Vote Then Read: Volume I

by Carly Phillips

  He’d been prepared for this question, and he chose the easiest issue in his past to admit to. “My father’s a bigamist. Or as close to being a bigamist as one can get without marrying both women at the same time.”

  He hated talking about Robert Dare. The man had raised Jason and his siblings, had been there for them, and he’d thought they had a great family … only to discover the truth.

  “I’m sorry … what?” Faith asked, stunned as any rational person would be.

  “My father had another family with a woman he was legally married to, and five kids, including me, while he had an affair with my mother and raised me and my siblings with her. She knew, or found out, and stayed with him anyway.” A pain throbbed in his temple as it always did when this subject came up. But it was nothing compared to the pain of losing his best friend, so as much as it hurt, he would stick with this part of his past for now.

  “Wow. That’s … awful. I’m sorry,” Faith murmured.

  He nodded. “It’s complicated. He married Emma St. Claire as part of a merger of two families. It wasn’t a love match, and instead of trying to create one, my father, Robert, met my mom and fell in love. I think that’s how he justified what he did.” Jason shook his head. “Although we didn’t know it at the time, he told his other family that he was traveling on business for his hotels when he was really with us.” He swallowed hard. “He missed major events in their lives like graduations and birthdays but came to ours. Again, justifying it because he was in love with my mother and not theirs.”

  “What a pig,” Faith muttered honestly and Jason managed a laugh.

  “Truer words were never spoken,” he said.

  “How did you find out?”

  He took a long sip of wine and she did the same. “Well, that’s where Sienna’s illness comes in. She had been diagnosed with leukemia. Chemo and treatments didn’t work, so they wanted to do a bone marrow transplant. None of us were matches, so Robert decided to go to his other family and ask them to be tested.”

  Faith had leaned in, utterly engrossed in the story, and he didn’t blame her.

  “He dropped the bomb on his legitimate family, destroyed them, and yet his wife … Emma … was gracious enough to test her kids. Avery, the youngest, was a match, and she donated her bone marrow to my sister.”

  Jason recalled those difficult days and sighed. “I guess you could say I was left with a bad taste in my mouth for relationships and issues with trust.” He also had a problem fearing that the people he loved would leave him, which stemmed from his father’s behavior as well.

  “All the siblings have made their peace with each other. The girls are the closest but we’re all a family.”

  “And your parents? What’s their story now?” Faith asked.

  Jason scowled. “My father is currently in love with another woman and in the process of divorcing my mother. It’s been difficult,” he said, swirling the wine around in the glass. “My mother knew about his first wife. She got my father by cheating, not that she knew it when the relationship began. But now she’s losing him the same way.”

  Faith glanced at him. “You really haven’t had the best example of a stable marriage or family, have you?” she murmured.

  He shook his head. Although if he had to dig deep, he’d say that Levi’s death had impacted him far more as an adult than his father’s betrayal. “There’s so much more,” he admitted. “But I’m not really up to talking about it now,” he said, bracing himself for her to push harder for more information.

  “I respect that,” she said gently. “Everything in its time.”

  He blinked, shocked that she didn’t ask for more answers when he knew how curious she must be. Yet she respected his barriers, and for that he was grateful.

  “Dinner!” Gino said, showing up just in time as far as Jason was concerned.

  The enjoyed a delicious gnocchi along with their fried zucchini and homemade cannoli for dessert. By the time they’d finished eating, Faith finally looked like she was drooping where she sat, exhaustion beginning to catch up with her.

  “Are you ready to go home and get some sleep?” he asked.

  She nodded. “But I was wondering if we could stop by my apartment? I forgot to pick up some extra work shirts, and I’m too tired to wash and dry this one tonight.”

  “Of course.” He’d get her in and out of there quickly, so she could go back to his place and get some sleep.

  But when they arrived at her building and walked up the darkened stairway, they discovered her door had been taped up because someone had clearly kicked it open. The wood had splintered and there was yellow tape across the door.

  “Oh my God!” Faith reached for one of the strips, obviously determined to get inside, but Jason grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back.

  “Hang on. We have no idea what happened. Do you have a landlord?”

  Before she could answer, a bald man with a large beer belly came striding toward them from the other side of the hall. “It’s about time you came back,” he said, scowling and clearly pissed off.

  “Mr. Donovan, what happened?” Faith asked.

  “The neighbors said they heard a noise in the middle of the night, and the next day your door was shattered.”

  “Nobody came out to check on the unusual sound?” Jason asked in disbelief. His gut instincts about this neighborhood had been spot on.

  The heavyset man shook his head. “You’re going to pay to fix the door, young lady.”

  Jason stepped into the man’s personal space. “That’s Ms. Lancaster to you. And how about you back off. Did you call the cops?”

  “Not my job, not my problem.”

  “It’ll be your problem if any of her things are missing and no one reported it. She’s not fixing your door, either. That’s your goddamn job.” Jason pushed past the other man and gingerly removed the tape put up over her door.

  “Jason, it’s fine. I’ll deal with it later,” Faith said.

  Donovan shook his head and, grumbling, walked back the way he came.

  Jason held her hand and led the way into an apartment whose contents had been turned upside down and ripped to shreds.

  Chapter Five

  Faith held on to her composure by a thread, but she was determined not to let Colton get to her. She’d survive this like she had everything else he’d done to her. Through sheer grit and determination.

  She stepped over the sofa pillows he’d tossed onto the floor, the books he’d flipped through and ripped, and the contents of drawers left open that he’d rifled through. She wasn’t sure why he thought she’d be stupid enough to leave money around the house, but that was a desperate addict’s thought process.

  “Are you okay?” Jason asked, his hand in hers, his body a solid presence by her side.

  “Yes.” She straightened her shoulders. “There was nothing here for him to find.”

  “At a glance, is anything missing?”

  For the first time, she looked beyond the mess on the floor. She had a small television she’d taken from her room at home in Iowa that sat on the counter in the kitchen. Gone.

  She swallowed hard. “Television is gone. My laptop would probably have been gone if I didn’t bring it with me to work.” And her laptop contained all of her business files, so she was grateful for that.

  “Any jewelry?” he asked.

  “I keep a small box beside my bed. It has a few necklaces, and… Oh my God. Mom’s necklace!” She broke free from his grasp and ran for the small bedroom, which hadn’t fared any better than the living area.

  Her bed had been ripped apart, her clothes tossed, probably just for spite, and as she knelt down beside the small night table she’d bought at a secondhand store, her heart stopped. The doors were swinging open, and inside, where her beloved jewelry box had been, was empty.

  “It’s gone.” That’s when all the strength she’d been holding on to fled. “The one thing I had left of my mother is gone.”

  Jas
on knelt down beside her. “We’ll find it,” he promised.

  She glanced up at him, feeling the tears shimmer in her eyes, but she couldn’t control them. The pain of losing her mother was always there, just below the surface, yet she had no choice but to keep moving forward.

  This was a blow that hurt. “You can’t know that.” She looked into his serious eyes.

  “I know I can do my best. We need to outthink him. I bet he pawns it for cash. If you have a photograph of it? Or if not, if you can describe it, my private investigator will look for it in nearby pawnshops.”

  “Private investigator?” Her legs cramped and she rose to her feet. He followed and they sat down on her messy bed.

  “Jack Renault. I have him looking for your brother. I wanted to know if he was in the city, although I think there’s no doubt. He’s just good at going underground.” Jason frowned, his frustration at her situation obvious.

  “You barely know me and you hired a PI? You’re letting me stay in your apartment. I don’t understand.”

  “I’m not sure I do, either, but here we are.” He lifted a hand, his knuckles stroking her cheek. “You’re safe with me.”

  Her stomach pitched with unexpected desire for this man. She said the only thing she could. “Thank you.”

  He treated her to a sexy smile but quickly sobered. “We should call the police.”

  She nodded, knowing it was going to be a long night.

  A week had passed since the break-in. The police had no solid leads and neither did Jason’s investigator, so Jason kept Faith close and they went about their lives. He’d taken time off from the club in the evenings, but he had a plan to implement and his friends were getting antsy, wanting him to come by and see the work that had been accomplished so far. He hadn’t wanted to leave Faith home alone, and given how exhausted she was after work, he’d sacrificed his own business needs.

  This weekend was Noah’s birthday party, and she’d been working hard all day on the treats and packaging she had planned for the event. The good news was that she had Kelsey back at work and she wasn’t handling the burden of everything on her own.

  The bad news was they were both tiptoeing around the sexual frustration that was building between them. Living together made for very close quarters. More than once, he’d walked out of his bedroom in his boxers, stumbling to the kitchen for a drink, forgetting he had company, and found her in the living room on her computer because she’d been unable to sleep.

  She, too, had thought she’d be alone and was dressed in a pair of short shorts and a flimsy camisole top, her abundant breasts falling out of the lace edging. He’d woken up at the sight, his dick getting hard in an instant. She’d been flustered and apologized, rushing back to her room, but not before he caught the way her gaze fell to the bulge in his underwear and a beautiful, sexy flush stained her cheeks.

  Jason had never hesitated to take what was offered, but that was the issue here. He wasn’t sure how much Faith was offering. She was under a ridiculous amount of stress, and he didn’t want to take advantage of her vulnerable situation. On the other hand, he recognized the signals that told him she was interested in him and he damned well wanted her. He’d gone so far as to take a cold shower before heading back to bed after their run-ins because he desired her that much. The question was, how much more could either of them take before they broke and ended up in bed?

  He watched her from a chair that must have his ass imprint on it by now, as she put away the candy on the shelves, humming as she worked, breasts bouncing in the confines of her tee shirt, and he groaned.

  Finally, after she’d locked up for the day, they were in his car on the way home. He’d been about to ask her what she wanted for dinner when his phone rang. He hit send and said hello.

  Landon’s voice sounded over the intercom in the vehicle. “When are we going to see your ugly face?” his friend asked.

  Jason chuckled, glancing at Faith’s amused expression. “Sorry, man. I’ve been tied up. I explained it to you already.”

  “Well, get untied and get your ass down to the club. We’re overdue for a group meeting. You’re the one who wanted to expand, and we’re the ones making it happen.”

  Jason winced because they were right. “I’ll be there tonight,” he promised, disconnecting the call.

  Faith turned toward him, and though he kept his eyes on the road, he felt her narrowed stare.

  “Your partners are annoyed. Do they know why you haven’t been to work? And why didn’t I even think about the fact that you had somewhere to be at night?” She groaned. “You were so busy during the day I forgot you ran a nightclub in the evening.” She twisted her hands together, working herself up with a heap of self-blame and recrimination.

  He placed a calming touch on her thigh, immediately aware of the soft heat of her body, and the desire he’d been fighting off and keeping at bay made itself known.

  “I make my own choices,” he said in a gruff voice. “And I wanted to be with you. Now I can drop you off at the apartment before heading to the club. I know with Christopher, my night doorman, on duty you’ll be safe. I’ve just always felt better being there myself. Especially after your apartment was broken into.”

  She shook her head. “I’ll come with you. It’s the least I can do. You don’t need to make another stop just for me. Besides, it’ll be fun to see you in your element.”

  She grinned at him and he laughed. “Fine, but don’t take anything the guys say to heart. Tanner, especially, can be an ass.” Because he’d never gotten over Landon’s loss. None of them had but they each dealt in their own way.

  “I can deal with it.”

  He knew she could. She’d been holding up like a champ so far. She’d even dealt well with the robbery, although the loss of the necklace put a dent in her armor. Jason had called Jack Renault, and the PI was looking for the jewelry based on Faith’s description and an old photograph where the piece was shown from a distance on her mother’s neck. Lord knew there were a lot of pawnshops in New York City for him to scour, and the process would take time.

  They walked into the club well past suppertime, when people came for after-dinner drinks and the Friday night crowd had started picking up. He gestured for Faith to head upstairs ahead of him, following close behind, and they entered the main office area to find Tanner and Landon dressed for a night on the floor.

  “Well, well, well. Look who’s here,” Tanner said.

  “Thanks for coming. We know you have other things on your mind right now,” Landon said, his gaze falling to Faith.

  “I suppose introductions are in order. Faith Lancaster, these are my best friends and partners, Landon Bennett and Tanner Grayson.” Jason gestured between them.

  “Nice to meet you,” she said.

  “At least now I understand Jason’s reasons for being tied up elsewhere,” Tanner said, laughing.

  Jason shot his friend an annoyed glare.

  “It’s nice to meet you, too, Faith.” Landon had always had better manners than Tanner, who was only a charmer when he wanted to be one.

  “Jase, we need to talk,” Tanner said bluntly, his stare on Faith.

  Jason rolled his eyes at the man’s rude behavior.

  “I can go downstairs,” she offered, eyeing the crowded bar area with little to no enthusiasm.

  “Sweetness, how about I set you up in my office for a few minutes?” Jason asked, offering her a more palatable option. She didn’t need to be surrounded by strangers at the moment, and his asshole friend should know better.

  “Sure. That’d be great.” Her shoulders relaxed and she was clearly relieved.

  He placed a hand on her back and led her to his private office. “Make yourself comfortable. I won’t be long. These guys … they just need a group hug sometimes.” Chuckling, he winked at her. “And Tanner’s bark is worse than his bite. Honestly.” He leaned in and brushed a kiss on her cheek, her sweet scent and warmth calling to him. “I’ll be back.

&nb
sp; He strode back into the room and glared at Tanner. “Do you have to be an asshole?”

  “Sorry,” he muttered. “I just thought it’d been awhile since the three of us had gotten together. I didn’t expect you to show up with her.”

  “She’s in danger. Her drug addict brother broke into her apartment last week. I told you this. Come on.” He placed a hand on Tanner’s back. The man held on to the three of them like a lifeline, and Jason should have realized he needed to come down here long before now.

  Tanner narrowed his gaze. “Who is she to you, Jase?”

  He ran a hand through his hair and met his friend’s gaze. “I wish to God I knew. I don’t believe in love at first sight, but I haven’t slept with her and she already means something to me. And trust me, I tried like hell to keep an emotional distance. You know me. You know I keep people out and why. We all do.”

  Landon strode over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “If she’s important to you, then we all step up to help. Right, Tanner?”

  The other man grumbled but nodded. He was always the last to come around when it came to outsiders in their small circle. Which was weird, since Landon had lost his twin, but Tanner’s life hadn’t been an easy one in all ways.

  “I appreciate it. Now as for the club, how are the improvements coming?” Jason walked over to the glass window that overlooked the downstairs bar area, which had grown even more crowded since he’d arrived.

  Bartenders were serving drinks, people mingling and dancing, as if they didn’t have a care in the world. All in all, a perfect Friday night at Club TEN29.

  “We’re coming along at a faster pace than expected. Audio guys had an opening in their schedule, so they’ve upgraded the speakers and sound system. They’ve been able to work during the day since we open at night. No issues.” Landon strode over to the bar. “Soda water?” he asked, glancing from Jason to Tanner.