King of Clubs (Aces & Eights Book 2)

by Sandra Owens

  Tears stung her own eyes as she put her hand over his. “You didn’t know until the end of our marriage. By then it was too late. I should have told you he was abusing me when it first started.”

  “Men like Stephan Kozlov are very good at hiding their true nature until they have full control of their victim,” Court said. “You wouldn’t have seen him for what he truly was until he was ready for you to, so your guilt is misplaced.”

  Her father steepled his hands. “I understand what you’re saying, but she’s my daughter, and I—”

  “He’s right, Daddy. The only one to blame is Stephan. Besides, we can’t change the past . . . as much as we’d like to.”

  “You’ll keep her safe?” he said, eyeing Court.

  “I swear that I will. If you hear from him, which is entirely possible if he decides you’re the only way to get to her, tell him that you’ve had a falling out and haven’t seen Lauren in months, and then you call me.” Court fished his wallet out of his pocket, took out a business card, and handed it to her father. “My cell number’s on this.”

  “I don’t believe in lying.” Her father stuck the card into his shirt pocket. “But I’m sure this is one time God will forgive me.”

  Court stood. “We need to get going, Lauren.”

  “Would you give me a few minutes alone with my daughter?”

  “Of course. I’ll be outside. Although it should have happened six years ago, it was good to finally meet you, sir.”

  “‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.’ That’s from Ecclesiastes.” Her father gave Court the smile she’d always thought of as his benevolent one, bestowed on those he believed needed his prayers. “We may wish things happened differently, but they happen according to God’s plan for us. It was good to finally meet you, too, son.”

  Court’s eyes widened, then softened as he smiled at her father. “You, too, sir.” He touched her shoulder, then walked away.

  “Did you notice his reaction when I called him son?” her father asked once they were alone. “Why was that?”

  “His father was apparently a mean drunk. Maybe he’s not used to a man using the word affectionately. You did mean it that way?”

  “I did. I’ll include him in my prayers, but are you sure he’s right for you? I don’t mean that he’ll hurt you the way Stephan did.” With a worried expression on his face, he glanced out the window to where Court stood by the car, reading something on his phone. “Can you live with him walking out the door every day, not knowing if he’ll return home in one piece . . . or at all?”

  She shifted on the stool, looking out the window. “I don’t know.” She turned troubled eyes back to her father. “I love him, but I don’t know.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  On their drive home, Court had been on the phone with his brothers. As soon as they’d arrived back at his condo, he’d gone into his safe room to work and had stayed in there until he’d wandered out a few hours later, saying his stomach was growling.

  Something was bothering him. He’d been quiet all through dinner, except to thank her for cooking. The kitchen wasn’t her favorite room, but there were a few meals she had mastered. When she’d started to get hungry, she’d searched through his pantry and freezer, finding the ingredients to make chicken fettuccine.

  They’d cleaned up the kitchen together, and then had brewed a pot of coffee, and now sat out on his balcony. She’d stayed quiet, hoping he would tell her what was on his mind, but he seemed content to sit there and stare out into the night.

  “What has you so deep in thought?” she asked, when she finally couldn’t stand it anymore.

  Court glanced over at her. “Your father.” He sat in silence a bit longer. “I like him,” he finally said.

  “He liked you, too.” She smiled, happy that she could truthfully say that.

  “He doesn’t think I’m good enough for you, and he’s probably right.” His gaze shifted back to the view of the ocean.

  She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised that he’d judge himself by his past, but she’d never thought of him as lacking in any way. Not even after she’d learned about his childhood.

  “I don’t know why you’d say that.” She shifted in her chair so she could face him. “If it’s because of the way you grew up, you’ve put that behind you. You’re one of the good guys, doing your part to make the world a better place. So don’t give me that ‘Poor me, I’m no good’ speech.”

  “Yeah, I guess that was kind of sappy.” He shrugged. “You can’t deny he has a problem with me, though.”

  “He asked if I could live with what you do, considering your job is dangerous.”

  “And?”

  “I told him I didn’t know.” She wouldn’t lie to him. “I asked Madison how she dealt with it. She said Alex promised her that nothing would happen to him, but that’s not something he can promise. I don’t know if I could handle losing you, Court.” And if they had kids? Having to tell their children their father was never coming home was too devastating to even think about.

  He went to the railing, and looked out over the ocean. As he stood there, her eyes roamed over him. There wasn’t a thing about him that she didn’t love, but was it enough? Her dream had unsettled her. Would the day come when she couldn’t watch him walk out the door one more time, not knowing if he’d come home?

  She never wanted to resent Court. Nor would she ever ask him to give up his job. He loved what he did, and if she made that a condition, he’d end up resenting her for it.

  “When did you turn into a coward?” he said softly, keeping his back to her.

  She dug her fingers into the arms of her chair. Before she said something she couldn’t take back, she closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths. His words angered her, but she had to wonder. Was she being a coward? She stood and joined him at the railing.

  “Last night, I dreamed you were killed.” She didn’t share that the monster who’d shot him in her dream was Stephan. That had nothing to do with what she wanted him to understand. She was also afraid to say it out loud, as if speaking it would somehow make it come true.

  “I fell asleep worried about you, which is probably why I had the dream. It . . . It just really shook me up.”

  He shifted to face her, put his arms around her, and pulled her against him. “I think we’re both on edge with this shit Stephan’s trying to pull. I’m sorry you dreamed that, but that’s all it was. A dream.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “I love you, G.G. But maybe that’s not enough right now. It might be best if we take a step back until your ex-husband is out of your life for good. Then we can take the time to get to know each other again. Or not. It will be your choice.”

  Tears stung her eyes. She wanted to take back everything she’d said, but the words wouldn’t come. Until she came to terms with the danger he faced on a regular basis—if she could learn to live with it—she wouldn’t make promises she couldn’t keep.

  Yet the arms he’d wrapped around her were strong, and lately, close to him was the only place she felt safe. She buried her face in his chest, swallowing hard against the burning in her throat.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “Hush.” He tightened his hold on her. “You have no reason to be sorry. We just need to get through this, and then we’ll figure out if there’s an us.” He sighed. “It’s getting late, and I have some more work to do.”

  Even though he still held her, she sensed he was withdrawing. Forcing herself to do the opposite of what she wanted to do, she stepped back. “Yeah, I’m tired. I’m going to call it a night.”

  When he didn’t make a move to come inside with her, she walked to the balcony door. Before she stepped through, she paused. “I do love you.”

  He gave her a weary smile. “Just not enough.”

  The tears she’d been holding back pooled in her eyes, and before she lost it in front of him, she hurried to the guest room. In bed
, she pulled her pillow over her head and cried. Was he right? Was she a coward who didn’t love him enough?

  Court stayed out on the balcony after Lauren left. When would he ever learn? Women left, even when they claimed they loved you. He gripped the railing as he stared at the ocean. The night was overcast, the moon hidden behind thick clouds. The only visible evidence that there was an ocean out there were the whitecaps of the waves as they came onshore. Lightning flashed in the distance, followed by the low rumble of thunder. It was a dreary night, and it matched his mood.

  Never again would he fall in love. It sucked, this ache in his heart. Below him, he heard Alex and Madison come out onto their balcony. Madison’s laughter floated up to him. He hated being jealous of what his brother had, but it was there. He’d get over it, though. All he had to do was harden his heart. He’d done it before, and he could do it again.

  He watched the approaching storm a few minutes longer, then went inside. The door to the guest bedroom was closed, a barricade between him and Lauren. He paused, staring at the slab of wood that separated them. Could he give up his job for her? Should he have to? There wasn’t anything he’d ask her to give up if it defined who she was. Did she not get that?

  Alex had somehow found a woman who loved him without reservation, was there for him each night when he came home, and if his guess was right, she was at this very moment out on their balcony showing his brother just how much she loved him.

  Court pressed a palm against the door. “Why can’t you give me that, G.G.?” he whispered. He dropped his hand down to his side and turned away from her door. An hour later, he gave up trying to work. His eyes were bleary and his mind was on the woman in his guest room.

  After making sure all the alarms were set, he took a quick shower, and then climbed into his bed, alone. It seemed ridiculous that Lauren was in his home, yet she was in one room and he in another. He got that she worried about him when he was on the job, but neither one of them knew what tomorrow would bring. He could lose her to a horrible car crash, but he’d never walk away from her because something might happen. Life was a gamble. He’d count himself a lucky bastard for every day he had with her.

  Tired from lack of sleep the night before, he drifted off to the sound of rain. Sometime later thunder boomed, waking him. Lightning lit up the room, followed by the sound of an explosion in the distance and another long rumble of thunder. The clock on his nightstand went dark and his ceiling fan slowly came to a stop. A transformer had obviously been hit, and he wondered how long the power would be out.

  He liked storms, and if the lightning weren’t hitting so close, he’d go out on his balcony and watch it. His computers all had surge protectors and were connected to backup batteries, so he wasn’t worried about them, but he should probably get up and check on things. Before he could do so, his bedroom door eased open.

  “Court?” Lauren whispered.

  She was damn lucky he’d realized it was her before he’d gone for the gun on his nightstand. He was going to have to talk to her about sneaking into bedrooms, but it could wait. Pretending to be asleep, he watched under hooded eyes as she crept to the other side of the bed, holding back a smile when she eased onto the mattress with the stealth of a cat up to no good.

  The explosion must have scared her. She inched the covers up to her chin and stilled. He waited until her breathing evened, and when he was sure she was asleep, he inched up behind her, spooning her. She let out a little sigh, as if even in sleep, she knew he held her.

  “What am I going to do with you, G.G.?” he said quietly. It seemed like he asked himself that question a lot where she was concerned.

  The alarm box on his nightstand buzzed twice, waking Court. That particular alert indicated something was happening on his balcony. He slid out of bed, and pulled on the sweatpants he always kept nearby. Grabbing his phone, he brought up the balcony camera, switching to night vision. Two men wearing all black knelt as they opened backpacks.

  Court picked up his gun, then went around the bed, and scooped up Lauren. “Wake up,” he commanded. “Lauren, wake up!” He stopped at the door to his safe room, setting her on her feet, holding her upright as she swayed into him.

  “Mmm?”

  “Listen,” he said as he pushed the button to open the door. He put his hand on her chin, lifting her face. “Remember the ladders to Alex’s and Nate’s condos? I need you to go down to Alex right now.”

  She blinked her eyes, finally waking up. “Why? What’s happening?”

  “Just go. Now. Don’t forget to push the buzzer like I told you so he knows it’s you coming through. Go, G.G.” He pushed her into the room, then closed the door behind her. At least she had on boxer shorts and a camisole, so he wasn’t sending her naked to his brother.

  Next, he closed the guest room door, using his phone to lock it. Back in his room, he tugged the mannequin head with a short, black wig on it from under his bed, and put it facedown on the pillow. He pulled his spare pillow over, turning it lengthwise, and then dragged the covers up to the mannequin’s neck. In the dark, it looked real enough.

  As he’d always been a planner, he’d readied for something like this happening. His brothers had laughed at his mannequin head when he’d shown them, but he’d ignored them. He believed it paid to be prepared, so screw them. Leaving his bedroom door open, he went to where an oversized chair sat in the corner, and squeezed in behind it.

  Still using his phone, he switched all the alarms in his condo to silent, keeping the ones his brothers would hear on buzzers. He intended to catch these bastards, and didn’t want any alarms to scare them off. If this were his lucky night, it would be the Kozlov brothers trying to break in. From under the chair, he hauled out a bulletproof vest and slipped it on. Again, from under the chair, he removed a steel box holding extra guns, ammunition, and night vision goggles.

  “Come on in, boys, I’m ready for you,” he murmured.

  As he watched on his phone, one jimmied open his sliding glass door, setting off a silent alarm, then both crept inside. A message from Nate popped up at the bottom of his screen.

  Status

  Court typed an answer.

  2 armed men inside tell Alex stay w girls

  Nate’s response was immediate.

  Done on the way

  Court messaged back.

  Come in thru safe room

  Returning his attention to the men, Court followed their movements on the screen as they crept down the hall. One tried the handle of the guest room. Finding it locked, they continued toward him. He hit record, activating the cameras mounted in the corners of his room.

  Another message from Nate appeared at the bottom of his phone.

  Inside

  Nate would be watching the monitors now, seeing the action as it unfolded, so Court didn’t bother answering. Once the men entered the bedroom, his brother would be able to sneak up behind them.

  Just as the men slipped in, lightning lit up the room. “She’s not here,” one of them whispered. “Must be in the room that was locked.”

  “Boss said this one don’t see the sun rise.”

  Idiots. Their whispers had grown louder, and if that had been him in the bed, they would have woken him. Both lifted the guns in their hands and proceeded to empty the chambers. They were beyond idiots. Now they had no bullets left to shoot him with.

  “Move an inch,” he said, rising, his weapon aimed at the one to his left, “and you’ll be the ones not seeing the sun rise.”

  They froze. Then one, apparently the stupidest one, reached behind his back.

  “I wouldn’t if I were you,” Nate said from behind them. He put his gun to the stupid one’s head. “Although I’d love it if you gave me a reason to pull the trigger.”

  The smarter one put his hands in the air. Court moved from behind the chair, keeping his weapon trained on his guy. “Facedown on the floor, both of you, hands spread out to your sides.”

  The alarm clock lit up, letting them kn
ow the power was back on. Nate reached over to the light switch and flipped it up.

  “Let’s see what we have here.” Disappointed they weren’t the Kozlov brothers, Court relieved them of their guns. In searching them, he found backup weapons on each. All in all, a good takedown since no one was killed or wounded. But they’d put Lauren in danger, and that pissed him off.

  “Names?” he said. When both stayed silent, he sighed. “Who sent you?” More silence. “Or I could just shoot you in the nuts. Make sure you don’t add to the world’s overpopulation.”

  “Jason Metcalf,” the smarter one said. Dumber kept his mouth shut.

  “Who sent you, Jason?”

  “Don’t know. Swear I don’t. A friend called, said he had a job for us. Some dude wanted you dead and the lady brought back with us.”

  “The friend’s name?”

  No answer. Court poked the barrel of his gun against the man’s groin. “You have ’til the count of three, Jason. Your friend’s name. One. Two . . .”

  “Don’t shoot me! His name’s Hank Banks.”

  “Shut up,” Dumber said.

  Metcalf glared at his partner. “Hey, man, it’s not your nuts he’s about to shoot off.”

  Court exchanged a glance with Nate. They were familiar with the name Hank Banks. The dude acted as a middleman for what he advertised as “odd jobs,” connecting people who didn’t want to get their hands dirty with men like these two. Banks was as slippery as a snake, never staying in the same place long enough for law enforcement to track him down.

  “Where are you supposed to take the woman?”

  “We want a lawyer,” Dumber said.

  Nate snorted. “That might work if we were the cops.”

  “Who are you, then, if you ain’t cops?” the dumb one said.