Chapter 8 Presley #2
He opened the door, and I grimaced. “I’m not ready to go back in there.”
“Understood.”
He released the door, then reached down and took my hand in his, leading me around the side of the clubhouse. Seconds later, we were at another door, and without saying a word, Luke led me inside. We took a few steps down the hall before stepping into a large room I’d never seen before.
There were several sofas and recliners along with large flat screens on the wall, and in the back of the room, there were a couple of pool tables and dartboards. “Wow. This is impressive.”
“We call it the family room.” He continued over to one of the pool tables as he said, “Great place to let off steam and recuperate from one too many shots.”
“I see.”
He grabbed two cues off the wall and offered one to me. “You play?”
“Not since I was a kid.”
“You up for trying a round?”
“Sure, but don’t expect much.” I stepped up to the table.
We took our shots and shared a little small talk about nothing in particular. The weather. My bad aim. High school. It felt normal. Comfortable. Like I wasn’t trying to fit into a place where I didn’t belong.
“I gotta say… I was a little surprised when you came into the Vault with Davis,” Luke admitted. “I would’ve figured you were married and two kids deep by now.”
“I was married. It was short-lived.”
“Feels like there’s a story there.”
“Not really. He was the loan assessor at the bank. He helped me and Claire with all the paperwork for the salon, and when it went through, he asked me on a date. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew, there was a ring on my finger.” I leaned against the pool table and sighed.
“We never should’ve gotten married. We were so different. .. Too different.”
“How so?”
“It started with the basic stuff. I liked burgers and fries, and he was more of a steak and potatoes kind of guy. That sounds lame. I know, but he was just a little too much about everything. And he had this weird obsession with hockey.”
“What’s wrong with hockey?”
“Nothing. It’s an amazing sport, and some of the guys are really hot.” I giggled as I added, “But Gary was…”
“Hold up. You married a guy named Gary?” I cocked my brow, and Luke’s lips immediately curled into a mischievous smirk. “Oh, come on. You had to know better than that.”
“He was a nice guy. And he was handsome with a good job and a nice family.”
“And his name was Gary.”
“Are you going to let me finish or not?”
“Yeah, yeah. Tell me more about this hockey obsession.”
“Well, he had his favorite team and players, and that was all fine and good. But he wanted to go to all the games, and I mean ALL of them.”
“Still not seeing a huge issue here.”
“It was a lot. It didn’t matter what we had going on, work or family, he was determined to be there for all the home games and a lot of the away games. And we had to sit right up front, so he could see all the action.”
“Well, the fighting is the best part of hockey.”
“Oh, I agree one hundred percent, but it was all he could talk about.” I gave him a look as I bit my bottom lip. “It was like I wasn’t even there.”
“Yeah, he might’ve taken a bit too far.”
“A little”
“He would never admit it, but I don’t think he knew what to do with me. We were just too different.” Luke leaned down and took another shot, barely missing it. “Don’t get me wrong. He had his little quirks, but he was good to me. He wanted to make me happy, and he did in lots of ways.”
“Seems like you care a lot about ol’ Gary.”
“I do. He’s a good friend, and I think he always will be.”
I know.
This was perfect opportunity for me to warn Luke about his brother.
We were alone.
No one would hear. I could’ve just laid it all out and let him decide his next move. It was the right thing to do. Hell, every instinct I had was screaming at me to just tell him.
But I had Lila Kate to consider.
So, I did the only thing I could.
I kept my mouth shut and prayed that Luke never found out that I’d help put the knife in his back.
After a deep breath, I stepped up and made my shot, and to my utter surprise, the ball sank into the pocket with ease. I jumped up and gasped, “Did you see that?”
“Yeah, you’re getting the hang of it.” He motioned his head toward the table. “Now, do it again. Try the green on the left.”
I was just about to lean in when I heard Davis’s voice boom, “There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Oh.” I leaned my cue against the pool table. “I just stepped out for some air.”
“And ended up in the family room with Luke?” Anger marked his face as he grumbled, “How convenient.”
“Not like that,” Luke interjected. “She was feeling off and stepped outside for some air. I went to check on her, and when it started to snow, I brought her in here. Just giving her some time to decompress.”
“And you time to get in her pants.”
“We were playing pool, Davis, nothing more,” I hissed. “And you’re one to talk. You were too busy talking to your friends to even notice I was gone.”
“I was just having a couple of drinks. Unlike you, I was in a room full of people.”
“I’m not going to argue about this.” I turned to Luke and said, “Thank you for looking out for me and the game of pool. It was nice of you, but I think it’s time for me to call it a night.”
With that, I started for the door. I didn’t get far before Davis rushed up to me and grabbed me by the arm. “Just wait a goddamn minute.”
“What’s the point?” I glanced back at Luke, and he was pretending to put away our pool cues. “This isn’t working.”
“I don’t know,” he whispered. “I think it’s working just like I thought it would.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
He pulled me into the hall before whispering, “He’s into you.”
“He’s just being nice.”
“No, he wants in your pants. He always has.” He inched even closer. “I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist a chance to hit it.”
“Wait.” I clenched my jaw. “That’s why I’m here?”
“Well, yeah. The dipshit has always had a soft spot for you. Hell, he used to talk about you all the time. I knew it’d fuck him up to think you were with me, and I was right.”
“God, you’re a real asshole.”
“I did what I had to do, and it’s working… So, did he tell you something or what?”
“Tell me something about what?”
“Anything,” he hissed. “The club’s money. A safe. A pay day?”
“No,” I huffed with irritation. “Why would he?”
“To brag.” His eyes skirted over me. “He knows girls like you are impressed by shit like that.”
“He wasn’t trying to impress me. I already told you.” Anger started to boil inside of me as I repeated, “He was just being nice.”
“You can’t be that stupid.”
“You know what. I’m done with this.” I threw my hands up. “I want no part of whatever you’re doing.”
I turned and started walking away from him, but he quickly grabbed me and yanked me back. “You’re not going anywhere. You need me. Your sister needs me.”
“No. We’ll figure something else out.” I jerked free from his hold. “I don’t know what, but not this. I won’t do this. Not anymore.”
I bolted past him and down the hall.
My heart was racing a mile a minute.
I had no idea what I was thinking. He was our only hope of getting our hands on that money, and I just basically told him to fuck off.
Damn. I really know how to make a mess of things.
I was literally shaking as I made my way out the side door and out to the parking lot. I dug my key fob from my back pocket, and once I’d unlocked the doors, I got inside. I was about to start the engine when Luke came up and tapped on my window. “What?”
“Open the door.” As soon as I complied, he ordered, “Slide over.”
“What?”
“You’ve been drinking. No way I’m gonna let you drive home.”
“You’ve been drinking, too.”
“I’ve had two beers. I’m fine.” His eyes narrowed. “Now, slide over, so I can drive you home.”
Oh, this wasn’t good.
This wasn’t good at all.