"I'm Sadie. And he told me that if I stayed over, he could guarantee me a delicious brunch, hand-delivered,” she replied diplomatically. “Looks like he was telling the truth.”
"Nice to meet you. Come sit down, Sadie. Have a sandwich." Mike gestured to the coffee table where he'd laid out his bounty, and she took an aluminum wrapped sphere from the table.
"Coffee, everyone?" Jake glanced from his brother to Sadie and when they both nodded, he made toward the archway, then stopped in his tracks. He shot a warning glare at his brother. "If you scare her off, we’re going to have some serious words."
"Scare her? Me?" Mike looked around, as if trying to figure out who Jake was talking to. "I'm a lamb. It's you she should be worried about."
The whole time the coffee brewed, his gut brewed along with it as he strained his ears trying to catch bits and pieces of what Mike was saying to her.
Him sharing childhood horrors like Jake’s brief stint in ballet school at their mother’s insistence would be bad enough, but he was far more concerned about other things. Mike wasn’t above going from jovial big brother to hard-bitten cop in a flash.
When the coffee pot steamed its last breath, he poured the cups quickly and hustled back into the living room to find Sadie beaming.
"Three maids, huh?" she asked, chuckling.
"Ah, for fuck’s sake. You had to tell her that story? Always the charmer," he muttered. He shot his brother an expected scowl before setting the three mugs on the table, but inside, he was nothing but relieved.
All right, this was going more smoothly than he’d hoped.
"What can I say? It's a gift," Mike said. "And speaking of gifts, I wanted to ask how on God's green earth you knew about that Dominic the other day. The boys in that precinct have apparently been wanting to grab that scumbag for months."
From the corner of his eye, he saw Sadie tense, but he kept his tone smooth and relaxed. "I got a tip from a friend. Figured I’d do my civic duty and get an asshole off the street. Let's leave it at that."
"Well, you should hear some of the shit-" Mike glanced at Sadie. "Pardon my language. You should hear some of the stuff this guy has been spewing down at the station. Keeps talking about how he’s innocent and some sexy redhead must have set him up." Mike rolled his eyes, but then his gaze slid back to Sadie again and lingered there. Jake watched as Sadie shrugged a long lock of her chestnut hair over her shoulder to cover her bruises.
"I imagine people will say anything to get out of going to jail," Jake said, rising to his feet. “Anyone want more coffee?”
"Not me. Sorry to break up the party, but I think I'm gonna grab a shower if you don't mind." Sadie smiled from Jake to his brother, and when they both waved her off, she made for the door.
"It was nice meeting you, and thanks for brunch," Sadie called back to Mike, then like a dart she was gone.
A beat of silence stretched between the brothers, then Mike reached for a prune Danish and used it to point toward the door.
"Pretty," he said.
"She is," Jake agreed. "So what else is going on with you? Been doing any fishing?"
“Nope. But I’m about to start.” Mike held up his empty hand. "You really think you're gonna get off that easy?"
Jake blew out a sigh and settled back in his chair. "What's there to say, Mike?"
"Maybe that your girl there has bruises on her neck and the perp you called in has claimed that he was hustled by a hot broad and when she tried to hit him with a stun-gun, he ‘choked a bitch out'?"
That was way more information than he’d thought Dom would give. Guys like that typically didn’t want to hurt their street cred by admitting a woman got the better of them.
"Does it matter how it all went down? A pool game was won fair and square, he followed her out, intending to assault her, and she came out on top. There’re no charges to file here, unless you’re going to bust her for gambling on a game of pool. And you're still happy to have the guy behind bars, right?"
"Yes, but are you happy to have the girl? She seems like trouble." Mike took a bite of his Danish while Jake considered him. “Hell, she’s already gotten you involved in some heavy shit. Is she worth it?”
Jake had a few options here, but they all boiled down to lying or telling the truth. And where Mike was concerned? He'd had enough lying.
"She is," Jake said.
"You serious about her?"
"I'm..." Jake thought of her curled in his bed, her dark hair splayed out over his pillow. "I’m as serious as I can be at this stage in my life."
"Well damn." Mike leaned back. "I guess I should have brought champagne, too."
He cocked his head and eyed his brother hard. "I thought you said she was trouble."
"I don't care if she's a damned bank robber if she's managed to get you to move past this Hannigan thing and start living again."
Jake tried not to react at the too-close-for-comfort comparison and the faulty assumption, but his brother apparently didn't notice, because he kept talking.
"I haven't seen you like this since Mom died. I'm happy for you. Now all you have to do is not fuck it up."
From Mike’s lips to God’s ears. But he couldn’t make any promises. Not to his brother and not to Sadie. Not yet.
"Mike-"
"You don't have to explain anything to me. Just consider it a word of caution. Because I love you."
"You too, bro." Jake nodded, then finished the rest of his brunch bullshitting with his brother and doing his damnedest not to think about all the lies between them. If Rafe came through, it would all be sewn up within the week.
"You okay, brother?" Mike asked and Jake pulled himself back into the present.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
And he was going to keep being fine. Once the poker game was over, everyone's cards would be out on the table.
With any luck?
They'd both be all free of their pasts soon enough, and then nothing would stand in their way.
Mike knew. There was no doubt about that. He knew that she was the one who’d set Dom up and it was only a matter of time until he called them on it.
Holding her breath, she pressed her ear to the back of the bathroom door and willed the men to talk loud enough for her to hear.
"What's there to say, Mike?"
Jake sounded defensive, and her heart clamped up thinking of him sitting there under his brother’s harsh scrutiny.
Luckily, Mike didn’t wait long to answer.
“Maybe that your girl there has bruises on her neck and the perp you called in has claimed that he was hustled by a hot broad and when she tried to hit him with a stun-gun, he ‘choked a bitch out'?"
Sadie brushed the still-blue bruises on her neck and closed her eyes. Dumb. She’d been so dumb to try and hide them. All she’d done was draw attention to herself at the worst possible instant.
If she did something like that tonight at the poker game--
Jake’s voice interrupted her thoughts, mostly muffled, but she caught the end of it. "You’re still happy to have the guy behind bars, right?"
Yes, good, deflect.
More mumbling and she strained to hear, catching the very end of Mike’s reply.
“Is she worth it?” Suddenly, Sadie’s heart was in her throat, and she swallowed hard. She should step away, try her best not to hear what Jake would say about her. Already, though, her mind was forming a dozen answers she knew she didn’t want to hear.
She’s nothing.
It’s just for fun.
Don’t worry about it.
Sadie pressed her ear to the door a little harder and waited, her hands trembling.
"She is.” His deep rumble reverberated in her heart and she took a step away from the door before fumbling with her clothes.
All the trouble, all the drama, all the baggage that came along with her.
Jake thought she was worth it.
She listened for another moment, the relief that filled her so overwhelming, her
legs felt weak with it. The distant sound of Jake’s chuckle filtered through the door and she couldn’t help but smile.
Everything was okay. She hadn’t lost him and Mike, while cautious, seemed to want his brother to be happy more than anything else. It was nice to see him like this --in his home, with his family. And when she had been there, it was almost like she was a part of it, too.
She stepped into the shower and grabbed Jake's Irish Spring soap, taking a deep whiff before sliding it over her arms and stomach. It was corny, she knew, but she couldn't bring herself to stop breathing it in, letting the smell of him wash over her as the water sluiced down her back, saturated her hair, slid down the backs of her legs.
Again, she heard Jake's laughter and for a moment she pictured what it would be like if this was just a normal Saturday in her life. She and Jake waking up in each other's arms, Mike coming over to spend some time. Maybe even Clarissa would be there too. They'd be like a little family. The first real, stable family she'd ever had.
She swallowed hard at the thought and frowned at the little ache that surged in her chest.
She wanted that too much. Wanted Jake too much. And the worst part was that it all felt like it was a fingertip's distance away. Like if she reached just a little farther, it would all be okay.
She breathed deep again, letting the fresh scent of Irish Spring fill her lungs, then closed her eyes.
"I love him," she murmured the words to herself, then reached for the bottle of shampoo and squirted the pearly liquid into her hand. Sudsing up her scalp, she let out another deep breath. "I love him. But it's okay. It's going to be okay."
Or, at least, it would be okay so long as tonight went according to plan.
And if not?
She’d have to figure another way. Because she couldn't allow herself to implicate Jake. Refused to become the wedge between him and his brother and all his perfect normalness by continuing the life of a con artist.
"I'll just have to win," she told herself, and as she rinsed her hair and felt the soapy liquid pouring down her back, a new wave of determination washed over her, too. She was going to dominate this poker game.
And when it was all over?
She could finally make a play...for happiness.
19
Game time.
As Jake pulled up to the estate, he could hear Sadie muttering softly to herself, but couldn’t quite make out what she was saying. “You good?”
Sadie sucked in a breath and blew it out in a rush, looking toward him with a stiff nod. "Yes. Just getting into character. Let's get it done."
She'd donned her Countess accent, and her whole demeanor seemed to change on a dime. Instead of looking like a ballerina, she lifted her chin a little higher, giving the impression that she was peering down from her new, loftier position. She kicked one foot out in front of her, letting it part the slit in her already short skirt to bare her leg all the way up her creamy thigh.
She looked amazing, and she’d done an amazing job covering the bruises on her neck as well. He felt confident no one would be the wiser and her disguise would hold up under even the harshest scrutiny.
He held out an arm to her and she slipped her hand in to curl around his bicep, giving it a little squeeze.
"Very nice, sir," she purred.
He barked out a laugh. "Maybe when we're done here we can leave the skirt and the accent and-"
She gasped in mock indignance and swatted him with her free hand. "Eez zat how you speak to a Countess?"
He vowed then and there that, once they got through tonight, he would show her exactly how he would speak to a Countess. Blood rushed to his groin when he thought of how her body reacted to dirty talk.
"Come on, we're going to be late," she murmured, her voice suddenly husky.
Just the little tell that her mind had been in the same gutter with his gave him the push to lead them up the short walkway to the door. The quicker they got this over with, the quicker he could get her alone and see what she was wearing under that skirt.
Unless, of course, she was as furious as he expected her to be once he put his plan into motion. Then, he might find himself on the couch for awhile.
He pushed aside his apprehension as he rapped on the door sharply. It swung open a few seconds later and one of the housekeepers he’d seen at the gala stood with her purse in hand, offering them a polite smile. "Good evening, Mr. Callahan. Mr. Hannigan is upstairs in the game room. I can show you-”
"No, no. You're clearly on your way out. We can show ourselves up."
She glanced at her watch and nodded. "I appreciate it. I have to pick my son up from baseball practice."
He tugged Sadie to the side and waved to the open door. "Please, go ahead. Have a great night."
She scurried out and down the walkway, and he closed the door behind her.
So far, it seemed like everything was going according to Hannigan's usual schedule. The house was now almost certainly devoid of servants. All he needed to do now was get Sadie entrenched in the game and then he could put back the jewelry Sadie had taken.
"You think he's got enough space here," Sadie murmured, voice dripping with sarcasm. "First time I was here I got so lost, I was about to start scouting locations to pitch a tent and forage for food."
Jake chuckled and led her toward the grand staircase to the left.
"It's a lot of space for one man," he murmured, "but I think he needs the room for his massive head."
Her laughter spread over him like a blanket and he clutched her arm tighter. They were both doing a fair job of making light of this whole thing, but he could feel the tension swelling between them with every passing second. He was getting to the final chapter in a years’-long tome. His meeting with Rafe had gone better than he’d hoped and they already set the email trap. If things went right tonight, he was one final step away from avenging his father and Sadie was one step closer to a better life.
"Show time," she muttered through the side of her mouth as they reached the top of the stairs and turned down the hall toward the poker room.
He cleared his mind of everything but the task at hand and ran over the plan one last time. Get in, lounge around, chat and get the drinks flowing. Sadie was going to be pushing various cocktails she'd tried in her travels, and acting as bartender whenever she got the opportunity. It would take a strong man to deny a woman who looked like that when she offered him a beverage, or anything else, for that matter.
Once the game got under way and the conversation and liquor started flowing, she was going to lose a few spectacularly large pots before slowly but surely starting to get her mojo back. Right in the midst of the merriment, she was going to ask him to get her purse from the car. He’d slip away and do his part. Then, he'd return to the game, they'd stick in for another hour or two…at which point, the part of the plan he hadn’t shared with her would take effect.
Because there was no way Sadie was leaving Hannigan’s with less than a hundred grand in her pocket to start her new life with, even if he had to lose it to her himself. Sure, she would argue with him about it later and try to give the money back, but he'd deal with that when the time came.
What was the saying? Better to ask forgiveness than permission?
"Countess! I didn’t know you were coming tonight." They hadn't even stepped through the poker room door before Alistair was striding toward them, eyeing Sadie up and down, his gaze lingering long enough on her breasts that Jake's fists went tense.
He took a steadying breath and forced a tight smile. “Hannigan.”
"Callahan," Alistair said with a nod. "Glad to see you came back for more. We were worried you'd had enough." He looked to the other men at the table for his laugh and they obliged him quickly.
Jake smiled and shrugged. "Not yet. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, but I feel like that’s about to change. I brought a good luck charm."
He quickly introduced "The Countess" to the other men around the table, and then drew out
a chair for her to sit in. Jake could feel Sadie’s tension as Alistair eyed her contemplatively.
“I was disappointed that you disappeared so quickly the night of the gala, Countess. I would love to have spent more time with you. I hope I didn’t leave you feeling neglected?”
“Not at all,” Sadie said with a winning smile. “I wasn’t feeling myself. Jet lag, I’m afraid. But I do so appreciate you allowing me into your beautiful home to play cards. Jake had said it would be all right?”
“More than all right,” Alistair said with an oily smile. “I didn’t know Hold ‘Em was big in Bavaria.”
“Not very, but it’s huge in Vegas. And I love Vegas.”
She and Hannigan shared a commiserating glance as she took her seat.
“Can I freshen anyone’s drink while I’m still up?” Jake asked. Several of the men, including Alistair, held out their glasses.
As he poured from a crystal decanter, Sadie worked her magic, charming every last one of the bastards with her irresistible charisma. By the time the chatter slowed and the cards were flying again, Jake was pretty sure any one of them would have left their wives for her if she only asked them to.
On one hand, it was a great start. But on the other? He fucking hated it. A few of the guys were harmless enough, but Alistair and a man who he’d introduced as his lawyer were both leering at her in a way that made Jake’s skin crawl.
He managed to keep it on lockdown, though, and soon they were in a comfortable rhythm. Playing a hand or two, which Sadie inevitably lost, before one of them would get up and make more drinks.
She’d just lost her fourth decent-sized hand, pushing an eight thousand dollar pot over to Hannigan, when the deal came back around to her again.
“Put up your blinds, gentlemen,” she said with a grin.
As she shuffled, Jake watched from the corner of his eye. He had enough confidence in her that he didn’t expect to see any suspicious moves, but it was hard to take his eyes off her. She handled the cards beautifully, riffling them into a high and even bridge before tossing them in the air one by one to land neatly in front of each player.
The Family Jewels Page 16
