Chapter Ten
“How long do you think you’re going to be angry with him?” Hunter asked, looking toward Smokey, who was staring down at the pool table.
“If you’re trying to distract me, shut the fuck up,” Smokey said, lining the point of his pool stick with the white ball, about to make a hit that would land him in the lead.
“Not trying to distract you, I just know now is not the time for us all to be divided,” Hunter said.
“We’re not divided.” Smokey potted the ball and smirked. He was now in the lead.
“We’re not? No one is talking to Big Dick. Someone clearly took his phone, and we all know it’s Cadeon, so there’s no guessing about that shit. Within a single video, Cadeon has managed to do what no one else ever has, and that is to tear us a-fucking-part.”
“Look, I know people are pissed off with Big Dick, and we all have a right to be. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy to attack the club.”
“Right, right, where’s Big Dick right now?” Hunter asked.
Smokey frowned and looked toward his VP. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“It means there was a time when you knew where everyone was, and you had eyes in the back of your head. What happened to that?”
It meant he was pissed off with Big Dick right now. Out of all the women that came to the fucking club, why did he have to stick his dick inside Larissa? There were plenty of willing women.
He’d told Jonah she’d be okay. He fucking vowed she would be, and instead it made him look like a liar, like he had no control over his men, or at least one man.
“He’s got some shit he needs to deal with.”
Hunter nodded. “You’re going to punish him forever.”
“He shouldn’t have touched her, Hunter. What more do you want me to fucking say?”
“We shouldn’t be getting involved with what was going on,” Hunter said. “Our main focus has to be the club’s safety.”
“My wife has no one right now.”
“Harlow is pitching in when she can.”
“But she’s pregnant and can only do so much. Larissa was amazing, okay? She helped my wife, and she could be trusted. I can’t just pull anyone off the streets and demand they help my wife.” Smokey ran a hand down his face. “I fucking failed her.”
He hated to admit it, once again. Ava deserved everything good.
He’d put her through the fucking worst thing a man could put his wife through.
She’d not been his wife when he had her tortured, because he had thought her as a traitor.
It had been the biggest mistake of his life—one he would never forget, and it killed him.
Now, he’d vowed to always be there for her, to help her, and because Big Dick and fucking Carlos couldn’t be civilized and not make fucking bets, they’d lost Larissa.
It pissed him off, which is why he wasn’t interested in whatever the fuck Big Dick was doing.
He’d ordered him to stay the fuck away from Larissa and Jonah.
Jonah had shocked him, the way he’d torn off his collar and came to punish Big Dick.
There had always been more to Jonah than met the eye, he just didn’t realize how much.
He should have known, because over the years, that man had not shown a single ounce of emotion, no fear when it came to the club. Most men were terrified.
“You didn’t fail her, man,” Hunter said.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do. She wants to go to Larissa, but I don’t know if it is too soon. I’m thinking of putting out an advertisement, but again, am I reacting too soon? What if Larissa wants her job back?” He blew out a breath.
“You know, you could just go and talk to Larissa,” Hunter said.
“I’m sure she doesn’t want to see me.”
“You won’t know if you don’t try.”
****
Larissa was shocked to get Smokey’s call. She was tempted to tell him to leave her alone, or just ignore it. However, she was not going to be rude to the man that had helped her in the past. He’d given her a job when it was next to impossible to find another one.
Arriving at the diner, she glanced around at the tables, then spotted Smokey in the back. She stepped toward him and made her way across the room, sliding in.
“Hi, Smokey,” she said.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Smokey sighed. “How are you doing?”
“I’m okay. You?”
“I feel like fucking shit, to be honest.”
Larissa looked up from the menu to stare across the table at him. “What?”
“I had no idea what was going on, or what was happening. If I did, I would have stopped it,” Smokey said.
“I know.”
“Do you want me to kick his ass? Kick him out of the club? Kick his ass again?”
Larissa closed the menu and frowned. “Did he do something that breaks the rules of the club?” she asked.
Smokey gritted his teeth. “No, he didn’t.”
“I don’t want, nor do I need special treatment. I should have known better.”
“You’re ... different, Larissa. He should have known better.”
“And so should I have. I don’t want him to lose his position at the club just because you don’t like how things happened. It was a bet, a little fun between friends, and I was the punch line.” She shrugged.
It was like a strike to the chest, a deep, piercing pain that would not go away. She had fallen in love with a man who was just playing her.
The waitress came over. This was a new woman that Larissa didn’t recognize. “What can I get you two?”
“Just a chocolate milkshake for me,” Larissa said.
“Coffee for me,” Smokey said.
The waitress wrote down their order and left.
“You haven’t forgiven him, have you?” Smokey asked.
“I’m not going to keep hating him if that is what you’re worried about. I’m just not going to ... I’m not going to care about him.” It hurt. Even saying his name hurt. Her father had told her that with time it would heal.
“Look, I wish I could take back what he did. I wish I had known and could knock some fucking sense into him, but I wasn’t there. I know you quit and you don’t want anything to do with the club. I will accept your answer if it’s no, but I really need your help. Ava needs your help.”
Larissa had been regretting her rash decision in quitting her work at the bakery.
She’d been going through so many different job applications, and none of them were anything she could do.
She’d attempted to arrange an interview at a lawyer’s office to work on the reception desk, but she didn’t have enough legal experience.
The diner was always running through staff, and by the time she called, the slot had already been taken.
The doctor’s office required formal training.
She was either not qualified enough for each job, or hadn’t gotten to the job on time, and it had already gone to someone else.
Her father said she could work for him, but it wasn’t a paying position.
Jobs were so scarce, and the thought of going back to college didn’t appeal to her. She did love to learn, but more at her own pace. She let out a sigh.
“We’ve had no choice but to get Abriana’s help, and trust me, that day turned out to be a disaster,” Smokey said. “I don’t want to stress out Ava, and I am so sorry to ask you—”
“I’ll take it,” Larissa said.
“You’ll take your old job back?”
“Yeah, of course I will. Why not?” She offered him a smile. “I miss Ava, and I hated doing what I did, and I didn’t know how to call.” She reached across the table. “Thank you.”
Smokey opened his mouth and then closed it, as the waitress brought their drinks. Larissa smiled at the woman and thanked her. Smokey didn’t say anything.
Putting the straw to her lips, she took a nice, long drink of her milkshake. It was cold, chocolatey, and just so damn perfect.
“I’ll make sure Big Dick doesn’t come around.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Larissa said. “I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself.”
She would stand on her own two feet.
“Thank you.”
Larissa took another long drink of her milkshake. The waitress had put their drinks in to-go cups rather than glasses. “Is it okay if we go over there?” Larissa asked.
“Sure. Why don’t you make your way over, and I’ll go and pay?”
She grabbed her drink and made her way out of the diner, ignoring some of the stares she got. Her father had told her she should ignore them and just keep her head held high. One day, they’d find someone else to gossip about.
Larissa knew what she had done wrong—she’d fallen in love. That had been her biggest mistake.
Stepping out of the diner felt so good, and she looked down the long main street of the town and crossed the road, going straight to Ava’s Bakery.
She felt her stomach twisting. She pushed open the main door, stepped inside, and Larissa knew Ava was completely swept off her feet.
The woman that always looked so in charge, so controlled, was trying to balance the baking in the back and orders.
The shop was full of customers. Some of them seemed to look even more frazzled at the long wait.
Ava had often prided herself on the short waiting times.
She took a long suck on her straw, filled with chocolatey goodness, and then she pulled her hair back and stepped up behind the counter.
“What can I get you?” Larissa asked, grabbing an apron and a quick hairnet to help.
The man at the counter looked so irritated and stated his order through gritted teeth. Larissa stayed calm, cool, and composed as she packaged his order, rang it up, and moved on to the next customer.
By the time Smokey walked through the door, Larissa had taken care of half the line, and the customers had gone from looking angry to happy.
Within half an hour, the shop was cleared, and Larissa was already packaging the latest baked goods and getting them ready on the counter.
Before she could move to the counter, Ava pulled her into her arms and hugged her tightly.
“Thank you,” Ava said.
Larissa smiled. “I had no idea you were struggling this way. If I had known, I would have come here right away.”