Chapter Two
Tuesday, June 3 rd .
Riverside District. Austin.
I was in bed sleeping and oblivious to my situation until the pain in my arm forced me to open my eyes.
With consciousness came awareness. A little too quickly for my liking.
My arm was hot. Too hot…and wet.
When I came to my senses, I realized the taped-on towel had slid off my arm while I slept, and blood was fuckin’ everywhere—my blood.
“Jesus, what a mess.”
I need stitches.
Riverside Medical Center.
No way I could ride my bike, the mess I was in, so I drove my truck with my right arm while my left flopped like dead leaking lumber in my lap.
Wasn’t far to the clinic I always went to when I was bashed up. Luckily, I hadn’t been there for months. Must’ve been doing something right.
When the nurse at the reception desk saw the amount of blood on me and my clothes, she jumped up and showed me into a treatment room. “Sit there and I’ll send the doctor right in.”
“Thanks.”
I sat on the exam table with my legs dangling. Staring down at my Harley boots, I was grateful none of my blood was on the leather. They were practically new and fuckin’ expensive.
Blood was everywhere else.
The doc smiled at me. “Knife wound?”
I nodded knowing he had to report it, and I flipped open my cred pack.
He had a close look. “Ranger Donovan. Let me take care of your arm.”
“Thank you.”
When I worked in the State of Texas, I was a Texas Ranger, but when I went on a covert op with my brother, I had US Marshal status—just to keep things confusing.
Freezing went in.
Three needles.
Then the stitches.
A lot of them.
The nurse rushed in and bandaged me up much better than I could’ve done it. Nice and snug. The blood was all gone. Except on my clothes.
A sling to keep my arm immobilized, a prescription for pain meds and I was done.
Agency medical card at the front desk took care of the bill and I was on my way home.
I can’t let Aunt Gail see I’m hurt.
Riverside District.
I drove straight home and took two of the pain pills the doctor gave me. Ripped the bloody covers off my bed and piled them on the floor for a trip to the laundromat.
I flopped down on the bare mattress and let out a big moan. Not an ounce of energy left in my bloodless body.
My cell rang and I didn’t want to answer it. Didn’t recognize the number but I pressed the green phone and mumbled, “Donovan.”
“Hey there, blondie, this is Regan Shay. I’m the bartender at Mahaffey’s.” She sounded so much livelier than I felt.
“Hey, Regan. I’m happy you called. Didn’t think you would.”
“I’ve been a bartender long enough to tell the good guys from the bad guys.”
Big effort from me to sound like I was among the living. “You ever make a mistake?”
“One or two times.”
I sat on the side of the bed and lit up a smoke so I wouldn’t sound so close to fuckin’ death. “When’s your next night off?”
“Tonight. That’s why I thought I’d see if you wanted to do dinner.”
“I had dinner intentions, or I wouldn’t have given you my number.”
“A logical thinker. I’m not sure I can deal with one of those.”
She made me laugh and that didn’t happen often.
“Were you in that mess behind my establishment?”
“Sadly, yes.”
“Were you hurt?”
“Sadly, yes.”
“I’ll cook.”
“Thanks. Got an address?”
“I do have one. Can you write?”
“Just tell me and I’ll put it in my phone.”
“Can you drive?”
“Not my bike, but I can drive my truck. When do you want me?”
“Last night.”
“Me too.”
“Try six.”
“I’ll sleep until five.”
“You have meds?”
“I do.”
“How bad is it?”
“Bad enough.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks for the invite.”
“My pleasure.”
I set the alarm on my phone for four-thirty and laid my head down.
Out like a light.
University Hills. Austin.
I knocked on the door of the townhouse, my left arm in a fuckin’ sling. I felt like a goddamned lame duck, and I figured I should’ve put this first date off until I was in better shape.
There was a lot of heat from the first moment I saw Regan and I could feel it now oozing through her front fuckin’ door.
I don’t think I’m up for it.
The door opened and I knew my fears were justified. Tall and hotter than hell. Masses of hair that wasn’t quite red. And those eyes.
She’s gonna fuck me dead.
“Sorry about your arm.”
“Yeah, I should’ve been more careful.”
“Please, come in. You have zero color in your face. You’d better sit down.”
“Thanks.”
“Should you mix beer with your pills?”
“Yeah, I should.”
“I’ll get you one. Don’t get up.”
Her townhouse was upscale. Clean and good furniture. She was more than a bartender, but I didn’t need to know it all today.
She handed me a glass and sat in the chair at the end of the sofa. “I take responsibility for your injury, blondie. My bar and you got hurt on my property. Inherited Mahaffey’s from my uncle but the location…”
“Yeah, Montopolis can be trouble. You have decent bouncers working for you?”
“Usually one on every night.”
“You need two if you can afford them.”
“Not sure I can. I’m trying to get the place back on a paying basis.”
“Uh huh.”
“You got a real name? I think you mumbled something when I called you, but I didn’t catch it. Or I could keep calling you blondie .”
“Don’t matter. You can call me Lukas .”
“I figured you for a cop. You were waiting for that gang to show up at my bar. How did you know about that?”
I shrugged. “You hear things.”
“In your world.” She laughed. “I never hear things like that in mine.”
A timer rang and she got up and went to the kitchen. Watching her walk away was almost as good as seeing her smile.
Wasn’t long, she was back waving me to follow her. “I don’t know what you like to eat, so I figured not too many men hate steak.”
I laughed. “Good figuring.”
We ate in her nice dining room. Comfortable, but not showy. Just like she was. I was never comfortable with women, but this was different.
It’s like I’ve known her for a long time.
“In case it crossed your mind, I don’t call men up and ask them over for dinner. You’re my first.”
“I’m honored. Why’d you do it?”
“I couldn’t let you go.”
“If you hadn’t called, I would’ve come back to your bar. I couldn’t let you go either.”
“You’re a cop.”
“Sometimes.”
She laughed. “Not all the time?”
“Not right now.”
“Austin PD?”
“Nope. Go higher.”
“You don’t like questions, so I won’t ask you any.”
“Appreciate it. I can’t give you the answers you want anyway, and we’ll go round and round.”
“I get it.”
You probably don’t but I appreciate your respect for my privacy.
The dinner she cooked for me was fantastic and there was no denying I wanted Regan, but with the blood loss at the scene and another gallon gone through the night, and the effects of the strong pain meds the doc had given me, I wasn’t myself.
Over a second cup of coffee, I made myself say it out loud. “Listen, Regan, there is nothing more I’d rather do than show you my good stuff, but my arm was a bleeder and I’m about done for today. Hate to say it, but I’m asking for a raincheck.”
She smiled. “I bet you haven’t asked for one of those too often.”
“Can’t remember ever doing it before, but I like you a lot and I don’t want us to be a one-time thing. I’d rather wait until I had at least one drop of energy.”
“I can tell by your eyes that you need to sleep. You’re almost out on your feet and you can’t drive in the condition you’re in. So, why don’t you sleep in my bed, and I’ll clean up the kitchen and join you later? I promise not to wake you up.
“I can’t pass up a good deal like that.”
Regan showed me her bedroom upstairs and left me on my own. I was so grateful to lie down, I didn’t remember much beyond that moment.