Chesty could eat his chips, but she couldn’t attract him—one point for me, zero for her. Eat shit, Cindy what’s-your-face.
Before I reached Luke’s table, I noticed Chesty stop next to a pool table. Scarface was playing there. Just the sight of him threatened to put me off my game.
I stopped and took a long sip of my liquid courage before I reached Luke’s table. He was going to be my man. If I’d chosen a top with buttons instead of this tank top, I would have undone another one or two or three right now.
Luke’s jaw dropped for the second time today when I pulled out the chair across from him.
“Thank you, Wrench. I’d love to join you,” I said as I sat.
“Red?” That nickname was a good sign. “What are you doing here?”
I turned sideways a little. “I told you. I’m here for my man.” I pointed at him. “That’s you, by the way.”
He shook his head, but stopped suddenly, and his eyes widened. “What did you do?”
I turned farther and touched my tattoo. “It’s an eagle.”
He huffed. “I know that. Why?”
“Why not? Someone once told me an eagle represents freedom and strength. I’m free of Dom and that evil bitch I used to call my mom, and I’m strong enough to go after what I want now.” I pointed a finger at him, hoping I wasn’t coming on too strong.
“Really?” he asked as he nodded.
I couldn’t tell if it was in agreement or disgust, given the lack of a smile. Beyond him I could see Chesty sneering at me. I broadened my smile.
She turned away.
“And what was that stunt earlier today?” he asked.
I sipped my margarita. “No stunt. That was my bike outside.” I tapped my tattooed shoulder again. “You must have seen the eagle on the tank.”
“All the way from LA?” he asked.
“All the way. And that sign, it’s your birthday present—”
“How’d y-you?” he stuttered.
“Are you going to deny that your birthday was last week? I’m sorry it’s late, but I couldn’t get here in time.”
He put his head in his hands. “I appreciate the thought. I really do, Deb.” The move back to my real name was not a good sign. “But this is not going to work. Matching tattoos doesn’t make this work.” He motioned between us.
We’d gotten nowhere.
I finished my margarita with a big pull on the straw. “I know what you’re doing, Luke Carver, and it won’t work.”
He picked up a chip with a playful grin, a good sign to offset the bad. “And what game is that?”
“You’re playing out the Titanic scenario. A stupid movie has you convinced it can’t work, so you’re going to pretend to be Jack and let me go. Well, it won’t work, because I’m not letting you drift away.”
“It’s not a movie. It’s real life. I’ve been there. I went to prison…” He lowered his voice. “I went to prison and almost got killed in there because a rich family wanted me out of the way. They bent the system to their will. That’s life. That’s the way it works. Your uncle told Adam he’d keep us apart, and he will. No matter what.”
It was my turn for my face to drop with disappointment and surprise. “He wouldn’t say that. He wouldn’t do that.”
Luke tapped his ear. “He didn’t think I’d hear him, but I did. Adam told him about my record, all of it. He called me a triple threat, and that was all it took. The ex-con label was all Lloyd had to hear, and he decided our fate for us. He told Adam to make sure I stayed away from you. I’m smart enough not to swim upstream against guys like them.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Not because I thought Luke would lie to me, but because I didn’t think my own uncle would sabotage me like that. “He said that?” My blood was boiling now.
“Have I ever lied to you?”
I had to shake my head. He never had, and in my heart, I knew the eagle never would.
I pulled out my phone, unwilling to let this go on for even another minute. It was way too noisy in here for the call I had to make. “I’m going to get this straightened out, right now.”
“Good luck with that, Princess.”
I stood and marched outside. This princess was about to tell her uncle where to shove it.
In the relative quiet outside, the phone rang and Auntie Robin picked up. “Debbie, how was your trip?” She and Serena had been the only ones I’d told about my ride out here. The rest of the family thought I was relaxing somewhere in northern California to decompress.
I didn’t have time for this. “It was good. I need to talk to Uncle Lloyd.”
“He went for a quick walk. I can have him call you when he gets back. Is it anything I can help you with?”
I didn’t want to wait. “No. I need to talk to him. How long will that be?”
“Another fifteen minutes or so.”
“Please have him call me right away. It’s important.”
The door to Pete’s opened behind me, and I turned to see Chesty Cindy come out.
“I will, dear,” my aunt said. “Take care.”
I hung up after wishing her well.
The skank walked up. “Luke said to meet him out back.”
“Out back?” It didn’t make any sense.
“He’s parked out back,” she said as she returned to the door. “He said right now.”
It sounded like Mr. Bossy was back, but even that version of Luke was good.
I went around the building.
“Stuck up rich bitch.” The words hit my ears just before the meaty fingers of his hand clamped over my mouth.
Unable to scream, I struggled and kicked, but it did no good against his strength, his size.
“Keep it up, and I’ll gut you like fish, bitch.”
I only got out the beginning of a scream before the tape came down over my mouth. I kicked some more and caught sight of a scar as the bag came down over my head and the darkness obscured everything.
I doubled over from the punch to my midsection.
Chapter 47
Luke
At the time, I’d thought walking away from Debbie at the Grand Hyatt had been the hardest thing I’d ever done, harder even than the two years at Augusta, but I’d been wrong.
Tonight was harder still. I glanced again at the door, which she’d stormed through to make a phone call a few minutes ago.
She’d bought a Harley; she’d gotten a tattoo to match mine. She’d defied her uncle and driven across the country to find me. My woman wanted me as badly as I wanted her, and I’d just told her to leave. Again.
Fuck me.
A million to one. Those were the odds against us. This was one time I wished I didn’t know the odds.
I had a purpose for being at Pete’s, and it wasn’t to screw up Debbie’s life. Riggs wasn’t waiting forever, and I needed to come up with something to give him soon. With the bank robbers snatched up by the FBI, he was all over me for anything else.
Debbie would call her uncle, get her scolding, and that would be that. As much as I might be tempted, I wouldn’t ever be able to undo the damage now.