by Lyssa Layne
“I can start a new one for her,” I reason. “Besides, a trust won’t mean much if we don’t get Rediger out of here as fast as humanly possible.”
“What if…” Princess starts, but her question fizzles out before she can formulate the rest of the words.
“What if, what?” If we’re brainstorming here, I’m open to hearing every thought, no matter how meaningless it may seem inside someone’s head. Sometimes the ideas that sound ridiculous wind up being brilliant.
“It’s just,” she twists her fingers uncomfortably, stalling, “is there any chance at all that Marcus is scamming you? Using Madi as a way to con a hundred grand out of you?”
Ordinarily, that’d be my first conclusion.
“No, this is legit. I know my brother. Professional liar or not, I know he was for real.”
Sketch scrunches her nose and screws up her mouth as she shifts from one foot to the other like the stench of this topic is getting to her. “She’s right. He’s legit. Maybe for the first time in his life, but it’s real. He wants out, and not for the money. He just wants out, period.”
Silence falls around us as we all take a moment to let it sink in.
We have options. They all suck, but at least they exist. Or, at least, they feel like they do. That’s something I can work with. Something I can hold onto, at least until the end of the day. Right now, we have a business to run.
Lucas
“You have absolutely no idea what’s going on?” Memphis asks for the one hundredth time.
“No. No fucking idea,” I snap. Like this isn’t making me crazy enough as it is! He’s supposed to be talking me down, not firing me up.
“Sorry.” I think he just noticed. “But you gotta understand, that’s my family, too. I know you’re the boyfriend and all, but I’ve been through shit with them, shit no one else can understand. It binds you together. It matters. They matter.”
Juli winces audibly. It’s the first sound she’s made since I got here an hour ago.
Memphis pretends he doesn’t hear her. He probably didn’t mean to say all of that in front of her.
“Look, as soon as I know, I will tell you. In the meantime, I need you to channel the dude who climbs onto bulls like you’re five and about to go on a pony ride at the fair, k? No more tripping out. Just, cool, calm and totally rational behavior even in the face of an undeniably irrational situation. That’s your specialty. That’s what I come here for.”
“You’re saying riding bulls is undeniably irrational?”
“Everyone says that.”
He laughs. “This from the man who stopped a handful of shrapnel with his backside.”
“Hey, we all have our things.” I shrug, doing my best to let him distract me. Or, at the very least, act as if it’s possible.
“Come on,” he gestures for me to follow him and we leave the living room, and Juli, behind.
“Where are we going?” The hallway leads straight to his bedroom, so the better question might have been, why are we going there. Or what will be doing once we arrive. But I’m not exactly thinking clearly here, so stupid questions are permitted and should therefore slide without being pointed out.
“Gotta show you something.”
“Okay.” I follow along until we reach his closet. He disappears inside while I wait next to the dresser. I’m not into small spaces.
He comes back out holding one set of boxing gloves in his hand and another under his arm. “Here. Try these on.”
I take them, an idea of where this is headed forming rapidly at the forefront of my mind. “Are we gonna fight?”
He grins. I’ve seen that grin. It’s not the kind that makes you want to laugh. It’s the kind that makes you glad you’re not on his bad side.
“Why not?” He slides his hand into a glove, pulling it tight. “You said the fights are fixed, right? Said these asshats are making money left and right letting people place bets on all the wrong contenders. Well, what if we fucked with their system a little?”
I stare down at my gloves then back up at him. “Could get us killed.”
He shrugs. “So could riding bulls and taking bullets.”
“As long as we’re clear on that.” I can feel my mouth twitch at its corners, itching to pull up. Liv will hate it, but it’s the best fucking idea I’ve heard all day.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Heartbreaker
“I know it’s short notice, Pru. I wouldn’t ask if I could help it.” I shake my head at my own reflection in the hall mirror. I’ve been on the phone with her for ten minutes, having a conversation that should have been over in three. It’s not that fucking complicated. “Look, if it’s a problem, I’ll ask one of the girls from dance if she can crash there tonight.”
Silence. And yet, I’m pretty sure I can hear her stewing. Then, she practically spits her words into the receiver and confirms it.
“You have a lot of nerve; you know that? Asking me to keep Madi here so you can have a night to yourself with my son. Maybe I can’t stop you from seeing him, but I sure as hell don’t need to help you pursue this sordid affair.”
I close my eyes and count to ten. I didn’t know she knew. I can’t tell her that. I also can’t have this conversation right now.
“I don’t blame you for feeling that way, Pru. For the record, I would never ask you to babysit so I can have a date night with your son. A, I’m not an asshole and B, Madi’s well informed when it comes to the birds and the bees, so I have no reason to hide my relationships from her. I actually did have something come up at the shop that’s got me completely swamped, and I’d feel better knowing she wasn’t sitting here alone. But you don’t need to believe me, or help me. It’s fine. I’ll figure it out.”
“Wait.”
I do, thinking she’ll say something else. When she doesn’t, I prod her, “For what?”
“Something is going on. Something you’re not telling me.” I can hear the clicking of her heels over the tile. She’s on the move. Judging by the lowered tone of her voice, she’s headed somewhere more private.
“I think that part has already been established, Pru.”
“No. I don’t mean you and Lucas, although I would have expected better from you.” She scoffs. “Oh, who the hell am I kidding, this is exactly the sort of thing I would have expected! I should have known. My son’s been infatuated with you since before he hit puberty, and what boy wouldn’t have been. The way you walk around…” Her voice trails off. For a brief moment I think maybe she’s distracted herself from her original mission to press the issue of my supposed secret. It’s not all that supposed. I have one, but I’m not telling it. “You’re right. That’s not it.”
“Why the sudden change of heart?” Ideally I’d get off the phone right now, but I can’t afford to have Pru’s mind wander off unsupervised. If she’s really set on finding out what’s going on, she’ll figure it out. That’s just how she is.
“Because, distasteful as I may find the idea, you’re clearly not hiding your relationship with Lucas. If you were just fooling around with him, there’s no way in hell you’d let anyone hear about it, ever. You’d keep that private, behind closed doors, but you’re not. You’re talking about it. So it’s real, and I’ll have to deal with that at some point down the road. For now, I have more important things to worry about, like Marcus, and how long he’s been in town for.”
Damn it. “How did you know?”
“You underestimate me, as usual. We may not see eye to eye on most everything, but you can’t possibly believe that I still don’t know you after all this time. You don’t lie, Olivia. You don’t keep secrets, unless it’s about your brother.” She practically whispers the last part. At least we’re both on the same page where he’s concerned. The less people who know, the better.
“I’m dealing with it, Pru.”
“You always say that, Liv. I know he’s your brother, but you can’t keep protecting him. He’s dangerous.”
“I know that. I�
��m not protecting him, I swear. I’m trying to protect myself and Madi. He’s here for his share of my father’s estate. There was nothing I could do to him without hurting myself in the process until now. He’s leaving. Just a few more days and he’ll be gone again, for good this time.”
She’s quiet for a long while, but I don’t dare say anything to interrupt her thoughts. It’s a lot to digest. We’ll all be better off if she takes the time to sort through it now.
“Make sure Madi packs a big bag,” she says quietly, emotions running high in her voice, “I want her here until he’s gone.”
“Thank you.” My heart swells. After all the crap my family has put her through, she still never fails to put Madi above it all.
“We need to work on our trust issues, Liv. We’re never gonna make it for the long haul if we don’t start having a little more faith in each other.”
“Madi’s seventeen. You’re nearly rid of me.”
She sighs. “I’ve seen the look on my son’s face when he talks about you. I’ll never be rid of you, Liv.”
Speechless, I hold the phone to my ear long after she’s hung up again. It’s not until after I hear the front door and Madi’s voice, that I snap out of it and remember what needs to be done and how I’m the one who needs to do it.
“Why do you look like that?” she asks, her brow arched, an expression of mingled curiosity and pity dancing in her face. She’s perfected that expression over the last three years. I’m hoping she grows out of it soon.
“You’re one to talk. You’re soaked in sweat and your hair is matted to half of your face,” I point out.
She drops her bag onto the nearest chair. “I just spent three hours dancing my ass off. I look appropriate for my circumstances. Plus, I wasn’t attacking your general appearance. You look fine. I was talking about your pale splotchy complexion and the overall ‘I’ve seen a ghost’ demeanor you’re rocking over there.”
“Oh.” My skin’s been doing that off and on all day. I’ve got a rash over my ribcage too, but she can’t see that, thank God. “I think I’m coming down with something. You should probably pack up some things and stay at the McNealys’ until I’m over it. No need for you to get sick too.”
“Bullshit.”
“Look at you, swearing like a big girl now.”
“Don’t screw with me, Aunt Liv. What’s really going on? Is it Marcus?”
I need to lie more often. I suck at it, and apparently my motivations are beyond transparent.
“I’m not telling you. Just pack a bag and be ready in twenty. I’m taking you to Pru’s tonight and you’re going to stay there for a while.”
Her hands land up on her hips stubbornly. “No.”
“Um, yeah.”
If we’re going to have ourselves a pissing match over this, I’m intent on winning.
“If it’s not safe for me to stay here, you shouldn’t be here either. Definitely not alone.”
“She won’t be.” Lucas walks in out of nowhere, as usual. I really need to put a bell on him or something. “I’ll be here too. But your aunt is right. You need to get out of the house for a while.”
Annoyingly, this does seem to appease her. “Fine. I’ll go pack.”
“Are you serious? Because Lucas said so, you’ll go? What kind of sexist crap is that?”
She turns back halfway down the hall. “It’s not a sexist thing. It’s the ‘he’s been trained to kill’ thing. If you’ve got a chick on standby with the same skill set, I’m cool with that too.”
I shrug. “I have Sketch.”
“Close, but no.” She grins and starts back toward her room. “The girl can throw a punch though; I’ll give you that. And I’ve seen her play softball, she’s pretty damn handy with a bat as well.”
“Now you’re just being patronizing.”
She responds by closing her door on me. Teenagers.
Lucas
I wait less than two seconds after Madi and my sisters take off in Hailey’s car to head back to my parents’ place before I round on Liv, demanding answers.
“Start talking and don’t leave anything out. I mean it, Liv. You try any of that shielding me bullshit and I’ll know.”
She does her best to appear affronted by the accusation, but succumbs to smirking sheepishly far too easily. One good thing at least: she’s finding her grounding slowly but surely again. Whatever Marcus dropped on her today is no longer too much for her to carry. I’d like to think I have something to do with that, but I’m not presumptuous enough to assume she’s let down her guard so far as to actually depend on me for something yet.
“Marcus wants me to buy him out. Said Rediger is making it impossible for him to pay back his debt, and none of us can afford to keep that asshole around here any longer, so he wants out. He doesn’t care about getting half of what everything is worth. All he needs is what he owes Rediger. We give him the money, they both disappear and life goes back to normal.”
Sounds too simple. There’s gotta be a catch.
“Why? Why now? Why so easy.”
She leans back against the kitchen counter, stretching her torso and lifting the hem of her shirt in the process. God, I’m ready for this shit to be over so I can take the time to fully appreciate how amazing she looks, just standing there and flashing me an inch of her perfect, painted skin. There are a million different thoughts I should be having right now, and none of them involves Marcus, but I can’t have any of them. Not yet. Not until this is settled.
“Before I tell you, maybe you would like to have a seat? Take a deep breath? Have a cookie? Count to ten or something?”
“Really? You think a light delivery will lessen the blow somehow?”
“I have tequila if the cookie doesn’t do it for you.”
“Liv.”
“Rediger wants Madi. If he doesn’t get his cash, he plans on snatching her. Oh, and of course, he hates me and wants me dead.”
She’s so flippant about the whole damn thing I don’t know whether to shake her or hold her tight. The tough girl routine is so fucking believable, sometimes I fall for it myself.
“Well, if that’s all.” I rake my hands over my face and up through my hair, then I bring them back down the same way, as if it will help clear my thoughts somehow. It doesn’t. “How much?”
“How much?”
“How much money? How much time?” How much do I want to beat his fucking face in? How much do I wish I had orders to shoot to kill right now? The list goes on.
“Hundred grand. Nine days.”
Finally, something I can do. “Call your lawyer in the morning. Have him draw up the papers so Marcus can sign whatever he needs to and then he can get the hell out.”
She scowls, and it’s the first serious expression I’ve seen from her since this conversation started. “It’s not that easy.”
“Yes, it is.” I reach into my pocket and retrieve my phone.
“No, it’s not. I don’t have that kind of money, Lucas. I have ideas on how to get it, but it’s going to take me a few days to sort it out.”
I tap the screen and bring up my bank app. “It’s not going to take a few days. It’s going to take me walking into my bank and drawing out the cash to give to you. That’s it.”
“What?”
I turn the screen so she can see it. My savings. It’ll damn near clean me out, but it’ll cover what Marcus owes and that’s all that matters. “I’ve got the money, Liv. Make the arrangements.”
Her eyes wide and her mouth open, she shakes her head. “No. I’m not taking your money.”
“Yeah, you are.”
“Lucas—” Her hand comes up to dismiss me, but she stops halfway and apparently decides it’s best to end the conversation altogether, because she abandons her post at the counter and starts to leave.
I snag her wrist just in time and stop her, bringing her back around to face me.
“How do I feel about you?”
She scrunches her nose, confused by the
change in topic. “I don’t know. What difference does it make? We’re not talking about us right now, we’re talking about Marcus.”
“This is about us. It makes a big difference. And you do know.”
Her gaze drops. Amazing. She finds me more terrifying than that guy who came at her last night trying to kill the kid at her feet.
“I know you care about me, Lucas, and I think you know that I care about you as well, but that doesn’t make it okay for me to clean out your savings account. Especially not given what you did to earn that money. I don’t deserve it. Marcus and Rediger definitely don’t deserve it.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t diminish my fucking feelings like that. I don’t care about you. I love you. I’ve told you this. A lot. I’ve said it over and over again, and frankly, I think I’ve proved it by now. Whether you’re ready to say those words to me or not means nothing to me. I’m not sitting here like some insecure jackass waiting to hear confirmation that I’m not in this alone. I’m not. I know I’m not. You don’t need to say it for me to feel it. You love me. You love me so much you don’t even know what to do with it. So I’m going to tell you. You’re going to take my money, you’re going to give it to your brother, and he’s going to give it to his boss. They will both be good little criminals and go back to the seedy shitholes they crawled out from. And then, you and I? We’re going to be together. We’re going to be happy, and someday, when you’re all grown up and can handle it, we’re going to get married. And then, Liv, none of this will matter. There will be no question of what’s yours or what’s mine, because it will all be ours. So, if you could just look at the big picture for like two seconds, and see that what I’m saying is true, we could get on with getting to that happily ever after part of the story I know your sappy romantic insides secretly yearn for.”
“Damn it,” she whispers, tears surfacing at the corners of her eyes. “That was good.”
“You’ll call your lawyer?”
She nods slowly. “I’ll call my lawyer.”