Jordan

by Lindsey Hart

  Will rolled his eyes. “You’re really something, Millar, you know that don’t you? You make a man wish that he hadn’t tried so hard to keep a useless prick like you out of jail. Maybe a year behind bars would teach you some respect. The hard truth is, you’re not untouchable. Three DUI’s in three years hints at a larger problem. Don’t you realize that you could kill someone driving intoxicated? Then where would you be? You could harm someone. It’s not a fucking joke.”

  Lukas refused to rise to the bait. Will often blew off steam. It bothered him not at all. “You’d let your old Harvard friend rot in a cell for a year? Think of all the degenerates that would go to jail, all the money lost if I wasn’t here. Each time I was pulled over I hadn’t had more than a couple drinks and that’s the honest truth.”

  “A couple drinks is still over the limit, drunk or not. Maybe you had the misfortune of being pulled over. Either way, it looks like this is the end of the road. I know that you’ll find somewhere else to work or you’ll go it on your own. Whichever path you choose, I wish you well.”

  A cold tendril of shock washed over Lukas. Was this really it? Was he really going to be put on indefinite leave? He never believed the partners, both so old they were one step away from senility, would ever take such action. With his track record, he truly did think he was untouchable. He lived life on his own terms. Hard and fast.

  He slowly stood, so that he was on the same level with Will. He didn’t like being talked down to. “So, there’s no convincing them otherwise.” Will shook his head. Dark eyes burned right through Lukas. “Well. I guess you’re right then. There’s nothing for it but for me to leave.”

  “Just like that? It’s all over?”

  “It’s far from over. You’ll get the chance to finally rise like you deserve here, with me out of the way. I’ll take my abilities elsewhere. There is no shortage of firms or maybe you’re right. It could be time to go out on my own. It’s much more lucrative that way.”

  “Like you need the money,” Will muttered sarcastically. “Do you want to know where your community service hours are or not? I went out of my way to find you a small, discreet place. You won’t be noticed there and you’ll be hard to find.”

  “Let’s see? The end of the world? Antarctica? The depths of the ocean?”

  Will rolled his eyes. “I see your imminent departure hasn’t knocked a grain of humility into you. Maybe serving others will. I arranged for your hours to be spent at a tiny soup kitchen in Logan Heights. Mostly in the back sort of thing. Preparing food, out of the public eye. It shouldn’t be too humiliating.”

  Lukas’ mouth dropped open. “Are you fucking kidding me? A soup kitchen? Logan Heights? It might as well be Antarctica. Why didn’t you just ask me to go beg out on the street for five hundred hours? It couldn’t be more humiliating.”

  “I’m sorry. What did you expect? Five hundred hours Pro Bono work? That’s not how this thing goes down. Your only other option is a year jail time. That’s on top of all the fines and courses and license suspension that you’re going through. I hope you enjoy having that interlock back in all your vehicles again.” Will shook his head, truly disgusted. “You know what gets me? You’re supposed to be this firm’s best lawyer. Hell, maybe you’re even this city’s Golden Boy. Everyone knows your name. Everyone comes to you when there is no one else that can help them. You’re a brilliant lawyer even if you’re shit as a human being. If you’re so damn smart, why the hell can’t you just take a cab once in a while? It would have saved me a great deal of trouble defending your useless, unappreciated ass.”

  A jolt of actual emotion ripped right through the haze of rage that clouded Lukas’ mind. He rarely felt anything at all. There was a hole in his chest where his heart should have been. That happened over the years, especially in his profession. He couldn’t say how or when the numbness had taken over but it was there now, a permanent fixture.

  “I’m sorry Will. Really. I don’t want nearly two decades of friendship to end like this.”

  Will blinked. His defenses immediately slammed into place. Lukas had seen that expression a hundred times before. It was the same look Will gave clients when he knew they were guilty. Lukas expected some kind of confirmation. Some kind of shared sentiment or regret that he was leaving. Instead all he got was a blank look.

  Didn’t that just sum up the current state of his life.

  CHAPTER 2

  “Don’t forget that Mister Hot Shot himself starts this morning.” Cassie Edwards, a middle-aged woman with a heart of gold, shuffled into Star’s tiny office. She walked with an awkward gait, compliments of the painful arthritis that twisted her knees and affected her other joints on and off. Her shoulder length dark hair was liberally streaked with grey. Laugh lines took over her face but they made her look kind, not old.

  Star Schellen refused to be ruffled. She hadn’t been happy about her newest community service placement, but her basic core values made her unable to refuse him. She had to set whatever personal grudges she had aside in the larger interest of what her organization ultimately stood for. Which was saying a lot considering that even a saint would have turned Lukas Millar away.

  “Yes. I remember,” Star muttered, as Cassie was clearly waiting for an answer. She rested her hands on her beat up desk top. She’d been in the middle of placing a supply order, but certainly didn’t mind being interrupted, even if it was to discuss Millar himself. “How are we set for breakfast this morning?”

  “Great. Connie has everything prepared. Jed is still working away at fixing that window that was broken last night. I still think, if you ask me, that a set of bars would be more useful than some fancy duel plane glass just begging for another break.”

  “I know, I know, but I don’t want it to be the kind of place that puts bars on windows. I feel like that sends the message that we’re trying to hide something or that we don’t want a certain kind of people. We are all inclusive. We don’t turn anyone away.”

  Cassie’s hands planted on her ample hips. Her normally kind, motherly face darkened. “Even the lowest of the low apparently.”

  Star smothered a grin. She knew Cassie was referring to Lukas Millar. She herself was determined never to say an unkind word about anyone. It was a vow she’d made when she’d started the non-profit soup kitchen six years before. “Now, now. Even Mr. Millar deserves a chance.”

  “Even after a third DUI? The man is supposed to be a genius lawyer. The Last Hope, they call him.”

  “Is that what people really say? I thought it was something about a Golden Boy…”

  “Probably both.” Cassie nodded solemnly.

  Star considered that for a minute. She didn’t have a personal history with Lukas Millar but her best friend did. Millar had dated Annie for nearly four months. Annie was a sweet girl. Far too trusting and naive for her own good. Millar chewed her up and spat her out. He left her with a broken heart. The breakup might have been easier for Annie to swallow if he hadn’t been dating two other girls at the same time. One of them just happened to be a high-priced escort.

  “Well then. We both know we don’t bad mouth anyone here. Everyone deserves an equal opportunity at a second chance. However, there’s nothing saying that Mr. Millar isn’t coming here to work hard. By that I mean that you should make a list of all the jobs that haven’t been done around here. Everything that’s been put off because we’ve been short on labour. Broken windows. Scrubbing off tags. Cleaning toilets. Cleaning worse… if someone should happen to throw up anywhere near the property, that must be cleaned up immediately. If someone should happen to pee on the floor- well, you catch my drift. Let’s see if Mr. Last Hope Golden Boy can maintain his record around here as well. Just imagine it. Never a job left undone.”

  Cassie laughed so hard her shoulders shook and her hazel eyes teared up. “Wee-who. I like it! Jed will be glad for the break too. He’s mighty tired of cleaning up messes. We’ve had an extraordinary amount this month it seems.”

  Star wi
nced in sympathy. “That’s terrible. Good thing timing is on our side. It sounds like Mister Millar is exactly what we need.”

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  Cameron Spade is used to making it on his own. He built his entire empire from nothing and earned the reputation of being a black hearted devil for ruthlessly dealing with anyone who got in his way. His only soft spot is his younger sister, Veronica, who is all he has left in this world. Cameron would do anything to protect her … even if it implies striking back by kidnapping the sister of the man blackmailing Veronica.

  The deal was fair. Sarah Redden in return for those racy pictures of his sister.

  What was supposed to be even easier was keeping his little prisoner captive on his private island. What he never expected was to have a wildcat bent on escaping at each and every turn.

  And what was even worst … he could not resist her. The more she battled him, the more attracted he was with his fiery little prisoner. But she was so off-limits … he did not sympathise with the enemy. EVER.

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  CHAPTER 1

  Cameron Spade was a busy man. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth so nothing he had was handed to him. He and he alone was solely responsible for the fortune he’d amassed and the empire he’d built.

  His little sister, Veronica, normally stayed out of his business. She let him support her but then she’d always looked to him for guidance, long before their mother died. And Cam had been forced to become a man early on to shoulder the family’s responsibility.

  “Veronica!” Cam pushed back his leather office chair and stood. The massive mahogany desk and floor to ceiling book shelves in the lavish, high rise office failed to dwarf his own intimidating size. Veronica hardly noticed. He could make a grown man tremble in fear with just a dark look but his sister, a dark haired, blue eyed petite beauty who stood hardly five feet tall and looked like she would blow away in a strong wind, didn’t see him that way and she never would. “This is a surprise.” One look at her face told him something was wrong.

  Her blue eyes, normally alive and sparkling, glistened with tears. She blinked them away quickly, knowing how Cam hated weakness. “Cam… I need to talk to you about something.” She clenched her hands in the folds of her flowing yellow maxi dress.

  “Sit down then.” He indicated one of the high-backed chairs in front of his desk. The things looked more suited to an evening by a fireplace than an office, but he liked them.

  “No. I’d rather stand.”

  Cam swallowed hard as his throat closed a fraction. This wasn’t Veronica. His sister was always full of life. She was as headstrong as she was carefree, but she was joyful by nature. “It’s Redden isn’t it?”

  Her head whipped up and Cam knew that he was right even before she nodded. “Yes.” Her voice was tiny and lost.

  “What’s that bastard done this time?” Cam’s hand balled into a fist at his side. He imagined Trace Redden and longed to smash his fist right into the bastard’s face.

  “Cam please!” Veronica rushed to his side and took his hand. Forced his hand open and tangled her fingers in his. She rarely touched him, and he startled at the contact. They weren’t a family who displayed emotions easily; not the loving kind at any rate. Anger, rage, offense, grudges… those came much more naturally, at least to him.

  “What’s he done? I warned you about seeing him. He’s a low life scum who didn’t even deserve the opportunity to kiss the soles of your shoes let alone date you. I told you nothing good could come out of it. He used to steal cars, run with gangs. God, he’s probably dealing illegal substances though I couldn’t find anything when I dug up dirt on him. He’s a sneaky son of a bitch. More snake than man.”

  “Cam!” Veronica cut him off. Her beautiful, baby face twisted with sorrow and rage of her own. “Please! I know what you think. The whole damn world knows what you think.” She gripped his hand so hard it actually hurt. A tremble ran through her slight frame. “You were right.”

  “What’s he done?” He asked again. The words were hard and grounded out as Cam struggled to control himself.

  “He… oh Cam! I can’t tell you! It’s going to break your heart!”

  Cam untwisted his hand from his sister’s death grip. He led her over to the chair he’d asked her to take earlier and forced her to sit. He hunched into the other one, trying to appear understanding though the only thing he felt was potent rage. “Tell me.”

  Another tremble ripped through Veronica. “He has- pictures- of me. Naked. He told me that it was over between us and that he was going to sell them to every media outlet he could find. That failing, he’ll post them online himself and the damage will be done from there. Unless- unless we agree to pay him ten million dollars. He gave me five days.”

  Cam’s rage was instant and so forceful that black spots danced in front of his eyes. What he felt could no longer even be described as rage. Trace Redden was little more than a bug; a roach that needed to be squashed under the heel of his boot.

  “Cam please! Tell me you aren’t going to hurt him.” Veronica’s pleading voice startled him out of the revenge plan he was already formulating.

  “No. Of course not. I don’t go around hurting people. Jesus, Veronica, you of all people should know that those stories aren’t true.”

  Those angelic blue eyes never wavered from his face. “I know you don’t, Cam. You don’t, but you have men who do. I know what happens to the people who owe you money. I know that some people think you’re a bad man; a loan shark with no scruples. You’re not afraid to tear people’s lives apart, to take their houses, or instill the fear of god in them.”

  Cam bristled. “That’s what happens when you borrow money and don’t pay it back. People know the risks and the consequences before they come to me. We are a legitimate business.”

  “So, I suppose your goons are legitimate as well. The threats and intimidation and broken bones…”

  “Veronica!” She trembled again, and Cam moderated his voice. Icy tendrils of guilt spread through him. He was never harsh with his sister. He loved her far too much for that. “I don’t break people’s bones. Clint broke someone’s finger once without my permission. The guy owed a substantial amount of money. Clint went there to convince him to pay. It was actually an accident. He went to bend the guy’s hand back and the man’s finger snapped. The stories snowballed after that. I thought you knew that. My men, despite the fact that they spread threats and intimidation when and where it’s needed, would never physically harm someone.”

  “Intimidation and threats are just as bad.”

  “Some would break every bone in a man’s body or worse. People still disappear in the middle of the night.”

  Veronica’s eyes widened, and he cursed himself. He shouldn’t have told her that. He wasn’t a bad man. He wanted her to understand that. It killed him that she might think he was one of those animals he’d tried so hard never to become. He’d forgiven millions in debt because he had no choice sometimes. If it meant hurting another person, the money just wasn’t worth it. That didn’t mean his goons didn’t install fear because they did. Fear was the only way to operate in a business like this.

  “I would never do that. You know me. No matter what, I’m still your big brother. I’ll always look after you and take care of you. I would never, ever hurt anyone. Not even Trace Redden.”

  “You won’t?”

  “No. There are other ways to get revenge and to take care of the slime of society.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t call him that I… I- thought- that I…”

  “What? You thought you loved him?” What could his sister possibly know of love? She was just past her twentieth birthday. He was ten years older than her and he’d been careful to avoid such foolish notions. Emotions, feelings, love- it was all just weakness in his eyes.


  Veronica hung her head. “He was a user. He knew who I was, probably the entire time we were together.”

  Cam sighed. “Even though we have different last names to protect you, people can still find out I’m your brother. I warned you about men like him.”

  “I know. I know what you said. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe you or that I wanted to scorn you or something. I just- he’s a good man. I know it. He hasn’t had an easy life. He might be rough like you said but he has a good heart. He’s smart, tender… I know you wouldn’t believe me but I know it. He has this sister, she’s younger. He took care of her. Raised her the same way you raised me. That’s how I know he could never be all bad.”

  Cam froze. The start of a plan was already picking its way through his brain. “How did Trace get those photos anyway? Why would you have sent him something like that? I thought you knew better.” Veronica hung her head again. Cam couldn’t stand to see all her vibrancy shadowed by sorrow. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

  “I didn’t send them. Trace… he was the one who took them.”

  Cam’s blood turned to ice. He had never hurt someone before but this was different. He wanted to harm Trace Redden more than he’d ever wanted to do damage to another person in his life. This time it wasn’t about money. It was personal.

  “Please Cam! I know what you think. You can’t imagine how I of all people could- give- myself to him.”

  He slowly shook his head. “No. That’s not what I was thinking at all.” Veronica stared hard at him. He could tell she thought he was a liar. “I was thinking that Trace Redden is finished. If he’d treated you like the lady you are and treated you with respect I would have let him be. If he truly loved you, he never would have had a problem with me. I value what you think far too much to intrude in your life. I have to let you make your own choices even if I don’t agree with them.”