Bourbon Street Royalty: Jaded Series, Book Two (22 page)

He pulled her into a full embrace. “You just have to trust me. I was put on this fucked up planet to take care of you. I know it’s hard for you to believe that someone would want to take care of you instead of the other way around, but it’s true. Everything in me is driven by your happiness. Every. Fucking. Thing.”

Baby lowered her head. Lucky tipped her chin up so her teary eyes could meet his. She blinked, trying to fight the urge to curl up and bawl like an orphaned child. It was so foreign to hear someone say he wanted to take care of her for a change.

Her chest heaved as butterflies bashed around her insides, like a volcano, ready to erupt.

“Do you trust me?” He asked through a ragged breath that made her body flush.

Unable to piece together words while mesmerized by his smoldering, hungry eyes, Baby nodded.

“Good.” He held her face in his hands and leaned in until his eager mouth consumed hers. The low rumble of the carnal groan in his throat made the delicate spot between her legs wet with anticipation.

“There’s nothing else we can do about the situation until tomorrow. So tonight, I plan to kiss away every one of your concerns. Tonight, you’re mine and only mine.”

Goosebumps broke out across Baby’s sensitive flesh as Lucky plucked her up from the couch.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“And I love you.” Somehow the words managed to escape through the strangled sob lingering in her throat.

The hunger in his eyes made her insides flutter. All of the pain and resentment she once had for him diminished as he enveloped her in his masculine arms. If only for a few hours, they would lock out the rest of the world.

Tonight she would give all of herself to him. Her body. Her scar. Her heart.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Lucky

Lucky flung his sluggish arm across the bed. Surprised to find it empty, fear clutched his gut.

“Baby?” He called out as he scrambled out of bed, pulling on his jeans.

“Shower!”

Relief filled his aching chest. The sound of the water put him at ease. He shoved the plastic shower curtain to the side. The sight of the water beading off Baby’s wet, bronze skin took his breath. The image of her long, firm legs wrapped around him the night before gave him an instant hard on.

“Morning.” He leered, drinking in her perfect body. He wasn’t ready for their short, little stay-cation to end.

She popped open her eyes, revealing round pools of dazzling green. “Morning.”

Her full lips curved into a sly grin, causing his heart to skip a beat. He wanted to devour her perky, firm tits with his mouth. He adjusted his hard cock and pushed the thought of fucking her until she couldn’t walk out of his mind.

“You’re up early.”

With her eyes closed again, she beamed and rinsed the lather from her hair. “Yeah, Ma’Linn stopped by. She started coffee and dropped off some fresh beignets.”

“Nice. Café Du Monde?”

Baby’s face twisted. “Uh, no. Ma’Linn. And you would be wise to make sure you tell her that they could put Du Monde out of business with one bite. That woman believes her beignets could bring world peace.”

He snickered. He could imagine the old woman’s serious tone when it came to her cooking. “Will do. Ok, I’m gonna get coffee. Want some?”

“No, I had three cups already. But before you go, will you get me a hair clip from my bag?”

“Sure,” he responded.

He grabbed Baby’s heavy shoulder bag and dug around on the inside. He pulled out a makeup bag, two hairbrushes, a handful of books, and still couldn’t see the bottom.

“Find it?”

“Still looking,” he hollered as he dumped the bag onto the bed and rummaged through the contents. He noticed an old photo lying next to her wallet. Curiosity got the best of him and he flipped the picture over. Heaviness filled his lungs. His stomach leapt into his throat. He quickly found the hair clip.

Baby was busy towel drying her body when Lucky handed her the clip. She piled her wet hair up onto her head and secured it in place.

“Where’d you get this?” His shaky hand held up the photo.

Baby gave it a quick glance and went back to drying off. “I must have forgotten to tell you about that. It was the weirdest thing. After they had wheeled my mom out of her room, I took a look around. I hadn’t been in there forever since she refused to see me. Anyway, I guess Phillipe brought her a root beer and it got turned over during the chaos. I was cleaning it up when I found that picture on the floor. I don’t know where it came from, never saw it before, but that doesn’t mean anything. It could have been there for years. I thought maybe Ma’Linn might know. I was going to give her some time to process the information about Phillipe and then ask her about it.”

“Do you think it had something to do with Rozalie getting so upset?”

Baby shrugged while glancing back at him through the mirror. “Maybe.”

“Change of plans. I’m going to go check on my mom. I’ll go by the bank and come back to let you know what I find out.”

She snapped around to face him.

He attempted to hide his jittery hands. “Lock the door behind me. And do me a favor, stay home for once.”

“What’s the rush?” She asked with a puzzled expression.

“Just thinking it’s a good time to hit the bank. The earlier, the better.”

She slipped on her clothes and followed him to the door. He was already shoving his feet into his boots as he stumbled across the room.

“But I thought you wanted coffee.” Baby pointed to the kitchen.

He slid his t-shirt over his head. “It’s ok. I’m sure Joyce made a pot for mother.” He planted a swift kiss on her cheek and reminded her to lock up before he disappeared in a hurry.

Lucky beat himself up for leaving her in the dark. It was too premature to get into such a deep conversation. Every muscle in his body tensed as he pulled up at the manor. The fact that he was being spread too thin was starting to take a toll. The only thing he had to be thankful for was that he had Baby Jade back in his life. He swore he would never see the day. When he held her in his arms, it was like a vivid dream. The same dream he had almost every night for months.

“Well, how nice of you to come and check on your old, disabled mother.”

He regretted the laugh as soon as he heard it, but seeing his mother’s chin drop was priceless. “Why don’t you get your tail outta that bed and go make me some breakfast, woman.”

She glared at him for a few seconds before her cold, hard gaze softened. A small chuckle escaped, causing her to put her slender hand up to her mouth.

“It’s ok, mother. It’s called laughter.”

His sarcastic statement made Joyce bust out in a fit of giggles.

Tilly’s gaze darted between the two of them until she huffed. “You two are terrible.” She propped herself up against the pile of pillows. “So, spend the night with your stripper friend?”

Lucky didn’t respond. He stood and crossed the room, headed toward the door.

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t have time for this bullshit. I told you to lay off Baby, or we’re through here. You obviously didn’t think I was serious, but I’m not going to stand here and listen to you bash her. I love her, mother.”

The old woman drew her lips into a hard line. She lowered her gaze and smoothed out the wrinkles on her pricey comforter. “I suppose we’ll just have to agree to disagree. Truce?”

He assumed her miniscule gesture was better than nothing. He sat in the chair next to his mother’s bed and let her drone on for the next hour while he listened to her complain about everything from the landscapers to the roof needing new shingles.

“Your father always took care of this kind of stuff.”

“No, mother. Dad always gave a list to Joyce. She
is
the estate manager. That hasn’t changed.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

“Good, I’m glad to see you’re feeling more like yourself today. I’ve got to head out for a while, but I’ll check back in on you later.”

Her face twisted as she shot up in bed. “But we didn’t get to talk about business. You have to take that position, James. There’s no other option.”

“Not now, mother.” He landed a peck on her cheek and took off before she could object.

Lucky grabbed a fresh button down from his closet. His fingertips grazed the key, reassuring himself that it was safe. Everything relied on that key.

He drove directly to the bank. He parked his bike, ran his hand over his beard, and tucked in his shirt. He tried to appear casual as he strolled in to the bank.

“Welcome to the Louisiana Savings and Loan. How can I help you, sir?”

He surveyed the young woman standing behind the tall counter. “I’d like to see the president, please.”

She smiled, “Do you have an appointment?”

Shit
!

“No, I didn’t think I’d be in town that long. I’m sure he can spare a few minutes.”

“I’m sorry, sir. Mr. Clayton is very busy and operates under a strict appointment schedule. I’d be happy to set up a time, or maybe I can help you myself.” She beamed, flashing her mouthful of perfectly white teeth.

“Thanks, but I’ll just wait for Mr. Clayton. Please let him know that James Gauthier would like a few minutes of his time. I’ll just wait over here.”

The woman was no longer smiling as Lucky pointed to the lavish reception area. She pressed the phone to her ear and pressed buttons. She must have called Mr. Clayton to complain because Lucky never had a chance to sit down when a tall, stuffy man popped out from a side office and extended his hand.

“Mr. Gauthier, it’s a pleasure.”

“Mr. Clayton,” Lucky responded as the man pumped his hand frantically.

“Why don’t you step into my office.” He allowed Lucky to sit before settling in behind his massive, mahogany desk. “So, what can I do for you today, Mr. Gauthier?”

“Well, as you probably already know, my father passed away a couple of weeks back.”

Mr. Clayton nodded his head, over exaggerating the gesture. “Yes, absolutely tragic. So sorry for your loss. The bank was very sad to hear of his passing.”

Lucky squirmed in his chair, adjusting one leg over the other. “Yeah, thanks.”

The man leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands together in front of his chest. “So, I guess you’re here to empty out your father’s safe deposit box.”

His heart hammered against his chest. His mouth dried up like the fucking desert. He didn’t trust himself to talk without choking on his words, so he nodded.

“I thought that might be the case since yours is the only other name on the account.”

Good old pop
.

Mr. Clayton shoved his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “We just need to take care of some paperwork, and of course, I’m assuming you have your key?”

“Yes, sir.” Lucky dug into his shirt pocket and withdrew the key.

“Very well then, let’s get down to business.”

He tried to contain the nervous bubbling in his stomach as Mr. Clayton busied himself with a stack of papers. He was minutes away from uncovering whatever Carrie had been working so hard to hide. He gripped the pen and scrawled his signature across the forms, initialing all of the highlighted areas.

“And your ID?” The banker peered at him from over the top of his glasses.

Lucky pulled his license out of his chain wallet and passed it across the desk.

Mr. Clayton picked it up, grabbed a key, and stood. “Shall we?”

“After you,” Lucky responded. He remembered the process from years earlier. He followed the President down the corridor and into the vault. After finding box number 1951, Mr. Clayton slipped his key into the tiny, metal slot and waited for Lucky to do the same.

Although he had done the exact same thing for his father a dozen times before, his pulse skyrocketed. This was too easy.

Two turns and a click.

Mr. Clayton led him into a small room. He placed the box on the wooden table and turned to leave. “Feel free to take as much time as you need. You can collect your license on your way out when you return your key. And please do let us know if we can be of any service in the future.”

Lucky nodded and shook the man’s hand. He waited for the door to close. His muscles clenched as he gripped the box, unhooking the latch and lifting the long, slender lid.

Just as he had anticipated. A single expandable file. It made sense. It was his father’s secret box. The box he shared with his mother was at another bank, and that would be where he kept all of the usual documents and keepsakes.

That’s what made him so apprehensive. Whatever was inside this box, Colby Gauthier had considered top secret, and it more than likely had little to do with standard Gauthier business.

With trepidation, he pulled the file from the box. Slumping backward in the chair, Lucky took in a deep gulp of air. Holding his breath, he pulled the papers from the file. The first few appeared to be bank statements from a personal account; one Lucky was not familiar with. He would have to deal with that later. There were files with different names on them. By thumbing through the contents, they were people his father had investigated. Photos, personal information, credit reports, and background checks.