All but bursting onto the street, I cut right, and thank God, for the crowd. I weave inside it and I make it a block when suddenly a man steps in front of me: York.
CHAPTER FORTY
Emma...
York’s hands come down on my arms, and to most women, he’s Mr. Tall Dark and Good Looking, rich and powerful, a man you want to touch you. For a moment, I let him do just that. For a moment, I’m remembering my nightmare, back in that dark room, a prisoner that can’t escape but I know what comes when I try: I fall to my death. For a moment, I’m paralyzed, but that darkness washes away in a gust of ocean air, the world around me exploding with honking horns, voices, the smell of salt and city. I shove against him. “What are you doing here, York?”
“It’s a busy street, Emma. Luck just brought us back together.”
“There is no luck to you and me together.”
“We both know that’s not true. Let’s go somewhere and talk. Somewhere alone. I’ll remind you how much you like being alone with me. I promise.”
“Never again. How did you get into my apartment?”
“You gave me a key.”
“I changed the locks.”
“You’re confused and we need to talk about secrets. Mine,” he pauses for effect, his gaze raking over my body, “and yours.”
I want to tell him that outing Marion for hurting my mother would be worth anything he could say about me. I do, but it’s not that simple. The company, the families that work for the company, that depend on it, would all suffer if this goes the wrong direction. And in my core, I feel a need to hold back, to see inside that folder before I do anything else.
His lips quirk. “You sure about that?”
Before I can answer, Jax is suddenly at my side, his hand catching my hip, molding me close. “There you are.” He looks down at me. “You okay?”
Now I am. Now, I can breath again. “How are you here?”
“Lucky,” he says softly.
Lucky.
Yes. This time luck is luck.
“Should we let Jax in on the secret?” York asks.
My gaze jerks to York. “Go away, York.”
He gives a laugh. “I guess that’s a no. Quid pro quo. You do remember what that means to me, right?” He winks and steps away, disappearing into the crowd.
Jax turns me to face him. “Are you really okay?” he asks again, rubbing my arms. “You’re trembling.”
“Can we just get out of here? Like the entire city?”
His eyes darken. “You want to leave now?”
“Yes. Now. No stops. To the airport and we leave.”
“Now it is.” He takes my hand and we walk a block to the SUV waiting on us. Jax helps me inside and I swear when that door shuts, and the vehicle starts to move, relief washes over me. It’s almost as if I’m running for my life.
Jax pulls me close but he doesn’t ask questions. The man just seems to get me. Now is not the time for me to talk. I just want on a plane. He grabs his phone and makes a call. “Now. Yes. Now.” He hangs up. “I had my pilot on standby.”
I nod, thankful, and taken by this man in a new way. He has a private plane and yet, he doesn’t flaunt his money. He doesn’t act like he’s better than everyone else. He has power. He has money. He uses both as needed, but I’m also reminded of him telling me that he knew how to use money to hurt his enemies. What if this folder makes me or my brother an enemy? I can’t show it to him now. I can’t look at it now. I won’t. No matter how much it kills me. I won’t look at it until I’m alone.
***
Jax…
We arrive at the airport forty-five minutes after we enter the SUV thanks to traffic. I don’t know what she found out, what she’s running from, but I know enough after my meeting with Blake Walker to take some guesses. Exactly why I don’t push her to talk. I don’t give her a reason to run from me like she ran from whatever happened in that office. But damn it, that talk with Blake burned a hole in my belly while I was standing there with York. I wanted to punch the bastard but that would’ve landed me in court, which would’ve given him control he’ll never have. He just doesn’t know it yet.
The SUV pulls onto the tarmac, next to the plane and I help Emma out of the SUV. “Oh God. What about our bags?”
“Savage is bringing them. He’s coming with us. A team of his men are following for the weekend event.”
She doesn’t ask how any of that came together. She just nods and I grab her hand, leading her to the steps of the plane. Once we’re inside we head to the back and settle in two leather seats. “I need to talk to the pilot,” I say. “I’ll be back in about ten minutes.” I pull her close and kiss her. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me, too,” she whispers.
I leave her there as she settles into her seat, and spend exactly what I’d said, ten minutes, coordinating the flight and Savage’s arrival. I return to Emma to find her looking inside a folder that looks like the one from the hotel, but it can’t be. Savage has that folder with her luggage. No, this is whatever she ran with, what I want to ask about but my gut said to wait.
I sit down next to her and she shoves everything back inside and hands it to me. “What is this?”
“Surveillance of me, you, your brothers, and Marion. My brother said it was my father’s file, but a few of those shots of me are recent. I’d say that’s proof that something bad went down, Jax. I’m not sure why I’m included.” She looks at me. “I don’t know why. I swear. I’m not involved.”
Why the hell were any of us under surveillance? “I believe you. We’ll figure it out.”
“I know we will. I’m just afraid of what that means right now.”
Savage walks in and gives us a salute from the front of the plane. Emma grabs my arm. “Get the journal and that folder. We need to know what this is, Jax. If you can figure it out from what I have, figure it out. Make this end.”
I look down at the folder in my hand and thumb through the shots of me that date back to before my brother died. “I’ll grab them from your suitcase,” I say looking at her. “We’ll talk it out in the air.” I hand her back the folder and stand up, walking toward Savage, tension radiating through me. What the hell are we in the middle of and where does Emma fit? Besides with me, because she does. Emma belongs with me.
“Where’s Emma’s bag?” I ask, joining Savage.
He motions to the overhead. “I need it,” I say, grabbing it from above myself.
I open the case, and pull out the journal and the file, Emma’s silk gown right on top of the case, and the idea of Savage seeing that doesn’t sit well. The idea of York’s hands on her body, slices like a blade. He will not get close to her again and the many ways I’m going to ensure that will be fast and furious.
I zip the case up and leave Savage behind, rejoining Emma and placing the items in my hand in the seat pocket beside me. I sit down next to her. “We’re taking off in a few minutes. They’re bringing us lunch. Sandwiches for now.”
“Just read it all, Jax. Do it now.”
“In the air,” I say. “I need to focus.”
A statement that makes more sense as the in flight food arrives and random crew activity takes place. We’re in the air another thirty minutes later, and I pull out our food from the delivery bags. “You don’t want to read what’s in that file or journal?” she asks, accepting her sandwich when I hand it to her.
My jaw clenches. “I do, but am I hesitating? Yes. The last place I want to be when I find out something brutal about my brother is in a box of metal in the sky. I’ll lose my fucking mind.” It’s out before I can stop it, raw and honest, and yes, brutal. It’s also not the entire truth. It’s true, I don’t want to be a prisoner while coming out of my own skin over my brother. But I’m also not sure I want Emma to see how I react to anything her family might have done to my brother.
Her eyes soften. “I understand. Let’s read it together at the castle then.”
“I think that might be a g
ood idea.” I motion to her sandwich. “Let’s eat.”
And so we do, and we talk. We talk about everything but our families and York. She tells me about her favorite hotels she’s scouted and opened. I tell her about our whiskey, about boxing. About my love for UFC that spiraled from my love of boxing.
“I like UFC,” she says. “And Pac-Man.”
“You like boxing?”
“Just Pac-Man. Something about him just makes a fight exciting.”
It’s a good two hours before we lower our seats for the remainder of the long flight, and we lay there side by side staring at each other. “Have you ever been to Germany?”
“I haven’t,” I admit. “I’ve been to London, Scotland, Rome, Paris, and Australia. But no, to Germany.”
“I leave for Germany in two weeks.”
“Not without me, Emma,” I say, stroking her cheek.
“You want to come with me?”
“Yes. I do.”
“We barely know each other.”
“And yet you’re coming to Maine with me. Why can’t I go to Germany with you?”
“Yes,” she says, her lips curve, those beautiful green eyes of hers warm, her voice heavy with sleepiness. “Why can’t you?” Her lashes lower and I watch her features soften into slumber. I watch her sleep but I don’t sleep. That damn journal and folder call to me. After an hour, I can’t take it. I sit up and I reach for the folder.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Jax…
Two hours later, Emma’s still asleep when I shove everything I’ve been reading back into the seat pocket. I stand up and walk to the back of the plane and press my hands to the wall, fighting off demons, fighting off the need to punch the wall. There’s not only plenty in those documents to prove malice toward my brother, but there’s reason to believe that malice extends to me and Emma.
I force myself to rein in my anger. I don’t want to tell her what I learned until I have time to connect a few dots. I push off the wall and walk to the front of the plane, sitting down next to Savage who has a bottle of North Whiskey next to him. I pick it up and down a few swallows before I fill him in on everything I now know. He whistles and grabs his laptop. “I’ll talk to Blake. He’ll get us answers by the time we’re on the ground.”
I take another swig of whiskey but say nothing. I get up and return to my seat next to Emma. I’m exhausted from not sleeping last night, and clearly, she is, too. I need to be fresh when I deal with this hell I’ve unlocked. I lower my seat and roll to my side, facing her. I watch her sleep a few minutes, and damn it, she’s beautiful and sweet, and smart. She doesn’t deserve any of this while me, well, I’m like Eric. I’m not all that good of a man but damn if a woman like Emma makes me want to be.
I shut my eyes and Emma’s hand settles on my face. My lashes lift but hers are shut. I can’t even explain the emotion that pumps through me in that moment but I need this woman in my life. I shut my eyes and pull her hand to me. I’m not letting go and based on everything I just found out, that means war, but bring it on.
***
Emma….
I wake to find Jax sitting up with coffee in his hand, and for a moment I just stare at him, because why wouldn’t I? He’s gorgeous. “Did you sleep?” I ask, sitting up, my gaze catching on his forearm where his sleeve is rolled up, that North tattoo meaning more to me now than ever. It’s pride. It’s family. It’s every reason he’s fighting for answers.
“A few hours,” he says, turning to face me. “We’re about to land. How do you feel?”
“Like I need to pee and I don’t even want to know how I look right now.”
“Beautiful, baby,” he promises, leaning over to kiss me. “Hurry. We land just a few miles from the castle. We’ll be out of the plane and there in no time.”
My spirits lift. “I can’t wait to see it.”
He winks and helps me to my feet and by the time I’m back, we’re in descent. It’s not thirty minutes later, and we’re gathering our things to exit the plane, which means gathering those files I took from my father and brother. A part of me wants to set them aside until tomorrow. I just want to see Jax’s home and be with him right now.
We exit into darkness and load up in an SUV again. “You’ll be able to see the ocean and the land tomorrow,” Jax says, pulling me close. “It’s stunning.”
“I can’t wait.”
We travel winding roads and in a few minutes the castle is in view, lit up with spotlights and my God it’s stunning. It’s medieval, with two towers, and white stone that seems to go on for days. I point to the right. “Is that a lighthouse attached to the castle?”
Jax seems to stiffen, a barely-there flex of muscles that I don’t understand. “No. It’s the Century Tower.”
He doesn’t offer more, and I glance up at him but he leans up to talk to the driver. Avoiding me? Yes, I think so, but why? A giant black steel gate opens and the driver pulls us past it, around another winding path until we are at the front door that includes a massive stone staircase and a towering wood door. A doorman opens the doors on either side, and I glance at Jax. “It’s amazing.”
“It is,” he agrees. “I’ll come around for you.”
I nod, but I’m eager to see more and I slide to the edge of the seat and out of the car, greeting the man holding my door. Jax appears and offers me his arm, his eyes warm, whatever spiked that reaction in the vehicle now gone. “Welcome to my castle,” he says.
I smile and we start up the stairs, the cool night washing over us, the ocean air depositing salt on my lips. At the top of the stairs, a man in a suit greets Jax and punches a button. The door lifts upward, dungeon style, and then we’re entering an incredible round room with stone floors, and four arched hallways to choose a path.
“Jax, thank God.” A pretty blonde rushes from a doorway to our right, her black dress hugging every curve, of which she has many. “I have a problem. I’ve been trying to call you.” She glances at me. “Hello.” Her voice is stiff, lips pursed. “You are?”
Hated apparently, I think.
“Emma,” Jax says. “Emma, this is Jill my operations manager.”
She doesn’t say another word to me. She casts all her attention on Jax and her look is full of female admiration. “Can I see you alone?”
Jax’s fingers flex where they have settled at my hip and he turns to look at me. “Give me just a minute.”
I don’t like this. I don’t like her. I feel like I walked in on a lovers’ spat. “Okay.”
He glances at Jill. “I’ll be right there.” It’s a dismissal that purses her lips, but she turns and walks away.
Jax lowers his voice. “She was Hunter’s fiancée.”
“Oh.” I frown. “Then why does she look at you like she wants to lick you all over?”
He doesn’t laugh. “I think some sort of post-traumatic stress.”
“Then you know?”
“Yes. I know.”
“I like that you were honest about that.”
He lowers his mouth to my ear. “And I like that you’re thinking of licking me all over.”
Heat rushes through me and I glance up at him. “I wasn’t, but now I am,” I dare. “In your castle bed.”
“I’m now even more motivated than ever to get you to that bed.” He kisses me. “I’ll be just a minute. You can explore the castle if you want or I can have one of my men take you to our room.”
Our room. This statement does funny things to my belly. “I’ll wait on you. I might explore.”
“Pick a hallway,” he says, winking before he walks the direction Jill disappeared.
I glance at the hallways and decide on the one to the left. Excited to see what awaits me, I walk through the archway and find myself walking a long stone hallway with cutouts filled with pieces of art. I stop at each, admiring the pieces, some of which are expensive and well-known. Eventually, I have the option of entering a library or a winding stairwell. It’s a tough choice, the books call me, but I
think this might be the tower I saw upon our approach.
I start the walk, winding left and right for a rather long climb. Finally, I step into a giant room that appears to be a chapel, based on the stained glass cross etched in the left stone wall. But what’s even more incredible is the giant cutout archway directly in front of me, at least ten feet wide, the wind lifting from what I believe to be the ocean beyond.
I approach it, hoping I can spy at least a shadow of the water. The wide landing is a large step up and I take that step but I don’t walk forward, certain there’s a long drop, that I will confirm in the morning light.
“The drop is two hundred feet.”
At the sound of a male voice, I turn to find a good looking man in jeans and a T-shirt, with blonde wavy hair so like Jax’s that I know who this has to be. “You’re Jax’s brother, Brody.”
“Yes. I am.” He stops almost just below me.
“I’m Emma—”
“I know who you are.” He steps up on the landing and literally crowds me to the point that I have to turn. I step and press my back to the stone archway, wanting something solid to support me. Suddenly I want off the landing.
Brody steps in front of me. “Why did you come here?”
There’s an accusation in his voice. “What? I —was I not supposed to?”
“Do you know how my brother died?”
My stomach knots. I really want off this landing, but for reasons I can’t explain I know not to move. “He killed himself.”
“He jumped. He jumped from this very spot. If we believe what they tell us.” Brody grabs my arms. “Or maybe he was pushed.” He turns me, placing my back to the drop and with one shove, I’ll be over the edge, too.
THE END…FOR NOW
***
Readers,
Thank you so much for picking up ONE MAN! I know this cliffhanger is a doozy, but I promise you will get more answers in book two, ONE WOMAN, which is releasing on September 17th – you can pre-order both remaining books in the NAKED TRILOGY on all platforms now!
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