Dalakis Passion 4 - Eternal Brothers (13 page)

"Just let me in so we can talk. That's all I want to do," he promised. "Just talk."
She chewed on her bottom lip and he almost groaned. Her lips were soft and
pouty
and he longed to soothe away the sting with his tongue. She obviously came to some
conclusion as she closed the door. Cassidy waited, unsure if she'd open the door or turn
all the locks again.
The scrape of two chains being pulled across metal was music to his ears. Then the
knob turned and the door slowly opened. He didn't push his way inside but waited for
her to shift back and let him in. He stepped in, careful to keep her in his sight. He hadn't
seen any signs of a weapon, but he wasn't convinced she didn't have one.
She seemed smaller than she had last night, almost fragile, even though he put her
height at about five-five. There was certainly no excess weight on her even though her
breasts were more than a handful. She raked her fingers though her hair as she
motioned to a chair. "Sit down."
It only took Cassidy three steps to reach the chair. The room wasn't very big and it
was open, revealing almost the entire apartment. A small refrigerator and countertop
range were nestled next to about three feet of counter space. A few meager cupboards
were situated above and below the counter with a tiny sink at the far end. A round café
table and two iron chairs sat in front of one of the windows, and the chair he was sitting
in, a futon and a trunk, which doubled as a coffee table, took up the rest of the room. An
armoire was pushed up against a wall, but he had no idea what was housed within--
maybe clothing, maybe a television. He could see the door to the bathroom, which was
just to the left of the front door. Minimal, sparse and neat were the best descriptions of
the place. There were no signs of wealth of any kind. Considering the kind of money
Blythe must have made the past few years, Sam was suspicious.
Blythe stood beside the trunk, her arms crossed over her chest. "Well?"
"You worked for
Jethro
Prince?"
His eyes narrowed as she shuddered. A mask seemed to fall over her face then,
blanking out all expression. She shrugged. "So?"
"Are you working at The Club now?"
Fear, distaste and shame all flashed in her eyes before they went blank again. If
Cassidy hadn't been watching closely, he'd never have seen it. "No." She shook her
head. "I don't work there any longer. Haven't since
Jethro
was murdered."
"Were you two close?" She had called him
Jethro
, not Mr. Prince. Cassidy didn't
like the way his stomach clenched or his shoulders tensed. He wanted to be wrong, but
suspected he wasn't.
She laughed bitterly. "Some would say so."
"But you wouldn't?" He kept his tone non-threatening, nonjudgmental, even
thought it was difficult. For some stupid reason he felt betrayed by her relationship
with Prince.
Which was ridiculous since he'd only met the woman a day ago.
"No. Our relationship was strictly
business
."
She was lying. He could feel it in his gut, but he let it go for now. "So how did you
find out about Adrian Prince's plans to harm the
Dalakis
family?" Blythe was still tense,
but she relaxed slightly with the change of subject.
Interesting.
"I got a call from an accountant saying that there was a new owner who was paying
the employees what they were owed from when the club unexpectedly closed down. I
was told the new owner was trying to entice some of the old staff back to work there."
"But it didn't work?"
She began to pace, rubbing her hands over her arms as if she were chilled in spite of
the fact she was wearing a long-sleeved blue sweater, a pair of jeans and sneakers. "Not
for me. The bartender, Barney Amos, was from the old days, but he was the only person
I saw other than the accountant, who was a stranger."
Cassidy nodded, ignoring the tight fit of his jeans as he watched the sway of her
lush behind while she paced around the confines of the small room. "What about Prince
and the other man...what was his name?"
"Saunders. Adrian Prince called him Saunders. And no, I didn't see either of them."
She paused by the window next to the table and stared out into the dark. "I heard
someone coming and ducked into a storage closet."
She hugged herself tighter. Cassidy wanted to go and stand behind her and wrap
his arms around her, warming her and assuring her that she was safe. He did neither.
"I didn't want to run into anyone. It was bad enough just having to go back to that
place. If I hadn't needed the money..." She shook her head and sucked in a deep breath.
"Anyway, they paused right outside the door and I heard their conversation. End of
story."
Every muscle in his body was tense enough to snap. "They had no idea you were
there?"
"Of course not." Blythe whirled around with a scowl on her face. "I waited a
minute and then went back out through the bar, told Barney I'd taken a look around the
old dressing rooms for old times' sake."
"He believed you?"
"I'm sure he did." But although her words were firm, Cassidy could tell she was no
longer certain.
"Why did you write the note to Lucian?"
Blythe shrugged. "It was the right thing to do. I couldn't let him hurt innocent
people if I could help it. The Prince
brothers
have hurt too many people." Her voice
faded as she drifted off into thought.
Cassidy's mind began to work furiously, sorting through all the facts. When Prince
found out his men were gone, he was going to suspect that the
Dalakis
family had
something to do with it. He'd also suspect that they'd somehow known about his
planned attack. The list would be short. The first person Prince would question would
be his staff, including the bartender. Cassidy suspected that the man would give Blythe
up in a heartbeat to save
himself
. He'd remember that she came from out back just after
Prince and his associate, Saunders, had been down that way.
"You have to come with me." Cassidy stood and held his hand out to her. Her eyes
widened and she stared at him like he was out of his mind.
"No." She backed away from him until she hit the wall. There was nowhere else for
her to go.
"Blythe."
He wanted to soften his tone, but she needed to understand the
seriousness of the situation. She needed to be afraid. "Two of Adrian Prince's men have
already been taken care of. He's going to be angry and suspicious and want to know
how the
Dalakis
family found out about the planned attack. He's going to start
questioning people. If he suspects there's a leak in his organization, he's going to plug
it. Who do you think he'll talk to?"
She shrugged, although he could see the dawning comprehension.
"He'll talk to the accountant and the bartender," he continued ruthlessly. "If he's
smart, he'll figure out you were still in the building when he and Saunders were
talking. If nothing else, he'll want to talk to you."
Men like Adrian Prince didn't just
talk
to people and they both knew it. Blythe
began to shake. Cassidy thought it was with fear and started to soothe her. Before he
could open his mouth, she erupted.
"It's not fair. I thought that with
Jethro
dead I was free from that place, from that
family." Deep rage vibrated in every single word and Cassidy realized that Blythe was
more angry than frightened. Her blue eyes blazed. "Haven't they taken enough from
me?" she all but spat.
"I don't know," he answered quietly. "Have they?" He had no idea what had gone
on the year that she'd worked for the elder Prince, but he sure as hell was certain that
whatever it was, it hadn't been good.
At least not for Blythe.
The possibilities were
endless and enough to curdle his blood.
She shook her head. "Thanks for the warning. You can go now." Striding to the
door, she yanked it open. Cassidy rubbed his hand over his face. Every instinct he had
was telling him to toss her over his shoulder and drag her out of here. But even he
couldn't get away with something that outrageous. It would be kidnapping, plain and
simple. The fact that he was even considering it gave him pause. Somehow, this woman
had gotten under his skin. Not good.
He walked slowly to the door, trying to think of something he could say, anything
that would convince her to go with him. "You know where to find me if you need
help."
If anything, her back stiffened even more at his words. "I can take care of myself.
Besides," she sneered. "There's always a price to be paid for a man's help."
"Is that what Prince did? Make you pay for his help?"
Her face paled, but she didn't flinch. "It was more complicated than that and none
of your business. It's old news.
Dead news."
Her voice had a flat, dull edge that
bothered him. This was a woman near the end of her rope.
Cassidy raised his hand and she flinched before she could stop herself. She
straightened her shoulders and met his gaze dead-on. Ever-so slowly, he cupped her
cheek, his fingers brushing the silky softness of her skin. She stood still, not moving,
barely even breathing. "If you change your mind or need help, just call me. No strings."
Leaning down, he brushed his lips over hers. They were soft and slightly moist where
she'd chewed on her bottom one. He pulled away, not wanting to frighten her. She was
watching him with a strange expression on her face. She looked totally bewildered as he
tucked a white business card in her hand. "If you need anything or just want to talk, I'm
only a phone call away."
Blythe recovered quickly, hiding her unease and uncertainty behind a false smile.
Her fingers tightened around the card, crumpling it. "Sure."
Sighing, Cassidy walked out the door, wishing he could find the words to make her
leave with him. Really, what she did was none of his business. She'd come forward
with information about a threat and he'd found out all he could from her. If she wanted
to stay where she was, it was her business.
"Lock the door behind me," he growled. He stood outside her door and waited
until all the locks were engaged. For a woman who claimed she wasn't afraid, she had a
heck of a lot of locks. It was a struggle for Cassidy to make himself walk down the stairs
and out the front door, but he did it.
What he couldn't do was make himself leave. Not quite yet. He turned and saw the
curtain at her window twitching and knew she was up there alone, watching him.
Fading into the shadows, Cassidy watched her building. After about a half-hour, he'd
convinced himself that she wasn't going anywhere tonight. He'd come back tomorrow
and check on her.
He was just about to walk away when a dark sedan pulled up outside the house.
Two very large men got out, glanced around and then strolled up the walkway.
Cassidy's gut clenched. These men weren't here to visit friends. They were here on
business and Cassidy was afraid he knew exactly what their business was.
He skirted the traffic, cursing when he had to stop for an old lady who almost ran
him over. He dashed back across the road, yanking his cell phone out of his back pocket
as he went. It was answered on the first ring as he quietly opened the front door and
started up the stairs. "We have a problem."
Chapter Ten
Sophia stared at Zane, her heart beating faster with each passing second. He moved
in closer. Perched on the edge of the desk as she was, his thighs pushed her legs apart.
His eyes never lost contact with hers as he slipped the button of her jeans open.
"Zane?"
She wasn't quite sure what she was asking him. He just smiled and leaned closer.
Her mouth parted on a sigh as he licked her bottom lip. "I'm a man of my word."
His husky whisper made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. He'd promised
her several things last night. The tiny pinpricks at the back of her neck began to tingle
and she absently touched it with her hand. Zane's eyes narrowed. "I won't drink from
you again if you don't want me to."
She thought about that, rubbing her fingers over the slight bumps. Her stomach
fluttered and her pussy clenched. From what she could remember from last evening,
the experience had been overwhelmingly erotic.
Zane covered her hand with his, stilling her motions. "You don't have to decide
now." Bringing her fingers to his lips, he kissed each of her knuckles in turn before
opening his mouth and sliding one of them inside. Wet warmth surrounded her finger
as he gently scraped his teeth across her skin. Liquid flowed from her core, reminding
her quite vividly that she wanted him like she never had any other man.
He slowly pulled her finger from his mouth, nipping playfully at the tip before
releasing it. Reaching down, he grasped the hem of her pullover and tugged it over her
head. He smiled when he saw her plain white cotton bra. "Did you think that this
would stop me?" He traced the unadorned edges with his finger, circling the soft cup.
She bit her lip to keep from asking him to touch her. Her nipples were so tight, even the
light fabric of her bra was pure torture where it touched them.
She shook her head, barely able to follow the conversation. Need pulsed through
her body, thick and rich.
"No?" Zane continued on, his tone almost conversational. "Then why did you wear
one?"
All her insecurities welled up and she crossed her arms defensively across her
chest, ignoring his frown when she knocked his hand away. "I know I don't really need
one."
His scowl deepened. "That wasn't a comment on your size, Sophia. I thought we'd
been through this already."
She shrugged and glanced away, trying to figure a graceful way out of this
situation.
"Sophia." Zane's tone was soft, beguiling. "Size doesn't matter." He slowly pulled
her arms from her chest and covered her breasts with his hands. His palms covered her
totally. "You are so damn responsive."
Her embarrassment was forgotten as desire surged through her. The awe in his
voice was real and the look in his eyes was one of pure pleasure. She licked her
suddenly dry lips and started to speak, but Zane shook his head.
"You don't need to say anything." He massaged her breasts through the thin cotton.