One Woman

by Jones, Lisa Renee

Emma…

  He says that we are full of possibilities. I say that we are full of possibilities lost before they were ever found. But the only words left to speak are goodbye. Because that’s where my story leads us. “I wanted to say yes to moving in with you, even if it was a trial. It’s fast, but we have states separating us. I wanted to get to know you, Jax. I felt the possibilities, too. I did.”

  “Felt? They still exist, Emma.”

  “I wanted to say yes,” I repeat. I need him to know that. I need him to know that there was never a “no” for him. Ever. On anything.

  “But you didn’t,” he responds this time. “You weren’t going to, you’re not going to,” he says. “We both knew that, and this is why, whatever this is.”

  “Yes,” I confirm. “Well, this and your brother. This isn’t about him, by the way. No. We’re layers of complications. But back to the living situation. I had to tell you this first. It was the right thing to do because it’s that big and,” I swallow hard, “and the idea that we go to Germany before we move in together, I needed that. I needed to know that we were solid before I told you what I have to tell you. And I knew I had to tell you about this—about my past, before I moved in with you. The right time, right?”

  “Tell me just what you have to tell me for me to deal with this, Emma.”

  My cellphone rings, and Jax reaches around me and grabs it from the island. “Your brother.”

  “I have to talk to him. Please, Jax. If he’s calling right now, it’s not a coincidence. Look, York’s threat has merit. Something is going on.”

  Jax hands me the phone but doesn’t let go. “Just your brother. Not York yet. We need to talk first.”

  He’s right. I hate it, but he’s right. “Yes. I agree.” He releases my phone, and I take the call. “Chance?”

  “If York calls, don’t take the call.”

  “Why would York call me?” I ask, sharing a look with Jax.

  “Because he’s pissed at me and I don’t want him using you to get to me.” He doesn’t give me time to respond. “Marion was fucking dad.”

  I swallow hard. It’s out. This is blowing up. “We talked about this,” I say, and to give Jax a heads up on what’s happening, I add, “I thought there was something going on between Marion and dad.”

  “Yeah well, this shit just got heavier. Someone sent photos of them together to mom, He’s dead and they still did that shit. She called. And she heard that I was having lunch with York, and that really set her off. She’s worried about you with York. I don’t know what that freakout was all about but I told her you hate him. And of course, how he hates me, too.”

  I go cold inside. “What does that mean?”

  “I met with him today, for old times’ sake, I gave him a heads up about what’s to come.”

  “Which is what?”

  “I told mom we’ll fight for her. Marion is out. I’m going to Monroe and telling him everything, and of course, York is afraid Monroe will divorce Marion and pull his funding.”

  “He will, and you can’t do this, Chance.”

  “I sure as hell can and am,” he assures me. “Why do you even care? You hate York. I don’t know why, but you do.”

  “What if Monroe blames us and pulls his business? I have good reason to believe the Sawyer brand is coming after us, which has to be a topic for another day, but don’t do this now. Just wait. I need to deal with this. If you value our brand, wait.”

  “What the hell is this, Emma?”

  I turn away from Jax. “Nothing good. York already called me. He left me a message. A coded threat. He’s got something on me, Chance. It could hurt our business. Please trust me.” I rotate and face Jax again. “I need you to back off and give me a few hours to sort this out.”

  “He’s blackmailing you? Is that bastard blackmailing you? And us? Is he blackmailing us?”

  Jax hears the question, I see it in his face, and he arches a brow, silently asking me the same question. “He’s got something on me, Chance. Something that could hurt you and the company. And anyone else in my life. I need to talk to Jax.”

  “Jax? Are you fucking kidding me? He’s probably behind this.”

  Anger stabs at me, hard and fast, and punches through my words. “Jax didn’t make our father sleep with Marion. Jax didn’t do the things to me that York did to me. If you choose to move forward, well, I’m glad I’m not the CEO who will have to fix this.”

  “Damn it, Emma,” Chance says. “What the hell did that bastard do to you?”

  “What he did isn’t what matters. It’s what he can do to hurt the business. I need to do what I can do on my end to control York. You can’t do that. I need to do it.”

  “How?”

  “I’ll call you back.”

  “When?”

  “An hour. Give me an hour.”

  “If you don’t call me back in an hour,” he warns, “I’m going to the airport to come and get you.”

  “Don’t give me deadlines,” I say. “That’s what York just did to me by voicemail, and I don’t need that right now.”

  “I’m worried,” he says. “About you and the business.”

  “Then don’t talk to Monroe yet. For once, I need a member of the Knight family to actually trust me.”

  “I trust you. Where the hell is that coming from?”

  “Prove it.”

  “Fine. Fuck. This is killing me. You there, me here. These secrets.”

  I think about his offer on the castle and how off his excuse about the will reads to me. “Yeah. Well. Secrets really do suck, Chance. We shouldn’t have any.” I disconnect and meet Jax’s stare, aware that I may or may not have bought us time. York knows my bother. They went to college together. He knows that when Chance decides to act, he acts. And I know how York will spin this because I know a man that evil far too well. I have to tell Jax my secrets now before TMZ tells the world. I have to make him see why he has to let me go and let me go now.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Emma…

  I set the phone down on the island with only one focus: Jax. Gorgeous, intelligent, perfect, all words to describe him. Passionate. Intense. Dominant. Powerful. Gentle. Tender. Who is all of those things? What girl is lucky enough to find that man? What girl is unlucky enough to lose him this quickly?

  “I was selfish,” I admit. “I never even considered that my past could come back on you. York was gone from my life, and then suddenly, you were here, but he was back, too. And you and I were all kinds of right and—”

  “We still are, baby. He doesn’t change that.”

  “He does, Jax. He does.”

  He steps toward me, and I step back.

  “Emma—”

  “Listen.” I hold up a hand. “I need to say this and then make the call to York, Jax. I need to try to do some kind of damage control. So just listen, because it’s going to be hard to get it out. Please.”

  “I’m listening. I’m right here.”

  “Okay. You’re listening. And I’m talking.” I bite my lip and look away, telling myself to just do this. Do it, Emma. I force my gaze back to his. “He was a normal guy fighting for his father’s approval, and, on that, we connected. Then his father died and—he changed.” I blow out a breath. “How did he change, you ask?” I laugh, a choked bitter laugh. “Not the average way someone might change. He started holding sex parties on his boats. Really raunchy sex parties. He’s going to connect me to those.” I hug myself, embarrassment and shame overtaking me, tears sliding down my cheeks. “I went,” I say, and somehow, I’m rambling and can’t stop the words from falling out of my mouth. “I went to some of the parties. I didn’t do things. I was just there, but I saw things. Okay, and I dressed sexy. He made me. No. I wanted to please him, and I was clearly lost and confused. My father and the company and it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m pretty sure he filmed everything, so I wore those outfits. I was there, and it looked like I was lov
ing it, but I hated it so much. I hated those damn parties, but he was the only person I was connected to. I thought I loved him, and my family—I didn’t seem to fit. I went along with him. I didn’t want to lose him. I was pathetic. Embarrassingly pathetic, but I tried to get out. I tried and that’s when things went really wrong.”

  Suddenly, Jax is in front of me, folding me close, sliding his hand over my hair. “You are not pathetic. You’re human. And you left him.”

  “You don’t understand. I had—” I swallow hard, “I had—” I press my hand to my forehead. “Something happened. Something bad, Jax. And I can’t. I can’t do this now.”

  He cups my face. “Then don’t. I know enough. You feel like there might be photos. You feel like this could hurt your hotel brand.”

  “It will. Jax, it will, especially after my brother just took over, and this will be seen as our brand falling apart. We’re a luxury brand. This will hurt us. And if you’re connected to me romantically, it’s going to hurt you, too. Let me go home.”

  “You are home, baby. You just don’t know it yet.”

  “You don’t get how bad this is, Jax.”

  “I get it. All of it, even beyond what you’ve said. I’ve put it together. I know what he did to you.”

  “You don’t know. You don’t know.”

  “I know enough, Emma. And know this, baby, I will not betray you. I will not cause you pain or fear. I am always your friend, and I hope, a whole lot more. I got you. I got this.” He kisses me, lips to lips, a kiss that is tender, strong, warm. A kiss that is filled with all the possibilities that I can’t believe still exist. And when his lips part mine, for just a few moments, we linger there, breathing together. “We don’t end here.” His fingers caress my hair from my face, brushing it behind my ear. “I’ll be right back. Don’t make that call. Trust me to handle this. I got this.” He starts to pull away, and my heart lurches.

  I grab his sleeve. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to handle York Waters.”

  “No. He’s evil, and there’s more. Jax, there’s more I need to tell you.”

  “Tell me the rest your way, when you’re ready. He doesn’t get to force that on you now, too.” He strokes my hair. “I know just what to do now to control York, but I need to talk to Savage now.”

  “Yes, but—” He kisses me and strides away.

  “Wait!” I call out desperately.

  He pauses at the archway to face me, and I all but reach in my mouth and yank out what comes next. “The night that I told him no,” I say. “The night that I tried to walk away, things happened to me. Bad things, Jax. There could be photos.”

  His eyes narrow and darken, and he closes the space between me and him, catching my hips. “He raped you.”

  I nod, and my eyes burn. “He tied me up. He shared me. It was, it was so bad.”

  The air crackles with anger, his anger, and his hands go to my face. “Remember when I told you, you convinced me revenge wasn’t necessary. I was wrong. Revenge is going to taste good, to both of us. Don’t do anything. I’ll handle this.”

  “I need to call my brother.”

  “Not yet. Wait on me. I’ll be right back, and York Waters will be gone for good.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Jax…

  I want to kill York Waters. I want to put my hands around his neck and kill him, but if I do that, I’ll be in jail, and Emma will be out here, in this hellish mess, by herself. I’m not leaving her alone. Ever. I have no idea why that has to be how it is. She’s right. We’re new, but it doesn’t matter. That woman was meant for me, and I was meant for her.

  I cross the living room and exit to the front porch, the early fall chill off the ocean doing nothing to cool the heat of my state of pissed off. Savage is standing there, staring at me like a damn statue, where he’s clearly been waiting.

  “He raped her,” I say, not to betray Emma, but because Savage is too smart not to already have this figured out. He also needs to know just how badly I want to burn York. “He took pictures,” I add. “And while I consider myself an ethical man, I still want him dead. I’ll settle for destroyed, but I want him fetal and crying like the little bitch that he is. Are you in or out?”

  “You had me at dead, but I’ll settle for fetal. That’s a job I’ll do for free. What’s his story right now?”

  “Chance found out that his father had an affair with Marion from Breeze Airlines. He told York he’s going to tell Marion’s husband.”

  “And the fucker is afraid Marion’s husband will pull his business loans.”

  “Exactly,” I say. “In turn, Emma thinks he’s about to go public with photos he took of her as payback.”

  Savage snorts. “If he does that, he looks like shit. He’s bluffing.”

  “He’s not bluffing.”

  At the sound of Emma’s voice, I rotate to find her stepping onto the porch, her dark hair lifting in the breeze, her cheeks flushed, eyes glistening but dry. Strong. Brave. So damn beautiful. “He has a company and reputation to protect, just like us,” I say. “That’s on our side.”

  “He runs a sex operation on his boats, Jax,” Emma says. “This isn’t just parties. It runs deeper. He’s that bold.”

  “He’s in deep with Marion’s husband for money,” Savage says. “He doesn’t want to lose that money.”

  I glance over at him. “How deep?”

  “A whopping forty-nine percent of his stock,” Savage announces. “And per a look-see at his books, the boy doesn’t seem to have any of his own money left.”

  “Ripe for a hostile takeover,” I say. “Maybe I need to lend a hand to make that happen.”

  “Then you have a man who has nothing to lose,” Savage says. “And those are the men you don’t want to meet in the dark.” His lips twitch. “Unless you’re me, of course.”

  “Monroe is all about the brand,” Emma says, stepping closer, huddling up with us. “I don’t know York as a desperate man, but when I say Monroe is about the brand, I mean high-end brand. If he’s that big a stockholder, and York creates a scandal, Monroe will be out for sure.”

  “Then he’s bluffing like a bitch,” Savage says.

  Emma purses her lips. “Maybe. I just don’t want to gamble with York. I can’t gamble with him. Not with the Knight and North brands on the line.”

  I could tell her that scandal doesn’t destroy companies. That, in fact, it often works as free press, but this scandal is about her rape. “I need to call him,” Emma says. “We’re doing a lot of talking about his motives when he’ll blast them right out of his mouth. He likes to talk.” Her cellphone rings in her hand, and she glances down. “Speak of the devil himself,” she says. “And a devil out of character. He doesn’t call back after a threat. He just acts.”

  “Which confirms he’s desperate,” I say. “Let me talk to him.”

  “No,” she says in instant rejection, shaking her head. “I’m done avoiding this man. I’m done avoiding in general. I need to be the one to beat his ass down. But you can listen.” She eyes Savage. “He’s a fool. Record him and watch and see.” She then not only answers, she answers on speaker. “What do you want, York?” she asks, her voice strong, anger radiating from the depths.

  “Check your brother,” York says. “If he tells Monroe about Marion and your father, you know what happens.”

  Savage pulls out his phone and pushes record, motioning for Emma to lead him onward. She gives a tiny nod and says, “What happens, York? Spell it out for me.”

  “You know what happens,” he replies. “Don’t you, sugar?”

  She cuts her stare, her jaw clenching. “You tell the world you raped me?” Her gaze shifts back to the phone, staring at it as if it’s him, with fury in her eyes. “Or would you rather I do that?”

  “Seemed like you wanted it to me,” York taunts. “A kinky, kinky Knight heiress. The world will be intrigued.”

  Emma looks at me
and shakes her head. I mouth “I know, baby,” and when she refocuses on the phone with renewed vigor, I know she’s going to go at him hard. The problem is that when she goes at him, she’s torturing herself. “How would you know?” she demands. “You shoved drugs down my throat and tied me up.”

  Anger roars inside me, and I share a look with Savage that tells him what he wants to hear: do it. Do what it takes to hurt this bastard.

  “Your word against mine,” York snaps.

  “And you think that works for your customers?” Emma challenges. “She said I raped her, but I said she enjoyed it. And how will Monroe feel about that branding?”

  “Who says I have to be involved? I have plenty of ammo, and it all exposes you as the freak of the Knight family, and all without my name ever being mentioned.”

  “Bring it, York,” she says, no hesitation. “Do it. Do it and I’ll go to the police. I have recordings. I made a recording that night.”

  “You were too drugged to record shit.”

  “Is that right?” she challenges, looking at me.

  “Yeah, sugar. I gave you the good stuff.”

  And there it is. A foolish angry man talking too much. I wouldn’t have believed he’d be that stupid, but Emma knew. She knew, and she got him. “I’m going to hang up now,” she says, “and call Monroe myself.”

  “We both know you aren’t doing that.”

  “And just so you know,” she continues, as if he hasn’t spoken, “you made that an easy decision. You’re a fool when you’re angry. You always have been. I recorded this call, and I have not one but two witnesses. Say hello to Jax and Savage from Walker Security.”

  “Hi, Yorky baby,” Savage says. “Do you have people paint your toenails at those parties?”

  “Shut the fuck up,” York blasts through the phone. “What the hell have you done, Emma? You bitch, what the hell—”

  I catch Emma’s hand, silently telling her that I’m here for her, not him. She hangs up and glances at Savage. “I don’t need you to ruin him, Savage, but keep the recording. I might need it.”

  “This is going in my special asshole collection, with a starring role as the kinky clown who needs a nose job. Or he will, once I get my hands on him. I can’t believe he was that stupid.”