Saved by the Music (Saints & Sinners Book 2) (4 page)

They did know someone who had the knowledge—and then some—to make this happen. A five-foot-eight curvy brunette who always got under his skin—Ashlee. When Trish smiled at him, he knew she realized he had managed to put the pieces together.

“Ashlee.” Her name came out as a whisper on his lips; she was pure temptation wrapped in killer curves and one hell of a sharp mind. Every time they found themselves attending the same charity functions, Sam couldn’t stay away from her. The woman was a magnet, drawing him in with every look, every smile. She was so out of his league, but he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about her.

“Yes. Ashlee is the person you want on your side if you’re planning to launch a charity. She’s the best when it comes to philanthropy, and she specializes in high-profile clients.” Trish handed Emma to Jarrod before sitting beside her husband.

“Wait, who is this Ashlee?”

Austin’s question brought him out of his daydream. “Ashlee Daniels, a private consultant out of Atlanta who works exclusively with philanthropists, activists, and nonprofit entities. She specializes in nonprofit start-ups, program development, and campaign planning. She’s smart, witty, and she’s damn good at her job.” He caught Trish’s smile from the corner of his eye. If he had to bet, he would even say that Ashlee already knew about this.

“And where did you meet someone like her? Isn’t she out of your league, man?” He looked at Austin, who was clearly enjoying trying to get a rise out of him. He never lost control, but if someone could make him go off the reservation, it was Ashlee Daniels. She awoke urges in him he didn’t even know he had, but when it came to her, there were a lot of things he didn’t understand.

“Shut up, Austin. She’s a friend of Trish’s, and we’ve attended some of the same charity functions over the years. She’s one of the top consultants in her field.” He didn’t give them the full story; if they knew he double-checked every guest list to see if she would attend, he would never hear the end of it.

“And how hot is this Ashlee Daniels?”

Sam’s whole body tensed at the idea of Austin making a move on her. The thought of another man touching her, or getting to know the woman behind the persona,
made him sick to his stomach. He wanted to be that man. “She’s off-fucking-limits, Austin.”

If he were honest, he would tell them he was too scared to make a move on her. Austin was right; she was way out of his league.

Austin laughed and put his hands in the air. “That hot, huh? Well, shit, I’m all for it.”

“I’m serious, man. Off-limits.”

Austin nodded, his way of telling Sam to chill the fuck out. But Sam’s whole body was wired and ready to explode at the thought of Austin getting too friendly with Ashlee.

An hour later, Sam was still wound up from the conversation about Ashlee. When he came up with the idea for the band to start their own charity, he hadn’t realized she was the perfect person to help them make this dream come true.

Shit, just the thought of working closely with her day in and day out had him hard as a rock, his mind cloudy with images of her panting underneath him, screaming his name as he fucked her into oblivion. But he couldn’t let that happen because nothing could jeopardize this project; it meant too much to him, and too many kids depended on it.

“So the guys all agreed that you should be the one to go to Atlanta to meet with Ashlee. It’s your baby, so it makes sense you’d be the one going.” He turned around from the window when he heard Trish’s voice. He had been so far gone in his own head that he hadn’t even heard her come into the room.

“Sure, that makes sense.” This was such a fucking bad idea. There was no way he could ever see Ashlee and not let his dick do all the thinking.

“I called her yesterday. I wanted to make sure her schedule was open for this. She has a lot going on right now, so I didn’t want to add to her plate.”
So she planned this.
He should have known that Trish would be one step ahead. But his thoughts stayed on how concerned she sounded about Ashlee’s life, and his protective instincts kicked in right away.

“What’s going on?” The thought that Ashlee was in some kind of trouble or that she was unhappy woke up something primitive inside him. The need to shield her from whatever it was that was making her life harder than it had to be was as strong as his will to breathe.

“Her dad passed away a few months ago, and her mom was diagnosed with cancer last month. She’s been in the hospital for a couple of weeks now with a series of infections and it’s taking a toll on Ashlee, both physically and emotionally.” He couldn’t even begin to imagine how hard the past couple of months must have been. From the little bit he knew about her, he knew how close she was to her family.

“Does she have any family who can help her?” He knew firsthand what the weight of having to care for someone could do to a person. Ashlee had the biggest heart of anyone he’d ever met, and he had a pretty good feeling that she was shouldering this by herself. Based on the little knowledge he had on her, he knew she would do whatever she could to keep someone else from carrying the burden and the responsibilities.

“She’s all alone. I hate that she doesn’t have anyone to help her, or just to listen to her vent. I’ve known her for a long time, and she’s one of the most amazing women I know. To think about her going through all this alone kills me.” Trish didn’t say anything else. She just looked at him like she was trying to read his mind. He hated when she did that because she always managed to read him like a book. “You know, she’s single.”

He laughed and leaned against the window. “Is that right?” He shouldn’t like the fact that she was single so much, but fuck did he ever.

“Yep. Just thought you’d like to know.” The little minx definitely had something up her sleeve. She looked too happy with herself for her not to have some sort of plan in motion.

“What are you up to, Patricia Banks?”

She kissed his cheek and hugged him like it would make everything better. And for a moment, it did. “I just want you happy, Sam. You deserve it.”

He bit his tongue to keep himself from saying he
didn’t
deserve it, knowing that would just get her all rattled up.

Sam managed to get a flight out to Atlanta later that day. As he boarded the plane, he caught sight of an elderly couple holding hands in their seats. He smiled because that was exactly what he wanted to share with someone—years of memories and true love. As he drifted off to sleep midway to Atlanta, the memory that came to him was the furthest thing from happy times.

He knew he was too small to stop his dad from hitting his mom, but he couldn’t stand there anymore and watch his mother get punched in the stomach time after time. He ran to the kitchen and grabbed his dad by the legs, pulling him away from his mother’s body lying on the floor, but the man barely moved an inch.

“You little bastard. You can’t even protect your own mother. You’re such a little piece of shit.” Sam felt his dad’s leg hit him in the stomach, and he landed on his side a foot away from where the man stood, a bat in his hands. “You think you can come at me like that? You ungrateful little piece of shit.”

He could barely make out the sound of his dad’s voice over his mother’s screams, and when the baseball bat connected with his arm, Sam screamed in pain as his shoulder was wrenched out of the socket. His dad knelt beside him, pushing down on Sam’s injured shoulder.

“Fucking pussy. Look at you, fucking crying like a little girl. You’re a fucking disgrace.” His dad slapped him before getting back on his feet.

Sam watched his dad carefully, trying to figure out what he was going to do next, but to his surprise, the man turned to his mother.

“Clean this mess up.” And then he was gone.

His mom crawled over to him. “Let me clean this up and then I’ll fix you up, baby… I’m so sorry.”

Sam jolted upright as the memory of his mom’s face flashed in his head. He looked around to see if he had made any noise, but no one seemed to be paying him any attention. He scrubbed his face with his hands, and then ordered a double Coke and Crown.

ASHLEE

Focusing on work had never been a problem for Ashlee, but that day she couldn’t seem to focus on anything other than the thought of working with Sam. She wasn’t a stranger to high-profile clients, or even extremely good-looking ones, but never had her thoughts drifted off to dangerous territory. She sat at her desk drinking her tenth cup of coffee for the day, going through some new reports for a client when her phone rang.

She picked it up without checking who it was. All day, her phone had been keeping her from getting through her to-do list, and she could feel her patience
running low. “Ashlee Daniels, how can I help you?”

The minute she opened her mouth, she knew whoever was on the other end of the line would think she was a complete bitch. She sighed and took another sip of coffee, hoping she hadn’t offended a potential client by being so snippy.

“Well, shit, don’t you sound like you’re about to murder someone.”

She smiled at Trish’s words knowing her friend was right.

“Sorry, it’s just been a crazy day.” Crazy was an understatement. That morning, she’d received a call from the hospital telling her the last payment of her mother’s hospital bills had bounced. Then Rebecca called to tell her that one of her clients had decided to opt out of the contract. A little while later, a client called needing damage control after one of their contractors committed human rights violations without them knowing.

“We all have those. And I’m afraid I’m about to make this day crazier for you.” Oh, God, the last thing she needed was for Trish to tell her the guys had decided to work with someone else. She desperately needed the money from their contract to help pay for her mom’s hospital bills—not that she would ever admit that to anyone.

“Am I going to love this, or am I going to hate this?” she asked hesitantly.

“Depends on how you feel about working with Sam, because he just landed in Atlanta to see you.”

Ashlee’s heart skipped a beat as Trish’s words sank in. Sam Brooks was coming to see her. Sam Brooks was going to be in her office.

Pressing an open palm to her cheek, she tried to cool herself down. She needed to get herself under control; there was no way she was going to lust over a client, not even if said client was Sam Brooks.

She had a reputation in the industry, one that screamed professionalism, and there was no way she would risk that. It took years to build a name for herself, and she knew it could all go away in a matter of seconds.

“He’s coming here?” She managed to sound neutral—well, at least she thought she did, until she heard Trish laugh on the other end of the line.

“He should be there within the hour. The guys all approved the project, so it’s a done deal. It’s in your hands now.”

She wondered what the project was exactly. From what she knew about the band’s philanthropic commitments, they were all over the place, but they seemed to focus a lot on children-related issues. This was one project she honestly couldn’t wait to get started on.

“That’s fantastic. You have no idea how much it means that you thought of me for this project. Really, I’m so thankful, Trish,” she said honestly. Yes, she needed the money, but it was more than that. This project might just be what helped her get over the funk she’d been in.

“You’re the best, Ashlee. It was an easy choice. Is everything okay? You sound a bit defeated, and honey, that’s not like you.”

She debated whether or not she should tell Trish about everything going on in her life, but she hated the thought of someone taking pity on her. Pity was one thing she couldn’t handle.

“It’s been a rough couple months, but I’m hanging in there.”

“Do you need help?” She let the question settle in. Did she need help? Yes, she did, but there was no way she was asking her friend for the money to help cover her mom’s medical bills.

She just couldn’t do it. “I’m okay, but thank you.”

“Well, if you change your mind, you just have to ask.”

Her pride would forever keep her from asking anyone for money, but she appreciated the offer nonetheless “Thanks, Trish.”

“No problem. I’m here if you change your mind. Listen, I have to feed Emma, but let me know how the meeting with Sam goes.”

“Will do. Kiss Emma for me.”

Ashlee leaned back in her chair, focusing on keeping herself calm. Sam Brooks was coming, and she was going to be working with him. Oh, God, this was bad, but almost too good to be true.

“Rebecca, get in here. You’ll never believe who’s coming in the office in the next hour.”

She waited for her assistant to peek her head in the doorway before saying more. When Rebecca sat down in front of her with a questioning look, Ashlee laughed like she hadn’t in a long time.

“Okay, so obviously we like whoever is coming in.”

“It’s Sam Brooks.”

She saw the shock register on Rebecca’s face, and before she knew it, she was laughing hysterically again. Rebecca was probably one of the biggest Saints and Sinners fans in the world, not that she would ever let it show when it came to her job. That was one of the reasons why she was so good; no matter who walked into the office, no matter how big a celebrity the client was, she never let it show that she’s a fan. In their line of work, they didn’t have the courtesy of being a fan; the only option they had was being professional.

“Sam Brooks, as in Saints and Sinners, Sam Brooks?”

“The one and only.” She could see the wheels turning and the million questions on the tip of Rebecca’s tongue. She could relate to her assistant’s excitement, even if hers was for different reasons.

“Oh, my God, is Saints and Sinners your new client?” Rebecca yelped, clapping her hands like a five-year-old who just walked into a candy store.

“Yes. They want to start their own charity, and since I’ve known Jarrod’s wife for years, she thought of me for the project.”

And that was when she saw the lightbulb go off in her assistant’s eyes.