Chapter 14 Presley
PRESLEY
“What happened to you?”
“Just a little brotherly love.”
“Luke did this?”
The last time I’d seen Davis he was perfectly fine, but now, he looked like he’d been in a horrible accident or a horrible fight. There was swelling along his cheekbone, both eyes were black, his lips were split, and he was covered in scratches.
“What do you want, Presley?”
“I have your money.”
“You’re kidding?”
“No. I’ve got it right here.” I lifted the bag and unzipped it just enough to prove that I’d done the impossible. “It’s the full amount.”
Davis froze, like his brain needed a second to catch up. His eyes dropped to the bag and then snapped right back to my face. “But how’d you…”
“I got it. That’s all that matters.”
An evil glimmer flashed through his eyes, and before I could react, he had his hand on my arm, dragging me inside the house. The front door slammed shut behind us, and my heart started to race when he jerked the bag from my hand.
He started sifting through the bills, and that’s when I spotted them.
Luke was right behind Davis, and he was glaring at his brother with a mix of rage and disbelief. Memphis and Shep were off to the side, and Smitty and a couple of the other brothers were spread out through the house.
When I stepped on the front porch, Luke and his brothers had slipped around back and came in through the kitchen. Davis was so enthralled with all the cash that he hadn’t even noticed they were there until Luke cleared his throat.
Davis whipped around, and his eyes grew wide when he saw that we weren’t alone.
His father, on the other hand, didn’t seem surprised at all.
He was watching from his recliner, but he didn’t say a word.
It was like he knew this had to play out like it was meant to, and it was best that he stayed out of it.
“What the hell is this?” Davis snarled.
“I was about to ask you the same.” Luke stepped into his brother’s space. “Did you really try to con Lila Kate out of a hundred grand?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then, explain it to me, because from where I’m standing, it looks like you set Lila Kate up, beat the hell out of her, and made her think she owed a hundred grand. That about right?”
His voice wasn’t loud.
It didn’t have to be. His words carried the kind of weight that came from disappointment more than anger, and they hit hard. Davis shook it off and replied, “I did what I had to do.”
“You lied and beat the hell out of a young girl for some cash.”
“What the fuck do you care? She’s nobody to you. She’s just like her fucking sister. An uppity, two-faced cunt who…”
Luke didn’t let him finish.
He charged toward him, and in a blink, his fist had connected with Davis’s jaw. Davis staggered back, cursing as he brought his hand up to his face. “What the hell, man?”
“You don’t put your hands on a woman.” He jerked the bag of money from Davis’s hand and tossed it on the floor. “I don’t care who they are or what you think they’ve done. You never lay your hands on them! Ever. And you sure as hell don’t con them out of their life’s savings.”
Davis wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and laughed. “Look at you playing hero for a couple of rich bitches who thought they were too good for everybody. And that includes you, little brother.”
Davis glanced over at me with repulsion. “The bitch spent years snubbing her nose at you, and she’d still be snubbing it now if you weren’t here saving the fucking day.”
My chest tightened, and heat crept up my neck as the guilt settled in.
I didn’t want to admit it, but I couldn’t deny there was truth in what he’d said. I had judged Luke. I judged them both. I wrote them off with my preconceived notions, never bothering to get to know either of them.
And now, as I stood there watching Luke put himself between his own brother and me, I finally understood how truly wrong I’d been. Not just about Luke, but about how easy it had been to look down on someone and never imagine they’d end up being someone I truly cared about.
But I did care about Luke.
I cared about him more than I’d wanted to admit.
And I hated seeing that hurt look in his eyes, so I said, “I was wrong. I was wrong about everything.”
“Ah, will you look at that,” Davis scoffed. “She’s seen the errors of her ways. Bullshit. Once a fucking uptight whore, always a fucking uptight whore.”
Luke didn’t say a word.
He simply reached his hand up, wrapped it around his brother’s throat, and slammed him against the wall.
The sound echoed through the room, and then, there was silence.
Luke’s face was void of expression as he reached into his leather coat and pulled out a wad of money, shoving it roughly into his brother’s chest.
“Take this and get the hell out of town. Don’t come back because if you do, there will be hell to pay.”
Luke released him and stepped back, glaring at Davis as he straightened his clothes. He took the money Luke had given him and tucked it in his pocket before reaching down and collecting his bags of clothes. He glanced over at his father and said, “Later, Pop.”
His father didn’t answer.
He just gave him a nod and watched him walk out the door. And that was it. No looking back over his shoulder. No shouting out curses or warnings. No last words at all. He was just gone.
The silence that followed felt heavy, and I was afraid to speak. I just stood there and waited for someone to say something. Anything.
Eventually, Luke bent down and picked up the bag of money I’d brought and held it out to me. “I believe this belongs to you.”
“Thank you, Luke.” Tears started trailing down my cheeks as I told him, “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
Before he could come up with a response, the guys started saying their goodbyes to Luke’s father, and then, one by one, they gave Luke a nod and started for the door like this was just another night and another job finished. Luke walked over and whispered a few words to his father.
His father looked a bit defeated but not surprised. In fact, he didn’t seem all that surprised about anything that had taken place tonight. Luke gave him a pat on the shoulder before turning his attention to me.
His eyes caught mine, and they weren’t angry or bitter.
Instead, they were warm and compassionate in a way I didn’t expect.
He turned and led me out to the van, and the cold night air rushed around me before the passenger door shut with a hard thud. Seconds later, Luke slipped in next to me and started the engine like nothing had happened.
Maybe what happened tonight wasn’t a big deal to him, but for me, it was like my whole world had just shifted and was now back on its axis.
After we had a few miles behind us, Luke glanced over at me and asked, “So, what’s your plan?”
“Plan?”
“The money.”
“Oh.” “First, I’m going to try to buy my car back or find one close to it, and Lila Kate will have to do the same. Then, I’m going to the jeweler and buy back my grandmother’s ring, and then, I’m off to see Gary.”
“Ah, yes. Good ol’ Hockey Boy Gary.” Luke’s smile widened.
The conversation stayed light as we continued toward the clubhouse.
We shared a few silly jokes at Gary’s expense and some laughs about the types of cars I might buy. Somewhere along the way, I realized that my chest didn’t feel so tight anymore. The knot that had been there for weeks was starting to fade.
When we got back to the clubhouse, I knew Lila Kate was inside waiting on us, but I held back for a moment. And I was pleased that Luke did the same. There were things that needed to be said, but I wasn’t sure how to say them.
I took a deep breath, and emotion washed over me as I turned to him and said, “You know, a lot of that stuff Davis said about me was true.”
“Doesn’t matter now.”
“But it does... I want you to know that I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I was wrong to judge you like that.”
“Nah, I think you were right to steer clear of me. I was a player, remember?”
“I don’t care. I should’ve given you a chance to prove that there was more to you than the notches on your belt.”
“You should go see about Lila.”
I nodded, then paused for a moment, hoping he might mention something about seeing me again, but he didn’t. He just opened the door and held it as I stepped inside. I didn’t make it far before Lila came rushing towards me.
From there, it was blur of questions, excitement, and relief.
We both piled into the van and headed home.
When we got to Lila Kate’s apartment, I had to practically pry her out. She was excited and relieved, and she wanted to know exactly how everything had played out with Davis. And I told her everything, multiple times, and I was ready to call it a night and put this crazy day behind me.
I’d wanted to get home and go straight to sleep, but the second I crawled into bed, my mind started running with one thought after the next. And at the center of it all was Luke.
I could still hear the warning in his voice when he told his brother to leave town. There was no listening to excuses or apologies. Not that any were given. Davis took no responsibility for what he’d done. He just stood there staring at his brother with disdain in his eyes.
At that moment, it was clear that whatever ties these two had were now broken, and I had no idea what that meant for either of them. I just knew without Luke and his brothers, I would’ve never known that Davis had tried to pull a fast one on Lila Kate and me.
He’d manipulated her. He’d manipulated me, too. He counted on my panic and the love I had for my sister, and it almost worked. I would’ve handed Davis the money and kept believing his horrific lies without ever being the wiser.