Chapter Four
Keane sat in the small private jet and wondered what
kind of woman demanded a private jet when she could drive a couple of hours.
The truth of the matter was he didn’t like flying.
Well, he didn’t know if he liked flying because he’d never
actually flown. No one flew the foster kid anywhere and once he hit prison,
they were really more bus people. He’d ridden up with Aidan and Lexi, while
Garrett had come on a plane a few days earlier with Lucas so they could meet with
Julian Lodge and Finn Taylor.
He was anxious and kind of pissed off because Red had been
gone this morning. He was a man who slept light. He’d learned it from a young
age. The bad shit came at you at night when the lights were off and anyone who
might protect you was sleeping.
Yet he had slept so deeply he didn’t wake up when she left
the bed. And she’d been between them.
He woke up feeling better than he had in years, ready to
kiss her awake and dirty her up and order breakfast and she was gone.
Now he was on a plane when they could have rented a car and
gotten there in less than three hours and probably stopped at a Buc-ee’s and
gotten beaver nuggets.
He didn’t like the plane. It was a tin can that would go
tens of thousands of feet in the air.
“I’m going to put out some feelers on who Red is,” Garrett
said, flipping open his ever-present laptop. He was completely unaffected
because he did fly a lot. Especially since they’d taken the jobs with the
O’Malleys.
Sometimes he wondered if they were growing apart. It was a
natural thing. Most people didn’t end up with the same friend they had in grade
school. Garrett had gone to law school. Keane had gone to prison. It was a
miracle they lasted this long.
And then last night happened and everything felt perfect.
This was what they needed. They needed her.
But she was gone.
Somehow he’d thought she would change her mind in the
morning. He thought she would wake up and realize they didn’t have to keep it
to one night. He wasn’t sure where in Texas she lived, but they could make it
work.
Not if she was gone and meant what she said, they couldn’t.
“She didn’t want us to find her.” Sometimes Garrett was too
optimistic. Keane glanced down at his watch. 12:15. “Weren’t we supposed to
leave fifteen minutes ago?”
“Well, we can’t leave without the boss’s daughter.” Garrett
didn’t look up from his screen. “And how do we know if we don’t look for her
and ask?”
“We know because she told us.” It hurt, but in a lot of ways
it was probably easier. It wasn’t like most women wanted a threesome for
anything but sex. Red admitted last night was a first for her. She’d enjoyed it
and likely would again, but she wouldn’t want to openly date two men. That
would make Keane the dirty secret since Garrett was the perfect boyfriend. A
lawyer, smooth and polished. He might not have grown up with much, but he
adapted well.
Normally being the one they brought in strictly for sex was
fine with him, but he couldn’t handle it this time. Not with her.
Garrett waved off the concern. “I think it is perfectly
normal to send the lady we spent the night with a large bouquet of flowers with
our real names and numbers in case she changes her mind. Or should I send
jewelry? What kind of jewelry do you think she would like?”
“I don’t know. I only know that she left and we probably
won’t see her again.” Keane was a pull the bandage off quickly and take the
pain upfront kind of guy. It wouldn’t have worked out. It was obvious Red had a
lot of friends and likely a family who would have a problem with him putting
his hands on their sweet daughter.
“Well, we know she probably doesn’t go to The Club since
I’ve never heard of a hot young redhead sub. Besides, The Club runs older. Like
that other place. What’s the name? The Viking dude runs it.”
“Sanctum,” Keane replied. “He’s Case’s brother.”
Case Taggart ran Subversion, the club they played at in
Austin when they had a chance to get away.
There would be no club in Willow Fork.
Or was there?
“Didn’t you mention something about Julian Lodge’s wife
running a lifestyle resort in East Texas?” Keane asked. The idea of not playing
for weeks made him antsy. Even without sex, he needed the play. He doubted they
would find a woman willing to go hard in Willow Fork. The way Lexi described
the place it was backward and judgmental.
Garrett looked up. “Yeah, I do remember hearing something
about it. But I think we should give Red a couple of days at least. A month
maybe. She could change her mind.”
“She won’t.”
“Was last night not good for you? Because it seemed like it
was,” Garrett said.
“You know it was good for me.” Keane sighed and sat back.
“It was perfect, but we have to consider that it wouldn’t work in the real
world.”
“Why?”
Keane frowned his way.
It was Garrett’s turn to sigh, though his sounded like
frustration. “Because of what happened when you were a kid?”
“I was tried as an adult,” Keane pointed out.
“And you were exonerated later.”
“Partially.” That didn’t mean much to most people. “Look, it
was clear to me she’s a woman of means. She might be happy to date a lawyer,
but I assure you she’s not going to fancy parties with a ranch hand on her arm.
Much less one with a record.”
“Come on, man. You have to be more optimistic about this.
You can’t go through life thinking only bad things will happen.”
He wasn’t sure why. It had worked for him for thirty years.
He didn’t see himself changing now. Oh, there might have been some tiny version
of himself that had been normal, but then his stepfather had come along and the
world turned to shit. “I think we should concentrate on the job. We agreed to
no names. We didn’t agree to no names until we really want a name. She showed
us what she wants this morning. She had her fun, and now she’s gone. She didn’t
lie to us. She told us exactly what she wanted. It’s not her fault you caught
feelings.”
“And you didn’t?” Garrett looked at him like he didn’t know
who he was.
Sometimes a little lie was required to make things go more
smoothly. “The sex was good. She was hot, but she’s nothing we can’t find at
any club.”
Maybe not a little lie. A big lie. He was worried he would
think about that woman for the rest of his life, would die with the taste of
her on his tongue. But she made herself plain, and he wasn’t going to beg for a
relationship that would fall apart when she knew who he truly was.
“Okay,” Garrett said evenly, closing his laptop. “You need
time. I can understand that. So let’s do what you said. Let’s concentrate on
work. Although maybe I want to concentrate on something else because I’m pretty
sure I’m going to be in hell.”
“Don’t you mean we?”
“No, I mean me,” Garrett corrected. “Look, you’re going to
be out on the range, dealing with a bunch of young cowpokes, and you’re
surprisingly good at that. I’m going to have to deal with a nepo baby who
thinks because Daddy bought her a fancy degree, she understands how to handle
things. She’s already fucked up with the Gladen Farms account. He’s got cause
to sue.”
“I thought you said he might not be following all the
organic protocols.”
“I know, but we don’t have proof and she walked in and
accused him. Now he’s not only got the chance to cover it up, he has the chance
to sue the hell out of us. She’s fucked up majorly, and I have to find a way to
clean up the mess without upsetting the dragon lady.”
Keane snorted. “Dragon lady?”
“Well, apparently she can bust some balls.” Garrett turned
slightly.
“Does she bust balls or is she a lazy nepo baby?”
“I never said she was lazy. She seems adept at screwing
things up in a legal sense,” Garrett admitted. “I kind of wish she was lazy.
Then I wouldn’t be dealing with one definite lawsuit and another potential one.
I swear she’s like a bull in a china shop. Shouldn’t someone have taught her
some subtlety?”
“Subtlety has never been my strong suit,” a familiar voice
said. A voice that sent a shiver down Keane’s spine. Not a good one since it
was obvious she’d been listening in.
Red. When he turned around she stood in the narrow hall that
led from the door of the plane into the cabin. She wore casual clothes, jeans
and a button-down that hugged her every curve. She had an obviously expensive
bag thrown over her shoulder and sunglasses that hid her eyes.
Her hair… Oh, her hair was a fucking glorious thing. The
night before it had been perfectly straight, but now it curled and in a wild
way that made him wonder how she would look naked with all that hair.
Not that she was going to talk to them again. Except maybe
to fire them.
Garrett’s whole demeanor had changed. He looked happy, like
he didn’t know what was actually happening. Like he thought this was a good
thing. He stood. “Red.” He grinned at her. “I mean I know that’s not your real
name, but I don’t have anything else to call you. I’m Garrett, by the way. And
this is Keane. I’m so happy to see you.”
She flipped her sunglasses up, and there was ice in her
gaze. “Are you? I’m surprised. You’re happy to see a ball-busting nepo baby who
treats the business like she’s Godzilla and Barnes-Fleetwood is her own
personal Tokyo?”
Garrett had the graciousness to flush. “I shouldn’t have
said that. Is she a friend of yours? Please don’t tell her I said that. I was
irritated that you snuck away this morning.”
“Dude,” Keane tried. He knew what was happening. For all his
intellectual skill, Garrett sometimes heard what he wanted to hear. Keane was
way more of a realist.
“You want my name?” Red set her bag down on the seat
furthest from them. “It’s Olivia Barnes-Fleetwood, and don’t feel bad. I was
telling my mother earlier how unexcited I was to spend time with a lawyer. I’ll
admit, as arrogant as you are in emails, I thought you would be at least sixty
with tons of experience. I should have remembered you’re male. You’re born
arrogant.” She turned Keane’s way. “What were you saying? Were you agreeing
with your friend? Am I a bull in a china shop?”
“I wouldn’t know, Ms. Barnes-Fleetwood. I don’t touch the