Chapter 16

Faye

I’m enveloped in the smell of him—the warmth of toasted oak and a tartness, like a bourbon-soaked cherry. He clouds my judgment, muddles memories, and practically erases all the reasons I had started to tally about why this shouldn’t go any further than what happened in that alley. The grip I have on his shirt is needy, the material fisted in my hands, and it’s like I can’t control it. The things that we’re healing from, hiding from, and equally trying to forget seem to converge when I’m with him. And he feels like a net or a shield. I shouldn’t feel safe with someone who’s seen the worst of me. The same man who ordered me to leave the only place I ever wanted to call home. But I do. I feel safe. And I don’t want to let go.

A shuffle of dirt along the concrete floor has our heads turning toward the main aisle of the stables. It merges with the sound of a horse kicking its stall. A beat after that, my phone buzzes in my back pocket. We’re being interrupted every which way.

“Linc? Faye?” Hadley calls out from the front of the stables.

When I try to break away, he holds on to me, still tight against his body, a hair's breadth from his mouth, his hard dick pressing into my belly. I’m practically buzzing with anticipation as he tilts his forehead onto mine.

“I’m going to need an answer to that eventually.”

So what are we going to do about it?

Just as I settle into the way he’s holding me, his body so close, he steps back. He runs his hand from the front of his hair to the back of his neck. It’s the only indication that he’s as affected by what just happened as I am. As his eyes meet mine, the smile he gives me is sinful. All that confidence and those dimples, I doubt many women say no to this man.

Swallowing roughly, I pull out my phone. “I need to check this.”

CORTEZ

How do you feel about a little side job, baby girl?

I don’t realize he’s looking over my shoulder when I unlock my phone.

“I didn’t think you were actually on a date with Cortez the other night.”

“It wasn’t a date,” I respond with a shake of my head. I won’t tell him what I was doing with Cortez at the bar. As far as Lincoln is concerned, my job is purely that of a burlesque dancer. “I thought that was clear when it was your fingers I ended up riding,” I say with a little sass as I type out a response.

FAYE

If you want me to do anything else for you, then I’m going to need a fuller picture here.

And before I can say anything more to Lincoln, he’s already halfway down the main aisle of the stables. I take a deep breath and push away the last few minutes, focusing on my job, my whole secret reason for being here. One that’s getting harder to keep close the more I’m pulled into Lincoln Foxx’s orbit.

And while I haven’t found anything share-worthy on his phone, Ace might be another story.

CORTEZ

Blackstone is only a piece of the larger puzzle. What are the chances you can plant surveillance on Atticus Foxx?

It’s still not clear to me how far the oldest Foxx brother’s involvement with Blackstone extends and, more importantly, I only know a fraction of the story, since Cortez won’t give me more information.

FAYE

You’ll never guess where I am right now.

CORTEZ

Hooch’s?

FAYE

No. Marla is still only serving me water.

CORTEZ

Not surprised. You’re missing out though, she had buttermilk pie last week.

FAYE

I hate you.

And I’m at Foxx’s house now. I’ll see what I can do.

CORTEZ

Make it work.

FAYE

We’ll see if I’m willing to share.

“I see the appeal.”

I slap a hand to my chest and jump as soon as I hear it. I didn’t expect anyone to be leaning to the right of the doors, but Hadley’s standing there, seemingly waiting for me.

“You scared me,” I say with a laugh. “I didn’t know anyone was out here.”

“Freezing today, isn’t it?”

I open my mouth to answer, but she doesn’t let me.

“What’s going on with you and Lincoln?” I wish I fucking knew.

“Quite frankly, I have no idea,” I say truthfully.

With a sigh, she jokingly says, “I feel that. Down to my toes.” It’s easy to see how much she cares about him. They both have an ease that makes me feel welcomed and seen. “I’m nosy as fuck when it comes to my people, so you can expect me to be prying later. Maybe some drinks after dinner?”

I smile at her frankness. “Drinks sound nice,” I tell her as we walk through the front entrance of the estate.

The floor of the foyer is stamped with a giant letter ‘F’ and the head of a fox hugs tightly around it. If I had forgotten where I was, this house would have quickly reminded me. The masculine colors mingle with the scent of tobacco, charred oak, and bourbon, making it abundantly clear this house is in the heart of Fiasco, Kentucky.

Laney moves around the massive kitchen island, mincing mint leaves as a long piece of red licorice hangs from the side of her mouth.

She glances up, spotting us right away. “Finally! You two took forever.” She smiles at me. “I’m so happy to see you again, Faye. Did Hadley convince you to join us at Midnight Proof later? Seasonal cocktails samples!” Glancing around, like she’s looking for someone, she whisper-shouts, “It’s how she wooed me into loving this place.”

Grant yells from the next room, “I heard that, honey. And it’s not even a little bit true, Faye. Hadley had nothing to do with it. Don’t listen to my wife; she's been known to lie.”

That has Laney laughing, a guilty-as-charged look on her face.

I glance at Hadley, who’s distracted by Kit as she chews on the pom-pom to her boots. “Hadley, how long since you opened Midnight Proof?”

Smiling proudly, she says, “I bought it the year I turned thirty. Best thing I ever did. It took some work renovating the shithole into what it is now. I had to gut the entire building and ended up renting the upper half to the girls from Crescent de Lune.”

“Great coffee,” I add.

She points at me, oh-so-serious. “Great fucking coffee.”

“Amen,” Laney says.

“Most of the building is Midnight Proof. And there’s a top floor pied-à-terre specifically designed for one-night slams.”

“Stands,” Laney corrects, just as Ace comes into the kitchen.

Hadley pops a raspberry in her mouth. “Sometimes standing is fun. But”—she sighs—“I prefer a good ol’ slam.” She winks, and I can’t help but laugh.

“Totally appropriate conversations happening in here among the girls,” Ace says as he pulls down rocks glasses from one of the cabinets.

Hadley doesn’t miss a beat. “You’re going to have to do a little more than roll your eyes and grind those teeth, if you want to call me your girl, Daddy.”

Laney and I look at each other, eyes wide. I keep my facial expression neutral because, as much as I want to laugh, Ace looks unamused, and Hadley looks like she’s ready to word spar.

“I said THE girls, Hadley,” he says, walking over to the counter to bring the fruit salad that Laney just finished to the other room.

“You sure about that? Sometimes people in their elder years tend to forget what they’ve just said.” She smiles coyly, head tilted like she’s the picture of innocence.

“And sometimes mouthy brats—” he cuts himself off as Laney and I barely bite back our smiles.

Hadley is still standing there, staring at the doorway that he just walked out of, looking like she’s in awe for a solid ten-Mississippi seconds. “You heard that, right? Like, my brain didn’t short circuit from seeing him in that friggin’ pair of Wranglers tonight. WRANGLERS!” she whisper-shouts to Laney. “And he called me a mouthy brat. What the actual fuck?”

Chuckling, I glance at Laney for some kind of explanation, but she just shakes her head as she lifts the dish of French toast and brings it out to the three-season patio.

The cool night air hits me as soon as we step into the living space. I find Lincoln immediately, and before I can make any moves, Kit stretches her front paws on my legs. “Hi, pretty girl. Did you enjoy your bone?”

She barks a response I’m assuming is a yes as Lily slides over to us.

“Did she just answer you?” Lily asks.

“She’s very smart,” I say, rubbing her ears as she leans into it. “Aren’t you? You’re a very smart lady.”

“Faye, can I sit next to you? I want to show you a trick.”

Lark doesn’t seem to be interested; in fact, she’s given me the stink eye since I came in.

I look up and find Lincoln watching me with Lily. Despite what’s happened between the two of us, I haven’t forgotten what he said about not wanting me anywhere near his family. I understand why he’s so protective.

I mouth out, Is this okay?

He doesn’t answer right away, just watches with a stoic glare for a few extra beats before he gives a nod.

Griz cuts in, “The guest of honor gets to sit next to the oldest man in the room.” It throws me off for a second to be so welcomed. He nods to his right, where there’s an empty chair waiting. When I sit, he says, “Glad you decided to join us for dinner.”

My cheeks heat at the nice words.

Clapping his hands, Griz straightens, reaching for a tall bottle of what I assume is bourbon.

My sister uses that moment to lean in on my other side and dump a cold bucket of water on me when she says, “Don’t make yourself comfortable here, Faye. You may have forgotten, but they’re not your family.”

“Funny,” I whisper. “Considering my only family would rather tell me to fuck off than actually talk with me.”

“Hurts, doesn’t it,” she bites back. I try not to wince at those words.

When I look around, I notice Hadley is paying attention to what’s occurring between Maggie and me and mouths, Asshole .

I snort a laugh, and Maggie flips me off as she rests her hand on her cheek.

As I glance around the table, I realize that Lily must have noticed it too. Her mouth is dropped open in surprise, looking at me wide-eyed, wordlessly asking, Did you see what your sister just did?

Yeah, kid. I did.

Laney starts talking about the private tastings that’ll kick off next month at Foxx Bourbon. Grant watches her talk with enthusiasm about the Tennessee Whiskey distillers that’ll be coming to participate. He smiles at her with so much affection that it’s obvious how much he adores her. When he glides his fingers along her back, she tilts her head back toward him, melting into it. I can’t stop myself from thinking about how nice that must feel. That affection and care. It’s not something I’ve experienced before.

Griz teases Hadley about the jazz trio she’s booked at Midnight Proof. “You call those clowns musicians,” he tuts. “You should hire some good old-fashioned country boys to come in there and play.”

“It’s not the vibe, Griz.” Hadley smiles, shrugging a shoulder.

Ace watches on quietly. His eyes connect with mine, and I give him a quick smile, an appreciative exchange for allowing me to be here among his family. He responds with the smallest nod, and it makes me feel like a real jerk for what I’m going to excuse myself to do. It doesn’t take a keen sense of intuition or much time with the Foxx family to know there’s a lot of love here. Respect. Support. It’s comforting to be inside their orbit, even for just a meal.

Lincoln talks to Hadley about something that has him animated with big hand gestures, and it gives me pause, taking in someone like him. He has such a full life—it’s so different from mine, but I feel such a connection when I’m with him.

“You have a nice smile,” Lily says while chomping on three-stacked pieces of bacon while trying to balance a half-dollar coin between two fingers. I can tell she’s been practicing moving it between each knuckle. I bite at my lower lip. Until she said that, I hadn’t even realized I was smiling.

I glance at Lark, who’s staring back at me with a scowl. She definitely caught me staring at her dad.

“Dad always says you can tell a lot about a person when they smile.” Lily takes the coin between two fingers. “I can make this coin disappear. Want to see?”

I reach for the syrup, but instead ask her to pass it to me. My nerves are making it so I don’t have much of an appetite, but I don’t want it to look that way. When I take it from her, I pour a bit over what remains of my French toast and say, “Sure. But what coin?”

Lily looks down, baffled by my question. “Wait, where’d it go?”

When I look across from me, Lincoln’s watching. With his focus on me, my mouth goes dry. “Check her right hand, Lily.”

Lily looks at me, confused, and then focuses on my right hand.

When I lift my fingers, I roll the clunky gray rock over to its side with the sharp purple crystals.

She looks up at me with a smile. “You have it with you.”

“I’ve needed a little extra courage lately. I keep it in one of my pockets.” Then I open my left hand where the silver coin stands slotted between my pointer and middle fingers.

Lily gasps. “How’d you do that? Oh my gosh. Please, Faye. Please, you have to teach me.”

“Sure. It’s really just practice. And paying attention to the people around you.” I look up at her father. “It’s all about creating a distraction.”

Nerves flutter around my chest as I say it because that’s what this dinner turned into tonight. A distraction.

Nothing looks glaringly suspicious. Foxx Bourbon is a big business, and while it would take a team of people to comb through this in detail—there’s nothing that’s worth sharing with the FBI. I expected Foxx Bourbon was doing well, but the kinds of numbers they have coming in and going out are incredible.

It was easy to slip into Ace’s office when I excused myself to use the bathroom. The best time to do it would always be just as dinner’s finished being served and everyone was focused on their food. It took less than two minutes to connect to their guest network, then the VPN, and then from there, Ace’s phone. The same mirroring app that I’ve been using on Lincoln’s phone I was able to upload through the cloud and now I have a full view of what the oldest Foxx does on his device. Ace’s phone is very organized. There’s a system for his files, and his emails are mostly marked read or flagged. The only communication I can see recorded between him and Blackstone is an email regarding bourbon being sold for a rather ridiculous amount of money at auction. I’ll review that in more detail later.

I’ve been straddling my attention between scrolling and listening to Hadley talk about the seasonal drink menu we’re sampling at Midnight Proof. It’s a quiet night here and not as packed as it usually is during performance nights.

“You don’t have to stay in that house if your sister is being a swashbuckling douche,” Hadley says matter-of-factly, snagging my attention back to our conversation and drinks. “You’re welcome to use the lovely one-night slam apartment upstairs.”

I snort a laugh. “Thanks, but I chose to stay at the house. She wasn’t happy to see me, but no matter how mad she is at me, someone beat the shit out of my sister, and I’m not about to let her live in that place alone until I know it’s not going to happen again.”

Hadley sizes me up. “You’re kind of scary, Faye.” She points her finger at me, dragging it up and down like she’s drawing mid-air. “You look like...well, you’re ridiculously beautiful and in this very delectable package, but I feel like you’d throw down if you needed to.”

She’s not wrong.

Laney chimes in, “She has a way with compliments, doesn’t she?”

“Best one I’ve gotten in a long time,” I say, smiling into my glass.

“It’s official. You are the coolest person I know, and I’m in love with you,” Hadley laughs out.

Laney shouts, “Hey, what about me?”

“Always and forever, babes. But, c’mon, a burlesque dancer?! She’s sexier than the Cher movie with one-third of the ultimate trifecta, and she’s fun.” Hadley looks at me and squeezes my forearm when she says, “Faye, you’re a lot of fun.”

I furrow my brow. “Ultimate trifecta?”

Laney rolls her eyes. “Christina Aguilera was in that movie. And the trifecta, according to Hadley, is Britney, Christina, Pink.”

“Obviously,” I say without missing a beat.

Hadley raises her arms with sarcasm. “See!”

I can’t help but laugh with Laney.

And for a few minutes tonight, I forget what brought me here and what I still need to accomplish. Tonight is the first time in a long time that I feel good surrounded by people who look an awful lot like new friends. My phone buzzes.

FOXX

I need to talk to you.

The residual humor from my conversation with the girls bleeds over with my response.

FAYE

Sounds serious.

I try to school my features, but I don’t do it in time because Laney asks, “Who’s got you smiling like that, Faye?”

“It’s nothing like that—” I say, watching the bubbles bounce, awaiting what kind of response I’ll get.

FOXX

Open the door.

Is he at my house?

But it’s Hadley who asks, “Does nothing happen to have glasses and a smirk you just want to slap off sometimes?”

FAYE

Can’t. Sorry. Not home.

I smile at her words, but follow it up with, “Okay, where did we leave off?”

Putting my phone on do not disturb , I slide it into my pocket. I’ll deal with him later.

Hadley claps her hands. “Alright. Deflecting. I like it. We’ll circle back. How do we feel about an espresso martini, maybe with a pistachio liquor shooter?” she asks, breaking out the shaker.

Quirking an eyebrow, I look at Laney as I answer, “Sounds like we’re going to be drunk after this.”

Hadley starts pouring when she corrects me. “Tipsy.” She smiles, finger pointed in the air. “To tipsy friends.”