Chapter 11
I wanted to rip into James for making a promise we couldn’t keep, but I wasn’t going to do it in here.
I had several other questions too, but they would have to wait.
I strode out of the room, letting him follow behind.
We passed through the main area and then past the bouncer.
I glanced at the photos of dancers on the wall and spotted Wilhemina.
She was the only redhead in the bunch. I stopped short, James nearly running into my back. I pointed at the photo.
“That’s her.”
The bouncer gave me a dark look, but James pulled out his phone and snapped a couple of shots.
“No photos,” the bouncer barked.
James ignored him and, gripping my elbow, steered me toward the door.
Once we were in the parking lot and several feet from the door, I yanked my arm free and turned to face him, barely reining in my anger, “What were you thinking?”
He gave me a wry look. “You’ll have to be more specific.”
“At the moment, I’m talking about you promising to get her charges dropped. I can’t do that, James!”
“There are other ways for it to happen, Harper,” he said simply. “What else is bothering you?”
“You can’t just tell me there are other ways and leave it at that,” I snapped. “You’ll have to be more specific than that.”
“Have I ever not followed through on something I’ve promised you?” he asked, his voice ending on a husky note as his hand rose to lightly cup my upper arm.
My breath hitched and I chastised my body for reacting to nothing more than his voice and the light touch of his hand. My body’s addiction to him wasn’t what we were discussing.
Truthfully, he always followed through on his promises, which meant he likely had a plan.
But the dynamic of our relationship had changed—I needed to know what that plan actually was.
“We’re partners now, James. You owe me more concrete answers.
Is this something you expect Carter to work his magic on? ”
“My name carries a lot of influence.”
I narrowed my eyes. “So you’re going to get her charges dropped?”
“If she gets the videos.”
“How do you plan to do that? Bribes?”
“I have a few ideas, but I’m not sure which direction I’ll go. We don’t even know if she’ll get the footage.”
I could have pushed for more specifics, but I’d let it go—for now.
His brow lifted. “What else?”
“Who’s Razor and why does he hate you?”
“That’s a conversation that’ll take longer than we’ve got.”
“You’re not going to tell me?” I snapped.
“I suspect you have other questions regarding Dani’s conversation with Razor, but I’m not going to tell you standing in this parking lot. I’ll tell you when we get back to the hotel.”
My anger cooled to a simmer. “Why not tell me that straight off? Why go with the dramatics?”
“Good point.” His brow ticked up. “Anything else?”
I knew what he was thinking. “If you think I’m upset about the lap dance, you’re sadly mistaken.”
He grinned. “Good to know.”
I gave him a dark look. “Just don’t be following up with Breezy.”
He laughed, then winced.
“Is your headache back?”
“That would suggest my headache ever left.”
“Come on,” I said. “Alex probably thinks we’re having a disagreement.”
We both glanced over at the car, but Alex was bent over his phone. If he’d been paying attention, he was pretending he wasn’t.
I headed over to the car, and James fell in step beside me, his hand settling lightly at the small of my back.
I shot him a wry look. “Worried I’ll take off somewhere?”
“Maybe I just like findin’ a reason to touch you.”
Another wave of warmth rushed through me, leaving me disconcerted. I wasn’t used to a man affecting me like this. It wasn’t the ideal time to start.
Alex glanced up as we approached the car, unlocking the doors just as James reached for the back handle. James gestured for me to get in first.
When we were inside, Alex looked over his shoulder as James shut the door.
“You were in there for a bit. Did you find out anything about your niece?”
“Possibly,” James said, settling back in the seat, a slight grimace pressing his lips flat.
“Where to next?” Alex asked.
We’d been in the club for longer than I’d expected. The clock on Alex’s dash said it was close to eleven.
James gave me a questioning look.
I didn’t have anyone else to check with. It also wasn’t lost on me that James had done more tonight than he’d done since the accident—and the club had been loud, the stage lights had been bright, exactly what he didn’t need.
I shook my head. “I don’t have anything else. Let’s go back to the hotel.”
James nodded. “Okay.”
“I picked you up outside the bar,” Alex said. “Where’re you guys stayin’?”
James paused for a moment, then gave him the name of our hotel, sat back, and closed his eyes. I stared at him in surprise.
We rode in silence, and I berated myself for not checking on him sooner. Hell, he probably shouldn’t have been out at all tonight.
When we neared the hotel, I expected James to tell Alex to stop a block away so we could sneak in through the back, but he let him pull right up to the entrance, then handed him two folded bills.
“Thanks for your service, Alex.”
Alex took the money, then handed James a card. “If you need a driver during the rest of your stay, just give me a call.”
James thanked him and opened the door, holding out a hand to help me out on his side.
I wasn’t used to a man treating me like royalty, and my first instinct was to refuse, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to let myself be spoiled a bit. Besides, our cover was that we were a married couple. Letting him help me out went with the act.
We were silent until we reached our room. James locked the door behind us, then headed to the sitting area as he took off his jacket.
“You did too much tonight,” I said, toeing off my shoes next to the bed.
“It needed to be done,” he said matter-of-factly. He tossed his jacket onto a chair, then removed his holster and gun and set them on the coffee table.
“I could have gone on my own,” I said as I removed my own holster and gun.
“Like hell,” he growled. He sat on the sofa to remove his boots.
I wasn’t offended. He knew I was capable. He was just worried about me going alone. Just like I would’ve been worried about him.
“You need to go to bed,” I said as I left my gun on the nightstand and crossed the room to him.
He patted the seat next to him. “Sit with me for a moment and enjoy the view.” He stretched his arm along the back of the sofa.
I sat, not surprised when his arm slid down to settle across my shoulders.
I wasn’t used to this either. Keith had never been a cuddler, and before him, I’d made sure to steer clear of men who were touchy-feely.
But this didn’t feel like cuddling. It felt deeper, like we both needed the physical touch to know this was real.
Or at least that’s how it was for me. Since James didn’t seem like the cuddly type, I could only presume it was the same for him.
I settled into his side, reveling in the warmth of simply being with him, alone, after sitting next to each other in the car with Alex, then at the club.
We sat in silence for several minutes, looking out at the lights of North Little Rock across the river and the glow of the pedestrian bridge.
“Do you think Dani will come through with the videos?” he murmured against my hair.
“I don’t see how,” I said, disappointment settling in the pit of my stomach. “Most places don’t keep tapes that long.”
“I keep mine for ninety days. At the tavern and back in Fenton County.”
“The strip club?”
“That too. I also had a pool hall.”
I turned around to face him in surprise. “How did I not know you had a pool hall?”
A smug grin twisted his lips. “Your investigation of me must not have been very thorough.”
“I guess not since I didn’t know you were a weapons dealer,” I said dryly.
He brow lifted. “You knew I was in organized crime. What did you think I did?”
“Drugs. You were working with an international drug cartel.”
“I was working to bring down an international drug cartel.” He made a face. “I didn’t deal with drugs.”
“You’re telling me one of the poorest counties in the state didn’t have drugs,” I said dryly. “That kind of situation is ripe for drug activity.”
“Someone else in the area ran drugs, then he was arrested and eventually killed. Another guy took over.” He sighed. “You’re right. People who are poor and without hope need an escape. Denny Cartwright gave it to ’em.”
“And you condoned it?” I countered.
“Who am I to tell people how they should escape their shitty lives,” he said with a hint of arrogance. “Nature abhors a vacuum, and when Daniel Crocker’s organization fell apart, Denny took over.”
“Why didn’t you take over?” I asked, trying to understand.
He held my gaze for a moment. “Just because people wanted to escape didn’t mean I was going to give them the poison to do it.”
“But you provided guns and bullets to people who likely had no business with them.”
He sighed, closing his eyes again. “You know I’m not a saint. Maybe I’m not proud of all the things I’ve done, but there’s no changin’ the past, and to be honest, I wouldn’t change all of it. Everything in my past is what got me here today.” He squeezed my shoulder. “With you.”
He had a point about all of it. I knew he’d been a crime boss.
And sure, I’d figured illegal activity and murder had been part of that, but I’d lumped it into his involvement with the FBI to bring down the Hardshaw Group.
How could I have forgotten that he’d had decades of criminal behavior before that?
“How are you feelin’ about me now?” he asked, his eyes still closed.
“It’s complicated,” I admitted.
“You can change your mind about us at any time,” he said softly. “If you realize the gravity of who you’re with.”
“You’re not that man anymore.”
His eyes opened and he held my gaze. “I’ll always be that man, Harper. I may not be doin’ the things I did, but I’m still him.”
And yet I wanted him anyway. What did that say about me?