Rico stared into his untouched glass as if it could reveal the future, his concentration so intense he didn’t sense the others near him until it would have been all over if they’d meant him harm. He couldn’t muster the interest to care.
“Hey, buy you a drink?”
Rico tapped the edge of his glass without looking up. “Already have one.”
“Mind if we have one with you?”
That brought an indifferent glance up. Three dock workers, Shifters from their faint signature scents, settled on either side of him, provoking a faint protective bristle, because he was a stranger and didn’t know them.
“Still a free country. Suit yourself.” With all his senses now alert, he returned his attention to his drink.
“You’re one of them Tahoe boys, ain’cha?”
“And if I am?”
“We seen you here with the other one, the big crazy fella who was ripping the place up along with half the boys on my crew.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I right admire the way you waded in and put a peaceable stop to things before my boys ended up in the hospital. Or the morgue. Wanted to thank you. Took big balls to do that.”
Rico tipped a smile his way. “Balls was never my problem.”
All three chuckled in appreciation. The speaker, a big fellow with a snow-white mohawk and rose-tinted glasses, put out his hand. “T-Ray. Nice to meetcha.”
“Rico.” He clasped the meaty hand firmly for a two pump.
“That there’s Lamar and Donny.” He tipped his head, and Rico followed the gesture to the pair on the other side of him, a sinewy, swarthy fellow and a youngster with a neck bigger than his head. Both grunted at his nod.
“Anyways, ‘preciate you steppin’ in like you done. You need anything, work, somebody to tip one with, help a any kind, you gimme a call.” He took out a pen and scrawled a number on Rico’s bar napkin. He glanced up when Rico tapped his forearm.
“Nice ink. One of my friends has one like that.”
“Yeah. Who that be?”
“Mick Terry. He worked on the docks for bit, did a little fighting on the side. We go way back.”
“You know Mick?” Brows hoisted in surprise then lowered slightly. “Then you know him and me mixed it up. Might say I owe him my life.”
“Yeah? Doubt he’ll collect on it. He went back to Tahoe. Got himself a girl who keeps him on a pretty short leash.”
“Like he minds that.” T-Ray grinned, a wide dazzling row of white teeth.
“He doesn’t hate it. If I hear from him, I’ll tell him you said hey.”
“So, you following him back to Tahoe or what?”
“Don’t know yet. Doesn’t seem to be anything for me here.” His gaze went subconsciously to Amber, a move his new friend didn’t miss because he chuckled.
“There won’t be anything for you there, I can guarantee you that, but you’re welcome to try. Many have and have gone down in flames.”
Rico smiled faintly. “I don’t need more trouble than I already have.”
“Well, you got friends here, iffen you need ’em. Remember that.” A hardy slap on the back and the albino bristle tilted toward the tables. “C’mon boys. Let’s set a spell and give our new friend his elbow room back.”
Rico paid no attention as they faded away, his fixed on his glass with the knowledge that the first volley of Guedry’s plan was in play. Now all he had to do was ride out the next wave in one piece.
* * * * *
Even as she poured and chatted amiably, Amber couldn’t keep her focus from the figure hunched over his untouched drink. As long as the glass was full, she had no reason to linger near him, not with the place so suddenly busy. The distance didn’t matter. Even half a room away, all her acute sensory memories brought him up against her as if he was again carrying her back to bed.
The heavy rasp of his breathing scorching her throat, the heat of bare skin searing hers, his heartbeats jackhammering as they traveled the distance between her back door and bedroom. Excitement quickening, anticipation so raw and hot it had her ready to eat him alive. The urgent way he pulled off her clothes in the dark.
So he couldn’t see who he was with.
That cynical whisper tore her from naïve recollections to a truth as harsh as the noise in the large room around her. She’d been nothing more than a substitute, a more than willing stand-in for who he really desired. Knowing that even as she’d coaxed him inside her kitchen, even as he took her down to her noisy old bed, she had only herself to blame if the truth left a bitter taste in hindsight.
She could pretend all those luscious kisses, those hurried caresses and husky whispers were for her, but she’d only be fooling herself. The look on his face as he emerged from his alcohol haze in that walk of shame the next morning told her everything. A stark expression of regret and utter panic.
So, she’d done what she always did, pushed her feelings away to quiet another’s distress. At least she could tell herself she’d had a good time while it lasted, that the sex had been nice . . . No, phenomenal!
“Guy on the end’s been trying to wave you down. Head in the game, Ammy.”
Jacques’ rumbling voice yanked her from her pity party to the job at hand. The job that paid her bills, put food on her table and clothes on the back of the child she’d do anything to provide for. Amber closed off her emotions with a smile and bravely pretend they didn’t exist.
Until her boss grumbled, “Here we go again.”
* * * * *
Rico didn’t look up from his glass. “Here to beat the shit outta me? Go ahead. I deserve it.”
The seat beside him was abruptly vacated. A look from his brother could exact that scrambling result. Only a fool provoked someone like Colin Terriot. A fool like Rico.
“Yeah, you do,” Colin agreed as he sat down. “And then some. But I told Mia I wouldn’t.”
“Then you lied.”
Colin left that alone for the moment as Amber approached with a softly cautioning, “Behave yourselves.”
“Yes, ma’am.” His older brother’s promise was as false as Rico’s reassuring smile. Because they both knew how this night would end.
After Amber provided a glass and silently filled it before walking away, Colin took a long swallow and Rico did the same. They stared at their reflections in the mirror behind the bar.
“So, did Cale leave?” Rico asked at last.
“’Bout an hour ago. He was hoping you’d show up. I told him you wouldn’t.”
“And you’re always right.”
“When it comes to you. You seem to enjoy living down to my opinion.”
“I’m used to the fall.”
They continued to stare into the reflective glass, seeing the room behind them quiet in eavesdropping anticipation.
“We need to talk.”
Rico cleared his throat. “What I said to you, that was low, even for me. And not true. You know that.”
“If I didn’t, you wouldn’t have left here alive last night.” The low growl of his voice confirmed it.
“Not even my apology good enough for you? Then what do you want, Col?”
Colin ignored his sarcasm. “You helped save my life. I want to help you make something of yours. Here. Beside me.”
“Here at this bar over bourbon? I feel better already.”
Strong jaw flexing in irritation, his brother continued with a bit more bite in his tone. “We’re making a difference here, changing things for the better, making us all stronger. I could use you, Rico.”
“Use me.” A bitter laugh. “Yeah, I bet you could. But let me ask you this.” He turned on his stool to face Colin. “Better for who? For us, the Terriots? For the Guedrys? Sure, I can see where having a firm grip on an enemy territory would be a damn fine thing. But how are outsiders sneaking in to take over where they’re not wanted and making changes that suit themselves, better for the folks living here?”
Colin cast a subtle glance around them, noting the interest and not liking it. He lowered his voice a notch. “It’s for their own good. They don’t know what they’re up against.”
“What? Being crushed between two power-hungry clans? I think they’ll figure it out.”
“That’s not what we’re doing!” He struggled to control his volume and his temper, but the fire brightened in his glare. “We’re saving them.”
“From who? The boogeymen up North? But then who’s gonna save them from us when we get to be the biggest bads in town?”
“Keep your voice down,” Colin gritted out. “This is a strategic city. We can’t let it fall.”
"These aren't our people," Rico corrected angrily. "They’re Savoie’s. What right do we have to interfere?"
"Every right when they can't lead themselves into anything but chaos."
“Then teach them to take care of themselves. They don’t need us butting into their business. They’ve got a pretty good system in place and some damn fine fighters.”
“And all of them together couldn’t take me down! What chance are they gonna have against those Trackers Savoie was telling us about.” Just the name spoken out loud brought a hush to the tables around them. “Our family was raised for this, for the fight, for these odds. They’re just disorganized brawlers who don’t understand their enemy. They’ll be torn apart without someone to lead them, and Savoie’s been off his game.”
"And where would you lead them? Any direction Cale and Rueben Guedry tell you? What about what they want, what they need? Did any of you think about that before muscling in with your big ideas?"
"That's not your problem, is it?"
"Maybe I'm making it my problem. Someone should make you listen before you trample all over their way of life with your better plan."
Their raised voices sharpened the attention of those about them as Colin rumbled, "You've never had anything to say that's worth listening to."
"These folks might listen." A pause then Rico lunged for the throat. "Mia listened. And she liked what she heard."
Colin went still, that still that came in the eye of a hurricane before it ripped up everything with unholy devastation. A very quiet, "What have you been saying to Mia?"
"That maybe she picked the wrong brother if she wants to get things done."
A spasm tightened Colin's jaw. "Since when have you been any good for anything except getting in the way? You're not going to get in mine this time. You back the hell off, Red. Don’t you sniff around my mate or my business."
“Maybe that Terriot-to-be would be better off if I was the father.”
* * * * *
"Oh, hell," Jacques groaned as the first fist flew.
Colin's punch sent Rico reeling off the bar stool, but it didn't put him down. He came back with a brutal uppercut that lifted the mighty Terriot prince off his feet and sent him stumbling. The room went silent in one collectively held breath as Colin rubbed his jaw, his eyes flashing red. With startling speed, he barreled into his brother, a runaway street car, driving him to the floor and sending them both skidding as fists and elbows flew.
Amber gripped her boss's beefy arm. "Do something!"
The bar owner snatched his Louisville Slugger from under the counter and strode out onto the floor. He reached over Colin, using the bat across his heaving chest to lever him away from the hamburger he was making of his brother's face.
"Knock it off," LaRoche growled, "or I'll line drive your attitude all the way back to Tahoe!"
Colin quieted, breaths still seething from him as he watched his brother roll around on the floor trying to get his bearings and his knees under him. Rico was down but his hot glare said he wasn’t yet out.
Amber started around the bar but her boss halted her mission of mercy with a stern look.
"I've had about all of you boys I'm going to tolerate," Jacques told Colin as he pushed him away with a forceful emphasis. "Take it out back. Do what you want out there, but don't you bring that crap in here again. I don't care how well you tip or who your brother is. This is my place, and you'll respect it like it was your mama."
"You'd have to know who your mama is for that to matter," Colin flung at his brother with the same brutal impact as his knuckles.
"You shut up!" Rico snarled, scrambling, about to lunge when Jacques caught him by the collar in a near strangling grip.
But Colin wasn’t finished either, striking with words that damaged the way his fists never could.
"It's the truth. You're not one of us. Your mama sold you to our family. You don't deserve to have our name. You belong here with these leftovers, with no pride or pedigree. Live it up, fool. Turn your back on us, 'cuz when you’ve spent what’s in your pocket, that’s all you’re getting from our family. You hear me!”
"Enough!” the bar owner roared when Rico’s short fuse began to sizzle. “Get out of my place before I have your king drag you home muzzled and on a chain!"
Both Terriots went still and sober at his reference. Finally, Colin eased down, a pressure cooker venting steam.
"Sorry for the disruption. No need to bother our king," Colin offered in gruff apology. He clasped Rico’s arm in a no-nonsense grip and dragged his brother out the back door.
* * * * *
Once in the alley, Colin leaned Rico up against the dumpster, holding him up, studying his battered features.
"You okay?" he asked. "Wanted to make it look good."
Rico spat blood and muttered, "If it looked any better I'd be catching the breeze off my funeral pyre tomorrow. Damn, you hit hard."
"We needed to sell it hard." A tight, grim smile. “You kinda pissed me off. And it felt good."
"Next time, I get to beat you up."
Colin snorted. "You clear on what you need to do? For the record, I didn’t agree with Rueben bringing you in."
No surprise there. "I’ll do my part. Don’t worry about me."
"That’d be a first." Colin pushed him away, warning, "Don’t screw it up. You be careful, Red, or I'll really kick your butt." That warning held a little less bite. His brows knit, betraying concern without meaning to. "You gonna be okay?"
“I'll be fine. I got this."
“Just to be sure.” Colin smiled as he lifted the lid on the dumpster, inciting a yelp.
"Col, don't you toss me in there!"
He let the lid drop, the sound echoing through the alley, then gave the container a few kicks for noisy measure before nodding once. “You’re on your own. Don’t do nothing dumb,” Colin added before disappearing into the darkness.
With a heartfelt groan, Rico eased down to the uneven bricks. Before his sore eyes were all the way closed, he heard the rear door open. He held in his smile, loving it when a good, if painful, plan came together.
“Look at you.”
Rico glanced up through the eye he could open, offering a wry, “It was kinda done to me. Penance from last night. Best to just get it over with.”
Amber knelt beside him on the grimy bricks, cupping his chin to survey the damage, her touch warm and gentle. “And is it? Over with?”
Rico sighed heavily. “Yeah, I think so. I think that last bridge has just been burned.” When her expression clouded in concern, he shrugged. “It’s for the best. Time I started growing out from under his shadow.”
Instead of arguing in an offer of sympathy, she murmured, “I think you’re right. Still, he was wrong to say what he did, even if it was in retaliation. You’re family. You should act like it.”
He shrugged, not believing her but unwilling to get into it further.
“Can you get up?”
Rico levered to get his feet under him but had to rely embarrassingly on her assistance to stand.
“Come back inside until you get your sea legs.”
A rough laugh. “I don’t think I’ll be very welcome by your boss.”
“We’ll go into the office. You can get cleaned up there.” She tugged, and he let her determination guide him into the large room just inside the back door. A huge one-way window overlooked the club floor, where business had gone back to usual. Rico sank down onto one of the leather couches where Colin and their cop brother-in-law Alain Babineau had once discussed a debt their family owed Alain. He pressed to his swelling jaw the cold cloth Amber had brought from the small bathroom before letting her take it from him to efficiently mop away the blood as if he were her child. That’s probably how she viewed him through those really lovely dark eyes. Large, expressive eyes fringed with a feathering of thick lashes. Eyes that saw right through him.
“So,” she asked, making him wince as she wiped his torn lip, “what are you going to do now?”
A shrug. “Squander what I have left then crawl home on my belly to beg for Cale’s forgiveness.”
“A noble plan.”
He squinted his good eye at her sarcasm. “It’s not like I have any marketable skills.
“You sell yourself short. Your name alone could open any number of doors here in New Orleans.”
“I’m tired of riding on my name.” He snatched the cloth from her and tossed it aside. “I’m tired of being that unreliable nothing in a family of somebodies.”
“The only one who can change that opinion is you. If you really want to.”
He shook his head and laughed. “You don’t know me. You’re always looking for something in me that’s not there. Why is that?”
“I do know you.” Her fingertips brushed the bold angle of his jaw. “You’re strong and kind and loyal to those you love. If you have a fault, it’s caring too much about them and not enough about yourself.”
Rico held himself still, fighting the desire to push into her palm for more undeserved praise and affection. She’d supply that and anything he asked for. He could tell by the lambent heat in her stare and the longing in her lingering caress. He’d taken advantage of it once out of weakness and vowed not to do so again.
“I’d rather you not stop by for a while.”
As he fit his hand over hers, intending to gently but firmly guide it away from where he didn’t dare let it linger while his mood was so low and his will so needy, a throat cleared. Rico tore his gaze from those trusting pools of plenty to the three figures at the door.
The three who’d chatted him up at the bar.
Game on.