GOING DOWN FAST
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
CARLY PHILLIPS
Copyright © Karen Drogin 2016
Kindle Edition
CP Publishing 2016
Cover Photo and Design: Sara Eirew
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Billionaire Bad Boys: Rich, Powerful and sexy as hell.
Lucas Monroe dropped out of college only to become a multi-billionaire and tech world God. He can have any woman he desires in his bed, but the only woman he’s ever wanted is off limits and always has been. When Maxie Sullivan finds herself in dire straights, the only man she can turn to is the one she’s always secretly loved: her childhood best friend.
Can they trust their hearts and make a future, or will their complicated pasts stand in the way?
This bad boy is going down fast …
And going down fast has never felt so right.
“Carly Phillips is synonymous with red-hot romance and passionate love.”
—Lauren Blakely, NY Times Bestselling Author
* * *
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Prologue
Lucas Monroe was at the top of his game. As the co-creator of Blink, the social media app that had taken over the world, and with a recently successful IPO on Wall Street behind him, he was now getting ready for a night with a gorgeous model any guy would kill to date.
He put down the razor and dried his face with a towel, finishing up with a pat of cologne, his gaze drawn to the tattoos he’d had done that traveled down one arm and marked his side. He’d gotten the ink after he’d started working out and bulking up, determined to be a different man than the insecure kid he’d once been. He’d come a long way from the nerdy high schooler who was afraid to ask a girl out—one girl in particular—and who stammered over his own name.
Tonight he was headed to the Polo Bar, a popular night spot his date had chosen and, thanks to his connections, they were able to get in. Personally, he could live without the whole need-to-be-seen thing, but if it meant getting laid, he’d put in the time.
He dressed in a pair of black slacks and a white button-down shirt, rolling the sleeves. Just as he grabbed his keys and was about to leave, his cell rang.
A quick glance and his stomach twisted with a familiar pang. He answered immediately. “Hello?”
“Lucas!”
“Maxie, what’s up?” he asked his beautiful downstairs neighbor.
“It’s the baby,” she said, her voice shaking and tearful. “I need you.”
All thoughts fled except getting to her as soon as possible. He raced down the stairs, not waiting for the elevator, and rushed through the hall. Her door had been left open, he assumed for him, and he let himself inside.
“Maxie?” he called out.
“In here.”
He strode toward the sound of her voice and found her standing in the hall bathroom, blood covering her bare legs beneath her maternity dress.
Panic and fear rushed through him at the sight, and he froze in place. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” she said, tears in her eyes. “I was putting the baby’s crib together.”
Lucas narrowed his gaze and catalogued that piece of information to deal with later. Like why wasn’t the baby’s father doing that job?
“I got tired,” she went on. “So I went to lie down and I woke up to… this.” She gestured to the blood with shaking hands.
“Let’s go.” He stepped up to her, wrapping an arm around her and carefully leading her out of the small room. “I’m taking you to the hospital.” He managed to sound strong and in charge when, in reality, the blood had him completely panicked.
She stopped in her tracks. “But I called my doctor. I’m waiting for him to get back to me and tell me what to do.”
Lucas frowned at her calm tone. “Well, he can damn well find you in the ER. What do you need?”
She pointed to her purse on a chair in the family room. “I’ll grab a towel from the bathroom,” she said softly.
“I’ve got both.” He went for the towel, then her bag, and returned quickly, herding her to the door.
A few minutes later, he’d hailed a cab, and they were in the backseat, Maxie huddled close. She clung to him, plastered to his side, her breathing heavy.
“Oh my God, what if I lose the baby?” she asked, her voice muffled in his shirt, which was now damp with her tears.
Pure fear had taken over her earlier calm, and he was almost relieved. Her lack of reaction before had been freaking him out. He’d had a hard enough time hiding his panic.
He stroked her hair, feeling the hard press of her belly against his side. “It’s going to be okay, baby. Hang on,” he said as he silently prayed for her to be all right too.
Meanwhile, she cried soundlessly beside him, shaking. And breaking his heart.
“Can’t you hurry up?” he asked the driver he’d already promised a hefty tip to get them there fast and safe.
“Doing the best I can in this Manhattan traffic, buddy,” the older man said. But he cut off a car in the next lane and hit the accelerator harder.
Finally, the car screeched to a stop at the hospital emergency room entrance. Lucas threw a fifty at the driver and helped Maxie out of the cab.
One look at the blood on her legs and towel and the triage nurse grabbed a wheelchair. Lucas held her hand, rushing beside her.
“How far along are you?” the young nurse asked.
“Almost seven months,” Maxie whispered. “It’s too early.”
Lucas squeezed her shoulder. They reached a set of swinging doors and the nurse paused. “Are you her husband?” she asked.
“No but—”
“Wait here. I’ll come out as soon as I know something.”
“But—” Lucas cursed himself for not lying through his teeth to go in with her, but he hadn’t been thinking about anything except Maxie. And the blood.
The notion of losing her for good was unbearable. He refused to think about the fact that he’d already lost her in the only other way that mattered.
“No, he can come with me,” she said, sniffling.
“We don’t know what the situation is. I promise once you’re stabilized, I’ll come get him,” the nurse said, turning the chair so she could back herself and Maxie through the entrance.
He met Maxie’s tearful gaze as she was wheeled away, the big doors closing behind her, leaving him to wait. Alone.
* * *
Maxie woke with a start, and a cloud of depression immediately cloaked her in fog. She didn’t have to think to know the world as she knew it had ended. She blinked and tears streamed down her cheeks unchecked.
“You’re awake.”
Lucas. She forced herself to roll to her other side and face the man who’d done everything he could to help her. Without success. The blood had been a
shock. The debilitating pain had begun almost as soon as she’d entered the hospital. The rest was a horrific blur of words the doctor had used, each one an agony-filled stab in her heart. Late-term miscarriage. Nothing she could have done to prevent it and nothing she had done to cause it. Probably due to chromosomal abnormality. Rare occurrence. I’m sorry.
“Maxie? I asked if you’re okay? I mean—”
“I know what you mean.”
Lucas was worried about her.
“I don’t understand. I wish…” Her voice caught on an unexpected sob.
Lucas was by her side in an instant, pushing his big body onto the small hospital bed along with her and pulling her close. He smelled delicious, a citrusy masculine scent. It comforted her. He comforted her and she burrowed in closer.
“The nursery’s all painted, the crib nearly done. I named him—” She choked back a cry.
“Let it out,” he said, holding on to her tightly.
He was so solid. So there. Unlike her husband, who, from the minute she’d seen blood, was nowhere to be found. He hadn’t even returned her call. She hadn’t checked her cell since being in here, but she had no doubt Lucas had tried to reach him.
But it wasn’t Keith she needed now, it was Lucas, and true to form, he was there. The one to make her feel better when she was hurting, the one to comfort her when she had problems. He’d been her next-door neighbor since they were ten years old, her best friend, the one she could count on, always. But when her teenage feelings had changed, deepened, she’d kept them hidden.
Good girls didn’t make a play for boys, her very religious mother had hammered into her. And Lucas, well, he’d been different back then. Less confident. He hadn’t acted on any change in dynamic between them either. The timing had never been right. They had never been.
“Lucas…”
“I’m here, baby. For anything, I’m here.”
“I know. And thank you.”
The tears began again, the thought of the fear when she’d seen blood, the sheer panic when she’d realized she was alone. Her absolute refusal to face what was so obviously happening. She’d dialed Keith, but her heart had wanted Lucas, and when her husband wasn’t reachable, she’d called the one man she knew she could count on.
“I don’t know what I would have done without you.” She’d dampened his shirt but he didn’t seem to care.
He merely shifted, wrapping his muscular arms around her tighter. “You’re strong. Stronger than you know. You’ll get through this,” he reassured her. “And I’ll be here for you. Whatever you want or need.”
The distinct sound of someone clearing his throat sounded, and she jumped, her gaze darting toward the door to her room.
“Isn’t this cozy?” Keith slurred, lounging in the doorway, glaring at Maxie and Lucas, who stiffened but didn’t make a move away from her. “Your message said it was an emergency, but looks like situation normal to me.” He made his way into the room, weaving slightly on his feet.
God, she didn’t need this right now. Her husband was obviously drunk. His clothes were wrinkled, and there was a noticeable red lipstick stain on his collar.
Under any other circumstances, she’d want to die of embarrassment, that Lucas was seeing what her marriage and life were really like, but she’d lost the only thing that mattered and that had bound her to Keith. She couldn’t bring herself to care about his feelings now.
“I’ll handle him,” Lucas whispered into her hair.
“No need to handle anything, brother,” he sneered. “I’ll handle my own wife.”
Maxie closed her eyes and let the tears fall. For the baby she’d lost and the life she could have had… if only she hadn’t married the wrong brother.
Chapter One
Nine months later
Lucas poured himself a cup of much-needed coffee after a ridiculously late night with Derek and Kade, his best friends and partners in Blink. He brought the drink to his mouth only to be interrupted by a knock.
He placed his cup on the counter and headed for the door, swinging it open, shocked to find his sister-in-law standing on the other side. As usual, he forced himself to use the term he’d had to get used to over the years—because it put up an automatic barrier between them. One that said hands off.
He often wondered whether, if he’d managed to make a move on her years before, he’d have had a chance with the girl of his dreams. If he’d only believed in himself enough to try. Didn’t matter now. Even with his brother gone, having died in a car accident six months earlier, Keith was still between them. It was too late.
He shook himself out of his brooding about the past and focused on the woman at his door. “Maxie.”
“Hi, Lucas.” A flush stained her cheeks. Dark circles framed her eyes, and she had no makeup on her pretty face.
Realizing she was the subject of his scrutiny, she self-consciously pulled at a strand of blonde hair that had fallen from the messy knot on top of her head. She looked tired and fragile. She’d been through more than her fair share of shit with Keith, and Lucas sensed there was much he didn’t know about their marriage and her life.
“Come on in,” he said in the wake of her silence.
Twisting her hands in front of her, she walked past him into his apartment.
He shut the door behind her. “This way.” He led her to the kitchen. “Can I get you a cup of coffee?” he asked, taking a long sip of his own. He sensed he was going to need it even more than he’d originally thought, because judging by her behavior, something was up.
“No. Thank you. I’m hopped up enough.”
She didn’t seem hopped up, but deflated. He knew she’d suffered from severe depression after losing the baby, but she’d seemed to be coming out of it lately and behaving more like herself.
He placed his cup down, grasped her hand, and led her into the den, where his wall-to-wall television and electronic sectional sofa were located.
Maxie was a year younger than him, and they’d been inseparable from the time his family had moved in to the Long Island neighborhood. Over time, the feelings he’d felt for her had become more, but he hadn’t been the confident man he was today. He’d been the geeky younger brother who struggled with school, liked his video games, and wanted nothing more than to be in front of the computer screen. As opposed to his overachiever, sports-oriented older brother. Four years his senior, Keith was competitive to the extreme and thrived on Lucas’ insecurities. Despite the lack of rivalry on Lucas’ part, what Lucas had—or wanted—Keith had made it a point to take.
And that had included Maxie.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her, knowing she wouldn’t be here otherwise.
Although his brother had bought the apartment downstairs, another fuck you to Lucas that forced him to watch Keith with Maxie close up, he and Maxie had kept their distance after the marriage. And she’d pulled further away after losing the baby.
She opened her purse and pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to him. The word FORECOSED jumped out at him, stamped on top.
His gaze shot to hers.
She nodded, tears in her eyes.
“I don’t understand. Keith was a partner at a top New York law firm. He had to have left you well off. With insurance.”
She shook her head, and he gave her a moment to compose herself. She finally met his gaze. “Your brother isn’t… wasn’t who you thought.”
Lucas hadn’t thought much of his older sibling, but that wasn’t something he would share with his widow. It was enough he carried the guilt for the negative feelings he had for his dead sibling and the depth of emotion he felt for the man’s wife.
“What do you mean?” Lucas asked.
She blew out a long breath, her brown eyes meeting his. “Most of it doesn’t matter except for this. Keith was into gambling. Heavy-duty gambling, and I had no idea until after he died. He drained our accounts, took money from the 401-K, and hadn’t paid any of the life insurance he had.”
; Lucas stiffened as he absorbed that information, but too much still didn’t make sense. “Okay, but banks don’t just foreclose. They give you warning.”
Her sad eyes met his. “When we moved in here, Keith was doing very well at the firm. He told me we paid off the mortgage. Then, after he died, of course I didn’t make any payments because I didn’t think there were any to be made.” She glanced away. “I had no idea Keith had taken out another mortgage and somehow forged my name until the sheriff delivered the notice!” she said with the first show of anger since she’d arrived.
Lucas glanced at the paper in his hand, still confused. If it had been a warning, he could have paid off the debt and saved her home. “Didn’t you get advance notice? They usually give you time to make payments. I could have taken care of things.”
She shook her head. “I called the bank. Apparently they had a post office box on file, not the house address. Keith hadn’t paid the mortgage in almost a year. Here I thought at least I had the apartment free and clear, because thanks to the gambling, there was nothing left.”
He stared in disbelief. “Why is this the first time I’m hearing about this?”
“Because I thought I could handle things.” She shifted her gaze from his, her hands twisting in her lap. “I got a job for minimum wage at a boutique and—”
“Hold on.” He held up one hand, interrupting her. “You’re a paralegal at Keith’s firm. What happened to your job?”
“The partners fired me after Keith died and the truth about him came out. He’d been siphoning money from the firm too. I’m tainted goods by extension. I can’t get a job at another criminal law firm. Nobody will go near me. I have resumes with a lot of civil firms but no bites.”
Shock rocked through him. Lucas had never had a good relationship with his sibling, and he knew damn well he’d been a shitty husband. It had taken everything in him to watch the sparkle leave Maxie’s gaze over the last few years, but he’d told himself it wasn’t his business. He’d had no idea Keith had been a thief and a gambler.
Going Down Fast (Billionaire Bad Boys Book 2) Page 1
