by K. M. Scott
“Hey, I was just getting my stuff. I guess you know all about what happened and you think I told that Ciara woman everything too.”
Kane reached out and took the box from my arms. “Here, let me take this. Let’s go into the club and talk for a minute.”
I followed him, still a wreck emotionally from Cash’s coldness but happy at least one of them didn’t think I’d betrayed their trust. He set the box down on the bar and waved someone over. I turned to see Stefan smiling at me.
“Hey, Olivia. I see Cash is still not feeling in a forgiving mood. Not that I think you were part of that Ciara’s story.”
“He thinks I told her things, but I swear to you both I didn’t do that. I have no idea how she found out details about the fantasy rooms, but it wasn’t me,” I sobbed, unable to stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks again. Drying my eyes, I added, “I told Cash all that too, but he won’t listen.”
“My brother’s stubborn,” Stefan said with a smile. “Don’t worry. Once we figure out who was behind this, he’ll warm up again.”
I hung my head, embarrassed I couldn’t keep it together in front of these two men. “I don’t think so. He was so distant toward me you’d swear we’d never been anything but strangers to one another.”
“That’s how you can tell you got to him. When Cash is hurt, he goes into himself. It’s like he presses a button and the walls just go up around him.”
It didn’t help to think I’d gotten to him as the memory of his iciness replayed in my mind. Never before had anyone shut me out so completely and so effortlessly, or at least it seemed that way.
“You can deal with Cash later, but for now, who do you think could have been Ciara’s source?” Kane asked.
I shook my head. “I have no idea. I’ve never seen her since that day in his office.”
“Well, I saw her Monday night outside with some guy. Tall, dirty blond hair, acted like a jackass when he couldn’t get in. They seemed very interested in one another, but he couldn’t be her source since he couldn’t even get in the door.”
Kane’s words rang in my ears. “Tall with dirty blond hair? Was he wearing a black watch with a huge face?”
“Yeah. You know him?”
Before I could answer, Stefan slammed his hand down on the bar. “Jake! After Cash made me void his membership the other day, I knew Richfield was pissed. I told him to just let Cash calm down, that it likely wasn’t anything that had to be permanent, but he threatened to make him pay for what he’d done. I figured he was just blowing off steam.”
I raised my hand to my face to cover the last of the bruise that hadn’t completely faded from my cheek. “Jake’s all about blowing off steam these days, it seems.”
Stefan leaned down and narrowed his eyes to look at me. “Did something happen with Jake and you? Is that what made Cash go all scorched earth on him?”
Nodding, I looked away, embarrassed. “Yeah. It’s no big deal.”
“Fuck it isn’t. Jake hit you? If I’d have known, I’d have kicked Richfield’s ass the minute I got off the phone with Cash. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m more worried about what Ciara Danson’s article is going to do to the club than a bruise or two from some jackass. Isn’t there anything that can be done about it?”
“I think it’s time for me to pay Miss Danson a visit,” Kane said with a smile. “You know, to convince her and her boss that the article needs to go.”
I could only imagine what Kane would do to the flirty Ciara Danson. She’d likely try to use her feminine charms on him, but I didn’t see that ploy working on someone like Kane. But if it was Jake who talked to her, I wanted to hear the truth from her firsthand.
“I want to go with you,” I said, forgetting how scary this brother could be. He looked over at me and raised his eyebrows, like I’d just made the most bizarre suggestion, but merely shrugged after a moment. “Since Jake likely did this because of me, I’d like to know for sure if he’s her source.”
“That’s fine with me. We might even stop over at his place if I’m in the mood after talking to her. Just so you know.”
Stefan moved to join us, but Kane held his hand up to stop him. “You stay here with Cash. I’ll let you know what happens.”
“I’m not exactly the person he wants to be around when his love life is crashing down around him, you know?”
I shot him a knowing glance as Kane answered, “And you think he’d be happier with you and Olivia going somewhere together?”
A sly smile spread across Stefan’s lips. “Point taken. Give Jake a shot for me. Better yet, I’ll handle that myself.” He turned toward me and put his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry about Cash, Olivia. It’ll all work out.”
As I turned to follow Kane, I mumbled, “I hope so. Right now, I can’t see it.”
* * *
Spending time with Kane turned out to be far different than what I’d expected. The largest and scariest Club X brother said almost nothing to me the entire time we rode to the offices of All The Rage in his black 69 Mustang, but strangely enough, the silence didn’t make me uncomfortable. Unlike with Cash, Kane not talking felt right.
We walked into the building where Ciara Danson worked and found her sitting in a cubicle on the second floor. The look on her smarmy face showed she recognized me immediately, but I noticed unlike when she’d come to interview Cash, she wasn’t dressed so her coworkers could see all the blessings that God had given her. She’d have to use something else if she intended to charm this brother.
“I guess you saw the article, Miss Lucas. Your boss is probably very unhappy, but I’d have thought he’d come here himself instead of sending his secretary and one of the club’s bouncers.”
Amused by her ignorance, I smiled and said, “Ciara, this is Kane. He’s one of the owners of Club X.”
She looked him up and down, obviously liking what she saw, and smacked her lips. “Nice to meet you, Kane. I’m sorry, but I didn’t realize there was a third brother involved in the club. All my source told me about was Cassian and Stefan. If they had told me about you…”
Kane stared down at her with his usual steely look, unfazed by her attempt at flirting with him. “Let me tell you what’s going to happen, Miss Danson. I’m going to turn around and go speak to your boss. When he asks me why I think you should get rid of that article, I’m going to explain to him just who Ciara Danson is. Seems you’ve had a few run-ins with the law, and from what I hear, that degree of yours isn’t all you claim it to be. Florida State is a big school, but with the right man searching, it’s easy to find out the truth.”
The tone in his deep, raspy voice should have told her to stop while she was ahead, but Ciara wasn’t going to give up so easily. Looking up at him with her big blue eyes, she said syrupy sweet, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but perhaps we could meet over a few drinks and discuss this.”
Kane let her speak and then continued, “Now you can delete that article and everything associated with it and keep your job snooping into exciting events like pie eating contests and other nonsense worthy of your time, or you can claim some kind of journalistic ethics and I can go in there and get you fired. Your choice.”
I’d never heard Kane say so much at one time. Ciara stared up at him with a stunned look, like she’d just been slapped across the face. Everything seemed to stop for a moment, and then she turned in her seat to face her laptop. “Fine. You win.”
She typed a few words and before our eyes the article disappeared from the site. When she claimed it was all gone, Kane walked behind her and leaned over her to type his own words onto a screen I’d never seen on my computer. A few keystrokes later, he stood up to his full height and returned to my side.
“And now you’re going to tell us who your source was,” Kane said in a flat voice.
“It’s not enough that I deleted everything?” Ciara whined, all her charm and flirtatiousness gone now.
“No. Tell Olivi
a who your source was, or I’m heading into your boss’s office.”
Ciara hesitated, and Kane turned to walk away. “Okay! His name was Jake. I met him outside the club the other night when he was denied entrance, even though he’s a member. I heard him bitching about the owners, and I figured he was ripe for the picking. He told me everything.”
Hearing her confirm what I already suspected didn’t make the betrayal any easier. Kane threatened Ciara with revealing her past one more time before we left, and then we headed back to his car. Closing the car door, I turned to face him, dying to know what she’d done to get arrested.
“You have to tell me. What did the lovely Ciara do to get in trouble?”
Kane started the engine and shifted the car into gear. With a slight smile, he said, “Our little Ciara has a penchant for the five-finger discount. And her real name isn’t Ciara Danson. It’s Cheryl.”
“Shoplifting? And a new, sexy name? How did you find out?”
“That’s my job, Olivia. I handle all the dirty work for Club X—the sex, the fantasies, and finding out things about the people who want to come to the club.” He turned his head and smiled at me. “And yes, I know all about you. That’s why I was pretty sure you didn’t do this.”
“There’s not much to know, I guess. Investigating me must have taken all of five minutes.”
His smile grew bigger, and he chuckled. “You’re one of the rare people I’ve met in this business. You have no real vices, no problems with the law, and from all reports, you’re honest.”
“Pretty boring, huh?”
“Not so much. Seems to me those are the perfect qualities for an executive assistant.”
Kane’s allusion to my working for Cash again buoyed my spirits. We pulled up to the front of the club, but it was obvious that Kane had other places to go rather than return to work. I would have felt better if he was with me when I walked back into the club, but I had a feeling I knew where he was going.
“You aren’t coming in?”
Shaking his head, he narrowed his eyes to slits. “No. I’m going to pay Jake Richfield a visit.”
“Oh. Okay. I’d say be careful, but I think he’s the one who needs to worry about that.”
Kane chuckled low and looked over at Club X. “I think you have a box to take care of. Tell Stefan I’ll be back later.”
“Okay.” I got out of the car and leaned back in through the window. “And thanks for believing in me, Kane. I appreciate it.”
“Any time, Olivia. Don’t worry about Cash. Things have a way of working out.”
“Yeah. But hey, if this is the last time I see you because I don’t have a job anymore, it was nice meeting you. You turned out to be way different than I thought you were. Even if what you do isn’t exactly legal.”
That rare, genuine Kane smile brightened up his face and went all the way to his blue eyes. “The club is the club. I let Cash worry about the legality of it. As for me, don’t tell anyone how I really am. I won’t be able to do my job if people think I’m a nice guy. Let that be our little secret.”
“Got it.”
As he drove away, I looked at the front door of Club X with a lump in my throat. Whatever lay behind that door, I had to face it, even if it meant the end of my time there.
Chapter Twenty-One
Cassian
Staring down at the papers in front of me, I breathed a sigh of relief. All I had to do was sign on the bottom line and my marriage to Rachel would be over. No muss. No fuss. No dragging my brothers and me through hell so she could peel off a piece of the club for herself. She’d given me everything I’d hoped for.
Before she’d left, I asked her the natural question, knowing I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth but needing to ask anyway. I had to know. Why now? Why, after years apart, was she willing to walk away amicably now?
Her answer? Uncharacteristically philosophical for a woman who cared more about the outside of people than the inside. “This is a chance for us to be happy, Cassian. Take it and don’t look back.”
Looking back was what I’d done for so long I wasn’t sure I knew how to look ahead anymore. My life since that night I caught her and my brother together had been one long look back wishing what I’d believed was real. Every woman I’d slept with since then had been an effort to avoid looking forward to a future I didn’t want to admit.
In some way, never divorcing Rachel meant never having to move on. As wrong as that was, it was also comforting. A meaningless marriage, it still gave me an excuse not to get serious about anyone. Somewhere deep inside I’d always known it was a cop out, but it was safe.
Then Olivia came along and safe went out the window.
I had a choice to make. I could either spend my life alone, sleeping with women for what they gave me physically, or I could listen to that voice inside me that had been whispering that same refrain since nearly the minute I’d met her.
She could be the one.
Kane sat in his office doing whatever the hell he did during the day. I tapped on the door, unable to contain my curiosity anymore. He looked up from his laptop and shot me a casual glance as he closed it.
“Stefan told me what Ciara Danson said.”
“Yeah, it turned out pretty much how I thought it would. I think the only reason she didn’t offer to fuck me right there in her cubicle was because Olivia was with me, though. That woman’s got desperate written all over her.”
“So you took care of it?”
“Fucking Ciara?”
I stood silently staring at him, not in the mood for brotherly ass busting. “The article.”
“All taken care of, Cash. Club X is safe again.”
“Good.”
Stretching his arms above his head, Kane laced his fingers together and cracked his knuckles. “And I took care of Jake Richfield too, but that was more for fun than anything else. Men who hit women are fucking scumbags. They need to be taught a lesson.”
“Good.”
“What about Shank? What does he have to say about all of this?”
“He’s coming by later, so we’ll have to see.”
He waited for me to speak again, but I simply nodded and turned to leave. As much as I wanted to know what, if anything, Olivia had said to him, I couldn’t bring myself to ask.
“Do you still have an assistant? I didn’t see her when I got back.”
“I don’t know.”
“You should have known she wouldn’t do that to you or us, Cash. Not all women are like Rachel. For what it’s worth, I like Olivia. She’s genuine. That can’t be said about many people anymore.”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe it’s time to let go of the past.”
I looked at him, surprised at his words. “You’re going to tell me to let go of the past?”
“This isn’t about me, Cash. I fight to escape my past every day. It seems like you’re happy to be stuck there.”
“Thanks, Kane. I’ll see you later.”
“My pleasure. Advice is always free.”
John Sheridan strolled into my office about an hour later with a look on his ugly face that told me he thought our recent misstep with Ciara Danson gave him the upper hand. Taking a seat in front of my desk, he leaned back and shook his head. “Fucking female reporter. You know she’s got a record? Petty theft or some kind of bullshit like that.”
“Give me a minute, John. I want my brothers here for this.” I picked up the phone and told Kane to come down to my office. Stefan’s phone just rang until his damn voicemail picked up, as usual. He was probably in his office fucking some girl.
“No problem. Better if we’re all on the same page anyway.”
Kane showed up quickly but had no idea where Stefan was. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t like he had any real part in anything that involved Shank anyway. Taking a seat next to the cop, Kane looked across my desk at me and gave me a knowing smile. We’d been through enough of these meetings that he sensed my distaste for them an
d Shank.
“Stefan is out at the moment, John, so let’s get started. Can we still count on your help with the police?” I asked, figuring it was best to take the bull by the horns. If he wanted more money or some other perk, we might as well get it all out on the table now.
“That reporter bitch could have made things difficult for me, Cassian. Thank God it disappeared so quickly.”
I smiled at my half-brother, agreeing for once with Shank. “That was Kane’s handiwork, thankfully.”
Shank turned his head and looked at Kane. Chuckling, he said, “Well, thank Kane then. You work fast, son.”
“I know my job.”
“So how are things looking on your end, John? Can we still count on you?”
Shank twisted his hideous face into an expression that made it seem like he was thinking for a moment about what I asked. I had a feeling he might want an increase in the twenty thousand we gave him every month, but he’d stick to our agreement.
“I think I can see my way to making sure my fellow cops don’t have this place on their radar, but you need to make sure things like that article don’t happen. I think it’s going to be slightly more to make sure things stay cool, though.”
I shot Kane a glance and then turned my attention back to Shank. “How much?”
“Another five grand will do it, I think.”
Five thousand more wasn’t exactly good news, but we needed Shank’s protection, and until we found some other means of keeping the police off our backs, whatever he wanted would be what he got.
“Fine. Five thousand it is.”
Shank got up to leave and clapped Kane on the shoulder. “Good to see you two again, and Cassian, thank you for giving my little girl a job. She tells me she loves it already.”
“She does?” I shot a look at Kane to see if he’d met Shank’s daughter yet and he shook his head. I hadn’t met her, so how could she be working for us already?
