Nightclub Sins: A Billionaire Romance Series

by Michelle Love

  ‘Half a world away,’ Tinsley said matter-of-factly. ‘We’ve talked a few times. Mostly about how great Melbourne is.’ She smiled to herself. ‘Makes me kinda homesick.’

  ‘For Australia or Carnegie?’

  Tinsley considered. ‘Harry and I had a great time but I think we weren’t meant to be long term. I don’t do long term.’

  Charlie huffed out a laugh. ‘I know that.’

  She sighed and pulled her legs up under her. ‘You were my longest…thing.’

  Charlie grinned. ‘Why, thank you.’

  ‘Don’t be gross.’ But she giggled. ‘But seriously, I’m just doing my own thing lately. This Riley thing is really getting to me though. Woods came to see me.’

  Charlie looked up sharply. ‘He did?’ Woods was Riley’s brother; the two had an antagonistic relationship and Charlie had never warmed to the guy. Pretentious, arrogant – the opposite of easy going, affable Riley.

  ‘Wanted to know if I’d seen Riley. I thought you’d talked to the family?’

  ‘Not yet, not until we known for sure that Riley’s a suspect. God,’ Charlie ran a hand through his hair. ‘It’s driving me crazy, not knowing and – ‘

  He stopped as his cell phone buzzed. ‘Gimme a sec. Yeah?’

  Tinsley watched his face as he listened. It changed from annoyance to concern.

  ‘Yeah, yeah of course, I’ll be straight there.’

  He shut off his phone and turned to her. ‘It’s Cora Carnegie. She got caught in the middle of a drugs bust.’

  ‘Oh, no, poor kid.’

  Charlie sighed and stood. ‘I’m sorry, Tins, I have to go.’

  ‘Of course.’ She walked him to the door but as he stepped out, she stopped him. ‘Listen, if Cora…doesn’t want to go home tonight, bring her here. It’ll give her some space, to think, to rest without…you know.’

  Charlie smiled down at her. ‘You’re a peach.’ He hesitated then kissed her, full on the mouth, brief, quick, then jogged down the hallway to the stairs.

  Tinsley closed her door slowly, her emotions in turmoil. She didn’t want to get involved with anyone so soon after Harry and especially if it would risk the friendship she and Charlie had built but…that kiss. Damn…

  Tinsley shook her head. She was still reeling from the news about Lila and the baby. Tinsley grinned to herself and wished there was some way she could get in contact with Lila, talk to her. Charlie had said Lila wanted to get in touch but she needed to talk to the Carnegies first, explain. Tinsley didn’t envy her friend that conversation.

  She didn’t envy that conversation at all.

  Seattle

  Lauren gave a squeak of shocked surprise as Noah gripped her upper arm and steered her into the nearest coffeehouse.

  ‘Sit down and shut up,’ he snapped at her as he summoned the waitress and ordered black coffee.

  ‘I don’t drink coffee,’ Lauren tried to hide her nervousness. Noah looked about as angry as she’d ever seen him and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why. Unconsciously, she touched her shoulder, still badly bruised from where Lila had struck her a few nights ago.

  ‘It’s not for you,’ Noah retorted then relented and ordered a chamomile tea for her.

  Lauren tried a winsome smile. ‘You remembered.’

  Noah’s expression was thunderous. ‘You’re lucky you’re not sitting in a police cell. What the fuck did you think you were doing breaking into our home in the middle of the night?’

  Lauren dropped the pretense. ‘Fucking bitch, I knew she would rat me out.’

  ‘You don’t say a word about Lila, do you understand?’ Noah’s tone was low, dangerous and Lauren looked away from the fury in his eyes.

  ‘I just…wanted to see who replaced me. And, goddammit, Noah, you should have told me she was pregnant.’ Tears welled in her eyes and she made a show of brushing them away.

  The waitress came with their drinks, her eyes flicking between the two of them, obviously curiously about the tension. Noah gave her a wintry smile and thanked her, and the waitress, disappointed moved away.

  ‘I don’t owe you a damn thing, Lauren. You and I were over months ago, before I even met Lila.’

  ‘Exactly,’ she hissed. ‘And yet she’s already pregnant? You bastard, you know how much I wanted a baby.’

  Noah sighed. ‘But I didn’t want children with you, Lauren. Hell, I didn’t want them with anybody until I met Lila. I’m sorry if that sounds cruel but you and I were not destined to have a happy ever after. We want different things.’

  Lauren was quiet for a long moment and when she met his gaze, her expression had turned to one full of spite. ‘I could always tell her you were still banging me after you met her.’

  Noah wasn’t troubled. ‘She would know that wasn’t true.’

  ‘Psychic, is she?’

  Noah gave her a humorless smile. ‘And when would you say this so-called ‘banging’ occurred?’

  Lauren smiled. ‘In between you first banging her and when she got pregnant.’

  Noah grinned then. ‘Here in Seattle, was it? Did I swing by your apartment after seeing her?’

  Lauren’s bluster faltered. ‘Noah…’

  ‘Thing is, Lauren,’ Noah was enjoying himself now, ‘unless you invented time-travel in a very fast jet plane, that would be physically impossible. Not only was I in New York, but there was no time between the first time Lila and I were first intimate and the time she got pregnant.’

  Lauren’s eyes grew wide and her smile turned nasty. ‘Wow, that’s fast work. I’ve got to give it to her, that’s fast gold-digging work.’

  Noah’s eyes were dark. ‘Lila has no need to desire for my money; don’t judge her by your standards, Lauren.’

  Lauren flushed red but lifted her chin. ‘I don’t need to; getting knocked up on the first date speaks for itself.’

  ‘I was already in love with her,’ Noah said softly, quietly and with such feeling that Lauren couldn’t help the gasp of distress.

  Noah sighed, reached into his pocket for some bills to pay for the coffee. ‘I’ve said what I came to say, Lauren. Stay away from Lila, stay away from me.’

  Lauren narrowed her eyes. ‘And what if I don’t?’

  Noah smiled coldly. ‘Then Daddy Dearest will find out what a psycho his darling daughter is and bang goes your trust fund. Believe me; it wouldn’t take much to convince him.’

  ‘You wouldn’t,’ she hissed at him, eyes blazing.

  ‘If you ever come near me and Lila again, I have his number on speed dial. Remember that.’

  And he was gone. Lauren was suddenly aware that other people in the coffeehouse were staring at her. She lifted her chin, stood, threw some money for her tea on the table– she was damned if she would let Noah pay for her – and stalked out.

  Fucking, fucking, fucking bitch. She should have known Lila Tierney would tell Noah about the break-in. Well, she would pay for that little indiscretion…because Lauren knew who Lila Tierney was and soon, so would the rest of the world.

  Manhattan

  Charlie came by the nest morning. ‘How is she?’

  Tinsley beckoned him into the kitchen. ‘Still asleep,’ she said, ‘and I don’t think she’s at all happy about being here.’

  Charlie looked confused. ‘But she said she didn’t want to go home.’

  Tinsley rolled her eyes and smiled at him. ‘You are clueless, Charles.’ She stuck her head around the door to check Cora wasn’t around then turned back to him. ‘She wanted to go home with you, Charlie.’

  Realization dawned and he groaned. ‘Oh, god.’

  ‘Exactly. Being shacked up with your ex-girlfriend is not what she planned. Still, she went straight to bed, not very chatty either. Will she be charged?’

  Charlie shook his head. ‘She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, she hadn’t even been using, thank god.’

  Tinsley felt a pang of jealousy at the fondness in Charlie’s voice but turned away to hide it.


  ‘I can’t tell you how grateful I am you offered to let her stay here,’ Charlie said softly, and he touched her back, stroking down it. ‘Her coming home with me would not have been a good idea.’

  Tinsley looked up at him and he smiled. ‘Cora’s not the one I’m interested in,’ he whispered and bent his head to kiss her. Tinsley closed her eyes and sank into the kiss, winding her arms around his neck. God, she had missed this man, his machismo, his strength. Harry had been a wonderful diversion and one she would never forget but…Charlie Sherman….damn…

  She regretfully broke away from him. ‘We can’t do this now, Charlie, not with – ‘ She jerked her head towards the bedroom door where Cora slept just as they both heard the front door slam.

  ‘Shit.’

  Tinsley went to the bedroom and it was empty. ‘She saw us.’

  Charlie sighed. ‘Looks like it. God dammit.’ He went to the window. ‘Getting in a cab.’

  ‘She really isn’t your responsibility, Charlie. And we don’t need to be ashamed of wanting to be together.’

  Charlie looked at her, his mind obviously on overdrive. Tinsley sighed.

  ‘Look…go to work, check she got home safely. That’s all we can do right now.’

  ‘will you be at work later?’

  ‘Only until eight.’

  ‘I’ll come pick you up and we’ll grab some dinner. Cool?’

  She smiled and went to him. ‘Very cool.’ They kissed again, briefly and then Charlie was gone.

  Charlie called her about five pm. ‘Hey, Tins, look I’m sorry, I have a lead on Riley in Queens – I have to follow it. Can you get home safe?’

  Disappointed, Tinsley told him she could and when her shift at the bar was over, she grabbed her bag and went out into the night. She walked briskly, the cool night air refreshing after the sweaty atmosphere of the bar. At her apartment, she took the stairs one at a time then skittered to a stop. Woods Kinsayle was standing outside her apartment. Tinsley considered turning around but then Woods saw her. He looked exhausted and stressed out.

  ‘Hey, Woods,’ she plastered a smile on her face. She’d never liked the man, thought he treated Riley appallingly.

  ‘Tinsley, hey, look, sorry about this. I was passing and it was a whim to stop and come see if you’d heard anything.’

  Tinsley felt sorry for him. ‘Look, Woods, come in, we’ll have a drink and talk. Sound good?’

  She saw his shoulders slump with relief. ‘Sounds great.’

  Once they were settled, with cold beers, on her couch, Tinsley looked at him. ‘Woods, I really don’t know what else I can tell you except maybe that Riley’s absence doesn’t look too good for him.’

  Woods shook his head. ‘I know. But, Tinsley, really – can you imagine Riley hurting anyone, let alone Lila, who he adored?’

  Tinsley had thought of little else. ‘No, I can’t but that doesn’t mean that, in a moment of madness, he didn’t.’

  Woods sighed, frustrated. ‘But look, the manner of the attack, the brutality. If Riley had a moment of madness, why wouldn’t he have used his gun? Why did he run? Wouldn’t a murder/suicide situation have been easier to believe? Riley shoots Lila, realizes what he’s done, then kills himself?’

  ‘I’m not a psychologist,’ she said gently and Woods nodded.

  ‘I know, I know, I just running through all these scenarios in my head. What does Charlie say?’

  Tinsley shifted uncomfortably. ‘I think he doesn’t want to believe it’s Riley; at the same time he’s desperate to protect Lila.’

  ‘Which I know is totally fair…god, but he doesn’t have to tell our parents that not only is Riley missing but a suspected would-be-killer.’

  She put her hand on his shoulder. ‘I know. I’m sorry, Woods, really.’

  He only stayed a little while longer, then left. Tinsley sighed. God, what a mess this all is.

  She toyed with the idea of take-out but then fell asleep on the couch watching TV. before she could decide what to get.

  She awoke with a start and almost screamed. It was dark, the TV. had been shut off and at the side of the couch where she was lying stood a figure in black. She saw the glint of light from the knife he was holding. She reacted immediately, kicking out at the intruder, catching them on the knee, hearing an annoyed grunt. Male.

  Riley. And he was here to kill her…

  No, no, no. As he lurched forward to grab her, she ducked under his arm and threw herself at the door, twisting the handle before she felt the knife slice into her back.

  Not deep. She screamed and lashed out behind her as he came for her again. She opened the door and banged him with it, using every inch of her strength to twist and turn out of his reach, still screaming for help. None came. The knife sank into her side and she jerked away from him and almost fell down the stairs leading out onto the street.

  She was half crying with fear, half screaming, cursing the cowards who would not help a woman in distress. The attacker grabbed her arm, wrestling her to the ground. Tinsley fought with every piece of strength she had left, twisting her body as he jabbed at her with the knife.

  Suddenly there was a group of young men, yelling and the knife-man disappeared. Tinsley couldn’t believe it. She lay bleeding on the sidewalk as a couple of the guys knelt down to take care of her. They helped her to her feet when she said she was okay.

  ‘Looks like he got you a couple times,’ a kid, no more than twenty, peeled off his over-shirt and pressed it against the worst of her wounds.

  In minutes, paramedics and police were there and in a daze, Tinsley was whisked off to the emergency room. Different voices talked at her for a while but seeing she was in shock, soon left her alone. Her wounds weren’t serious but she was sore and covered in blood.

  What the hell happened? Her brain was a fog, not helped by the morphine the doctors had given her for the pain.

  It was only when she heard Charlie’s deep voice, raised and angry and scared, that it hit her.

  Someone had tried to kill her.

  Breathing became hard and as Charlie came into view, Tinsley finally broke down. Charlie took her into his arms as she sobbed, telling her over and over that it was okay, and she was safe now.

  Seattle

  Noah watched fondly as Lila demolished a stack of pancakes and a side of bacon. As she chewed she grinned at him and he laughed. ‘How are you not the size of a house?’

  Lila swallowed her food. ‘Believe it or not, it’s just the last couple of days I’ve felt this hungry.’

  He took her hand as they sat in the diner. ‘You excited to find out the sex of our bambino?’

  It was their final scan and last night, Lila had told him she was sick of waiting to find out whether their little Matty was a girl or a boy. Noah hadn’t needed much persuasion to agree.

  ‘I’d like us to start looking at family homes for us,’ he said and she nodded.

  ‘That would be good…I’d like to keep the cottage on the island; it such a good little weekend place.’

  ‘I agree but I think we need something more suitable than the condo here.’

  ‘With a garden and a white picket fence?’ Lila chuckled and he grinned.

  ‘Hell, yes a white picket fence.’

  Lila stirred her hot milk. ‘Noah, would you mind very much if it wasn’t in one of those gated communities? I know between us we could probably buy an entire community to ourselves, but I want our kids to be best friends with the kids on a normal suburban street, ride their bikes, play pea-knuckle.’

  Noah burst out laughing. ‘Do you even know what pea-knuckle is?’

  Lila grinned. ‘No idea but you get the picture.’

  Noah nodded mock-seriously. ‘Yep, you want our kids to grow up in the 1950’s.’

  She flicked some milk at him. ‘I was thinking more 1980’s, E.T. in the basket at the front, Grandpa.’

  Noah shook his head smiling. ‘I adore you, Miss Tierney. Come on, it’s time.’

  Hand-in-han
d, they waited for the OBGYN to start the scan. Lila winced; once as the doctor took a look at her still vivid scars, even more prominent now her belly was swollen, then as the doctor squeezed the cold gel onto her skin.

  Lila suddenly felt nervous…she so wanted a girl that she was scared that if it was a boy, she wouldn’t love it as much. She looked up at Noah, who smiled down at her, and she felt better. A little boy – a little Noah. Of course she would love him, god, she would love him…

  ‘Okay, let’s go…’ the doctor, gazing at the screen and pressing the sensor into Lila’s stomach. She moved it around for a while but didn’t say anything. Lila glanced at her face.

  ‘Can you see what sex it is?’

  She felt Noah squeeze her hand and when she looked at him, there was something in his eyes that made her feel cold. She looked back at the doctor and suddenly her throat felt full of cotton wool.

  ‘Dr. Stevens?’ Noah’s voice was flat. ‘What is it?’

  The doctor put down the sensor and turned to them. She seemed to have trouble getting the words out.

  ‘Noah, Lila, there’s no easy way to say this…’

  Lila moaned when she realized what the woman was about to say. ‘No…no…please, no…’

  ‘I’m so sorry, but I can’t find a heartbeat, or any signs of life.’

  Noah made a noise, a groan, a heart-wrenching sound as Lila shook her head furiously.

  ‘No, that’s not possible, I felt her, I felt her kicking…’

  ‘When did you last feel that?’

  Lila’s tears were falling unchecked. ‘Yesterday, yesterday my baby was kicking me…oh god, oh god…’

  Noah wrapped his arms around her, his face creased with pain and sorrow. ‘Lila…’

  ‘Check again,’ Lila almost screamed, ‘check again. Maybe she’s asleep.’

  ‘Lila, darling, there’s no heartbeat,’ Noah said in a broken voice and Lila crumbled.

  ‘I’ll give you two a moment,’ the doctor – a friend and colleague of Noah’s – looked as upset as they did, and she left the room, closing the door behind her.