Jake: A Southern Crime Family Novel

by Carla Swafford

  “Damn. You better be glad I didn’t know you had this on.” He leaned over and ran his tongue along the string of pearls. “We would’ve never made it to the wedding.” The heel of his palm rotated, and she bowed her back. “Hold onto the headboard.”

  She stretched and grasped beneath the edge above her head. As she suspected, her breasts lifted out of the corset.

  Jake noticed, too, and flicked, rubbed, and twisted a nipple, bringing more pleasure than pain.

  “Oh, baby, you’re a man’s wet dream come to life,” he growled and then his mouth covered her labia, with a dip of his tongue into the sensitized folds. His finger hooked the pearls, sliding them beside her hard clit as he licked the swollen nub.

  She bit her bottom lip to keep from screaming. Another new experience for her, and Jake was an expert. In no time, she arched, pressing into his mouth and wave after wave of pleasure strummed through her body.

  “Feel better?”

  Limp and satisfied, she watched Jake. Her eyes only partially open. He slipped off the little jacket and then unhooked and unlaced her corset, tossing it to the side. Without hesitation, he massaged her breasts and ribs where the corset had crushed her flesh. She moaned in delight. The man knew where to touch.

  “Yes. Thank you,” she whispered.

  He slid his hand down her legs.

  “Why did you keep quiet about it being your first time?”

  As soon as she tensed, he began rubbing her left foot. She collapsed when his thumb rubbed the center, making her toes curl. She’d forgotten about running over pine cones and sticks with only socks to protect her. They stung from tenderness and little punctures and scratches.

  “I didn’t hide anything. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you that I hadn’t been with anyone else. Last summer, I got tired of waiting for you and decided to get rid of it myself. Really, who would believe I’m a virgin at my age?”

  “Waiting for me, huh? Why me?”

  The way he said it caught her attention, and she tilted her head. She wanted to say, Why not? But she stopped herself and cleared her throat.

  “There isn’t another man in my life that ever made me feel like you do. Besides, it’s a moot point now.”

  He stopped and stared at her for a few seconds. As if he couldn’t figure out her angle.

  Had he not felt the same thing she had that fateful day?

  Then he began rubbing her other foot. Never in a million years would she have guessed Jake Whitfield gave great foot rubs. After a few more minutes, she felt her body float. He released his hold and stood by the bed. Still boneless, she peeked between her eyelashes and watched him. He appeared to be analyzing her. After a long pause, he turned to the nightstand drawer, taking her gun out. As soon as she heard the bedroom door close, she drifted off to sleep.

  Jake’s cock ached like a son of a bitch as he strode downstairs. He moved it into the crease of his hip, hoping to find a little more room in his jeans until the son of a bitch calmed down. The woman he left in his bed had looked so feminine and soft. Those tiny pink pearls on her hips and dividing her pussy had brought a powerful throbbing between his legs. She was the most sensual recent-lustful-ex-virgin he’d ever been around, willing to do anything he wanted and continuing to surprise him at every turn.

  I got tired of waiting for you.

  Why had she waited for him at all? So she hadn’t known about her grandfather’s will. In any case, hadn’t she told him the will had changed only recently? It didn’t make sense. Finding out the reason she’d waited would have to be for another time.

  He looked down at the gun in his hand. There had been no ID on the man who fired at the wedding party, but Jake had recognized him. While the man dressed in camo Angel had inadvertently killed, there had been nothing on him, too, but neither Jake nor any of his men recognized him. One of his men had dumped the body in the Sand County swamps about ten miles from the house. While it would probably take Jake most of the night to break down the gun and throw the pieces in different areas throughout the surrounding counties, it would be worth it to protect her.

  Besides, he needed a little night air to clear his mind and come up with a solution for the shooter he had locked up in the pump house.

  How was he going to explain to Special Agent Alex Carleton that he was holding one of her men? Hell, for that matter, she better have a good explanation to why he’d been firing into the wedding crowd.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Jake watched Special Agent Alex Carleton pull her navy blue sedan in front of the pump house. The frown she wore alerted him she probably had the scenario all wrong. No surprise there. Most law enforcement officials expected the worst from the Whitfields.

  “If one hair is harmed on my man’s head, I’ll kick your ass to the nearest federal pen, do you understand?” She swiped at her forehead with the back of her hand.

  The weatherman had said on the radio the high would be in the mid-eighties and the woman had pants, shirt, and matching jacket. No wonder sweat poured off her. What was it with these crazy women and their clothes?

  “Considering he was hiding in the trees with a gun drawn, and we were looking for the person shooting at us, let’s say he’s lucky he only has bruises. I stopped my fellows from beating the shit out of him. But next time you want to spy on me, you might want to give me a heads up.”

  “That would defeat the purpose, asshole.” She jerked open the pump house’s door and walked inside. The temperature dropped ten degrees easily. Between the sound of rushing water and the noise of the pumps, they had to yell at each other to be heard.

  “Where is he?”

  Jake pointed over to a corner. “He’s had plenty of fluids and food. I cleaned up his wounds the best I could. You might get someone to look at the cut on his forehead.”

  She strode over to her man and leaned down, asking the wounded man a question Jake couldn’t hear. The man nodded. Then she faced Jake. “Give me the key.”

  He tossed it her way. With a nod to one of his men, a guard helped with the wounded agent, and they followed Alex out to the sedan’s backseat.

  “What happened to the shooter?” she asked.

  Jake pressed his lips together and stared at her.

  “Okay. I knew better than to ask.” She leaned into the sedan and cranked up the engine. She then pressed the air-conditioner controls to lower the temp for the man in the back. “Don’t forget you have one week, and if you don’t follow through, I’ll go to Plan B. You know you won’t like it.”

  “Keep your men off my property, and I can provide what I promised. But if you send any more, our deal’s off.” He hated being jerked around, and she appeared to be the type to love taking a man by the balls and squeezing. “And don’t you forget, you have only six more hours.”

  Her glare said she understood what he meant. The autopsy and evidence reports were due.

  “Between being ran off the road and having someone burn down part of your property, I thought you could use the help.” The grin on her face revealed how much she enjoyed his frustration.

  “I’m handling it. Change of management can bring out the bad side of people. You know, testing their boundaries. So don’t you worry about me.”

  “Testing boundaries? I hadn’t heard it called that.” She laughed as she slid into her car and then spun the wheels as she headed down the dirt road and off his property.

  Damn, time that he checked into where his brothers had disappeared. Sen had gone into Sand County to see what he could snoop out there. Ethan had scheduled visits with a couple of informants in Birmingham, hoping for confirmation on who they suspected of setting up a hit against the old men.

  Special Agent Carleton couldn’t bring the reports fast enough as far as Jake was concerned. An itch between his shoulder blades told him a clue would pop up and lead to the killer. Of course, he didn’t expect the killer’s name to jump out waving a flag, but something would show up. Something that the investigators would never pick up on
.

  He did suspect his old man’s cousins had a hand in it, but neither one of them had the guts or skill with a gun to kill the two old men so smoothly. They hired someone. He needed the evidence before he could kick them out of the company. Then he and his brothers would have total control of Marystown and most of Sand County.

  Chances were, the only reasons the cousins hadn’t made their move when he’d been in the Army and Ethan in prison was their fear of the old man. Only for the last few years had Jake and his brothers been given the authority to run a few of the businesses. That was probably the time his cousins started planning the old man’s death and takeover.

  Was that it? Had the cousins become worried they would be cut out? Stood to reason. That was exactly what he’d planned, once the old man handed over the reins of Whitfield Industries. Then again, it was all speculation.

  Maybe Sen or Ethan had heard. He leaned against the hood of his car and pulled out his cell phone.

  Calling Sen first, voicemail answered. He waited for the tone, before he said, “You, bastard. Give me a call. I need some answers and I want to know you’re okay.”

  Then he tried Ethen. When he was sure it was about to go into voicemail, too, his brother picked up.

  “Yeah?” he croaked.

  “Have you found anything out about who killed the old man?”

  “I’m following a lead, but, Bro, I have to say things are getting complicated. It’s not just homegrown trouble. We have an infestation from hotter climes and—” His brother went quiet.

  “Ethan? What are you talking about?” Somedays, Jake was tempted to choke his brothers.

  The silence continued.

  He looked down at the cell phone. The connection had failed.

  Damn it.

  He called Ethan again. The voicemail recording came on.

  “Call me back when you’re sober, and you better sober up quick!”

  Fisting the cell phone, he barely held back the urge to throw it. He didn’t have time to go out and buy a new one.

  From what he could decipher of Ethan’s crazy words, it appeared they had trouble coming from the outside. Rubbing his neck, he looked around. His men stood off to the side, waiting patiently for their orders.

  “Let’s go into town. I have a meeting I need to get to.”

  At the back wall of the closed restaurant, Angel stood with arms crossed, glaring at Walter Finny. Over two-hundred-twenty pounds and six-five, Mac’s right-hand man had always treated her with respect, but from the sound of his four-packs-a-day voice, he struggled to hold his temper.

  “You and Damien need to come and live at Mac’s house. You’ll be safer there. That sorry husband of yours, he almost got you killed at least twice.”

  She didn’t correct him by saying it was three times. Some things were best kept quiet.

  “I’ve never lived at Mac’s house, and there’s no reason to do so now. I’m better protected at the Whitfields’.”

  “Where’s your husband? He should be by your side. He can’t even find time to meet with us. I’m not sure about merging with Whitfields.” Another soldier of Mac’s piped up.

  She stared down the man. He nervously looked around and stepped back. Most of the men were a little afraid of her. Many believed she was as insane as her late granddaddy. Maybe they were right.

  A deep familiar voice near the back door spoke up.

  “Her husband had a little situation of his own to take care of.” The crowd parted as Jake walked to the front, his angry gaze taking in the crowd of men. “But no matter, I know my wife can handle this meeting without my help. Before we start a merger of certain Whitfield and Tally properties and businesses, it stands to reason that we need to find out who killed my father and her grandfather. That same guilty person or persons obviously got wind of the old men wanting to stop the feud and merge the families. And I believe they are connected with the attempt on Damien. If you have heard anything or suspect anyone, let Angel know. Until we get this solved, all businesses remain running as they had when Mac was alive, but for one change. You’ll report to Angel or me. We’ll give you the details later.”

  Before the meeting, she and Jake had agreed to split up the Tally businesses. She would remain over the collection agency and the restaurants. Jake would handle the convenience stores and the bait shops. He worried about her handling collection, but she refused to give in. Her guess was he planned to fight that battle later. Knowing how he liked to fight dirty, the bedroom would probably be the battleground. She actually looked forward to it.

  Murmuring in the back of the room rumbled to the front.

  “Speak up or shut up now.” Angel had to be hard and blunt with the men or they would think her weak. She craned her neck to see if she could guess who still grumbled.

  “When did we start taking orders from a Whitfield?” Bill Turner, the manager of the restaurant they met in, looked around for support. Several men nodded but remained quiet.

  Angel placed a hand on Jake’s arm to stop him from answering. When he looked into her eyes, he stepped back and nodded toward her. Her gaze went soft for a couple of seconds. She liked knowing he was a man of his word.

  Squaring her shoulders, she turned toward the men.

  “Since yesterday, when I married Jake Whitfield,” she answered the man’s question. “Mac’s will said that he wanted us to merge with the Whitfields, and our marriage sealed the deal. He planned for Damien to take over one day, but he’s too young now.” She wanted to add she would make sure Damien never had anything to do with the illegal aspects of the organization. He was too good to put up with the hell. “The businesses need a strong arm, someone with experience, and Mac knew Jake had what’s needed. I’m willing to do anything to keep M. T. Companies working smoothly. What about you? If you want to keep your position in the company, you’ll continue to follow orders.” She fought the urge to look toward Jake, but she gave in by saying, “Is there anything you want to add, Jake?” Unable to resist any longer, she glanced his way.

  His smirk didn’t bother her at all. For some reason, she had a feeling he was proud of her, probably because she said exactly what they had agreed on. Whatever. She ignored the affection swelling in her chest. Sex and business. That’s all they had between them.

  The Tally holdings were in his hands now. She’d been Mac’s collector, not his heir apparent. Mac had made that clear to her many times. No matter how much he taught her, she would never be good enough. She didn’t have the right equipment between her legs. She actually didn’t care. Releasing a sigh, she looked down at her feet. So what if Jake only needed to walk into the room to earn their respect.

  “She’s right. But remember those who normally reported to Mac will report to me now.” The tone Jake used made clear that he expected no arguments. “Angel will continue to work the areas she held for Mac. Overall, she and I will be partners. When Damien turns eighteen, he’ll start his training to take over at twenty-five just as Mac had intended.”

  What the hell? She hadn’t agreed to anything like he described. Damien would be away at college at eighteen. Sure as hell not in Marystown. Jake knew that. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him. What was he up to? Was he planning to double-cross her? She hated being so unsure of him. He talked about her loyalty, but she was uncertain about his to her.

  An hour later, they walked out to their respective cars. Two of Jake’s men hung back, giving them privacy. She caught his elbow.

  “What was that all about when it comes to Damien starting training?” The desire to believe what he’d been telling her all along ate at her.

  He shook out a cigarette, narrowing his eyes at her as he lit it and inhaled.

  “Are you going to do this every time I open my mouth?” His even tone assured her he wasn’t angry, mildly curious instead.

  “I can’t risk misinterpreting anything you say. If I wait too long, it will be too late. You’ll have it in your mind it’s okay.”

  “Fine.” He re
leased a long stream of smoke. “You expect Damien to go to college, right?”

  “Yes, sir,” she said with a sarcastic tone.

  When he stepped into her personal space, her breath caught. Instead of feeling threatened by his size and height, she thought of how he controlled her body in bed, brought out the feminine side she often forgot she possessed. Her nipples peaked, and she tried taking in her next breath without groaning. Being so near him, only carnal thoughts raced through her mind.

  “I like that,” he whispered in her ear.

  “What?” Her voice sounded airy.

  “You calling me sir.”

  “Oh.” She released a shaky breath. The man made her legs into pudding.

  He leaned down and pressed his nose to her neck and inhaled. Then he slowly dragged his tongue over her rapidly beating pulse.

  “Please,” she whispered.

  “Please what, baby?”

  The sound of gravel under car tires snapped her out of his spell. She stepped back, expecting a smirk on his face. Forehead wrinkled, he stared at her as if he’d never seen her before. Then he looked down at his cigarette and flicked off the long ash.

  “Damien will go to college.” She dared him to say otherwise.

  “Angel, I see no reason to change that. Makes sense that he learns all the ins and outs of being a legal business owner. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  “Yes.” She turned her head, watching him out of the corner of her eyes in confusion. Where was he going with this?

  “For the next eight years, we’ll be working, strengthening our businesses. We’ll see if we can weed out those who refuse to turn a new leaf. By the time he graduates college, everything should be sorted out.”

  “What are you planning to do? You know, when it’s all over?”

  “I don’t know. I have money in several off-shore accounts. Probably buy an island and live out my days there.”

  “I can’t see you lying around.”

  His gaze slid down her body and back up. “You’ll be surprised what I’ll do.”

  A delicious shiver trickled down her body. She wanted him badly.