Wanton Read online

  Also by Evelyn Adams

  For the Billionaire's Pleasure

  Wired for You

  Wrapped Around You

  For the Billionaire's Pleasure - Eric & Julie

  Wrapped

  Around

  You

  For the Billionaire's Pleasure - Luke & Claire

  Wired

  Wanton

  Won

  Wanted

  Saints and Sinners

  Deposition and a Dare

  Southerland Security

  Falling Free

  Wicked Intent

  Closer This Time

  Slow Motion

  Breathe Me In (Coming Soon)

  Studio 1247

  Bound Collection

  The Southerlands

  Feels Like Home

  Loving Bailey

  Practical Arrangement

  Riding the Pause

  A Little Bit Closer

  Love at the Lost and Found

  Laws of Attraction

  Someone to Love

  Halfway to Happily Ever After

  Feels Like Family

  House On Fire

  Southerlands: The Complete Collection

  Southerlands: Volume One

  Southerlands: Volume Three

  Southerlands: Volume Two

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Copyright

  CLAIRE ENGLISH HELD ONTO THE door handle and prayed hard as Luke Masters maneuvered the car as fast as he could safely go on a freeway full of rush hour traffic. Sparks, the construction manager on Luke’s job, hadn’t said who’d fallen or how bad it was, only that Luke needed to get back to the jobsite and bring Claire along.

  Which meant it was someone from her crew who was hurt. Nothing else made sense, but thinking about it made Claire’s chest tight with fear. The guys on her crew were more like family than employees. Even the newest had been with her for years and some of the older guys like Pete signed on with English Electrical Contracting back when her father started the company decades ago. She couldn’t stand it if anything happened to any of them, especially not on one her jobs. Just earlier that day Mike had been talking about the new baby he and his wife were expecting.

  How was she supposed to tell Cecelia, Mike’s wife, or any of the wives for that matter, if something had happened to their husbands? Gripping the handle hard enough to turn her knuckles white, she prayed silently, promising God anything she could think of to keep her crew safe.

  “We’ll handle it, sweetheart,” said Luke in the seat beside her. His eyes were locked on the road as he wove in between the other cars. “Whatever it is, we’ll handle it together.”

  Nodding, she leaned forward in her seat, willing the car to go faster. Less than an hour earlier she’d been furious with Luke and willing to walk away or let him walk away because of the way he handled things on the house she was flipping. Now none of that seemed important anymore. The only thing that mattered was getting to the jobsite, figuring out what happened and helping whoever needed it.

  She tried Pete’s cell phone, hanging up when she got his voice mail again. She hadn’t been able to get any of her guys on the phone.

  “Still no answer?”

  “No,” she said, holding the phone on her lap like a talisman.

  “We’re almost there.” He took the exit ramp fast enough to make the tires squeal.

  As bad as the traffic was, Claire could at least be grateful that it seemed like they were the only ones trying to get back into the city. The Ashton Court project was just outside the major metropolitan area on the opposite side of the city from the house Claire was flipping. Two turns and a half dozen lights and they were finally pulling into the gravel lot at the construction site. Luke pulled his car up to the trailer, parking it beside the cruiser already sitting there. There no sign of an ambulance and Claire’s chest relaxed a fraction of an inch. Whoever had fallen must still be alive.

  A group of men stood together in front of the trailer, not talking. She saw some of her crew huddled together and she let out a shaky breath when she saw Mike’s back amongst the other men. That is until he turned around and she caught a glimpse of his face. His expression was one of gut wrenching pain, and it looked like he’d been crying.

  Claire was out of the Veyron and moving toward her crew before the car came to a complete stop.

  “What is it?” she asked, pushing past the framers. “What happened?”

  “Dios mio,” said Mike, his face crumpling. “It’s Pete. He fell from six.”

  Claire staggered like she’d been punched in the stomach. Before she could stumble, Luke was there with his arms around her, a solid steady presence at her back.

  She saw Mike’s eyes widen a bit and remembered the conversation she’d had with Pete about Luke. Could it have just been a couple of hours ago? She sucked in a breath, blinking hard against the tears filling her eyes.

  “Is he...” She started the question but couldn’t bring herself to finish it.

  “He was alive when the paramedics came,” said Mike, his voice cracking. “But so broken. He was so broken, Claire.”

  Silent tears streamed down the young electrician’s face and seeing him break finished Claire. Letting out a sob, she pulled out of Luke’s arms and went to Mike, wrapping her arms around his strong shoulders. She hugged him for a moment as he cried and when he pulled himself back together, she swiped at her own tears before looking at each member of her crew.

  “We’ll take care of Pete and his family. I’ll make sure of it,” she said, squeezing hands and meeting their eyes with her tear filled ones. The men nodded silently more than a few of them with tears flooding their own eyes. “Can you tell me what happened?” she asked, pulling Mike to the side.

  “That’s what we’re trying to figure out, Ms. English.”

  Claire turned to see a man in street clothes but wearing a badge, coming out of the construction trailer. A slumped over Sparks stood in the doorway behind him.

  “Mr. Masters,” said the detective, nodding to Luke. “Could you and Ms. English step inside for a moment? I’ve got a few questions for you.”

  “Of course,” said Luke, wrapping a protective arm around her waist and shepherding her toward the trailer.

  “Andrews and Bishop are going to need talk to each of you, and OSHA will have their own questions.” The detective motioned from the gathered men to the two uniformed officers climbing out of the newly arrived patrol car. “After they take your statements, you may go. The jobsite will be closed until at least tomorrow.”

  “I will call you all as soon as I know something,” said Claire, pulling out of Luke’s arm to face her crew. She missed his warmth and strength the instant she stepped away from his touch, but this was her crew, her man down. It was her responsibility.

  Mike and the rest of her guys nodded, and she turned back to follow Sparks into the trailer, Luke and the detective behind her.

  “Aw, honey,” said Sparks, his face a gray mask.

  She reached for him, giving his work roughened hand a squeeze.

  “Someone has to tell Maria. Does she know?”

  Sparks swallowed hard and nodded. “I gave Pete’s emergency contact information to the
paramedics and the detectives.” He motioned with his head to the man climbing into the trailer behind them and to another man sitting on the stool in front of the drafting table. He wore jeans and a plain gray T-shirt with a jacket covering a bulge Claire was pretty sure was his gun.

  “Ms. English, I’m Detective Benson,” he said, standing and offering her his hand.

  “Detective.” She shook his hand and moved to stand behind Sparks’s paper covered desk, making room for Luke and the other detective in the narrow room.

  Detective Benson shook Luke’s hand and motioned for them to sit. Luke pulled out the desk chair for her but stood behind her instead of sitting. He let his hands rest on her shoulders in a gesture which managed to be both possessive and reassuring.

  “Are the two of you an item?” asked Benson.

  “No,” said Claire at the same time Luke said, “Yes.”

  “I see,” said the detective, the corner of his mouth curving slightly. “When was the last time you saw Mr. Lester?”

  “This afternoon,” said Claire, thinking back the way Pete had talked to her, treating her more like a daughter than his employer. “We went over the lighting plans for the units on the sixth floor.”

  “I guess that explains what Mr. Lester was doing on the sixth floor while everyone else was on five.”

  “He was going to start moving some of the materials up to get ready for the rough-in,” said Claire.

  “Any idea why he would have been near the window openings?”

  Claire thought for a minute, but nothing about it made sense. The windows hadn’t been installed on six. There was no reason for Pete to even be close to the exterior wall. “I have no idea,” she said, finally. “Detective, can you tell me what happened, please? I need to get to the hospital. I’ve known Pete and his family since I was a girl. He’s been with the company since my dad started it.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t know much more than you do. We know Mr. Lester fell from the sixth floor, but no one knows why he would have been working near the window or what he was doing that put him in harm’s way. At this point we haven’t ruled out foul play. Do you have any reason to believe he was unhappy or was there anyone he was having trouble with?”

  Claire thought about Pete’s comments about the framers, but he hadn’t said anything concrete. Nothing she’d feel comfortable telling the detectives anyway.

  “None that I know of. Can we please go?” She needed to get to the hospital to prove to herself that Pete would be okay and to reassure Maria that she didn’t have to worry. She’d make sure she was taken care of for as long a Pete was laid up.

  “I don’t see why not. Until we know more, we’re going to have to treat the site as a crime scene. I’ll let you know when we’ve cleared the building for construction to resume.”

  “Detective, do you really think it was a crime? Did someone do this to Pete?” she asked, ice flooding her veins at the thought.

  “I don’t know, Ms. English, but I intend to find out.”

  LUKE GLANCED OVER at Claire buckled in the passenger’s seat next to him. She hadn’t said ten words to him since they left the Ashton Court site, and he would give anything to know what was going on inside that gorgeous head of hers.

  At first when the detective mentioned closing the jobsite Luke had thought it was just a precaution, but nothing about the story made any sense. He didn’t know Pete, but Claire did and she didn’t seem to think he had any reason to be near the window openings. He had a hard time imagining her keeping anyone deliberately reckless on her payroll. Which left the very real possibility of foul play.

  An image of the vandalism at Claire’s flip house followed that thought, and Luke couldn’t help but wonder if they were related. The idea of someone who was willing to kill taking a special interest in Claire had him white knuckling the steering wheel. The incidents probably weren’t connected but he wasn’t taking any chances – not with Claire. He made a mental note to call the detective and tell him about the vandalism and to tell Jackson, his head of security, to do whatever he needed to do to keep both properties and Claire safe.

  He stole a quick glance at her as he slowed for the exit to the hospital. Her eyes were closed, and she clutched her phone like a lifeline, mouthing what looked like please please please over and over. It killed him to see her fighting so hard to hold on. After their fight at her flip house and everything else that had happened to them today, all he wanted to do was take care of her. All he’d ever wanted to do was make things easier for her.

  In hindsight, he guessed he could see why she’d been so pissed. Watching her with her crew, she’d been so honest and vulnerable and at the same time so strong. They looked to her – all of them – to tell them what to expect. To lead them. No wonder she’d resented him stepping in and taking over. They’d have time to deal with all of that later. He’d apologize again, and they’d work through it. Right now, he had to get her to the hospital. He punched a button on the steering wheel and in a few seconds his PA answered.

  “Yes, Mr. Masters?”

  “Colin, I need you to call Triad General and find out what room Pete Lester is in and his condition if you can. Pull as many strings as you need to and call me right back. We’re about fifteen minutes out.”

  “Of course,” he said, before disconnecting.

  “They won’t tell you anything, will they?” asked Claire, her eyes wide with smallest glimmer of hope.

  “Probably,” he said, reaching for her hand. It felt good to be able to touch her. The simple connection of her hand in his floored him. Despite the horror of what they were dealing with, her hand in his was a point of sweet calm amid the chaos.

  “But you’re not family. I thought they only gave that kind of information to immediate family.”

  “I’m a large donor,” he said, choosing not to elaborate. The truth was it was entirely possible Claire’s Pete was in the wing of the hospital his donations built. He was fairly certain that’s where the ICU was, but calling attention to his money hadn’t worked very well for them in the past. There was no reason to do it now.

  He was turning into the parking garage at the hospital when his phone dinged and Colin’s voice came out of the speaker.

  “We’re here,” said Luke. “Tell me where I’m going.”

  “I’m afraid I have some bad news, sir.”

  “Hold on.” Luke started to pull his hand from Claire’s so he could take Colin off speaker, but she refused to let go.

  “No,” she said, taking his hand in both of hers. “I need to hear this.”

  “Okay,” he agreed, knowing she was right and hating it. He slid the car into a parking space, and Claire let go of his hand long enough for him to put it into park. “Go ahead, Colin. I have Ms. English with me. We can both hear you.”

  “I’m so sorry, sir, miss, but Mr. Lester passed away shortly after he arrived at the hospital.”

  Claire let out a sob so full of heartache and pain it tore at Luke’s chest. He murmured a quick thanks to Colin and disconnected the call, reaching across the seat for her.

  “Oh, sweetheart,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “I’m so sorry.”

  She was stiff in his arms to start, but as he held her, he felt her shoulders heave. In moments she’d melted against him, and his shirt was wet with her tears. He didn’t lie to her and tell her everything would be okay. She wouldn’t believe him anyway. He couldn’t make this right, but he’d do everything he could to make things as easy as he could for her, including taking care of Pete’s family.

  He held her, rubbing circles on her back until he felt her crying start to slow. “Let me take you home,” he said, his lips pressed to the top of her head.

  “His family isn’t here anymore are they?”

  “I doubt it. There would be no reason for them to stay. I imagine the family would want to leave as soon as possible.”

  Claire nodded, swallowing hard. “Could you take me to their house? I feel like I need to see
Maria tonight.”

  “Are you sure? You’ve got to be exhausted.” Even in the dim light of the parking garage he could see the dark smudges under her eyes.

  “Pete was more like my uncle than an employee.” Fresh tears started to fall and she swiped at them, shaking her head a little before regaining her control. “I need to make sure Maria knows I’ll take care of her and that she doesn’t have to worry. I owe it to Pete. I owe it to my dad.”

  “Okay,” he said, starting the car and slipping it into gear. “Give me the address.

  IT TOOK A HALF HOUR for them to drive the short distance across the city to an older suburb. Filled with modest houses, it was clean and orderly with flowers in pots on most of the porches and the occasional decorative flag stuck in the postage stamp yards. By the time they arrived it was full dark and the streetlights were on.

  Luke followed Claire’s directions to a well-kept, narrow, white two story on the corner of the street. There wasn’t a single light on in the house, not even the porch light. It was as if the people inside left suddenly without bothering to do the normal things people who lived near the city did, like leave a light on inside and make sure the porch stayed lit. And then he realized that’s probably exactly what had happened. One minute their lives were moving on like normal and the next Pete’s wife was getting the call to drop everything and rush to the hospital. In an instant everything changed.

  The idea wasn’t new to Luke. It had happened more than once during his childhood but he’d never thought of it like this. Not with something tragic happening between two people whom he assumed loved each other enough to stay married for several decades. The idea gave him a fresh pang for the loss even if he didn’t know Pete well enough to mourn the man. He reached for Claire’s hand and waited to see what she wanted to do.

  “They’re not home,” she said, sounding exhausted and resigned. “Maria must have gone home with one of the kids. All but one of them live in the area.” She looked at the empty house for a long moment. “I guess I should wait until tomorrow. I can call Maria in the morning.”