Heated Secrets (Rose Garden Apartments Book 1)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  But she’d made him laugh. She’d given him a moment’s reprieve from the stressful negotiations and that had made the whole night worthwhile.

  Yes, that was what she wanted to do. She loved making people smile. When she’d brought banana bread to Jimmy’s place last week, fresh from the oven, he’d given her a genuine smile of appreciation. And when she’d walked out to her car the next day, he’d beamed and waved at her.

  Three days ago, Lilly had been driving by a plant nursery. Right out front, there was a beautiful display of hybrid roses. Even yellow roses! Lilly had brought back one of the yellow rose bushes, intending to give it to Maggie. Lilly remembered a conversation she’d had with Maggie a couple weeks ago about her love of yellow roses while she lived in Texas with her grandmother. So the rose bush was sitting in her living room, but she hadn’t seen Maggie lately. But Lilly knew the rose bush would make her new friend smile.

  Sylvia might know how to move through the social circles of her peers, but Lilly loved her own social circles. She loved Maggie’s new fire pit and was looking forward to sitting around that circle in the fall, spending time with the other residents. Would Drako be with her during those nights? Would he accept a spot on the blanket with her and sit with her while they sipped sangria? Or would he disdain the idea of relaxing in such a casual atmosphere?

  That was an issue for another time, she told herself, stepping out into the heat and humidity that was Washington, DC in the summer months. “Well, thank you for joining me for breakfast,” Lilly said to her sister as she turned towards her sensible sedan. “It was…well, it was a good muffin,” she added, unwilling to speak the social lies and say that it had been nice to see her sister.

  Sylvia shook her head in obvious disgust as she pulled her keys out of her purse. “Brunch, Lilliane. Be there on Sunday.”

  And then she was gone. The Mercedes slipped easily into traffic and roared away, leaving Lilly to wonder what was going on with her family. A command performance for brunch on Sunday was odd. Although possibly not that odd, since she’d skipped the last two Sundays.

  With a shrug, she got into her car and turned it on. She wasn’t going to find out until she arrived. If she went. Feeling liberated, she decided that a command from her father wasn’t necessarily something she needed to heed.

  Chapter 9

  Drako pulled the apartment door closed as quietly as possible, then whistled as he made his way down the walkway towards his car. Mentally, he started to go over what he wanted to accomplish today, but in the back of his mind, he wondered if he could knock off early tonight and spend some extra time with Lilly. They’d been working on some big deals over the past week, which meant that they were working later than usual. He didn’t have anything important planned. He just wanted to spend some time with her. Strange, he thought as he pulled his car keys from his pocket.

  He was just about to unlock his car, when he noticed a small group standing in front of his car. They were all elderly and didn’t send off a threatening vibe, even though all of them were glaring at him as he approached.

  “Good morning gentlemen, can I help you with something?” he asked politely.

  One man stepped forward from the middle of the group. Obviously, this was the leader. He cleared his throat and glanced back at the other two as if for support. When they nodded, the spokesperson turned back to Drako, bracing himself for…a fight? A confrontation?

  “We want to know your intentions towards Ms. Lilly,” the man demanded. There were deep wrinkles around his eyes, and his shoulders curved slightly, indicating the beginnings of scoliosis. But he looked Drako in the eye, and Drako respected him for that. Especially since these men were clearly protective of Lilly.

  “My intentions…” he paused, realizing he wasn’t sure if his intentions were honorable. Was he going to marry Lilly? Six months ago, he would have rejected the idea completely and immediately. But this morning, he was surprised to find that the idea seemed far more appealing.

  “I don’t have specific intentions regarding a future with Lilly,” he admitted carefully, being honest with these men. He surveyed them carefully. “Are you Jimmy?” he asked, looking at the man on the end. He looked the most ravaged. Battle hardened, Drako thought. He remembered Lilly talking about a war veteran she was making cookies for one day.

  The man’s shoulders straightened, and he nodded slightly. “I am.”

  Drako turned to the man on the opposite side of the leader. “And you must be Mick.”

  “That’s right. I take care of her car,” the man explained. He had a gentler personality, but he was clearly no less determined to protect Lilly.

  He looked over at the third man. “That would make you Eddie. You’re the one who fixes things in Lilly’s apartment.”

  Eddie glanced at the other two, all three startled that Drako knew their names.

  “That’s right,” Eddie said, hitching up his pants as if not sure how to proceed. “Ms. Lilly talks about us?”

  Drako smiled, “Lilly is very proud of you.” Drako paused as the three men seemed to swell with pride. “She tells me all about what you all have done for her over the years. And thank you. She’s a very special person.”

  “She is,” Eddie agreed. “Which is why we want to know if you’re treating her right.”

  Mick stepped forward, his body language starting to relax. Less confrontational. “Lilly is a good woman. And her family doesn’t treat her right.” The other two men nodded. “They hurt her.” He sighed, rubbing his palm against his thigh in a nervous gesture. “She comes back crying so often, Mister. So…” he shrugged. “Just, be good to her. She needs someone to be good to her.”

  Drako looked at each man, an understanding happening between them. “I appreciate your concern, gentlemen,” he said. “And I have no intention of hurting her. Her family…why do they make her cry?”

  Jimmy shrugged. “Politics.”

  His eyes sharpened. “What do you mean?”

  “That bastard senator. Von Deuch. That’s her papa,” Mick continued.

  Drako remembered Lilly telling him about her family and now some of the puzzle pieces finally came together. “Her last name is Hamilton though. She doesn’t use her family name.”

  Jimmy shook his head. “Yeah, that’s her middle name. She’s too embarrassed to use the family name. But I gotta tell you, that senator,” the man paused to spit on the parking lot before he continued. “He’s a real bastard.”

  Mick grunted. “It’s the momma that’s the evil one,” he countered, spitting as well.

  Eddie shook his head. “The whole family is a bunch of vipers.” He stepped forward. “Which brings us back to you.” All three men nodded meaningfully, forming a semi-circle. “Are you gonna hurt her, like her family does?”

  Drako knew in that moment what he needed to do. “No. I’m not going to hurt her,” he told them honestly. “In fact, I’d like to help protect her.” He pulled out a business card. “If she’s ever in trouble, please call me. She’s…” Drako wasn’t sure why he added this, but these men protected Lilly and he respected them for it. “She’s special to me. I’m not sure where my relationship is heading with Lilly, but I know that she’s very special. Don’t let her get hurt.”

  Jimmy looked down at the card and the other two men looked over his shoulder. Then they all looked back up. “If you hurt her, we’ll hunt you down and make you cry,” Jimmy warned.

  Drako swallowed a chuckle as he remembered something that Lilly had said. Jimmy had been a Navy SEAL. And as Drako looked into his eyes, he could see the determination. Deep down inside, this man was wounded. Horribly wounded. He’d done things for his country that no human being should ever be asked to do. And yet, he’d survived. Sometimes, the wounds of warriors were on the outside. And sometimes, the more painful wounds were deep within.

  “I won’t hurt her,” he promised solemnly.

  The three men nodded and backed away, separating to allow him to reach his car.
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  Drako stepped over to the driver’s side. But as soon as he pulled the door open, he paused and looked back at the men. “How often does her family come here?”

  The men snorted, shaking their heads. Jimmy was again the one who answered. “They never come around here. This isn’t their kind of neighborhood.”

  “Then, how do you know who her family is?”

  The men chuckled. “Oh, we know.”

  Drako laughed. Apparently, there was the same sort of information network here on the streets as there was in the business world. Drako realized that he wasn’t so different from these men. All of them learned information and used it to get through life. They just used the information differently.

  “Thank you,” he said, nodding again before he stepped into his vehicle. A moment later, he drove off. But as he headed back to his place to shower and change, his mind whirled with options, working through the pros and cons of each idea until he came up with a plan.

  Chapter 10

  Two days later, Drako’s thumb tapped against the steering wheel, impatient to get back to Lilly’s tiny apartment. He’d followed her from the office, but…? Why the hell had she pulled into this parking lot? Getting out of his car, he almost jerked the door off of the hinges in his urgency to get Lilly home so that he could make love to her.

  “Lilly, what….” he stopped, watching as she hurried over to…? Drako wasn’t sure, but Lilly bent down. Was that a man curled up on the sidewalk?

  “Jimmy?’ she whispered, squeezing his fingers.

  Drako wanted to drag her away, concerned that the man could harm her. “Do you know this man?” he demanded.

  Lilly didn’t take her eyes off the person who looked as if he’d crumpled into himself.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Lilly,” Jimmy whispered. “I’m trying! But today was a bad one and I haven’t slept in…I don’t know how long!”

  Drako suddenly recognized the man. He’d been the spokesperson the other day! This was the man who wanted to protect Lilly? Drako’s eyes narrowed. Drako remembered the pain in the older man’s eyes, but this? How had the man gone from a confident, if bedraggled, person to a vagrant sitting beside a building?

  “Oh, Jimmy!” Lilly whispered, moving closer and squeezing his hands. “I know that the nightmares are horrible. But you told me that they were getting better. And that Molly had hired a new person who was helping you talk about things.” Molly was one of Lilly’s best friends, and was the director of the Community Center.

  The man closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the rough cement blocks of the store. “Molly is amazing,” he agreed with a sigh, his lips pursing together with a groan coming from the back of his throat. “I just need some rest, Ms. Lilly!”

  Drako heard the crumple of paper and knew that Jimmy had a bottle of alcohol in a bag. He thought back, remembering Lilly explaining that Jimmy had been battling alcoholism for a while now. Ever since getting out of the Navy. The guy had been sober for years, according to Lilly! So whatever had happened today, it must have been really bad!

  She touched his shoulder, unconcerned with the dirt on his jacket. Jimmy needed a human connection now more than ever. “I know, Jimmy. But you don’t really want this, do you?”

  She reached out and, for the first time, Drako saw the neck of a bottle.

  The guy rubbed his eyes. “No! But…I need to sleep! I just can’t go another night without sleep!”

  Lilly turned, sitting down on the filthy sidewalk beside the man and leaned her head against his shoulder. “I know, Jimmy.” There was a long pause as she just sat there, letting the man absorb her goodness and strength. “Isn’t there a meeting over at the Center tonight?”

  The man’s eyes squinched up tighter. “Yeah. But I just…” his hands tightened around the neck of the bottle. “I should go, shouldn’t I?” he asked.

  “Well, it’s up to you, Jimmy,” Lilly replied carefully. “Whatever you do, you know that I’ll be here for you.”

  “Thank you,” he sobbed, bowing his head. In shame? Or some mixture of emotion that was too overwhelming for him to deal with? “It’s just…so much easier this way.”

  Drako watched as she laced her fingers through Jimmy’s. “Not in the long run, Jimmy. You know what happens when you drink.

  “I sleep,” he grumbled.

  Lilly nodded, she sighed, patting his shoulder. “Yeah. But then, you can’t wake up from the nightmares.”

  As soon as she said that, Drako watched Jimmy’s jaw relax. How did Lilly know so much about the nightmares? And a better question, how had she spotted him from the road? He was slumped down, looking barely discernable as human!

  But that was Lilly, Drako realized. She saw the world differently. Perhaps she felt the world, he thought. Could she sense people’s pain? Jimmy was definitely in pain. Drako had sensed the man’s pain two days ago. Now that pain was like a living, breathing demon that the man had to fight. Not on his own though. Not anymore!

  “The fighting was intense, Jimmy. The war wasn’t a pretty place to be.” She rubbed his arm comfortingly. “And you were one of the best, weren’t you?”

  He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the cement-block wall. “They sent me in to get the job done,” he whispered. “And I always did. I always got the job done.”

  “And now,” Lilly put her hand over his, even as he clutched the bottle, “you’re going to get the job done again. You can do this, Jimmy. Molly and I, we’re going to help you, every step of the way.”

  “Maggie’s helping me too,” he pointed out.

  Lilly smiled, nodding. “Maggie is pretty darn wonderful, isn’t she?”

  The man smiled and Drako noticed what a lovely smile he had. His face might be ravaged by time, the elements, and whatever hell he’d gone through during his time in the military, but his smile lit up his features.

  Just like Lilly, he thought. She was intense and determined. So, when she smiled, it was as if the world needed to pause and just…watch her light up.

  Lilly reached out and tugged. “You don’t want to do this, Jimmy. It might help for a couple of hours, but then the gin will make everything worse.” She tugged the bottle out of his arms. “You know what is going to happen though?”

  “What’s that, dear?”

  Drako wanted to know too. Hell, he wanted to know how he could help the poor guy who had vowed to protect Lilly the other day!

  “I’m going to drive you down to the Center. Together, we’re going to call Molly. She’s going to get everyone together and you’re going to talk this out, Jimmy.” She kissed his weathered cheek. “And you’re going to spend the night at the Center with the others. You’re going to be okay.” She hugged him. She didn’t care about her sophisticated dress, which was probably ruined from sitting on the damp cement. She cared for him. She cared about one person’s personal hell and helping him get through the night.

  “And tomorrow morning,” she whispered with a conspiratorial tone, “if you can make it through the whole night without a drink, then I’ll bring you your very favorite!”

  The man’s head jerked up so that he could peer into Lilly’s eyes. “Banana bread?” he asked in a whisper, awed by the offer.

  “With buttercream icing,” Lilly promised.

  Jimmy looked down at his booted feet, thinking about it for a long moment. Then the guy nodded. Slowly at first, but with steadily more enthusiasm. “Yes!” Standing up, he stumbled slightly, but Lilly stood as well and reached out a hand to him. “Yeah!”

  Lilly laughed and, when they were both steady, she leaned in and hugged the weathered, beaten war veteran. That’s when Drako noticed that Jimmy’s clothes weren’t dirty so much as just old and torn up. He made a mental note to get him some new clothes.

  “Can you take this?” Lilly asked, handing Drako the bottle. Checking the label, he cringed. This wasn’t even gin, he thought, following Lilly as she led Jimmy to her car. This was rotgut and would tear up the lining of his s
tomach. It wasn’t drinkable! Hell, it wasn’t even good enough to use to strip paint!

  While Lilly helped Jimmy into her car, Drako stored the bottle of crap in the trunk of his car. He’d just dump it down the drain and recycle the glass bottle in the morning. Getting into his car, he followed Lilly as she drove half a block down the street, pulling into the parking lot of a large, non-descript building. There was a small sign that labeled the building as a community center, but he wasn’t sure what the real purpose of the building was for. It didn’t seem to have any activities going on, although he had to remind himself that it was almost nine o’clock at night.

  Lilly stood up and looked around, relieved that his friends, as well as Molly, surrounded Jimmy. Sure enough, Drako came out of the kitchen. “What were you doing in the kitchen?” she asked, walking over to him. Goodness, she wanted to lean into him, to feel his arms wrap around her. She wanted him to tell her that Jimmy was going to be okay. That he’d make it through the night here under Molly’s watchful eyes.

  “He’s going to be okay,” Drako muttered, pulling her against him and she sighed with…hope? Happiness? Concern? All of the above, she decided as he kissed the top of her head. “Do you need to stop at the grocery store to get ingredients for the banana bread?”

  Lilly pressed her eyes closed as she stood in the security of his arms, absorbing his confidence. And his understanding! Lilly didn’t need to explain. Drako understood. “No need. I have all the ingredients back at my apartment.”

  He pulled back slightly, looking at her closely. “Even the ripe bananas?”

  She couldn’t stop the startled laugh. “How do you know that I need ripe bananas?”

  “I looked up the recipe,” he explained, shifting, but keeping his arm over her shoulders as he led her out of the center. In the parking lot, he kissed her again, more deeply this time. “I need you alone,” he told her with a forcefulness that sent a spark of desire coursing through her. Which was surprising because she didn’t think that she could do much more today. But this was Drako.