opens. It’s not Luke. It’s Trey.
I scramble backwards. “Shit. Trey. What the fuck are you doing here?”
“You’re a hard person to keep up with.” He leans against the doorway, crossing his arms. “Whose place is this?”
My mouth goes dry. My lungs don’t seem to want to take in air and I’m terrified I might faint. I’d be out and at this asshole’s mercy. He looks different. Deranged. He always kept his hair short and it’s long. He’s got scabs on his forehead. He looks like pictures I’ve seen of meth users.
“You’ve been sending me those pictures, haven’t you?”
He smiles. “You think you’re going to sell The Cabaret? I build that club. It’s part mine.”
I want to tell him that it’s already sold. That it’s done and there’s nothing he can do about it. I would love to throw that in his face, but I have to play it cool. He’s a head taller than me and while he’s not muscular like Luke, he could hurt me. He could do some serious shit and be gone before Luke gets back. I’m praying Luke didn’t go for ten miles this morning.
“What do you want?”
“I want part of the deal. I should get some sort of commission.”
He’s crazy. I overhauled everything about that club and if he thinks he’s getting a penny, he’s nuts.
“Okay, sure. You want me to call a meeting and tell them to hire you for the new club?”
“No, I want you to pay me. Straight up. Ten percent.”
“Sure. No problem.”
He steps forward and runs his fingers down my jaw. A shiver of revulsion shoots up my spine. I should knee him in the balls. My brain screams at me, but I’m paralyzed. When I saw him choking my friend, I knew exactly what to do, but now, my mind is blank.
With a quick motion, he draws his hand back and slaps me. He wants to hurt and humiliate me, but it actually makes me snap out of my daze. He’s too close to knee him, so I punch him in the gut and land a blow to his face, but he grabs my hair and with a twist, he’s got me down on my knees.
“I never liked you, Ice. Never understood what men saw in you, but that doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy fucking you.”
He drags me from the bathroom, walking backwards. I ram my hand up and don’t hit anything, but on the second try I hit his knee and he stumbles.
“Fucking bitch,” he snarls and tries to kick me.
I grab his foot and he falls. He still has my hair in his fist and we roll on the ground. He wrestles me back and straddles me, pinning my hands to the ground.
“You always had to do things the hard way, didn’t you? The only reason I’m not going to kill you is because I want my cut. You could say we’re partners. In every sense of the word.”
Luke’s roar fills the cabin. “ The fuck !”
He yanks Trey off me and throws him halfway across the room. Trey scrambles to his feet and comes at Luke. He flails absurdly, as if he’s a child having a tantrum. Luke lands a punch to Trey’s jaw. With a single blow, it’s all over. Trey crashes to the ground and doesn’t move.
Luke kneels beside me. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“I’m okay, Luke.”
He gathers me close and holds me. When he tightens his arms around me, I feel his heartbeat pounding in his chest.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you.”
I tremble and it makes my teeth chatter.
“Don’t let me go,” I whisper.
“I won’t. Ever.”
Chapter Sixteen
Three years later
Luke
Olivia walks ahead of me and I hold back so I can watch her. She’s barefoot, her sandals dangling from one hand and she’s strolling along the water’s edge. She watches the waves breaking. The sun, setting over the Pacific, casts her face in a rosy glow. She’s content and pensive and tonight when I touch her she’ll reach out to me with a certain need that I understand because I’ve seen it before.
Olivia’s pregnant. Again. With our second child. I’m sure of it.
A month after we married, she started getting sick in the morning and we
I scramble backwards. “Shit. Trey. What the fuck are you doing here?”
“You’re a hard person to keep up with.” He leans against the doorway, crossing his arms. “Whose place is this?”
My mouth goes dry. My lungs don’t seem to want to take in air and I’m terrified I might faint. I’d be out and at this asshole’s mercy. He looks different. Deranged. He always kept his hair short and it’s long. He’s got scabs on his forehead. He looks like pictures I’ve seen of meth users.
“You’ve been sending me those pictures, haven’t you?”
He smiles. “You think you’re going to sell The Cabaret? I build that club. It’s part mine.”
I want to tell him that it’s already sold. That it’s done and there’s nothing he can do about it. I would love to throw that in his face, but I have to play it cool. He’s a head taller than me and while he’s not muscular like Luke, he could hurt me. He could do some serious shit and be gone before Luke gets back. I’m praying Luke didn’t go for ten miles this morning.
“What do you want?”
“I want part of the deal. I should get some sort of commission.”
He’s crazy. I overhauled everything about that club and if he thinks he’s getting a penny, he’s nuts.
“Okay, sure. You want me to call a meeting and tell them to hire you for the new club?”
“No, I want you to pay me. Straight up. Ten percent.”
“Sure. No problem.”
He steps forward and runs his fingers down my jaw. A shiver of revulsion shoots up my spine. I should knee him in the balls. My brain screams at me, but I’m paralyzed. When I saw him choking my friend, I knew exactly what to do, but now, my mind is blank.
With a quick motion, he draws his hand back and slaps me. He wants to hurt and humiliate me, but it actually makes me snap out of my daze. He’s too close to knee him, so I punch him in the gut and land a blow to his face, but he grabs my hair and with a twist, he’s got me down on my knees.
“I never liked you, Ice. Never understood what men saw in you, but that doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy fucking you.”
He drags me from the bathroom, walking backwards. I ram my hand up and don’t hit anything, but on the second try I hit his knee and he stumbles.
“Fucking bitch,” he snarls and tries to kick me.
I grab his foot and he falls. He still has my hair in his fist and we roll on the ground. He wrestles me back and straddles me, pinning my hands to the ground.
“You always had to do things the hard way, didn’t you? The only reason I’m not going to kill you is because I want my cut. You could say we’re partners. In every sense of the word.”
Luke’s roar fills the cabin. “ The fuck !”
He yanks Trey off me and throws him halfway across the room. Trey scrambles to his feet and comes at Luke. He flails absurdly, as if he’s a child having a tantrum. Luke lands a punch to Trey’s jaw. With a single blow, it’s all over. Trey crashes to the ground and doesn’t move.
Luke kneels beside me. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“I’m okay, Luke.”
He gathers me close and holds me. When he tightens his arms around me, I feel his heartbeat pounding in his chest.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you.”
I tremble and it makes my teeth chatter.
“Don’t let me go,” I whisper.
“I won’t. Ever.”
Chapter Sixteen
Three years later
Luke
Olivia walks ahead of me and I hold back so I can watch her. She’s barefoot, her sandals dangling from one hand and she’s strolling along the water’s edge. She watches the waves breaking. The sun, setting over the Pacific, casts her face in a rosy glow. She’s content and pensive and tonight when I touch her she’ll reach out to me with a certain need that I understand because I’ve seen it before.
Olivia’s pregnant. Again. With our second child. I’m sure of it.
A month after we married, she started getting sick in the morning and we
Similar Books
