by Sandra Owens
When the elevator stopped, they stepped into a foyer with the same black marble floor as in the lobby. There were only two doors, and he put his hand on her back, leading her to the one on the right. Lord, he had half of the entire top floor?
He punched a series of numbers on a keypad, then opened the door. She stepped inside and barely managed to stifle a gasp. One wall was all glass with a view of the bay that had to be magnificent in the daytime. The floor was a beautiful dark wood, the cathedral ceiling soared up, and the walls were painted a soft dove gray. His furniture looked brand-new. The dark gray sofa was massive, but then so was the room. He’d added colors—blues and purples—in the paintings and knickknacks. She smothered a giggle. Calling the pieces scattered around the room knickknacks was insulting them.
She stole a glance at him to see him watching her as if waiting for her reaction, and she got the sense that he was nervous. Why? It was a beautiful home, so was he wanting her to be impressed? She was. He obviously had money. His car was a late model Mercedes, his clothes were expensive, and his home had to have cost a fortune. But he’d never bragged about any of that, which made her think he was afraid she’d like him for his money. A lot of women would. Personally she’d be more comfortable in that bachelor pad that she’d imagined him living in.
“Nice place,” she said, making sure she didn’t sound like she was gushing. She dropped her purse on the coffee table and then walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows. The view was definitely impressive, one she’d love to see in the daytime. It was pretty now, too. There was a marina below, and some of the boats bobbing in the water had lights on.
He came up beside her, close enough to catch his scent, and she had the urge to nestle her face against his neck and breathe him in. Her brain said to step away, but her body disagreed. She made the mistake of looking up, into his eyes. Something passed between them, something that had her catching her breath. A smiled played on his lips that sent her pulse to racing. She forced herself to put distance between them before she tackled him to the floor and had her way with him.
“When are they supposed to be here? My brothers.” The word still felt strange on her tongue.
“Any minute now. Would you like something to drink? A glass of wine?”
“Water would be nice.” She’d love to see his wine collection, and maybe she’d get a chance to some other time. Or not. But she wanted to be at her most alert when she met her brothers.
She spied a shelf with photos in silver frames and walked over to it. There was a picture of him with a beautiful little girl who had his blond hair and blue eyes. There was another one of him with his daughter at a younger age. He held Zoe in one arm and his other one was wrapped around the shoulders of a stunning woman who also had blonde hair and blue eyes. Jeez, talk about a beautiful family.
If that was the kind of woman he preferred, what did he see in her? Her mother had been half Seminole, and Kinsey had her features. She’d always been comfortable with her looks, but she couldn’t hold a candle to Rand’s ex-wife.
“Here you go.”
Kinsey glanced at Rand. “Your daughter was beautiful.”
He smiled as he looked at the picture she held. “Yes, she was.”
“I’m glad you can smile now when talking about her.” She set the photo back on the shelf and took the glass of water he held. “Your wife is gorgeous. Do you miss her?”
“No. Not anymore.” He put his finger under her chin, lifting her face. “You’re the only woman on my mind these days. And Kinsey, in my eyes you’re more beautiful than she ever was.”
“Thank you.” It was hard to stay mad at him when he said things like that. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot, too.”
“Thank God. I was afraid—”
The doorbell rang, sending her heart to skittering. They were here.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” Rand said, giving her arm a squeeze. He headed for the door.
Nerves were making her palms sweat, and she set the glass on the coffee table before it slipped out of her hand. She started to sit, then thought she should stay standing. Taking a deep breath, her heart beating as if it were a deranged hummingbird flitting around, she waited to see her brothers for the first time.
And good Lord, they were big. They came to a stop a few feet from her. In all her life, Kinsey had never seen such formidable men. The three men standing shoulder to shoulder formed an impenetrable wall, made up of muscle and danger. And they were looking at her.
She’d expected to see them wearing scruffy jeans and biker club vests loaded down with patches, chains hanging from their belt loops. Instead they could have walked off the cover of a men’s magazine in their dress pants and button-down shirts. That these three incredibly handsome men were her brothers was surreal.
“It’s her,” the one in the middle said.
Rand moved next to her, and she slipped her hand into his, needing his touch to ground her. He squeezed her hand, tightening his fingers around hers.
“She’s a lot prettier than us,” the youngest-looking one said.
The middle one snorted. “You have a gift for understatement, baby brother.”
The oldest was eyeing her and Rand’s joined hands, and by his expression he wasn’t pleased. Too bad because she wasn’t letting go. If she did, she’d probably fall down. Were they as nervous as her? Their faces were unreadable, so she didn’t know.
“We’ve been looking for you,” he said. “I’m Nate.” He put his hand on the shoulder of the one next to him. “This is Court, and the other one is Alex.”
“Rand said you knew about me.” Why hadn’t they come for her?
Nate nodded. “But only recently, and we have been trying to find you.”
“To hell with this,” Alex said. He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. “Hello, little sister,” he said. “You have no idea how happy I am that I’m no longer the baby of the family.”
Rand let go of her hand when Alex pulled her into a hug. Her first reaction was to grab it back. His hand was her lifeline, the only thing that had been keeping her on her feet. But her brother’s arms were strong and welcoming. A brother’s embrace was a thing she’d never expected to feel, and she burst into tears.
“Oh hell, she’s crying,” Nate muttered.
Kinsey laughed against Alex’s chest. Her oldest brother had sounded so grumpy, and although she’d only just met them, she sensed that Alex was the easygoing one of the family and Nate the most reserved. If her guess was right—and she couldn’t wait to find out, to learn all about them—then that probably put Court somewhere in the middle of the two.
“My turn,” Court said, pulling her away from Alex and giving her a hug.
His embrace wasn’t as tight as Alex’s, nor did it last as long, but his arms still felt good wrapped around her. When Court let go of her, she met Nate’s gaze, not sure if she should hug him or what. He was intimidating, and she couldn’t begin to read him. Then he smiled and it changed his whole face. Suddenly he wasn’t scary anymore. She went to him when he opened his arms.
“I have so many questions,” she said after stepping back.
“So do we, but this isn’t the place,” Nate said. His gaze slid to Rand. “We need some private family time.”
Rand looked at her. “Are you good with that, Kins?”
She smiled, liking that he used the same nickname she sometimes referred to herself by. “Why can’t we talk here?”
“For one thing our wives are dying to meet you,” Court said.
“Yeah, they threatened to not talk to us for a week if we didn’t bring you right to them.” Alex laughed. “They’re nosy creatures and can’t stand the thought of being left out.”
“All of you are married?” Her brothers nodded. “I had this vision of you as some kind of badass bikers, that you could even be killers. I wasn’t sure I wanted to meet you.” The men, including Rand, shared amused glances that puzzled her. “What?” sh
e said.
“Not here,” Nate said again. “Will you come with us to my house? Our families are there waiting to meet you.”
Although they weren’t anything like what she’d feared, she didn’t know these men and wasn’t comfortable just taking off with them.
As if reading her mind, Nate said, “You’re safe with us.” He sighed when she still hesitated. “Maybe this will ease your mind.” He pulled out a black leather case and flipped it open. “Special agent in charge of the Miami field office of the FBI.”
7
Rand swallowed a smile when Kinsey’s jaw dropped. Now that Nate wasn’t working undercover, there wasn’t a reason to hide his identity. His picture was, in fact, on their web page as the special agent in charge. He was curious to see how his boss would explain knowing him and Josh.
“I don’t understand,” Kinsey said. “Didn’t you own Aces and Eights?”
“We did and still do,” Nate said. “Court and Alex are FBI, too. You couldn’t be in safer hands.”
Her eyes widened, and then she turned to him. “You, too?”
Unsure how to answer, he raised a brow at his boss.
“He is, but he works undercover. Now forget I told you that,” Nate said.
Interesting that Nate was trusting her already.
A smile settled on her face as she eyed him with what seemed like fascination. “I knew there was more to you than you let on.”
He winked, getting a bigger smile from her and scowls from her brothers. Their glares brought him to his senses. She was the sister to men he not only worked with but considered friends. The Gentrys would categorically consider the bro code in effect, making their sister off-limits. It was a code every man understood.
They hustled her out; his last sight of her was a glance over her shoulder at him. There was a question in her eyes, one that seemed to ask if she would see him again. He turned away, and when the door closed behind them, he slipped his hand into his pocket, wrapping his fingers around Zoe’s necklace. It was a reminder that Kinsey was better off without him.
She was young with a life full of opportunities ahead of her. Someday she’d want to settle down and have a family, and that could never be with him. He would not have another child. He couldn’t bear the thought of experiencing that kind of loss again. Better to put the brakes on now before things between them progressed any further. Besides, the Gentrys wouldn’t give him a choice in this.
She had brought him back to life, though, if only briefly. Alone again in his home, he went to the window. He noticed Kinsey had left a handprint when she’d stood there looking out, and he placed his palm over the print. It wasn’t right to miss something he’d never had. But being with her had helped him realize one thing. Just because he smiled or laughed, it didn’t mean he missed Zoe any less.
It was time to join the living again.
Rand jogged up the steps to his father’s Key Biscayne mansion. He’d called Josh to tell him he would come in tonight after all. On the way to Aces & Eights, Rand’s father had called, so he decided to make a quick stop before heading on to the bar.
The first person he came across was the housekeeper. “How are you, Miss Helena?” She’d been with his family since he was a boy, and he adored her. She’d been more of a mother to him than his own. Helena had been the one he’d gone to when he skinned his knee or needed a hug. Although somewhere in her early sixties she was still full of energy.
“I’m not speaking to you, Randall.”
She was going to admonish him for not coming around more often, but he played along. “Tell me what I’ve done to put that frown on your face so I can immediately make it right.”
“You seem to have forgotten how to get here.”
“Miss Helena, I could never forget where to come to get my hugs. Now stop making me feel like I’m six years old again and give this old man a little love.”
She giggled as she wrapped her arms around him. They both knew why he no longer came to his father’s house unless he was summoned. He loved his father and his father loved him. That wasn’t in question. But he’d disappointed his father by turning his back on all that he was entitled to, and Harlan Stevens still harbored hope that his son would come to his senses. Rand had tired long ago of the constant pressure from his father to take his place at Stevens Enterprises, and avoided those discussions as much as possible.
As for his mother, she was probably at some thousand-dollar-a-plate charity event. If given the choice of seeing her son or being out with the rich and famous, she’d always pick the latter. But that was old news, something he’d accepted years ago. Her son wasn’t her priority. He never had been.
Sometimes when he’d watch the Gentry brothers, seeing the way they loved and supported each other, he’d feel regret that he and his mother didn’t have that kind of relationship. For the life of him he couldn’t figure out why his father stayed with her, since she didn’t give Harlan any more attention than she did her son. Rand figured he could spend an entire year on a psychiatrist’s couch and still not get to the bottom of his family’s dynamics.
He kissed Helena on the cheek. “Does it help to know that I miss seeing you?”
“Stop molesting me.” She swatted his arm but couldn’t contain her pleased smile. “Your father’s waiting for you in his study. I’ll bring refreshments in.”
“Do you know what this is about?”
“What do I know? I’m just the housekeeper.”
He snorted. Helena knew everything. She could make a lot of money if she ever decided to write a tell-all about one of the richest families in Miami, but she was as loyal to his father as they came. His mother she had no use for, not that he blamed her.
“Stop flirting with my son, Helena, and send him in here,” his father said from the middle of the hallway.
Rand winked at Helena, then followed his father to the study. “You should divorce Mom and marry Helena,” he said as he took a seat across from the desk.
His dad laughed. “Trust me, I’ve considered it.”
Although it was an ongoing joke between them, Rand wouldn’t be at all upset if his parents divorced. They might as well be. His mother lived in one wing of the house and his father in the other. They led their own lives and rarely saw each other, except for the events where she would appear on his arm, seeming to be a loving wife. Regina Stevens liked her husband’s money too much to ever leave him, and his father for some reason seemed content with the way things were.
Helena entered, carrying a tray, and Rand stood and took it from her. “Thank you.” She smiled, then left, closing the door behind her. After setting the tray on his father’s desk, he picked up the cup of coffee and two still-warm chocolate chip cookies. Helena always made those for him when she knew he would be visiting. His father took the crystal tumbler containing the finest scotch whiskey money could buy.
Rand sipped on the coffee that had the exact amount of cream and sugar that he liked. He wondered what Kinsey would think of his father’s mansion. She’d thought it was strange that he owned a biker bar but didn’t like motorcycles or drink, and he supposed it was. What would she think if she knew just how big his family’s bank account was? Between him and her brothers, she’d had some unusual men come into her life. Her reaction when Nate has flashed his badge had been priceless.
“What has you smiling?”
Rand glanced at his dad. “Just thinking of something. You summoned me. I’m here. What’s up?”
“I shouldn’t have to summon you just to see you.”
“If you’d stop trying to talk me into coming to work for you, I’d make an appearance more often.” Rand loved his dad but wished he could understand that Rand would never be happy heading up Stevens Enterprises.
His father stared into his glass for a few seconds, then lifted his gaze to Rand. “It was bad enough that you didn’t take your rightful place in the company, but pretending to own a biker bar… that is what you’re doing, right? Tell me you didn
’t really buy that place.”
Rand was only aware of two people in Miami who seemed to know everything there was to know. One was Nate, the other the man sitting across from him. “You really need to stop spying on me and keep your nose out of FBI business. Yes, I’m working undercover there. It wasn’t my choice of an assignment, but you go where you’re told.”
“Son, I worry every day that I’m going to get a visit from your boss telling me that—”
“And I could walk out your door in a few minutes and get hit by a bus.”
“There are no buses on my street.” His dad sniffed in distaste.
Rand laughed. “Yeah, well, you know what I mean.” He set his empty coffee cup on the table next to him. “I’m as careful as I can be, Dad. The thing is, I love my job.” He’d told Harlan this every time the subject of him leaving the FBI came up, but he understood his father’s concern.
“And I’m doing something important. Maybe someday I’ll decide it’s time to quit and come onboard with you, but today isn’t it.”
“Can you at least ask your new boss… Nate Gentry, is it?” As if his dad didn’t know that for a fact. Rand nodded. “Ask him to take you off undercover work? Besides, you’re a Stevens, and owning a biker bar, even if it is pretend, isn’t good for the family name.”
“Since I’m undercover, I doubt it will be a problem.” If he admitted that his undercover days were coming to an end as soon as Nate found someone to take Rand’s place, his father would start recruiting a replacement for him tomorrow.
“Maybe so, but I don’t have to like it.”
“No, you don’t.” Rand eyed his dad. “You didn’t ask me to stop by to rehash my employment with the FBI. What’s on your mind?”
“I need you to attend the Friends of the Library Ball.”
“Because?” Rand braced himself. There was always a reason behind the favors his father asked.
“You’re the plus one for Deidre Cummings. And don’t even try to come up with an excuse. It’s time you crawled out of your hole and started living again, son.”
