by Brook Greene
“Yes I am sure he did but I wanted you to see what happened to her for being associated with him,’ he takes a sip of his water to give himself a break so he can regain his composure, ‘they tore her up Avery and I can’t allow that to happen to you. As long as you stay with Leonardo Giovanni Tucker, I am afraid the same will happen to you. Because let’s face it he couldn’t protect her so I seriously doubt he can do better with you. “
I raise my eyebrows at the use of his full name it is an eclectic jumble of Italian Americana and I love it. I roll it around in my head several times as my Dad watches the shocked expression on my face replaced with a pleased smile.
“I take it you didn’t know his full name, how about this bit,’ he sits up with a smug smile crossing his face, ‘did you know he and his brother Eno were both adopted?”
“We haven’t gotten to that conversation due to the fact I am trying to keep her safe Kent.” My mouth waters at the sound of his deep baritone coming from behind me. He stops to lean in to me and kiss my temple while his big hands are messaging both of my shoulders. He takes the seat closes to me and turns his attention to me completely dismissing my Dad.
“Hey baby.” He says as he steals a kiss from my lips this time.
“Hey.” I light up inside and I am also sure my core temperature just shot up about ten degrees. Leo showing up just made this lunch a hundred times more interesting.
“I didn’t realize you would be joining us Leo.” My Dad is pissed off to say the least and I am pleased I had nothing to do with it. This was all Leo and it was lunch crashing perfection.
“Me either but I was in the neighborhood and wanted to have lunch with my woman.” Leo states as his hand snakes over my thigh giving me a high wattage he be gettin’ in my panties later smile.
He redirects his attention to my father, ‘so what are you doing here Kent?” he points at the folder that has been shuffled back and forth between my Dad and me since I sat down.
“Letting my daughter know what she is getting herself into by being with you Leo.” It is the showdown at the OK Corel and I am hiding in one of the stales behind a horse.
“Well I think Avery is a big girl and can make that decision on her own.” Leo is sparing with my Dad.
“Only if she has all the information.” My Dad has shifted in his seat and is leaning over the table in Leo’s direction.
Leo also leans up in his seat to stare at my father, ‘Kent can I speak with you in private please?” He is gritting his teeth as he makes his request.
They both stand at the same time and walk off leaving me at the table alone. It is then the waiter comes with our food, ‘just leave it.” I tell the bewildered man. He sits the baskets of food down in their places, ‘thank you.”
“Do you need a refill,’ he asks as he points at my tea glass.
“Yes please, it is looking like it is going to be a long lunch.” I quip as he nods and takes my glass with him as he exits the situation. I sit and watch my father stand with his hands on his hips talking to Leo who has his hands shoved down in the pockets of his blue jeans. I am guessing to keep himself from punching my father in the face. Kent Delany has a way of setting off the primal animal instincts of anger in a person, who better to know than me. I left for that reason and never looked back.
Leo dwarfs my father as he stands stoic while my father berates him with his knowledge of nothing. Leo’s face is twisted in anger and my father has yet to take a breath. Movement around the tables takes my attention for a moment away from the standoff.
It is Zach, ‘hey bud.’ I stand to give him a hug.
“Hey babe, it is good to see you. Miss you on the late shifts.” He squeezes me back taking Leo’s vacated seat and looks at me. I glance over his shoulder and his presence has not gone unnoticed.
I uncomfortably shift my attention back to Zach, ‘yeah, I just couldn’t do it anymore, yeah know?”
“I do, cause Avery I was the one who found you babe. You were in pretty rough shape.” He shifts and leans into me taking my hand, ‘how ya been?”
“Good I feel better and the headaches are gone.” I give him a smile, ‘still not able to stay on my own though.”
“Oh?’ He seems puzzled at this statement.
“Yeah I have been staying up at Leo’s.” I tilt my head in Leo’s direction he has his gaze trained on Zach and me.
“So I take it you two are back together?” Zach throws a wary eye back at Leo who is smoldering.
“Yeah, we are working through things.” I laugh trying to dodge any more detail the last thing I need to do is drag Zach into all this mess.
I glance back over to Leo and notice he has left my father mid rant to cross back over to our table. He kicks the chair holding Zach, ‘that’s my chair.”
Stunned Zach lifts himself up, ‘sorry man.” His freaked looked was all I needed to came to his aid.
“Leo, Zach and I worked together at the prison, he is the late shift guard.” I try to make the air light and breezy to no avail.
Leo eyes Zach, ‘is he now?” His eyes are set and the bad boy mask is on in full tilt, ‘the one on duty when you got attacked?”
“Yeah man I found her, scared the shit out of me.” Zach’s voice wavers with nerves.
“Convenient you show up afterwards,’ Leo shifts his stance to square up to Zach, ‘where exactly were you when it was going on, jerking off in the bathroom thinking about Avery?” Leo never cracks a smile.
“Leo!” I am kind of shocked but not really, it is Leo.
“What the hell, man I ran in as soon I heard Avery groaning. I was the one who helped her.” Zach steps back looking Leo up and down. This is not good because Leo is, well a bad ass biker dude and Zach is an ex-marine. This isn’t going to end well for these nice tables here at the corner bistro.
I step between them putting a hand on their chests, ‘okay guys let’s just step back and take a breath please?’ Dad thankfully joins the fray and helps me to back them down.
“Okay boys listen this is not the place or time for this.” The frigid waiter has come out holding the phone propping his hand up on his hip sending threatening vibes through the air at us. Letting us know he is getting ready to call the cops. Leo’s chest is heaving and the look of sheer terror is crossing Zach’s face.
I take Leo’s hands in mine, ‘Leo baby calm down, Zach didn’t have anything to do with what happened to me.” He stills and turns his gaze to my father, something passes between them.
Dad turns to Zach, “you need to leave now son and stay the fuck away from my daughter.”
My mouth falls open as I begin to protest Leo squeezes my hands and whispers, ‘shut up Avery.”
Zach backs away and disappears around the corner so fast he knocks two chairs and a table over as he goes. My Dad addresses the waiter, ‘no trouble here son.”
Leo and my father fill their vacant spaces as if nothing happened. I am left standing looking like a guppy out of water wondering what the hell just took place.
“Sit down Avery you are making a scene.” My father chastises as he scoots his chair under the table, ‘so Leo exactly what angle are we taking with this?” Leo cuts his eyes to me and then back to my father, ‘she is going to have to know eventually so we might as well let her in on it now. She is like her mother that way. She acts all pretty and oblivious but she knows.”
Actually my Dad had always played my unintelligence off by saying I was like my mother, I wasn’t like her in anyway. She was elegant and graceful, I am clunky and have zero common sense, obviously.
I sit gingerly looking back and forth to my father than to Leo Both of their faces were set in stone and all business but trained on me, ‘what?’ I ask as I lean back and take my tea with me. Could I really be so dense I don’t understand what is going on or is it so covert I have been left behind days ago?
My Dad nods to Leo as he turns to me, “your Dad is here for more reasons than you getting attacked,’ he pauses as I sit up to say s
omething, ‘let me finish.”
“Okay.” I lean back and wait.
“You getting hurt is the main reason I’m here.” My Dad interjects and sends a stern glance over at Leo.
“That goes without having to be said Kent,’ Leo really looks at me, ‘remember I told you I was going to make this right Avery?”
“Uh yeah.” The haze of confusion is thick around my head.
“I was the one who called your Dad and I told him everything.” Leo’s stern face is stoic giving nothing away.
Fidgeting in my seat I twist around enough to face Leo full on, ‘everything, meaning?”
Leaning up and taking my hand, ‘Your father and I are working together to get Cain and his men, and trying to successfully shut down the drug ring poisoning our town.”
Turning to my father, ‘when did you un-retire?”
Both men laugh, ‘I didn’t un-retire sweetie, I never retired. Leo needs my help and I have the resources to do it.”
Stunned into an uneasy silence I look between the two men, swallowing and realizing I am no longer hungry, ‘but Dad.” I start and then think better about giving away secrets that do not belong to me.
“Yes Avery, what is it?” My Dad takes a bite of his lunch, the waitress, after drooling all over Leo has placed an order for him.
“You came here to tell me what a bad man Leo is and now you are telling me you are working with him in criminal activities?”
Wiping his hands on his napkin, ‘no Avery, I came here to warn you about your safety,’ he nods over at Leo, ‘and you told me yourself he is trying to be a good guy, are you taking it back now?”
Confusion is wracking my brain, I don’t know what is up or if the sky is blue, ‘no, no I am not but Dad his dealings with Cain, the criminal, is what got us in this position in the first place.”
Leo leans up taking my hand and placing a light kiss on the back of it, ‘thank you honey for throwing me under the bus.” He leans back as the waitress reappears with his food.
I insistently regret my words to my father, but to his credit he eases my pain, ‘Avery he attempted to be a criminal but wasn’t very good at it.”
“I am sitting right here.” Leo barks.
“Yes Leo, we know you are.” Dad dead pans as he shoves the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth.
Shaking his head in disbelief, ‘anyway Avery,’ Leo looks over at my father, ‘the reason we have decided to work together in this is because my actions have put you in the cross hairs of some very bad people. Who will do anything to get at me and with your Dad’s law enforcement connections, I think we can get a hold on the situation.”
Holy shit, did I just hear what came out of Leo’s mouth correctly? He and my father are working together to bring down a drug cartel? I must have hit my head harder than I had originally thought. The two are chatting like they have known each other for years and I am sitting here in the twilight zone. Beeker has come over and joined our table with his own lunch, I haven’t taken one bite of my salad and can’t fathom eating anything.
Leo noticing I am not eating pushes the salad back in front of me, ‘you need to eat Avery.”
I put my hand on my rolling stomach hoping to ebb the urge of wanting to vomit, ‘no, I don’t think I can.”
Dad had been long finished, ‘why not?”
I sit up, ‘I am sorry if I don’t feel much like eating since my father and my boyfriend dropped a bomb on me like you two just did.” I am yelling by the time I get all the words out.
Wiping his mouth with a napkin Leo leans over to me, ‘Avery baby listen it is not a big deal.”
“For you maybe, not for me,’ I lean back and press my hand to my forehead, ‘holy shit guys.” I stop and eye Beeker across the table from me, ‘did you know about this?”
The young man’s eyes dart from my father to Leo then they land on me, ‘this sandwich is really good, I have been wanting to eat here for a while now.” He shoves another big bite into his mouth and chews with his eyes down cast.
“No Avery he didn’t.” Leo pats my leg trying to reassure me not every person in my life has been keeping important shit from me.
I sit up and shove a fork full of salad into my mouth as the men continue their conversation. I tune them out so I can organize my thoughts and feelings about this whole fiasco that is now my life.
The men finish up around one thirty, Leo settles up the bill and walks me back to the SUV, ‘babe don’t over think this.” He leans in a gives me a toe curling kiss right in front of my father. Giving my ass his signature pat before he steps back so my father can tell me bye.
My Dad steps around giving him an eat shit look, ‘now that you are done mauling my daughter in public Leo, do you think you can get me all the information you have on Cain and his associates?” Directing his attention to me he kisses my cheek, ‘love you honey and I will see you soon.”
“Love you to Dad, maybe we can have dinner at the house one day this week.”
“Sounds good,’ he squeezes my shoulder, ‘I do miss your cooking.” My heart tugs at his comment, he had been all alone in our big house. Without me and more importantly without my mother. Before I can resist the urge I leap at him and wrap my arms around his neck burying my face, ‘I love you Daddy.”
He encircles me with his arms, ‘I know baby girl, I love you too.” We stand embracing each other for another minute or two before we release at the same time.
Leo opens my door and takes my hand helping me in, leaning in for one more kiss, ‘I will see you tonight.”
“Okay.” Is all I say before he closes the door shaking Beeker's hand before he enters the vehicle. We pull out of the parking lot leaving my Dad and Leo standing still talking beside his bike.
****
I wake up warm and wrapped up in Leo. His breathing steady and his chest is gloriously bare. I take my hand and stroke down pushing the sheet out of the way to my destination and I am richly rewarded, I take him in my hand and begin to stroke up and down barely able to wrap my fingers around him.
This garners a groan from deep in his throat, ‘Avery.” He rolls to take me in his arms, ‘baby you are too much.”
“You like it.” I nibble at his ear, this gets me another moan.
I continue the movements up and down, ‘um Leonardo Giovanni I have so missed this big bed of yours.”
“Please don’t call me that, Leo is fine.” He growls at the sound of his given name.
I giggle, ‘I like to say it, it sounds so regal. Where did it come from because it really doesn’t go with Tucker.”
“It is the name I was born with and my adoptive mother loved it so much she kept it. I was the one who shortened it to Leo when I was a teenager.”
“I take it you don’t like it.” I stop my hand and look up at him. His eyes are closed,
“No I don’t, it reminds of the piece of shit who gave birth to me and she isn’t worth the thought.” His black eyes are trained on me, ‘did I say you could stop Avery?”
I continue to coax him up as he knees between my legs, ‘no one can hear us and I intend on making you scream.” He whispers into my ear blowing his hot breath down my neck.
My back arches up into him, ‘sounds like a plan.”
****
An hour later I am sitting on the edge of the bed watching my toe draw circles on the carpet, Leo is in the shower getting ready for work. He walks through the door from the bathroom and startles me.
“What ya thinking about so hard baby?” He crosses over to his dresser, I smile as his back is to me and the sight is mouth watering. The towel around his waist has pooled on the floor around his feet, ‘Don’t look at me like that Avery we don’t have time I am late as it is.”
I flop back on the bed and stare at the ceiling, ‘okay I guess I can give you a rain check.” I roll to my side and prop my head up in my hand. “I guess today I will go and see if the hospital is hiring.”
“Yeah?” He is in his closet rummaging
through his jeans.
“Yeah but a girl could get use to this lying around all day, reading.” I give him a sneaky smile. Jumping up to my feet I run over to him and wrap my arms around his waist, ‘hey can we talk about something before you go?”
“If you make it quick I guess.” He turns with a worried look in his eyes.
“Listen I have been spending a lot of time with Beeker and I really like the kid.”
“Me too, where is this going Avery?” He tugs his shirt over his head. I remove my arms so that he can finish dressing.
“Well I have noticed him and Kayla ya know?”
“No I don’t know explain it to me.”
“Beeker is in love with her and I think he is afraid it will hurt his chances at becoming a member if he acts on it.” I didn’t tell the whole story so I am not actually going back on my promise.
“So he put you up to asking me if he can date.” His eyebrows furrow together.
“Oh no I am doing this on my own. I just hoped you could talk to him and say it is okay, please?” I beg as I rub him through his jeans.
He steps back, ‘this is unfair coercion Avery, but I will talk to him just for you.”
Leo leans in to kiss me and then turns to leave but not before he swats my ass, ‘have Beeker drive you today if you go anywhere.” He starts to walk down the hall.
“What’s new?” I yell after him.
****
The strange days turn into even weirder weeks. My Dad and Leo had been spending way too much time together at the house, going over Max’s history with the club and the dealings Leo had with him. I had gotten a part-time job at the hospital and what seemed to becoming a permanent thing, I was still living with Leo. Most of my things had been brought from the apartment, to make me more comfortable, Leo had said.
For a guy like Leo, he seemed strangely comfortable with me living there. It has turned into the relationship he told me not to expect in the beginning. When I don’t pull the late shift, I have dinner on the table when he gets home, on the nights he comes home at a reasonable hour.
The other nights he does his rounds at the strip joint he owns. I am feeling more and more jealous on those nights. I lie in bed and wonder what he is doing and who he is doing it with.