11. Brian
11
brIAN
I finally no longer had Rogues hanging over my head. No more restaurant employees. No more busting my ass for hardly any return on my investment. Boston never felt so good. It smelled like home, and I couldn’t wait to start rebuilding my life and, I hoped, getting a chance to settle down.
Since I’d last left Duke and Grace outside Deek’s Bar and Grill, I hadn’t spoken to either of them. I would be lying if I said I’d shaken Grace from my system. The moment I had her in my arms, I knew I wanted more. Seeing her from afar or across a room was manageable, a dull ache I could ignore, but feeling her pressed against me while I breathed in her vanilla scent shattered my resolve. I hadn’t bargained for the way my heart raced while all my reasons for staying away from her suddenly seemed meaningless.
Which was why I was entering Duke’s gym. I wanted to assure him nothing was going on between Grace and me. I’d thought a lot about her, and there was no doubt I wanted her, but I couldn’t jeopardize the longtime friendship between Duke and me—no matter how much I was drawn to Grace.
Grunts and voices droned on from people working out, which was a far cry from the atmosphere when I’d been here last week, when the gym was closed.
I spotted Grace’s friend Andie hitting a bag as though she was imagining the fucker who tried to rape her. The mere thought of the frat boy’s predatory actions filled me with an uncontrollable need to inflict pain on him or any man who touched a woman without her consent. If that scumbag had laid a hand on my daughter, he would be ten feet under by now.
I swept my gaze around the room, looking for the woman who was fast becoming one of my addictions.
Andie bounced over. “Grace isn’t here. She’s with her lawyer, meeting with Judge Dixon.”
I vaguely recalled Duke telling Grace the day of her meeting with the judge. “Any verdict yet? And why aren’t you there? You were the victim.”
Andie flicked her red ponytail over her shoulder. “Grace is the one in the spotlight. I haven’t pressed charges, so if I do, then I could share my side of the story. As it stands, I don’t remember much of anything, and that’s what drives me crazy the most.”
I hardly knew Andie, but from my standpoint, she seemed to be handling the ordeal okay. Her blue eyes were watery, though.
“If you ever need muscle, call me. I mean it.”
She hugged me. “Thank you. You are everything Grace says about you.”
I had a few questions on the tip of my tongue, but I decided to refrain from asking. I would only be torturing myself.
She stabbed a thumb over her shoulder. “I should get back to my trainer.”
“I’m looking for Duke.” I checked his office window. If I knew my friend, he loved to look out from his perch, much like he had done when he owned a nightclub.
“The last time I saw him, he was talking to a man who was asking for you,” Andie said.
My eyebrows zipped toward my hairline. “Let me guess. Average height. Dressed in a sharp suit. Mexican descent?”
“That’s right.”
Motherfucker.
Arturo had been leaving message after message. I was surprised he hadn’t been between Sabine’s legs while I was in Nashville. She’d gushed about how much of a gentleman Arturo was. Disgusting, in my mind.
“Thanks again, Brian,” she said then darted over to her trainer.
I doubted Arturo was giving up on securing my help to talk to the gang leaders on his behalf, but maybe he’d also asked Duke to help.
My phone went off in my jeans pocket. I fished it out to find Sabine’s name on the screen.
I’d made it abundantly clear to her before I left Nashville not to contact me anymore. So I had a feeling something might have gone wrong with the restaurant. If that was the case, the new owners had my number.
I walked out of the gym to horns honking and pedestrians hurrying by. At three in the afternoon, rush hour was beginning.
My cell stopped vibrating, only to ping again.
“What, Sabine?” I snapped, settling against the stone facade of the building and out of the way of businessmen and women rushing to their next destination.
“It appears you left an accordion folder with your important papers in your office,” she said. “Fran’s birth certificate, bank statements, and photos.”
The blood rushed out of me. I’d placed that folder in my box as I packed up my office. “That can’t be. I specifically remember tucking into the banker box.”
“Well, it’s here,” she said. “You must’ve taken it out.”
Anger morphed into rage as my head spun. “I. Did. Not.”
“Hey, why are you mad at me?” Her sweet tone scraped along my nerves.
“Really? You’ve been on my ass since I hired you, always in my business, asking questions that are none of your concern and cozying up to my daughter, hoping she would date your son. So I’ll ask. What’s your endgame, Sabine?”
“What are you accusing me of?”
I was about to crush the phone in my hand. “Desperation.” Then something dawned on me. “Did Arturo put you up to spying on me?” For all I knew, Arturo could’ve been in Nashville to see Sabine. The two could be working against me. Sabine did need the money to pay her sister’s medical expenses.
“Who’s the young girl with the dirty-blond hair in one of these pictures?” she asked, completely overlooking my question, which increased my rage tenfold.
I inhaled deeply, trying to lower my blood pressure as I was transported back in time for a brief second—a time I had purposely attempted to erase from my memory. No one on this earth, not even Duke, knew the girl in that picture, and I wanted to keep it that way.
The sights, sounds, and scents of the city seeped into me, helping to calm my nerves.
“You can deny it all you want, Sabine, but I know you took my folder. You’re up to something, and I will find out.” I’d never hurt a female in my orbit, but I was ready to strangle Sabine.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said in a sweet voice.
“Cut the bullshit.”
“I just met Arturo the night he came into the restaurant.” She sounded innocent.
“You’re lying. I’ll have my folder picked up by my detective friend in Nashville. If you don’t give it to him with all the contents, then I’ll share with him that your son, Harris, is selling drugs, stealing cars, and all the illegal crap he’s caught up in.”
I hung up before a vein in my neck burst. I stood there staring at nothing, seething as I tried to process what the fuck was going on.
I didn’t have a chance to brace myself when Grace’s siren voice carried on the wind. “Brian.”
My pulse lowered one beat then two when I set eyes on Grace, who was approaching the gym. Her long brown hair fluttered behind her like she was an ethereal being. Her cheeks were rosy, and those soulful doe eyes grabbed hold of my heart, and suddenly, nothing else mattered.
“What’s wrong? You look like you had a knockout fight. Was it with Duke?”
I chuckled. “No.” I wished it had been with him. At least Duke wasn’t coy, or doing shit behind my back, or trying to pull the wool over my eyes.
“A lady friend? Fran?” she probed.
I stiffened. “Fran? No. God, no.” I knew my daughter was fine. I’d spoken to her after my long drive from Nashville to Boston that morning. I changed the subject. “Did you and Duke work out your issues?”
She giggled, a sound that drove the blood straight to my groin. “Not in the least. But I came here to talk to him about my meeting.”
“He’s not here. So, how did the meeting go?”
“Let’s just say I’m not going to jail.” She paused. “Since Duke isn’t around, maybe you can answer my question. Is he caught up with the cartel again? He gave me some excuse about hiring a bodyguard because he thought someone might be following me. But you hired a bodyguard for Fran too. So am I to believe both of you are returning to the criminal world?”
She was close enough that I could take one step and kiss her endlessly. Her bottom lip was slightly thicker than the top, and it was all I could do not to nibble on them.
She flattened a hand on my chest. “Brian? Are you in there?”
Nope, I was too far gone to do anything other than drown in her beauty.
“We’re not up to our old habits.” I stared at her mouth.
She slid a hand up my chest. “Then why hire a bodyguard for Fran?”
I was not talking to her about Arturo. “What’s the verdict of your meeting with the judge?”
She looked hot when she was frustrated. “You’re ignoring my question.”
I leaned closer to her ear. “I can’t concentrate with you touching me.”
She gave me a brilliant smile.
Duke’s voice made my heart stop. “So, nothing is going on, huh?”
I swore to myself, turning to my right and growling. For fuck’s sake. That was the second time he’d caught us up close and personal. So much for assuring him that there was nothing between Grace and me.
Duke didn’t appear pissed, but he was pushing a stroller containing his daughter, Emma. The beautiful child, who resembled her father, beamed at Grace as she held out her arms. “Teetee.”
“Li’l bug.” Grace lifted the little girl out of the stroller and into her arms.
“Hi, Emma.” I winked at her. She was all smiles and rosy cheeks. I doubted she remembered me.
“Say hi to my friend, Brian,” Grace cooed in a sweet voice. “He’s Daddy’s friend too.”
That was to be determined.
Duke and I exchanged a bro hug.
“We should talk.” I might as well address the elephant between us.
“Agreed, but I can’t. I have to take Emma to a doctor’s appointment for her checkup. I’ll call when I find some time.”
I always prided myself on knowing Duke inside and out. But at the moment, I couldn’t figure out if he was angry.
Duke held out his arms to his daughter, who giggled when she was safely with her dad. “Grace, why don’t you come with me? You can fill me in about your meeting with Judge Dixon.”
“Fine.” Grace gave me a sad smile. “Anything to spend time with Emma.”
It would be best if she and I created distance between us. Both for her sake and mine.