Wicked Lovers 07 Ours to Love (38 page)

He sighed. “I’ve been against this relationship from the beginning, but I tried not
to stand in your way. You’re an adult and you need to experience real life, so I let
you. Their problems are pretty damn real. But if you really love them and you’re sure
this is more than a hit-and-run on their part, then we should talk about this. Sweetie,
because of the accident you haven’t had past relationships to learn from like most
women. That’s a lot of growing up to miss. You’re overwhelmed, and it’s understandable.
They are light-years ahead of you.”

“They deserve someone who can keep up. Besides, it was probably stupid to think I
could handle one man, let alone two. I mean, it didn’t work for you, Deke, and Kimber.”

“You heard about that, huh?” Luc tightened his jaw. “Different circumstances. Deke
wasn’t going to heal with me willing to be his crutch. Kimber didn’t love me. Everything
worked out for the best. Do you love Xander more than Javier? Or vice versa?”

“No!” The idea was preposterous.

“If not for your fears, would you want to try living without one or the other?”

London saw where Luc was going with this logic. “No. And I know you’ll probably tell
me that I should get over the scars and take the risk that they might accept me as
is. But what if they don’t? I don’t know if I’d survive the hurt, Luc.” She buried
her face in her hands. “God, if anyone could hear me now, I’m sure they would tell
me to get over myself.”

“You’re right. Some people wouldn’t understand, but they obviously can’t admit to
ever feeling in over their heads and must be absolutely fabulous at conquering their
fears. I hope they enjoy their perfect lives. The rest of us mere mortals deal.”

She smiled at Luc’s sarcasm. “Yeah, it’s always easier to judge someone else, isn’t
it?”

“Exactly. For all intents and purposes, you’re a girl in a woman’s body. You’ve got
to cut yourself some slack.”

London wanted to, but . . . “At the end of the day, I’m doing them a disservice if
I can’t get over my anxiety and fully trust them. Besides, they never said it was
more than a fling. Javier only hired me for five weeks. I think I’ve let everything
mean far more to me. It’s time to get out before they break my heart.”

Luc hesitated a really long time. “If that’s really want you want, I support you.
But I’m going to say that I’ve wondered more than once if Lys can really love me as
much as she claims to, even though I probably can’t give her more children. I could
doubt her, sure. It would be easy. And her assurances are just words, right? And those
are simple, both to speak and to blow off when they’re spoken. But if it’s truly love
on all sides, do you really want to give that up? Think about it. Don’t make decisions
too quickly.”

London sighed, his words sinking in. There was some truth to what he said. Maybe she
should talk to them. At least she should think about it.

The rest of the drive was spent primarily in silence until Luc’s phone began ringing
shortly after seven. When he slanted a glance over to her, she looked down at his
phone’s display. Xander. Her heart stuttered.

“I’ll bet Lys gave him my number, damn it,” Luc groused with a grim face as he answered
the phone. “Yes, I have her. Yes, she’s safe. Sweetie, do you want to talk to them
now?”

She wanted to. Ached to. Hearing their voices . . . nothing ever made her feel better
than being close to them. But this wasn’t about soothing her. She had to get her head
on straight first. “Not now.”

“Sorry, guys. She needs a little more time.”

“Please!”

London could hear Xander’s frustration through the phone and winced. If she let them
in her ear now, even to tell them that she wasn’t angry and that she was all right . . .
it would be so easy to let them talk her into burying her fears and opening her arms
to them again. But they’d run into this brick wall of her insecurities again and again
until they got sick of them and broke it off. How much more would it hurt then?

Luc looked at her expectantly. She shook her head.

“Not going to happen, Xander. And pleading with me won’t work. She was innocent and
struggling just to start life. I don’t have any illusions that she’s innocent anymore,
and this relationship has heaped a lot of emotional shit on her shoulders that she’s
trying to process. Find some fucking patience. She’ll call you if she wants to talk.”

Luc was more than a little harsh with Xander, and when Luc disconnected the call,
she knew Xander wouldn’t try to reach her again through her cousin or her husband.

“I wanted a lover, you know.” The confession croaked out. London felt her face flame,
but she needed to get this off her chest. Alyssa would comfort her, no matter what
she said. But Luc was proving to be a straight shooter. “I wanted not just to be alive
but to
feel
alive.”

“Sex isn’t a life.”

“But sex is a part of life, and I’ve experienced so little in mine. I just wanted . . .
everything. A job, friends, independence. I can say I had those briefly, I guess.
At least, I can check a broken heart off my list now,” she tried to joke.

He sighed and looked at her with such understanding she nearly cried. “Sweetie, you’ll
have all the experiences you need. I understand that you lost ten years and it’s made
you anxious to catch up. But there’s a reason parents try to protect their teenagers
from experiencing everything too fast.” When she would have opened her mouth to object,
Luc held up a hand. “I know you’re not a teenager anymore. If you had been, your ass
would be grounded now. But I’m just saying that you have to understand that not every
experience is good. And those that are aren’t always easy. Be patient with yourself.
And while you’re at it—God, I can’t believe I’m going to say this—but maybe you should
be patient with them. If they’re calling all over hell this early in the morning,
they care.”

That was probably good advice. Could she really put it to good use? Her natural inclination
was to want to settle problems and questions as soon as they cropped up. But this
one was too important to rush.

“Thanks. I really do appreciate you.”

“Glad to hear it. You can stay up and spend time with Chloe. I’m going back to bed
when we get home.”

At first, she tensed. She shouldn’t be alone with the toddler, and Luc knew it. But
he’d be in the next room. She had to start trusting herself. Then she’d see about
trusting others.

She laughed at him. “You’re on.”

They arrived in Lafayette midmorning. Alyssa hugged her tightly the second she walked
in the door. “We’ll talk when I get home. About anything you want. As long as you
want.”

But her cousin’s demeanor said she was late for work, so London shoved her out the
door. “Go. Luc is going back to bed. I got this.”

Alyssa smiled, looking as beautiful as ever in a black ruffled blouse, a short cream-colored
skirt, and two-toned peep-toe stilettos. London sighed in envy when Alyssa gave Luc
a lingering kiss. She could feel the love between them. Luc had embraced her cousin’s
terrible past. Lys accepted his shortcomings. They shared a great life, a wonderful
house, a beautiful baby. Instead of asking if it was enough, they just went with it
and took life as it came.

Maybe she had overreacted to Xander and Javier being so insistent about seeing her
back. No, she wasn’t ready today, but tomorrow?

Chloe cuddled up in her arms when Alyssa bopped out the door with a wave. Luc locked
up behind her, then stumbled back to the bedroom. With a smile, London nibbled on
a late breakfast, watched the toddler, and tried to clear her head.

When Luc woke a few hours later, London handed his daughter to him with a grateful
smile. Then she grabbed her phone and turned it on, just in case. Ignoring the four
voice mails and umpteen missed calls, she shoved it in her pocket, palmed her keys,
and let herself out for a walk. It was damn hot, and she’d soon swelter, but she had
to keep training for her 5K. And she needed some peace and quiet.

London wandered for a while, wiping the perspiration from her brow, and found herself
in front of the office building she’d shared with Javier and Xander. A bittersweet
pang wrenched her chest. She should just keep walking. If she wanted a clear head,
being in the space in which the men she loved had seduced her, body and heart, wasn’t
smart. But she wasn’t quite strong enough to resist the temptation.

She let herself into the lobby, halfway thankful that the copy and postage facility
on the bottom floor dictated that the building remain open seven days a week. With
shaking fingers, she called the elevator, then proceeded to the office door, letting
herself inside with the key Javier had given her on day one.

Pushing inside the dark room, she turned to flip on the lights.

Before she could, a hard body barged in behind her, shoving her into the room. As
she stumbled to find her balance, London heard the door close almost silently. The
intruder—a man, based on his grip—grabbed her arm and threw the lock home. She turned
to stare at him over her shoulder, and he covered her gasp with his gloved hand.

With her heart pounding, London peered up into his cold dark eyes. Without a word,
she knew he was a predator of the worst kind. He had no soul.

“So sorry, love,” he muttered with a French accent.

London didn’t understand his apology—until he lifted a length of rope between them
and brought it toward her neck.

Chapter Nineteen

“H
APPY
seven a.m. This fucking better be good,” Nick Navarro growled in his ear.

Javier bit back a pointed reply. He had to stay on task. Shit was hitting the fan.
He didn’t need to include a breakdown with it, no matter how strung out he felt or
how much Nick deserved it. He needed to stop the panicky slide to blackout he’d experienced
in the past. London needed him.

“This
is
fucking important.” That was as nice as Javier could manage. “You’ve been keeping
tabs on Chad Brenner, right?”

“Yeah. He hasn’t left Florida in weeks. Seems to be a workaholic house hermit with
a serious Chinese and pizza delivery habit.”

“I don’t give a shit what he’s eating. Have you kept tabs on his bank accounts?”

“There hasn’t been anything unusual as of yesterday afternoon.”

“Look again.”

Navarro groaned, and Javier could hear him rustling sheets as he pushed out of bed.
A feminine moan of protest carried across the line, and he forced himself not to care.
He paid Nick handsomely to give up some beauty sleep or sex when big stuff happened.

Thirty seconds later, Nick whistled. “How did you know? Brenner is fifty thousand
poorer. He took ten of it out in cash three days ago. The rest just before the bank
closed yesterday evening.”

“That’s what I thought. Have you been tracking Valjean?”

“I’ve always got a tracker on that fucker’s whereabouts. I know some real helpful
folks at Interpol, and we trade information now and then.” He clicked the keys of
his computer a few more times. After a pause, he sighed. “Why the fuck would he be
in Mexico?”

“Because he just killed one of my former employees.”

“No shit? And you think Brenner is the money man?”

“That’s exactly what I think. Look back through Brenner’s financials. Can you go back
about a year? Do you see any significant cash outlays last June?”

“That will take a few minutes . . .”

Minutes that were going to make Javier insane. He muted the call and turned to his
brother. “What the hell should we do if it turns out that Brenner paid Valjean to
kill Francesca? Kill the fucker?”

“I’m sure you’d like to but . . .” Xander dragged in a deep breath and shook his head.
“We’ll go to the police. I don’t know if we have enough evidence to prove anything,
but we have to try.”

“Agreed, but why would Brenner have paid someone to murder Francesca?” Javier had
been coping—barely—with the fact that his neglect had driven her into the arms of
the man who’d killed her. But Brenner’s possible involvement now cast a different
light on this.

“Revenge. That’s the hand he played with Carlton.”

Javier’s eyes slid closed as something terrible—final and painful—filled him. It had
been wrenching enough to know that he’d starved Francesca for attention so badly that
she’d sought a killer. But to know that she’d been targeted because he’d created a
terrible enemy in Brenner only made his guilt weigh that much heavier.

“But why not come after
me
?” he argued.

“I think he did,” Xander pointed out. “If something happened to you after such a public
dispute, wouldn’t it have looked suspicious? Besides, if you were dead, then Brenner
couldn’t watch you suffer all the ways he was fucking with you. He stole all our innovations
for the last year or so just to have the pleasure of watching you and the business
slowly go down the toilet since Fran’s death.”

Revenge. The motive was so simple that Javier had overlooked it. Yes, there were lots
of layers and sharp complexities to the events that had nearly destroyed him. Fran’s
resentment, Xander’s refusal, his own disregard, Brenner’s arrogance. But at the end
of the day, the situation boiled down to mere retribution.

“Gotcha!” Nick shouted over the phone.

A moment later, Nick returned. “Last June, I show two large cash withdrawals from
Brenner’s account, one for ten thousand on the first. The second was for another forty
K four days later. At the time, that was every dime the fucker had.”

A down payment, followed by a payoff for services rendered the day after Francesca’s
murder. The evidence was circumstantial at best, but it was a start.

“Fuck.” Javier raked a hand through his hair. “Do you have any idea where Valjean
is now?”

Nick paused, pounding a bit on his computer. “He’s not in Cancun anymore. He was there
less than twenty-four hours according to the intel I’m getting. As soon as Mexican
police were onto him, he disappeared. They surmise that he hired a charter boat and
sailed out, bypassing customs. But he can’t go far on a vessel like that.”

“How far?” Javier barked.

“Another destination in Mexico, Belize, Cuba. Those would be the easiest. Wait!” A
few more clicks later, Javier could almost hear Nick’s frown over the line. “The FBI
is reporting a possible sighting of Valjean.”

FBI only handled domestic matters. Was Valjean on U.S. soil? “Where?”

“Port of New Orleans.”

Only a few hours from Lafayette. Had Brenner sent Valjean to kill him finally? Let
him. Let the fucker try. He was ready. They’d give all this over to the police, but
they’d be slow to turn the wheels of justice, and even then, it might not be enough.
Javier was ready to have it out with Brenner. If the fucker wanted to play hardball,
fine.

“Another ten grand disappeared from Brenner’s account this morning.”

The words dropped like a boulder. So this was it. “Brenner’s sending someone to end
me, then.”

“Would he?” Xander questioned. Nick asked basically the same thing in his ear.

“Look at it this way,” Navarro added. “If all he wanted to do was kill you, why bother
setting the elaborate scheme of selling your information out from under you? Why kill
your wife? I don’t think he wants you to die, man. He wants you to suffer.”

“Just like
he
did.” The pieces snapped into place for Javier. Some of Brenner’s parting words had
been about not resting until he’d destroyed everything Javier had ever cared about.
By killing Fran, it had fucked up his head so badly, he’d almost run S.I. Industries
into the ground. But he’d been so much better since coming to Louisiana. And he had
London—

“Where is she?” Javier turned to his brother, panic tearing through his veins in a
fiery chill. Fear threatened to explode him. If Brenner had paid Valjean to hurt one
hair on her head . . . the engineer better pray for death because Javier vowed to
deliver it, slowly and painfully. He didn’t give a shit if he went to prison for the
rest of his life.
No one
threatened to end the existence of that beautiful girl who’d struggled so much just
to begin a new life after her accident.

“With Luc, I assume.” But Xander’s face showed that he was starting to think and piece
things together. “Fuck! They would have reached Lafayette already.”

“I’ll call Luc. You see if you can find London’s phone now. Nick, keep tracking Valjean.”

“You got it. I’ll call the second I’ve got anything.”

The line went dead, and Javier didn’t waste a second. But Luc’s phone just rang and
rang. That sent a new bout of panic chugging the fiery chill through his veins and
tearing into his gut.

Beside him, Xander called out, “Found her! She’s at the office.”

“On a Saturday?”

Xander frowned, silently acknowledging that was out of the norm. He dialed London’s
number. No answer. He repeated the action three times, and her voice mail picked up
every time.

Dread gnawed on him. Javier wiped a hand over his face. He was breathing, but it felt
as if everything stood still—time, his respiration, even the car rolling down mile
after mile of road, still an hour away from Lafayette.

As Xander stabbed his finger into the phone to end the call, Javier felt panic sear
an icy path through his veins. “Still nothing?”

Javier shook his head, mind racing. “If she’s at the office, she’s not with Luc.”

“If she’s at the office, Valjean might find her there. Fuck!”

He tried to think rationally. “Why would Valjean think to look for her there during
the weekend?”

“I don’t know, but better safe than sorry.” Xander grabbed his phone and dialed quickly.
Someone answered right away, and Javier had to hope that whoever it was could help
them. “Logan. We need help now.”

Quickly, Xander explained the situation. Javier only knew Logan by reputation, but
from the sounds of things, the Navy SEAL sprang into action. He said he’d call the
police as backup on his way over to the office. Hunter, his brother, happened to be
sitting next to him, so they’d tag-team the fucker and save London.

Xander pressed his foot to the accelerator, now going more than a hundred. Javier
didn’t say a word. Nothing was more important than getting to their girl and saving
her. In the meantime, he could only think of one other call that might save London
before Valjean struck.

He rifled through his contacts, thankful that he never bothered to remove this one.
He prayed the number hadn’t changed. Knowing his number would have been blocked, Javier
grabbed his brother’s phone and dialed.

“This is Brenner.”

“Javier Santiago. Don’t hang up! I want to negotiate.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the engineer drawled, as if the sound
of his panic was highly enjoyable.

“Your assassin Valjean. I know he killed my wife. I know he killed Albert Carlton.
I know he’s on his way to kill my assistant, London.”

“I’m sure I have no idea where you get these crazy ideas,” Brenner denied, but his
tone was playful. The fucker was definitely enjoying his anxiety. “I have seen pictures
of your assistant. Pretty thing. Since my wife divorced me over the loss of all my
intellectual property and income potential after our court case, I know how terrible
it is to lose the woman . . . Oh, silly me. I’m assuming you’re in love with her.
You are, aren’t you? I’ve heard whispers. You know how people talk. There’s a whole
lot of chatter that you’re not only fucking your pretty assistant, but you’re sharing
her with that manwhore brother of yours. I must say, I’m surprised.”

Every minute he let Brenner bait him was another minute that Valjean had to find London.
“No more games. What do you want to call Valjean off? I’ll give you everything. I’ll
sign over the entire company to you if you’ll call him off London.”

Brenner dragged in a breath, and Javier could hear the happy vindication in his sigh.
He gritted his teeth, swallowed his pride, and said nothing. “You sound so . . . humble.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard you be any less than totally in control. Arrogant, even.
I have to say, I’m enjoying this side of you.”

The fucker was toying with him. “What else do you want? My life? It’s yours. I’ll
show up any place you want at any time you want so you can have me killed in any way
you please.”

Xander leaned into the phone. “Me, too. If you want us off the planet and our family
gone, it’s done. Just tell us when and where. We’ll be there.”

Javier glanced at his brother in a moment of true understanding. He didn’t have to
guess what Xander was thinking; he knew. Neither of them would be happy or worth a
damn without London. She’d given them both hope, direction, and a reason to be better
men.

“Well, that’s no loss,” Brenner drawled. “What has Xander ever done with his life,
except spread his sperm far and wide? That’s certainly no contribution to society.
But it’s interesting that both of you are willing to die for this girl. I guess you’re
both—gasp—in love with her. That presupposes that you’re capable of loving another
human being, Santiago, which I’m pretty certain your late wife didn’t believe.”

“I was a terrible husband,” Javier admitted, both to appease Brenner and because it
was the goddamn truth. “I’m sorry if I was a lousy boss. I swear, you can have the
whole company if you’ll just bring London safely back. I’ll sign it over as soon as
you can have the paperwork drawn up. Just call off Valjean.”

Two generations of Santiago sweat and innovation down the toilet. The business he’d
devoted his life to. The legacy he’d hoped to someday pass on to a son or daughter.
Gone in exchange for a woman he’d met a week ago.

But he wouldn’t make any other choice. A glance at Xander told him they were still
on the same page.

“Well, as tempting as that sounds, I have no idea who Valjean is,” Brenner said. “I
have no idea how your overactive imagination dreamed up this tale. Drinking again?”

“Just tell me what you want from us! You believe I took your life’s work, so I’ll
give you mine. No strings. Just return my assistant to me.”
My savior, my beloved
.

“I don’t want your company, Santiago. Anything I invented when I worked for you is
now on the verge of being outdated and I can innovate again. That’s what I do. Thankfully
for me, United Velocity is more than happy to pay me in both cash and stock for all
the genius I give them.”

Javier gripped the phone tighter, his nerves strung so tight, he could feel every
beat of his heart as a pounding in his head. His world narrowed as he focused on the
nearly empty road in front of him and the sound of Brenner’s voice.

“Do you want money? A public apology? I’ve offered to die for her. What else do you
want?”

“Oh, you’ve given me everything I could want now.” His voice sounded just shy of gloating
laughter. Normally, that would rub Javier like industrial sandpaper, but his pride
didn’t matter at all now. “There’s really nothing more you can give me. I hope you
find your girl before it’s too late. I’ll be thinking of you and watching.”

There was a click, and the call went dead in his ear. A cold panic rushed through
his veins. He’d failed. London was innocent of all wrongdoing. Her only crime had
been in not trusting their love. He froze. No, the crime had been his. How could she
trust in a love he’d never professed to her? God, she couldn’t pay with her life and
die thinking he didn’t love her all the way down to his soul. He and Xander would
suffer guilt and anguish for the rest of their miserable fucking existences. In the
back of his mind, he was already lining up the bottles he’d consume—and mentally taking
in hand the .38 he’d hidden from Xander in the back of his closet. For a year, guilt
over Francesca had raged through him, hollowing out his life until he’d become a shell
of his former self. Grief for London would end all will to live. But before he ended
it all, he’d hunt Brenner down like a dog and kill him slowly, with maximum pain.