“Mind telling me why?” Kurt asked, parking the vehicle.
“He’s overly protective of us,” Drina replied.
“That makes two of us then,” Zak said, running his hands up and down Drina’s legs before grabbing her ass and hauling her forward.
“I give them two hours,” Kurt said under his breath when he met her on the passenger side of the vehicle. “Two hours and they’re fucking like bunnies.”
“You don’t know Kane and Peyton,” Coco said, sliding away from her seat and opening Drina’s door after she tried to open it on her own and failed. “They’re the best cock blocks this side of the state line.”
“Mind telling me why you have childproof locks on this thing?” Drina asked.
“Did you see the monkey I’m hauling around in the back?” Kurt asked, referencing Zak.
Coco and Drina laughed and then hurried to greet Kane and Peyton. After they’d exchanged hellos and swapped hugs, they introduced them to Zak and Kurt.
Kane asked, “So which one of you will be watching over Coco?”
“Kane, I’m a grown woman.”
“Yes, and you’re also a woman who has been targeted.” He turned to Drina. “Lucky for you, this new outfit thinks you’re dead.”
“What?” Drina went pale.
“Was that necessary?” Zak ogled Kane like he might just punch his lights out.
Coco’s heart went out to her sister. Drina had been right. The woman killed at the club the night before had been killed because of a mistaken identity.
Accustomed to cleaning up messes like this, Zak immediately took charge. “How long will the locals keep the dead woman’s real identity a secret?”
“A few days so don’t be planning any funeral arrangements. It won’t go that far.” Kane stroked his chin. “Although I have to admit, I wanted it to go that far. You would’ve been safer if we could’ve planned a staged funeral and we might have been able to lure your father back to Erwin.”
Drina rolled her eyes. “Tell me you don’t believe that. He hasn’t been here for the big moments in life. He won’t show up for the low ones. Jax Jackson told me that once and turns out, he’s right. Dad isn’t coming back. No matter what happens here or what happens to us. He isn’t about to show his cowardly face.”
“Drina, enough,” Coco said, giving a quick tilt of the head toward Zak and Kurt.
“You’re right, Coco. It is enough.” She turned to look at Zak and said, “Call me sometime. I’m in the book.”
Before he could stop her, she ran up the steps leading to the front porch and disappeared inside the house. Zak looked bewildered. “Did I miss something somewhere?”
Coco turned to Peyton. “Is it just me or does Kane mess up the ebb and flow wherever he goes?”
Peyton just smiled. She looked at Kane as if she positively loved him all the more.
“I don’t guess you brought Nory with you.” She stood to the side straightening out her club dress, the dress she feared probably carried the stench of cigarette smoke, liquor, and sex. Given the night she’d had, she should probably be grateful the material wasn’t stained with cum, blood and gunshot residue.
“She’d love to see you,” Peyton said quietly, pity in her voice.
“Don’t do that,” Coco said, bracing for regret but refusing to think in terms of remorse. She’d made a choice. Sending Nory to live with her cousins was the right thing to do. Right now, Nory wasn’t safe there. Their lives in Erwin weren’t safe thanks to the choices her father had made so many years ago.
“You’re welcome at our place anytime,” Kane said.
“How long will you be staying?” Coco asked coolly.
Thanks to Kane and his lack of tact, Drina would probably shut down for a few days. She couldn’t carry guilt. She couldn’t shoulder this sort of blame. And since Kane didn’t seem to be the slightest bit concerned with how he’d delivered the news of the woman’s death, Coco was ready for him to leave.
“Think it would be all right if I went in and tried to talk to Drina?” Zak asked, concern marring his brow.
“Probably not,” Kane and Coco said at the same time, staring at one another as if they felt like the other one had spoken out of turn.
“This isn’t something she’ll just sweep under a rug and forget. A woman lost her life because of Drina, because she looked like her and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Well I know something about being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m talking to her.” And with that, Zak turned around and marched straight inside the Baldini home.
* * * *
“There you are.” Zak hesitated before he entered. Then he thought about the night before, how they’d hit it off and seemingly been inseparable since their first introduction.
“I don’t want to talk right now, Zak.” She was sobbing. Her voice was broken, shattered. Her shoulders rose and fell rapidly and her soft cries were barely audible, but he heard them all the same.
“Well, that’s just too bad.” He entered her room, shut and locked the door and stood there another minute, trying to decide on the best approach.
Remembering the way his father had once described his love for his mother, he decided the best course of action was a lot of honesty and a direct approach. He sat down next to her, curving his arm over her waist and deciding then that this woman was his future. She had him believing in things he’d never thought about in his entire life—love, marriage, kids, family, sanity away from his family business, and a long list of other favorable possibilities.
He sat there for what seemed like an hour or longer before he finally brushed her hair down her back, loving that silken feeling under his fingertips. “Would you turn over here and look at me at least?”
“I asked you to leave.”
Zak, a stubborn man by trait, decided to quickly put aside a few obstacles and hurdles before he told her the straight of things. “Okay, let’s get one thing out of the way right away. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You don’t understand,” she wailed. “I’m ultimately responsible for that woman’s death.”
“That’s wrong and right,” he said. “You are not ultimately responsible for that woman’s death. From what I’ve gathered downstairs that blame is on your father’s shoulders, wherever they may be.” From what he had heard about her father, he’d spare a guess they were propped up between a whore’s legs but he didn’t want to mention that at the moment. Drina was upset enough. “You’re right by saying I don’t understand this particular situation, but you and I have more in common than you realize.”
She still didn’t look at him. Her soft cries were now more muffled, and still breaking his heart.
“For god’s sake, turn around here and look at me.” He flipped her over and stared into those gorgeous dark eyes. He wasn’t just lost then, he was shipwrecked on a private island, destined to spend his life in a predetermined fashion with one woman, one great love.
Her lips trembled. Tears rolled from the corners of her eyes.
He pulled some tissue from the box on her nightstand and dabbed her cheeks.
“Why are you still here?”
That was a question he’d probably ask himself at least a thousand times when they eventually had their first fight, if they ever had one. At the moment he couldn’t think of one thing they’d ever have to argue about.
“Because I’m not leaving you,” he said. “I’m not about to leave the woman who grabbed a hold of me like a damn tsunami until we’ve accurately assessed the damages.” He laced her fingers with his. “From my point of view, those damages are indeed great—given your family’s history and mine—but they could’ve been devastating.” He massaged the back of her hand with his thumb. “And by that I mean, those assassins sent to Paddles and Picnics could’ve hit their mark and even though we’ve just met, I’m certain of one thing. If I had lost you before I had a chance to really get to know you, it would’ve been the most traumatic moment
of my life.”
Chapter Fifteen
Coco stomped in the kitchen and stopped right in front of Kane’s chair. “Has anyone ever told you that you could fuck up a wet dream?”
“Or cause one?” Peyton came right to her husband’s aid, which was par for the course. Coco had gone up against her cousins more than once and they always stood together. They were hands-down the strongest couple she’d ever known. She shuddered to think of what she and her sisters might have to deal with if Braden and Evan, Peyton’s other two husbands, decided to pop on in and join the reunion.
“I’m busy right now, Coco,” Kane said, staring at the laptop screen like he couldn’t see what was on it as he henpecked at letters.
“Honey, let me do this for you,” Peyton said, resting her hand on his wrist.
“Peyton.” Kane thinned his lips, set his jaw, and looked like he was ready to light in to her.
She just cocked her head and in a saucy little voice, she asked, “Yes, honey?”
“Never mind,” he grumbled. “I’m almost done. Besides, the Jackson boys ought to be here anytime. Then the DTF, ATF, FBI, and every other initial-clad organization known to mankind should roll in here, too.”
“How long will this take?” Coco crossed her arms and tapped the toe of her shoe.
“Settle down, little woman,” Kane said, closing the laptop and facing her. “It’s probably safe to assume you and your boys won’t see one another again tonight.”
“My boys?” She glared at Drina when she entered the country kitchen from the other side.
“Don’t look at me and don’t give yourself away,” Drina said. “Kane, when are you going to come to town without stirring up a lot of trouble?”
Peyton laughed. “If that ever happens, you girls let me know. Because then we should all be worried about his mental health state.”
Kane smirked. “You are so spanked once company leaves tonight.”
“That was too much information,” Coco said, clicking out a short text message to Kurt, Liam, and Brandon which simply said, Thinking of you.
Peyton went to the refrigerator. Retrieving a sandwich platter with assorted meats and an array of cheeses, she set the food on the breakfast bar, retrieved some paper plates, and put out some colorful napkins.
“Well aren’t you just familiar with our kitchen,” Drina teased. “We may send Kane back to North Carolina and keep you a while.”
“Don’t,” Coco warned her, realizing all Kane and Peyton seemed to need was an invitation and they’d stay for days and days.
“I invited Peyton—not Kane.”
He seemed too distracted to care. The crackling gravels outside the kitchen window alerted them to company. The Jacksons’ dually trucks pulled in first followed by the unmarked navy blue four-door sedans and a couple of plain white cruisers.
Kane stood in the bay window, watching as everyone left their vehicles. He was acting strange, even for Kane. Then again, he was always suspicious of everyone.
About that time, Coco received a text from Brandon. Mom told you to use what you knew, your knowledge if and when you needed it. No one will fault you if you do that now or in the future.
Immediately, she received a message from Liam. Thinking of you.
Then, one from Kurt arrived. You are one hell of a sexy woman and I hope I can now call you mine.
The last message stole her breath away. If their company hadn’t just arrived, she would’ve considered running upstairs where she would’ve taken a few minutes out of her busy day to play with her lickety-split vibrator, a toy designed to bring quick vibrations to the woman on the go.
“Something wrong?” Drina asked.
“No,” Coco replied curtly.
“I was talking to Kane,” she said, winking at Coco.
Apparently Drina loved to devil Kane.
“No. Just making sure I know these fellas. Everything is fine.” Kane went to the porch to welcome everyone while Peyton hummed right along like she didn’t have a care in the world. If she’d had a nice apron to wear, she would’ve fit the part.
Coco watched her with interest, wondering if she could ever know such peace of mind, such joy. Deciding her lot in life was overshadowed by her father’s decisions, she walked outside, rushing her sisters and for the moment, grateful she could hang on to the family she knew and the sisters she loved.
“So I hear we have some catching up to do,” Brianna said.
“I suppose,” Coco said, nodding at Drina. “She has some news of her own.”
Gemma grumbled, “As long as it doesn’t have anything to do with a man, we’re good.”
After everyone had been introduced, they made their way into the kitchen. Peyton offered “refreshments” and directed the agents to the table where they immediately began retrieving notepads or cell phones, their methods of note taking providing evidence of their ages.
Questions about the night before began and before Coco knew what hit her, she found herself under scrutiny and she longed for her other family—for the Blaziers who had somehow always known what to do and what to say.
“Excuse me for a moment,” she said, rushing to the half bath down the hall. Digging in her slacks and thankful she’d changed into something comfortable before the Feds and company had arrived, she typed out a group message to Brandon, Kurt, and Liam. In its simplest form, it was a cry out for help, but she only typed, The questions are upsetting. Please send someone. I’m afraid I’ll say something I shouldn’t.
She returned to the table and caught stern glares from each of her sisters. Even Jax gave her a leveled look.
“Where did you go, Ms. Baldini?” one of the agents asked.
Brianna quickly shook her head as if to warn her.
“To the bathroom?” Maybe she should’ve flushed the toilet and turned on the water. Perhaps that was the real problem here. These men with their refined attitudes, thousand dollar suits, and expensive shoes were staring down their noses as if she were a lesser person, a person with the last name Baldini, a lowly person they wouldn’t want to save if their jobs didn’t require them to do so.
“Got it,” one of the younger agents said, flashing his phone. “Who did you text while you were in the bathroom, Miss Baldini?”
She flicked a quick glance at Drina who immediately shook her head.
“Ms. Baldini?”
“Perhaps you should call us by our first names,” Brianna suggested. “Since there are four sisters here who could all answer to Miss Baldini.”
“Very well,” said the agent with his cell phone still up in the air. “Coco, who did you text?”
She could see the very message she had typed out on her cell. How had they managed to intercept her text? She focused on the only one there who could potentially save her but Kane was watching her as if he too expected an answer.
“My boyfriend.” She held her head up high.
“Don’t you mean boyfriends, Miss Bal—Coco, isn’t that what you mean?”
She focused on Brianna again. She was seated at the far end of the table. Jax sat next to her. Tyler and Flint stood behind her. Surely the agents there already figured out their relationship arrangement.
Then again, how could she define her relationships exactly? She’d had sex with Liam that morning on the balcony. Later, she’d been the gal in the middle and she’d fucked all three of them. The day before she’d sucked Brandon off and had a fling with Kurt. What were they to her except men she cared for, men she admittedly felt compelled to summon when she had a problem, no doubt, but boyfriends? No, she wasn’t sure they were boyfriends exactly because they were so much more. They were her lovers, her men, her greatest protectors.
Maybe even her truest loves.
“We’re friends. I should’ve said a friend rather than boy-friend.”
“But in fact you had it right the first time,” another agent said, pulling free a small notepad and flipping over a few pages. “Here it is. You’ve been involved with Brandon
Blazier for a reported four years, probably more. You’ve been sleeping with him for at least two and best I can tell you are involved with at least two of his brothers, if the club footage from last night and this morning is accurate and I’m willing to say the footage reveals an accurate depiction of your relationship with Liam, Brandon, and Kurt Blazier.”
“We all went to the club as friends,” Drina said, speaking up for Coco.
The agent let his glasses slip down his nose. “We’ll get to you soon, Drina. Give me a minute.” He redirected his attention to Coco. “Miss Baldini, were you aware that Paddles and Picnics has an outdoor surveillance system, one which covers each of the outdoor patios and balconies, both public and private?” He clucked. “Oh and uh, when curtains are left open their cameras pick up action in the master bedrooms of each independent suite.” He smiled. “Just for future reference, of course.”
Coco’s hand trembled. She covered her mouth, uncertain if she released a whimper or if it was in fact imagined. “No…no…I wasn’t aware.”
“Kane.” Peyton nudged her husband and put her arm around Coco as if to offer her a source of protection, or at least the illusion of safety.
Coco watched the driveway. She didn’t want the illusion. She needed the real thing. What was keeping them? It shouldn’t have taken the Blazier brothers that long to get there! Where were they? What was the hold up?
“Coco, these men want to discuss something with you,” Kane said, acting as if he were head of the family.
“Let’s go ahead and put everything out here on the table,” one of the older agents said. “Your boys aren’t coming, Ms. Baldini. At this very moment, their property is being raided and they are being questioned, just as you are. Now, you can either cooperate with us or we can take you in for further questioning, which you might prefer because then you would at least see some of your ‘friends,’ as you say. Either way, we’re getting to the truth today.”
Coco shook from her head to her toes. Her head spun around and around. Surely the agents were lying, playing mind games. Wasn’t trickery part of some agencies’ routines when questioning a suspect? Didn’t they use manipulative tactics in hopes of getting to the truth?
Sexual Expression [Contemporary Cowboys 2] (Siren Publishing LoveEdge) Page 11