Chapter 11
ELEANOR
I wake up tangled in the sheets with Bobby’s scent surrounding me.
For a few seconds, I’m confused and disoriented, but then I open my eyes and stare at the familiar bedroom around me, and warmth spreads through my chest.
I’m home.
Smiling, I roll onto my side, reaching for Bobby automatically, but the bed beside me is empty.
Of course he’s already up. The man hardly ever sleeps more than five or six hours at a time.
I smile to myself and sit up slowly, pulling the sheet against my chest. My gaze drifts to the end table where a note is lying.
I pick it up. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be here when you woke up. I’m in my office, but let me know and I can have breakfast brought up to you. Welcome home.”
I hold the note to my chest.
After showering and dressing, I head downstairs and immediately hear raised voices coming from Bobby’s office. I can’t stop the smile from forming on my face. It sure sounds like home when my Bobby is barking orders first thing in the morning.
I walk toward the room and stop in the doorway. Bennett and Knox are standing near the desk while Bobby leans over paperwork looking irritated. My gaze scans the room, and I spot a woman sitting on the leather chair in the corner. She’s staring back at me, wide-eyed.
Audrey Sterling. It has to be her.
She stands up, and her hands clench the hem of her shirt nervously.
I tilt my head and study her carefully.
She’s very pretty with long blond hair, big blue eyes, and a curvy body. She is watching me closely, and we continue to stare at each other until Bobby notices me.
He walks away from the men and comes around his desk to me. After a quick kiss and hug, he holds me to him. “You up for this?”
I lean back and look at him. “Something I can help with?”
He holds my hand. “Yes.” He pulls me toward the young blonde, and already I notice that Bennett and Knox have moved to each side of her, and they’re both looking almost protective over the woman.
“Hmmmm,” I say softly.
“What’s that, honey?”
I shake my head and put a smile on my face. “Hello. You must be Audrey. I’m Eleanor.”
She smiles back at me, but now that I’m closer to her, I notice the dark circles under her eyes. She looks as if she hasn’t slept in days.
I don’t know what I expected, but this is not it. She doesn’t look as if she’s cold and manipulative. She looks almost innocent.
Audrey gives me a hesitant nod. “Mrs. Kingston.”
“Eleanor,” I correct gently.
She looks surprised by that.
Bobby walks toward me and places a hand against my lower back automatically. “You sleep okay?”
“Mm-hm.” I glance up at him. “I got your note.”
His lips twitch as if he’s trying to hold back a smile, but then a full smile forms.
Knox puts his hands on his hips. “Well, look at that. The Mafia king does smile. He must have gotten laid last—”
Before he can get the rest of the words out, Bennett reaches behind Audrey and slaps Knox in the back of the head. “Ugh, stop. That’s my mom and dad you’re talking about.”
With a smile on his face, Robert switches back to business mode. “Audrey was just filling us in.”
We all turn and look at Audrey.
She is obviously nervous with all of us watching her, and I try to take the edge off. I walk toward the couch and sit down, patting the seat beside me. “So what’s going on?”
Audrey glances nervously toward Bobby before looking back at me. “They’re moving product through midtown.”
Bobby’s expression darkens instantly.
“What kind of product?” I ask even though I already know.
Her voice lowers. “Drugs.”
Silence fills the room, and my stomach twists.
The Kingstons are not saints by any means, but we don’t mess with drugs, and we don’t like them in our territory.
When we discovered the Sterlings were buying up property, I think we all assumed they were coming after our gambling, guns, or other businesses.
I don’t think any of us actually thought he would bring drugs.
Audrey swallows hard. “My father is using the warehouses to move everything through the city. He’s buying properties close together so he can try and keep it hidden.”
I glance toward the maps spread across Bobby’s desk, and realization settles in my chest.
I was right. We guessed what he was doing, but we didn’t know anything for sure. Bennett steps closer to Audrey apparently without even realizing it. “How long?”
“A few months,” she admits quietly. “But it’s growing fast.”
Knox folds his arms over his chest. “And Victor thinks nobody’s going to notice?”
Audrey laughs bitterly. “My father thinks he’s untouchable.”
Something flashes across Bennett’s face then. He lifts his hand as if he’s going to reach for Audrey but quickly drops it at his side. Bennett lifts his chin. “Well, he’s messed with people I care about, and I’m going to do more than touch him.”
Bobby nods, completely oblivious to what Bennett is saying without saying it. Robert assumes that he’s talking about me, and there’s no doubt my son is protective of me, but it’s not just me he’s protective of.
Robert rubs his hands across his face. “Victor is nowhere to be found.”
“Where is Paul?” Knox asks.
Robert shrugs his shoulders. “Looking for Victor.”
I look at my husband. “So what’s the plan? We can’t let drugs into our area.”
Bobby reaches for me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me toward him. “We won’t. I promise you that.”
He looks between Bennett and Knox. I can tell he doesn’t trust Audrey, and I get it. She is a Sterling, but I’m beginning to think there’s more to her than the rival last name.
Bennett looks at me. “Dad made the order for us to buy up all of Sterling’s new purchases.”
I look at my husband. “That’s going to be quite expensive, right?”
He shrugs. “I don’t think we have much of a choice, do you?”
I agree with him. “You’re right.”
Audrey wraps her arms around herself. “My father doesn’t care who he hurts. My brother almost OD’d, and he still hasn’t stopped selling.” She huffs a breath. “As a matter of fact, my father is still having my brother sell the product, knowing he’s hooked on the stuff.”
Robert, Knox, Bennett, and I all stare wide-eyed at Audrey, and I put my hand over my chest, right over my heart. Who would do that to their son?
We’re all stunned into silence, but Audrey breaks it. “I can help.”
Bennett reaches for her this time and doesn’t stop. He puts a hand on her shoulder and says one word. “No.”
She looks up at him, and her gaze softens. “If that is going to help keep drugs off the street, then yes, I have to do it.”
Bennett and Knox are both shaking their heads, and Bennett looks at his father. “I’ll find him.”
“No,” Audrey practically shouts, but Bennett ignores her.
Knox puts a hand on her other shoulder. “Bennett and I will find him without putting you in danger.”
She looks up between the two of them, and it hits me. She likes them both.
My eyebrows skyrocket, and I feel heat rush to my face, so I force my gaze to Robert. “Give them a chance, Bobby.”
My husband’s eyes lift at the nickname. I don’t usually call him that in front of the guys, but today I did.
He reaches for my hand. “Fine. I’ll give you a week.”
Before Audrey can argue any further, the boys are pulling her from the office.
I wave to her and then turn to my husband. “That was interesting, huh?”
He’s looking down at the map of midtown. “What was interesting?”
I chuckle but shake my head. “Nothing.”
My husband is a very smart businessman, but maybe not so much about matters of the heart.