with their associate in custody. We’ll hold down the fort here.”

  They nailed down some details, discussed the police report that had been filed about last night’s incident. King began to gather his papers, intent on getting back to check on Charlotte before making the trip out to Walton County. The quiet that settled over the table finally pulled his attention back to his team.

  Glancing up, he was met with a round of grim looks. “What?”

  Dain leaned his elbows on the table. “We need to talk about Wes
.”

  Dread curled in King’s gut. “What about Wes?”

  “He’s the only person to arrive at the scene last night,” Elliot pointed out.

  “Not the only person. Hugh was with him.”

  “Nice cover,” Dain said.

  “He’s not involved,” King growled. He might not have seen his cousin in years, but he knew Wes deep down. He wasn’t capable of selling babies, nor did he need the money. “Wes is hyperaware of Charlotte”—for reasons King didn’t want to think about—“so of course he’d know exactly where she went. And we weren’t exactly quiet.”

  None of which would explain his cousin’s arrival to Dain’s satisfaction. But Wes wasn’t involved; King knew it deep down. He might not be able to prove it, but he knew it.

  “We have to look at everyone, King,” Dain said, not unkindly. “You know that.”

  “Both the doc and the administrative assistant have checked out,” Saint said. “Wes is the only one I haven’t been able to dig into. The man knows his security.”

  “He has to,” King protested. “He’s a lawyer. He has clients to protect.”

  “And bank accounts,” Saint said.

  “That doesn’t make him guilty.”

  “King—”

  He held up a hand, cutting Dain off. “What if I get him to hand over the information, access to bank accounts and records, voluntarily?” Wes would give him intel, at least the intel that was personal, unrelated to his clients, if it meant eliminating himself as a suspect and focusing the investigation on whoever truly wanted Charlotte hurt.

  His team lead considered that a moment. “All right,” he finally conceded. “Make it happen. And soon, King. Becky has a visit from her OBGYN today. I have a feeling we’re running out of time.”

  King stood. “I’ll get it today.” He had a feeling too, and unlike the feelings he’d woken up with this morning, this feeling wasn’t a good one.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Charlotte had retreated from Elliot’s knowing gaze into the shower this morning, then read over reports before heading down the hall to Becky’s room. A restless ball of energy was swirling in her belly, and between her legs, an ache she hadn’t felt in a long time had taken up residence. Her mouth and breasts felt almost bruised—in the best of ways. And just thinking about those long hours together…

  God.

  King’s passion had awakened something inside her she’d let lay dormant for far too long: hunger. She’d had her work, her passion for helping others, but it wasn’t the same as private, intimate desire. King had met that hunger with his own, satisfied her to the point of exhaustion. Her body felt the aftermath, but her mind and heart felt peace.

  She hadn’t felt like this since King walked out of her life. Near tragedy had brought them back into each other’s spheres, but right here, right now, she wasn’t sure she regretted that. For Becky, yes, but not for herself. The pain, every second of it, had been worth what she’d gained last night.

  Becky’s door was closed. Charlotte could hear voices on the other side, telling her Becky was awake, so she knocked, then entered when Becky called to her. The young woman sat on the couch, her feet propped up, belly mounded beneath her soft blanket as usual. A brilliant smile lit her face as Charlotte entered the room.

  “Dr. Keller thinks the baby will come any time now!”

  “Awesome!” Charlotte rushed over to wrap Becky in a celebratory hug.

  When she finally straightened, she threw a smile toward the love seat where Susan Keller sat, tall and blonde and regal and yet still approachable—Charlotte could never figure out how she managed that. The doctor gave Charlotte a somewhat weary smile. In the month since she’d separated from her husband, Susan had been under a lot of stress, but Charlotte knew how strong she was. She’d make it. And Charlotte insisted on helping in every way Susan would allow them to; the woman was independent, but she knew they saw her as family.

  “Susan,” Charlotte said, rounding the love seat to give her friend a hug, “how are you doing?”

  “Fine.”

  Charlotte shot her a narrow look. Fine was usually a brush-off.

  Susan smiled. “It’s true. Things are settling down.” She glanced toward Becky. “I’m getting back into a routine. Always a big deal.” She winked at the young woman. “You won’t know what that is for a while.”

  Becky squirmed nervously. “That’s what everyone keeps telling me.”

  “You’re going to be a great mom, Becky,” Charlotte assured her. “You won’t be doing this alone either; don’t forget that.”

  Becky glanced with longing at her stomach. “I’ve wanted her from the moment I knew I was pregnant. It’s hard to believe I get to keep her.”

  Charlotte stood and rounded the coffee table once more to sit on the sofa next to Becky’s legs. Taking the girl’s hand, she said, “You are. You’re keeping her.” She emphasized each word, awed at the excitement that lit the young woman’s face. “And you are going to be a good mom. Believe it. It’s true.”

  “I’m already dilating, Dr. Keller says. She could come any day now.”

  “And in the meantime, I heard you got to go clothes shopping?”

  “Yep!” Becky pointed at some boxes stacked in the corner, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Your mom may have gone a bit overboard, but I can’t wait to unpack all the baby things and start putting them away.”

  “Have you considered names?” Susan asked, Becky’s excitement putting a smile on her face.

  “A lot of them!” Becky giggled, and a little of her childhood filtered into the sound. “I want to see her first. A name should match the baby.” She glanced at Charlotte. “Right?”

  “There’s no right or wrong with a name,” Charlotte assured her. “The only steadfast rule is, you should love it.”

  Becky nodded.

  Susan stood. “I’ll be back to check you again in a couple of days, Becky. In the meantime, call my number if you start having regular pains or just feel ‘off.’ At your age, labor sometimes presents in different ways.”

  “I will, Dr. Keller. Thank you so much.”

  Charlotte gave Becky’s leg a pat. “How do you feel about a walk outside for a bit? Get out of this stuffy room?”

  “That would be nice. I’ll grab my shoes.”

  Charlotte escorted Susan to the door, pausing to give her friend another hug. “Are you sure everything is fine?”

  “I am.” Susan glanced down. “Thanks to you and everyone else.”

  “I know it’s not an easy time.”

  “It’s not.” She nodded over Charlotte’s shoulder to where Becky had disappeared into her bedroom. “They make it easier.”

  “Well, call me if you need anything anyway. I know I haven’t been in the office much.”

  “For good reason.” Her friend’s face went stern. “Be sure you’re not getting too active too soon. Car accidents and concussions aren’t anything to mess with.”

  Too active? Did sex count? Thinking about last night, she felt heat rise to her cheeks and knew Susan couldn’t miss it. Hastily opening the door, she moved into the hallway, hoping Susan would follow. “I’m being very careful.”

  “Mm-hmm.” Susan seemed about to say something else, but Elliot appeared at the end of the hall, headed their way. “Like I said, take it easy.”

  “I will, I promise.”

  Elliot closed the distance between them. “Dr. Keller, I can show you out.”

  Susan gave Charlotte a sideways glance. “I’ve told her to call me Susan, but she refuses.”

  Charlotte laughed. “Yeah, the entire team tends to be stubborn.”

  “You would know.” Elliot smirked. “By the way, Wes Moncrief is here to see you.”

  Charlotte’s heart sank. Aside from her mother, Wes was the only person that could read her like an open book. Would he know what she and King had done? Was it written on her face as much as it was her heart?

  She considered hiding,
asking Elliot to tell him she was unavailable, but guilt struck hard. She’d been careful not to string Wes along all these years, and his friendship, his steadiness had meant more to her than she could ever put into words. But deep inside where she didn’t have to admit it to anyone, some small part of her had been reassured by the devotion he constantly displayed. A secret, selfish balm to her ego. She owed him more than hiding—she owed him the truth.

  “Would you ask him to meet me in my study?” It wasn’t a room she used often; she typically worked in her bedroom or in her office at CF. Inviting him into her bedroom seemed too intimate now, even with the separate seating area and desk.

  “I’ll bring him up after Dr. Keller has left,” Elliot said.

  “Oh, I asked Becky to go for a walk.”

  “We can go after your meeting.” Elliot obviously didn’t want her meeting with Wes without being nearby.

  Charlotte, on the other hand… “No, you two go. I’ll come out as soon as I’m finished.”

  “But—”

  “Elliot.” She knew the woman only wanted to ensure her safety, but this was too personal to handle with an audience. “I’ll meet you after,” she said firmly. “Please.”

  Elliot reluctantly nodded. When she led Susan down the hall toward the staircase, Charlotte rushed to her room to freshen up before making her way to the study. She’d been seated in the chair near the window, focused on the beauty of the late fall day outside in hopes of quelling her nerves, for only a few minutes before the door opened and Wes entered.

  Concern lit his sky-blue eyes as he rushed across the room. “Charlotte! God, I’ve been so worried.”

  He scooped her out of her chair and into a hug. Charlotte’s eyes closed at the feel of his arms around her, so like King’s but equally different. His embrace was a comfort more than anything—her heart didn’t beat faster, her breath didn’t quicken. It would be easier if it did. But Wes was her best friend, not her lover. Never her lover, no matter how much he or her parents wanted that to change.