Harley (West Coast Rock Star #1) (9 page)

“Are you calling me old?” A smirk appeared on his lips before he knocked back the drink.

Cade spread her lips into a smile. “You don’t even know how to drink it properly.” She took a sip of the liquid, inhaled through parted lips and let the drink’s aroma release through them, and then she swallowed.

When she looked back at Jax, he had a wide grin on his face. “That was positively the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Cade lowered her eyes and shook her head. She placed her drink down on the table and stood. Right away, Jax grabbed her hand. She bent at the waist and brought her face close to his.

“Off to the little girls’ room.” She didn’t have to hear his question.

Jax cocked his head to the side. “There are private ones right in the back. Don’t be long.”

She mock-saluted him and made her way to the bathroom. Even without turning her head, she knew he was watching her walk. She felt sexy. She felt empowered. So with the temporary courage from the booze, she added more sway onto her hips until she reached the bathrooms.

Once she had finished using the facilities, she stared in the mirror at her reddened cheeks and red-rimmed eyes. Thank god for Beth’s miracle makeover, she didn’t look much of a fright. The charcoal smudge under her eyes and over her lids gave her that sultry, smoky-eyed look. Beth was able to highlight her cheekbones with a blush, and somehow the gloss had stayed on her lips. Her hair didn’t fair too well with the heat and sweat, but it still matched her overall appearance, understated rock star goddess.

Harley had been thrilled when she found out that Cade was going out too. Cade had expected a different reaction from the girl, but Harley had been the one who’d convinced her to join the pack. When Beth had pulled her back into her hotel room, Harley had been right there with them, going through Cade’s clothes—which there weren’t a lot of—and critiquing Beth’s work.

Cade wondered if Harley had gone to bed. She would have texted the young girl, but she’d left her phone in her jacket. She would have to check on her as soon as she returned to the lounge. Grabbing a couple of rolled hand towels from a tray, she wet them under the faucet and patted her neck and shoulder. A cool comfort for her overheated body.

It was all Jax’s fault
, she thought.

And as soon as she did, as though she had called him, the door to the bathroom opened and in came the devil himself. Her gut clenched and her thighs pressed together of their own accord. Liquid lust filled her core. Cade caught the lascivious gaze he threw her in the mirror, just as Jax leaned back and blocked the door.

Chapter Twelve

The tremble of his body sent him off the booth when flashes of Cade dancing against him seized his mind. From the time she shrugged off that leather jacket, revealing her tight curves, he couldn’t resist the temptation. Jax knew she worked out. It had to be a part of her job. He wasn’t sure how many hours she spent at the gym but boy, did it pay off.

She had great muscle tone, which complemented the curves of her body well. Jax—and all the men in the club, as far as he was concerned—had watched her undulate her hips, move her hands and her feet with the beat, and her long hair set wild around her frame. Cade was hypnotizing. He felt too feeble not to get attracted.

But Cade knew she called the shots. She must have. She left him panting and wanting on the dance floor. As soon as she did so, women clamoured to get near him, although his interest in any of them wasn’t enough to put out the fire Cade had set on him.

Cade was aware he was hooked when she marked him, with her mouth flushed against his racing pulse, and when she tasted him, he held onto that last ounce of discipline within him. For years, all he had done was exercise control, to stave off the unwanted effects of being a famous celebrity. Women, sex, drugs, and alcohol. It was difficult to keep himself away when all of those surrounded him. So a move back to where he’d grown up had been an ideal solution. Not that any of those weren’t present in Vancouver, but they weren’t constantly thrown at him every minute of his life.

Then Cade showed up, and he could barely think, let alone rally all those practiced disciplines.

He should stay away. He should heed Zee’s warning and Bruno’s concern that the whole affair, if there was one, would cause a backlash the size of an A-bomb. Why couldn’t he have filled his time in LA with vapid women? Instead, he’d focused all his desires on one alarmingly beautiful, intelligent, and increasingly interesting woman: Cadence Williams.

She knew her effects on him. Her hips, as she walked away, told him that. He finished her drinks and took calming breaths.

Don’t follow her. Don’t follow her
, his subconscious warned.

Jax was never one to listen, not even to himself. His body buzzed from blinding lust. He stood and cursed himself as he followed where Cade had gone.

Whatever it was he had expected wasn’t what met him. She didn’t look at all pleased when he came in. Yes, there was desire in her eyes, and then Cade turned round and crossed her arms over her chest. Jax’s eyes dropped to her cleavage, enhanced by her action. His mouth dried up. He was convinced she was trying to give him a heart attack.

“I’m not the type of girl who has sex in a club bathroom, Mr. Clark,” Cade snapped, raising a brow at him.

Was she being coy by calling him that?

“What makes you think I’m here for that, Ms. Williams?” He pinned her with his gaze.

She let out a dry chuckle, clicking her tongue against the inside of her cheeks. Had he read her signs wrong? He couldn’t have. Cade wanted him as much as he wanted her.

“I’m not screwing you here,” she told him out flat.

Jax felt the frustration running through his veins. “What was that out there then?” He pushed his hair off his face and tugged at it fiercely. His intention wasn’t to screw Cade in the bathroom. All he wanted was a little push in the right direction.

Cade shrugged, releasing her arms. “A moment of weakness.”

When she said those words, it felt as though she had punched him right in the solar plexus, taking away his breath, and making him gasp before he buckled over from the pain. But her eyes…they spoke of something else entirely. She could deny it as much as she wanted, her blood boiled as much as his. The need within him heightened inside the small space.

“You want me.” He faced the bull straight on. “I want you.”

The battle within her was obvious. He wanted her to surrender to the desires. To him.

Cade slumped her shoulders forward, a sign that he had a chance. “Look, Jax, I—”

A ringtone pierced through the tension. The chorus of “Sweet Caroline” took over. Harley’s ringtone. Cade knew what it was. It was clear in the sudden worry in her eyes. Jax pushed himself away from the bathroom door and pulled his phone from his back pocket.

“Har, are you okay?”

But it wasn’t Harley on the other line. It was his frantic assistant. “Jax, it’s Harley. She’s turning blue!”

“What?” His eyes found Cade. She had stepped forward, her earlier defences down, anxiety replacing it.

“I called 911. They’re on their way. I don’t know what to do. Fiona is yelling at me and—”

“What the hell is Fiona doing there?” Jax suddenly heard the other line clearer. His ex was in the same room as Tina, and most likely, Harley. He hadn’t expected her to come at all during the week. Even when she had made the threat to take Harley away, he knew he still had enough time to ward her off. Fiona was supposed to be in Europe.

Cade didn’t wait for him. She sidestepped Jax and went out the door. Jax followed, his cellphone still pressed onto his ear. “Check on Harley. Do not let Fiona touch her. Do you hear me, Tina? Keep Fiona out of Harley’s way! I’ll be there soon.”

Zee stood in an instant, as Jax met his bodyguard back at the lounge. “I need the car now.”

“I’ll call up the driver,” Zee told Jax.

Cade appeared by their side, shrugging into her leather jacket, her phone in her hand. If she had been inebriated before, it didn’t show any longer. “It’s not fast enough. Find another one.” She strode quickly past the small group of people who had gathered with our companions.

Jax followed suit with Zee right behind. They all ignored their friends’ questions of concern. They would know soon enough. “Zee, find Tonya.”

Catching up to Cade, he grabbed her by the arm and led her to the back of the club. She didn’t protest as they made it through the thick crowd. When they reached the back door of the club, Tonya stood with Zee.

“Thanks, Tonya.” Jax gave the club owner a tight hug.

“Get to your daughter.” The woman eyed Cade suspiciously, but said nothing about her.

***

Jax unfolded himself out of the borrowed car’s passenger side as soon as they arrived at the hospital. He had received messages from Tina as soon as they left the club, keeping him informed of the situation. The ride to the hospital was spent in silence and fury.

As soon as they reached the area where Harley was taken, Jax immediately spotted Fiona. Zee held him away from his ex. The man had seen him plenty of times with Fiona, and none of them good.

“I knew I shouldn’t have given her to you!” Fiona accused him, all five feet two inches of pure bitchiness charging right at him, finger pointed.

“She was doing fine until you showed up, Fiona,” Jax argued. Onlookers paused and listened as the two shouted at each other, both being held back by people larger than them.

Then even more hell broke loose when Fiona spotted Cade. “Is this her? Your new bitch? What are you doing here, you cu—”

“That’s enough,” a man with silver hair and a white coat interrupted, positioning himself between Jax and Fiona. “Your daughter’s awake. But I’m not letting either one of you in there with this type of behaviour.”

Protests came from both of them. The doctor held up his hand.

“Not a word. If you want to argue, take it outside or take it to court. I’m not having this spectacle in my hospital.”

Jax pushed Zee’s hands off his arms, sending a quiet order to his bodyguard. “I’m Harley’s father. She’s under my custody. I need to see her.” Jax turned to the doctor, who didn’t bother introducing himself.

“No. Not until you figure this out with this woman.” The doctor waved his hand toward Fiona, who continued to glare at Jax. “Harley did request someone, and it’s neither one of you. Who is Cade Williams?”

Fiona began kicking and punching the air. The man she was with kept her a few feet away from the others. Jax ignored her and focused on what the doctor had said.

“I’m Cade Williams,” Cade stepped forward, not bothering to look in Jax’s direction.

“Follow me, Ms. Williams,” the doctor ordered. He didn’t say another word to either Jax or Fiona.

Cade glanced at Jax as he touched her hand. The only response he received was a curt nod. And it was all he needed at the moment.

Chapter Thirteen

The hospital hallways were filled with machine sounds and quiet mutterings, which Cade was all too familiar with. She had spent plenty of her days and nights in the same environment while her father was dying. Time and time again he had cursed at her and refused to accept her offers of help. Cade clenched her jaw as her mind filled with painful memories.

“This is highly unusual for me to approve.” She almost bumped into the doctor—Dr. Wellington, according to his nametag—as he stopped and turned to her. “Normally, we only let family see the patient, but the girl—”

“Harley, her name is Harley,” Cade reminded Dr. Wellington.

He nodded. “Yes, Harley requested that I only let you in. Her condition is rather delicate. Are you aware of it?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Good. I didn’t want her in any more duress. Witnessing that spectacle out there from her own parents, I can see why she only asked for you,” Dr. Wellington explained.

Cade thought how hurt Jax would feel if he wasn’t be allowed to see his own daughter. He had done nothing wrong, as far Cade was concerned. “Doctor, I was wondering…I work for Harley’s father. Would he be allowed in later, once things calm down?”

Deep lines appeared on the older man’s forehead. “Are you Harley’s nanny?”

Cade refused to feel the hurt from that question. Just because she was a woman, it didn’t mean she was the nanny. But an argument with the doctor would only make matters worse. “I’m Harley’s bodyguard.”

“Bodyguard? Where were you tonight?”

Somewhere she shouldn’t have been
, Cade wanted to say. She choked on the words. Instead she said, “It was my night off. We…Mr. Clark hadn’t expected Harley’s mother to come. I was told she was vacationing overseas.” The news only came to her while Beth and Harley had helped her dress for the night. If Cade hadn’t been so blinded with Jax’s appeal, she could’ve foreseen Fiona dusting the sand from her ass and making an appearance after the threat of taking Harley away from Jax.

In the club, she had heard Tina’s panic through Jax’s phone. She’d retrieved her jacket and cellphone, and saw that she’d missed a few messages from Harley, telling her that Fiona had returned. Harley had needed her. She’d wanted to be rescued from her own mother. The realization of what happened sobered her up, enough for Cade to blame herself for letting her guard down.

“Understood.” Dr. Wellington kept walking until they reached Harley’s room. “She’s stable now. Don’t upset or excite her. I’ll be back to check on her later.”

“Thank you.” Cade rapped on the solid door before going in. “Harley?”

“Cade?”

If Cade thought it had been difficult to see her elderly father in a hospital room, she was wrong. An IV was attached to the little girl. She looked more fragile than ever. The dimmed overhead lighting sent eerie shadows over Harley’s face, gaunt and exhausted from the events of the night. A heart monitor beeped beside the bed.

“Hi, Harley,” Cade said quietly, swallowing down the tears and panic. Her lips quivered. She made her way to the bed and sat on the edge after giving Harley a hug.

Harley tried to sit up, but Cade patted her arms and shook her head. She offered Cade a weak smile. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too. How do you feel?”

Harley shrugged. “Kind of silly.”

“Silly?” Harley dropped her head and focused on her fingernails. The purple nail polish was chipped off on a few of them. Cade reached for her hand and gave it a little squeeze. “It’s not your fault, you know that.” It would be so Harley to blame herself for what had occurred.

“Is my dad outside?”

Cade nodded, deciding it would be best to keep her mouth shut rather than spilling words that would cause havoc to the little girl’s heart. To see Fiona and Jax argue in such a public place made Cade bristle. She had a few choice words for Fiona, and in due time, Cade hoped she’d have the chance to impart them to the undeserving mother.

“When Fiona leaves, they’ll let him in,” Harley said. Maybe Cade didn’t have to hold her tongue. Clearly, the girl knew her parents.

Cade chose to divert the topic. “Are you hungry? Thirsty? What can I get you?”

“I’m fine. I just want to sleep. Can you lie down with me for a bit?”

“Sure thing, honey.” The lump in her throat enlarged as she moved to the other side of the bed and stretched beside the little girl, wrapping her up in a warm cocoon.

***

It took her a while to recognize the place. Cade sat up, careful not to wake Harley beside her.

“Hey.” A figure materialized from a dark corner. Jax appeared even more exhausted than she felt.

“Hey,” Cade returned the greeting. She brushed Harley’s hair off the girl’s face with the tips of her fingers. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. How long have you been in?”

Jax walked to the side of the bed, and held his daughter’s hand. “Not long. Bruno came with my lawyers in tow.”

“And Fiona?”

A flash of anger shadowed over Jax’s face. “She won’t be bothering us for a while.”

Cade wanted to ask him how he could be sure. Deciding that she had stayed long enough for the night, she stretched her legs over the bed and stood, zipping her jacket closed. “I’m going to step out for a bit, grab a coffee.” She took a step towards the door.

“Cade, wait.” Jax moved around the bed, and reached for her arm. “I’m sorry about tonight. I didn’t mean to make assumptions.”

Cade pulled her arm away from his grasp and raised a hand to stop him. “Please, can we just pretend it never happened?”

“But I—”

“Please, Jax.” Cade turned her head to check if her raised voice had stirred Harley. She lowered her tone. “It shouldn’t have happened. I acted irresponsibly. If I were you I’d fire me.”

Jax tried to reach for her again, but Cade stepped away. His hands paused in the air. “I would never do that. Harley would hate me, first of all, and I would hate myself. Cade, you must know that I’m attracted to you. Without sounding like an immature idiot, I’d like to say that I really like you. Won’t you give us a chance?”

A huff of breath pushed out of her chest. “You can’t be serious.” Cade pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “I can’t even begin to think how wrong that would be. I’m not. I can’t talk about this now. Not here.”

“Just think about it,” Jax pleaded.

***

As she unpacked her bags, Cade’s cell phone rang with Juliette’s ringtone. She had little energy to have a conversation with her friend, but she knew the woman wouldn’t stop calling until she was fully informed.

Cade picked up before it went to voicemail. “Hi.” Her voice was hoarse.

“What the hell happened?” Juliette asked, but didn’t wait for Cade’s answer. “I heard you asked for a new assignment? What happened in LA? Are you back home now? Want to go to the pub?”

Cade lay on her bed, propping her tired feet over her luggage. “Yeah, I’m in Vancouver now. No, I don’t want to go for a drink. Yes, I asked for a new assignment, and no, I don’t feel like talking about it at the moment.”

There was silence on the other line. Juliette was never out of words.

“Hello? Juliette? You still there?”

“Yeah…yeah, I’m here. Damn, Cade. I thought…never mind what I thought. I guess I’ll see you at the office tomorrow. You’re probably super tired.”

“I am. Chat tomorrow, okay?”

Cade rang off, holding onto her phone, trying to make sense of what she’d done.

As soon as she stepped out of the hospital, she’d left Mac a message to request a different assignment. She had no idea if Mac would approve of her actions. She didn’t even know if she’d continue to have a job after what she’d done, but she felt it had been the best thing to do.

Before leaving the hotel, she’d left Harley a quick message, knowing that the girl wouldn’t see it until she left the hospital. Cade flew out of LA as soon as she possibly could, before Jax could find out what she had done. If it was a cowardly move, Cade wouldn’t know until the next day, until she could speak to Mac. She had told Zee what she planned to do, and the man only offered a curt nod as a reply.

Cade scrolled through the photos on her phone. A knife pierced through her heart upon seeing the photographs of her and Harley. She wondered if Harley would ever forgive her for leaving, for running away. That was exactly what she had done.

What Jax had asked her was inconceivable. Even if they gave themselves that chance, how would their relationship survive? She’d be in constant scrutiny—the bodyguard dating a celebrity. No, she couldn’t be a part of that world; Zee had been right. It was a world she was unfamiliar with, and she had no desire to be a part of it. Not even if she’d seen the sincerity in Jax’s eyes. Her love and loyalty belonged to Harley. There could be heavy repercussions if the word came out that Jax and she were dating, and the biggest victim of all that would be Harley.

Heartbreak was something Cade was familiar with, right from when she realized that her father had always shunned her. If she had stayed longer, and given Jax what he’d asked for, it would have been harder for her to leave or get left behind later on. Because in Cade’s life, she was always the one cast aside.