King of Clubs (Aces & Eights Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Unnamed

  ALSO BY SANDRA OWENS Aces & Eights Series Jack of Hearts K2 Team Series Crazy for Her Someone Like Her Falling for Her Lost in Her Only Her Regencies The Duke’s Obsession The Training of a Marquess The Letter

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Text copyright © 2017 Sandra Owens All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Published by Montlake Romance, Seattle www.apub.com Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake Romance are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. ISBN-13: 9781542045803 ISBN-10: 1542045800 Cover Designer Credit: Letitia Hasser

  This book is dedicated to Melody Guy because after editing six of my books, believe me, she deserves at least one of them dedicated to her. So thank you, Melody, for being an awesome editor and for never saying, “Have you ever considered a different career?”

  CONTENTS PROLOGUE CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE EPILOGUE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  PROLOGUE Lauren Montgomery slid the key into the lock of her small off-campus apartment, happier than she’d ever been in her twenty-one years. As soon as she got inside, she’d call Court, let him know she’d arrived home safely. Court. Just thinking his name sent a spine-tingling sigh through her. It didn’t matter that she’d only known him for six days. He was her soul mate, and even though she’d seen him nine hours ago, she missed him terribly already. She’d left for spring break on the spur of the moment to celebrate her divorce, never expecting to fall in love. After Stephan, she hadn’t wanted anything to do with men. But she had fallen in love. The insta-love kind that she’d always rolled her eyes at. It had been like right out of a romance novel, the way her gaze had connected with Court’s. From that moment until they’d parted, each to return to school, they had been inseparable. Even as she closed the door behind her, she was pulling her cell phone from her purse, anxious to talk

  CHAPTER ONE Six years later . . . Eight members of the Miami Cubanos Motorcycle Club surrounded Spider, Aces & Eights’ . . . What was Spider exactly? Their mascot? Court Gentry paused to consider the question. Whatever the dude was, he was about to lose a few teeth. Most of the clubs tolerated Spider, even thought he was some kind of good-luck charm and would rub his bald head on the way out the door as they headed for their bikes. The Cubanos, however, hated him. That might be because he’d stumbled out of the bar drunk as a skunk one night and had fallen on the motorcycle belonging to the club’s president, knocking it over. The rest of the gang’s bikes had gone down like dominos. Court sighed. Spider had been told to make himself scarce whenever the Cubanos showed up, but there he was, grinning like an idiot at the eight dudes giving him death glares as they tightened the circle, moving in for the kill. Where the hell were Nate and Alex when he needed them? “You dudes make him bleed,

  CHAPTER TWO Seven months later . . . “Going in,” Court said, the microphone in the overhead light sending his words out to his brothers and the FBI SWAT team standing by. He sat behind the wheel of a metallic-blue “stolen” Lamborghini, which was actually borrowed from a local dealer who’d had two high-dollar cars stolen off his lot. Months of slowly working his way into the auto theft ring had paid off. Tonight, he was finally meeting the ringleader. The promise of a container ship to move automobiles overseas, along with the Lamborghini, had sealed the deal. The container ship was real. It just wasn’t going to be carrying any stolen cars on its decks. But Dan Woods, aka Dragon, president of the Satan’s Minions Motorcycle Club, had taken a tour of the ship borrowed for that purpose, even meeting the supposed captain. In truth, he’d met Rand Stevens, a fellow agent. That had finally convinced Dragon to introduce Court to the leader of the operation. Court turned the car into a lot with

  CHAPTER THREE Lauren gasped. What was Court doing? “No, he isn’t. I swear it, Peter.” “Then why would he say such a thing?” She was almost as afraid of Peter as she was of Stephan. Her instinct was to take off and never look back. But, unknowingly, Court had put a big, fat target on his back, and she had to make Stephan’s brother believe Court meant nothing to her. “A misplaced sense of gallantry? I hardly know the man, so how am I supposed to know how his mind works? Tell Stephan I’ll come see him.” She’d set foot in the prison where Stephan was serving his sentence for almost killing her when hell froze over. But she had to make Peter believe it so he would go away. “This week, Lauren. If you don’t, I’ll come take you to him myself.” He gave her a hard stare, letting her know he meant it. She watched him walk across the street where Grigory, his driver, waited. Grigory gave her a nod after closing the rear door of the Mercedes. He had always been nice to her, even though she’d suspec

  CHAPTER FOUR Lauren paid the driver, and after a quick look around, she hurried into the bus station. She’d forced herself to wait until she was sure Court was asleep before finally sneaking out. He wasn’t going to be happy to find her gone, but she refused to put him, along with his brothers and Madison, in danger. Everyone was safer if she disappeared, including herself. As long as Stephan couldn’t find her, he couldn’t hurt her. She bought a ticket for the first bus leaving, which was only going as far as Fort Lauderdale, unfortunately. At least, she’d be out of Miami where Court and Peter would be looking for her. Her final destination was New Orleans, the city she’d settled on while waiting for Court to fall asleep. It was a place she could easily get lost in, and it should be simple enough to get a job as a waitress. If she got really lucky, the owner would agree to pay her under the table. That would probably mean working in a dive, but until she could figure out how to get a fa

  CHAPTER FIVE Lauren blinked open her eyes, frowning at the light beige wall. That wasn’t the wall in her bedroom. She rolled onto her back, scanning her surroundings. She’d never been in this room before. Where was she? And why was she in bed wearing her clothes? Was that coffee she smelled? She sat up, combing her hands through her hair. Her brain finally woke up, supplying one word. Court. Right. I was kidnapped. Grabbing her backpack, she went searching for a bathroom. Thirty minutes later, showered, clothes changed, and hair air-drying, she made her way to the kitchen, hoping there was coffee. There was, thank you God. She wandered into the living room, stopping when she saw Court sitting on the sofa, watching her. “Morning,” he said, closing his laptop. “I haven’t decided if I’m talking to you yet.” He chuckled. “Let me know when you decide. We have some things to discuss.” Things she’d hoped to never talk about, but Stephan was once again making her life miserable. To delay havin

  CHAPTER SIX “You promised to tell me about you and Court. All you said was that you met him at spring break.” Lauren had been expecting to get the third degree from her friend and was surprised that Madison had managed to hold in her curiosity. It was the end of a busy day, and she and Madison were tidying up after locking the doors. They’d met at the University of Miami when they’d joined the same book club. When they’d discovered that they both dreamed of owning a bookstore someday, they’d teamed up and opened High Tea a
nd Black Cat Books. They were perfectly matched. Lauren loved the numbers side of the business. Madison’s expertise was promotion and marketing, coordinating events, and dealing with their customers. Madison knew some details about Lauren’s life with Stephan. Lauren had felt Madison needed to know because he could be a threat to them both when he got out of prison. “So, that week I took off for spring break without telling you—” “You had me so worried when you disappe

  CHAPTER SEVEN Lauren stared at the door as it closed behind Court. It hurt hearing him say that kissing her was a mistake, and pride had made her tell him not to do it again. How was she supposed to spend seven days with him? Anytime he came near her, she wanted to touch him, wanted him to hold her the way he had when she’d still believed in happily ever afters. She touched her lips, still tingling from his kiss as she took in her surroundings. Since Court had brought her to his home, she really hadn’t taken the time to look around. Who was he today, the boy she’d fallen in love with? Spying a bottle of wine on his kitchen counter, she poured a glass, then wandered into the living room. His furniture was all earth tones, subdued like him. He apparently liked minimalist contemporary. Other than a large, obviously expensive, brown leather couch, a matching recliner, a dark cherry coffee table, and a large-screen TV mounted on the wall, that was about it, except for a single bookcase next

  CHAPTER EIGHT Lauren listened to Court’s even breaths, soft and contented in sleep. He should be content. They’d made love three times. She smiled, tempted to rub her palm over his morning scruff, but she didn’t want to wake him. It gave him such a sexy bad-boy look, though, and unable to resist, she gently laid her hand on his cheek, loving how the stubble felt against her palm. He sighed, turning his face into her hand. Her heart responded with a painful beat. Even in sleep, he was aware of her. What they’d done began to sink in. She’d seduced him, caught him in the haze of sleep. Would he regret it in the light of day? She hoped not because he’d given her a beautiful memory to take with her. Tears burned as her eyes roamed over him. He was beautiful. So masculine with his hard planes and dark features. The covers were bunched around his waist, and she longed to straddle him and touch her lips to his broad shoulders, then trail her tongue slowly down his spine until he woke up. She w

  CHAPTER NINE The doorbell rang again. Lauren sat back, relieved at the interruption. She’d almost told him everything, which would have been a mistake. God only knew what Court would do if she’d told him why she’d refused to see him again. “Still ignoring it,” he said. “You were saying?” She shook her head. “Just that at the time—” The bell rang again in three consecutive bursts. Just that she would do the same thing again if it meant protecting him. Court sighed. “It was too much to wish for.” He went to the door, looking through the peephole. “It’s Nate.” Should she hide in the bedroom? She doubted Nate knew she was here. Deciding that was probably a good idea, she tried to disappear down the hallway, but as she ran past Court, he grabbed her hand. “Going somewhere?” “I think I should stay out of sight.” Without answering Lauren, he opened the door. “Go away,” he said to Nate, and then he tried to slam the door shut, but Nate stuck his foot in the opening. “We need to talk.” Nate pus

  CHAPTER TEN “Put you in the crosshairs?” Nate said. “Exactly.” Court couldn’t get the photos of a severely beaten Lauren out of his head. The man needed to pay. It would be his greatest pleasure to teach the Kozlovs what happened to men who hurt or threatened women. “No!” Lauren turned pleading eyes on him. “Absolutely not. I’ll get on a plane, or a bus, or a bicycle if I have to, and leave right now before I’ll let you do this.” If she said she was leaving one more time, Court was going to lose it. Hell, he was already a thin thread away from breaking into Stephan’s prison and beating the man senseless. See how he liked being on the receiving end of someone’s fists. When she tried to stand, he hooked a finger into her waistband, pulling her back down. Listening to her talk about her marriage had sent a rage through him such as he’d never felt before. He’d been too young and helpless when he’d witnessed his father beat on his mother. That was no longer the case. It took all his willpow

  CHAPTER ELEVEN Court gripped the iron rail of his balcony, his gaze locked on the horizon. Maybe he should buy a boat and sail away. Get lost on some Caribbean island, drink rum cocktails, own nothing more than his boat and a pair of shorts and flip-flops, and do nothing more than watch his skin turn leathery under a blazing island sun. Someplace he could forget about a woman with pink-tipped spiked hair. She’d left him once and seemed determined to do it again. That was what women did. They left without a word of explanation, be they mothers or lovers. His mother had walked down a dusty road one day without a backward glance, without giving her three young sons a reason for leaving them in the hands of a mean drunk. He knew why, though. She’d been pregnant with another man’s baby. Had she gone to meet the man? Was she living with him all this time, loving her new family? Her sons forgotten about? It had only been because he’d been hiding behind the living room couch that he’d heard th

  CHAPTER TWELVE “Get over it.” Lauren stood, backing away from him. He was starting to sound like a record stuck on the same words, over and over and over. Why couldn’t he understand she had as much right to protect him as he did to protect her? Stephan had hurt her horribly that day, but she’d been proud—still was—that she’d not once uttered Court’s name during her ex-husband’s assault. She refused to let Court take that away from her. “Get over it?” He stalked toward her. “I’ll have nightmares until the day I die after seeing those photos of you beaten so badly I could hardly recognize you. Because of me, Lauren. You tell me. How am I supposed to get over that?” She didn’t have an answer. “Nothing to say?” Using his body, he backed her up against the wall. “You want me to say something? How about this? Go to hell, Court.” Black eyes glittered with fury as they snared hers. She’d poked the tiger, and now the tiger was pissed. She didn’t care. She’d done what she had believed was the ri

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN “No,” Lauren answered. The decision to stay and stand up to Stephan once and for all had been brewing ever since the Gentry brothers had told her they were FBI agents. When Court had walked away from her in the kitchen, she’d understood that he was giving her a choice. Get on that plane and lose any chance she had with him. Trust him and maybe they could find their way to each other again. If she had the right to risk her life for him, how could she deny him the same? She knew she’d hurt him badly and that she was gambling on an unsure thing, but she had to try. If she didn’t, she would regret it for the rest of her life, and she was tired of regrets. And he was right. It was time to stand up to Stephan no matter what would or wouldn’t happen between her and Court. “If I disappear, leaving my family, my friends, and the bookstore, he wins.” “He does.” “You have to promise me one thing, though.” She moved to the edge of her seat and reached for his hand. “You won’t let

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN “Hi, Madison. Hi, Lauren,” Taylor said, smiling. “Hi, Taylor,” Madison said, grabbing Lauren’s hand and pulling her into the elevator after Court and Taylor exited. Court glanced over his shoulder, his eyes meeting hers. “I’ll be up in a minute.” The door closed, saving Lauren from having to answer. She’d met Taylor at Madison and Alex’s wedding, but why was she here with Court? And that hadn’t been an innocent hug. He’d had his eyes closed, his chin resting on top of the woman’s head, and his arm around her. Lauren’s stomach took a sickening roll as the elevator rose. Court had said he was meeting his brother. Had that been a lie? But he wouldn’t have spent the afternoon making love to her only to go meet another woman, would he? “Stop it,” Madison said, punching her arm. “It’s not what you’re thinking.” “She’s gorgeous. It would be amazing if he wasn’t attracted to her.” She briefly considered stomping on the ham and cheese on sourdough in the to-go bag she carried.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN Lauren glanced at the monitor, but no name was scrawled across the screen. She scrambled into
her jeans and T-shirt, while keeping a wary eye on the computer. “Please let it be someone who was just visiting one of Court’s neighbors,” she said to the machine. It was surreal. One minute she was luxuriating in the afterglow of the most incredible sex of her life and the next she was pacing in a safe room, waiting for Court to tell her the man’s name. Her life was out of control. That was all there was to it. She’d let this happen by sticking her head in the sand, assuming Stephan would forget about her. Considering she’d heard nothing since that first letter shortly after he’d gone to prison, she supposed it was a reasonable assumption. It’d been a stupid one, though. The day he’d be free again had seemed eons away. When had time started moving so fast? “Let’s see who our man is,” Court said, coming back into the room. She moved behind him, her hand on his shoulder, as he

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN Sitting at the table next to Court, Lauren half listened to the conversation between the brothers. She twirled the beer Alex had brought her, watching the condensation drip down the bottle. What was the deal with Court? Between the time he had left to wash his hands and returning, something had changed. One minute he’d been smiling and winking at her, and the next, he was practically ignoring her. Even his brothers were giving him odd looks. “Madison told me someone was hanging around your hallway, watching Lauren?” Alex said. “Yeah, a man by the name of Vadim Popov, Stephan and Peter’s cousin.” Lauren tuned back in to the conversation. “He is?” That wasn’t something she wanted to hear. For the first time since he’d returned from the restroom, Court looked at her. “Yeah. And you never met him or heard his name mentioned?” “No. But Peter’s side of the house had a separate entrance, so it’s entirely possible he visited.” “Not while you were still living there. Popov’s onl

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Court wanted to kill something, namely the Kozlov brothers. He got that Lauren was afraid for him, got that she still didn’t understand the formidable force the Gentry brothers were when banded together. But Peter had played his mind games, and now she was talking about doing her disappearing act again. He took her hand. “You’re not going anywhere. I’m not going to die. It’s lunchtime. Let’s get something to eat.” She sputtered a laugh. “You’re weird.” “I’ve been told that before.” “I don’t think I can eat.” “Sure you can. I know just the place.” He took her to The Front Porch Café in the Z Hotel because they had indoor and outdoor seating. Since everyone wanted to sit outside where they could watch the happenings in South Beach, he asked for a table inside where it would be quiet and they could talk. “You really love your fish-and-chips,” he said after she’d devoured half her lunch, choosing not to remind her that she’d thought she couldn’t eat. “One of my favorite f