13. Time For An Ugly Cry
Chapter 13
Time For An Ugly Cry
LENA
“ G age, I just checked the fridge and the freezer, and I’m missing a few t-bone steaks and a large pack of chicken wings.”
“That’s odd,” he responds, wiping down the main bar top.
“Uh, yeah. Someone is stealing food.”
Gage keeps his eyes low on the white cloth in his hand as he cleans in meticulous circles, and that’s how I know he’s keeping something from me. But what? And why?
“If there’s someone who needs help you can just tell me. I worked in a soup kitchen for over a year. I get it.”
“I don’t know anyone dealing with food insecurity here at the club, but I’ll be sure to keep an eye out.”
“Gage.”
He lifts his head. “Yes, Lena?”
“Are you lying to me?”
His hand stops moving.
“You’re upset about this missing food, aren’t you?”
“I just feel like some secret dinners are being made.”
“Secret dinners?” he scoffs. “That sounds ominous. I’m sure it’s just a delivery error. I’ll check the order log when I’m finished over here.”
“That bar couldn’t get any cleaner if you tried.”
“I have a certain standard.” He smiles.
“Are you trying to take Megan’s job from her?”
“Now you and I both know that Megan is about to own this place once she marries Hunter.”
“And?”
“She won’t need this job.”
“Are you saying she should be a good little wife and stay at home, do as she’s told, and let the men handle the business?”
Gage leans on his forearms, which I guess I never noticed were that lean and muscular, and offers up a questionable smile that I don’t trust.
“I see that you’re breaking out of the whole shy little sister thing, and now you’re sticking up for your future sister-in-law? It’s cute.”
“You should watch how you talk to me. Like you said, I am the boss’s little sister.”
“Definitely cute,” he says, standing straight up again and reaching for a bottle of whiskey. “You want some before our shift starts?” he offers me a shot.
“No, thank you. I don’t cook drunk.”
“One shot will not get you drunk; in my opinion, everyone cooks better tipsy.”
“Not me.
Then it hits me.
Gage is the key to this whole thing. He knows everything about everyone but always stays under the radar. If anyone knows what’s going on with Parker, I’m convinced that he does.
“Fuck it,” I tell him. “Pour me one.”
I take the shot of amber liquid and sip it slowly.
“Are you sipping a shot?” he chuckles.
“You’re questioning the drinking skills of someone under the age of twenty-one?”
“Right, I keep forgetting that.”
“Yeah, like you’re the only person who doesn’t constantly remind me of that.”
“You’re very mature for your age. It’s easy to forget you’re not quite legal yet.”
I sip the rest of the whiskey and clank the glass down on the bar, uncomfortable with what I think was just a compliment from Gage. It’s now or never.
“If I asked you something, would you tell me the truth?”
“Depends.”
“It depends? What kind of an answer is that?”
“A truthful one.” He winks playfully.
“Okay,” I take a nervous breath. “I need to know if Parker is okay?”
“What would I know about Parker?”
“You know about everything that goes on around here.”
“He doesn’t work here anymore.”
“Gage, I know,” I whisper, pivoting my head around to make sure that no one else is within earshot of us.
“You know what?”
Gage pours himself another shot but places my empty shot glass in the bar sink.
“I know where my missing supplies are going.”
“Then why did you bother asking me about them?”
“Because you know where they’re going too. I just wanted to see if you would be man enough to tell me the truth.”
“Funny, that’s the second time you’ve questioned my manhood today, Lena. Yeah, you’re definitely turning over a new leaf, and I have to admit…I like it.”
My neck flushes, which completely confuses me. I’m attracted to Christian, not Gage.
I need to stay focused.
“We just want to make sure he’s okay.”
“We?”
I hesitate to reply, but I’ve come this far, and I promised Megan I’d get her some answers.
“Me and Megan.”
Gage raises what feels like a judgemental eyebrow. “I hope that you find him so you two can…focus on other things. More productive things.”
“So you refuse to confirm for me what I already know?”
“I promise that you don’t know anything that you think you know, and you’re getting yourself all worked up for nothing.”
“Who’s getting worked up for nothing?” a familiar voice says from the shadows, and my stomach churns. It’s difficult to tell what time of day it is inside the windowless walls of the club which is why neither of us saw Christian approach.
“Nothing,” I stutter, not understanding why I’m so damn nervous.
“Gage?” Christian addresses him.
“It seems that our Lena is looking for some missing steaks and chicken parts.”
“Our Lena?” Christian looks between the two of us with a perturbed look on his face. I can already tell what he’s thinking, and I swallow thickly.
“Just a figure of speech,” Gage replies after noticing my discomfort. “I just figured she’s like the unofficial little sister of everyone at the club.”
“Not everyone,” Christian says flatly. “Lena, can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Um, sure.” I’m almost certain that he overheard our conversation, and he’s pissed. “I’ll catch up with you later, Gage.”
Gage raises an arm to wave me off silently, and I follow Christian to Hunter’s private office on the second floor of the club–like a lamb to the slaughter.
Before I can explain myself, though, he starts barking out orders.
“Close the door.”
His abruptness takes me aback for a moment. Christian is usually so calm, and so sweet, but right now–not so much.
“What’s wrong?”
“Why are you grilling Gage about the missing food?”
“Because I’m the head cook now and it’s his job to order supplies and mine to keep track of it.”
“That’s not why, and we both know it.”
“Christian–”
“Listen, Lena, I fucked up and told you a few things that I shouldn’t have. That’s on me. But I need you to let them go. You can’t start snooping around the club like you’re some private detective.”
“Just tell me everything about Parker, and I won’t have to.”
“What? Hell, no!” He takes a few steps closer to me. “No, Lena. Leave it alone. Your brother won’t like it.”
“Hunter isn’t thinking straight. I’m just trying to save his relationship. Megan will never forgive him if he permanently hurts Parker, and those two are about to bring a baby into the world.”
“Parker deserves whatever he gets. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you. You just don’t.”
“Parker saved her from Naomi’s dad, though.”
“You’re twisting the story a little. That’s not exactly what happened.”
“All I know is no matter what part he may have played in her abduction initially, if Parker hadn’t found her when he did, Megan would be the one in a basement somewhere in Lousiana.”
When I get upset, I sometimes cry. Not an ugly kind of cry but my eyes tend to water up which is exactly what I’m doing right now.
When Christian reaches a hand up toward my face, using his thumb to rub a tear away, my eyes close from the soothing feel of his skin touching mine.
“Calm down; I don’t like to see you upset like this.”
“I don’t like it either.”
Without even thinking, I wrap my arms around his waist and hug Christian. My head rests on his chest, and I smell sandalwood and hints of musk. But once his body grows instantly taut, I realize I’ve made a huge mistake.
“I’m sorry,” I apologize as I try to create a reasonable amount of distance between us again. “I shouldn’t just go around hugging random people,” I laugh awkwardly.
“I’m just some random person to you?” he says in a lower voice than usual as he grips my upper arms, keeping me in place.
I blink twice.
And my tongue feels as if it’s grown three times its size.
“No,” I say in a mousy voice that I barely recognize. “No, you’re not.”
“Don’t ever apologize for hugging me, Lena.”
“Um, okay.”
“Ever.”
“Okay.”
“And Lena?”
“Yes?”
“If Megan wants to find out anything about Parker, she should call her fiance and ask him directly. You need to stay completely out of it. The last thing I’d want to see is for you to become collateral damage because those two can’t get their shit together.”
“Do you think Hunter would cut me out of his life or something?”
The thought of that frightens me. We’ve just found each other.
“I’d never let that happen but there would be consequences. I’m hoping that we’d never have to cross that bridge.”
“It’s nice to know that I’d have another big brother willing to take Hunter’s place if he ever did.” I smile. “Thanks for always being there for me Christian. You’ve been a great friend.”
“A friend?”
“We are friends, aren’t we?” I ask questioning whether he’s been taking care of me because Hunter ordered him to or because he genuinely cares for my well-being.
A conflicted look I don’t completely understand the meaning of crosses Christian’s face and my heart sinks. One of my biggest flaws is that I’ve always misinterpreted people’s true intentions. It’s a skill I’m sure you learn if you grow up in a normal way and not alone and frightened like I did.
Of course, this man doesn’t give a single real shit about me. Why would he? He’s just doing whatever Hunter’s told him to do.
“We are,” he says plainly and his eyes give him away.
I am nothing but an assignment.
Or perhaps a favor for his friend.
None of this is real.
And I need to remember that.
“I’ve got food to prep so I’m going to head off now,” I tell him desperately trying to mask my hurt feelings with a superficial smile.
“And the thing with Megan?”
“Stepping away and minding my business.” I throw my hands up.
Once I make it back downstairs, I dip into a side hallway before I enter the kitchen, and for the first time in a long time, maybe years... I have an ugly cry.