“Damn right.”
Chapter Twenty
New Orleans was warm and slightly more humid than what Janey was used to. Once they got through the airport checks, she shed her jacket, glad that she’d worn a simple white tee shirt over her jeans. She was relieved when they slid into the cool interior of the silver sedan that was waiting for them.
The Lakefront Airport was right in the middle of town, so they did not have far to go. She glanced about her in fascination. New Orleans, or what she could see of it, was a colorful city with lots of beautiful scenery. It was her first time visiting the city and if her heart was not so heavy with everything that was going on, she would have enjoyed the opportunity.
Beside her, Drew had become tense. She noted that the further into the city they went, the more he seemed to withdraw into himself.
She placed a hand on his thigh and he covered it with his much larger hand.
“This isn’t easy for you,” she said intuitively.
He shrugged, then sighed. “There’s a lot of history here and it’s not all good.”
“Anything I should know about?”
He started shaking his head to indicate a negative, then his shoulders slumped. “You should know because it’s probably going to come up,” he said.
She turned the hand on his thigh up and twined her fingers with his.
“I was engaged once.”
Janey stilled. This was so not what she was expecting. “What happened?”
“She’s married to my brother. I caught them at it.”
She could not help the small gasp that escaped. What a horrible thing to happen to anyone. She opened her mouth to say something, but the look in his eyes made her pause.
“That’s not all, is it?” she asked tentatively.
He met her eyes and held her gaze. “I was married.”
Janey stared at him in shock. “And you’re only just telling me something like this?” They’d made love together. Shared their bodies, and she thought, their souls. He knew everything about her. How could he have kept something as monumental as a marriage from her?
“It wasn’t something I could just say like that.”
She pulled her hand away from his, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Are you still married?”
Drew reared back as though she’d struck him. “Un-fucking-believable.”
Janey refused to back down as she waited for an answer.
“After everything we’ve shared, you still think I’m the sort of man who will sleep with one woman while married to another?”
Janey felt a pinprick of regret. She knew he was not that kind of man. Drew was true blue all the way. Still, did she really know the man? Really? She’d had no idea he was engaged, let alone married!
“Where is your wife?” she finally asked.
“Dead,” he said starkly. “She killed herself barely three months after our wedding. I was away on foreign duty then.”
Janey’s heart squeezed in pain for him. What a horrible way to lose a spouse, to suicide. Losing anyone was hard, but losing the person who was supposed to love you through everything, to suicide, that was tough.
Knowing Drew, she knew that he somehow blamed himself for what happened.
“It was not your fault,” she said clearly.
“What?”
“Drew, whatever happened was not your fault.”
He rested his head on the seat and shut his eyes, suddenly very tired. “You don’t even know what the hell happened…”
“I don’t need to know what happened. I know you and I’m telling you that it wasn’t your fault,” she said forcefully.
He laughed, the sound bitter. “A minute ago you were willing to believe that I’d marry one woman and make love to another.”
“That was me being foolish. And jealous.”
Drew’s eyes slowly came open. “Jealous?”
Janey gave a half shrug and looked away from his piercing gray eyes that seemed to see too much. She glanced out the window on her side, though she could not say she saw much. She knew her face was red.
“Why were you jealous, sweetheart?”
She sighed. “Because I hate thinking of you with other women, that’s why. I know it’s silly, but there you have it,” she said, keeping her gaze turned away from his.
“Janey?”
“Yeah?”
“Look at me, baby.”
Reluctantly, she shifted her gaze to his and was almost scorched by the heat in his eyes. His look was possessive and so was his touch when he captured her lips in a kiss that was so hot and sizzling. Janey’s toes curled and she felt her lady parts twitching in response.
He pulled back slightly and spoke against her lips, “I really love it when you’re jealous, Janey.”
Simple words, but they started a slow burn inside her that did not ease up, even after he settled back in his seat.
Not long afterwards, they turned into a neighborhood. Janey gazed in awe at the stately homes that lined the streets. Heck, who was she kidding? They were freaking mansions. Each one grander than the one before it.
She felt her heart beating as they turned onto a street. They stopped at a gate, where they were stopped by two armed guards. As soon as they identified Drew, they were waved in. They drove up a short driveway and came to a halt in front of a very regal-looking French colonial mansion. It was painted in bright white with dark brown accents.
An armed guard walked past them and disappeared around the house. He didn’t look like any of the men that had manned the gate.
Janey sat there gazing at the image before her, her heart in her mouth.
I don’t know anything about Drew.
She finally admitted the truth to herself. She had been an open book to him, nothing to hide, yet he’d kept almost every part of himself away from her.
I’ve fallen in love with a man I know nothing about.
So how could she trust what she was feeling? She had no idea he’d been married, or that his brother had married his fiancé. And now this… This museum-like looking edifice was where he’d spent his childhood?
It was too much for her.
She could not help wondering what else was there for her to discover.
She’d thought that she’d known Mark. She’d known him for most of her life and had honestly believed that she knew everything about him. Well, look how that had turned out. So how could she then trust someone she was rapidly discovering she knew next to nothing about?
She couldn’t.
That was the sad and bitter truth.
**
Drew glanced at Janey. She hadn’t spoken a word since they arrived, not to him anyway. His parents’ domestic staff had come out to welcome them. Drew had been glad to see that most of them were people he recognized, some from when he was still a boy.
Janey was exceedingly polite to everyone else. Walter, the butler since Drew was a kid, had taken one look at her and had gone all protective over her.
“This way, Miss Moore,” he said, showing her to the family living room.
“Please, call me Janey,” she’d said with a small smile.
“How was your trip, ma’am?”
Janey had looked him in the eye and said sweetly, “Mister Walter, please don’t call me that. It would hurt my feelings if you don’t call me Janey.”
There was a slight pause as Walter’s eyes darted to Drew’s. Drew simply shrugged. Janey was a law to herself most times and when she decided on something, it was hard to refuse her.
“Very well then…Janey. Can we arrange a glass of ice tea for you?”
She beamed such an angelic smile at him that he smiled back. Really smiled back, not that formal smile Drew was used to seeing.
“That would be lovely, thank you.”
“You’ve won yourself a fan there,” he said.
Janey smiled, but her smile was decidedly less bright than the one she gave Walter just a few seconds before.
“When do we meet your parents?” she
asked.
Drew had called his father as soon as he got to the house. “Dad’s at work and will be back for lunch. Mom’s out at a charitable event. You’ll meet them at lunch.”
She glanced at her watch. “Do you mind if I rest a bit before then?”
Drew threw her a glance before getting to his feet. Since they’d walked into this house, she’d become quiet, hardly speaking to him, or impeccably polite when she did. It was beginning to grate. He sensed that she had withdrawn from him, but he could not tell why.
He led her up the stairs to the room he’d occupied as a boy and waited till they were alone. He shut the door and turned to face her. Leaning on the door, he folded his arms and leveled a stare at her.
“Alright, out with it.”
She picked up her carry-on and placed it on the large double bed. “What are you talking about?” she asked without sparing him a glance.
“I know you’re upset about something. I’m not a damn mind reader so you’re going to have to help me out here.”
Janey picked out a light blue sundress, shook it out and placed it on the bed. Next she closed the bag and lifted it off the bed.
Drew took a few steps forward and took the bag out of her hand. “Where do you want this?” he asked.
She frowned and he could see her stiffen, but she pointed to the closet at the other end of the room. “Thanks.”
Drew ground his teeth in frustration. He dropped the bag in the closet and walked back to where she was standing beside the bed. He sank down onto the bed, then grabbed her hand and tugged gently. She sat with a grunt.
Janey turned a questioning glance to him.
“Look, baby, a relationship cannot work without communication. You need to talk to me.”
Her eyes darkened with an emotion he could not identify. “Is that what we have…a relationship?”
Drew stiffened. “Hell, what do we have then?”
“You tell me.”
“What the hell is your problem?”
“You! All this…!” She spread her arms.
Drew was confused. “You have a problem with this room?”
She snorted in disgust and stood up. “No, Drew. I have a problem with how much about yourself you have conveniently neglected to tell me. I’m not stupid, I realize it’s impossible to fully know someone, but I don’t know anything about you!”
“That’s where you are wrong, babe. You know the important stuff. This...this is not me,” he said, standing up in anger.
Her shoulders slumped and her eyes shone with what looked suspiciously like tears. “I can’t do this, Drew.”
She was judging him because of his family’s wealth? He had spent years avoiding grasping women who only wanted him for the creature comforts he could provide. It was part of the reason he’d changed his name. Not the main reason, but still a contributing factor. And now that he’d finally met the one woman he knew he wanted above all others, she was backing away because of this stuff?
Drew felt his gut clench with pain. He placed a hand on his waist. “You can’t do what, Janey? Say it.”
Her eyes filled up with tears and spilled out onto her face. Drew clenched his fists. He hated seeing her this way. He wanted to gather her in his arms and comfort her. He was such a fool.
She took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. “I can’t do this relationship thing with you. I need to be able to trust you and I’m not sure that I do.”
Drew closed his eyes, trying to shut out the pain that ripped through his soul. Shit. This was harder than he thought.
He opened his eyes and stared at her. “I don’t think you have a problem trusting me at all. I think you are too damn scared to face what is going on between us.”
“Can you blame me? See where trusting Mark got me…I was almost killed by a psycho!”
“Goddamnit! I am not your fucking ex! I am nothing like him and you know it.”
“I don’t know shit!” she spat at him.
Drew eyed her silently. That was the thing about this woman. She seemed so fragile and gentle, but she could be like an immovable rock sometimes. So damn stubborn.
He closed the distance between them, snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her close till she was flush against him. Her pupils dilated and he heard the hitch in her breath. Without a word, he brought his mouth to hers in a hard, possessive kiss.
Her hands went around his shoulders and she kissed him back with the same passion.
Drew felt like he was going to combust. Kissing Janey always did that to him. He didn’t know what it was about this woman that pulled him in so deeply, so completely.
His hands went up her back, then moved down and cupped her ass, pressing her against his erection. She whimpered, her mouth parting from the shock. Drew used that to take the kiss further, deeper. Their tongues battled. She caught hold of his tongue and sucked it.
Drew groaned. He was on fire. He wanted nothing better than to pull down her jeans and sink his hard member into her heat. He pulled back slightly, still kissing her, but keeping it light.
Eventually they had to breathe. They were both breathing heavily. Drew could feel his heart knocking against his chest. He was crazy about this woman and she was slowly driving him out of his mind.
He gazed into her eyes and saw hers, full of emotion and passion. She was not indifferent to him, that much was clear. He knew she cared about him, but was it enough to overcome her fears?
Slowly, his arms dropped to his side, so did hers. He took a step back and saw her eyes darken with pain.
“Say what you like, babe, but your heart knows the truth. And when you’re ready to face that truth, you know where to find me.”
With that, he turned and walked out of the room.
Chapter Twenty-one
Janey watched the door close and wanted to call out to Drew. She wanted to ask him not to go, but she kept quiet. Slowly, as though in a daze, she sank onto the edge of the bed and buried her head in her palms.
What have I done?
Drew was nothing like Mark, she knew that. He was strong, loyal and plain speaking. He never said stuff he did not mean. She knew all that about him, and yet she’d compared him to Mark. Little wonder he’d become so angry.
But she was also angry. And her heart ached in her chest. She was sorry that she’d said Drew was like Mark, because he wasn’t. Not even a bit. But she was right about everything else.
He had kept too many things from her. He had secrets. Stuff that could come out and bite them in the ass later. She was not prepared to go into a relationship like that.
Janey lifted her head and gazed around the room. It was larger than the hotel room they’d shared the night before. She had no idea what his family was into, but they were very obviously very wealthy.
It shouldn’t matter to her. It didn’t matter, really. It was finding out the way she did. It made her wonder what other secrets he had.
She touched her fingers to her lips. She could still taste him on her.
That kiss had left her burning and uncomfortable. Aching for more. All he had to do was touch her and she melted. She still couldn’t understand it. She had never reacted this way to anyone in her entire life. Not once.
She kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the bed. Her head was hurting. She wondered where Drew was, what he was doing. She snagged a pillow and held it to her middle. It was a poor substitute for Drew. She missed him so much already.
**
Mikey stared at the man across the divide.
“That was a dumbass move, going for the old folks that way.”
Mikey ground his teeth in anger. He knew the man was right, which only made him angrier. Burning down the woman’s house and business was a good move though. It was going to send a message to everyone that no one messed with the family. Going after her parents had taken things too far.
“She killed Tommy, boss.”
Slim Johnny Natale stared at his under chief with well concealed disgust
. This was the man who was supposed to handle the family’s affairs while he was incarcerated, and he was already doing a botched job of it.
“You have been with me long enough to know that every move should be precise and well calculated. What the hell you going off like a half-cocked gun for?”
Although he hid it well, Slim was deeply disturbed. If Mikey was as volatile and unstable as he was beginning to appear, it was going to be a big problem for them. He could unravel the entire organization if he did not get himself in order.
He did not want to have to deal with him, he was, after all, married to his sister. Although from the reports he’d received, he was not treating Maria right these days. Slim drummed his hand on the counter as he watched the man sitting across from him.
“I don’t like this, Mikey.” That was all the warning he was going to get. If he insisted on acting like an ass, then Slim would have to take care of the problem. Permanently.
“Sorry, boss.”
“Do you know where she is now?”
“New Orleans.”
Slim raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“She’s with the Silver Shield people,” Mikey said.
Slim swore. Those people were a thorn in his flesh. To be fair, they had never come after him and if he avoided them, they were never a problem to him. But he was Slim Johnny Natale. He did not avoid problems and he had several means of decisively getting rid of thorns.
“Send in Babe.”
Babe was one of their enforcers. The deadliest in the family. It was Babe they sent after difficult cases that required skillful handling. He knew exactly how to arrange things so that they looked like unfortunate accidents. Just as they had sent Babe after the senator, they would send him after the woman.
She wasn’t much of a challenge, but the federal agencies had their eyes on the Abrantes Dukes, which was their organization. It wouldn’t do to slip up. Mike had made a grave mistake that could really cost them.
One more error of judgment…
Slim left the thought hanging. He could see in the other man’s eyes that he was not happy. “What now?”
“All due respect, boss, Tommy was my brother. This is my duty.”
Silver Shield Security Box Set Page 39
