HEADING OUT INTO the street after making sure Sydney got to bed safely, I dialed Lucas’s number. I hadn’t meant to stay with her so late, but I needed to make sure she was okay, and I couldn’t deny that I felt better after our talk. Still, I’d missed Lucas tonight.

When the call went to voicemail, I thought about going back to the hotel, but it had been hours, so there was no way he had stuck around. I should’ve given him my room key, but in my rush, it hadn’t even crossed my mind.

I called again, and this time he picked up on the first ring, but it was so loud that I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “Lucas? Lucas, where are you? I can’t hear you.”

“…out… busy…” I thought I heard.

“What?”

“I said I’m out. I made other plans,” he shouted over the music. “Since you were busy.”

“Well, I’m done now, so can we meet up?”

There was a muffled response.

“Lucas, where are you? I’ll come there.”

“Don’t bother. Have a good night, Jackson.”

The connection went dead, and I stared at my phone in disbelief. What had gotten into him? He sounded pissed, but he was the one who’d told me to go after Sydney. Had something happened after? Where had he gone?

I had a sinking feeling of unease, and I hailed the next taxi I saw.

Shit. I knew exactly where he was.

IT FELT LIKE déjà vu to be back at Argos almost a week later, doing the exact same thing as I did last time. Looking for Lucas. One thing was for sure, though—his friend Shaw was never hard to find. The guy was huge, and with his ice-blond spikes, he stuck out of the crowd like there was a spotlight on him. I made my way over to where he was standing in front of the bar, drinking from a lowball and engaged in an animated conversation with a similarly built guy.

“Where is he?” I said, not bothering with formalities. Shaw knew exactly who I was now, even though we’d only met once, and if he’d seen Lucas tonight—and I would bet money he had—then he knew why I was there.

Shaw looked my way, ready to tell me off, but then he did a double take and froze.

“Jackson,” he said, relaxing into an easy smirk. “No khakis tonight?”

“Cut the shit. I know he’s here. Where?”

“Look, I don’t know what happened between you two, but—”

“You can fucking show me where your buddy ran off to, or I’ll have to shove that glass up your ass.”

“I might like it,” he said, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth and then releasing it with a pop. “But you know, I’m getting real damn tired of assholes interrupting me tonight. How about I just let you run around and find him yourself? There’s a back room you might wanna check.”

The thought of Lucas going into any kind of back room only made the pounding in my head worse, and I grabbed hold of the back of my neck in frustration. “Tell me. Please.”

Shaw sighed, took a long gulp of the clear liquid in his glass, and set it on the bar. “If you two start a scene, I’ll have to remove you. Both of you.”

I moved so he could lead the way, and he grudgingly weaved through the crowd toward the back of the club, farther than I’d been the first time around.

Please don’t be in a fucking back room. I didn’t know what that was, but I could guess that it wasn’t anything good.

Shaw came to an abrupt stop, and I almost ran right into him. “There,” he said, pointing over to where Lucas was dancing way too close to some twat who had his hands on Lucas’s waist.

God, this really is déjà fucking vu.

“Aaand this is where I leave you,” Shaw said, bowing low like a smartass. “Try not to kill him.”

With the way the guy’s hands were roaming all over what was mine, it looked like Lucas wouldn’t be the only one I’d have to kill. What the fuck is he doing? My confusion and frustration ramped up another notch as I stalked through the crowd toward the man who owed me a few answers.

“So,” I said, coming up alongside him. His shirt was unbuttoned down to mid-chest, and a sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead, and even as pissed off as I was about being here, I couldn’t deny the guy was stunning. The problem was, he knew it. “We’re back here, huh? Back to the no-names and easy fucks?”

Lucas jerked his head toward me in surprise, but it was quickly replaced by anger. “Wow. She let you off early. For good behavior?”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“You mind explaining to me what the hell happened with you tonight? What you’re doing here?”

“Not really.”

“I wasn’t asking, asshole.”

Lucas stopped dancing and stepped toward me, standing toe to toe. “Fuck. You.”

“No, fuck you, Lucas,” I said, grabbing two fistfuls of his shirt and jerking him forward. “You think this shit is easy for me? That I don’t have everything on the line? I’m risking my entire life for you. I’m all in, jackass. And you’re here feeding off attention from people whose names you won’t even remember tomorrow.”

“I don’t remember their names now. Tomorrow won’t make much of a difference.”

I dropped my hold on him like he was on fire.

Lucas straightened his shirt and didn’t look at me when he said, “You’re leaving, remember? You came, you conquered nothing, and now you’re leaving. You don’t get to tell me how to live my life down here any more than I can tell you to give your old man the fucking finger.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “You think that hasn’t crossed my mind?”

“Thinking about it and doing something about it are two different things. And let’s face it—you’re never gonna give up your career or all that mo—”

“Don’t you dare say the fucking money,” I said, my voice sharp enough to cut through ice. “It’s never been about the money.”

Lucas cocked his head and met my gaze. “No? It’s a pretty good incentive to keep your ass in line, right? After everything, I can’t imagine it’s your father’s sparkling personality that keeps you around. Or the way he’s micromanaged your life.”

My fists clenched and I practically growled, scaring off a few of the eavesdroppers dancing nearby. I gave them a passing glance and uncurled my hands before shoving them into the pockets of my jeans. “Can we not do this here?”

Lucas lifted his chin toward his dance partner. “I’d rather not do this at all. If you can’t tell, I’m busy.”

“Is this about Sydney? Are you mad because I went to—”

“Can we not talk about your girlfriend? Jesus.”

“For fuck’s sake, Lucas. You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m the one being ridiculous?”

“Yes. You act like we did something more than talk. About you, not that you deserve it right now, you selfish prick.”

Lucas’s dark eyes flashed. “Then maybe you should leave.”

Maybe he was right. He hadn’t stopped the guy behind him from grinding all over his ass while we’d been talking, and it was apparent he didn’t plan to anytime soon. If he was trying to make a point, then he’d done a damn good job of it. But I couldn’t just leave. Even fighting with him was better than not seeing him at all, even if he tried to tear my heart to pieces in the process.

“Lucas…this isn’t how it’s supposed to go.”

He stopped. “Right. You thought you could just come back into town and I’d flip a switch and be at your beck and call for a few days. Surprise—it doesn’t work like that.”

“I don’t want you at my beck and call. Aren’t you listening to anything I have to say? I’m trying to tell you I want you—”

A heavy hand landed on my shoulder, and I looked up—way up—at a guy in a fitted shirt with Security on the front. “Seen you boys making a scene. He bothering you, Lucas?”

Of course Lucas was tight with everyone in this place, and as the guard waited for an answer, Lucas narrowed his eyes at me.

“Yeah, he’s a little mouthy. Nothin’ I can’t handle.”

“Sorry, can’t take that risk. He’s gonna need to come with me,” the guard said.

“We’re just talking,” I said, and when the guard looked at Lucas for confirmation, Lucas shrugged.

“Take him. I don’t care.” Then he looked me dead in the eye. “He’s not wanted here anyway.”