Blackmailed by the Hero

by Julie Particka

  She packed another box of books. If she was lucky, she’d be able to find a new job, but she wanted to be prepared if she had to move out in a hurry. “It wasn’t a promotion, it was a temporary thing. This party only. It’s…complicated.” She had to come clean. He was her brother, and she’d spill eventually anyway. “Dante and I started seeing each other, and that fucked everything up. I should have listened to you way back when you told me he was bad news. If I’d avoided him for life like you suggested, at least I’d still have my low-man-on-the-totem-pole job.”

  “Uh…”

  A book in hand and halfway in the box, Vicky paused. “What do you mean by uh?”

  “You know I only said that shit to keep the two of you apart because you were about to get married, right?”

  Well, logically that made sense—all of it but the only part. “Because he’s a troublemaker and was going to try to get me to screw him or something and fuck up my wedding.”

  “More like because it was obvious you two were rapidly developing a thing for each other and that was going to fuck up your wedding.”

  Vicky swallowed hard. “You mean there was no horrible past that I was avoiding?”

  “No. I mean, I’m sure he has a past, but not what I let you believe. In my defense, I had no clue Brandon was going to turn out to be such a jackass.”

  The book fell from numb fingers to land in the box. “So what you’re saying is Dante isn’t a jackass?”

  “Not at all. Like I said, if I’d known, I would have pushed the two of you together rather than shoving you apart. He’s a good guy—one of the best I know, actually.”

  The kind to blackmail her to keep her out of harm’s way, like Jade suggested. The kind to orchestrate a sudden party so she could prove herself at work. The kind who had a “little brother” along with a charity to keep kids off the street. Vicky leaned against the wall, her head banging it quietly. “So, you’re saying he’s not the type who’d have gone out of his way to get me fired.”

  “What? Hell, no. If anything, he’d do just what you said and try to help you get a leg up at Elegant.” Which he totally had earlier. It was just this latest stupidity that had thrown her off the deep end. “The whole hero thing might not exactly be in his DNA, but it’s pretty fucking close.” When she didn’t respond, Evan said, “Vicky, what’s going on?”

  “I…I don’t know, but I think I might have fucked up worse than you did with Stasia in Vegas.” And Evan had done one hell of a job there.

  “Damn it. I’ll be there this weekend. We’ll figure it out.”

  Unfortunately, she had a feeling this was a job too big for even her superhero brother to fix. She was so screwed.

  …

  “Is the damn party on or not?” Evan sounded so pissed there was no question he’d already spoken to Vicky.

  Dante slumped down in his chair, staring at the party binder she’d left behind. “I don’t know.”

  “Okay, then can you tell me what the hell you did to get my sister fired?”

  If he sank any lower, he’d be on the floor. “I don’t know. Actually, that’s not true. I did something stupid, the wrong person overheard the wrong thing, and it must’ve gotten back to her boss.”

  “Fine. How are you going to fix it?”

  Easier said than done; Vicky wanted nothing to do with him. “She won’t let me fix anything.”

  “Dante, man, you are my best friend, but you’re a moron sometimes. She doesn’t want you to rescue her. That doesn’t mean you can’t fix whatever the hell happened.”

  Evan made it sound so easy, like he could just flip open the binder and find the answer to life, the universe, and everything. And he really doubted Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy had it right with regard to it being the number forty-two. “Like you fixed things with Stasia? A song and a ring?”

  “You’re not this stupid. Stasia didn’t forgive me because of the song or the ring. She forgave me because I stopped being a selfish little boy and figured out what I needed to do to be a man. To be her man.”

  “Unfortunately, I don’t think Vicky will let me be her man again.” Dante frowned as he realized Evan hadn’t beaten him up about their relationship at all. “Speaking of, aren’t you going to tell me to stay the hell away from your little sister?”

  “Why would I do that? You two were kind of meant to be, or all this wouldn’t have happened. You’re both adults. What you do with this relationship, or any other, isn’t exactly my business. What is…is the party. I have a pregnant wife willing to let me fly out for the day, but if there’s no party, I’d rather stay home.”

  Dante knew he should just cancel. It made the most sense, especially since he’d fired Elegant Entertainment and had nothing ready or even organized. He was about to tell Evan to stay home when his phone buzzed with an incoming text. “Just a second.”

  He thumbed over to the text screen.

  Hey Inferno,

  You told me to keep you up-to-date on Jinx. Things with the family didn’t work out. She’s back at the shelter and on short time. What do you want me to do?

  The dog. The mutt Vicky had fallen in love with at Pacific Park. He had no idea what to do with that information.

  He had no idea what to do with anything.

  Flipping back to the call, he dropped his hand, intending to slam it on the table. Instead, it thumped against the binder.

  “So? On or off?”

  Dante barely heard Evan’s question; he was too busy flipping through the pages in front of him. It was all there. All of it, right fucking there.

  “Party’s on. I have a lot of calls to make, though, so I’ll see you Saturday. Tell Stasia I said thanks, and give her belly a kiss for me.” He hung up and flipped back to the other screen, typing as fast as his fingers could move over the tiny keys.

  That dog isn’t dying on my watch. I’m not sure where, but I’m going to find her a home personally.

  He didn’t even wait for a response. He had a party to plan, numbers to crunch, checks to send, and if everything went right, a relationship to save.

  …

  Saturdays weren’t usually for lunch with Jade, but Vicky was glad they’d made an exception this once. And Jade had gone all out, splurging to take her to the Polo Lounge in Beverly Hills.

  Evan’s flight had gotten in late, and she hadn’t wanted to keep him from the party. This was her mess. She’d either figure out a way to fix it or she wouldn’t. Running to her brother for help after getting mad at Dante for storming to her rescue seemed bassackward, anyway.

  Leave it to Jade to suggest lunch and drinks as an alternative to brotherly love.

  “What do you want to do now? The party’s still on for a few hours. I don’t think leaving you alone is a good idea.” Jade slid a pair of sunglasses onto her nose as they stepped outside.

  “I don’t know. I’d suggest shopping, but with no money…”

  “Oh, no, did someone get fired?” The voice came from right behind her, so familiar and so close she had to fight the urge to overreact. Instead she turned slowly to face a grinning Reed, who said, “I heard you got in trouble for fucking some guy at an industry party a few weeks back. Really bad form, especially for the sister of an A-lister. Better hope this doesn’t damage your brother’s reputation. Oh, that’s right, he and his wife are already porn stars, aren’t they?”

  She heard all the crap about Evan, but her brain had stuttered over the party comment. “It was you.”

  “No, but it could have been.”

  “I mean, you’re the one who reported me to Mathew. You said I fucked Dante at that party. Or that I fucked you. It really doesn’t matter who you said I did it with.”

  “Funny thing is, your boss didn’t seem to care. It was like he knew you were a whore all along.” Reed shrugged, grin turning into a cocky smirk that Vicky wished she could wipe right off his face, but she was stunned silent.

  “Hey, is this your car?” Jade called from the street, running her
hand lovingly over the hood of a red sports car.

  As if he hadn’t realized they were together, Reed turned on the charm. “It is. I’m just wondering where the valet went.”

  She waved a hand dismissively. “He’s grabbing my baby. Ferrari 458, right?”

  “Italia.”

  The whistle that came from between Jade’s full lips was low and sexy. “I bet it set you back a pretty penny.”

  “That it did.” He started to walk toward her, but just then the valet drove up in Jade’s black convertible.

  She grabbed Vicky’s hand, pulling her toward the waiting car, and yelled over her shoulder, “Good choice in color, too. Douche bag red suits you.”

  It wasn’t until she’d climbed into the passenger seat that Vicky caught sight of the side of Reed’s Ferrari. There was a scratch from tail to driver’s door, metal gleaming through the bright red paint. She could barely suppress a smile as the valet called Reed over, and Jade pulled into traffic.

  “Sorry about that little charade, but no one gets to call my best girl a whore and get away with it.”

  “I love you.”

  Jade pulled into an open parking spot and idled there. “Then I think it’s time you let me give you some tough love.”

  This wasn’t going to be good. “Jade…”

  She waved a perfectly manicured hand. “You just found out that it wasn’t Dante or even your fight that got you fired. It was that arrogant fucktard we left behind us at the hotel. Sure, Dante overstepped, but he also did his best to help you out of a tight spot without overstepping before that.”

  “I know.”

  “And, quite frankly, I’ve never seen you as happy as when you were with him. Even that first day at Mortensen’s place when you said all you wanted was your work ID back…you glowed after that fucking kiss.”

  “But this wasn’t supposed to happen. My deal with you was just that I’d have sex. That was all. I screwed up my life by getting involved.” Vicky let out a deep sigh. “I’m going to end up screwing up his if I get reinvolved now. I need to fix me, just like I did before.”

  “Uh…that’s not really true.” Jade bit her lip. “You see, I kind of knew this would happen.”

  “What?”

  Jade shrugged. “You don’t need a man, Vicky. You never did, but you’ve always done better, been happier, when you had a partner in crime. If I wasn’t gone so much, maybe you’d have been perfectly happy if it was me, but you need that energy of someone in your life who always has your back, even when you don’t need them there.”

  “But isn’t that leaning on someone like I always did? I don’t want to be taken care of anymore.”

  “So, don’t let him take care of you. You can build you while you build a relationship, and from what I’ve seen, he’s a good guy to have in your corner, even if all he does is stand there and stare down any assfaces that come close.” Jade reached over and rested her hand on Vicky’s. “Face facts, Vicky, you don’t do casual sex. It never would have worked for you. I figured the deal would either help you realize that or wind up with you in the arms of a great guy. It’s up to you to decide which one of those things happened with Dante.”

  Jade was right. Everything she’d said had been spot-on. The big question was could Vicky resist the lure of falling into the damsel-in-distress trap? Could she be strong enough to stand on her own? She wanted to try. Damn, she wanted to try. “There’s only one way for me to be sure.”

  “Does this mean we get to storm the castle?”

  Vicky couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re my hero.”

  “Nope, I’m your bitch. Heroes save the day. Bitches key the cars. Get your job descriptions right.”

  “I love you.”

  “You said that already.”

  “Fine. I’ll do you one better.” Vicky scrunched up her nose as she thought of all the things she could say that Jade would dismiss out of hand. Then she said, “You know, if we were lesbians, I’d totally want to do you.”

  “I know.”

  “You know I’ve often wondered if you were a lesbian, or at least bisexual.”

  “If I had a quarter for every time someone—”

  Laughing, Vicky pressed a hand over Jade’s lips. “Okay, you win! I don’t want to know. But thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Now let’s get your bony ass to the party.” Jade winked, threw her convertible into gear, and pulled into traffic, weaving between cars as if her life depended on it.

  Vicky kind of hoped her future did.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “So, how did you pull this off if you canceled the contract with Elegant Entertainment?” Evan had a drink in his hand and leaned against the railing of the deck.

  Dante stared out at the yard filled with tents and decorations. Vicky had done awesome work, pulling together elements of Evan’s characters and his to create something that spoke to both their careers without being tacky about it—subtle enough they spoke to the men themselves as well. Navy blue and deep crimson decorated off-white tents with gold and silver accents, pulling everything together into a grown-up superhero party.

  He had to turn away. Looking at it made him think of her.

  Instead, he reached down and scratched the head of the dog sitting by his side. Because that didn’t make him think of her at all. Right.

  He tried not to sigh. “She left all her notes. I called the vendors, explained the situation, and said I’d pay them exactly what Elegant would have to just do what they were going to do anyway. They all jumped at not losing the sales at the last minute.”

  “And what about you? Did you talk to her yet?” Evan sipped his beer like he hadn’t a care in the world. It was the first time he’d even mentioned Vicky. Dante wasn’t sure whether to thank him or beg for information—if Evan had any.

  “I haven’t figured out what to say. I mean, the plan is after everyone leaves, I’m going to go over, but…”

  Evan shrugged and waved at someone out by one of the tents. “Why didn’t you just ask her to come? Maybe she would have.”

  “If she wanted to be here at all, she would be. I mean, you’re here. She hasn’t seen you in months.” Dante threw back his beer. “Besides, you ask that like you think she’d enjoy making a scene at our birthday party.”

  “And you say that like you know it would be a scene.”

  Too true. It wasn’t that he was afraid to talk to Vicky. He was afraid of all the ways she could potentially tell him to fuck off for good. “I just don’t want her to feel like she can’t say whatever she needs to say. The only chance we have is if we put everything on the table.”

  Evan clapped him on the shoulder. “It’ll all work out. If it helps anything, I regret keeping you guys apart five years ago.”

  “She was getting married.” Dante shrugged, his shoulders feeling far too heavy.

  “She was getting married to an asshole who was going to break her heart. I should have seen it. If nothing else, I should have seen how much happier she was around you than she was around him.” Evan drained the last of his beer. “I’m really sorry I wasn’t a better friend. Or a better brother.”

  “If you think either of us blame you, you’re wrong. I never would have met Vicky if not for you.” He couldn’t blame Evan for keeping them apart, not when he’d screwed up so many different ways since finally reuniting with her. He just wanted the damn party over so he could figure out how to tell her he had her back, whatever she wanted to do. He’d stand by as support, but he wasn’t going to jump in anymore unless she wanted him to. He’d say…

  “Earth to birthday boy.” Evan’s voice shook him from his musings. “You probably should have talked to her pre-party. You’re not even here, man.”

  “Sorry. I called a couple times, but I hung up before the phone even rang. It would have been better that way, but I was an idiot. So now I’m here, when I should be there.”

  “And I’m here when I should be home. But you’re my best friend, and she’s
my sister. Stasia told me not to come back until this shit is fixed.”

  “You have a baby on the way.”

  “I know.”

  “Your wife is a hard-ass.”

  Evan laughed, the sound shattering the tension on the deck. “I know that, too. In the meantime…beer?”

  “Yeah.” Not that it would change anything, but at least he’d have something to hold on to besides the dog’s stupid leash. Without warning, Jinx’s ears perked up, flopping forward, showing off her dalmatian side. Before he could say a word, she launched from her spot on the deck, tearing the leash right out of his grip. “Damn it!”

  Dante raced after her. He’d had the dog less than a week—the last thing he wanted was for her to get overprotective and bite one of his guests.

  Or lick one to death. Jinx stood at the front door, a body under her. Said body couldn’t stop giggling as she tried to push the dog’s face away. For the first time, Dante was really glad about Jinx’s single-minded nature. It gave him a chance to catch his breath and get his head on straight before Vicky sat up and ran a hand through her golden-blond hair. “I finally show up to your party only to discover you gave yourself the one thing I always wanted. What the hell is a girl supposed to think about that?”

  …

  It had only been a week, so why did looking at him now feel like she hadn’t seen him in forever? Then he just stood there. Vicky would have thought time had frozen if not for the metronome quality of Jinx’s wagging tail. Where the hell had the dog even come from? Had Dante invited its new owners? That seemed ridiculously unlikely, but he wasn’t answering her.

  “Dante?”

  He shook off whatever he was thinking, strode over, and held out a hand. “I really wasn’t expecting you.”

  Oh, God. Did he have someone else here as his date? She couldn’t imagine he’d pull that, what with Evan being here. “I can…come back later.”