Killing Lucas

  Killing Lucas

  by Dominique Eastwick

  Copyright © Dominique Eastwick, 2013

  All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While references may be made to actual places or events, the names, characters, incidents, and locations within are from the author’s imagination and are not a resemblance to actual living or dead persons, businesses, or events. Any similarity is coincidental.

  Musa Publishing

  633 Edgewood Ave

  Lancaster, OH 43130

  www.MusaPublishing.com

  Issued by Musa Publishing, March 2013

  This e-book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. No part of this e-book can be reproduced or sold by any person or business without the express permission of the publisher.

  ISBN: 978-1-61937-439-3

  Head Editor: Aimee Benson

  Editor: Elizabeth Silver

  Artist: Kelly Shorten

  Line Editor: Rory Olsen

  Interior Book Design: Cera Smith

  This is dedicated to all those Sherman fans who haven’t let me give up on their series even when it didn’t look like the series could continue. Thank you for your patience and your support.

  Chapter One

  “That would take a miracle.”—Lucas to Tony

  “Damned son of a bitch!” Lucas Sherman swore as he threw the offending tabloid across the room and at the wall of his lab. How was it that one little picture and a few speculations about what had happened could make things seem so wrong?

  Three nights before he had gone to a dance club with his younger brother Tony, Tony’s wife, Haven, and his youngest brother, Trenton. He hadn’t wanted to go. He didn’t like dance clubs. Why would he? He couldn’t dance, had no rhythm and no beat. If someone looked up the definition of white boys who can’t dance there would be a picture of Lucas. But instead of having them speculate he was still pining for his ex-bitch of a girlfriend, he went. Not to dance, not for the music, and not for the women. But to shut up his nosy family.

  Now look what had happened: while going up to get a drink, Lucas bumped into a girl, apologized, and turned to see if she was all right. It turned out that the one he’d bumped had been none other than the ex herself. Kiloran. And sure enough, her score of fans and paparazzi were there to catch the moment of reunited shock. Even luckier for them, the moment when he was pushed into her forcing her to grab onto him for support.

  REUNITED? The headline read. When Hell freezes over, was Lucas’s answer to the calls; the PR department was begging him to just say no comment. Lucas did have a comment, but fine. Whatever. He would just stay quiet. But he knew the worst was coming. Spencer, his oldest brother, would get wind of the article first, being one of the executives of the engineering firm owned by the family. Spencer had stepped in to the vacant position meant for their father, who had become a doctor instead. Lucas hadn’t wanted the power of the high-up offices, either, and was content working his theories out in the labs by himself with no one to bug him.

  Spencer would get the scandal rag first. Luckily for Lucas, Spencer and Tony weren’t speaking at the moment, so Spencer wouldn’t call their overprotective brother. But he might call their mother, which was on par with Tony. But as Tony worked in advertising, it was doubtful he would miss this particular article anyway. Lucas was geared up for meeting with overbearing family at any moment.

  As if on cue, his phone rang. “Hello, Tony.”

  Laughter greeted him on the other end. “I really need to work on not being so damned predictable.”

  “That would take a miracle.”

  “Ignore the article. If you comment on it or give them a crumb, they won’t go away.”

  “You don’t think we had a romantic tryst in the corner of the club?”

  “Not likely. I just wanted to call and give you words of wisdom from my time in the scandal rags. Haven said it might be of some help.” He heard the sounds of muffled talking in the background. Knowing that had to be Haven, Lucas smiled. “By the way, she says you need to think about wearing colors other than brown. It made you look sickly in the photos.”

  “I’ll take that under advisement the next time I’m featured in the gossip columns.” Lucas relaxed. Thank God for Haven. She better than anyone could calm the worry out of her husband and give the rest of them some peace. A few months ago, Tony would have already been here in his office trying to fix and protect his brother from anything that might hurt him. Hell, Tony probably would have done something outrageous just to take the focus.

  “Come over for dinner tonight. Haven said she needs you to be her guinea pig for some new recipe.”

  “I can’t get out of it, can I?”

  “Doubt it. Besides, Jocé wants to beat her Uncle Luc at her video game again.”

  “I’ve been practicing.”

  “Good. I’ll warn her and we’ll see you about six.”

  Lucas grumbled acceptance before hanging up the phone. Staring at the black business phone on his desk, he took the easy way out and took the phone off the hook, sending all messages to voice mail. He didn’t want to talk to anyone else. He at least liked Tony and he could honestly say, outside of family, Haven was the only woman he could stand being in the same room with for any amount of time.

  And there it was again: he’d gone from loving one woman to hating all women. And there was no reasoning to it. He loved his mother and his sister, even though his sister made him crazy—he didn’t know how Hunter dealt with her. And although he thought the world of Haven, he wasn’t sexually attracted to her. Not that she wasn’t attractive. She was—after all, two of the Sherman brothers trailed after her like lovesick puppies. But she wasn’t his type.

  Lucas moved back into the lab and began to clean up and lock down the chemicals and papers he was working on. That was what he did: deal with numbers, deal with theories. He didn’t need to deal with people if he didn’t want to. Which he didn’t.

  Lucas was content to live a single life. He didn’t need women and didn’t really want them. He wasn’t gay. He’d thought about it when woman after woman came on to him and he felt nothing, but men didn’t do it for him either. He had no interest at all. His work was enough to keep him occupied, his new bulldog puppy was enough to keep him company, and if need be, his hand took care of his urges without the bullshit that came along with a relationship. And heaven help him, if he needed a woman’s input on anything, he could always count on Haven.

  If only his family understood. Though to be fair, Tony didn’t try to set him up as much as get him to not spend so much time alone. As it happened, Lucas liked spending time at their house, and playing video games with Tony’s stepdaughter was not as bad as he had once feared. He did have to taste anything and everything Haven made, though nine times out of ten that wasn’t so bad. They understood him, Tony and Haven, and he was able to relax without explaining his bad moods or the need to be alone.

  Grabbing his coat, Lucas shut down his computer, and then locked down his lab. As he opened the door, Spencer stood about to knock. “Hey, Spence, can it wait until tomorrow?”

  “I did try to call but the phone is…off the hook. And I’m guessing you have no idea where your cell phone is?
”

  “Who knows, and really, who cares? I hate that blasted thing.”

  “Just wanted to see if you wanted to grab a bite to eat.”

  “Sorry, heading to Tony’s for dinner.”

  “Beat me to the punch, huh?”

  “He’s good at that.” Lucas hadn’t meant for the comment to come out brutal but it had the effect nonetheless. “Sorry, probably too soon to joke about that.”

  Spencer shrugged, but Lucas could see the pain wash over him. This was why Lucas hated women; even when they didn’t mean to they left a trail of misery behind them. “Don’t get your butt beat too badly by Jocé, and if you get a chance, tell Haven hello for me.”

  “I’m going to beat Jocé, and not in this lifetime will I get in the middle of your love triangle with Haven. If I might quote you on something: move on, brother. She isn’t worth it.”

  “Would you say the same to Tony?”

  “She married him. No offense, but you moved in on territory that was never yours to begin with. That’s all I’m saying.”

  Spencer groaned. “I thought you weren’t taking sides? Don’t forget you have a meeting with the board tomorrow to discuss the progress on the new structure bonding you’ve been working on.”

  “I am sure they’ll find my presentation fascinating.”

  “And completely over their heads.”

  “Completely.” Lucas paused, and gripped by fleeting guilt, he looked at Spencer. “Hey, Spence. I didn’t mean what I said.”

  “Yes, you did and it’s the truth. I knew Haven was in love with Tony. She never led me on. I just kept hoping she would wake up and see me.”

  “On that sappy note, will you excuse me? I have a puppy to let out before he tears up my house.”

  An hour later, puppy happily sitting in his lap, Lucas pulled his economic, environmentally friendly car into the drive way of the large Victorian house Tony had bought for Haven. Tony’s new business must be doing well for him to have bought something so large for his bride, because Haven would never have let him do it if they weren’t. She had the measure of her husband where no one else ever had.

  Tony was waiting for him on the porch, his face showing his concern like no one else’s ever did. Lucas’s younger brother worried too much. He worried about everyone and everything and looked perfect while doing it.

  “I’m fine, Tony,” Lucas said, determined to beat him to the punch. Ignoring the look of disbelief, he walked into the house, puppy still in his arms, and headed for the spacious kitchen in the back of the house.

  “Hello, Lucas,” Haven said, coming over kissing him on the cheek before scratching the puppy behind the ears. “Does he have a name yet?”

  “I’m still working on that. I haven’t come up with the perfect Buffett puppy name yet.”

  “Which reminds me,” Tony said, coming into the room and heading for the desk built into the corner of the kitchen. He pulled out a white envelope and threw it on the table in front of Lucas. “Your Buffett tickets.”

  “Excellent. I was just thinking…”

  “If you both want to talk about Buffett and bowling with Tonga Tam, you can do so outside the kitchen. Because Buffet always leads to the Red Sox and that always leads to an argument.”

  Tony rolled his eyes but remained quiet—in itself a miracle. But Lucas had no vested interest in staying silent. “Well if you would just see sense and join the Red Sox nation there would be no need for arguments.”

  “As if.”

  “Good thing I love her as much as I do, huh?”

  “Better you than me. Where is my gaming buddy? I expected to be handed a controller as soon as I walked in the door.”

  “Jocé is busy upstairs finishing her homework so she can beat you again tonight. Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes, and keep the puppy off the sofa, Lucas.”

  Lucas laughed and put the dog down before grabbing the beer Tony had just gotten out of the refrigerator and walked in to the spacious family room. For a man who just months before had been the most eligible bachelor in Boston, Tony seemed to be adjusting to family life in the suburbs just fine. His brother was, to anyone willing to take a closer look, far more relaxed and open. For the first time in years, Lucas saw his brother again. Not the facade he had shown the world, but the man that Lucas loved and adored.

  Sitting in the living room with his brother, Lucas relaxed, feeling more at ease than he had in years and more connected with people then he cared to admit. So he moved into the conversation as Tony found exactly what they both wanted on the TV: a Sox game, and thankfully not against Haven’s Yankees.

  “Tony, your mom’s on the phone and she’s frantic.” Haven came into the living room a few minutes later, handing him the cordless phone. Tony took the phone and left, already trying to calm their mother down.

  “What’s going on?” Why the hell would their mom be calling Tony if she was upset? His parents had spent years in therapy trying to get Tony past his overwhelming need to protect everyone.

  Haven was biting her thumbnail and looking in the direction Tony had left in. “I couldn’t understand a word she said. I’ve never heard her like that.”

  Now concerned, Lucas got up from the sofa to follow his brother. Tony came back into the room sent a glance at Haven before turning on the local news channel. “Mom, calm down. Hold on, I’ll put him on in a second.”

  “Oh my… that’s Lucas’s—that’s your condo. Tony, is that his place?”

  Lucas turned to the television to see a live feed of what looked like his brownstone engulfed in flames. His stomach hitched, and he grabbed his keys off the coffee table. “I’ll call her later.”

  “Mom, gotta go. We’ll call you later, promise.” Tony threw the phone on the sofa and beat Lucas to the door. “You’re not going alone. Besides, you’ll probably need to stay here for a few days. Haven?”

  “Go,” she said, shooing them out of the house.

  Tony grabbed the keys. “I’ll drive.”

  “I don’t need you to take care of me, Tony.”

  “It’s me or Mom, take your pick.”

  Lucas groaned and slid into the passenger seat. They drove in silence—well Tony drove and Lucas sat, brooding. He knew he was brooding. It was what he did best; he had years of practice. He’d known this day was going to be bad when he’d run into Kiloran just after midnight. As if being involved with her hadn’t sucked enough of his life away, now it seemed the bad luck was showing no signs of slowing.

  As they pulled onto his street, the smell of smoke filled the car. The golden aura lighting the sky did nothing to ease Lucas’s gut-tightening nausea. Even though several Boston city fire trucks blocked his view, he could still see the flames shooting into the night air. Tony pulled the car to a stop in the middle of the street and leaned over the steering wheel to get a better look.

  “What the fuck?” Tony whispered.

  Lucas thought that pretty much summed up all up. He got out of the car no great hurry to see the damage that lay on the other side of the red fire engine. Even without looking, he knew his townhouse was a complete loss. If not with the fire, the water used to put it out would damage anything left inside.

  “Come on.” Tony placed a comforting hand on Lucas’s shoulder before nudging him forward. “Let’s go find the person in charge and tell them where they can reach you.”

  “I don’t even know where to reach me at the moment.”

  “You’re staying at my place. Now get out of the car. Sitting here watching your place burn will do no one any good.”

  “You wait here. I’ll be right back.”

  Tony was out of the car before Lucas. Coming around the front, he actually managed a laugh. “Like that’s gonna happen.”

  “I live in hope.”

 
Not that he was likely to admit it, at least not to his brother, but deep down Lucas was thankful for Tony’s presence. Lucas knew Tony would worry, but Tony would still let him handle this. Tony was just his backup.

  “Sorry sir, no one can come in here.”

  “That’s my home. Who do I need to talk with?”

  “Hold on I’ll get the cap’n.” The large gruff fireman walked away putting on his fire hat. From his view point he could see the fireman talking with another dressed in the same soot-covered, black turnout gear.

  The older firefighter came toward them. He took off his hat and rubbed his neck as he approached. Lucas couldn’t blame him—that part of the man’s job had to be hell, talking to the people watching their lives go up in smoke.

  “Let me handle this.” Tony’s voice barely penetrated through the crackling sounds around him, but he did feel Tony push him to the side and move forward. “Joe, thank God you’re here.”

  “Tony, what the hell are you doing here? This ain’t your place.”

  “No. It’s my brother Lucas’s. We saw the news and came down. What the hell happened?”

  “Sorry about your home, Mr. Sherman. There’s not a lot we could do to save the place. Not really sure what happened yet. Best we can figure is the gas stove had a leak.”

  “That’s not possible. I just had it serviced. There’s no way it was leaking.”

  Tony nodded and looked back to Joe, making introductions that weren’t completely necessary. Tony worked his usual magic, getting more information out of the captain than he should have and allowing them closer then was safe. But Lucas wasn’t arguing because something in his gut told him things were only going to get worse.

  Chapter Two

  “Tony, would you shut up and stay in the corner?”—Lucas to Tony

  Kiloran wrung her hands together, knowing if she kept it up she was going to rub them raw, but she was too nervous to care. This was her fault, she knew that, and she could no longer kid herself that by staying away and staying quiet she could keep him safe.