Lady Luck: Ashby Crime Family Romance Book 4

by Winters, KB

  “No. He kept something from me because he thought he was protecting me.” I rolled my eyes, still angry that he even thought that was a good excuse for withholding information from me.

  “Oh, that?” Maisie actually scoffed as if that was no big deal. “It’s the way things are with these guys. We hate it, and we give them hell about it, sometimes I even make Virgil sleep on the floor, but they still do it,” she said with a slightly annoyed sigh.

  “Because they want to keep us safe,” Kat added with a bit of a swoon in her voice.

  “And that’s fine for you if you accept that. I don’t. I won’t. I let Lance keep secrets about his work in the military, about his work with the family, and now he’s gone. I don’t want that kind of relationship. Not again.”

  Kat sighed. “You know Jasper and Terry ordered him not to tell you, right?”

  I didn’t know, but it didn’t make any difference. “But he still kept the secret once things between us changed. I get that Emmett is family to you, but I can’t forgive this.”

  “Motives matter,” Maisie insisted. “Don’t they?”

  “Sure, they do, Maisie, but other things matter, too. Emmett thought he was keeping me safe, right?” She nodded. “By not telling me that I was in danger. How does that make any kind of sense? Why didn’t any of you guys tell me?”

  “We couldn’t. Doesn’t it matter that he was ordered not to tell you?”

  “No, Maisie. If he’d told me, I would have been prepared for someone screwing with my gas tank. Attacking me in the parking lot. Showing up at my home.”

  “She’s right to be angry.” Sadie’s words cut through their attempts to convince me that Emmett was doing what he thought was right.

  “What? Ma, you can’t be serious!”

  “I can and I am. Terry rushed straight to you and told you what was going on.” She turned to Maisie. “Virgil too, I’m sure.”

  “But they weren’t an item yet,” Kat insisted.

  “No, we weren’t, but once we were, he didn’t bother telling me that I was taking the job of a woman who was probably murdered for something related to the job.”

  My gaze slid to Kat and she looked away, her eyes filled with guilt.

  “I’m kind of tired.” It was abrupt and obvious but I didn’t care. There was too much betrayal to go around and I just wanted to be alone, preferably in my own home, but my own room would have to do for now.

  “Vanessa.” Sadie’s voice stopped my feet in their tracks, and I turned, allowing my gaze to meet hers. “Men like Emmett feel things deeply, very deeply. However angry you are now, I advise you not to be so quick to give up on him because I can guarantee you, he hasn’t given up on you.”

  I wasn’t sure how I felt about Emmett not giving up on me. Did I want him to? Was I ready to give up on him completely? I didn’t know, and until I did, I would have to keep my own counsel.

  “Thanks, Sadie. For your advice and your hospitality.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Emmett

  Left. Right. Left. Right. Hook. Jab. Jab. Jab. “Fuck!” I’d been at it for two hours, smashing my fists against the bag while I waited for exhaustion to take over, to make me forget about Vanessa and the hurt that shimmered in her blue eyes before she walked away from me.

  Nothing could erase that from my mind. Not sparring with my welterweights, not letting the flyweights practice takedowns on me, not even five miles on the treadmill. House of Ashby was my refuge, the place I came to find peace, but tonight it wasn’t fucking working. I should have just told her. It would have been better to ask forgiveness of Terry and Jasper later rather than keeping it from Vanessa.

  She deserved to know. I knew that. It was why I hadn’t fought her on it. She was right and I was wrong and it was just that fucking simple. There was nothing I could say to make it up to her so all I could hope for was her forgiveness.

  And as soon as I figured out how to get it, I would go to her. Not a moment sooner. Hitting the bag hadn’t helped, but I didn’t plan to stop until I was too exhausted to do anything other than shower and fall into bed. I’d inhale big lungful’s of what remained of Vanessa on my bed until sleep claimed me.

  It was late, and the whole facility was empty, giving me all the time I needed to hit until I couldn’t hit anymore. I knew it was time to call it a day when my hand grazed the bag, but I wasn’t done punishing myself.

  Not yet.

  A loud pounding on the front door broke my concentration, and I stopped mid-jab to see who in the hell was knocking on the door at ten o’clock at night. Terry or Jasper or even Virgil would have used their keys, which only increased my apprehension, so I took my time to towel off and throw a jacket over my quickly cooling muscles.

  My worry lessened, but only slightly, at the sight of a smaller figure that had to be a woman. The sight of her cheap black slacks and plain white shirt immediately identified her as law enforcement, which kicked my worry up about ten notches. I’d already answered their questions, and I’d even gotten word that no charges would be filed against me for the death of the guy who tried to take out Vanessa, which meant she was here for another reason.

  I opened the door just enough to be heard, a bored expression on my face. “We’re closed.”

  The woman was small with bright red hair and freckles over her nose and cheeks making her look more like a woman playing a cop than being one. Then she flashed her badge in that proud way cops often did and I knew she wasn’t fooling around.

  “I’m not here for a workout. Agent Beck, FBI.” I stared and waited for her to continue. “Do you have a moment?”

  “Just.”

  “Right.” She folded her arms, doing her best to appear calm and cool. “I wanted to talk to you about the man you killed.”

  I tried not to show the shiver that went down my spine as a vision of that fight crossed my mind, the bloody face of the guy and Fiona, gagging as her tongue was cut out.

  “So, talk,” I managed to say. If Agent Beck thought she would intimidate me, she had another think coming.

  “You’re not worried about the Black Jacks?”

  I shrugged. “Never even heard of ’em until the cops told me who they were.”

  “That’s not an answer, is it Emmett?”

  I arched a brow at her familiarity. “Are we friends, Agent Beck? Because only my friends call me Emmett.”

  “If I were you, I would be more worried about the Black Jacks retaliating against you or someone close to you.”

  “It’s a good thing you’re not me then, isn’t it?” She wasn’t here in any official capacity, which was clear. “Anything else?”

  “You’re really not worried, are you? I guess if I was buddy-buddy with the biggest crime family in Nevada, I wouldn’t be worried either. But the Black Jacks have shown their willingness to be ruthless in their climb to the top.”

  So, the Ashbys in general were the reason for her visit.

  “Look lady, I already told you I just thought they were some tweakers who liked beating up on women. I don’t know shit about this gang, and if you don’t have any actual questions, I’ve got shit to do.”

  Her lips pulled into a tight grin to hide the anger I saw burning in her narrowed blue eyes. “You’ve heard about all the priests meeting an unfortunate end here in the valley?”

  I nodded, saying nothing because it was only unfortunate depending on who you asked.

  “You know anything about it?”

  “Nope. Haven’t been to church since I was a kid.” And I hadn’t believed in some all-seeing entity since one of those fuckers stuck his hand down my pants over and over again.

  “I know what’s been on the news, which is not a goddamn thing.”

  “What do you think happened to them?”

  I shrugged. “Probably fucked with the wrong person. That’s usually how people meet a violent end, isn’t it, Agent Beck?”

  Her lips curled into an unamused grin because she wasn’t getting what she
wanted out of this conversation.

  “You ever heard of Jack Beck?”

  The name was completely unfamiliar to me but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that the man was related to the annoyed FBI agent.

  “Nope. Is he famous?”

  Agent Beck shook her head but she couldn’t hide the disappointment at my ignorance. “Watch out for the Black Jacks, Mr. Manning. They are small right now, but dangerous because they have a lot to prove while they attempt to take over Reckless Bastards territory.”

  Her blue eyes took me in carefully, searching for any hint that the Ashby family did business or had any ties to the Reckless Bastards.

  “Thanks for the warning, Agent Beck. You be safe out there.”

  “Right,” she said, her tone angry and snide before she turned and walked away.

  As soon as Beck’s headlights turned out of the parking lot, I locked the door and texted Terry an abbreviated version of my conversation with her. He and Jasper needed to know, and I wasn’t an idiot, but that didn’t mean I didn’t blame them both—at least a little—for how things had played out between me and Vanessa.

  My attention, once again, went back to the bad ending with Vanessa, which only made me think of Agent Beck’s words. I’d heard enough of the Black Jacks to know they were bad news, and worse, they were rough, which meant the agent had a point. Vanessa probably was in even more danger than she knew. Hell more than I realized, and she needed protection.

  My fist landed on the bag, feeling heavier with every blow. Hit after hit landed, flashes of beating the fuck out of that guy going after Vanessa playing with every strike. Fighting. The Army. Fiona. A small part of me wondered if I was fighting too hard to live the straight life when I was only a breath away from the wrong side of the law. Crime and violence were in my DNA, it was part of who I was as a man. As a person.

  Maybe I really was just fighting it too hard, because the one thing I learned was that I would do whatever necessary to keep Vanessa safe, whether she wanted my help or not.

  A man could run from his past, but he could never, ever, run from his nature.

  With that in mind, I hit the bag until my knuckles started to bleed.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Vanessa

  “This is the fourth or fifth date, Mace. Sounds like you’re getting serious about this woman.” The big man flashed a wide smile that said I was right, but his wide shoulders shrugged because he was a man and would never, ever, admit his true feelings. Ever.

  “She’s nice, and I like her. We haven’t had a big talk about it or whatever.”

  “Or whatever,” I mocked and rolled my eyes. “If you like her, tell her. No matter how big your muscles or how amazing the sex is, you can easily lose her to a man who speaks up.”

  Mace groaned beside me and shook his head. “What is it with you women and talking about your emotions? I show up and take her out. Why do I have to say more than that?”

  I laughed as we approached the front door where Mace, or one of the other guards, insisted on watching until I was safely inside my car and driving away.

  “Because if you don’t say it, we’re guessing and why should a woman have to guess how a man feels about her when she’s sleeping with him?”

  “Ugh, I hate it when you make a valid point.”

  His words pulled a laugh from me. “Sorry, but it would suck more if you lost her.”

  “Maybe,” he said in a tone that projected his own uncertainty. “Looks like I’m not the only one worried.”

  He nodded to my car and I turned, smiling at the sight of Emmett in a crisp white button up shirt and jeans that hugged his thick thighs, highlighting his narrow waist.

  “See you later, Mace.”

  “Make him work for it,” he called out with a laugh and a tossed a wave over my shoulder, all of my attention focused on the man I hadn’t seen in over a week.

  “Hey.” My heart felt lighter and fuller at the sight of him, and I couldn’t help the wide grin that crossed my face. Too bad Emmett’s expression didn’t match my own.

  “You can drive,” I told him and tossed the keys his way.

  Emmett nodded and held the passenger door open for me, but he never smiled. Never said a word until he was behind the steering wheel, maneuvering the car through the streets of Glitz.

  “It wasn’t my decision to keep the information from you Vanessa, but once we got close, I should have warned you at the very least.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  He let out a sigh at the question and shrugged his big shoulders. “I didn’t want the ugliness of it to touch you. That might make me sexist or a pig or whatever, but that’s the truth. After what happened with Lance, I didn’t want you to have to worry.”

  “Okay.” I nodded as I processed his words. “That doesn’t make it okay but at least now I understand what you were thinking. Or not thinking.”

  His lips twitched with amusement, but that was as close as he came to a smile.

  “Why would someone cut out her tongue?” It seemed like a horrific thing to do but it also seemed like a message of some sort.

  “Don’t know, but my guess is that she was talking when she shouldn’t have been, or she refused to talk and they wanted to make it seem like she did.”

  “Talk about what?” I didn’t know if Emmett knew about my visit from Brendan Rhymer, but it didn’t seem like he did, which only made his observations more incredible.

  “I have no fucking clue, Vanessa. That’s why they wanted me to keep it from you.”

  Because they weren’t sure it had anything to do with the card games or the Ashby family. I’d gathered that much during my stay at Ashby Manor, along with hours of convincing from Kat and Maisie.

  “Well they know who it was now,” I grumbled and told him all about Brendan Rhymer’s visit to my home and my weeklong stay at Ashby Manor. After seven days and no news about the Rhymers, I put my foot down and insisted I return to my own home.

  “You didn’t call me.” The words came out emotionless, almost resigned to whatever importance he’d assigned to that action. “I guess I deserved that.”

  “I didn’t do it to punish you, Emmett.” Did I?

  His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Then why didn’t you call me to tell me what happened?”

  “I don’t know. No, that’s not true. I didn’t call because this wasn’t a problem for you to solve. Jasper needed to know, and he needed to handle it.”

  Based on the way his jaws clenched, Emmett didn’t like that answer.

  “Sorry but it’s true.”

  “You’re right. I’ve made it clear that I don’t want to be involved with the dark side of the business, and you did the right thing.”

  “So, you’re not mad?”

  “Hell, yes, I’m mad, Nessa. I’ve missed you, dammit, and I knew not telling you was wrong, but I did it anyway. And now,” he blew out a long breath and turned the car into my driveway, killing the engine before he turned to me. “Now I’m afraid it’s cost me you. Us.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that. It was exactly the kind of openness and honesty I wanted from a man and a relationship. Yet when faced with it, I was speechless.

  “I think I’m going to quit being a card girl,” I said instead.

  Disappointment flashed in his eyes but one side of his mouth tugged up into a wry grin. “Why? You said you liked the job.”

  “I do. I like that it’s different all the time yet familiar. I love joking around with these men and women who rarely get to joke around and have people make fun of them. I like dressing up and having somewhere to go, and I like making my own money. It’s nice.”

  For the first time in my life, I actually felt like the independent woman I always wanted to become. I felt confident and sexy, and I felt grown up.

  “Then you shouldn’t let Brendan Rhymer or anyone else take that from you.” He reached out to touch me, his hand hesitated before cupping my face gently. “You des
erve to be happy, Nessa. I wish you could see that.”

  “I want that too, but for my entire adult life, Lance’s jobs were always filled with danger, and I had to find a way to accept that. The Navy. The SEALs and then private security. There were always things he couldn’t tell me, and after he died, I told myself I was done with that.”

  The car suddenly felt stifling, or maybe it was the conversation. Either way, I escaped from the car and scanned the area before making my way to the door. Emmett jumped from his seat and came up beside me.

  “If you plan to stay friends with Kat and Maisie, or even me, then you will never be out of harm’s way. I’m not saying that to scare you, it’s just how it is.”

  I turned to face him and smiled. “Then why don’t you leave?”

  “They’re my family.” For him it was just that simple, and I liked that about Emmett. “They’re all I’ve got.”

  “You want to come inside?”

  He took a step back. “You know I do. The question is do you want me to come inside?”

  “I’m not sure,” I told him honestly. “But I don’t want to sleep alone, and I miss the feel of your arms around me.”

  “That’s honest.”

  I nodded, hoping that would count for something. “I’m still upset that you took my choice out of my hand, Emmett, but I’m not ready for us to be done.” That much I was sure of, at least. “I’m sure that I want you to come inside.”

  “Okay,” he said and took my hand, waiting until I tugged him into the house before he followed.

  As soon as the door locked behind me, things felt right.

  Good.

  Perfect.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Emmett

  “Even though I needed the fuel, I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach.” Vanessa sat back in the green diner booth with a satisfied smile on her face and one hand on her flat stomach. “It was so damn good, though.”

  Her gorgeous smile was contagious, and I would do anything to see it again and again.