I went over it again, added another eight bars, and repeated the steps until they felt natural. Until I didn’t have to think about what I was doing anymore. By now I was sweating, and I went to my phone to restart the music one last time. I caught something out of the corner of my eye, something that hadn’t been there when I started.
I turned and there was Jay Thornton, arms crossed, leaning against Nico’s door. He was looking at me with an unreadable expression.
“Are you here to see Nico?” I didn’t know how long he’d been watching me, but it was unnerving. When I danced, I got lost in my own world and barely noticed anything else going on around me.
“No.”
Silence stretched thin between us. I didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know what he wanted, if he wanted anything, or if he was just there to intimidate me. And then I realized.
“The money.” Of course it was about the money. I’d missed the deadline. But no one had come to my door. No one had followed me down the street when I went to work this morning. This was it though, he was coming to collect and I couldn’t pay. I’d missed my bank appointment convalescing.
Jay pushed himself off the door. “I talked to Simon. He gave you another two weeks.”
I tried not to show my surprise. “How kind of him.”
Jay was right in front of me. I rubbed the sweat from the back of my neck.
His eyes went to my arm. He reached out and rubbed his thumb over the scab, what was left of my bullet graze. “I never thanked you for saving my life.”
I turned away. “I didn’t save your life.”
He was behind me, his breath on the back of my neck. “If you hadn’t gone outside, I would’ve been shot. And they would have been more careful with their aim.”
I didn’t want his thanks. I didn’t want to feel the hardness of his chest on my back. Definitely didn’t want to lean into it. I moved away again but turned to face him. “It wasn’t a big deal. I would’ve done it for anyone.”
He let out a short, wild laugh. “Maggie, you got shot. Because of me. Don’t act like it’s nothing.”
He was taking this way too personally. I tightened my ponytail, then winced at the twinge in my arm. “I thought it was just a graze?”
He snorted. “You got lucky. It could’ve been much worse.”
“Not lucky. Blessed.” I said it before I could stop myself.
He raised an eyebrow. “You think God saved you?”
I walked to my bag. My body had gone cold, sweat freezing on my skin. I pulled my hoodie back on. I didn’t want to talk about God with Jay Thornton. “Speaking of thank yous, I never said thank you for making sure I got fixed.” I waved at my arm. “And taking me home.” I barely remembered that part, but I was pretty sure it involved me inhaling the scent of his skin as he carried me to my bed. My cheeks burned.
“Maggie.” Jay was there again, right in front of me. Too close. He took my hand. Both our palms were slick with sweat. I looked up at him.
“Maggie Hale,” he repeated. His other hand cupped my cheek. There was an expression on his face I’d never seen before. Hopeful, unsure, and something else. Desire?
My lips parted in surprise. And then his head tilted and his mouth merged with mine. Just like that, he was stealing my breath. His lips were soft, practiced. My heart was in my throat. The taste and feel of him was intoxicating. My whole body tingled, wanting to give in. I pushed him away with my good arm.
“What are you doing?”
He blinked. “I—”
“Your thanks was enough.”
“Are you serious?” His eyebrows lowered. “You think I kissed you because I’m grateful?”
Wasn’t that why he was here, looking all mournful at my scab like it was his fault I’d been shot? Which it sort of was. But I didn’t need his gratitude, and I definitely didn’t want his lips.
Without thinking, I grabbed my bag with my bad arm then hissed at the sharp shock of pain, dropping the bag to the floor. Jay was there, bending down to pick it up. He placed it over my shoulder and my lips tightened.
“I appreciate having more time,” I said. “But if you think getting me a longer deadline means I owe you something—”
“Excuse me?” The words came out like he’d been slapped.
“I’ll get you the money as soon as I can and then this can be done.” I waved between us.
His whole face went dark. “You mean me.”
I’d never liked Jay Thornton, he had to know that. I went for the stairs.
“You’re a real piece of work,” he said to my back.
I spun around. “What did you think was going to happen here? That I’d jump into your arms because you extended my deadline? Or because we spent a little time together the other night?”
“That’s really what you think of me?” His voice became hard, dangerous. “Just because I work for a man like Simon doesn’t mean I’m anything like him.”
“Could have fooled me.”
He rubbed a hand through his hair. “I thought, after—”
“You thought wrong.”
Pain flashed in his eyes, his jaw clenched.
Despite who he was, I didn’t want to hurt him. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea.”
“It wasn’t an idea. I’m capable of real, actual feelings, you know.” His face closed down.
I didn’t know what to say. Of course he had real feelings, but had I allowed them? I hadn’t seen Jay as anything other than someone who hurts people for money. I didn’t want to think there was anything else to him than that.
“I…” I hesitated.
“It’s okay, Maggie. I get it.” He brushed past me down the stairs.
He was gone and all I felt was relief.
Chapter 26
JAY
I went straight for the nearest bag, not bothering with gloves. Every word Maggie had said to me went through my fists and into the leather as I tried to work things out in my head.
She’d stepped in front of a bullet for me but acted like it meant nothing.
She’d assumed the kiss was because I thought she owed me something.
She’d thought I wanted sex in exchange for a longer deadline.
She wanted nothing to do with me.
And I wanted her. Still.
Sweat poured down my neck and my knuckles were in agony, but I kept going. Punching, my teeth gritted to keep from screaming in frustration.
Maggie didn’t want to see me anymore, that much was clear. She couldn’t believe I had feelings for her, or that I had feelings at all. And yet I did. I loved the way she argued with me, even though it drove me crazy. I loved the way she didn’t back down one second, then leaned on me the next. I loved her courage, her faith, the fire in her eyes, and that body I couldn’t get out of my head. She’d become a light in my dark world. But she would never know because I couldn’t be that light for her.
I collapsed to the mats, wiping my raw knuckles across my forehead. The light above the gym was off. While I’d been taking out my aggression on the bag, Maggie had gone.
The skin over my knuckles was cracked and bleeding. I found some gauze in the bathroom and began to bandage my hands, Maggie’s words still playing through my mind.
Not lucky, blessed, she’d said, so certain God had a presence in her life. As if she deserved to be blessed when someone like me didn’t.
I let out a growl, itching to get back to the bags, but I took a deep breath and calmed myself. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t fight the bags all night. Like with Maggie, it was a fight I could never win.
Inside Pearl of China, I grabbed a bowl of wonton soup from Mingyu and headed to Simon’s office. Alonso let me in with a salute and a smirk.
Simon was arguing with someone on the phone so I took a seat and slurped my soup. I didn’t look at him as he talked because he didn’t like that, so my eyes roamed over the framed photos on his wall, most of them of him with various local celebrities and people he deemed
important. Squeezed between one of him and the mayor of Vegas, and another of him with some Asian man I didn’t recognize, was a small 4x6 of the two of us, taken when I was sixteen.
I had a pronounced black eye and a cut lip but I was grinning, Simon’s arm slung over my shoulder. That had been after he’d set two of his enforcers on me without warning. He was one of those guys who, if you couldn’t swim, they’d throw you in the deep end and either you learn quickly, or drown. That’s what had happened on that day. I’d learned quickly, using my speed to my advantage against men bigger and stronger than me.
Simon hung up the phone and stood. “Let’s go.” He buttoned his suit jacket and left the room. I followed, dropping my bowl off in the kitchen. We climbed into Simon’s Lexus out in the back lot.
“Where are we going?”
“We have a meeting with Aguda.”
I tensed. I had no desire to see Rance Aguda ever again. But this could be something to take to Hopkins.
“What’s it about?” I patted my pocket to make sure my cell phone was there. If I was lucky, I might get a recording of this meeting.
Simon’s lips thinned. “He wouldn’t say. But when Aguda calls, it’s unwise not to answer.”
Simon drove at his usual snail’s pace through the darkened streets of Vegas. Despite jumping to Aguda’s call, it didn’t seem to affect Simon’s driving speed. His Lexus was his baby, after all, and nobody put his baby at risk.
“Do you have something on him that will put him away?”
The corners of his mouth curled. “We’ll see.”
Simon pulled up to a random office building somewhere in the north. One other car was parked in the lot—a black Lincoln with tinted windows, just like the one in the picture Hopkins had shown me. Simon got out. I reached for my phone to find the record option when my door flung open.
Someone grabbed my arms and pulled me from the car. “Out, now!”
My muscles tensed, ready to fight. The man who’d grabbed me was strong despite his size. But that didn’t mean he knew how to use those muscles for anything other than weights. I grabbed his forearm, put my foot behind his ankle, and down he went.
A gun cocked. I looked up. Aguda had exited the Lincoln, but it was one of his goons pointing the .45 at me.
I put my hands up. “Whoa, now. I don’t let anyone grab me.”
“What’s going on here?” Simon asked, stopping beside me. “You called us. You asked for Jason. I wouldn’t have come if I knew my son would be treated like this.”
I glanced at Simon. What the hell was this?
Aguda came toward us, his bodyguard following on his heels, gun at the ready. “Jason, is it?”
My whole body was coiled, ready. “It’s Jay.” If Aguda had asked for me specifically, I was in trouble. But I had no idea why. Plus, with his focus on me, I would never be able to get evidence of this meeting.
Aguda turned to Simon. “You’ve done me a lot of favors lately, Officer Ting.” He said ‘officer’ like it was a joke. “So I’m here to do one for you.”
Aguda cocked his head. The man who’d pulled me out of the car handed something to Simon. A picture.
“I’ve got a posse of detectives following me around,” Aguda said, then looked to one of his men. “Is posse the right word? No matter. They take pictures of me. I do the same. You never know what you might find.”
The picture was of me and Hopkins at the gym.
“Who is this?” Simon asked. Despite the danger in the air, he was the picture of ease. I admired him for it.
“Yes. Who is that, Jay?” Aguda asked.
I shrugged. “Somebody Hopkins. He came to one of my classes last week. So what?”
“What your son is failing to tell you,” Aguda said, “is that Hopkins is a cop.”
“I don’t recognize him” Simon said.
“He’s I.A.”
Simon looked at me. I shrugged like I hadn’t a clue. Simon returned the picture. “Lots of people take boxing classes,” he said. “Cops get soft and look for a tune up once in a while.”
“Perhaps,” Aguda replied. “Or perhaps it’s not so innocent as that. In any case, I would never allow something like this among my boys, innocent or not. If you don’t have the stomach to properly chastise your son, Joseph here would be happy to do it.” He motioned to the bodyguard who pointed the .45 at me again.
My fingers curled into fists. I stared Joseph down, daring him to do it.
Simon’s laughter pierced the silence. “Quite the drama you’re putting on here, Rance, but it’s not necessary. Jason is loyal.”
Aguda glanced between me and Simon. He adjusted his coat sleeves. “I don’t share your unwavering faith.”
Simon’s smile died. His voice went cold. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention, even if it was for nothing. We’ll be going now.”
Aguda snarled. He grabbed Simon by the arm. Instinct kicked in and I moved to break them apart. Joseph pointed the gun in my face. I froze. We both loomed over our bosses, protective, waiting.
Aguda had regained his composure. “When I see a threat, I don’t waste time with questions.” He let go of Simon and glanced at me. “I’ve done you a favor tonight. I won’t do so again.”
Simon seethed the entire drive back to Pearl of China. Chinese curse words were hurled in every direction. I stayed silent.
I’d dodged a bullet, almost literally. I’d been worried about Simon catching me with Hopkins, but it turned out Aguda was the bigger threat. Simon had believed me. He trusted me. He thought my loyalty still lay with him.
Shame covered me like sweat after a double class.
Simon’s muttering had turned to English. “To threaten you like that. To threaten me! I thought he wanted you for a job, I thought he was borrowing you. Instead he wanted to demonstrate his power over me. He was testing me. But I’m not playing. That’s what he doesn’t understand. He thinks I’m just a cop looking for some easy money. He has no idea.”
I stared at Simon. He was going to lend me to Aguda for some job? Suddenly, I didn’t feel so ashamed about my fading loyalty.
“What have you done for him?” I asked. Aguda had mentioned favors, plural. Just how deep had Simon gotten in with him?
“This and that,” Simon said. “Nothing to warrant pulling this power-play on me. He’s built an empire here in Vegas and what does he do with it? Wastes it! On drugs and prostitutes, illegal fighting and gambling rings. Nonsense.”
Simon sounded genuinely upset, as if he would do so much more with Aguda’s “empire” if he had the chance.
We pulled up to Pearl of China and Simon parked. “He doesn’t deserve what he’s built. Not anymore. And I won’t let his threats go unchecked.” He looked at me, the kind of stare down that usually got clients to spill the truth. “Even if you have been a bit of a disappointment lately.”
My hackles rose. “You think I was lying about that cop?”
He shook his head. “No. I worry that you’ve been distracted.”
“Has there ever been a time when I haven’t done my job?”
Simon’s eyes narrowed. “You spend more time at that boxing place these days.”
I relaxed. This was about my day job, nothing more. “I like teaching.”
He scoffed. “Son, you won’t get anywhere in life teaching. I don’t understand why you waste your time over there. I’ve indulged it up till now, but if it gets in the way of your real job, then you won’t be going any longer.”
I kept my breaths even, but it wasn’t easy. Simon was dictating my life. He’d done it since the beginning. I hadn’t noticed at first, and then when I did, I didn’t mind because I owed him. I’d liked working for him. Just as Maggie had said, I’d liked the power it gave me. Now, I had no interest in that. I wanted something different, something he wouldn’t let me have.
Hopkins was my way out, but I’d gotten nothing from the meeting tonight, except Aguda’s mistrust of me, and Simon’s unwavering faith. Simon wante
d to hold me in place, but he’d laughed in the face of one of the most dangerous criminals in Vegas when my loyalty came into question. He’d protected me. Once again, I was torn. Freedom or loyalty. I couldn’t have one without giving up the other.
We both climbed out of the car. “Did you talk to the Hale girl?” he asked. “I still can’t believe she stepped in front of a bullet for you.” He couldn’t believe it because he would never do it himself. But he had given her the extension because of it.
Maggie. She’d been another reason for wanting to get free of Simon, but she’d shot me down as easily as she smiled. The taste of her lips, the feel of her soft curves pressing into me when I’d kissed her. The moment when I’d imagined she could be mine and I could be hers—it was painful to remember now.
I rubbed the bandages over my knuckles. “I told her you extended the deadline.”
“She better make the most of it,” Simon said.
Wanting Maggie was as pointless as wanting my freedom, but I didn’t know if I could stop fighting for either.
Chapter 27
JAY
Someone was tailing me. A few times I’d caught a souped-up Mazda with blue rims in my rearview mirror. Not exactly inconspicuous. Not Hopkins style, either. Probably one of Aguda’s lackeys, checking to see if the cop showed up near me again.
Simon thought it was Aguda too. “I’ll take care of it,” was all he said. A few days later, he got on a plane without telling me where he was going or when he would be back.
I relished the taste of freedom. Teaching without having to worry about being interrupted by some shady job. Spending time with McCrary, who was back to his old self. Pretending to ignore the Mazda hovering at the corners of my vision. Pretending to ignore Maggie whenever she came into the gym. Doing my best not to think about kissing her again, running my hands through her hair, pressing her hips into mine.
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