Chapter 11
Luke
Sam was willing to meet me again, and I knew I was lucky. Judging by how jumpy he’d been the last time we’d met, I hadn’t thought he would even agree. But I needed to know more. Lying about Dalton’s death meant that someone wanted to cover up what had really happened, and covering up what had really happened meant that a lot more was going on.
And I wanted to get to the bottom of it.
I’d never cared for the MC gangs or the things Dalton had gotten mixed up in. I hadn’t joined when he’d fallen in with the wrong crowds, and I’d made it clear how I felt about what he was doing whenever he spoke to me about it.
But they had ripped my brother away from me, and I wasn’t just going to let that rest. If it meant I had to play with fire to get to the truth, then so be it.
We met on the other side of town, near the harbor. Sam didn’t want to meet at the same place. Knowing what his life had to be like now, that was understandable.
I drove to the address he’d texted me and pulled in through a rusty, corrugated iron gate. The lot was quiet, my car being the only one in it. I looked around. The place seemed to be a warehouse of sorts. It was easy to tell that it hadn’t been used in a long time. The windows were all broken, the darkness behind it seemed ominous, and the eerie feeling of loneliness clung to me before I even got out of the car.
This was the kind of place people went to get killed, I thought. Where had Dalton been the night he’d been murdered? They’d told us he’d been downtown, but I somehow doubted that fact, too.
I looked around. Sam was running late. I was the only car so he had to be on his way still. I hoped that was the case, that he was only late and nothing serious had happened to him. He’d been so scared the last time we’d spoken.
Someone knocked on my car window, and I jumped. Sam’s thin form loomed behind my passenger window, and I unlocked the car so he could get in. When he was in the car with the door closed and locked again, he let out a breath like he’d been holding it in.
“You didn’t drive?” I asked.
Sam shook his head. “Not here. I was on my way, but I had a feeling I was being followed, so I drove somewhere else, parked, and took the subway here. I changed cabs twice.”
Wow. That was a lot of evading. Were things that bad?
“Thank you for meeting me, Sam,” I said. “It means a lot.”
“I only agreed because I have information for you. It’s dangerous, but I think what happened to Dalton was wrong, and if you can in any way stop it from happening again, the risk is worth it.”
A sinking feeling gripped my gut. I hadn’t wanted to stop whatever was going on in the gangs. It wasn’t my problem. I just wanted to know what had happened to Dalton, and perhaps, if I could, avenge his death.
I wasn’t going to tell Sam that until I knew exactly what was going on. Hope was a dangerous thing to take away.
“What information do you have?” I asked. Sam looked out the car window, glancing around us.
“I was on my way out after a gang meeting when I needed to take a piss. I walked around the back of the building—going back in was such a waste of my time—and when I came back out again, I saw Mason and the VP of the Mavericks talking.”
I frowned. “Didn’t you say they were a rival gang?” I asked.
Sam nodded. “They are, which means that the president and the VP talking without pointing guns at each other’s faces is very out of the ordinary. I was going to make myself scarce—that’s one conversation you don’t want to get caught in if you want to make it home later—when the Maverick passed Mason a wad of cash.”
I raised my eyebrows. “That sounds like blood money to me.”
Sam shrugged. “I didn’t speculate. I was going to get the fuck out of there, but I still heard what they were saying before I managed to get away.”
“What?” I asked.
“Mason was saying something about nearly being caught, that neither of their people could find out what was going on. I didn’t know what they were talking about, getting caught and all that, but if they were talking about me, I’m fucked, Luke. They’ll kill me.”
I shook my head. “They could have been talking about anything and anyone, Sam,” I said.
Sam shrugged. His knee popped, and his dark eyes flicked back and forth over the abandoned parking lot.
“I don’t know, man. I’m afraid for my life. These assholes are so fucking unpredictable with this game of theirs, and when you lose, you die. There is no second chance.”
I shook my head. “If you’re that worried about it, why don’t you disappear? Wouldn’t you rather get out of here and save yourself than put yourself in more danger?”
Sam looked at me, and his expression was sad, that of a defeated man.
“I can’t do that. It’s not that easy. Once you get in, you don’t ever get out. If I run now, I’ll be in more danger than ever because they’ll know that I know something. They’ll hunt me down. And when they find me…”
He didn’t have to complete his sentence for me to know what would happen. His eyes rolled in their sockets, wide, and I had a dead friend to account for Sam’s paranoia.
“What if you could make it happen?” I asked. “Would you go?”
Sam swallowed hard and shook his head. “I can’t, Luke. Not even if I could get out of here, which I can’t. I don’t think I’d be able to pull off a new identity. But snitches get killed anyway. They’d see me as a rat, and they’d exterminate me.”
The reference was bizarre and the humor very unwelcome.
“I have to go,” Sam said. “I can’t be seen with you. They’ll think I’m spreading information.”
I nodded. “Thanks for coming,” I said, but he was already out of the car by the time I said it, and I wasn’t sure if he heard me before the door slammed. I watched him hurry away through the gate and disappear.
His words clung to me. Rats got killed. Dalton had said something like that to me the night he’d called me. He’d told me that if they found out he’d snitched, they would kill him.
And then they had. He’d told me that he’d spoken to the wrong people, that he’d made a mistake. What was it that he’d told them? And who had he spoken to? Who were the wrong people? Maybe if I knew that, I would have a place to start. If I knew what it meant that Dalton had told something to someone that had gotten him killed, I would be able to find out who was responsible for his death.
Sam was worried, very worried, and that made me worry for him. Dalton was dead. I was nervous that the same would happen to Sam. Of course, I couldn’t make him my problem. When I’d found out that Dalton was involved with MC gangs and what they were like, I’d made a point of not getting involved. I was only getting closer now for the sake of finding out what had happened to my best friend and keeping his sister safe.
It worried me that she lived in a building next to one that housed at least one, maybe more, Mavericks. If they knew who she was or set out to find her for leverage—would they still do that with Dalton dead?—then she was in trouble and they were basically on her doorstep. It made me more determined to make sure she was safe, to take care of her.
She wasn’t making it easy for me. It was hot looking after someone who was so attractive and who I’d developed feelings for. But I’d rather risk my heart than her life. Small victories.
I left the parking lot and drove back to my office where my lunch hour was just about over. I sat behind my desk again, but lately it was getting harder and harder to concentrate. Sam and everything he’d told me was on my mind. And Dalton? God, I missed the guy. As for Alexa…
I picked up my phone and dialed her number.
“Are you still at lunch?” I asked when she answered.
“Yeah. You have great timing,” she said. I could hear her smiling.
“How’s your day going?” I asked. I just wanted to hear her speak.
We made small talk, touching on nothing in particular.
“Are you going to be home tonight?” I asked finally. I wanted to be with her to keep her safe. Everything Sam had told me was making me paranoid, too, and what Dalton had said about snitches being killed stuck with me. It gave me chills that Sam was walking almost the same road, and I wanted to be sure that Alexa didn’t run into a Maverick.
“I’m staying with Ariel again actually,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
I nodded. “That’s good, Lex. I’m glad you’re surrounding yourself so you’re not alone.”
I made it sound like I cared about her emotional welfare, but what I really meant was that I was glad she wasn’t alone where someone might find her. She wasn’t even going to be home. I would have preferred to be the one with her, of course, but that was for selfish reasons. If she was safe, I would accept it. I would be happy.
“Do you want to hang out tomorrow night?” I asked. This time it was completely selfish and not about her safety at all. I wanted to see her again and spend time with her. Yes, I was making it harder to resist her, but for a moment I wasn’t sure why I should.
“I’m busy tomorrow night, unfortunately,” she said. “How about Saturday?”
“Where are you going?” I asked even though I already had an idea.
“Oh, shoot. My lunch hour is over, Luke. I gotta go. We’ll talk later and arrange something for the weekend, okay?”
She hung up before I could respond. I put my phone down on my desk and stared at the screen. She was going to Blush again. I just knew it.
This was it. I was going to have to step in. As if it wasn’t bad enough that she was in danger purely by association, she was putting herself in more danger. She wanted to lose her virginity. I couldn’t let her do that with a stranger. Sure, I could approach her, but I couldn’t let her know it was me. I had to do something else—a mask, a deeper voice, a seductive approach that would stop her from wanting someone else.
To keep her safe, I would take her virginity for her and dominate her. I couldn’t imagine anything hotter. I would totally take one for the team.
Of course, it wasn’t with only her safety in mind that I was willing to do this. I wanted to do it for me, too, because knowing that she was a virgin made me hotter for her than I’d ever been for a woman. And she just was a great person overall.
And I wanted her. God help me, I wanted her.
Chapter 12
Alexa
I slept over at Ariel’s place again on Wednesday night, shooting over to my own place early to get ready for work. I hadn’t taken anything with me to Ariel’s when I’d gone there on Tuesday (impulse visits were the best) and I was out of clothes to wear to work.
When I got home, a white piece of paper on my floor caught my eye. Someone must have pushed it underneath my door while I was gone.
I picked it up. It was typed out in a clean, small font.
We found you, little sister.
Blood drained from my face, and I felt like I was going to faint. I stumbled toward the armchair closest to me and breathed hard, trying to calm down. What the hell was going on? Who had found me? I had to do something, anything. What if they were coming for me, too?
Panic clutched my throat, threatening to choke me. I scrambled for my phone, searching around in my handbag with clumsy fingers. When I found it, I tried to sift through my panic to think. Should I call 911? But it was just a note. What would the police do? I dialed Luke’s number.
“They’re coming to get me,” I said. My voice sounded high-pitched and loud in my ears.
“Calm down, Lex,” he said. “Are you safe? Where are you?”
I swallowed hard. “I’m at home. I got a note, Luke. A threat.”
“I’ll be right there,” he said without hesitating, and the line went dead.
He was at my place in less than ten minutes. He found me still on the armchair where I’d sat down when I’d found the note. I’d put it on the coffee table and wrapped my arms around myself like I could keep it together that way. I stared at the note as if it would catch fire, as if it would physically jump up and kill me.
“Hey,” Luke said, letting himself into my home. He came to me, and I stood up and stepped into him, pressing myself against him. He wrapped his arms around me, and I was engulfed in his body heat and his protection. In his arms like this, I felt safe.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I’m here.”
I didn’t know how long we stood there like that, but finally we let each other go. I wasn’t sure who drew back first. Luke looked at me with those icy eyes, his face concerned.
“Show me,” he said.
I pointed at the note on the coffee table. Luke picked it up and read it before turning it around and around in his hands.
“There wasn’t anything else?” he asked.
I shook my head and started to feel silly as the adrenaline slowly drained away.
He nodded. “This could be anything, Lex. It could be for anyone.”
“I know,” I said. I had realized that when Luke had finally let me go and my freak-out had started to seem ridiculous. “I just panicked. With Dalton’s death still so fresh…”
“I know,” Luke said. “I understand. I’m glad you called me.”
I let out a slow breath and nodded. I knew he meant it. He was glad to come help me.
“So you don’t think it’s anything I need to worry about?”
Luke hesitated a fraction of a second before he shook his head. “It’s nothing to worry about,” he said.
I wasn’t sure I believed him. He looked worried about something.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
He nodded. Whatever it was, he wasn’t going to tell me about it. If he thought I didn’t need to know, maybe it was better I didn’t know. I already had too much to think about, and this had scared me so much more than I’d thought it would.
“What do I do now?” I asked. “I can’t afford to take more leave right now.”
Luke shook his head. “Don’t change your routine. Just go to work, carry on with your day. I think that’s the best thing right now. You’ll be safe at work.”
I nodded and let out a shuddering breath.
“And when I come home afterward?”
Luke looked at me, and his expression softened. “Are you worried about being alone?”
I nodded. I felt like a child admitting I was scared when there was probably nothing to worry about.
“Why don’t you come stay at my place tonight?” he asked.
I nodded, relieved that he’d offered. I hadn’t wanted to invite myself.
“I would really appreciate that,” I said.
“I’ll take you to work now and pick you up afterward. Is that all right with you?”
I nodded again. I was worried I was being a little pathetic, but my fear was bigger than my concern about my social image. The idea that something like what had happened to Dalton would happen to me left me gasping for air.
“I’ll pack a bag to leave in your car now,” I said. “I’m going to get ready for work.”
Luke nodded. I was still in my dirty clothes. I glanced at the time. There would be time for a super quick shower and to pack a bag before I had to leave. When I noticed Luke’s clothes, I saw he was already dressed for work, which was a relief. I hadn’t wanted to interrupt his routine.
I left Luke in my living room with the note that terrified me and hurried to get ready. When I was done, Luke took the overnight bag that I’d packed from me and I locked up my apartment. We walked to his car together. I put my bag in the back of his SUV and got into the passenger seat.
He drove me to my office building and then left to go to his own. I was relieved I had someone like Luke in my life. Crush aside, I didn’t know how I would have gotten through Dalton’s death without him.
My day crept by. The note was in the back of my mind all day, and a knot of nerves was permanently bunched in my stomach. When I spotted Luke’s car waiting for me when I left the office, relief flooded through me.
“How was your day?” he asked when I opened the door.
“Progressively better,” I said. I didn’t add that it was because of him and it was getting better still now that I was with him again. It seemed inappropriate to say that.
Luke weaved through the city until he parked in the underground garage beneath an apartment building that I guessed was his. We got out of the car, and he grabbed my bag from the back, carrying it for me like a real gentleman. The bag had been heavy to me, but he carried it like it weighed nothing. With his muscles, I doubted anything felt heavy to him. He could probably lift me if he wanted to.
The thought of his hands on my body sent a thrill through me, but I pushed it away. I was here because I was scared. He was being a great friend by looking after me. He was being like an older brother. That was it. There was no space for silly little crushes.
When we reached Luke’s apartment, he unlocked the door and let me walk in first. I turned and looked around.
His apartment was a real bachelor pad, with brown couches and huge bean bags arranged around an oversized flat screen television. The open-plan kitchen was spotless, like he never used it, and opposite he had a bar—an actual bar—filled with bottles of alcohol and glasses of different shapes and sizes.
“I don’t have a spare bedroom,” Luke said. “But you can have the bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want you to have to give up your bed. I’ll take the couch. I’m fine with that.”
Luke chuckled. “I’ve slept on my couches a few times. I can tell you they’re super comfortable. I’ll be fine.”
I smiled at him. He really was a gentleman. He was rough and muscular on the outside, the ultimate bad boy with a face and a body to die for, but on the inside he was all mushy and gooey, a real gentleman. Wasn’t that the definition of the perfect man?
I pushed the thoughts away. Now was not the time.
Luke carried my bag into the bedroom. He stayed away for a while, and when he returned, he wore sweatpants and a long-sleeved T-shirt—casual.
“Do you want to change?” he asked. “I’ll order us pizza.”
I nodded and walked to the bedroom. It was just like the rest of the place—a lot of brown with very little decoration, a plant that had to be fake given the good condition it was in, and a large bed that would suit someone as large as Luke. The adjacent bathroom had a pile of laundry in the corner without a hamper and an open tube of toothpaste. I smiled and shook my head.
When I emerged from the bedroom, Luke was on the phone with a takeaway menu in front of him. It looked like this happened often. He glanced up at me and froze for a moment, his eyes sliding down my body and back up before locking on mine. I blushed, feeling like I’d been touched with more than just his gaze.
“Yeah, half mushroom, half pepperoni, and a chicken mayo with a stuffed crust. Thanks.”
He hung up a moment later.
“How did you know I like it half and half?” I asked.
Luke rolled his eyes. “I practically grew up with you, remember? I can’t remember how many times Dalton made me order that when I was at your place. Pepperoni and mushroom for you and a vegetarian pizza for Dalton.”
I laughed. “With extra bacon.”
“Because that way you get all the good stuff at a better price than if you add toppings.”
We both laughed, and a pang shot through my chest thinking about Dalton.
“I wish he was here,” I said, looking down. I wanted to cry. My throat was thick.
“Me too,” Luke said. We were silent for a moment.
“What movie do you want to watch tonight?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Whatever. Just not horror.”
He grinned at me. “Yeah, I know.”
“You have a huge television,” I said, turning to the screen.
“Makes for a great experience,” he said. “You can choose a movie over there. I have a few DVDs.”
I walked over to the shelf he gestured at and read the titles.
“Oh my God, you have Ghost?” I asked.
Luke chuckled. “Don’t tell anyone. I have a rep to protect.”
I smiled and turned back to the shelf. I loved Ghost. Patrick Swayze was hot in that retro way, and it was one of my favorite movies of all time. The new stuff was all special effects and crazy actors, but the old movies were great. They had so much heart.
The pizza arrived twenty minutes later, and we settled in front of the television, watching Ghost together. I hadn’t spent this much time alone with Luke ever. I wasn’t surprised to find that he was a nice guy all the time, that the person I’d had a crush on for so long really was genuinely a great guy.
Which meant I was in trouble. Maybe I had to settle for something like this. Maybe I had to give up on my dream of being dominated. But I wasn’t going to give it up for Luke—he wasn’t going to date me—and I doubted I was going to find someone like him out there anyway.
No, I would go to Blush again. One last time, like I’d said I would. If I didn’t find someone then, I would take the hint. But if I did…