White Hot

by Elise Noble

  Ethan didn’t, but Dani’s phone ringing once, twice, three times with the theme song to Mission: Impossible while they made love nearly killed his mojo. In the end, she put her hands over his ears and kissed him hard, murmuring her filthy thoughts into his mouth as she often did. One final thrust and she came, then he shot his load inside her, bare and messy as fuck, but he wouldn’t change it for the world.

  “Love you, Dani.”

  She released her legs from around his ass. “Love you too, Ethan.”

  Then the damn phone rang again.

  He rolled off her, reached out to the nightstand, and grabbed it, passing it over when what he really wanted to do was toss it out of the penthouse window.

  Dani fumbled and pressed the speaker button.

  “Oliver? What do you want?”

  “Are you watching TV?”

  “No, we’re…we’re not watching TV.”

  “Then switch it on.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Just do it.”

  “Which channel?”

  “The news.”

  Ethan already had the remote, and it didn’t take long to see what Oliver was talking about. The glorious sight of Jay Skinner being led out of his office in handcuffs would be a memory to treasure. The assistant commonwealth’s attorney’s furious expression when an officer shoved him into the back of a squad car and slammed the door was an image Ethan wanted to frame and hang over the mantelpiece for posterity.

  “Couldn’t have happened to a bigger asshole,” Dani muttered.

  “Lock and Screw gave their statements from their hospital beds, and they were surprisingly forthcoming,” Oliver said. In the end, it had taken a couple of weeks to dig them out of their hole safely. “Skinner approached Screw while he was in the police precinct. Talk about brazen.”

  “He thought he was untouchable. Did Lock and Screw say much else?”

  “Apparently, they promised Nate they’d confess to anything as long as he kept Emmy and Ana away from them.”

  “All’s well that ends well,” Dani said. “I’m just glad the worst part’s over.”

  The police were still looking for the missing girls Richard Carr claimed to have killed, and Dani and Mack were helping as a macabre sort of hobby, but the hard work was done.

  “Yes. Mostly.”

  “Mostly?”

  Oliver hesitated momentarily. “The state attorney general asked me to switch sides and prosecute Skinner. He’s concerned that the commonwealth’s attorney’s office is tainted, at least in the public’s eyes.”

  “Are you gonna do it?”

  “I think so, yes. And also Carr. I’ve spoken to Emmy, and she’s practically shoving me back inside a courtroom.”

  “Well, she’s been saying for years you’re wasted on her corporate stuff.”

  “It’ll feel strange being on the other side.”

  “This time, it’s the right side.”

  “Yes.” Another pause. “It is. Guess I’ll see you in court.”

  Oliver hung up, and Dani settled back on the bed, stretching her good arm above her head.

  “Did you notice anything odd with Oliver and Stefanie yesterday?” she asked.

  “What, at the funeral?”

  “Yeah.”

  “No, why?”

  “Oliver smiled at her, and she glared back at him. They used to get on okay. Unless…”

  Ethan saw where she was going with that. “You don’t think…? Oliver and Stefanie? Really?”

  “Maybe.” Dani’s lips flickered into a cute little smile, and she nodded to herself. “Be interesting to see where that goes.”

  Ethan and Dani finally got dressed by midafternoon. The day after the kids turned up with the smoking-gun tape, Emmy had told Dani to take six weeks off, that they’d manage without her, but Dani’s life of leisure had lasted about three days. On day four, she went through her voicemails, and by day five, she had her laptop open at the kitchen counter. Day six, and Ethan had given in and driven her to Blackwood.

  Being honest, he’d missed the studio too, and each of them spending a few hours a day doing what they loved was a compromise that worked.

  Down in the parking garage, Ethan got Dani settled into his new vehicle. Not another Mustang—Dani already had her Camaro, and they needed something roomier to shuttle the boys around. This time, he’d bought a Maserati Levante SUV.

  A little ostentatious, perhaps, but the court had released his assets now. The cops had made noises about trying to get some of his money back from Harry, but Harry’s offshore account had mysteriously drained itself overnight. The same night $12 million had appeared in Ethan’s own bank account. Mack and her husband denied all knowledge, but Ethan knew damn well it had been them.

  So, he’d splashed out on his new car.

  At some point, he wanted another house as well, a home for Dani and him with a basement for his personal recording studio. Maybe a pool too, and one of those big brick barbecues. Two things he’d never needed before, but with the kids visiting every week and all Dani’s friends, plenty of outdoor space seemed like a smart idea.

  Funny how those kids had grown on him. When he first started the project, he’d hated every second. Since Frank died, he’d avoided groups of teenagers, but he told himself that if he could stop just one child from turning out like Ricky Carter and his gang, it would be worth it. Seven years on, he’d watched several of his group go on to be musicians, and the others had mostly kept out of trouble. Until he met Dani, they’d been his family.

  “Busy today?” he asked her as he started the engine.

  “I’m working with Ana to trace a missing toddler.”

  “She still make you nervous?”

  Dani had confessed her feelings about Emmy’s partner in crime.

  “I think she’ll always make me nervous, but she’s damn good at what she does. You’re taking the boys to the studio, right?”

  “Just for an hour or two, but after I’ve dropped them home, I might be late back—there’s a song stuck in my head, and I want to get it down.”

  “Sure. Leah brought in more books for Vinnie. Can you come in and get them?”

  Now they’d gotten to know the boys better, they’d found out Vine’s actual name was Vinnie. They also found out he was dyslexic, which was why his name had got shortened in the first place. He’d fallen behind at school, so Ethan and Dani were doing their best to help him catch up, although he got frustrated as hell when his classmates called him stupid. Bradley, as enthusiastic as ever, had spent the last week researching dyslexia to help out with books and teaching aids.

  In the atrium at Blackwood’s headquarters, Dani paused halfway to the reception desk and greeted a girl with a mop.

  “Hey, you’re new, right?”

  The girl went full deer-in-headlights, much like Ethan used to do when a stranger introduced themselves.

  “Th-th-that’s right.”

  “I’m Dan. I work in investigations, and this is Ethan. He’s just visiting.”

  “I’m Taylor.”

  “Nice to meet you, Taylor.”

  Ethan shook her hand, and she looked at her feet. Well, she’d landed up in the right place. At least at Blackwood, she mattered.

  “Can I go on drums?” Trick asked.

  He always asked that, and the answer was always yes. The kid had natural talent, and even at fifteen, he was better than eighty percent of the session musicians Ethan worked with. Rhythm, flair, a good memory for each track—he had it all. Plus ambition. Trick would go places, and Ethan wanted to take him there.

  Was it fair for him to work at such a young age? Well, he was drumming anyway, just not getting paid for it. Ethan had started out busking at twelve, and music was the only part of his life he hadn’t hated back then. He really needed to speak to Trick’s mother.

  But not today. Today, he had another problem to solve.

  “Katie’s gone sick,” Ronan said.

  Shit. So much for getting that
track down.

  “Is it serious?”

  “Her roommate says she’s puking everywhere.”

  “We still need a pianist.”

  “You?” Ronan suggested, plucking a few chords.

  Without Harold throwing his weight around, Ronan had stepped out from behind his desk and picked up a guitar again.

  “Somebody better than me.”

  “Julius is on vacation. I’ll try to find a replacement for tomorrow.”

  Six months ago, a missing pianist would have been a major headache. Harold would have been blaming everyone from God to Katie’s gut bacteria, Ronan would have made himself scarce, and Ethan would have spent the next two nights creating a backing track out of nothing to keep the old man happy.

  But today? It didn’t matter so much anymore. The last couple of months had taught Ethan all about priorities, and he was coming to believe that shit happened for a reason.

  “Hey, Race. You wanna sing?”

  “Can Vine play guitar?”

  Dani called him a soft touch, but he’d bought new instruments for the boys. And bicycles. And he may have also started a college fund, although they didn’t know it yet. He owed those kids a lot, and he intended to repay every cent, but it was more than that. He liked them. They made him laugh, and their enthusiasm was infectious.

  “Sure, Vine can play guitar.”

  With three tired boys dropped off at home, Ethan headed for Riverley. Apparently, Emmy was holding some kind of get-together, and Dani needed moral support.

  Ethan heard the music as soon as he turned into the driveway. It was one of his tracks, a chart topper from last year. But why was somebody playing it loud enough to perforate an eardrum?

  Bradley rushed out of the house the instant Ethan parked outside, which went some way to explaining things.

  “Ethan! Welcome to the party! We’ve got food and games and loads of champagne.”

  Dani shuffled out sheepishly behind him, mouthing, “Sorry.”

  This was like immersion therapy, right? Dani had told him all about Emmy’s fondness for that.

  “We don’t have to stay long,” she muttered.

  Bradley took them by the hands and led them through to the ballroom. “We’ve got champagne pong, karaoke, a treasure hunt, and loads of party games.”

  Ethan leaned close to Dani. “Is that a Skinner-piñata?”

  “Yup. And we’ve got Carr-piñatas too.”

  Bradley overheard. “We’ve saved you the best one, and a really big stick.”

  This new life sure had turned out to be interesting.

  Three hours later, Ethan and Dani snuck out of Riverley’s side door. They’d both drunk too much to drive, Ethan was inexplicably horny, and Dani had the bright idea of sneaking over to Emmy’s other house to get some alone time.

  Good plan.

  Or at least, it was until they walked in the front door.

  “Who’s that playing the piano?”

  “Akari. It’s a long story, but she’s related to Black.”

  Ethan followed the sweet sound of Beethoven along the hallways, listening intently. Akari never missed a note, every bar in perfect tempo as she played through the tricky third part of the Moonlight Sonata that Ethan had messed up so many times yesterday.

  He’d get down on his knees to have that woman in his studio.

  The door to the music room hung ajar, and Ethan paused, letting the notes flow over him as the Asian lady playing them swayed gently in time, eyes closed. Then he took several rapid steps backwards as the giant cat lying next to the piano raised its head.

  “What the fuck?”

  Dani stood her ground as the monster stalked towards them. “Oh, it’s just Kitty. He’s Akari’s pet.”

  “Kitty? That’s not a kitty. That’s a…that’s a…”

  “A jaguar,” Akari told him. “Don’t worry. He’s eaten today.”

  The cat raised a giant paw, and Ethan took another pace back. Dan just laughed and high-fived the beast.

  “Honestly, he’s fine. He thinks he’s a dog, anyway. Most of the time he lives in a big enclosure out back, but sometimes he comes in the house.”

  “Are you sure he’s safe?”

  “As long as you don’t get on the floor and wrestle with him.”

  “There’s no danger of that.”

  Akari walked towards them. She was a dainty lady in her early thirties with black hair cut into a bob and the fingers of a fucking angel.

  “Ethan?”

  He nodded, and she reached one of those hands out. Suddenly, he felt like teenage Ethan again, all awkward and tongue-tied.

  “I heard what happened. I’m so sorry.”

  “Akari’s studying music in Boston,” Dan said. “At the Holborn School.”

  Studying it? She was a fucking maestro. Say something, Ethan. “Uh…”

  “Ethan’s got a studio in Richmond. You should visit while you’re here. Maybe you could record something for your folks back home? That would be okay, right, Ethan?”

  “No problem.”

  Yet another reason he loved Dani. She gave him everything he wanted, sometimes without even realising it.

  “Tomorrow?” Dani asked.

  Ethan nodded.

  “Tomorrow’s okay,” Akari said, her accent a strange mix of American and Japanese.

  “Great. We can all go. Have you heard Eli sing yet? And there’s this kid, Trick, who Ethan’s been working with. He plays the drums, and…”

  Yeah, shit definitely happened for a reason.

  A week later, Ethan sat at his mixing desk with Dani on his lap. Bringing her with him sure slowed things down, but yesterday, she’d sucked his cock while he worked, and he’d never be able to hear that track again without picturing her head between his legs.

  And now she nibbled on his earlobe. “Want me to twiddle your knobs today?”

  Fucking hell. He groaned, feeling his cock twitch. “Baby, I need to get this song finished.”

  Akari had done three sessions for him, one on her own, and two with Eli, Trick, and Ronan. The final track they’d laid down would be the first record Eli had released in years, and rumours were already flying about their collaboration.

  Let them fly.

  Once, Ethan would have skulked in darkness to avoid the media, Eli as well, but life was too short to keep hiding. Neither of them planned to go out of their way to court publicity, but they’d discussed it at length and decided a few photos were something they could both live with now.

  A soft knock at the door was followed by Trick’s head poking around it. What was he doing here? Good thing Ethan hadn’t given in to his earlier urges.

  “Can we come in?”

  “Sure. I thought you were going to the movies this evening?”

  “We were.”

  The three boys filed into the studio, their expressions ranging from solemn to glum. Ethan knew those looks. He hated those looks.

  “What’s up?”

  “Race’s mom is sending him back.”

  “What?”

  “He punched his foster brother, and she says she don’t want troublemakers.”

  Dani crouched down in front of Race. “Is that true?”

  He nodded.

  “Why did you punch him?”

  “He broke my drumsticks.”

  His foster brother was fifteen to Race’s eleven, and it wasn’t the first time the boy had done something nasty like that. He was also a devious little asshole who managed to blame everything on Race.

  “They’re sending him upstate where there’s space,” Trick told us.

  Dani had already gone into fight mode. “The hell they are.” She turned to Ethan, and he saw her bottom lip quiver. “We can’t let them do that.”

  Ethan wrapped his arms around her waist. He knew how much that boy meant to her. Not only had he saved her life, he made her smile every day with his antics.

  “I’m with you all the way, Dani.”

  They took the
boys out for pizza, trying to stay positive, but by the time they climbed into the elevator up to their apartment at the end of the evening, Dani looked like Ethan felt. Exhausted, shell-shocked, kind of pale, but still determined.

  “What do we do now?” he asked. “Will the state let us become foster parents?”

  “What do we do?” She pulled out her phone. “Now? We talk to Black.”

  Ethan hadn’t spent much time in Black’s company, and quite frankly, the man intimidated the hell out of him. Not just his physical size, but his dark eyes. Eyes that bored right into a man’s soul and mentally eviscerated him.

  Like they were right now.

  “So, you want to foster a child? Big step.”

  Dani shook her head. “Not foster. Adopt. He’s been passed around nine homes already, and he’s only eleven years old. He needs stability.”

  “What about your job, honey?” Emmy asked. “Would you quit?”

  “No! I love my job, and other people at Blackwood make it work. Nate’s got a son, and Ana’s got a daughter.”

  Ethan’s turn. “We’d share the childcare. Race comes to the studio after school with me, anyway.”

  “How about when you travel?” Black asked him. “You were playing gigs all over the world.”

  “I don’t care about the gigs. Maybe I’ll play one occasionally, and we can turn it into a vacation. At the moment, I’m in demand as a producer, and if people want to work with me, they’ll just have to come to Richmond.”

  Sure, the glitz and glamour of touring had been exciting to start with, but the novelty soon wore off. The reality—living out of a suitcase, being stuck in a hotel room while fans screamed outside, sneaking around so he didn’t get recognised—was far from fun. Going home to Dani each night had the star-studded lifestyle beat hands down, and the idea of having a bigger family… Yeah, he liked that. He liked it a lot.

  “It would be a huge change,” Black said.

  “Look, I grew up without a father, and I don’t want the same to happen to Race.”

  Black settled his dark gaze on Dani. “Are you sure this isn’t just guilt talking? The boy saved you, and now you want to return the favour?”

  A tear leaked out of her eye, and Ethan tightened his arm around her waist.