Plenty to Believe [Plenty, FL 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Lara Valentine

  Linc ground his teeth together. He was getting tired of Justin’s not-so-subtle digs. “Back off. I’d hate to mess up your pretty-boy face.”

  “Go for it. It’d be the first emotion you’ve shown in over a week. As for the stage, I did tell Cheryl to change it. Brayden, Falk, and Josh are going to play a set tonight. Ava is their new lead singer. I heard them when Leah and I went for dinner on Sunday and they sound great. It’s classic-rock night, so I asked them to play. Any issues with it?”

  Linc had wondered where Justin disappeared to on Sunday. They were already socializing like a couple. His gut twisted but he pushed the feeling away. He didn’t have the luxury.

  “None. I need—” A rap on the door interrupted him. It was probably Cheryl. She loved the nights when both he and Justin were in attendance. If any sticky situation came up, she could handle it fine on her own, but she liked them to be aware of what was happening at all times. She was a damn fine general manager and they were lucky to have her.

  Justin pulled the door open and a smiling Bobbi stood on the other side, looking New York chic. She’d always had a distinctive style about her whether it was clothes, cars, or even food. Justin hugged her with a grin.

  “Hey, girl. You’re far away from New York. What brings you to our stomping grounds?”

  Linc hugged her, too, but was instantly on guard. He liked Bobbi. She was a good promoter and a friendly woman. She wasn’t this friendly, however. She wasn’t what Linc would call a friend. She was an acquaintance. An acquaintance who had traveled a couple of thousand miles from the city that never slept.

  She wanted something.

  Linc had a pretty good idea what the something was. Bobbi didn’t take being turned down well.

  “I came to see your nightclub. I was in South Beach for some business and decided to detour here. You weren’t kidding about it being a small town. There’s isn’t even a hotel. I had to book a room in Orlando.”

  Justin helped Bobbi with her coat, hanging it on the coat tree in the corner. “Most people rent cabins on the outskirts of town. I’m told there used to be a bed-and-breakfast, but the woman who runs it got too old and she closed it. Can I get you a drink?”

  Bobbi perched on one of the overstuffed leather chairs and crossed her legs, showing off her clearly designer footwear. Leah liked to wear sneakers or practical, low-heeled shoes. Linc wasn’t sure how Bobbi walked on those skyscraper heels. He much preferred a woman who wasn’t too obvious.

  “I’d love a martini, Justin. And before you ask, I’m not driving. I have a limo and driver tonight. I don’t know these roads so it seemed the logical thing to do.”

  Justin laughed. “Most people use GPS, Bobbi, but then you’re not most people.” He hit the intercom and ordered the drink. “It will be right up. What were you doing in South Beach?”

  “It was business mostly. Scouting a new band with a friend. He asked my opinion. Also, a few days in warmer weather. New York is colder than hell this time of year. A girl can only take so much. I’m looking forward to a week in St. Maarten next month.”

  Linc perched on the edge of the desk. “Was the band worth the trip?”

  She sighed and pursed her lips. “No. Music these days is in a dismal state. Which is why I’m here actually.”

  A discreet waitress brought Bobbi’s drink and she sipped at it before making a face and setting it on the table next to her. “I know you said you weren’t interested in a concert tour. But I came here to talk to you personally. The music business is in disarray and it needs a big star over the age of eighteen. It needs you, Justin.”

  Justin sat in the chair opposite hers and shook his head. “I’m flattered, Bobbi, but I’m retired. I like being retired. I might record some music now and then, but I don’t want to tour anymore. I’m too old for that shit.”

  Bobbi wasn’t going to give up. She leaned forward, her manner urgent. “You need this tour. Do you want people to forget who you are? Forget all the music? You’ll become a has-been if you aren’t careful. How can you even keep yourself in the news if you live out here in Bumble Fuck? Did you fire your publicist? Foolish move, Justin.”

  Justin caught his eye, but Linc only shrugged. It was Justin’s call. If he wanted to do the tour, Linc would support him. If he didn’t want to, Linc was more than happy. Justin was right. They were too damn old to be touring and the business wasn’t fun anymore.

  “I did fire my publicist. I moved here to become a has-been. I don’t need this tour. I don’t want my name in the papers. I just want to live a quiet, ordinary life. And the town’s name is Plenty. Not Bumble Fuck, if you please. Have a little respect for the choices I’ve made. If people forget my music, then it must not have been memorable.”

  Justin stood as if the discussion was over. Bobbi looked angry but she composed her features. By the time she spoke again, she looked completely serene.

  “Your music is memorable. I’m not giving up. I’m going to keep trying to convince you if you don’t mind and see if I can change your mind.”

  Justin shook his head. “You’re welcome to try, but I won’t change my mind.”

  Bobbi stood and headed for the door. “Maybe I’ll see what’s so great about this town. Why you won’t leave it even for a short time.” She twisted the doorknob, but paused. “This tour could be a triumph for you. I’ll make you the headliner. I’ll pay you twice the standard rate. Think about that. The kind of financial security others can only dream about. The kind of money you could pass down to those children you’re always talking about having. You’d move from rich to super rich.”

  The click of her heels on the stairs was the only sound in the room. Linc watched through the window as she crossed the crowded nightclub and headed out the door. He turned back to his best friend.

  “Well, that was interesting. I never thought she’d show up here to try and convince you. I sure didn’t see that coming. Did you?”

  Justin laughed. “Fuck no. Bobbi outside of a major metropolitan city? Not in a million years.” He headed for the door. “I’m going to walk around, see how things are going. Are you coming?”

  Linc sat behind the large oak desk. He had a phone call to make. Something wasn’t adding up. “I’ll be down in a few minutes. I still have some work to do.”

  As soon as the door closed, he picked up the phone and dialed a couple of guys he hadn’t talked to in a long time.

  “Logan, it’s Linc Davis. How are you?”

  The man on the other end laughed. “Linc, man, how the hell are you? I haven’t talked to you in forever.”

  Linc propped his legs on his desk. “I’m doing okay. Listen, I need to hire you and Meyer. I need you to check out somebody for me.”

  “You got it. Who is it?”

  “Bobbi Blackwell. Bobbi with an ‘i.’ She’s a concert promoter.”

  “The full dossier? Personal, business, and financial?”

  “Yes. How soon can you get it?”

  He heard Logan talking to someone and then he was back. “Give me about a couple of weeks, hopefully less. Meyer is already working it, but the personal stuff could take some time.”

  Linc hung up and smiled, leaning back in the chair. He was a suspicious, careful man, and Bobbi’s behavior was setting off warning bells in his brain. He needed to see what the sophisticated Ms. Blackwell was up to. He was certain it wasn’t anything good.

  * * * *

  The band was actually quite good. Ava had a deep, husky voice and it was currently blending with Falk’s to belt out a cover of “Money for Nothing.” Brayden was on drums and Falk and Josh were playing guitar. Or bass. Or something like that. Leah didn’t know a great deal about musical instruments, but she knew good music when she heard it. The four of them were great.

  “Miss me?” Justin was behind her, his hand on her shoulder, his low, warm voice in her ear.

  She turned and kissed him, not caring if anyone watched. After their breakfast at the diner last week, the secret was out.
Everyone in town was talking about how smitten the rock star was with their little hometown bookworm. She’d had several women stop her tonight and ask her advice about men. She’d almost laughed hysterically. What she knew about men would fit on the head of a pin. Apparently, the town thought she had some kind of wisdom regarding catching an elusive male. If they only knew.

  The truth was that as wonderful as the last week with Justin had been, her heart still ached with missing Linc. It felt incomplete. Wrong, somehow. Justin was right. It was more when it was all three of them.

  Or it would be more if Linc wasn’t avoiding her. It wasn’t easy to avoid someone in a town the size of Plenty, but somehow Linc had managed it. She wanted to find him and kick him in the shins, but it wouldn’t make any difference. Justin assured her Linc would come around in his own time. She simply needed to be patient.

  Justin had learned a lesson about Leah the day he told her that. She was an impatient person, constantly pushing things forward. It made her a good businesswoman, but a frustrated human being. Justin had simply laughed and told her he was relieved she had some imperfections. Otherwise, she was intimidating. Then he’d taken her to bed and showed her how much he liked all her imperfections.

  “I did miss you. Is everything okay?” she asked.

  He sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. She let his sexy scent envelop her and leaned closer to his strong frame. She always felt so petite and protected when he was around.

  “It’s fine, just making sure things are running smoothly. We had a visitor earlier. I’ll tell you about it later.”

  She nodded and picked up her glass, draining the last drops of juice. She didn’t like to drink much when she had to work the next day. She grabbed her purse and tugged on Justin’s sleeve.

  “I’m heading to the ladies’ room. I’ll be right back.”

  He smiled and nodded and helped her out of her chair. She hummed with the music all the way to the back of the nightclub. She was turning the corner to the restrooms when a large body slammed into hers. She almost went down but was able to grab the wall to hold herself up, but dropped her handbag.

  “Earl! For heaven’s sake, you almost sent me to the floor.” She chuckled and bent to pick up her purse. She’d known Earl since kindergarten. He was married with a couple of kids now, but she’d heard he and Tina were having troubles. She wasn’t completely surprised. Earl always had been a hell-raiser when they were younger.

  She was shocked when his large male hand grabbed her ass and his other pulled her close. His breath stank of whiskey and cigarettes and she started to struggle.

  “Let me go! Earl, let me go this minute!”

  She kicked as hard as she could, but in his inebriated state he seemed immune to the pain. She hoped he’d have giant bruises tomorrow.

  “Relax, Leah. I just want some of what you’re handing out to rock royalty. What’s the matter? Country boys ain’t good enough for you? A man needs to have a Ferrari or something?”

  She pushed against his chest. “He doesn’t have a Ferrari, you jerk. Let me go.”

  A hand came out of nowhere and clapped down on Earl’s arm.

  “Get your hands off my woman. I fucking mean it, asshole. Let her go, or I will personally rip your leg from its socket and beat the ever-loving shit out of you with it.”

  Linc.

  * * * *

  Linc twisted the man’s arm behind his back. He fought to stay in control of his rage. When he’d seen that man grab Leah, he’d seen red. She’d looked so frightened and the man was twice her size. No one was going to hurt Leah. Ever.

  “Hey, hey, man, she came on to me. She grabbed me.”

  Linc twisted the arm a little harder and the man howled in outrage. He wasn’t going to break the appendage, although he was sorely tempted, but he wanted to make sure this guy got the message loud and clear. He leaned down and looked into the drunk’s eyes.

  “Listen to me, and listen closely. Leah Holt is under my protection. I saw you grab her and we don’t allow the harassment of our female patrons here. Do you understand?”

  The man nodded slowly. He seemed to be sobering up. “I want you out of this bar. Now. You are to never come back. You are to never speak to Leah again. I don’t even want you thinking about Leah. Do you understand?”

  The man swallowed hard and nodded again just as two of his bouncers showed up.

  “Boss, can we help here?”

  Linc let the arm go and stepped back. “Escort this gentleman to his vehicle. Stay there until he is off the property. Also, post his picture at the door. He’s banned from the club.”

  The bouncers took the man away and Linc turned back to Leah to make sure she was okay and unhurt. If he’d expected gratitude he was going to be disappointed. She was scowling, her toe tapping against the wood floor. Her arms were crossed across her chest.

  Damn, she’s cute and sexy when she’s mad.

  “I suppose you’re proud of yourself, acting like a badass with Earl. He was drunk and didn’t know what he was doing.”

  Linc stepped closer and her clean, floral scent swamped his senses. He felt his entire body respond, including his cock, pressing against the fly of his jeans. He willed it to behave, thinking serene thoughts.

  “He was drunk, but I think he knew exactly what he was doing. He wasn’t that impaired. Should I have let him paw you?”

  She stood ramrod straight and poked him in the chest with her finger. “I had it under control.”

  He laughed. “That was under control? No, baby, you did not have him under control. You’re lucky I showed up.”

  She stomped her foot. “Don’t call me ‘baby.’ I’m not your woman, either. You’re not attracted to me, remember?”

  Her voice shook, but she stood her ground. He felt his heart plummet.

  “Did Justin tell you that?”

  She snorted. “No. I heard it from your own lips. That day in the bookstore when Justin asked me out. You made it clear. I’m not your type. Well, news flash, you arrogant asshole, you’re not my type either. Any man who wants to be with me is going to have to treat me like I’m important to him. He needs to put me first. Personally, I don’t think you’re capable of it.”

  He wanted to pull her into his arms and show her just how important to him she was. He wanted to say he was sorry and make everything better. He wanted to swear he would put her first. He opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. It was all such a mess.

  “Cat got your tongue?”

  Words only seemed to get him in trouble. He took her arm, her skin soft under his fingers, and guided her to where Justin sat. She didn’t say anything else, simply glared at him with those dark-brown eyes.

  “You need to take care of your woman. I’ll be in the office.”

  He turned and stomped up the stairs before Justin could question him. He needed some private time to deal with this. Something had to give, and he feared it might be him. The last thing he wanted was for Leah to think badly of herself because he wasn’t with her. She wasn’t lacking anything. It was him.

  He might have to tell her the truth.

  Chapter Seven

  Leah punched her pillow and tried to get comfortable. Seeing Linc tonight had thrown off her equilibrium. He was a jerk, but her body couldn’t help responding to him. Feeling his body close to hers, smelling his sexy scent, she’d wanted to throw herself into his arms.

  After she stomped on his foot, of course.

  The thing was she didn’t really think Linc was a jerk. He hadn’t acted like a jerk. He’d been nothing but nice to her. He wasn’t attracted to her, that was all. It didn’t make him a jerk.

  She threw her pillow down and decided to head into the kitchen for some herbal tea to relax her. She certainly wasn’t going to sleep in the mood she was in at the moment.

  A tap on her window made her freeze in place. She waited, only to hear the tap again. She walked cautiously to the window and peeked throug
h the curtain, almost fainting when she saw a face.

  She pressed a hand to her galloping heart and took a deep breath before pushing the curtains aside and pulling up the sash.

  “Lincoln Davis, you almost gave me a heart attack. How long have you been standing there?”

  He looked handsome, even in the dim light from the street, his dark hair shiny and his shoulders wide.

  “I just got here. Geez, baby, do you think I’m some sort of Peeping Tom?”

  She hardened her already softening heart. “How would I know? And I told you not to call me ‘baby.’ I’m not your baby. What are you doing here in the middle of the night anyway?”

  “Trying to scare unsuspecting homeowners, apparently.” His voice was hushed but amused. “I didn’t want to ring the doorbell and wake up your brother. I heard he was back in town.”

  “Gabe is in Orlando visiting an old friend.”

  She heard the sound of crickets in the background.

  “Can I come in?” he asked.

  “Why?”

  “I need to talk to you. I need to tell you something. Things aren’t what they seem.”

  “I don’t think we have anything to talk about.”

  “Please, Leah. I have to talk to you. When I’m done, I’ll go. I promise. Please.”

  If he hadn’t said “please” twice she would have slammed the window and pulled the curtains. But his voice had softened into a plea and she still felt so much for him. She was such a wimp.

  “You have ten minutes. Not a second more. Come to the front door.”

  * * * *

  How could he possibly say everything he needed to say in ten minutes? He’d been hiding the truth pretty much his entire life and now he had to bare his soul in under ten minutes.

  He entered her home and pulled off his jacket. It had been fucking cold out there and her home was warm and welcoming. If only he could say that about Leah. She had her lips pressed together and her arms crossed protectively over her chest as if she was bracing herself for more hurt. He didn’t want to hurt her anymore. That was why he was here.