Chapter Twelve
Wade
“Are you avoiding me, too?” Lauren asked as I passed by the living room after restocking the cupboards. I was headed to my room to change.
I hadn’t even noticed that she was on the couch. Now, I did. She sat slumped against the cushions right in the middle, her hair in a loose ponytail draped over her right shoulder. The contrast of her loose-fitting cardigan and snug leggings made it look like she had just come from a yoga class, but I knew she hadn’t. She wasn’t supposed to leave the house alone after what happened yesterday, something that even I was still pissed off about. I had a feeling that wasn’t the reason for her foul mood this morning, which she seemed to have decided to vent on me.
I sighed as I approached the couch. “What? Did you and Max have a fight before he left?”
“No,” Lauren answered without even looking at me, her gaze on the blank TV screen as she fidgeted with the pendant of her necklace.
She had said “too”, though, which meant someone else was avoiding her.
“Was it Jake you had a fight with then?” I asked.
Lauren didn’t answer, which in a way, answered my question.
Honestly, I found it hard to imagine Jake fighting with a woman, especially Lauren, who he seemed to be fond of, but he had been acting strange lately. Still, if he had an argument with Lauren, he must have had a good reason.
I sat on the armrest of the couch. “I’m sure Jake is just worried about you, especially after what happened yesterday.”
I had never seen him so worried as when he had called me yesterday telling me that Lauren was in trouble. Then again, I had to admit even I had felt worried as fuck. Scared shitless even. It made me mad as hell when we found Lauren with those devils. If I was the man I used to be, I would have killed them.
Lauren looked at me with narrowed eyes. “Do you always make excuses for Jake?”
“No. I’m just telling you what I know, and I’ve known him longer than you have.”
She shook her head. “I doubt anyone can tell what he’s thinking at all.”
I shrugged. “Well, I’m no mind reader, but I know Jake is a good man. He’s been through a lot.”
“What exactly has he been through?” Lauren turned to me with furrowed eyebrows. “Billie told me your backstory but not his.”
Right. Billie did tell Lauren about my failed marriage, but I suppose she didn’t say anything about Jake’s past. It was more complicated than mine, after all. And darker.
“You never said what you thought about mine,” I said, changing the topic.
I was curious to know her opinion. Lauren shrugged. “What’s there to say? Marriages are tough. Most of them don’t last. That’s why I’m not sure I believe them.”
She didn’t? Interesting.
“Anyway, I’m sure you tried your best.”
I arched an eyebrow. “You are?”
And here I thought she saw me as a jerk. The fact that she didn’t, nearly made me smile, giving me hope, though I quickly squashed it.
What on earth are you hoping for like some fool? She’s Max’s girlfriend, remember?
“What about me?” Lauren asked. “What do you think about me? Do you think I’m weak and stupid?”
“No,” I told her.
A little na?ve, maybe. Reckless. Stubborn. But definitely not weak or stupid.
“And I’m sure Jake doesn’t either.”
Lauren shrugged. “Well, he definitely thinks I’m a child who can’t make my own decisions or take responsibility for my actions. He thinks he’s responsible for everything.”
“You mean for what happened yesterday? Yeah, I can imagine he’d blame himself for that. If the Devils didn’t know you were living with the leader of Black Storm, after all, they probably would have…”
“I’m not talking about that,” Lauren cut me off.
My eyebrows bunched up. She wasn’t?
“Though, of course, he’d blame himself for that, too,” Lauren said. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “What do I have to do to make him see that I’m not fragile or helpless?”
I said nothing. I didn’t think that question was addressed to me, anyway.
She gave another sigh. “Maybe I shouldn’t have texted him for help.”
“You did the right thing,” I assured her.
If she hadn’t texted Jake, things could have gotten much worse for all of us.
“Maybe I should have texted Max.”
Come to think of it, why didn’t she?
“Or you.” She looked at me. “Would you have come?”
I would have gone to her without a second thought.
Before I could answer, though, Lauren looked away. “Then again, I don’t have your number.”
Right. I hadn’t given her mine yet.
“I could give it to you, though,” I told her.
Her eyebrows arched. “You would?”
“Only so you can call me if ever you’re in danger,” I explained hastily.
She frowned. “I wish I didn’t have to call anyone when I’m in danger. I wish I could fight just like you.”
Was that a compliment?
I scratched the back of my head. “Well, I only learned to fight because I was trained to.”
Lauren lifted her head, her eyebrows raised. As she turned to look at me, her eyes glimmered with excitement.
“Maybe you can teach me.”
“No,” I said automatically.
She got off the couch. “Why not?”
I folded my arms over my chest. “Because I have other things to do.”
She pouted. “So you’re avoiding me, too, after all.”
To be honest, I was. I didn’t want to risk making another mistake. After all, Max was kind enough to overlook the last one I’d made. Now that I knew how it felt to kiss her, I didn’t want to be alone with her. I didn’t trust myself to have enough self-restraint, which was never my forte.
I wasn’t going to admit that out loud, though.
I sighed. “Why does everything have to be about you?”
Lauren stepped forward. “If you teach me how to fight, it will be good for you, too. And Max. And Jake. You won’t have to worry about me as much.”
I shook my head. “Even if you knew how to defend yourself, the Devils are bigger than you. And stronger. If you fight back, they’ll only hurt you more.”
“But at least I would have a chance of hurting them, too. Fighting might be my only chance to escape. Like you said, I’m not big or strong. But maybe that can be my advantage. Maybe they won’t expect me to fight back, so if I did, I would be able to pull the rug out from under them.”
I said nothing, feeling myself being swayed. Lauren did make a good point, after all.
She touched my arm. “I know I can’t win, Wade. I’m not you. All I’m asking is for you to give me a chance. It may be my only chance to get away, or at least stall for time, until you guys arrive. It may be my only chance to survive.”
Fuck, she was good at making arguments even when she was sober. Maybe better. Still, I wasn’t going to give in easily.
“I’ll ask Max,” I told her.
“He won’t mind.”
She sounded so sure of it, making me wonder if she had told Max about our kiss, too, and if Max had told her the same thing he had told me. Would Max really be okay if something happened between Lauren and me? I still wasn’t sure, though.
“And Jake,” I added.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Must we ask Jake’s permission for everything? Aren’t you big enough to make your own decisions?”
I didn’t answer. I just started to walk away while I still had the chance.
“Wait.” She grabbed my arm. “How about we do this...why don’t we play a game or something and make a bet? If I win, you’ll teach me self-defense. If I lose, I won’t bring it up again. This way, we don’t have to bother Jake. He’s got enough on his mind, anyway.”
True. And tempting.
“Surely, that’s a fair proposition,” Lauren went on to hammer at my wavering conviction. “If you win, you’ll have peace of mind. If you lose, you’ll make me just a little bit less of a burden.”
If I lost? No fucking way.
“What game?” I asked her.
She grinned. “I was thinking maybe…a game of pool. I saw a table at Billie’s.”
“There’s one in the basement, actually. Do you know how to play?”
“Yeah. I’ve played before…I think.”
“You think?”
“I remember enough. It’s easier to recall doing things than memories, I guess.”
I shrugged. “If you say so, but I don’t think you’ll win.”
“Really?” Lauren’s grin just grew wider. Then she put on a serious face as she poked my chest. “We’ll see, won’t we?”
I, too, grinned. “Oh, we will.”
Something told me this was going to be the most fun I’d had in a while.
And it was fun, with me winning the first match of our best-of-three, only narrowly losing the second and pocketing four balls in a row here in our final one.
Up until now.
Now, Lauren was playing dirty with a mischievous grin on her face, having shrugged off her cardigan so that she was just in a sleeveless top. She wasn’t wearing a bra underneath. Her nipples were poking through the thin cotton. To make matters worse, she was leaning forward, teasing me with a clear glimpse of her cleavage.
Damn it, woman. Didn’t anyone teach you to behave?
“Is something the matter?” she asked as she coiled some tendrils of her hair around her fingers. “You seem to be having a hard time all of a sudden.”
And she was enjoying every second of it.
“I’m fine,” I told her, focusing my gaze on my next ball.
“Things are bound to get harder, though.”
Not if I could help it.
Focus, soldier.
I was about to move my cue stick when Lauren spoke again. “What do you think of my tattoo?”
In spite of myself, I glanced at her arm. “It’s good. Then again, Jake’s a great tattoo artist.”
“Can’t argue with that. Did he give you your tattoos?”
“Some.”
I turned my attention back to the seven ball, and hit the cue ball, sending the maroon ball into the top left pocket. Afterward, I pumped a fist. Two more balls and my victory would be secure.
Lauren clapped. “Woo-hoo! You are good at this, aren’t you?”
I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not, but I gave her a grin just the same. “I told you.”
“I have to say I find it quite…hot.”
Well, I wasn’t expecting that.
I snorted. “I know what you’re doing.”
She looked at me with innocently furrowed eyebrows. “What?”
“Distracting me.”
“Nonsense. It’s not my fault if you can’t focus. We both know you just like looking at me.”
I didn’t answer. I just averted my gaze at once, studying the pool table instead.
Lauren chuckled, then moved closer to me. The next thing I knew, she was right beside me, whispering in my ear.
“Did you like kissing me, too?”
I fought a blush and focused on my target, the eight ball, having found the right angle with which to attack it.
“I didn’t kiss you,” I told her calmly while keeping my eyes on the prize.
“Yes, you did.”
“You were drunk.”
“I still know you kissed me.”
I decided not to say any more, preparing to hit my target.
“And that’s not all I know,” Lauren continued, purring in my ear. “I know what you do behind the closed door of your bedroom, or should I say what you did when you left the door slightly open?”
I missed, Lauren’s revelation causing my hand to jerk at the last second.
Fuck.
Lauren grinned as she held a finger to her lips. “Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”
Yeah, she was the one person who I didn’t want to find out, to see what I had done. Why the fuck didn’t I just close the fucking door properly?
A part of me wanted to punch the wall in frustration. Another wanted to kiss Lauren just to get that smug grin off her face. And then to fuck her right on the pool table just to end this stupid game.
My cock certainly approved of that last idea.
Oh, calm the fuck down, soldier. You’ve already caused me enough trouble.
I stood aside and kept quiet, trying not to stare at her booty as she pocketed the ball that I had failed to sink and then trying not to feel like such a sore loser when she flawlessly hit the nine ball as well.
The fact remained that I had lost. Lauren had won.
I tried not to look at her bouncing breasts as she jumped up and down to celebrate her victory. I fought a frown as well, putting on a smile as I shook her hand.
“I guess this means you’ll be teaching me how to fight,” she said.
I nodded. “I guess so.”
For now, I would congratulate her and be happy for her, but my mind was already planning my revenge.
If Lauren thought I was going to go easy on her with self-defense training, especially after all the tricks she had just played on me, she was going to be sorely disappointed.