No Regrets: Jani Kay (Firebird Trilogy Book 2) (22 page)

“And does Doctor Muller have any part in your future?” Chloe asked.

Lily was silent for a moment then a smile twisted the corners of her lips. “Yes, I think he does, but only time will tell for sure.”

Kurt walked back into the room, grinning. He seemed more at ease than when they first arrived. “Did I hear someone mention my name? Are you girls talking about me behind my back?”

“Wouldn’t you love to know?” Chloe laughed.

“We better get going before Doctor Kurt gets angry.” I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Come, Chloe, we have other things to do.” She followed me out of the room. As we reached the door, I turned and spoke to Kurt. “Please come find me so we can chat when you’re happy that Lily is settled? I’ll be in the library.”

He nodded. “Sure. I’ll find you.” His gaze and full attention turned back to Lily as if nobody else existed in the universe. He leaned forward and gave her the most dazzling smile I’d ever seen on his usually serious face before kissing her gently on her lips.

Love was definitely in the air for those two bookworms. Delighted, I closed the door behind me to give them privacy. Lily deserved to find happiness with the German doctor after everything that had happened to her. She couldn’t have chosen a better man. Not only would Kurt nurse her back to recovery, but he would also protect her and take care of her. Hopefully in
every
way a good woman was worthy of.

S
till reeling from what the police told me, I had to return to France as soon as possible and get my lawyers on board. But before I left Munich, there was something more important I had to do.

No doubt the police would be calling on Rebecca and Chloe to inform them about their suspicions. I had to see Rebecca again and plead my case. I couldn’t bear for her to think I wanted to harm her or that I was in any way involved in the attack on her sister. Hopefully, she’d think it ludicrous too that I was a suspect. She’d support me to clear my name, vouching that I’d never want to hurt her.

Now that the old fucker was dead, it meant I was truly free to marry whomever I wanted. His hold on me was finally over. He couldn’t force me into a loveless marriage. I'd inherit the family title and properties regardless.

After the way I’d hurt her, I couldn’t blame Rebecca for being afraid to give me another chance. In fact, I wasn’t in the least surprised Grant had stepped in to claim her the minute she was available.

He’s her rebound man, that’s all
.

She couldn’t possibly fall out of love with me that fast and I didn’t believe she was truthful about falling for Grant either. When she turned me down, it was because the duke was still alive and she wanted to spare me the pain of losing my inheritance.

Her words came back to me.
When we were together, I truly believed that I loved you.
That love was still there—it had to be.

Maybe my way of thinking was illogical and even bordering on crazy, but if I played my cards right, she’d be on the plane with me and we could start our life together.

I needed Rebecca more than ever. I needed her love and support to help me through the tough times ahead fighting Valerie’s insane claims. I rubbed my temples. The fact she was pregnant added further complication now the duke was dead.

Valerie would fight tooth and nail to not bring a bastard child into the world—her family wouldn’t forgive her for the scandal. Although we were in the twenty-first century, old family traditions and values died hard amongst the elite and royalty who’d been privileged throughout the centuries. They saw it as their birthright.

Some, like the duke, clung to old belief systems because they chose to. Valerie’s family was no different. Promising their newborn daughter to the duke to marry his son had been as natural to them as seeing the sun rise.

Puzzled, I couldn’t work out why Valerie would lie and accuse me of pushing the duke. If she wanted to marry me to prevent her child from being illegitimate, she was going about it the wrong way. Unless she wanted a husband who’d give her a title but spent his life in jail for murder, it didn’t make sense.

Whatever Valerie’s crazy plans, mine were exactly the opposite. Once I cleared my name regarding the death of the duke, I planned to marry Rebecca as I should have months ago. Grant would not stand in my way. Convinced that as soon as I explained that I was free, Rebecca would come to her senses and admit that her feelings for me still existed, I called the driver to take me back to the fortress.

My plan was simple. I had it all worked out in my head.

One: I see her, tell her I’m a free man.

Two: Rebecca admits Grant was just a temporary fling to get over her heartbreak.

Three: Rebecca comes to France with me.

Four: Proving my innocence on both charges is a formality.

Five: I marry Rebecca and we have our own family and live happily on the land I love.

Smiling, I leaned back in the seat as the driver sped down the highway toward the fortress.

“I’m here to see Miss Rebecca Clarke,” I announced as we arrived at the gate. “It's urgent business.”

The security guard didn’t move a muscle on his face. He walked into the guardhouse and picked up a phone. He spoke to someone in German, a deep frown between his brows as he nodded his head. Fuck, it wasn’t looking good.

“Access denied,” he said, his face remaining expressionless.

“You don’t understand. Please let me speak to Rebecca. She will give me access.” I climbed out of the car so we were eye-to-eye when we talked.

“Negative,” he said, widening his stance, his hand on the weapon tucked into a holster on his hip. Fuck, Grant wasn’t playing games.

Contemplating bribery, I gave it one last shot before I offered him money. Everyone had a price. “I need to talk to her. One minute. Please.”

His eyes were cold. “Denied.”

Jesus fucking Christ. I leaned forward, my hands on my knees, feeling sick to the stomach. My fucking world was falling apart by the minute.

“Alain? What are you doing here?”

My head jerked up. Chloe wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, wearing only skimpy shorts and a running top that exposed her bare midriff.

“Chloe.” I grinned. “Hello. I could ask you the same question?”

“Jogging around the prison grounds. Stress relief and staying fit all in one.”

She laughed as she leaned over to catch her breath. I looked down her top at the sexy cleavage greeting me. Was she doing it on purpose? She stood back up and took a long drink from her bottle, allowing droplets of water to splash on her breasts. Jesus, this woman knew how to get a man hard in no time.

“Security won’t let me in,” I said, nodding my head toward the burly man who was pretending not to stare at Chloe. He’d have to be a robot not to like what he saw.

“That’s crazy.” She shook her head.

Maybe Chloe could help me get in. “Chloe, I need to speak to Rebecca. I’ve had some terrible news about my father and I need to tell her. She would want to know.”

She walked up to the gate and addressed the security guy. “Hey, it's okay to let him in. Alain is a friend of mine.”

The guy gave her a sheepish half smile. “I'm sorry. My orders are to not let him in.”

“That’s fucking ridiculous! Who told you that?” she huffed.

“Mr. Grant and Ms. Clarke.”

A pang went through my heart. I expected his answer to be Grant, but Rebecca...that hurt.

“Let me speak to Rebecca,” Chloe said, smiling seductively at the guy. He pulled a two-way radio from the clip on his waistband and pressed a button. He spoke into it and waited a moment before passing it to Chloe.

“Hey, Sis.” Her voice was smooth as honey. “Alain is at the gate,” she purred sweetly. “He has something important to tell you. About his father.”

For a long moment, I could only hear static crackle on the radio.

Rebecca’s voice was clear and assertive. “Okay, but he needs to leave his ID at the gate. And a full body search. I'm not taking chances.” She didn’t sound pleased, but that didn’t stop Chloe from grinning.

“Sure, no problem. Please tell the security guy. Thanks.” She passed the radio back to the guy.

I removed my ID from my wallet and handed it to him. He grimaced as he took it from me, not happy that he had been overruled. Tough shit. At least I was getting inside. He frisked me and checked the trunk of the car, then nodded.

The gates opened and Chloe came outside and jumped into the back seat next to me.

“Tired,” she said as she rested her head against my shoulder. Her hand ran up my thigh, burning through the fabric. My chest tightened, making it difficult to breath.

Chloe made my head spin in a way that caught me completely off guard. Sexuality poured from her.

Erotic. Sensual. Raw.

I sucked air into my lungs, inhaling the scent of her sweat mixed with her minty breath. So fucking primal, she woke something in me that I had to fight every time I was in her presence.

Indescribable.

Uncontrollable.

She made me forget everything but her in that moment.

Merde
.
Rein it in.

I was here for Rebecca. I wasn’t an animal to give in to carnal urges, regardless of how strong the forces.

Yet I couldn’t deny the chemistry between us. Since I’d met Chloe, I found myself thinking of her often. It surprised the hell out of me when I realized it wasn’t because she looked so similar to Rebecca. It was her personality that captured me, drawing me in and making me want to learn more about her.

The car came to a stop at the imposing front door all too soon. Chloe smiled up at me, her eyes flashing with lust as she rested her hand on my cock. Sweet Jesus. This woman knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to go for it.

“Alain,” she whispered on a shaky breath.

She looked up into my eyes, hers blazing with passion. Unapologetic.

It was sexy as fuck. I sucked in a breath and lifted her hand off my dick, but it was too late. I was already hard as a rock.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she said, her lips quivering. “I...I don’t usually touch men I hardly know.” A small smile twisted her lips. “I can't help myself with you.”

Still holding her hand, I stroked over it with my thumb as our eyes locked. “I get it. It's bizarre. I feel as if I've known you my whole life.”
Merde
. What shit was I babbling? This didn’t make sense.

Confused, I dropped her hand and shifted to the door. This was fucking with my head. I was here to see Rebecca, to ask her to come to France with me now that the duke was dead. But all the time I was with Chloe, I never once thought of Rebecca. Chloe consumed all of me, every atom in my body responding to her to the exclusion of everything else.

Fuck. How in hell did this happen?

D
etermined to get to the bottom of this, it was time to call in a few favors from people who owed me. My woman was in danger and it was my job to protect her.

The one person who could give me valuable advice would be my brother, Ryder, who as part of a Motorcycle club had connections all around the world. I dialed his number, aware that it was early morning in California and that he'd curse me for calling before he got up. The phone rang a few times before he picked up.

“Max, what the fuck, man? It's like four-thirty am. You better be bleeding somewhere on the side of the road to be calling me now.”

“Hello, Ryder. Nice talking to you, too.”

“What’s up, brother? You didn’t call to hear my voice.”

I cut to the chase. “Right as usual. I need your help.”

“Hit me,” he said, yawning.

I told him all about the assault on Lily, about Chloe arriving and Alain showing up too, hardly drawing a breath as I filled him in.

“You’re in Germany? Shouldn’t you be in New York to deal with Natasha? Did you watch the talk show? I'm thinking you didn’t because you haven’t mentioned her and that’s what I thought you were calling about.”

“Natasha? Fuck. With all the drama and the time difference, I forgot to watch. Did she have anything nice to say at all?”

“Brother, you’re not going to like it. Google it. I’m sure there are clips on the internet. I'm not telling you in case you shoot the messenger.”

I sighed. Natasha was going to make this as difficult as she possibly could. She was wasting her damn time. Mine too. “That bad, huh? I’ll watch as soon as I get off the phone.”

We talked a few more minutes, tossing around ideas on how to find the attacker.

“I’ll dig into informants, Max. Information can be had for a price. What’s the limit you are prepared to pay for the attacker’s name? Somebody in the underground will be prepared to spill their guts for the right amount of cash.”

I pulled at the collar of my shirt. “Yeah, I know. There’s no limit. Just get me the info, Ryder. If something happens to Rebecca...I don’t even want to think of the possibility.” My chest tightened.
Fuck.

“The Frenchman. He sounds pretty suspect to me. If he wants Rebecca back, he sounds like the kind of guy who’d go to any lengths to do that. Mistaken identity. I can see how that happened to Lily. You’ve got your hands full, brother.”

I let out a long sigh. “Fuck. I sure do. Thanks for the heads up about Natasha. Call me when you have info or a name. I’ll get my security guys onto it.”

“Okay. If there’s anything else, just call.”

“Thanks, Ryder. Give Jade a kiss from me.” I had to chuckle at the growl he replied with. Yeah, when it came to our women, we didn’t share.

I turned on the television and flicked through the channels. Because of the time difference, there was a chance I could catch a snippet of Natasha’s guest appearance on the talk show.
It must be bad if Ryder doesn’t want to talk about it
. I’d sue the bitch for slander if she said one bad thing about Rebecca.

I sucked in a breath. There it was. A repeat of a snippet on the news. Natasha sat there in the shortest skirt I'd ever seen her wear, her long legs crossed in front of her. Her eyes were red from crying and she dabbed a tissue at them. I gritted my teeth. I knew this fucking little-girl-lost tactic of hers only too well. Problem was it worked on most men. Fuck, it had even worked on me.