Bad Blood Collection

by Various Authors

  “Ah,” he said. “And yet you still believe in happy ever afters.”

  She refused to be embarrassed over it. “I think it’s possible, yes. Don’t you?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  Cara resisted the urge to snort. Of course he wouldn’t believe in love that lasted forever. Jack lived in the moment. And yet she felt like challenging him on it.

  “What about this wedding we’re going to? Don’t you believe they’ll be happy together?”

  “I hope so. Nathaniel deserves happiness.”

  Interestingly, she was incensed for Nathaniel, whoever he was. “Does Nathaniel know you don’t give him very good odds of being happy with his new wife?”

  Jack’s expression was wry. “I doubt he cares. He’s always done what he wanted. My opinion doesn’t matter much.”

  “Sensible man,” she said. “How long have you known him?”

  “All my life. He’s my brother.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. He was taking her to a family wedding? She’d thought it was just a wedding, not a family function. It had seemed so much easier when it had been simply a wedding.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked when she didn’t say anything.

  Cara swallowed. “I didn’t realize I’d be meeting your family. That seems much more personal than a business arrangement.”

  “It’s not. We’re not a very close family.”

  Something in his tone made her heart ache. She wasn’t close to her father, not anymore, but she couldn’t imagine life without Mama and Remy and Evie. It was true she wanted adventure, true she wanted to explore and do her own thing, but to not have them to go home to? To not have that safe haven that would always be there, especially now that she’d done so much to secure it for them?

  It was unthinkable.

  “I see this surprises you,” he said. “And yet, here you are, thousands of miles from home.”

  “I left for many reasons, but we’re still very close.”

  His gaze roamed her face. “Yes, I believe that. There’s a light in your eyes whenever you mention them. And you’ve clearly worked very hard to provide for them.”

  “I love them,” she said. And then, because she couldn’t stop herself, she asked, “Aren’t you ever lonely, Jack?”

  His expression was tired, bleak. She saw the wounded warrior now, the man behind the mask—or were there more masks, more layers of obfuscation? It wouldn’t surprise her if there were.

  “I’ve been alone too long to be lonely,” he said.

  “That’s ridiculous. How can you say that?”

  He traced the line of her jaw with two fingers. “You’re very naive, Cara. We don’t all need the company of others to make our lives complete.”

  She bristled. “I choose to think of myself as optimistic. There’s nothing wrong with hoping for the best. Nothing wrong with wanting to share my life with someone.”

  The boat thudded against the rubber bumpers of the dock, signaling that the ride was over. Jack stepped back, took her hand in his as if she were a child.

  “Wait,” she said when he tried to lead her toward the gangway. He gave her that look she was getting to know so well, the one that said he was annoyed but tolerating her. Well, nothing said she had to stand for it. She wasn’t letting him barrel through her life, giving orders and making plans—which was what he’d been doing since he’d walked in and sat down at her table last night.

  “I’m not naive, Jack. Wanting more out of life and relationships is not naive. I’m a big girl, I know what I want.”

  He inclined his head. “No, maybe it’s not naive to know what you want out of life. If only more people did. But, Cara, wanting more out of me is very naive.”

  “I didn’t say anything about you, did I?” she threw at him. “Honestly, your arrogance is unbelievable sometimes.”

  She didn’t wait for him to reply. She strode up the gangway, tears pricking at the backs of her eyes as a shiver of premonition skimmed up her spine. Because, damn her, she did want more from him. She wanted there to be something else besides this incredible heat and pull of attraction between them. She wanted there to be the possibility of a relationship at the very least. Even if it didn’t work out, she wanted to know he would take her seriously for more than the time it took to get her into bed.

  Honest to God, she should just leave. She should tell him the deal was off. But where would she go? She couldn’t go back to Nice, and she couldn’t leave Europe without her passport.

  Cara shook her head angrily. For now, she would stay. She had no choice but to stay.

  And she would remember that Jack Wolfe was off-limits, no matter how her silly heart wanted the possibility of more. He was hiding behind walls that were stacked to the sky and thicker than the duckweed that choked the bayous back home. The rare glimpses she’d gotten behind those walls were carefully controlled constructs that he trotted out for the sake of appearances.

  No, the real Jack was buried too deep to ever break free. She didn’t really know him—and she probably never would.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THEY spent another full day in Paris before setting out for London on a private plane only a few hours before the wedding. Cara had never flown in such luxury before. The plane was furnished in blue and cream, its plush chairs overstuffed and comfortable. There was plenty of legroom, a table in front of her that didn’t require anyone to fold down a tray and a sleek chrome bar where a uniformed attendant was stacking drinks in a refrigerator.

  She’d hoped to take the train so she could experience the Chunnel, but Jack had informed her that her lack of a passport would be a problem. They were flying because, presumably, Jack knew people. At least she hoped he did, because she’d hate to be sent back to France when he’d gone to so much trouble.

  “How does one go about renting a private plane?” she asked. The engines spooled up as they began to taxi down the runway.

  “I own it,” he said.

  Cara could only stare at him. He owned a plane? A plane? She glanced around the interior. It seemed even more lush and rich than it had only moments ago. My God.

  Jack picked up a copy of a British newspaper and flipped it open. Cara turned to look out the window while the plane gathered speed, shooting down the runway before lifting into the air in a stomach-dropping ascent. She glanced at Jack, but he didn’t seem in the least perturbed. She hadn’t flown often, and the experience was still both exhilarating and frightening every time.

  As the plane climbed, she watched the countryside below. It was so beautiful, and vastly different than her home in Louisiana. Here, there were vineyards, cows, verdant fields and stone villages in abundance. At home, there would be swamps, a lot of flat wetlands, sand and pine trees.

  A flight attendant came over and asked if she would like a drink. When the woman returned with a glass of iced water, Cara thanked her, hoping she didn’t look as unsophisticated as she felt.

  Real glass on an airplane instead of plastic. A man who owned an airplane. Wealth and luxury like she’d never imagined she would ever personally experience. She’d seen plenty of luxury in the casinos, but she’d never expected to be on the other end of the luxury. Enjoying it as if she were entitled to it.

  She felt like a fraud.

  “Want the paper?” Jack asked.

  Cara jerked her attention toward him. He’d finished the paper. The sections lay neatly folded on the table between them. She shook her head. “No, thanks.” A moment later, she asked, “Do you think you might tell me a little bit about who will be at this wedding?”

  “Scared, Cara?” The skin under his eye was black and blue, but he was still so handsome in his dark Italian suit. She ran a hand over the turquoise jersey dress she’d chosen for the wedding, marveling at the weight and texture of the fabric. At least she wouldn’t look as if she didn’t belong.

  When she’d emerged in the dress this morning, Jack’s eyes had gleamed hotly as his gaze slid over her body. She love
d the way he looked at her, and yet it frightened her, too. Because she was coming to expect that little electric jolt, to need it, and she knew it wouldn’t last. What happened when they were through with this wedding?

  She would have to go, would have to break away from this pull between them, if she hoped to survive with her heart intact.

  “A little bit,” she admitted. “But I think I’ll feel more awkward than anything.”

  Jack’s expression said he didn’t understand why she should. “There’s not much to tell. Nathaniel is marrying a woman he met while doing his last play, I believe.”

  “Is he an actor? Or maybe a playwright?” Jack’s brows drew together as he studied her. “You’ve never heard of Nathaniel Wolfe? You are quite sheltered, aren’t you?”

  Cara suddenly couldn’t breathe. Nathaniel Wolfe? Jack’s brother was the award-winning actor? She was going to his wedding?

  The panic she’d been holding in unwound in her belly. Oh, God, they’d see right through her! There’d be paparazzi, gossip columnists, movie people—and they’d all know she didn’t belong. She couldn’t possibly go to a celebrity wedding.

  Cara gave herself a firm mental shake before she did something asinine like hyperventilate. Why on earth would any of those people care about her? They wouldn’t. It was she who cared, she who was afraid. No one would even notice her.

  Jack watched her, one eyebrow arched. As if he were waiting for her to implode. She refused to give him the satisfaction. She could handle this, she really could.

  “I know who he is. I just didn’t realize he was your brother,” she said coolly. And now that she knew, she could see the family resemblance. Jack was older, she thought, but just as devastatingly handsome. More so, in her opinion. She didn’t follow celebrity news at all, but she knew there’d been some sort of scandal about Nathaniel Wolfe, something to do with his father’s death at the hands of a brother and sordid details about his mother trying to drown him when he was a baby.

  Cara shivered. My God, Jack had grown up in that family?

  “Nathaniel is my half brother,” Jack said. “We had different mothers. Sebastian, another half brother, will likely be there, as well. Alex won’t be there, but his twin—Annabelle—will. The three of us have the same mother.”

  “So you have four siblings.” She couldn’t remember how many Wolfes there were from the news reports. They’d never featured Jack, or surely she would have remembered that.

  She realized he was in no hurry to respond. He flicked a spot on his trousers, studying it as if he’d found a blemish. When he looked up again, his eyes were startlingly blank.

  “There are eight of us. Rafael is also my half brother, as are the two oldest, Jacob and Lucas.”

  “Wow, eight of you, then.” Jacob. That was the brother who’d accidentally killed their father. As soon as he’d said the name, she’d remembered reading it. Her heart squeezed for the man sitting across from her. He was so stoic, so controlled.

  She wanted to hug him, but knew he wouldn’t welcome the contact.

  He gave a curt nod. It was clear he didn’t want to talk about it. Clear he’d already said more than he wanted to say. And she had no wish to keep probing his wounds. Oh, Jack …

  “Is there anything else I should know?”

  “That about sums it up,” he said dispassionately, as if they were talking about the weather or game scores. “Except for Annabelle. Her face is scarred, though she hides it quite well. You probably won’t even notice, but in case you do …”

  Cara drew herself up. “I would never be so crass as to ask her what happened!”

  He sighed. “Of course not. Forgive me.”

  The bubble of her indignation popped. He was under a lot of stress, and she should have let it go without comment. “No, I should apologize. I’m sorry for snapping. For all you know about me, I might just be that rude. But I’m not, you can rest assured.”

  He nodded once, and then they lapsed into silence again. The closer they got to their destination, the more withdrawn Jack became. Cara could feel the tension in the air like a huge coil spring being compressed tighter and tighter and tighter. It was as if the miles piled up on his shoulders, their weight pressing him deeper and deeper into the ground.

  She wished she could remember more of the details about his family, but she’d hardly paid attention to the fuss. It was all very recent, she remembered, but she’d been so busy working and then coming to Nice to open the new casino. She barely had time to check her email, much less read celebrity gossip rags.

  By the time they arrived in London—after their plane was delayed in the air because of a problem on the ground—Cara was worried that Jack really would come unsprung. She wouldn’t have called him a carefree person by any stretch, but his demeanor now, compared with yesterday, was night and day. This Jack was dark, closed in, and she ached for him. Wanted so desperately to reach out to him.

  And yet there was nothing she could do. Whatever demons awaited him, she could only go along for the ride. She would not abandon him now, not when he might need a friend.

  After they emerged from the private airport they’d flown into, a limo was waiting to take them to the Grand Wolfe Hotel. Cara was no longer surprised at anything she learned about Jack and his family. Finding out he had a brother rich enough to own a hotel in central London was par for the course these days. Just like finding out that Jack was rich enough to own a plane.

  Cara shook her head. She’d been so wrong about him it was laughable. She’d always prided herself on reading people, especially as she worked the casinos, but Jack Wolfe was not as he first appeared. He had the sharp eye and fearless demeanor of a professional gambler, and yet he was so much more than a card shark.

  After the delayed flight, they got caught in heavy traffic on the ride to the hotel. Jack didn’t seem to notice. He stared out the window, his expression distant. More than once, she almost suggested they go back to the airport and return to Paris. He’d been happy there; they’d been happy together.

  Now, he was so remote. A complete stranger to her. It felt … odd.

  Tentatively, she reached for his hand where it rested on his thigh. Just to show him she understood, that she was here. Her skin sizzled, as always, when her body made contact with his. He turned his hand over, opening it, and then their palms were touching, fingers entwining. It wasn’t much, just a simple contact between two people who barely knew each other.

  And yet it felt like everything, like their souls entwined with their fingers. Cara turned her head away, the cars and sidewalks of London blurring as she blinked back tears. She would not cry over something as simple as a touch. She would not allow it to mean more than it did.

  It was touch. Warmth, companionship, light. Cara squeezed his hand gently. She didn’t expect acknowledgment, didn’t expect anything from him. But when he squeezed back, she knew she’d gotten through his shield, if only a tiny bit. It was a start.

  Jack glanced at his watch as they arrived at the Grande Wolfe. He’d feared they would be late the instant they’d gotten delayed in the air. He’d planned his arrival to leave no time for socializing with his family. He’d made allowances for traffic, of course, but he’d not counted on the plane being late.

  But he was here now and he had to get this over with. Had to go next door to the church for the ceremony, had to smile, had to be happy for Nathaniel—which he genuinely was—and had to hope Jacob avoided him. The last thing he needed was a confrontation with his brother.

  Everyone else seemed glad—or at least resigned—that Jacob was back, glad that he’d returned to restore the broken-down manor where they’d grown up. But Jack couldn’t care less about Wolfe Manor. Let it be torn down, let the past stay buried where it belonged.

  Jacob hadn’t cared about the place when he’d left them so many years ago, so why now? It was a ruse, quite simply, because Jacob didn’t have staying power. Let the rest of them fall for Jacob’s act, but Jack was not about to
do so. If someone burned him once, they never got the chance to do so again.

  Cara emerged from the limo and smiled up at him, and his world felt as if it were shifting somehow. It was the effect of what awaited him, he knew, and yet he was glad she was here with him.

  A bellhop came to collect their luggage, and Jack took one last fortifying breath before grasping Cara’s hand and walking next door to the church. The ceremony had probably already started, but they could sneak into the back and watch from there. Then they would escape with the first exodus and head for the hotel.

  But the church was empty, except for a few ladies cleaning up. Jack blinked at the scene before him. A profusion of white roses decorated the pews and altar, their scent almost cloying. He pivoted and led Cara back outside.

  She didn’t speak as they headed into the depths of the hotel. He found the ballroom where the reception was being held easily enough, having stayed at Sebastian’s hotel from time to time over the years, but the crowd was a bit lighter than he would have expected.

  The room had been draped in white organza, and once more the scent of roses filled the air. A few people danced to the elegant sounds of the band, but the tables were only about half-full.

  Jack spotted Annabelle almost immediately. She had her camera out, taking photos. She looked as coolly elegant as she always did. She glanced over, made eye contact with him. And then she was making her way toward them, her camera held like a shield in front of her body.

  “You’re late, Jack,” she said as she walked up. Her gaze flicked over his face, but he knew she wouldn’t comment on the bruise beneath his eye.

  He gave her a brief hug. Annabelle didn’t like to be touched, really, but he always felt so damn sorry for her that he wanted her to know he cared. She returned the hug as well as she was able before stepping back into her own space.

  “There was a problem at the airport,” he said. “Where are Nathanial and Katie?”

  “They’ve left for their honeymoon already. You missed everything.” Her voice was remarkably devoid of censure, but that was Annabelle. Cool and collected to the last.