Hot and Handy: A Small Town Romantic Suspense (Shameless Southern Nights Book 3)

by J. H. Croix

  “You think I wouldn’t have done it if I knew it would keep Beau safe?” he asked me bitterly, sneering as he leaned forward. “One day, I’ll tell you everything. For now, you’re going to have to trust me.”

  “Trust you?” I lowered my chin and folded my arms, making a show of looking around at our surroundings. “There were a lot of people who trusted you once, Dad. You lost their trust when you did all the things you did that landed you here.”

  “Evan,” he ground out. The sound was a warning, as was the look that crept into his eyes. “Don’t you think I know all that? I’m not asking a lot of people to trust me right now. I’m only asking you.”

  His gaze held mine, somehow pleading and angry at the same time. I released a heavy breath, knocking my hair out of my eyes. “If I say yes to helping you, what would I have to do? How would I even get to the money?”

  “I would give you the account number,” he said, pushing past his anger and frustration as I was doing. No hissy fits or temper tantrums ever stood in the way of any of us doing what needed to be done, not when it needed to be done. “You would have to transfer the money to the bank here in town. Leila’s bank.”

  I groaned when I heard her name. Leila had made a name for herself as the town cougar. She’d chased after me and all my brothers at various points. None of us were strangers to being hit on, but Leila was the worst.

  With her red painted nails and her aggressive way of coming onto me, I avoided her at all costs if I could. It was too tedious to deal with her.

  Unfortunately, she was the bank manager at the biggest bank in Cypress Creek. Jeremy and I both had our business accounts there, which meant we were forced to see her every so often. The last thing I wanted was to have to deal with her more regularly than I already did.

  “Why Leila’s bank?”

  My father chuckled, and that time, there was some amusement to it. “I know you boys have had your troubles with Leila, but she’s a damn good bank manager. She’s discreet without being obstructive if she’s legally obliged to disclose something, but otherwise, her lips are sealed.”

  “Cypress Creek, though? Wouldn’t your money be better off as far away from town as you can get it?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “Like Switzerland or the Caymans or something?”

  Frowning, my father scoffed. “Jesus. This isn’t a spy movie, Evan. Be serious.”

  “I was being serious. Excuse me for not knowing the ins and outs of criminal activity,” I muttered, anger streaking through me.

  With a deep sigh and a scowl, my father said, “Cypress Creek is the best choice because no one would ever look for it in town. It’s too obvious.”

  “Of course,” I mumbled darkly. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

  Laughing silently, he shook his head slowly. “What do you say? Are you willing to do the transfer for me?”

  The laughter ended abruptly. I stared at my dad, torn for a few beats. “Give me the instructions. I’ll see what I can do. I’m not making any promises.”

  Nodding, he gave me the information. When he was done, I didn’t hang around. “I have to go now, Dad. I’ll talk to you when I have an update.”

  I stood up to walk out. My back was already turned when I heard my dad say, “I love you, Evan. I’ll speak to you soon.”

  The words made me freeze in my spot for a minute, but then I continued to walk out without saying it back. If my dad loved me, or any of us, he wouldn’t have been in prison.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sadie

  Ever since I’d overheard the foreboding conversation that night at my janitorial job, I steered clear of the lawyers more than ever before. Everything about their offices seemed more ominous to me, more dangerous.

  The sunlight filtering in through their tinted windows even seemed darker to me, the flickering shadows making me wonder what they were hiding. I knew I was being ridiculous. There was probably a reasonable explanation for what I’d heard, but I couldn’t shake the frisson of fear I felt when I came here.

  I kept reminding myself that these were businessmen and lawyers, that the lawyers were probably only owed fees by someone and didn’t mean they would actually kill their client if they didn’t get their money. I didn’t know the legalese they spoke. To them, hurting or killing someone could be something like refusing to work on their case if they didn’t pay.

  The small rubber tires of my cart slid along the thick carpets in the corridor as I worked from office to office. I was on the afternoon shift today, but it was late, and there weren’t too many people around.

  Those who were there were all holed up in the various conference rooms. The secretaries were always pleasant, but we never spoke beyond a greeting. Sometimes, it felt like I was a ghost here, and I liked it that way.

  My gray uniform blended with the color of their walls, and most people simply brushed by me when I encountered anyone. A group of men started streaming out of one of the conference rooms as I approached it, and I heard the tail end of their conversation when the door opened.

  “Don’t worry about it, Ken. We’ll get it done.”

  They stood in a huddle around an older man in a tailored pinstripe suit. He had a distinguished look about him, authoritative. His voice was cultured with a slight lilt of an accent when he spoke. “Good. Keep me updated.”

  The men agreed and hurried off somewhere, presumably to their offices. It was none of my business. I’d never even thought much about what happened here. All I did was clean. Yet, despite the ominous tone of the encounter I’d overheard recently, it had piqued my curiosity. I couldn’t help wondering what they’d been talking about.

  The older man set off down the corridor, coming straight toward me. I expected him to walk by me without acknowledging my presence as most of the others did, but I was surprised when he slowed as he neared me.

  “Hello, darling. I’ve never seen you around here.”

  I pulled my cart to a stop, my eyes darting around to see if there was someone else around he could’ve been speaking to, but it was only the two of us. Unsure of how to handle the situation since I was so used to being ignored here, I smiled shyly.

  “No, sir. I haven’t seen you either. I’m only here part-time.”

  His gaze raked up and down the length of my body, making my skin crawl beneath the starched dress and stockings I was wearing. “I wasn’t aware we had such beautiful women on our janitorial staff.”

  The derogatory comment toward my position disgusted me as much as his heated stare. Being looked at like that by a man his age reminded me of my father, and I had to fight my body to keep it from shutting down.

  I had the sudden urge to ball myself up in the corner and stay there, hoping I would become a big gray blob no one could see. Especially not that man. He didn’t seem to notice the way I instinctively shifted back from him, turning my shoulders slightly to angle away from his gaze.

  My gut churned, and anxiety tightened in my chest. For a beat, I considered that he expected a reply, but all I could manage was a nod.

  He flicked a hand, and I noticed his nails were manicured. An uncomfortable shiver ran through me.

  With a predatory grin, he took a step closer to me. “I’m only being honest. Tell me, do you ever work nights?”

  A hint of fear skittered over my skin, and I gripped my forearm with my hand, trying to soothe myself. “Sometimes I do have the night shift.”

  It felt wrong telling him, but he could easily get the information if he was determined to track it down. He nodded, and his eyes dropped to my breasts. They were fully covered by the uniform, but it felt as if he could see right through it.

  The only comfort I could hold onto was the knowledge that whatever he was imagining I was wearing underneath was wrong. A faded gray cotton bra was the furthest from sexy you could get.

  “When are you working the night shift again?” he asked, still openly ogling me.

  “I, uh, I’m not sure.” I swallowed through the anxiety tighten
ing and prayed he could leave me alone.

  “I could arrange for you to work tonight if you’d like?”

  I balked at his offer, my hands starting to tremble. “My shift for today is only for this afternoon. I can’t take another today.”

  “I wasn’t suggesting you work the night shift as a cleaning lady, sweetheart. It could be lucrative for you.” His leering gaze made my stomach churn.

  “No, thank you. I prefer working on the janitorial staff.” My voice shook, and my knees were becoming weak. That was all too familiar to me. I felt like I was talking to my father.

  The man arched an eyebrow, dark but speckled with white. “I’ll make it worth your while, I promise. I can be quite generous.”

  I took a step back, my legs shaky. I cast a look around again, desperate for someone, anyone to intervene. “I’m sure you are, but that would be inappropriate. I work here, sir.”

  Fuck off! I was screaming at him in my mind. Whether I needed the job or not was fast becoming irrelevant to the urge to run away or to confront him and ask him how he dared make such advances on someone who was clearly not interested. The sheer audacity and entitlement of his offer and refusal to back down after I’d said no twice should’ve been a prosecutable offense if I was ever given the option to weigh in on what should be considered a crime.

  Sexual harassment allegations would never stick against a man like him. It made me sick to know that if I reported him for it, I would likely be the one to lose my job. He would get off scot-free while I, the innocent party, would have to lie awake at night wondering how I was going to pay all our bills until I got another job.

  Even more sickening was that men like him had connections. If he wanted, he could probably make it very difficult for me to find another job in Cypress. All because I wanted to be left alone to do my job and not have to defend myself against a man who fancied himself a catch regardless of whether the woman was thirty years his junior.

  The man was undeterred by my answer. “Around here, I decide what’s appropriate and what isn’t. Name your price, honey. Everyone’s got theirs. How much would it cost for a night with you?”

  I took another few steps back and slid my cart in between us. Feeling physically safer for having a barrier, even a flimsy one like my cart, I knew it was then or never. I had to stand up for myself, regardless of the consequences.

  If I didn’t, I would never forgive myself. I would go back to a place I’d left behind years ago, a place more dangerous to my future than worrying about finances for a few months would be. There were concessions I could make financially.

  We could move into a smaller place or sell the car. I would rather walk than descend into the emotional abyss that would keep me from being the best mom to Emery I could be.

  Empowerment and strength flowed through me as I made the decision. I wasn’t a hapless, helpless victim that time. I could fight back.

  My eyes narrowed on the old man’s, my tone as sharp and cutting as a knife. “There is no amount of money you could pay me to spend the night with you. I wouldn’t have even one night with you no matter how much money you offered me.”

  The man was taken aback for a moment, his eyes widening and then narrowing. Just as I thought my words actually had an effect, he started laughing. “I like the fight in you, honey. I wasn’t expecting it. I’ll be seeing you again for sure.”

  Without another word, he sauntered away. I stared after him, silently cursing all men like him who had ever been born.

  It took me a few minutes, but when I finally composed myself, I got back to work while I still had a job here. I slipped into the next office I was supposed to clean, my head spinning over being propositioned as I cleared the desk to wipe it down.

  Through the haze, I noticed the papers I was moving to the side had numbers on them bigger than anything I’d ever seen. They appeared to be bank accounts that held that amount of money in them.

  My eyes widened, surprise jolting me. I didn’t even know how to say how much money that was. I didn’t even know what to think.

  I jerked my hand away from the papers, shoving them back to where I found them. I felt tainted by having touched them as if I were somehow complicit. It wasn’t that I assumed all money was bad, yet after my last interaction and the conversation I’d overheard before, that didn’t feel right. It felt dirty.

  Jumping when I heard the door open, I snapped into motion, quickly dusting the small lamp on the corner of the desk. A blond man walked into the office, his face setting into a deep scowl when he found me there. “Who are you?”

  “I’m the cleaner, sir,” I replied, using my pinkie finger to straighten the stack of papers before he noticed anything was out of place.

  “Oh.” His suspicious eyes slid away from me and settled on a leather briefcase resting against the desk. “There you are.”

  He walked to the briefcase and plucked it up off the floor, no longer paying any attention to me. It was amazing how I quickly became invisible again. Suited me perfectly.

  When I arrived at the diner for my night shift once I was done cleaning, I inhaled a deep breath, comforted by the familiar smell of burgers cooking. Most days, arriving here made me miserable. Today, I was ecstatic to be here. I’d never been so happy to pull on my toe-pinching shoes and tie the yellow apron around my waist.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Evan

  Squinting my eyes, I flicked my gaze from left to right. In one hand, I had a green shirt and in the other, a black one. Annoyed at myself, I tossed the green shirt onto my dresser and put the black one on. What the hell was I doing stressing over what to wear on a date?

  I had to pick Sadie up for our date in twenty-five minutes. Why I knew it was twenty-five exactly and not twenty or thirty, I didn’t know. I glanced at my watch again and realized it’d been only about a minute since the last time I checked it.

  “Fuck this,” I muttered, buttoning up my shirt. Brushing my hair back with my fingers, I blew out a sigh. The truth was I was nervous. It wasn’t an emotion I was overly familiar with. I hadn’t been nervous in a long time, especially not to see a woman. As much as I didn’t like it, it was refreshing to feel something new.

  Since my dad’s trial, I’d tried to keep my life as even as I could. Boring was my goal. After my life and that of my entire family had been turned upside down, I was all about no drama. Sadie was the first time I was veering off course. Anticipation coursing through me, I squared my shoulders and grabbed my keys. I found I didn’t mind the rush from my nerves. It felt like I was finally moving on with my life.

  Except, of course, there was one massive hook from my past doing its utmost best to reel me back and keep me from moving on. Not a minute passed that the weight of my dad’s request and Beau’s insistence I help him wasn’t weighing heavily on me.

  My jaw tightened. I rolled my shoulders, but the tension didn’t go anywhere. I doubted it would, at least until I got everything cleared up with my dad and brother.

  But they weren’t going to keep me from having a good time tonight. Nothing was. I’d been looking forward to having dinner with Sadie all week. Since she was making time for me, I was going to damn well enjoy it.

  I arrived at Sadie’s house right on time and rubbed my palms on my jeans before I knocked. When she opened the door, my eyes widened. “Wow, you look great.”

  She really did. Wearing a black dress that hugged her curves and showed off her toned legs from mid-thigh down, I did a double take as I took her in. Her lips curved into a shy smile that lit her green eyes. “So do you.”

  I cleared my throat, shaking off the need to throw her over my shoulder and drag her to my truck. I wouldn’t have gotten much farther than the back seat before that dress was off, and I was buried deep inside her. “Are you ready to go?”

  She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Let me just say goodbye. Do you want to come in?”

  “Sure.” I followed her into her home, surprised when Emery came flying around the c
orner and threw her arms around my legs. Laughing, I dropped to my knees and gave her a high five. “How’re you doing, Em?”

  “I’m painting. Do you wanna come paint with me?” She wrapped her fingers around my thumb and started tugging. “It’s only paper, but Mom says I can’t paint a car yet.”

  Sadie sighed, a soft chuckle escaping along with it. She met my eyes and shrugged. “I’ll explain later.”

  Feeling like an asshole for having trouble keeping my eyes off Sadie’s ass with Emery right there, I tore my eyes away from the slight sway of her hips and was surprised to find a decidedly emo-looking girl staring me down from the couch when we entered the living room.

  She raised her hand in a wave. “Hi, Evan, I’m Lori.”

  “Nice to meet you.” I tossed her a smile, realizing she must be the babysitter. Sadie made a small correction to my assumption.

  “Lori’s watching Emery for me tonight. She’s my guardian angel, this one. I don’t know what I would’ve done without her. She’s the best friend a girl could ask for.”

  Lori cringed at the accolades, but it was clear Emery felt as strongly for Lori as Sadie did. She plopped onto the couch with Lori and pulled the picture she was painting closer.

  The bright colors on the page in front of her reminded me of something. Digging in my pocket, I pulled out a lollipop and glanced to Sadie, carefully showing her before Emery saw it. At her subtle nod, I looked at Emery. “I almost forgot. I brought you this.”

  Emery’s eyes brightened. “Oh, yay!”

  Lori’s gaze flicked to me, and for a beat, I thought she might be annoyed, but Sadie spoke up. “Save it for dessert, okay Emery?”

  Sadie kissed the top of Emery’s head. “You two have a good night. Lori, if you—”