by Marie York
I was a fool to think I could. Tiffany would forever haunt me, making any sort of happiness near impossible.
A gentle knock brought me back to reality. I glanced to the door where Lyla stood in nothing more than one of my black t-shirts. It barely covered her thighs, and normally I would love every second of the beautiful view, but my head was too fucked up to appreciate it.
“Want to talk about it?” she asked.
Talking was the last thing I wanted to do. “No.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders sagged, but she didn’t let it deter her. She walked toward me in calculated steps, a determined glimmer in her brown eyes. “It might help.”
“I doubt that.”
She leaned against my desk, her arms crossing over her chest, pulling the t-shirt up to indecent heights. I ignored the temptation to pull her into my lap and fuck her until all I could focus on was her tight wet cunt.
I took another swig from my glass and pressed a finger into my temple, trying to silence the throbbing in my head and my cock.
“I guess I’ll leave you alone then.” She pushed off the desk and instinctively I reached for her hand, holding her in place.
She looked down at my hold and back up at me, her pretty lips slightly parting. She was so goddamn beautiful it made my chest hurt.
“Don’t go,” I begged. “Please.” I didn’t deserve her, but in that moment, I didn’t want to be alone. Maybe that made me a pussy, or a selfish asshole, but I didn’t give a shit.
I needed her.
She didn’t say anything just crawled into my lap and held me. The relief of feeling her fingers stroking my hair was too much. She held me tighter, cradling me in her arms and rocking back and forth. I was a broken man, yet for some reason, she seemed to love every jagged piece.
I just hoped she didn’t live to regret it.
“It’s okay,” she said.
The tears I had stubbornly suppressed in my dreams and for the last few years began to fall freely until I was reduced to a pathetic sobbing mess.
Chapter 38
The numbers were off again and this time a little more than before. It was now at a point where it would affect my bottom line and with my future plans that couldn’t happen. I held off until I was financially comfortable to take a leap of faith, and now I felt like the universe was giving me the middle finger.
I poured myself a glass of Jack and took a healthy sip before starting back at the beginning and adding numbers again. Not that I expected a different outcome than the last six times, though, maybe I was hoping for a goddamn miracle.
Once I finished, I shoved the calculator away from me and slumped back in my chair. I had to face facts. Someone was stealing from me. Worse. That someone was someone I trusted.
There was a slight knock at the door and I looked up. The tension pulling tight across my shoulders eased as my eyes locked with Lyla’s. She looked damn beautiful in a V-neck black t-shirt and a pair of cut-off shorts. Then again, the girl could wear a garbage bag and still look like a fucking goddess.
“Hey.” She eased my door open. There was a hesitation in her movements, and I knew it was because after I completely unraveled in her arms last night, I had carried her to her room, made love to her, and left before the sun rose.
I couldn’t face her. I felt like a fucking tool for not being able to keep my emotions shoved in the back of my mind where they belonged. Six years ago, I locked them up and threw away the damn key then one stroke of Lyla’s fingers through my hair and the lock snapped.
“I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
She was too sweet for her own good.
“Busy,” I said then felt like a complete ass when the sparkle in her eye vanished.
“I can see that. I’ll let you get back to it.”
I took my glasses off, tossed them on the desk, and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Lyla,” I said before she could shut the door.
She stopped and turned back to me.
“I’m sorry, I just have a lot going on.”
“Is there something I can help with?” I had already dumped enough in her lap, I couldn’t bear to add to that shit pile.
“I wish you could.”
Disappointment was obvious in the slump of her shoulders and the downward tilt of her lip. “Me too.”
She turned to walk away, and I called her back. Her brown eyes looked hopeful, and it did weird shit to my heart. I cleared my throat. “You should know, I’ll be gone for a few days.”
“Oh.” Shock flashed across her face for a split second before quickly fading into something that made me want to reach for her. “Okay.”
“I have business out of town. I’ll be leaving on Monday.” I didn’t like the idea of leaving her here alone. “Maybe you can stay with Dee and Cole for a few days.”
“Why would I do that? Unless you’re really not going away and you just want me out of the apartment.” She shrugged and stood a little taller. “You know you can just tell me if you’re bringing someone over.”
I thrust my hands into my hair, wanting to rip it out. She was so damn stubborn, refusing to believe any of my declarations. “How many times do I have to tell you? There is nobody else.”
She shifted from one foot to the other. “I know, but sometimes you’re just so secretive and I don’t know what to think.”
“You can stop thinking it’s another girl. I might not be able to give you what you want, but I would never…”
“Okay,” she said before I could finish. “Just remember if you ever feel like talking about it, I’m just down the hall.” She gave me a smile and walked away before I had a chance to say anything else.
I stared at the door for too long, fighting the urge to go after her. It was becoming almost a daily routine. The minute I saw Lyla it was an all-day battle of controlling my urges. Most times I managed, but there were times when my self-control gave up on me.
Finally, I tore my attention from the door and forced it back on the numbers in front of me. A few hours went by and there was a knock at the door. I looked up, maybe a little too hopeful, and was greeted with disappointed when it was Cole in the doorway and not Lyla.
“Oh, it’s you,” I said. “Hey.”
“Wow, what a welcome. I feel honored.”
“Fuck you.”
“Let me tell you, I’m really feeling the love today.” He laughed. “Any luck with figuring out what’s going on?” He nodded to the stacks of paper and books in front of me.
I squeezed the bridge of my nose and leaned back in my chair. “No.”
“Then it’s time to let a professional takeover.”
I didn’t ask for help, but at this point I was desperate. Without making a show of being able to handle my own shit, I stood from my desk and held my hands out to the chair. “Be my guest.”
Cole sat in the chair, making a big fucking show out of getting comfortable then slapped his hands together. “Let’s do this,” he said.
“What do you need from me?”
“To get the hell out of here.”
“Why are we friends again?” I asked.
Cole motioned to himself with, eyes gleaming with humor. “Because I’m awesome.”
I threw the pen I was holding at his head. He ducked but wasn’t quick enough; it smacked him right in the forehead.
“Asshole.” I laughed as I made my way to the door.
“Oh! There is something you can do for me,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“Get me a burger.”
“Does your wife not feed you?” I joked.
“She feeds me plenty just can’t pass up a Declan burger.”
“You got it,” I said and headed downstairs.
The evening crowd was starting to show up and Lyla and Tara bounced from table to table. Gary held down the bar, taking orders and filling drinks while Phil, one of the part-timers, handled the far side of the bar.
Phil only worked twice a week, since he had other
bartending gigs around town. He brought in his own clientele which was fine by me. More customers equaled more money. But was it possible that my culprit was Phil? Was he running this scam across all his jobs? For a moment, I watched him, making sure the money went in the register. As someone who worked at many bars, he was familiar with the practices, knowing when he could skim a little off the top.
If he was stealing from me, he showed absolutely no signs of it. He was down to the textbook in his interactions. My eyes wandered over to Tara who was wearing more jewelry than normal. It didn’t look like diamonds or any expensive gemstones, but it didn’t particularly look too cheap either.
I ignored it and headed to the kitchen. There was still a very real possibility that I fucked up somewhere and Cole would figure it out, calling me a dumbass from now until eternity. If it meant that one of my own wasn’t stealing from me, I would gladly deal with the ribbing.
While I waited for Declan to make a burger for Cole and myself, I went back out to the bar to help. Gary’s eyebrow curved upward when he saw me. “What are you doing out here, boss?”
“Taking a break,” I said.
Gary laughed. “Only you would consider working, taking a break.”
I loved the bar, working behind it, meeting people and feeding off of their energy. It never felt like work to me. Being behind the bar felt more like home.
Gary moved to the other side of the bar and took an order. I kept one eye on Phil and the other on Tara. Neither were giving me any sort of sign that they were thieves.
Lyla caught my gaze from across the room and smiled. On days when I felt like I was losing my sanity, simple things like that kept me together. I smiled back.
“Order up!” Declan called out as he dropped two plates on the end of the bar.
“Thanks, Dec,” I said, and since I really wasn’t needed down here, I took both plates and headed upstairs.
Cole and I ate our burgers mostly in silence as he poured over my books. I made a beer run at one point but other than that neither of us had said much. He seemed incredibly focused, and I didn’t want to disturb him, but I had a pressing issue I wanted to discuss.
“You know I’m going out of town on Monday,” I said.
“Yup, what about it?”
“I don’t like the idea of Lyla staying here alone. I was hoping she could crash at your place for the weekend.”
Cole took his glasses off, rubbed his eyes then put them back on, shifting his attention to me. “You know I don’t mind, but what does Lyla say about all this?”
“I mentioned it.”
“And?”
“She didn’t really say anything.” Other than accuse me of wanting to get her out of the apartment so I could bring some chick back. The thought pissed me off. I might not have been hers in the normal sense of the word but in every other instance I was.
“Now that I find hard to believe.”
“She might have hurled an accusation at me.”
“Jealousy,” Cole said. “Interesting.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Cole held his hands up. “It’s just that you two act like a couple, but you’re not.”
“I couldn’t do that to her. Drag her into my shitty life.”
“If you ask me your life isn’t all that shitty and not to point out the obvious here, but haven’t you already dragged her in? You two live with each other for fuck sakes. You might not be sharing a bedroom—”
I must’ve made some sort of expression because Cole’s eyebrow shot up.
“Or maybe you are. Whatever. The point is, you’ve already let her in, so what I don’t understand is why you’re still running.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? I’m not running from shit. Look around.”
“I’m not talking about this place. I’m fucking thrilled you finally stopped roaming around the country and settled here. But I’m talking about the fact that you haven’t been back home since Tiffany’s funeral.”
“There’s nothing there for me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. You want to move on with Lyla and give you two a fighting chance then you need to face the demons of your past. Until you do, you’ll never have a future.”
“Okay, Sigmund Freud.”
Cole laughed. “Joke all you want, but I’m serious, and deep down, you know I’m right.” Cole finished off the beer I brought up and pushed the glass away. “Question is. What are you going to do about it?”
With a million thoughts in my mind, I leaned back in my chair. I had no idea what I was going to do about it. The thoughts churned over and over, but I still couldn’t come to a fucking decision.
Cole had gone back to the books when he finally placed the pen down. “I have good news and bad news,” he said. “The good news. You’re not an idiot. The bad news. Someone is definitely stealing from you.”
Fuck me.
Chapter 39
I had my answer. Someone on my staff, someone in the Baile family was stealing from me. All signs pointed to Tara, and it fucking broke a piece of me. I loved the girl like a sister, helped her out and had been there for her whenever she needed me and that’s how she thanked me.
There was still no hard evidence, only a gut instinct. I didn’t want to come out and accuse her though. I wanted to ease into a conversation and see what happened.
She just took an order and was heading to the kitchen. I caught up with her. “Hey Jax.” She shoved her order pad in the front pocket of her apron.
“Hey,” I said.
Before we approached the kitchen door, I stood in front of her. “Wanted to ask you something,” I said, and she raised an eyebrow.
“About what?”
It was now or never. I wouldn’t accuse her, just tell her the truth and have a conversation. “I’ve noticed there’s been money missing at the end of the night.”
She looked at me, the way I imagined a wounded dog would look at its attacker, before her hands landed on her hips, and her eyes narrowed into tiny slits. “Let me guess. You automatically think it was me?” Irritation and anger tainted her words, making them harsh and defensive.
I held my hand up as if that would calm her down. This was not how I wanted this to go.
Fire raged in her eyes and her lip trembled. She was a damn firework about to go off and I needed to diffuse the situation before she made a scene in front of the customers.
“I didn’t say that,” I said as calmly as possible, but it didn’t seem to matter. The fire in Tara’s eyes turned deadly.
“No, but you’re implying it. I’m not fucking stupid.”
“I never said those words.”
“You didn’t have to, Jax. I know what you’re thinking.” The deadly fire glossed over, and pools began to form at the bottom of her lids. She blinked them away and shook her head. When she looked back at me, her eyes were dry and angry. “Who else have you asked? Did you ask Lyla? Or is she automatically off the table because you’re fucking her?”
Her words knocked me back. Shock quickly mixed with anger. “What I do in my private time is none of your fucking business.”
Declan came out from his spot in the kitchen, gaze swinging between Tara and I.
“What the fuck is going on here?” he demanded.
I turned to him. “Dec, this is nothing that concerns you.”
Tara ignored Declan, pointing a finger at my chest. “You were back here talking to Declan.” She shoved her finger toward him. “Did you ask him if he knew anything about the missing money?”
“Money’s missing?” Dec asked, and I could almost see the lightbulb go off in his head. He turned to Tara, pure sympathy in his eyes.
“If you needed money, why didn’t you just ask me? You know I would’ve given it to you.”
This time, she didn’t fight the tears; they fell freely down her cheeks. She pushed her blonde hair off her face and pursed her lips. “Fuck the two of you.”
She ripped off her
apron and threw it at my face before storming out the kitchen doors and out of Baile.
Chapter 40
After Tara stormed out and Declan chased after her, I had the urge to run too. Unfortunately, with Tara taking off, we were short-handed.
Until Declan got back, I took over duties in the kitchen. Luckily, he had everything already prepared, and I just had to cook them. Wasn’t exactly my forte, but I knew enough to get by. I just hoped I didn’t fuck anything up too much.
Between the heat from the fryers and the heat from the grill, I was sweating fucking bullets. I had no idea how Declan did this night after night. I seriously needed to give the guy a raise.
“I got it from here.” Declan came back into the kitchen and snatched the spatula out of my hand. There was a storm brewing in his eyes, turning them from blue to black.
“Did you catch her?” I asked.
“No. And you should’ve fucking talked to me first. I know how to handle her.”
I looked at him, trying my hardest to keep my cool. I was the fucking boss around here; it was my goddamn bar and if there was a problem, I handled it. Me.
“I didn’t need to handle her. I needed to know if she was fucking stealing from me, and by the way she acted, it pretty much proves she did.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Was it you then?”
His eyes narrowed to two tiny slits. “Don’t fucking ask me that ever again.”
I held my hands up. I didn’t want to fight with Declan. “Of course I don’t think it was you,” I explained. “But that’s my point. There’s only so many people who work here, that would be capable of stealing, and most of them, like you, I know for a fact would never. Tara seemed the obvious choice to me.”