CHAPTER ELEVEN
MAX
I still can’t get over it, but I try to stifle laughter as I lean up against the Camino around the back of the gas station.
Dawn’s gargling mouthwash, spitting it daintily into the spindly desert bushes, repeating. She’s been at it for almost five minutes.
“Maybe drain cleaner would do a better job,” I offer.
She swipes the beer from my hand and begins to chug it down, mouthwash still in one hand. She wipes her mouth. “You were saying?” She goes to hand the beer back, but I push it back to her. “Keep it.”
She sticks her tongue out, scraping it with her finger again. “It’s like there’s a damn dumpster in my mouth.”
“Hey,” I start. “At least you made Dave’s day. I bet he hasn’t been frenched like that since the fifth grade.”
Dawn leans over and looks like she might puke. She holds the side of the car for support. “Given his technique, I don’t think Dave’s done a lot of kissing lately.”
“You think he kisses his mother with that mouth?”
Dawn retches.
I can’t stop laughing.
“Now you’re just playing,” she says.
“Am not.”
“Am too.”
“You could always kiss me, you know.”
She looks up. “For being such an asshole? No thanks.”
“Asshole?” I repeat. “You’re bringing out the big guns now, huh? What’s next? Are you going to say the K word?”
She looks puzzled. “The K word?”
I pucker my lips again. “Kiss me, beautiful.”
She stands, placing the beer and mouthwash on top of the car, poking me in the chest. “Watch it, buddy. You might be some big, bad tough guy, but I’m no pushover.”
“Could have fooled me.” It’s adorable seeing her defensive like this. I have a mind to bend her over the hood and pound her senseless, see if that ass is as tight as it looks, but I doubt she’d be open to it right now.
“You done?”
I salute. “Let’s go, sweetheart. Maybe you can use those lucky lips of yours on Bobby.”
But even as I say it, even as I joke, I can’t help the feelings of jealousy that swirl in my head. I’d do anything to have her lips on mine, on my chest, my cock. Given that, Donut King back there at the impound yard’s doing a lot better than I am.
*
“Should we check the trunk?” Dawn suggests as we roll up to the Wild Horse again.
I shake my head. “Not a good idea. Ignorance is bliss and all that.”
“Just a peek?”
I open the driver’s door. “In and out, remember?”
This time Bobby’s waiting for us in his office upstairs.
Unlike the counting room downstairs, his office is well-furnished and expansive. There’s even a family portrait on the wall, two small boys smiling back at me. I wonder what it’s like having a crime lord for a father.
At least they have one.
I think about Lucy, Saul’s daughter, the pop star in the making. She’s got the voice, that’s for sure, but I wonder if she knows what her daddy gets up to behind closed doors, what exactly funds her monster wardrobe of designer clothes and luxurious lifestyle. Perhaps it’s better she stays ignorant to it all.
Bobby remains seated, motioning us forward.
He leans across his desk to scrutinize me. “I see you met Dale.”
“And Dale met my fist,” I reply.
Bobby narrows his eyes. “Did you kill him? Because if you did our little deal is off the table. Dead men and debts don’t do well together.”
I can see the way Bobby asks it, so nonchalantly, scares Dawn. He’s a man with such small concern for human life.
What does it say about me that it doesn’t even register on my radar?
I bring my shoulders back. “That’s not how I do things.”
Bobby laughs. “That’s how Saul does things, isn’t it?”
“Maybe,” I continue. “But rest assured I left Dale sore, but alive, fully able to pay back his debt. Judging by the welcome we received, I don’t think he’ll be the only one jumping to line your pockets.”
Another crocodile smile. Bobby nods, looking Dawn over. “Good. Very good, and the car?”
“Parked downstairs,” I say.
Bobby looks to Dawn. “Did you look in the trunk?”
She shakes her head. “No.”
He smiles again. “Good. A pretty thing like you shouldn’t have to be witness to that kind of thing.”
My stomach knots. I want to break this guy.
Keep calm, I tell myself. This will all be over soon.
Bobby swipes a snow globe off his desk, shaking it as he comes around to the front of his desk. Closer, I see there’s a scene from Scarface inside it, Tony Montana with gun raised, feet in a pool of blood, snow whirling around him. Where the hell do you even get something like that? He throws it up and catches it. “I once put a hole in someone’s head with this thing—crushed their skull like an egg shell. Good times.” He places the snow globe back down. “You know, Max, I could use your kind of muscle. If you’re ever looking for a change of—”
“Not interested.”
Bobby turns his attention to Dawn. “And you, baby doll. Ass and face like yours could make a lot of money in the right place.”
The knot tightens further. I’m seeing fucking red again. It’s blotting out reason. “She’s not interested either.”
“I’m sure the lady can speak for herself.”
Dawn simply shakes her head, eyes downcast.
Bobby throws his hands up, returning to his chair and leaning back. “You’ve been given a reprieve, my friend. Your fight’s been moved to tomorrow.”
Thank fuck for that. Fighting in my current state was going to be an issue. At least now I’ll have a chance to recover somewhat.
Externally, I remain unmoved.
“But,” continues Bobby ominously. “You’re going up against O’Neil.”
“Kurt O’Neil?” I say.
Bobby nods slowly. “You know him?”
“I’ve heard of him.”
“Good, so you know he’s no fucking pushover. You know they’ve measured his punches at 1500psi? That is a fucking punch.”
“We’ll see,” comes my stony reply.
Bobby laughs, clapping his hands together. “Oh, I like you. Don’t make me mop you up in the morning.”
I flick my head at Dawn. “Let’s go.”
I hear something land on the desk. We both turn.
Bobby’s placed two towering stacks of casino chips there. He tosses two room cards onto the pile. “For your trouble. Hang around. Stay. Have a little fun. It’s fucking Vegas.”
I don’t move.
Bobby waves Dawn forward. “Take them, sweetheart.”
Dawn takes the chips and cards cautiously, following me out.
When we’re back in the main foyer, she goes to hand me half the chips, but I push them back. “No, you take them.”
She looks down at the chips in her hands. “Should I even use these? A guy like that doesn’t just give away money, does he?”
I smile. “Haven’t you heard the saying ‘the house always wins’?”
Dawn winks. “We’ll see about that.”
What harm could it do? “Take them. Have some fun, but know when to stop. You don’t want to owe a guy like Bobby.”
“You’re not coming?”
I look to the side. “I’ve got a personal matter to deal with. I should only be a couple of hours.”
“A personal matter?”
“I’m going to see my father.”
The surprise is clear on her face. “He’s here, in Vegas?”
“That’s right.”
“You used to live here, in Vegas.”
“Once upon a time.”
I don’t want to elaborate further, and she doesn’t push. She reaches out and takes my hand.
“I don’t want you to leave.”
I squeeze her hand. “You’ll be fine as long as you’re here,” he says. “Bobby’s a fucking scumbag, but he’s an honorable one. He wouldn’t dare touch Saul’s property.”
“I’m not the property of anyone.”
“You sure about that? Stay here, use the chips.” I reach into my pocket and hand her a fistful of crumpled notes. “In case you need a drink. I sure as hell could go for one.”
I go to walk away, our hands separating. I feel the loss deep in my gut. I was enjoying the contact far more than I should. I wanted more—a lot more. I can’t deny I haven’t thought about it, about what being with a girl like Dawn would be like, but what then? What about the ever-after? I don’t know if I’m even capable of settling down. I don’t know if I could ever truly keep her safe. It would be best if she stayed away—far away.
I leave these thoughts behind and go again to leave.
Once more, Dawn asks me to stay, reaching out to grip my arm. She holds up the room cards. “At least have a quick look at the room.”
Leave, but possibility beckons and try as I might I can’t resist the temptation. “Ten minutes,” I tell her. “That’s all.”