His thick, silver hair brushed back from his high forehead gleamed in the bright light of the bar. His white teeth stood out from his tanned skin, the lines etching an interesting pattern on his rugged, still-handsome face.
As if sensing the scrutiny, Kevin spun around on his barstool and he narrowed his blue eyes. He turned back to his companions, slapped some money on the bar, shook some hands and kissed some cheeks.
He sauntered toward Cade, drink in hand and flashy alligator boots on his feet. He didn’t look like a man suffering from throat cancer or any other kind of cancer.
Kevin thrust out his hand. “Well, look at you, all grown up and looking just like your old man, even though you always had your mother’s eyes.”
Cade flinched and Kevin cracked a smile.
“Okay, you’re taller. Kyle look like you?”
“Kyle...” Was this the conversation you had with a father you hadn’t seen in almost twenty years? Cade’s tongue refused to form any recognizable syllables.
“Nah, you got your mother’s coloring and Kyle got her looks.” Kevin grabbed his arm. “Let’s grab that booth in the corner.”
Cade slid onto the red banquette across from Kevin and licked his lips. He had to start acting like a grown-up, not a tongue-tied kid.
“Sweetheart—” Kevin waved to a cocktail waitress in shorts and a tight T-shirt “—can you bring us a pitcher of beer? Whatever’s good on tap.”
“You got it, Kev.”
“Kev? How long have you been here?”
“I made good time from Vegas. I’ve been hanging out a few hours.”
“A few hours?” Knots tightened in Cade’s gut. “You could’ve called me and I would’ve met you earlier.”
“Truth is—” Kevin tapped the side of his glass “—I had to screw up my courage.”
This time, Cade laughed, a laugh that loosened the tightness of his jaw and the stiffness of his neck. “That’ll be the day.”
“I’m dead serious, boy. It’s not easy for me to come crawling back to my sons to beg a little forgiveness.”
Cade leaned back in the booth, crossing his arms. “I haven’t heard any begging...or anything about forgiveness.”
“Here you go, hon.” The waitress placed a pitcher on the table between father and son and then clinked down a couple of frosted beer mugs.
“Thanks, sweetheart.” Kevin tucked a few bills into the waistband of the woman’s short shorts and patted her hip.
She batted her eyelashes and slapped his hand. “Watch those roving hands, Kev.”
“I’d like to watch them rove all over your pretty backside.”
The waitress rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue. “You old devil.”
She sashayed away, and Cade shook his head. “You ever hear of sexual harassment? You can’t treat women like that.”
Kevin smacked the table. “Did you see her complaining? Besides, I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He looked both ways as if expecting someone to be listening in. “Gray hair excuses a lot of bad behavior.”
“You indulged in bad behavior long before you had gray hair.”
“Yeah, I did. I admit it.” He poured the golden liquid into the two mugs and raised his. “To a life of bad behavior.”
Cade didn’t bring his glass to meet Kevin’s, but he didn’t have to. Kevin touched his mug to Cade’s and slurped his beer through the foam.
Cade pulled his cell phone from his pocket and glanced at the blank display. What the hell was he doing here? He should be back at the hotel with his wife and son. If he’d thought meeting Kevin would offer any kind of resolution for him, he’d been dreaming.
The man hadn’t changed one bit. In fact, this lecherous side of Kevin, which Cade had been too young to notice before, made him sink even lower in Cade’s estimation. He’d have to warn Kyle.
The question remained—why had the old man contacted him now? He’d made it clear last year he had no interest in a family reunion.
Cade cleared his throat and took a sip of beer, the malty flavor filling his mouth. “You’re not dying, are you?”
Kevin raised a brow and one side of his mouth. “We’re all dying from the day we’re born.”
Cade ground his teeth together. “Your death is not imminent.”
“It could be.”
“Cut to the chase, Kevin. Why did you want to see me? Why now?”
“I’m broke.” He raised his mug to his lips, watching Cade over the rim with his faded blue eyes.
Cade’s skin prickled with anger, the warm flush threatening to creep up his neck and suffuse his face. “You’ve come to the wrong place, and don’t try to hit up Kyle. He takes on more pro bono work than paying clients in that law practice of his.”
“The way I see it, you’re a virtual gold mine.”
“You’ve got the wrong Navy SEAL.” Cade held up his hands before taking a gulp of beer to put out the fire in his belly.
“Don’t hand me that bull. You’re not a Navy SEAL anymore.”
Cade clenched the handle of his mug, feeling as if he could break it clean off.
“And I know for a fact you’re married to a girl who’s rolling in dough. Oil money, right?”
Cade’s eye twitched. How had Kevin found out so much about him? Mom? “That’s my wife’s family. My wife has no money.”
“When the parents have wealth like that, it eventually trickles down to the kids.”
“My wife is estranged from her family. Even if she did have access to her parents’ money, what makes you think I’d hand it over to you?”
“Come on, Cade. You’re talking to an old grifter here.” He folded his hands around his mug looking almost pious. “I know all kinds of ways to make people part with their money.”
“This meeting is over.” Cade hunched into his jacket and yanked some bills from his pocket.
Kevin’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Get me some money, Cade.”
The man had lost his grip on reality. Cade crumpled the money in his fist and threw it in Kevin’s face. “Here’s your money. The only money you’ll ever see from me or my wife.”
Kevin plucked up the bills and flattened them on the table, running his thumb across the creases. When he looked up again, the customary smile had replaced the hard lines.
“Get me your wife’s money, Cade.” He took an almost delicate sip from his mug. “Or I’ll lead them straight to your son.”
Chapter Eleven
Cade slid his weapon from his inside pocket, swung it beneath the table and released the safety with a click. “Tell me what you told them right now or you’ll never be able to father another sorry SOB as long as you live.”
The lazy smile froze on Kevin’s lips. His faded blue eyes darted around the bar.
“Looking for support? Hoping to muster a defense from those fair-weather friends at the bar? Or maybe the waitress you disrespected will help out? Don’t you get it, Kevin? The people you charm and con aren’t real friends. You don’t have the depth or loyalty to have a real friend...or a family.”
Kevin wiped a trickle of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and chugged the rest of his beer. “Just so you know, I didn’t contact them. They contacted me.”
“That’s not saying much, Kev. How would you know to contact them, anyway?” Cade rested the gun on his knee. “How did they get in touch with you, and what kind of offer did they make you?”
“They called me out of the blue last month. Said you had something they wanted, and they’d be willing to pay big bucks if I could get my hands on your kid and turn him over.”
Cade tightened his jaw. “You never talked to Mom before she died about me, my son or anything else, did you? You found out about my son from a bunch of international thugs.”
“That’s what I told them, boy.” He hunched forward, almost tipping over his empty mug. “I said I didn’t even know you had a son, so there was no way you were going to let me get anywhere near him.”
“Di
d they believe you?”
“I think so. They didn’t contact me again, although I think they followed me for a bit. I can tell when I’m being shadowed.”
“Maybe it was the FBI tailing you again.”
“Those boys got nothing on me.” Kevin winked. “So where’s my thanks? I told them to get lost.”
“Only because you spoke the truth. You knew I’d never let you within a hundred miles of my son.”
“We can do this together, Cade.”
The man couldn’t sink any lower in his estimation. “You really expect me to help you turn my son over to an arms dealer who has the worst intentions toward our country?”
Kevin tapped his head. “I’ve got it all figured out. If that rich bitch you’re married to won’t give you any dough, this can work out for you, too.”
Did he just call Jenna a rich bitch? He should shoot him now and be done with it.
“Let me take your boy, and I’ll hand him over and get my money. You give them whatever it is they want in exchange for your son, and then I’ll split the cash with you.” He poured himself another beer, which foamed over the side and puddled on the table. “Doesn’t that sound like a good plan?”
Cade’s lips twisted into a smile. “You’re really a dumb SOB, aren’t you? Do you really believe these people will let my son live? Wait, wait. I know you don’t care about that, but do you really think they’ll let you live?”
Kevin’s face paled beneath his tan, and the lines on his face deepened.
“These people aren’t like some hick in Vegas you can fleece out of his first jackpot.” He gripped Kevin’s wrist in a vise. “Where are they now? Do they know you’re meeting with me here?”
Kevin jerked his arm but couldn’t break free of Cade’s grip. “I told you. I blew them off. This is my scheme.”
“It’s not a very bright one. Did you really think I’d turn over my son for money?”
“You abandoned him once, didn’t you?”
A cold anger crept over Cade’s flesh. He threw Kevin’s arm back at him and slid from the booth, pocketing his weapon. “Not for money.”
Kevin rubbed his wrist. “Whatever you tell yourself to get through the night, boy.”
Cade leveled a finger at the man he’d never call father. “If you come near me or my family again, and that includes Kyle, I’ll kill you.”
He spun on his heel and stalked out of the bar just as a cheer went up for the basketball game.
When Cade got into the car, he slumped in the front seat and dug his cell phone from his pocket. He called the hotel room and Jenna answered on the first ring.
“Is everything okay there?”
“Everything’s fine. Gavin is still out, and I’m watching a movie. I-it’s still early. Is everything okay there?”
“I’m on my way home.” He’d already decided not to tell Jenna about Kevin’s betrayal. Why add to her worries?
“It didn’t go well, did it? I can tell by your voice.”
“Once a scumbag, always a scumbag. I don’t know why I thought it would be any different.”
“Because he’s your father and you wanted to salvage something of that relationship.”
He put his cell on speaker and wheeled out of the parking lot. “There’s nothing to salvage there.”
“That bad, huh?”
Worse. So much worse. “Yeah, that bad.”
“Is he really dying?”
“As he put it, we’re all dying from the day we’re born.”
“Seriously? What did he want from you?”
“Money.”
“Oh, Cade, I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not. Seeing him for what he really is freed me. I don’t have to wonder anymore.”
She sucked in a breath over the phone. “I can hear it in your voice—closure. Hurry back.”
“Why?” He’d blurted out the word in a sharper tone than he’d intended. What if Kevin had been lying? What if he’d told Zendaris’s men about their meeting?
Jenna paused. Then her low voice poured into his ear like sweet honey. “Because I’m your wife, and we haven’t been together for three long years.”
His anxiety morphed into desire in a second, and he let the car have its way on the highway. “I’ll be right there.”
He’d already made sure no one followed him out of the bar’s parking lot. His lead foot got him back to the hotel in less time than it had taken him to get to that sports bar. He met the security guard doing another round on their hallway.
“No trouble tonight?”
“Everything went just fine, sir, and management never noticed I was spending most of my time on the ninth floor.”
Cade slipped the man another bill. “Thanks.”
He tapped on the door, and several seconds later Jenna opened it against the chain. “Just want to make sure what I’m seeing out of the peephole is the real thing.”
He spread his arms. “I’m for real.”
She shut the door, and the chain scraped. This time when she opened the door, he stepped through, slamming it behind him. With one hand, he reengaged the chain, and with his other arm he swept Jenna against his chest.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and he buried his face in the honeyed strands of her hair. He should’ve never left her for Kevin, for some illusion of a father who didn’t exist, who’d never existed.
Turning her face to his, she cupped his jaw with one hand. “Are you okay?”
“I have you and Gavin. That’s all I need.”
She stood on her tiptoes, her body leaning against his, and kissed his mouth. With her lips forming the words against his, she whispered, “I need you, too.”
“Gavin?” He peered over her shoulder into the hotel room lit with the TV’s blue flickering light.
“He’s sleeping. I put him in the bedroom.”
Cade swept her up in his arms and carried her toward the bed. Clasping her to his chest, he kissed her and once again felt like a drowning man. He never wanted to come up for air.
She kicked her legs. “Put me down. As much as I want to make love with you right now, I’m not going to do it standing up. I’ve waited too long to be satisfied with a quickie.”
He snorted. “A quickie? I hope you had a nice rest while I was gone because I’m going to spend all night reacquainting myself with every inch of your hot body.”
He dropped her onto the bed, and her cotton nightshirt hiked up her silky thighs. At least they looked silky. He perched on the edge of the bed beside her and ran his hands up her legs as she shivered beneath his touch. Definitely silky.
She reached up and her fingers fumbled with the zipper on his jacket. “Why are you still wearing this? Why are you still wearing anything at all?”
When his jacket gaped open, he yanked it off and tossed it toward the chair. He missed.
She sat up, her knees wedging against his thigh, and began unbuttoning his denim shirt. She grabbed the material in her fists and brought it to her face. “You smell like booze.”
“The hazards of hanging out in bars. I can fix that.” He shrugged out of his shirt and sent it the way of his jacket.
“How many layers do you have on?” She plucked at his T-shirt.
“A lot more than you.” He gripped the ends of her nightshirt and yanked it over her head.
Goose bumps raced across her creamy skin and he chafed her upper arms. “Now you’re cold. Get under the covers.”
“Not without you.” She tugged at his T-shirt, and he pulled it off.
He pulled of his boots and dropped them to the floor. Then he slipped out of his jeans, taking his boxers and socks with them.
Jenna’s gaze traveled over his naked body, heating his flesh, making him hard.
She tilted her head to the side, and her blond hair fell over one eye. “Everything looks pretty much as I remember, but I’m going to have to do a closer inspection to make sure.”
He stretched out on the bed next to her, his feet hanging
off the end. “I’m all yours.”
She straddled him and began a long journey down the length of his body. Her fingertips traced his grooves and the hard lines of his muscles. Her tongue followed, licking and tasting and driving him wild with impatience.
When she skimmed her fingernails up the insides of his thighs, he’d had enough. He encircled her waist and flipped her onto her back, taking the upper hand.
She widened her eyes, a wicked smile claiming her full lips. “I thought you were enjoying that.”
“A little too much.”
“Is that possible?”
He pinned her hands above her head. “Do you want to find out?”
He kissed her lips and the sweetness he found there blotted out the bitter taste from Kevin’s words. He trailed his tongue to her throat, stopping at the base. When he pressed his lips against her beating pulse, he felt warmth and life. It soaked into his skin, giving him sustenance.
He cupped her breasts, fuller since the birth of their son, and buried his face in their fragrant warmth.
She dug her nails into his buttocks. “If you’re going to take a half hour on every body part, I can see why this is going to take us all night.”
He nipped at her nipple and she squeaked. “I’ve waited long enough. If I want to take a half hour with each of your delicious body parts, I will.”
“Okay. Wake me up when you’re done with the inventory.” She wrapped her legs around his thighs, crossing her arms behind her head.
Heat crept up his neck. For their first time together, Jenna didn’t need a man interested in slow, healing love. She needed a man who knew how to take care of business. The healing part could come later.
“You think my efforts are going to put you to sleep, huh?” He hooked his arms beneath her knees and hoisted her legs over his shoulders.
Then he dragged his tongue down the length of her body. When he dipped below her navel, he brushed her warm folds back with his thumbs.
She shuddered and arched her back, positioning herself inches from his mouth. He blew on her moist flesh while he rotated his thumbs.
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