Ignoring the look Dane gave me, I grabbed the bottle of whiskey and poured myself another drink, thinking it was a damn good thing that my family owned a whiskey distillery.
It’d been two weeks since I’d dropped off Emie at her home, and I’d yet to rid myself of the feeling that I’d been such a fucking fool—and it was fueling my anger, my hurt… “I should have known better, Dane… I should have suspected something was up. I mean, amnesia? How stupid am I?”
Even worse was that, despite everything she’d put me through, I couldn’t get her out of my head.
“You’re not stupid—you’re male. She was naked, gorgeous, and vulnerable. You never stood a fucking chance.” Dane took a swig of his beer, sitting back on the sofa as Bear pressed up against my brother’s leg, looking for attention.
“That may be the case, but it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with the fallout.” I didn’t have to spell it out for my brother, since he knew me well enough. “I fucking hate her for what she’d wanted to do to us—for lying to me. And yet I can’t fucking stop thinking about her.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Locke… Being lied to is never easy. But on the plus side, she didn’t shoot you, even though she probably had plenty of opportunity, and I’m sure you likely gave her more than a few reasons to do just that.” Dane gave me a shit-eating smile that had me shaking my head, since I knew damn well that he was pushing my buttons to try to get me out of my funk.
“She got under my skin. And now…” And now I was fucked, because no matter what I tried, my thoughts kept wandering back to her. No amount of work, no amount of jerking off, no amount of drink…none of it could distract me from the emptiness I now felt, my heart aching as if it was missing a part of itself—and I fucking hated her for it.
“You were with her for barely two weeks, Locke. And I hate to say it, but if she had this sort of effect on you in so little time, then maybe it’s worth tracking her down and talking to her about things. See if there’s some way to either get past this together or move on apart.” He finished off his beer and put the bottle in the sink. “I’m going to get going. I’ve got this new…project… It’s gotten a bit more complicated than I’d anticipated. Total pain in the ass.”
I knew that any project Dane might be working on these days had nothing to do with Blackthorn Whiskey. Since our family shifted away from being fixers, Dane had very little to do with the distillery, short of keeping our website running and dealing with any IT issues that might come up with our computer and ordering systems. That meant he was left to pursue his own interests—which no doubt involved things that were of questionable legality and way over my head, since I didn’t know the first thing about hacking.
But there was no point in talking him out of doing whatever the hell he was up to. “Just don’t get yourself arrested or killed. I can’t even imagine the mischief you’re getting up to.”
“Who? Me?” He feigned mock innocence, though we all knew better. “Do yourself a favor and either forget about the girl—or go and see her. But this…you can’t keep this up for long, man. Not without making yourself crazy—or making Mom concerned enough that she starts showing up to check on you daily.”
I knew he had a point. But seeing Emie again—or should I say Emily—just wasn’t an option. I didn’t trust myself around her—and I didn’t trust her, which meant seeing her again was pointless.
I saw Dane out and headed to bed, my thoughts finally dulled from all the whiskey—though my dreams never ceased, and they were now all the same.
Emie.
One week slipped into the next, and though it felt like an eternity with Emie as a constant niggle in the back of my brain, six weeks had now passed since I’d last seen her. Each day was a struggle to not turn up on her front door, though I still didn’t have a clue as to what I would do with her once I got there.
I was still so fucking angry and hurt, and yet I missed her something fierce, the painful emptiness in my heart refusing to dull. Even Bear was in a funk, giving me accusatory glances and making me feel guilty, though my guilt only fueled my resentment.
Yet the last person I expected to turn up late one night on my doorstep was Rinaldi, one of Munroe’s men. “We need to talk.”
Fucking hell. I stepped aside and let him in, relieved that he didn’t have any of his buddies with him. I was fully capable of taking care of myself, but I didn’t like the odds when the number of armed men outnumbered me, especially when I wasn’t carrying. “What is this about? Any business I had with Munroe is long over. I’ve moved on from that line of work.”
“That may be so, but I’m not here for work. I’m here as a courtesy—so I suggest you hear me out.” Rinaldi plopped himself down in my leather chair, sitting back as if he didn’t have a care in the world, though he kept a close eye on Bear, who wasn’t looking too happy, a low growl vibrating through his massive body.
My mind immediately went to Emie, knowing that she was likely the only reason Munroe would be sending over one of his goons. “Get on with it, then. My pup’s losing his patience.”
I doubted most dogs would have Rinaldi nervous—but Bear wasn’t most dogs, weighing in at nearly a hundred fifty pounds. And after being rescued from a rough life, he was more than a little protective of me and very loyal.
He eyed Bear nervously before turning his focus back to me. “Rumor has it that you’ve recently gotten involved with Douglas’s daughter. I’m here to let you know that she needs to be reined in. She’s poking around places that are going to get her killed.”
My jaw clenched tight as I ground my teeth together. “Are you threatening her? Because it’s not something I’d take too kindly to.”
He gave me a smug smile. “If I meant her any harm and was threatening her, do you think I’d be here to give you a heads-up? No offense, but I don’t need that sort of fucking trouble. You and your family…you might be out of this line of work, but you’re not exactly the sort to take threats lightly. But I am here to tell you that if you have any feelings for this girl, then you’ll get her under control, especially since Munroe wasn’t the one who went after her father. There were other players involved—and let me just put it out there that I’ve heard that things didn’t go down the way the cops think.”
“You mean, Douglas didn’t kill his wife and daughter.” Fuck…I wonder if Emie knew.
He shrugged. “They’re just rumors.”
“And Munroe? He’s not going to come after Emie for the money her father stole?” After all, Munroe had sent me to talk to Douglas, even if we’d kept things civil.
Rinaldi shook his head no. “Munroe and her dad had been good friends, and though he was none too happy about the betrayal, in the end he decided to drop it. But Douglas…that fucking asshole didn’t just take money from Munroe. Someone else got to him—and rumor has it that they’re none too happy to know that his daughter’s sniffing around. I’m here to tell you that the girl’s going to get herself killed—and Munroe doesn’t want that to happen. It’s why he sent me. He hated what happened to Douglas, and doesn’t want anything to happen to his daughter.”
“So, if it’s not Munroe, then who’s going after her?” I didn’t have a clue as to who else Douglas had worked for—and even less of an idea of who was behind his death. But Rinaldi was right about what would happen to Emie if she kept poking around.
“Honestly, there are too many players to really know.” He shrugged, not looking too bothered either way. “Though it might help if people out there know she’s protected by you and your family—but only if she drops this. And at this point, it might already be too late to keep her safe.”
I groaned, knowing he was probably right, and if it wasn’t already too late, then I was running out of time. “I’ll see what I can do.”
And that meant I’d have to see her again. Fuck. That was the last thing I wanted.
“I should get going. Send your brothers my regards.” Rinaldi got to his feet, doing his best not to look bothered by Bear. “Talk some sense into that girl of yours and do what you can to keep her safe. She’s a pretty thing, Blackthorn…it’d be a pity to have something happen to her.”
“I appreciate the heads-up.” I pulled the door open and waited until he was in his car and driving away before grabbing my keys.
What the fuck was Emie thinking?