King of Clubs (Aces & Eights Book 2)

by Sandra Owens

  “No!” Lauren turned pleading eyes on him. “Absolutely not. I’ll get on a plane, or a bus, or a bicycle if I have to, and leave right now before I’ll let you do this.”

  If she said she was leaving one more time, Court was going to lose it. Hell, he was already a thin thread away from breaking into Stephan’s prison and beating the man senseless. See how he liked being on the receiving end of someone’s fists.

  When she tried to stand, he hooked a finger into her waistband, pulling her back down. Listening to her talk about her marriage had sent a rage through him such as he’d never felt before. He’d been too young and helpless when he’d witnessed his father beat on his mother. That was no longer the case.

  It took all his willpower to maintain an outward calmness that he was far from feeling. His walls were lucky they didn’t have more holes. Thank God she’d found the courage to get away, although she’d ended up paying dearly for it. It wasn’t just the beating she’d received that infuriated him, but that he’d lost her because of it. After spending so long trying to forget her, he didn’t want to like having her here, but he did.

  Although he hadn’t planned it, he’d spent the night loving her, relearning all the places on her body where his touch made her sigh with pleasure. He’d woken up disappointed that she wasn’t still in bed. Then she’d said it was all a mistake, so he’d walked away before he could say something he couldn’t take back. For now, he’d concentrate on dealing with her scumbag ex-husband so she’d stop talking about fucking leaving. After that, maybe there was a future for them, or maybe not.

  “It’s the only way to end this, Lauren,” he said.

  “You can’t seriously consider making yourself a target.” She shot up, slapping his hand away. “You don’t know Stephan. He’s sly. Sneaky. He’ll strike when you least expect it.” She moved until her knees were almost touching Nate’s, fury radiating off her in waves. “I won’t allow it. You started this by showing him those photos, so you put a stop to it.”

  The last thing Court expected to be doing right now was smiling, but he was. Never mind that Nate was an intimidating son of a bitch. Lauren looked ready to take him on. Arousal stirred. Another minute of seeing all that fire in her eyes and he was going to embarrass her in front of his brothers by throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her to his bed.

  “You got it bad, bro,” Alex said, laughter in his voice.

  Court glared at his baby brother. “Shut it.”

  “I know you deal with tough guys at the biker bar, but Stephan’s different. He doesn’t play fair.” She stepped back, glancing at him, then turned back to Nate. “I’ll disappear before I’ll put any of you at risk, especially Court.”

  There she went again, threatening to disappear to protect him. He’d handcuff her to his bed before he’d allow her to do that. But he couldn’t help admiring her determination to do what she thought was right.

  He reached over and grabbed her hand, pulling her back down on the sofa. “You’re not going anywhere. Not today, anyway.”

  “We’ll put round-the-clock surveillance on him from the moment he takes his first step through the gate, but our goal needs to be sending him right back to a cell,” Nate said. “The only way to do that is to bring him to us, and letting him know you’re with Court will make that happen.”

  “Put surveillance on him? Send him back to a cell? Who the hell are you people?”

  “You haven’t told her?” Nate raised a brow.

  Court shook his head. Before today, he hadn’t trusted her enough to tell her they were FBI.

  “Told me what?”

  Nate slipped a thin black case from his back pocket, flipped it open, and showed her his FBI badge. “Special Agent Nate Gentry.”

  Her eyes widened.

  Next, Alex held out his badge. “Special Agent Alex Gentry.”

  If her eyes went any wider, her eyeballs were going to pop out. She looked at him. “You, too?”

  Not bothering to show her his badge, he said, “Special Agent Court Gentry.”

  “I’m dreaming. I must be. This is just too surreal.” She pinched herself. “Nope, not dreaming. I don’t even know what to say. Does Madison know?”

  “Of course. She’s my wife,” Alex said.

  “Why didn’t she tell me? We talk to each other about everything.”

  Court shrugged. “Because she was asked not to. Aces and Eights is a cover for covert operations, Lauren. We’re entrusting you with this information, but you can’t tell anyone.”

  “Who would I tell? Other than Madison . . . well, I don’t have much in my life except for her and the bookstore.” She eyed each of their faces, as if seeing them for the first time. “So, you’re all FBI agents. I guess that means you’re trained to deal with psychos? I still don’t like the idea of involving any of you.”

  “And I don’t like the idea of you disappearing, whether it’s in New Orleans or any other place.” Somewhere along the way, she’d screw up and Stephan would find her.

  She pressed her fingers against the bridge of her nose. “Okay. Let’s say I go along with whatever you guys cook up. Exactly what would that be?”

  Court already had a plan. “You’re going to introduce me as your fiancé to Peter. That should get your ex’s attention.”

  The blood drained from her face. “There must be a better way.”

  He hated making her worry about him. When would she understand that he was capable of not only protecting her but also keeping himself safe? Stephan Kozlov was an amateur compared to some of the bad guys they’d taken down. Bring the sonofabitch on.

  “It’s done, Lauren.” It wasn’t open for discussion. “Has Peter ever hurt you?” Peter better hope she said no.

  She shook her head. “No, but he covers up for Stephan. He was Stephan’s manager, and as far as he’s concerned, it’s my fault that Stephan’s in prison. When Stephan lost his position with the Thunder, they both lost their income, so he hates me.”

  Nate leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Did you ever hear anything that led you to suspect either brother was involved with the Russian mafia?”

  “Nothing specific, but sometimes men . . . You know, the kind with cold eyes and hard stares? Anyway, they would come to see Stephan and Peter. Why do you ask?”

  “I turned up some red flags when I was checking out Peter,” Court said. “Links to known Russian mafia members, money flowing into the brothers’ bank accounts even though Stephan no longer has an income—those kinds of things. It’s not unusual for the Russian mafia to have some kind of involvement with their country’s hockey players.”

  Nate stood, picking up the folder he’d brought in with him. Court wanted to tear the file out of his brother’s hand and burn it to ashes. Those photos of her beaten body were branded into his brain. If he ever . . . No, when he got his hands on the man, Stephan Kozlov was going to know how it felt to be on the receiving end. That was his promise to her.

  Nate slapped the folder against his leg. “I’ve got a meeting with Rothmire to bring him up to speed. It should be enough to open a file on the Kozlovs.”

  “And I need to do some more research and finesse our plan,” Court said. He glanced at Lauren. He’d told her he would take her to work, but he needed some time away from her to think. “Alex will take you to the bookstore. One of us will pick you up around lunchtime.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t remember you being this bossy.”

  “He’s been bossing me around ever since I was in diapers,” Alex said. He winked. “If you can figure out how to make him stop, I’ll be your friend forever.”

  Court wished that smile she gave Alex was directed at him. And that fire in her eyes when she was annoyed? It didn’t have the effect she intended. He wanted to bury his nose against her neck and breathe in her earthy scent. He wanted to spend hours tasting every inch of her skin. All he wanted to do was kick his brothers out, and then take her straight to his bed, see just how bright he
could make that fire burn.

  Before he did just that, he stood. “We’re done here.” He knew that where Lauren was concerned his emotions were all over the place. If there ended up being an official investigation into the Russians, and if he could convince the powers that be that he should head it up, then he’d better get his act together.

  “I’ll be back in a few to take you to work,” Alex said to Lauren.

  After his brothers were gone, Court glanced at Lauren. She had curled up on the sofa, staring out the glass doors, but he knew she wasn’t seeing or appreciating the view. She looked so lost and alone, and his heart took a tumble he didn’t like. How had one slip of a girl managed to scatter his brain to the four corners where she was concerned?

  He perched on the coffee table. “I know you feel like you’ve lost control—”

  “No kidding.” Her eyes shifted to his. “Please don’t do this, Court. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.”

  At the tears pooling in her eyes, he gave up the fight. Moving next to her, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. “Nothing’s going to happen to me. I promise.” He kissed the top of her head as he gave in and inhaled her familiar scent into his lungs. She buried her face in his chest, her tears wetting his shirt.

  “I-I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “For lying to you when you called.” Lauren lifted her head, meeting his gaze. “I never forgot about you. I just want you to know that.” She could have bitten her tongue off when he stiffened.

  He disentangled them. “For six years, I’ve done my best to forget you.”

  She flinched, his words shooting an arrow straight through her heart. Suddenly, he was gone, disappearing down the hallway. Then he was back, staring down at her, the warmth gone from his eyes.

  “What about the men you’ve been with since?”

  “What about the women you’ve been with?”

  At that, respect shimmered in his eyes. “Touché.” He glanced away for a few seconds before returning his gaze to her. “I guess we both have some hard thinking to do. Right now, though, you need to get ready for work.”

  “Okay.” She definitely had some thinking to do. As she got dressed, Lauren asked herself what she wanted. Aside from turning back the clock, giving her a chance to do things differently, there was only one answer to her question. She wanted Court, but that wasn’t going to happen. She would be leaving in a few days.

  “Why didn’t you tell me they were FBI?” Lauren asked as soon as she had a moment alone with Madison. They were taking a little break in their office.

  “I couldn’t. Their lives depend on that staying a secret, and it wasn’t my secret to tell. Not even to you.”

  “Okay, yeah, I understand. I’m sorry. It wasn’t fair to ask you that, but it makes sense now why you wanted me to tell Court about Stephan.”

  “See, you should always listen to me.” Madison stirred the tower of whipped cream into her mocha coffee. “My mom’s going to bankrupt us with how much of this stuff she puts in everyone’s coffee.”

  “Leave Angelina alone. It makes her happy to overdose us all with whipped cream.” Madison’s mother was a godsend. Since coming to work for them, she’d made every customer who came into High Tea and Black Cat Books fall in love with her and her coffees, bringing them repeat business.

  Madison’s gaze settled on her mother. “I’m just happy to see her smiling again after all she’s gone through.”

  “You went through it with her, Maddie.” She squeezed her friend’s hand. “As bad as it was, it brought Alex into your life. You can’t regret that.”

  “I don’t for a minute.” Madison’s eyes sparkled with love at the mention of her husband, and Lauren tried not to be envious. “I can’t imagine how shocked you must have been at seeing Court again after so many years. It’s obvious you still have feelings for him. I see the way you look at him.”

  “Seriously? Shock seems like too mild a word for how I felt.” She dipped a finger into her whipped cream, then licked it off as she thought of how to explain her feelings for Court. “I was crazy in love with him six years ago, so he’ll always own a part of my heart. In some ways, he’s the same man I loved, but in a lot of ways, he’s different. Harder, bossier, and God help me, sexier.”

  “Are you still in love with him?”

  “God, Maddie, I don’t know. There’s just so much going on right now, that I can’t even think straight. The chemistry between us is still there, though.” That was one thing she couldn’t deny, but another worry had added itself to all the others crammed into her head after learning Court was an FBI agent.

  She’d experienced violence up close and personal and had promised herself once she’d gotten away from Stephan that her life would be nothing but peaceful. An FBI agent’s life was far from peaceful, not to mention dangerous. She wasn’t sure she could deal with it, worrying about the day his brothers showed up at her door to tell her he was never coming home again.

  “Want to know what I think?”

  Lauren rolled her eyes. “No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me anyway.”

  “Of course I am. I think you both still have a thing for each other, even if neither of you are willing to admit it. Considering you still have the hots for each other after all these years, don’t you think you should give it a chance, see where it goes?”

  “I don’t know.” She was going to leave him, but she wouldn’t tell her friend that. “And stop looking at me like that. Whatever you’re cooking up, the answer is no.”

  Madison grinned. “You know me so well. I was only thinking about how things are different from our mothers’ time when they waited by the phone for a guy to call. We have as much right to go after what we want as men do.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Go after him. You made him fall in love with you once. You can do it again.”

  If only it were that easy. “What’s between me and Court isn’t a game. I hurt him, and I don’t know if he can get past that.” And what if she did stay only to learn she couldn’t deal with who he was? That wouldn’t be fair to either one of them. She stirred the rest of the whipped cream into her coffee. “How did my life get so messed up?”

  Madison blew a strand of hair from her cheek. “You’re not to blame for Stephan’s actions.”

  “I know, but I keep asking myself if I missed signs of the true Stephan. How could he have been one man before we got married, then a totally different one the day he put a wedding ring on my finger?”

  “There was nothing to clue you in? No outburst of temper, something like that?”

  “No. Stephan Kozlov was everything a boyfriend should be. Considerate, loving, supportive, all that jazz. I even loved that he was Russian. To a girl who’d been as sheltered as I had been, he seemed worldly. Add the fact that he was a professional hockey player, a totally hot one . . . Honestly, I kept asking myself how I’d gotten so lucky.”

  “Men like that are clever at hiding their true selves. You’re not the first to fall for a snake in the grass, and you won’t be the last.”

  That only made her sad for other women like her who’d fallen for a man they should have run from instead.

  Madison tilted her head, studying her. “I could never figure out why you always ended things with a guy when he started getting serious. It was because you were still in love with Court, and, by the way, I’m still irked with you that you never told me about him.”

  “What are you, Dr. Phil now?” Madison wasn’t wrong, though. No man had been able to replace Court in her heart.

  “Ha-ha, but my rates are cheaper.” Madison gave her a hug, then stood. “Guess I better get back to work before Mom comes looking for me. Alex said you’re going to take a few days off to spend with Court.”

  “You sure that’s okay?” She lowered her gaze, staring at the bottom of her empty coffee cup, hiding the tears stinging her eyes. This was the last time she’d share a coffee break
with the best friend she’d ever had. In a few days, she’d be in a strange city, and wouldn’t be able to so much as call Madison just to say hi. Loneliness crashed through her like a tidal wave, and she wasn’t even gone yet. I’m going to miss you so much, Maddie.

  “I think it’s great. You two need some time together to get to know each other again.”

  “Thanks.” Madison had visions of a fairy-tale ending for them, but a happily ever after wasn’t in their future. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, then lifted her eyes. “I love you, you know.”

  Madison paused at the door, shooting her a grin. “I know.”

  There were a few more things she wanted to get from her apartment, so she headed upstairs. Halfway up, Hemingway ran past her.

  “Hey, good looking, what’s your hurry?” She followed him into her bedroom, frowning when he growled and the hair on his spine rose. “You’re scaring me, Hemingway.”

  Still growling, he stalked around the room, his belly almost touching the floor. The closet door was open, and she was positive she hadn’t left it like that. She backed out of her bedroom, and when she got to the hallway, she turned, racing downstairs.

  “Madison!” she called out, seeing her friend talking to Angelina. As she hurried toward them, she glanced out the display window and saw a police car slowly cruising down the street. She made an abrupt turn, running outside, waving her hands, yelling for him to stop. When she reached his door, she recognized the cop Court had talked to the night Peter had shown up.

  “Someone’s been in my room,” she said, gasping for breath. He pulled over, parking in a loading zone.

  “Are you Court Gentry’s friend?” he asked after exiting the car.

  She nodded, wondering how he knew that. “My cat growled, and my closet door’s open.” God, that sounded so lame.

  “Show me,” he said.

  Grateful that he didn’t think she was a crazy woman, she grabbed his hand. “Come with me.”

  Madison ran out the door. “What’s going on?”

  “Someone’s been in my room. Hemingway’s growling.”