Take Me (Fifth Avenue) (6 page)

“What? You would give that up for me?”

“Sydney Davis, I would cut off a limb for you. Sacrificing a law career is nothing in comparison.”

“Please, please don’t cut anything off your body for me.”

“Not even a toe?” He was only half joking. At the moment, he felt like he’d give her anything.

“I don’t require any sacrifices. Bodily or—” she took a deep breath “—otherwise. Because I feel like if the most important thing is that we love each other, everything else will fall into place. See, when my mother instilled her paranoia in me, she forgot two things. One, that happiness is important. That success doesn’t feel quite so successful without it. And two, that love, real love, covers a lot. That love matters. I believe that you love me, Travis. I believe that you would give up anything for me. And I want you to know, I would do the same for you. If we love each other like that, then there’s nothing to lose.”

He pulled her into his arms again and kissed her, her face cold and wet against his. “Oh, I love you,” he said. “Always. Before, forever and now.”

“Me, too, Trav. Me, too. I’m so sorry I almost effed everything up.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “Because if I ever could have had a doubt, this erased it all. I know now whatever life throws at us, no matter how big, no matter how hard, we’ll get through it. Because we love each other. Because if every trial is like this one, then it will just bring out another dimension in my love for you.”

“And in mine for you,” she said.

“So, will you marry me, then?”

She tilted her head back and laughed, letting the drops fall on her face. “Maybe after graduation.”

“I already waited half a lifetime. I’ll just consider myself lucky you aren’t making me wait another one.”

“Oh, no, I’m through with waiting. I’m through with safe. None of that means anything if I don’t have you. If I don’t have your love.”

“You have it. Always.”

“I think we should go inside,” she said, her smile wicked. “I know you have a nice mirror in your room. There’s something I want you to see.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Just watch.”

Epilogue

2014

“Did everyone get off all right?”

Sydney looked up from the morning newspaper and toward Travis,
who’d just come back inside from walking the kids to their school, which was
very near their home in upstate New York. Sydney had scaled down her ambitions
somewhat, as had Travis, to accommodate their family.

But she was still the mayor, and he was the best lawyer in
town.

“Yeah,” he said, sitting in the chair next to her. “And now we
even have a few moments alone.”

She smiled. “A few. Don’t get any grand, kinky ideas, buddy. I
have a meeting with a senator in two hours.”

“I have ways of pleasuring you without ever messing up your
hair,” he said, reaching his hand out and cupping her cheek. “I think I’ve
proven that in the past.”

She sniffed. “Indeed.” She looked down at the newspaper again
and turned the section she’d been browsing over, pausing. “Jason Treffen,” she
said, skimming the headline.

“What about him?”

“Austin’s dad. He’s still a big deal lawyer, yes? He’s not
retired or anything?”

“Not as far as I know.”

“He was Sarah’s boss, you remember? And it was his party
that...”

“Yes to all,” Travis said. “Why?”

“Because he’s in the paper. He’s up for some sort of
honor.”

“Hmm.” Travis looked down over her shoulder and at the article.
“Whether it was fair or not, I never felt right about him. Not after all
that.”

“Neither did I.” She put the paper down. “He offered me a job
once. I never called about it because he always weirded me out after...”

“It’s strange,” he said.

“Why?”

“I got a letter down at the pro bono office when I was there
last week.”

As often as his workload allowed, Travis took cases at Austin
Treffen’s pro bono firm in the city.

“You didn’t mention a letter.”

“Because there’s a lot of letters that go through and about
half of them sound...well, they contain a lot of unfounded accusations. And
since I’m not there all the time, I just put it in a file where the other
letters of that kind go.”

“A lot of things like that get sent to the firm?”

“Yes,” Travis said. “There are a lot of angry people who have
lost cases and blame the opposing side’s lawyer. Or their own lawyer. But...but
this makes me wonder.”

“What did it say?”

“I should have told you,” he said. “But it was upsetting, and I
didn’t want...” Travis looked back down at the paper. “It said, essentially,
that Jason had harassed Sarah to death.”

“What?”

“The letter said that Jason had been sexually harassing
her.”

“But he’s a—I mean, he’s—” she held up the newspaper “—‘a famed
advocate for women.’”

Travis nodded grimly. “I know. Another reason I dismissed
it.”

“What can you do about it?”

“Nothing. Except make sure it gets passed on to Austin. There
is no criminal investigation being conducted about Sarah’s death because it was
ruled a suicide, and as far as I know, there has never been anything bad said
about Jason Treffen before.”

“But I have a feeling,” she said, knowing it sounded silly, but
knowing if anyone understood, Travis would.

He was the person who had shared that event with her. The
person who understood the pain. Sharing in that grief had bonded them
closer.

“I do, too,” he said. “And that means I’ll be sure that Austin
gets it, with my full concerns. And if I’m never welcomed in his circle
again...that’s the risk I have to take. If I lose my career over it...”

“You can be my sex slave,” she said, smiling weakly. “It’s for
Sarah.”

“I know.”

“You’re a good man, Travis,” she said. “The best. But then,
I’ve known that for most of my life, and most especially for the past ten
years.”

“I’m glad I still pass muster. Considering the marriage vows,
the three children and the mortgage.”

“For all those reasons,” she said, reaching out and putting her
hand over his. “And so many more. You walked through the fire with me, and we
came out the other side stronger. Not many people can say that.”

“I know. We were tested before we ever began.”

“Pain was never ever to separate us,” she said. “When things
were hard in the past, we’ve only ever pulled closer together.”

“That’s because my love for you is stronger than anything else
in the world. Nothing good or bad in my life is endurable without it.”

“Then I suppose it’s a good thing you’ll never be without
it.”

* * * * *

Keep reading for a sneak peek at AVENGE ME by Maisey Yates, the first step to revenge in the
FIFTH AVENUE TRILOGY.

We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Presents title.

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Ten years ago one devastating night
changed everything for Austin, Hunter and Alex. Now they must each play
their part in the revenge against the one man who ruined it all.

Austin Treffen has the plan… Hunter has
the money… Alex has the power!

If you loved
Take Me
by Maisey Yates, be sure to catch the full Fifth Avenue trilogy,
only from Harlequin Presents:

Avenge Me
by Maisey Yates (June 2014)
Scandalize
Me
by Caitlin Crews (July 2014)
Expose Me
by Kate Hewitt (August 2014)

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Prologue

It was supposed to be an evening of bland conversation. That was what Alex, Hunter and he did every year. Drinks and bland conversation. The kind of conversation that skirted around anything of interest or meaning. That lay thick like graveyard dirt over the skeletons of the past.

Buried beneath talk of 401(k)s, football statistics and current events. So deep that it was easy to forget they were all dining over a coffin.

Unfortunately, the letter he had in his hand was the damned shovel.

It was going to unearth everything. He didn’t think there would be a bland enough topic in existence to ever put the ghosts to rest again.

Austin looked at the two men sitting across from him. The men he’d once called his best friends. Men who had become little more than distant strangers over the past ten years.

Hunter was throwing out some sort of B.S. line about how much more action he’d get now that he’d been ousted from the NFL, and Alex was nodding along. All a bunch of shallow nothing, but then, what else would they talk about?

They were barely acquaintances now. Acquaintances who met every year on the grimmest of anniversaries and never once spoke of why they’d gathered. Acquaintances who could barely look each other in the eye.

But then, that was what bland conversation did, he supposed. It kept bad memories at bay and old friends at a distance. A distance that wasn’t an accident. Not in the least.

But they didn’t have time for distance now. Didn’t have time for circular talk that meant less than nothing. Not now. Not when he had the letter burning a hole straight through to his skin.

Austin reached into the interior pocket of his jacket and ran his fingers over the folded document. He pulled it out and put it on the table, white paper blending into the pristine white cloth.

Strange. He’d half expected it to leave a crimson stain.

“I’m afraid the usual dinner of denial and quiet regret will not be served tonight,” he said.

“What the hell?” Hunter said, deadpan, not making a move for the letter, waiting for an explanation. Austin found that he didn’t have the words.

It was Alex who picked it up and opened it. He skimmed it then handed it to Hunter. “What the hell is this?” he asked, reframing Hunter’s question with more intensity.

“The truth. At least, I believe it is.” Austin sat down, wrapping his fingers around the fork to his left and resting his thumb on the tines, gradually increasing the pressure until he nearly broke the skin. “My father, Jason Treffen, sainted advocate for women in the workplace, tireless defender of the downtrodden and harassed, did in fact cause a woman to commit suicide because of his unwanted advances. Because of his actions.” He released his hold on the fork and let it drop onto the table. “I’m afraid of what he might have done to her. I mean…I knew it was bad. I knew…because of what she did. What she felt she had to do. But I didn’t really believe that he’d touched her. Now…”

“This is why she did it.” The statement came from Hunter. His voice was rough, his eyes unfocused. Alex’s dark eyes were glued to Hunter, as if waiting to see what the other man might do.

Austin knew they were all thinking the same thing. Of the same night.

And the same woman.

Sarah.

“I think so,” he said.

“Where did you get the info?” Alex asked.

“Anonymously provided. Naturally.”

“Naturally,” said Hunter.

“It didn’t come to me,” he said, his voice rough. “It came to the pro bono office. Publicly it’s not very well connected with me, and I doubt whoever sent it knew that I would end up with it. Since I’m rarely in the office I might not have seen it…. But it was passed on to me by Travis Beringer, an old classmate of ours who volunteers at the place on occasion. It’s from a woman asking for help. Because my damned father has been getting so much media attention. Since he and all his good works are about to be profiled on the largest talk show in the country. Given the nature of the contents, and knowing something about Sarah, Travis thought I should see it.”

“And someone has evidence that he…that he drove Sarah to her death by harassing her? Assaulting her?” Hunter asked.

“It’s not evidence. Not
real
evidence. It’s wild accusation. Assumption that what he did to her caused her to kill herself.”

“You believe it, Austin?” Alex asked.

“Hell yeah.” Not that he was happy about it. He’d been sick to his stomach since he’d gotten the damn thing two days ago. But he believed it.

The suspicion had always been there, along with the guilt. Along with a call that had gone unanswered and a voice mail he hadn’t listened to until it was too late.

But there had been no proof. Still, it had been enough for him to cut ties with his father. For him to relegate his family to holiday visits. Lunches with his mother and sister at hotels rather than at the Treffen estate.

Now the suspicion was turning into certainty. Truth gnawed through his last remaining shreds of doubt. For two days now, he’d been replaying his last conversation with Sarah. Over and over again. The last time he ever saw her alive.

She’d looked so brittle. So sad and tired…

“This job is much more demanding than I ever could have imagined, Austin. I’m just so…tired. And I don’t like the kinds of things I have to do.”

“That’s being a lawyer, honey,” he said, laughing. “Sometimes you have to defend things that seem indefensible. But in the end, you trust the court system.”

“I’m not sure I trust anything anymore.”

“You’ll get more jaded. You’ll get used to it.”

“I don’t think I will. I need your help, Austin. It’s about…it’s about your father.”

He hadn’t bothered to listen. Not really. He’d been buzzing over his admittance into an incredible law program. Over his father’s promise to secure him a position at his firm, to make him a partner. He’d been too intoxicated by all the power to care. To truly hear her. The weight behind her words. The sadness. No, he was too focused on himself. And why not? Life had always been there to serve him. He had it all; he had it easy.

His family name was everything, and he traded on it.

Like father like son and all.

Then Sarah had thrown herself off a building. And the rumors had begun. The first hint that Jason Treffen might not be the saint that others imagined him to be, but Austin hadn’t listened. He had ignored it all for too long.

Until that final confrontation. When he’d walked away from his father’s firm for good.

The family got more money than they deserved. She was taken care of. A misunderstanding.

All these excuses. So like the men his father had pretended to disdain for all those years. He was one of them. One of those men who assumed he could take whatever he wanted from women simply because he was a man. Because he held power over them.

And now this. So much more than he’d ever imagined. That he had harassed her so badly she’d killed herself.

But history gave him no reason to doubt it.

“And he’s still getting his
This Is Your Life
B.S. all over the news?” Hunter asked.

“Yes. Yes, he is.”

“Well. Screw that.”

“I agree,” said Alex.

“I do, too, but what the hell do we do about it?”

“You’re the lawyer, Austin. It seems like you should be able to think of something. Something legal and shit,” Hunter said.

“That’s the problem. I have nothing legal. Nothing that will stand up in court.”

Alex leaned in. “Then we’ll have to find something.”

“For what purpose?”

Hunter looked down at his knuckles, and Austin’s eyes followed his line of sight and noticed the faint purple bruises that colored the skin there. Hunter tightened his hand into a fist. “If he had anything to do with Sarah’s death, and I think we’ve all suspected it, always, then I’ll do whatever I have to do in order to bring him down.” He looked back up, his eyes meeting Austin’s. “I mean it. I’ll end him. Run him off the top of a building. Just like he did to her.”

The violence in Hunter’s tone left little doubt in Austin’s mind that his friend wasn’t speaking figuratively.

Part of him rejected the thought. Because no matter how evil, Jason was his father. Because his blood was in Austin’s veins. The same blood that kept his heart pumping. It was hard to hate it entirely, even when he should.

“To the bloody end, then?” Austin asked. “Even if it means destroying my family?”

Alex put his palms flat on the table. Spread the paper out flat. “She killed herself, Austin. Because of him. How many more women has he touched like he did her? How many more? If we don’t stop it, it keeps going.” He looked up at Austin. “And then we’re just as guilty. Then we’re no different.”

No different.

Austin had privately feared that very thing for a long time.

But it wouldn’t be true. He’d make sure it ended up not being true.

“Well, then,” Austin said, standing. “Let’s end it.”

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