Chapter Nineteen
Avery’s phone was blowing up again. More texts from his family, asking where he was. For all their complaints about his lack of patience, his family had less than he did, and right now, his was wearing thin as his concern mounted. Linc had yet to show up, and Jo was nowhere in sight.
He scanned the gambling tables again. He should never have let her go off on her own.
“Jesus, Preston, Gage was right.” Kade chuckled. “You’re fucking toast.”
Avery dragged his attention back to his friends. “What?”
“She’s been gone five minutes, and you’re like a lost puppy.”
I’m a fucking pit bull, and she’s got a stalker, so fuck you.
“Where is Gage?” Maverick asked, whether by accident or by design.
Avery didn’t care because he didn’t want to have that conversation right now.
“I haven’t seen him tonight.” Kade fed right into the change of subject. “He wasn’t on the course this morning either.”
“Anybody keeping tabs on him?” Avery hoped so because he’d been slacking in the friend department with all the shit going down with Jo. “He’s been wound a little tight lately.”
“I checked on him this last night.” Blaze winked at the congressman’s wife, rumored to be on the thirsty side. “He’s headed for Port A.”
“Are we talking about Vaca Rental Girl?” Avery could imagine Jo rolling her eyes at him, but honestly, none of the Sigmas knew her name. Not even Gage.
Blaze nodded as he stopped a passing server to trade an empty glass for a full one.
Kade winced. “Fuck, I thought that was over.”
So had Avery, but come to think of it, that’s when Gage stopped drinking to relax and started getting hammered.
“It was. It is. Unless he can convince her otherwise, which fuck knows why he’d want to when we have Grecian pussy waiting for us.”
“Wait.” Just short of taking a drink from the crystal flute of champagne, Kade lowered his drink. “Does that mean he’s backing out on Greece like Bryce?”
“Guess it depends on how it goes.” Blaze sighed, then narrowed his gaze on Avery and Maverick. “I just hope you pussies remove the sticks from your asses before we hit Greece next weekend, cuz right now, you’re wrecking my vibe.”
Avery hadn’t thought about the trip since the night he’d come home late after closing the Whitaker deal. Not much anyway. And when he did, he pushed those thoughts aside because he didn’t like where they took him.
His phone vibrated again.
“Fuck this.” He glanced at Blaze. “Tell Linc I’ll be back later.”
“What am I, his fucking secretary?” His gaze lit on something over Avery’s shoulder. “Tell him yourself.”
Avery turned around as Linc joined them, a thick white envelope in his hand. He handed it to Avery. “All it needs is a signature.”
“Thanks for this.” Avery slipped the envelope into his inside coat pocket next to his donation for the museum. “Gotta go.”
Avery headed straight for the passageway Jo had taken.
Maverick fell into step beside him. “Thought I’d catch up with Bryce.”
More like checking up on Olivia. But Avery didn’t have to get into that. The sooner he located Jo, the sooner he could shut down the uneasy feeling that she was in trouble.
Instead, he found Hilary exiting the ladies’ room.
“Avery,” she called out as she sashayed toward him, pushing her tits out and batting her caterpillar eyelashes.
He didn’t have time for this either. Nor the interest. He was tempted to pretend he didn’t hear her, but he’d been meaning to set things straight with her, and he owed her an apology. Now seemed as good a time as any if he made it fast.
Hilary sidled closer to Avery and trailed a long, pink fingernail down his shirt. He caught her wrist just before her finger jumped the button at the V of his jacket.
“If you’re worried about your girlfriend, she’s playing roulette with her friends. She’ll never know if we slip away for a while.”
“When was that?”
“Just a few minutes ago.”
Relief loosened some of the tension in Avery’s gut. He wouldn’t be satisfied, though, until he laid eyes on her, but the problem in front of him had to be dealt with sooner or later. No time like the present.
He gave Maverick a go-ahead nod. “I’ll catch up in a minute.”
As soon as they were alone, Hilary leaned into him, mashing her tits against his chest. “Looks like it’s just me and you.”
Avery released her and retreated a few steps. “We need to talk.”
“If that’s what you want to call it, we can talk as many times as you like.” The seductive gleam in her eyes burned brighter as she advanced. Her perfume rose to choke him.
“Listen to me.” Avery didn’t want to hurt her, but he needed to be clear. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea, but I’m…”
…with Jo now.
That wasn’t an apology. That was an excuse. Not even that because he wasn’t really with Jo. They had the rest of the week, but then she’d go her way and he’d leave for Santorini.
An ache coiled in his chest as it hit him again how little time they had left. Which was why he’d tried not to think about it. Instead, he’d done his best to make every moment with her count.
And he couldn’t fucking do that from here. “Look, Hilary, you’re a beautiful woman, and I enjoyed our…encounter, but this isn’t going to happen.”
Her smile faded, and she slowly straightened. “I see.”
“I apologize for any hurt I’ve caused. That was never my intention.”
“Avery, I’m not a child. I make my own decisions, so don’t apologize for having sex with me.
Frankly, that’s insulting. We both wanted it.
” She tossed her hair over her shoulder.
“I wanted more, so maybe I came on a little too strong. I do that sometimes. But if you’re not down to fuck, all you have to do is say so. ”
Dumping her ass on the floor and running out of the club wasn’t enough?
He met her gaze head on, looking for signs of tears or anger. Nothing. Could it really be that simple? “I’m sorry. I’m afraid I don’t.”
“That was easy, wasn’t it?” She patted his chest. “Let me know if you ever change your mind.”
With a wink, she left him to follow her. At the end of the hall, she turned left, and he veered right, shaking his head. Fucking weird.
As Avery skirted the crowd, his gaze roamed the gambling tables, trying to catch a glimpse of Jo. Her red hair. That fucking hot red dress. He’d been looking forward to taking it off her all night.
“Over here.” Marcus called from up ahead, where he, Spencer, Nick, Bryce, and Maverick stood like sentinels, guarding a small alcove where his parents held court with their friends.
Avery fell in line beside them. “Have you seen Jo?”
Spencer pointed to a spot Avery couldn’t quite see. “The girls need to go to Vegas. They’ve been killing it at craps.”
One more step to the right, and the view opened up.
Some twenty feet away, Jo, Olivia, Kate, Melody, and Charlotte huddled close together at a craps table, their expressions comically serious.
Someone handed the dice to Jo. She shook it in cupped hands and let it fly.
Cheers went up around the table, and the girls jumped up and down.
Jo’s laughter filtered through the noise, soothing the churning in his gut. He loved her laugh. The real one. Raspy, soft, and so infrequent that it never failed to take him by surprise. He wanted more of that one.
Her gaze lifted, and those glacial blue eyes met his. Her smile faltered for a second, then slowly widened, her expression soft, almost shy, with just a hint of flirtation.
He winked.
She blushed.
He laughed under his breath.
Her brow spiked.
He waggled his.
She rolled her eyes, and the way her lips parted just the tiniest bit, he knew she’d done that clicking thing with her tongue on the roof of her mouth. His dick celebrated that little move with a kick toward his cummerbund.
Someone passed between them, and the moment was lost. When the view cleared, the dealer was handing Jo the dice to start the game again. Avery preferred theirs.
Nick leaned in, his voice low. “Hardy called me.”
Jo blew on the dice in her hands, and Avery’s dick stretched another inch. Maybe they could sneak off and break her rule one more time before midnight.
“Did you hear me?” Nick growled.
“Yeah, you said he had nothing new earlier, and you were going to try to get something out of the commissioner.”
“Harris didn’t have anything new but promised to let me know if he had anything concrete to share. I haven’t heard back from him. But Hardy called about thirty minutes ago.”
That was enough to drag his attention from Jo to his brother. “And?”
“A witness came forward.” He held up a hand. “No names were divulged.”
“Lenny maybe?”
Nick shrugged. “He also said a warrant was issued, so that means they have evidence.”
It wasn’t from the mixer. The police had given that back. “What else?”
“An arrest is pending, but Hardy said arrests don’t happen like they do in the movies. It could take a while, months even.”
“Fuck. She can’t have this hanging over her head that long.”
“Neither can you.” Nick pinned him with knowing blue eyes. “It’s been five weeks. What’s your plan?”
Avery didn’t need the reminder, and he didn’t have a fucking plan. Time was ticking. It seemed like they were barely getting started, and he had so many things he still wanted to do with her—to her.
Maybe he should float another arrangement past her, perhaps extending their time together until after Marcus’ wedding. That would keep her under his protection as well as give him more time with her.
Feminine laughter grew louder as the girls sifted, one by one, from the throng of gamblers, saving Avery from having to answer Nick.
Kate slipped under Bryce’s open arm. “We thought we should stop while we were ahead.”
Bryce tucked her in close. “You do know you’re winnings aren’t real?”
“Of course, but we don’t want to look like losers.”
Avery waited for Jo to press through.
Olivia stopped in front of him. “Jo asked me to tell you she’s going to the galley to see one of her friends. Viv, I think.”