To Die For (Joker's Sin Book 2)

by Davidson King

“Max, stop!” I got between them just as Dorian’s guys and Atlas stormed into the room.

  “Enough!” Atlas shouted. Dorian’s men grabbed him, and I pushed back with Max. “Max, go to my office. And you.” He rounded on Dorian. “Start talking.”

  I grabbed Max’s hand and pulled him out of the bathroom toward Atlas’s office. No one stopped us, and when we were behind the door, I locked eyes with him.

  “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” I said to Max, who looked as if he didn’t care if he’d started a war…and that was exactly what he’d done.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Max

  I had just been handing a drink to a regular when I heard someone say a guy got hurt in the men’s room. I asked what he was talking about, and some other man said he saw this big dude kick a smaller one. When Shane leaned into me and said Sparkles was the one who got hurt, I felt this rush of anger. I moved along the bar where I saw Nolan, his boyfriend, Seth, and Sparkles. Seth was tending to Sparkles, and I got more information. I didn’t know who did it and didn’t care. I saw red, tore through to the bathroom, and when I saw the smug-faced Dorian, I was more than happy to punch the shit out of him.

  Hearing him say things like Sparkles had me wrapped around his cock bothered me. I thought he was his landlord, but there was so much more to the story, and I was beginning to think Sparkles’s outburst, when I started asking questions, was because this was a part of his life he didn’t want anyone knowing about.

  I tried to calm myself in Atlas’s office while he dealt with the situation. Pacing was all I could do. Sparkles sat on Atlas’s couch, every so often making eye contact with me. I wanted to say something, but lingering feelings of anger kept slamming into me.

  We’d only been in there for about fifteen minutes when Atlas came in. He glanced at Sparkles, then at me.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” He stood a few inches from me.

  “The guy assaulted Sparkles, what was I supposed to do?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, you have this earpiece and microphone that goes directly to Ciro…You know, the head of security for the whole place. Maybe you should’ve started there?”

  I wasn’t sure how to explain that I’d had no control over myself. Like, I’d heard someone hurt Sparkles, and I saw the mark on his face and reacted. “So, if someone hurt Toby, you’d have just called it in and let Ciro handle it?”

  I didn’t realize how what I’d just said sounded until Atlas’s eyes widened, and Sparkles slowly rose from the couch.

  “No. I’d have beat the guy and kicked him out,” Atlas answered. “But Toby is my partner in everything. I love him. This isn’t the same thing.” Atlas’s brows lifted. “Is it?”

  “Whoa,” Sparkles said. “Let’s not have confession hour, okay? I’m fine. I appreciate what Max did; it was actually sort of sweet…if not somewhat barbaric.”

  “What happened, Sparkles?” Atlas turned to him and I could see his features soften.

  “Well, what did Dorian say happened?”

  While I too was curious what the guy said, I also had a feeling it would alter whatever Sparkles said in response.

  “He said you two were fooling around in the stall. When you were done, you went to leave, slipped, and hit your face on the floor. He said he assumed you were embarrassed, and that’s why you ran out of the bathroom—”

  “No way!” I interrupted. “The guy who helped Sparkles said he saw the guy kick him, and when I had him pinned to the wall, he basically called Sparkles a slut.”

  Sparkles winced and I wanted to apologize, but Atlas had already started talking.

  “Right. That’s why I told Dorian he was to leave my establishment. I have never seen him here before, and you’ve never caused me issues. So, he’s banned until further notice.”

  “Is he going to press charges?” I asked.

  “No. I told him if he pressed charges against you, I’d do the same in return for damaging my bathroom.”

  I frowned, thinking that it appeared fine when I was in there. “Nothing was wrong with the bathroom.”

  “Funny, that’s what he said.” Atlas smiled. “I think he got what I was saying.”

  “Thank you, Atlas.” Sparkles put his hand on Atlas’s arm, and when the big guy hugged him, a pang of jealousy hit me right in the heart. I wanted to hug Sparkles.

  “Look, Max, I think it’s best you head on home,” Atlas said.

  “But we’ve still got a few hours left in the night.”

  “Yeah, I need you to cool down, though. Just go on home.”

  “I’m going to go home too. Can you let my friend Nolan know?” Sparkles asked Atlas.

  “Sure thing.”

  Sparkles walked over to me. “Take me to my car?”

  Nodding, I followed Atlas and Sparkles out. Atlas moved toward the bar, but I took Sparkles through the back, so he wouldn’t have to amble through the throngs of people. The second we stepped outside, I cursed. It was pouring rain. I hadn’t known the weather called for rain—otherwise, I would’ve taken my truck and not my bike.

  “Shoot, I’ll have to make a run for it,” Sparkles said. He looked over to me and over to my very soaked bike. “Why don’t I give you a ride home?”

  “Thanks. That’d be nice. I can take my truck tomorrow to pick up my bike. Let me just cover it, so maybe I can salvage it a bit.”

  Sparkles nodded and waited while I covered her up. When my bike was secured, we ran to his Jeep and hopped in. It was a freezing kind of rain and since it was unexpected, neither of us had an umbrella and we were soaking wet.

  “Oh, let me get the heat on. Damn, so fucking cold.” Sparkles started his Jeep and blasted the heat. We sat there for a minute until the warmth began to seep into us. “Okay, now if you put the address into my GPS, I can get you home.”

  “Or I can just tell you how to get there.”

  He pulled onto the street. “I just figured you’d want to relax.”

  “Thanks, I’m fine. I’ll tell you how to get to my place.”

  We didn’t talk aside from me telling him how to get to my house. I knew my ma would be awake and ask why I was home so early. I couldn’t lie to her to save my life. The woman was a human lie detector. We pulled into the driveway, and the outside light turned on.

  “Wow, nice house,” Sparkles said with a smile.

  “Thanks. It’s actually my ma’s house. My dad died a while back, and my sisters and I sort of banded together to help her. We paid the mortgage off because she doesn’t work. She never has, but she volunteers everywhere. Between all of us, we keep the lights on.”

  “That’s…I didn’t expect that.”

  “You assumed I had some sort of bachelor pad, didn’t you?”

  Sparkles chuckled. “Guilty.”

  “I thought about it. But when my sister Teresa married and moved out, I couldn’t leave. Maria and Frances work and help, but I pull in a lot from the club. If I left they’d feel that, even if I gave them money. I’d still need to deduct to keep whatever new place I got.”

  Sparkles nodded. “I get it. Moms are like these precious gifts. Sons do everything they can to keep them happy.” I was about to ask Sparkles about his family, but someone tapped on the window.

  I turned to see my ma standing there with a huge umbrella, waving. “Come inside, I made a cake, and I’ll put coffee up.” She walked away then, not giving me a chance to tell her Sparkles was just dropping me off.

  “I’m sorry. She’s a meddler. She’s also Italian and feels the need to constantly feed people. I’ll tell her you had to go.”

  “Well, I don’t mind…I mean that is if you don’t mind? I do love cake after all.”

  “You want to go in? I mean, she’s nosy. She will pry things out of you…She’s relentless.”

  Sparkles laughed as he opened his door. “She’s a mom; it’s sort of a requirement. Come on, she has cake.”

  I just hoped my sisters weren’t home, so maybe we’d get out of
this alive.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Lane

  When Max and I walked inside the house, the warmth and love that grew there was like a life force. My teeth were chattering, but it was as if my skin tingled…Maybe that was hypothermia, though.

  “Oh, my word, you’re both soaked. Max. Take your friend upstairs to change, and then come down. You’ll both catch pneumonia if you stay in those clothes. Go on.” She shooed us away, and Max rolled his eyes.

  “Come on and follow me. I have something you can change into. It won’t be high-fashion, but it will at least get you to stop chattering.”

  As we climbed the steps, I couldn’t stop myself from looking at all the pictures hung on the wall. There was a huge one at the top of the stairs. Max was the only boy, and he had three sisters. His mother, and who I assumed was his father, smiled brightly. Judging by Max’s age, I guessed this was taken when he was around ten or so.

  “I’m on the third floor, sorry.”

  “No, it’s fine, the movement is keeping the blood flowing.”

  When we made it to the top floor, Max opened the door and we went inside. Whatever I thought I’d see when I entered his room, this wasn’t it. It was very clean, bed made, and he had actual art on the walls, not naked men or anything. There was a couch that looked like it was a good fifteen years old. There was a half-full glass of water next to his bed and a book. While Max went through his drawers, I moved closer to the bed to see what he was reading.

  “Okay, these sweats actually shrunk in the wash, so they may work for you, and I have a T-shirt and sweat shirt. You gotta be cold.” He handed them to me.

  “Thanks. You’re reading Lord of the Flies?”

  “Huh? Oh, yeah. I like the classics.” He shrugged and moved back to the dresser. “I have socks too, here.” When I took everything, he gestured to another door. “Bathroom’s there, take your time.”

  “Thanks.”

  In the bathroom, everything was in order. Tub, toilet, and sink all sparkled. I wondered if Max was the neat freak or if it was his mother. I took my soaked clothes off and hung them on the bar in the shower. I dried up and got the clothes on quickly. I had no underwear, but mine hadn’t gotten wet, so I was glad I wouldn’t be free-ballin’ it in Max’s sweat pants. As soon as the sweat shirt went on, I felt a million times better.

  I opened the door to step into the bedroom and stopped cold. Max was just pulling his own sweats up, and the sight of his ass was in perfect view. Damn, that was an ass someone could write a poem about.

  “Everything okay?” he asked, and my eyes lifted to meet his. He wore a smirk, so I knew I was busted.

  “Oh, um, yes. I put my wet clothes on the bar in the shower. If you have a bag, I can throw them in there to take home with me.”

  “Nah, I can wash them and hold them behind the bar for you to get if you want.”

  Did he just offer to wash my clothes? “That’s not neces—”

  “Come on, Sparkles, Ma made cake.” He ran out of the room, and I wasn’t sure if it was true excitement for the cake or if he didn’t want to talk about my clothes and him washing them. I let it go and followed him down the stairs and into the dining room, where Max’s mother was just bringing out a pot of coffee.

  “You boys look much warmer. Have a seat. I made cannoli cake.” Max’s mom smiled, and I could see the resemblance between them.

  “I’ve never had cannoli cake before, so I can’t wait,” I said as she cut a piece and handed it to me. I waited for everyone to have a piece and once we were seated, I didn’t hold back any longer. I scooped a piece in my mouth. “Oh, my heavens! Sweet mother mercy. This is delicious.”

  Max chuckled around his coffee mug.

  “I love baking. I do it a lot, and every Sunday I take a few pies and such to the shelter on Hallow Street.”

  “That’s incredible.” And it was. When I was trying to get by for my mother and myself, the kindness of strangers wasn’t common.

  “So, what’s your name? Max never brings anyone over, so this is a special treat.”

  “Ma—”

  “You hush, I’m talking to your handsome friend here.” She beamed, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Yeah, Max, hush. She said I was handsome.” I winked at him, which brought a blush to his cheeks I found I liked. “My name is Lane Ashley.”

  “He’s the one everyone calls Sparkles, Ma.” So Max talked about me to his mother?

  “Oh!” She clapped her hands. “Yes. I should’ve known with that bright-pink hair!”

  I patted my damp hair and chuckled. “Well, it’s not looking so great right now, but yes. I’ve had pink hair for a long time.”

  She tilted her head and assessed me with her smiling eyes. “It suits you.”

  Just then, there was a flash of lightning, and the power went out.

  “Shit,” I heard Max say.

  “Language!” I laughed when his mother admonished him.

  “Sorry, Ma. You two stay here, I’ll go get the flashlights.” I looked out the window that was directly behind Max’s mother. The rain was coming down hard, and the lightning wasn’t letting up either.

  “This house is old; the wind blows too strongly, and the power goes out,” she said.

  “You know, I never got your name,” I said to her as I sipped my coffee in the dark.

  “You call me Ma.”

  I was going to tell her I couldn’t do that, when Max returned. “Okay, here we are. I even got some candles.” He handed us each a flashlight, placed the candles on the table, and after he lit them, he sat in his chair. “Now we can finish our cake.”

  We sat there for a while, eating and talking about Max’s work, my dancing, and my dog.

  “I think it’s safer you spend the evening, Lane,” Max’s mother said. “The roads are going to be flooded, and it won’t be good to drive.”

  I hadn’t even thought about flooding. “My dog is with my friend; I can’t just leave him there.”

  “Just call ’em,” Max said. “Ma’s right, it’s not safe to drive in this.”

  I should’ve argued with them both, but for some reason I didn’t want to. I liked it in this house. This home was everything I’d wished I had as a child. Max and his ma watched me expectedly.

  “Okay, I just have to call my friend Alexandra. She has Tank.”

  His mom smiled. “You go right ahead.”

  I got up and went into the living room with the flashlight. Alexandra was fine with Tank staying with her and had plenty of food and such. How could you not want to stay with that fluffball of cuteness? I was about to enter the dining room but stopped when I heard Max’s mother’s voice.

  “But what happened to his cheek?”

  “Nothing, Ma, let it go. He’s fine. Tough.”

  She chuckled. “You have to be tough to deal with you.”

  “Nice, Ma, I feel the love. But no, we’re just friends.”

  “But you’d like more.” It wasn’t directed to Max as a question; she was stating a fact and I wanted too much to hear his response.

  “I asked him out to dinner. He said yes. We can see how it goes.”

  Eavesdropping was rude, and while I wanted to hear everything, I didn’t want to be disrespectful, so I reentered the dining room.

  “We’re all set. Alexandra will take care of Tank for me. Thank you so much for your hospitality,” I said to Max and his mom.

  “Oh, hush. It’s our pleasure. I’m exhausted, and I’m sure you both are as well.”

  I nodded. “Yes, for sure. Do you have a guest room or couch or something?”

  Max’s mother laughed again. “We have none of that. All the bedrooms are occupied, and the couch in the living room is lumpier than my mother-in-law’s mashed potatoes were. You and Max can share his room.”

  Oh, my God. Sleep in Max’s room…in his bed. With that ass of his?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Max

  “I can take the couch or floor or
something,” I said as soon as we were upstairs in my room.

  Sparkles’s brows rose. “By something I hope you mean your bed. I am not taking your bed from you.”

  “Do you know what my ma and sisters would do to me if they came up here and saw you on the couch or floor?” I was lucky my sisters weren’t here already, but I also knew they would be before morning.

  “And they have a habit of walking into your room?” Sparkles chuckled as if he thought I was being paranoid. The poor unfortunate man.

  “Yes, they have zero respect for boundaries.”

  Sparkles sat on my bed and stared at me. Likely waiting for the joke part of my statement. When none came, he nodded. “I see. Okay, so then, let’s say they walked in, unannounced, and both of us were in the bed?”

  They’d never seen that since I never brought anyone home, so I had to think about it for a second. “My guess is, they’d run and tell Ma.”

  “And what would your sweet mother do?”

  I smiled wickedly. “Yell at them for invading my privacy and yours.”

  Sparkles’s grin matched my own. “So, then, let’s be adults about this and share your large bed and get your sisters in trouble.”

  When Sparkles’s brilliant evil wit wasn’t set in my direction, it was like witnessing beautiful magic. “I like the way you think.” I gestured toward my bathroom. “Under the sink, there are a few unopened toothbrushes. If you want to get ready for bed. You’re also welcome to shower or whatever. I have boxers and things to sleep in if you’d like.”

  Sparkles rose. “I can sleep in this—it’s comfy, but I’d love to brush my teeth, thanks.” I watched him go into the bathroom and as soon as he shut the door, I did a quick look around, making sure there was nothing embarrassing under the bed, near the bed, or under the pillows. My ma always said I was a bit of a neat freak. I wasn’t sure about that, but I liked some semblance of order. Whether that was my workspace or home space was no different.

  I’d changed my sheets the day before, so I wasn’t worried about those. After checking quickly, nothing was out of place, and all was good. I grabbed a pair of boxers and a T-shirt, changed into them, and waited for Sparkles to be done so I could brush my teeth.