Breaking Into the Business
Page 22
“You don’t owe us a thing,” Betsy said. “I know you’d do the same for me.”
“Yeah,” Mike agreed. “You are amazing, Lana. For the first time in so long, you’ve given me something to be excited about again. I think I’m the one that owes you.”
Pearl screeched. “Okay, this sappy shit is nice and all, but do you think someone could get me out of this damn rope.”
Derrick and Ben ran over and started undoing her rope to free her from the confines of the chair.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Nothing else was said as we all started trying to get the living room back in order. Greg and I got the bleach out and started cleaning up the blood. The guys lifted the lounge chair off of the couch and took it back outside. Luckily, the only thing that had been permanently broken was the glass window.
Later, I found out that Betsy and the guys had chased Jeremy’s goon for several blocks until they suspected that he was just the diversion. When they returned to the house, they found the door locked and suspected the worst when I didn’t answer. Greg was the one who had formulated the plan to crawl in through Mallory’s window, while Mike and the guys threw the chair through the window. I asked why they had chosen to do something so destructive, and they said that had been the most distracting diversion they could devise.
The broken glass didn’t bother me in the least. I was just glad to finally be over this crazy stalker business and have my life back to normal. Although, somehow, while I cleaned the blood off the wall, I knew that my life would never go back to normal. In the past five days, I had taken the steps to change the course of my existence, and send myself down a path I didn’t think I would ever be able to recover from.
However, that didn’t mean that it was bad. No, I knew that there were many things about my ‘new life’ that would be nice and refreshing. I was more confident, although the incident with Jeremy had taken a chip out of my pride.
By the time all the cleanup was finished, it was late, so we all sat outside for a little while and had a few beers. We were all too amped up to try to get any sleep.
I made a mental list of everything I would have to do the next day. The first item on the agenda was to call my two wonderful children and tell them that everything was okay. Of course, I would have to try to get the glass replaced on a Saturday morning to ensure that it was repaired before they came home. I didn’t want to give them any reason to be worried or feel weird being back in the house. It was already bad enough that I would feel that way.
Jake and Mallory had been through so much already. They had faced their father’s sudden disappearance and that had been hard enough. I had learned a few things about Frank, but those new tidbits, I would have to keep from them. It was bad enough that their dad was a dead beat, but I couldn’t let them know that he had gambled away their college funds.
That would be just one more thing I would have to take on. The escort business was now even more important than it was before. I had to find a way to make it profitable and fast. I only had three years until Jake was in college and those bills would start coming in. If I had to, I would resort to selling myself to make sure that their futures were as bright as possible.
I looked around the circle of my friends, both old and new. Betsy and Pearl had been with me through so many hurdles, and like the amazing friends they were, they had picked me up and helped me over. I owed them so much and I only hoped that I was given the chance to repay them for everything.
My guys had also come through for me. Even though, I had just met Greg, and had only known the other four very casually before this week, they proved to be a solid protective force in my life. That meant that I would have to protect them through the success of the business. All of them were in some sort of financial hardship or struggle, and they were depending on me to come through for them. I could not fail them.
After an hour or so, we all retired to bed. Due to the hour, everyone decided to find a place to crash somewhere in the house. Greg gave his bed up to Betsy and Pearl, and volunteered to sleep on the living room floor.
I knew that was a ruse, but I needed him on every level. I only had to wait a few minutes after all the lights went out before he crept into my room. I had no idea where he had shed his clothes, but when he reached my bed in the darkness, he was already naked.
As he pulled the sheet back, he slid down into the bed next to me. Neither of us slept for a few hours as we had other things on our minds. We made love, and this time, we fought to break our record of four times. By three in the morning, we had met the record, and from the look on Greg’s exhausted face, I didn’t know if he had it in him to break it. Literally.
“Thank you,” I whispered to him.
“You know, it’s about time you stopped thanking me after sex.”
“I’m not thanking you for that.”
“Then what?”
I reached over and kissed him on his forehead. “For being you.”
Greg’s face changed from his usual expression of jovial cleverness to one of sincerity. “Lana, if you only knew me, you would know that I have so much more to thank you for. Meeting you that night at the bar has changed my life forever.”
I chuckled, breaking the mood. “You’ve only met me five days ago. Let’s give it a little more time and see if you’re still glad you met me.”
He smiled and went in for another kiss. By the feeling of his hardness poking me in the thigh, I could tell he was ready to try to break the record.
To find out what happens to Lana and the Madam Men, check out the next volumes in the series:
Book 2: Family Affair
The Madam business continues to expand and revenue is increasing, but another blackmailer arrives on the scene. Can Lana balance both of her careers, a new nemesis, and a new man whose occupation might be just as bad as an escort? On top of all that, her entire family is converging on her home for a fancy party that she can’t afford to host.
Book 3: Gigolo Murder
When one of Lana’s escorts turns up dead, accusations start flying. Nearly everyone she knows is a suspect. To make matters worse, the murdered escort had a company cell phone on his person, and Lana is sure that the phone’s history will lead the police right to her doorstep.
Both books are currently available!
Book Four in the series will be available Winter 2012
If you have enjoyed the book, please feel free to contact me at authorhadleyknox@gmail.com or leave a review at www.amazon.com.
Thank you!
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my editor Frankie Sutton for laboring over each draft. As always, you have been amazing to work with.
I would like to thank a few dear friends who read early drafts of the story and provided some wonderful feedback that helped shaped the series: Holly, Lisa, and most especially Jaclyn. I promise that the jewelry will not be loaned. Your friendship means very much to me!