He caught her in his arms, cutting off a half-whispered protest as he pressed his mouth to hers. She melted against him. Her eyes fluttered shut as she returned the kiss, her hands curling into his shirt. Their lips had scarcely touched before they parted again.
Philip gazed at her, grinning at the flush that reddened Lizzie's face. She didn't pull away from him, but her gaze flickered toward the Godfather, who was sitting and watching patiently.
Keeping an arm around her, Philip turned back to the Godfather. The devil to whom he had sold his soul. What would he do now? Now he knew exactly why Philip had been so reluctant to obey his orders, why he had done so much to ensure her safety. What would he do, knowing that?
Philip’s wolf snarled in his chest. If he tried to hurt Lizzie, there wasn’t anything that could save him. Philip would burn down the entire family if that was what it took. He wasn’t going to let anybody hurt his Lizzie. His. Yes, she was his. She had so casually mentioned marriage, but it was true enough. It just seemed natural. Lizzie was his, just as thoroughly as he was hers.
The Godfather smiled at them, though there was a dangerous gleam in his eyes that Philip didn't like. “Well, this is a happy day then, isn't it? Let me be the first to congratulate you. Now, as for this deal you are offering, Miss Hendrix…”
He paused dramatically, but the moment was ruined by a knock on the door. Philip bit back a curse as he turned his head toward the door. He hesitated, not wanting to leave Lizzie alone here.
The knock grew louder. “NYPD! Open up!”
Philip's heart stuttered. The Godfather jerked straighter, his gaze snapping to Lizzie. Her face had gone white. She trembled, a question in her eyes as she turned to meet his gaze. Philip squeezed her hand reassuringly as he stood.
“I will see what they want. You stay here.” He narrowed his eyes at Lizzie to make sure she understood.
Lizzie looked like she might argue but nodded. A little relief lifted off his shoulders. If this came to a firefight, he didn’t want her to get hurt.
Philip cast one more look at the Godfather, who seemed on edge though he tried to appear calm. He picked lint off his sleeve, then gave Philip the smallest of glares. “They're sounding rather angry, Mr. King. I suggest you go before they break down your door.”
The knocking was getting more insistent. Philip frowned a moment before he headed to the front door. He opened it just as the wood began to creak like it was about to burst apart. On his doorstep were a couple of detectives and a handful of uniformed police officers. Philip recognized the detective at the front. Detective Howard.
“Philip King,” he said, with an almost regretful expression on his face. “You are under arrest.”
Philip stared at him. He was as surprised with Howard’s reluctance as anything else. He had garnered his reputation so that the cops weren't interested in wasting time with him, but he didn't think they actually liked him. All the same, as Howard snapped the cuffs onto his wrists, he wasn't as rough as Philip had seen him be when some of the other fellows were arrested. His mind whirled. Had the Godfather sold him out to the cops? Was this his punishment for refusing to kill Lizzie? Was he going to spend the rest of his life in jail or… Or was this so Lizzie couldn't adopt Bethany? Was this so that the Godfather could take her, keep her for his plans, without any interference?
“What are the charges, Detective?” Philip asked, trying hard to stay calm.
“Theft, extortion, and kidnapping.”
His heart plummeted; Lizzie rounded the corner. Why didn't she ever just do as she was told, instead of putting herself in danger over and over again? Her eyes were wide as she stepped a few feet away, hands trembling in fists.
“What is going on?” she demanded.
Detective Howard handed him off to the other cops and positioned himself protectively between Philip and her. Philip could have laughed that Howard thought that he was a danger to Lizzie. The detective’s voice was calm as he spoke, though.
“We received information from a private investigator detailing Mr. King’s involvement in a variety of crimes, ma’am. Now, I have to—"
Her eyes flashed. “But I told him to stop!”
It took several seconds for that information to trickle into Philip’s brain. The cops hustled him out of his house, and he was grateful on some level that Bethany wasn’t here to see this. His heart slammed into his ribs as Lizzie kept arguing with the detective. I told him to stop. She…she had hired a private investigator to look into his dealings? When had she done that? He hadn’t even been aware that someone was coming after him.
Had it been after their sojourn in the cabin, or before? Or… or when she went to town that one day, had she hired him then? She could have called the private investigator off when they went to the vampires. Or at the very least warned Philip. But… but why had she hired him in the first place?
“Wait! I want to talk to him.”
Philip glanced back to see Lizzie coming down the steps, hurrying toward him. And he didn’t want to hear what she had to say. He didn’t want to hear her reasons or see her face. So, he turned resolutely away from her and sped up.
“Get me out of here,” he snapped at the cops. They gave him startled looks, but one of them stepped in front of Lizzie. Which was exactly what he wanted.
Philip never thought sitting in a cop car would feel safe, but right now it felt far safer than standing beside Lizzie Hendrix.
***
Philip had had the fortune of not being arrested since he was a teenager. Since Bethany came into his life, he had been a lot more cautious in his dealings. He had always thought of himself as pretty good at covering his tracks. Not good enough, it seemed, since he had been caught. By a private investigator of all people. A private investigator paid by Lizzie to investigate him.
The orange jumpsuit was uncomfortable, a stark reminder of where he was and what he was facing. When he was told he had a visitor, he thought it must be the Godfather. And while Philip thought about refusing to see anybody, he knew that if he had any hope of getting out of this, it was with the family. Especially since Lizzie’s proposal to him wasn’t going to come to fruition any time soon.
But when he was brought to the visitor’s area, he found that it wasn’t the Godfather at all or anybody from the family. It was Lizzie. She sat at a table, twisting her hands. Her pale face was blotchy, and her eyes were red. She got to her feet quickly when she saw him, her back impossibly straight. She chewed on her lip, as though expecting him to turn and walk away. He almost did, too.
But, he sighed, I suppose she deserves a chance to explain herself.
He slid into the chair and folded his hands over the table, keeping his expression hard. He wasn’t going to say the first word.
Lizzie twitched as she fiddled with the sleeve of her shirt. “How, um, are you?”
“I’m in jail. How do you think I am?”
“I’m sorry.” She sucked in a deep breath and looked up. He had to give her credit for not flinching away from him, even though he knew he had on a fierce scowl. “I’m sorry, Philip. I… I hired the private investigator before I got to know you. I just knew Bethany and I thought… well, you know what I thought. As soon as we got back, I called him up and told him the job was done, but… I guess he thought he needed to do more. I’m so sorry, if I had known—”
“When you hired him,” he glared at her, “what were you thinking would happen to Bethany?”
Lizzie flinched. “I thought that with you in jail, I’d adopt her. Get her out of the criminal life. She was just such a sweet, innocent child, and I hated to think of her being involved with the mafia, even if it was second-hand.”
So, when she wanted to marry him, when she said she loved him, was any of it because she actually wanted a better life for him, or was it all because she wanted an excuse to get Bethany away from the mafia? Philip snorted as his wolf butted against his chest. It felt like a raw, aching wound was opening up inside of him and he didn’t k
now what to do with it.
“I should have known.” He laughed bitterly. “I should have known that love would never be enough for me to be happy. I will never forgive you for this, Miss Hendrix. Never.”
Lizzie flinched again. “Philip, please. It was before I knew you. Before I knew how much you truly loved Bethany. Please. Please, I was only—”
“And where is Bethany now?” He kept his voice cold. He didn’t want to hear her pleadings. It made his heart tighten and his stomach cramp. It made him want to forgive her, made him want to tell her that he was going to figure it all out and they could be together after all. “Well? What has the Godfather done with my daughter?”
“Nothing.” Lizzie’s voice was cowed now. “I’ve got her. So far, her mother hasn’t reached out for her. Nobody has, and the authorities have agreed that she can stay with me since I know you both and… well…”
“You’re rich?”
A flush colored her cheeks, but she nodded. “That is part of it. I didn’t offer any bribes,” she added quickly. “They just thought I could provide for her. Which I can and I will. I promise. She’ll be looked after and I—”
“Have gotten your wish.”
Lizzie stopped where she was, her mouth still open. Her eyes widened.
“You sent that private investigator after me, hoping to get Bethany. Well, now you have her. And I’m in jail. So, I hope that you’re a good mother, Lizzie. Because she is your responsibility now. And I…” He almost choked on the words, but he spat them out angrily. “I can only hope that you don’t let Bethany forget about me.”
“I would never.” She reached across the table, but he jerked away.
All at once, he couldn’t stand to see her anymore. So, he practically fled the room, going as fast as the guards would let him while Lizzie called after him. He blocked his ears so he wouldn’t have to hear what she was saying. Sure, she hadn’t known him when she hired that PI. But she had known about it at the cabin, among the vampires, and afterward. She had plenty of time to tell him. And she didn’t.
That was what he could never forgive.
Chapter Eleven
The next time Philip got a visitor, he made sure to ask who it was before agreeing to see them. This time, it was the Godfather. Philip was filled with dread at the thought of facing him, but what choice did he have, really? This was the Godfather, his only hope since he couldn’t forgive Lizzie, and he couldn’t accept help from her if he couldn’t forgive her.
The Godfather sighed in disappointment when he embraced Philip, and Philip dutifully kissed his cheek, like a grandson seeing his grandfather would. They took their spots and the Godfather made a gesture to the cop, who stepped outside and left the two of them alone. So that was one guard on the family’s payroll, it seemed. Philip wasn’t sure if he was amused or annoyed.
“I assume that you’ve been being pumped for information on the family?”
Philip grimaced but nodded. “I have no intention of telling them anything. No matter what deals they offer me. I am going to take whatever they decide to give me.”
The Godfather studied him for a moment before nodding. “I believe you. You were always smart. Perhaps not the most loyal, but I’d take intelligence over blind loyalty any day. You know what you had to do to keep yourself and your little girl safe. I admire that about you. And you know, now, that turning against the family in any way will result in…”
“I can fill in the blanks,” Philip responded dryly. At the moment, all the cops had on him was information about crimes that couldn’t be fully linked to the family. It would be tempting to take any of the deals offered to him, if he didn’t know that it would end in his death.
“Good.” The Godfather grunted as he shifted his position. “Then you should also know that we are cutting our losses with you. You wanted out? Well… now you’ll be out. We will have no more to do with you in this trial, Philip.”
His heart sunk low, but he kept his expression blank. Well, there went his only chance for help. Now he was going to be stuck with some bumbling defense attorney and he’d be lucky to spend the rest of his life in jail. He nodded all the same because there was really nothing else to do about it. It had been a long shot to think that perhaps the Godfather would help him out after his attempts to get Bethany away from the family.
“My daughter…”
“Will remain with Miss Hendrix. You know, she really is rich.”
So Lizzie had bought Bethany’s freedom. A weight lifted off Philip’s shoulders. He slumped back, nodding once more. As long as Bethany was safe and cared for, he would be able to face whatever prison held for him. He clasped his hands together, deep in thought for a long moment before nodding again as he lifted his gaze to meet the Godfather’s.
“Is there anything you need me to confess to since I’m already going to jail?”
“No, dear boy.” He patted Philip’s hand. “You’re in enough trouble as it is. I wouldn’t dream of making it worse for you. Besides, as I said… you’re free.”
Philip sighed, not entirely certain if he believed that. The Godfather apparently had said all he came to say, though, because he stood, knocked on the door, and walked out. The guard escorted Philip back to his cell, and the wolf shifter jumped into the top bunk. Below him, his cellmate snored lightly. Philip hadn’t asked what he was doing in here or any personal questions. They were content to ignore each other.
His trial wasn’t for quite a while, and so Philip had a lot of time on his hands. As he lay back, propping his hands between his head and the thin pillow, he thought once more of Lizzie. The tears on her face as she tried to explain, the hitch in her voice. Why hadn’t she just told him about the PI? If she was willing to marry him, to pay millions of dollars for his freedom…
Or was it all because she wanted Bethany for her daughter? Had she been manipulating him from the start?
Philip snorted at that thought. As angry as he was with her, as hard as his unforgiveness was, that was not something he could believe of her. She wouldn’t have slept with him to trick him in any way. She was practically incapable of deception. In fact, her not telling him about the private investigator was probably more due to shame than anything else…
Not that that made it better.
He rolled over, trying to get into a more comfortable position. There wasn’t a lot to do in prison, especially since he had been placed in this cell. It was supposedly for his protection, but he knew the real reason. He was kept separated from the others, other than his cellmate, to make him bored, restless and more willing to talk. The next step was probably going to be putting him with the really rough guys, maybe even a rival gang. Then, when he’d been beaten up a bit, they’d offer him the deal again.
Or maybe the cops were waiting to do that as a punishment if he didn’t make any deals with them. The ones that he was dealing with now, they weren’t like Detectives Melodi and Howard. Those two were good people, determined to protect people. These ones, they were the greedy kind who just wanted to rise up higher and higher in their positions of power. Corruption was alive and well, he knew that.
But if there was anything that he was assured of in this mess, this uncertainty of what was going to happen in the future, it was that Bethany would be cared for. Philip could trust Lizzie on that one. Bethany would be safe, loved, and given everything she needed to thrive.
A little bit of his anger toward Lizzie crumbled. She was just doing what she thought was best. Even if she had made a fucking mess out of it. She was just trying to make a better life for Bethany. And he couldn’t hate her for that.
***
Lizzie didn’t know how a man could get so oiled up in the shower. She frowned in distaste as Dane Hemmerick stepped out of her shower, his muscles gleaming. There was a towel wrapped around his waist, which made her think that he was waiting for her to enter the bathroom before exiting the shower.
If she had known his protective services included seduction attempts, she never
would have hired him. Lizzie ground her teeth together as she stepped back out into the hallway. Of course, she should have known he’d follow her out, a false apology on his lips.
“No need to be sorry,” she snapped back at him, her false platitude ruined by the anger in her voice. “Just get dressed already. I have a five-year-old around here, you know.”
“Oh, she’s at school.” Dane leaned casually against the door. “Look, sorry about using your shower.” The grin on his face was anything but sorry. “It’s just that when I was fixing your toilet, things got a little messy. I’ve thrown my clothes in the washer, maybe you have something else I can wear? Not that I mind the towel.”
The grin on his face was clearly meant to be charming and seductive. There had been a time when Lizzie would have found it thus, too. After all, he was attractive. Brown eyes, dark hair, a chiseled face, and a very muscular body. Dragons had a certain amount of innate charm, too, more so than most other shifters. There was a reason they were considered the most beautiful of them all. But right now, Lizzie would trade all the dragons in the world for the smile of one wolf shifter.
“I can get you some clothes,” Lizzie said, keeping her voice cold. He couldn’t possibly think she was interested if she was acting like this, right? “And there was nothing wrong with that toilet.”
“Ah, but that is where you are wrong.” He winked at her. “You’re lucky I found it, otherwise your bathroom floor would be completely flooded and you’d have even more work to take care of. I don’t usually do plumbing when I’m on duty… but this seemed like a little adventure that I was going to enjoy the end of.”
His subtly was overwhelming. Lizzie floundered for a moment, thinking that she had to do this tactfully. He had asked her a lot of personal questions before he had agreed to be her temporary bodyguard, and now she understood why he had asked some of them. The fact she didn’t have a boyfriend, technically at least, had been something that had been brought up. The situation with Philip had seemed too complicated at the time to get into. Now, she wished she had been a little more upfront about it all.
The Wolf’s Surprise Babies Page 13
