His Southern Temptation

chapter Seventeen


“Eddie Wilkes, if you touch Taylor Elliott again I will kill you.”

Lucky barged past the assistant and a startled security man and entered the expensively appointed office of the man who hid his numerous criminal activities behind the facade of a successful financier. Jack was fast on his heels, having insisted on providing backup for this field trip.

Eddie was seated behind a big modern desk in the office overlooking the floor of the largest bank he owned in downtown Roanoke. Eddie didn’t even flinch, calmly putting down his pen and lifting a remote that closed the curtains and gave them privacy. Mr. Clean leaned on a ledge to the right of the desk, his only acknowledgement a nod in their direction. Lucky wasn’t worried about a gunfight—he’d brought a piece—but he doubted Eddie would try to off him at one of his legitimate locations.

“Mr. Landon. Mr. Cantrell. I figured you’d stop by after what happened yesterday.”

“I’m going to make this clear, Eddie.” Lucky spat out the words as he leaned against the desk and into Wilkes’s personal space. He gave the guy mental kudos when he didn’t even flinch. “Taylor’s off-limits. One hair on her head gets knocked out of place by a brisk wind and you’re a dead man.”

“Landon, I have no doubt you can very easily follow through with your threat, but this is business. Sarah Morgan took something that belongs to me and I think your Taylor knows where it is.”

The way he said “your Taylor” made his skin crawl. “She doesn’t. Leave her alone.”

“I wish I could, but this is about money, and I can’t let it go.” Eddie’s eyes were devoid of any warmth. He was so cold-blooded not even the mention of money brightened his demeanor. Lucky filed the observation in the back of his mind. Eddie wouldn’t act rashly or emotionally—anything he did would be calculated and precise to get the results he wanted. And that included using Taylor.

“What kind of money are we talking about?” Jack asked, reminding Lucky and everyone else he was standing by.

“Two hundred thousand dollars,” Eddie said, his tone sour.

Lucky snorted out a laugh. “What happened, Eddie? You yell out your account passwords when you come?”

Eddie chuckled, the humor never quite alleviating the flatness in his eyes. “I don’t, but apparently Bodean Taggert does. Sarah Morgan took my money and I want it back.”

“So you didn’t have anything to do with her disappearance?” Lucky asked.

“No. Although I can’t promise I won’t after I get my money back.” Eddie leaned back in his chair, a cold smile on his face. He was enjoying himself. “When you find her, you could bring her to me and I’ll pay you. Give you a little more cash to help bail out the old family farm.”

Lucky wasn’t surprised. Eddie didn’t get where he was without knowing his opponent, but the implication that he might involve his family in this mess made his palms itch for the familiar weight of his gun. He leaned over a little bit more and saw the tiniest twitch of alarm just below Eddie’s left eye. Good. You should be afraid.

“Tell you what, a*shole. You’re going to leave Taylor alone or I’m going to kill you. Not Mr. Clean over there—although I’d love get a piece of him. Not some poor little schmuck you send to my house—you. I’m done looking for Sarah Morgan, so you’re going to have to find her yourself.”

“That’s too bad, Mr. Landon.” Eddie pushed back in his chair, standing to look Lucky in the eye. “I’d hoped we could do some business together. If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

“If I come looking for you again, I’m pulling my gun. Fair warning,” Lucky said and turned to stalk out the door with Jack. They walked in lockstep, a casual pace calculated to send a message to Eddie, who was no doubt watching them on his security cameras. They weren’t scared and they weren’t running. Lucky wasn’t worried for himself, but Eddie was just crazy enough to go after Taylor. It wasn’t until they cleared the building and pulled away in Lucky’s truck that Jack broke the silence.

“So what’s next?”

“We find Sarah Morgan,” Lucky said. “It’s the only way to make sure Taylor is safe.”

…

“Thanks for stopping by to visit me on my house arrest.”

Taylor laughed and dodged the swat Lucky aimed at her ass, but didn’t resist when he pulled her back against him as he leaned against the Elliott House kitchen island. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she snuggled back into the comfort of his warm, hard body.

Michaela and Jack sat on the barstools, the remains of the meal they’d brought over from the Southern Comfort scattered on the counter. Taylor had been on the verge of a hissy fit when they’d shown up, offering conversation and laughs with good friends. She was going a little stir-crazy in this house and needed the diversion.

“Stop bitching, Tay,” Lucky growled, emphasizing his admonition with a nip at her earlobe. “It’s been two days. You act like you’re serving a life sentence at Alcatraz.”

“Easy for you to say. You get to leave the house and see people.”

Lucky cupped her jaw in his hand, turning her head so she had to make eye contact. His lips were curved in a sexy smile, but his eyes burned with a heat that usually led to activities not appropriate for company.

“I always make it up to you at night, don’t I?” He kissed her mouth, a soft brush of their lips, a quick swipe of his tongue. Her hands involuntarily rose, grabbing his hair and drawing his mouth back down to hers. “I didn’t hear you complaining last night when I—”

“Whoa. Okay. Down boy.” Jack stood up and grabbed his beer off the counter with one hand and Lucky’s arm with the other. “Michaela promised me I’d get to watch the game if I came over here tonight and let her get in some girl talk with Taylor. Let’s go.”

Taylor laughed as she watched the two friends walk down the hallway, joking and shoving as they made their way to the family room.

“I hope they don’t break anything. Mother will arrange for both of them to be killed.” Taylor sat down next her new friend, enjoying the easy way between the two of them. They’d talked often since the pedicure date, and Taylor admired the gentle, quiet way Michaela approached her life. She seemed so sure of everything.

“I don’t know how they both lived long enough to grow into adulthood. All four of the boys seemed hell-bent on getting into trouble.” Michaela smiled as she sipped her wine.

“Yeah, but they made growing up here a lot of fun.”

“I know I loved it at first sight.” Michaela paused, “So, will you stay and go into business with Sissy?”

“Maybe.” Taylor wasn’t sure how to explain all the crap swirling around in her head. Pros. Cons. All valid and equally important. It came down to whether she was going to follow her head or her heart. “I’ve seen Sissy’s plans and they’re wonderful. The new place will be open, modern, and luxurious, but not too over-the-top for Elliott. My research shows the market is ripe for this kind of business.”

“But…?”

“But the business part is the easy decision. I just need to get smart on the business climate, run my numbers, and get a hefty loan. The hard part is Lucky.”

With Lucky in the equation, staying wasn’t the only option, but it sure was becoming a damn appealing one.

“He really wants you to stay.” Taylor was surprised at Michaela’s observation. “He hasn’t said anything outright, at least not to me, but you can tell. I only know a little that Jack has told me about the two of you, but I think this is something Lucky has wanted for a long time. He hides a lot behind the jokes, but not this. He lives and breathes for you.”

“I don’t have the best track record when it comes to men. I don’t want to make a mistake when so much is on the line.”

“My love life was a disaster”—Michaela looked over to where Jack and Lucky had disappeared, her eyes turning a little misty with her memories—“until I met Jack. And while it wasn’t perfect from the moment we met, when I finally figured out he was the one, it made every other choice secondary to being with him.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. It was like coming home.” Michaela stood, clearing the dishes and loading the dishwasher.

Taylor stood with her, on autopilot as she handed plates and silverware over, thinking about the last few days with Lucky. The other night they’d gone to the farm for dinner and she’d watched Lucky with his dad. The two big men, wrestling over fixing a piece of equipment, mirror images of each other and both intense in their focus. But then Lucky had looked up, spotted her, and excused himself, skirting around farm detritus to beeline for Taylor, his smile growing wider as he got closer. It wasn’t his usual grin—this one was a sultry twist to his full lips, tilted upward with a private joke and softened with affection. A girl could get lost in a smile like that.

It was like coming home.

When she’d ridden out of town in Lucky’s car, putting Elliott in the rearview mirror was the key to her happiness, and she’d been content in Hawaii. It wasn’t a bad life; the only thing missing was someone to share it with, but she got through the rough patches with an occasional affair and good cable TV.

But standing here in this place she had three people who were excited about the possibility that she might stay—as if her presence would somehow make their lives better. It was nice to be wanted.

Something a girl could get used to.