Page 61 of Jack of Hearts
“Nothing,” Madison said after she’d searched her father’s desk. “Either of you find anything?” The last thing Madison wanted was for her mother to know what they were up to, so she’d brought Alex and Court to her mother’s house while Angelina was working at the bookstore.
“Nothing yet,” Court said, his fingers flying over the keys of her father’s computer.
“Nope.” Alex lifted a painting, checking behind it. “Did you get a chance to talk to Lauren this morning?”
“I did and got a nice surprise. She broke up with Nelson. Before I could tell her about his spying, she told me that things had cooled between them, and she decided it was time to end it with him.” She shrugged. “That’s Lauren. She’ll be in love with some other guy next week.”
Court muttered something.
“Pardon?” Court shook his head, and she exchanged a glance with Alex. He shrugged, obviously no more clued in about what was going on between his brother and Lauren than she was. She wondered if Lauren’s breaking up with Nelson had anything to do with Court, because the air definitely crackled whenever Court and Lauren were in the same room together. What she didn’t understand was why they pretended to hate each other.
“Did you tell her about catching Lopez in your office?” Alex asked.
“No, not after finding out they’d broken up. Should I?”
“Probably best not to right now. She might decide to confront him. Better that he doesn’t know we’re on to him yet.”
“That’s what I thought.” She looked around, wondering if her father had a secret hiding place. “Should we look for a loose floorboard or something?”
Alex laughed. “You read too many books.”
Court gave an exasperated grunt. “I’ve tried all the common things he might have used as a password, like birthdates, but no go. Your dad have a pet name for you when you were little?”
“Yeah, he did. When I was really young, he called me his little snuggle bear. Why?”
“Just something else to try.” His fingers moved over the keys, then he glanced up at Alex, and a message seemed to pass between them. “Can I take his computer with me? Work some more on it tonight?”
When she hesitated, Alex said, “You can trust him, Mad.” He came and knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his. “Your father’s computer is safe in his hands.” He glanced at Court. “Excuse us a minute.”
“Sure.” Court set the laptop on the desk, then left.
Madison watched him go, marveling again at how much the brothers looked alike. But it was Alex who made her heart race when he focused those black eyes on her, the way he was doing now.
“With everything going on, we really haven’t had a chance to talk about us,” he said. He glanced around the office. “Maybe this isn’t the best place to do it, or maybe it is because I think your father’s spirit is here. From the moment I first saw you I wanted you in my bed. As I got to know you, I knew I wanted you in my life. What I’m saying is that I’m falling hard for you, Madison Parker.”
“Alex—”
“Let me finish. Where you’re concerned, I’ll protect you at all costs, and that goes for my brothers, too. They know how I feel about you, and they know that they’ll have to deal with me if they do anything to hurt you. Trust me, Mad. I’m on your side, and because I am, so are my brothers.”
She wanted to, but she still had that feeling that there was more to him than what he showed her. Yet, she believed he did care for her, and if he was falling for her ...
Alex squeezed her hands. “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
Everything. If she was right, she was a member of a crime family, Lauren’s boyfriend had spied on them, her father’s death might have been a murder instead of a horrible accident, and, well, she could go on, but that was enough to start.
In spite of the questions she still had about Alex, there was one thing she knew, prayed that she knew. She leaned forward and kissed him. “I trust you,” she whispered against his lips. And she did. Mostly.
“Thank you.” He slipped his hand up to her shoulder, circling his fingers around the back of her neck and his thumb under her chin.
As he deepened the kiss, she cradled his cheek with her palm, his stubble a rough scrape against her skin. A sexy rumble sounded low in his throat, and heat crashed through her. She loved the taste of him, the scent of him, the feel of him.
He chuckled as he pulled away. “Another minute and we’ll be rolling around on the floor.”
“Alex,” she said before he opened the door to let Court back in.
“Yeah?”
“I’m falling for you, too.” It hadn’t been easy to put that out there, making herself vulnerable to him, but the soft smile on his face and the way his eyes warmed reassured her.
