A Dangerous Way to Love (Dangerous Bonds Book 3)

by Shani Greene-Dowdell

  I looked at my phone. “Are you serious right now?”

  “Look, I’m just trying to give you and your boys a heads up. That’s the kind of good guy I am.”

  “Nah, I’m starting to think you want Limel to grab your dick. You know he’s the one that works the door, and you’re always talking about him grabbing you.”

  “Fuck you, Bruise. You trained them to be touchy-feely like that. They’d better not touch me, so relay the word.” With that, he hung up.

  I laughed and put in a call to Dimir.

  “Yo?” Dimir answered on the first ring.

  “Yo, you must have had your finger right on the receive button,” I teased.

  “Nah, boss man. I was about to call somebody. What’s up?”

  “My friend, Xander, is coming to the club tonight. Make sure to let Limel know that he is to search him extra carefully. He has some beef with one of our regulars, and I don’t want it to turn into a situation we can’t handle. You understand?”

  “No, shit? Okay, I got you, boss.”

  “Oh, and Dimir?”

  “Yeah, boss.”

  “He likes to carry his weapon in his underwear. So, Limel may have to check him everywhere, and you make sure it gets done, okay?” I tried to hold back just how funny this was about to be. Xander wasn’t the only one who could pull a prank.

  “Aight, boss man. I got you. He won’t get by us with anything.”

  “Good deal.”

  I hung up and looked at my father, who had made his way into the kitchen where I was.

  “You and Xander still at it, huh?” Dad asked.

  “Yep.” I smiled before I once again noticed the distress on his face as he eased down into a chair at the table. “Are you okay?”

  His reply was another painful-looking frown.

  “When is the last time you went to see a doctor?” I asked.

  “I’m fine, Bruiser. All they do is give you pain medicine and take x-rays, then tell you you’ll live. I can just buy some medicine at the CVS,” he said, trying to sound stronger than before. The extent of his pain was still visible on his face.

  I walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

  “Old man, make an appointment. And before you say no, I’m not accepting it. Take this card, pay the bill, and find out what’s going on.” I held out my black Visa to him, but he didn’t take it.

  “Son, I couldn’t.”

  “You can, and you will. It’s all good,” I replied.

  Mom walked into the room. She went over to Dad and put a hand on his shoulder. From the look on her face, I knew that she had overheard the conversation I had with Dad about going to the doctor.

  “I’ve been trying to tell him to go to the doctor for weeks, but he thinks we can’t afford it. Thank you, son,” she said with a smile on her weathered face. I made a note to send her for a spa treatment soon. I had to take care of my parents. They were all I had.

  “You don’t owe me thanks for helping out, Mom. You two gave me so much when I was growing up. I know how hard you both worked.”

  My father reached a shaky hand out to take the card from me. Relief and something else I didn’t recognize entered his eyes.

  “Thanks, son. Thank you a lot. You’re a good man, and you’ve done well for yourself. That’s all I ever wanted. I’m proud of you.”

  I nodded. Hearing that from the old man almost made me choke up. I don’t choke up.

  “I have to get to the office now. Let me know how your appointment goes. Oh, and call me if you need anything,” I said, including him and mom in my gaze.

  “We will, son,” they said together.

  I turned to look at my parents one last time before I walked out. They were watching me with the look of delight on their faces. It made me feel good to be able to provide for them after all they had done for me. I had everything I needed right there in that house.

  My family.

  Alise’s smile permeated my thoughts. This had been happening lately, especially when I thought about having a wife and kids. A family. This time, I blamed it on all that talk my parents did about me starting a family. But why was Alise’s face popping up in my mind under those circumstances?

  Chapter Four

  Alise

  Slipping Away

  10:34 p.m.

  “Since you’ve been away, I’ve been down and lonely. Since you’ve been away, I’ve been thinking of you,” Diana Ross’s melody glided out of my soul through my mouth. The notes bounced off my vocals effortlessly. I came to bring down the house on throwback night.

  Club Elite was so packed that people were standing shoulder to shoulder. I couldn’t be more thrilled to know they were hanging onto every note bellowing out of me. I took a bow, and the loud cheers blew me away.

  “Thank you. I truly want to thank you all for making a girl feel like she can sing. This is why I love being at Club Elite. This is home for me. So, don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back up later tonight for another set, then make sure you come back Saturday for new school R & B,” I said and curtsied before putting the microphone back on the stand.

  I looked to the edge of the stage where Bruiser usually stood, waiting for me. His serious dark brown gaze met mine, and I melted a little. Without even trying, he had that effect on me. Neatly-trimmed, dark black hair crowned his gorgeous head. His hair was straight and smooth enough to run my hands through, and I imagined it felt better than silk. And, though rarely displayed, he had a charming smile that finished the melting job his dark brown gaze started. He was American, but Bruiser gave off Italian don vibes. By that, I mean, he had a ‘lick me up and down until I say stop’ Italian don vibe.

  As handsome as he was, and as much sex appeal as he displayed, he had a hard exterior. He was hard to read, and I kept that same energy with him. Crossing the line from security detail to lover was not in the cards.

  “I love you!” a man screamed from the crowd, bringing my attention away from Bruiser, who had just taken my hand to help me down from the stage. The room went into an uproar as people started clapping and chanting my name more.

  “This way.” The corners of Bruiser’s lips hinted at a smile as he nudged me on.

  “I really love you!” the man’s voice could be heard again, but this time, he was louder. He sounded like he was desperately trying to get my attention.

  O—kay.

  I searched the crowd for the man and returned his sentiment.

  “And I love you back,” I said appreciatively. Without the microphone in hand, my reply couldn’t be heard by most, but I didn’t want a fan to feel ignored.

  Bruiser guided me on off the stage and away from the crowd’s eye. The half-smile he had worn moments earlier faded away. He looked at the fan as if he were making a note to add him to a hit list. The fine lines in Bruiser’s forehead were now prevalent, bringing the one curly swirl of hair he possessed closer to his eyes.

  “Thank you for getting me away from the crowd. Whew!” I said, looking up into Bruiser’s eyes and smiling. “You are a lifesaver.”

  “You’re welcome. I think tonight was your best performance. It was…great.”

  A rush of heat flooded my body at the sound of his compliment. The authority in his booming voice brooked no resistance when he spoke, so I had no choice but to take his compliment in and let it be a part of me. Tingles rushed over the arm looped into his. It was everything to receive praise from a man. It showed that he wasn’t so insecure that he couldn’t acknowledge when a woman was handling her business. Yeah, Bruiser could get it. That’s if I was giving it away. I wasn’t.

  “I try,” I said, giving him a friendly nod. Keeping my secret desires covered were getting harder, but it was a must when I was around Bruiser.

  “Well, you don’t have to try hard,” he said, motioning to the crowd that was still hyped over my set. “They love you.”

  We reached the table in the corner where Jayne, Tameka, Kemara, and Channing were sitting. He helped me into my seat
and walked away but not before blessing me with one more of his to-die-for half-smiles. If he gave me a full smile, I was sure I would moan out loud. Tameka pulled my attention from watching Bruiser walk away.

  “You were great up there,” she said.

  “Thanks. Those lemons must have come through for me because I’ve had a sore throat all day and had to suck on a lemon before I got here.” I looked behind me and was disappointed to see that Bruiser was halfway across the room at the bar. It wouldn’t have bothered me if he stayed by my side tonight.

  “You sounded amazing,” Tameka brought my attention back to her.

  Jayne rolled her eyes. “Girl, you know you can blow.”

  I smiled graciously at both of my friends who had been supportive of me the entire way from my vision of creating a single to now.

  I called the waitress over and ordered a glass of red wine with ice chips. When the drink arrived, I was about to take a sip when the same tall, dark, handsome and mysterious white guy, who met me outside of the bathroom last week, and who had just yelled his love for me, tugged on my shoulder.

  “Excuse me, Miss—Alise. Can I have a dance with you?” he asked, and I politely turned him down.

  My performance had tired me out. Plus, I just wanted to hang out with my girls and catch up for a while. Not caring about any of that, the man’s grip on my arm tightened. His imprint now visible in my flesh. The scowl that hardened his once calm features frightened me. Then, as quickly as the frown had appeared, it faded, and a smile appeared on his face again.

  “Come on, Alise. Just one dance, sweetheart,” he pleaded.

  By now, my senses were heightened. Something about his vibe was not right. I looked at him carefully. Was he crazy or what?

  “I don’t feel like dancing,” I said clearly. I tried to move away from him so that he would release my arm, but his grip only got tighter, holding me in place.

  That madness I saw in his gaze before danced in his eyes once again. Drugs or psychiatric issues, I didn’t know which one, but I could clearly see that he was off.

  “Let her arm go!” Jayne jumped off her barstool to come over to stand by me.

  She placed one hand on the man’s more massive hand to try to pry him away from me. He didn’t budge. He continued to stare into my eyes with a piercing look as if he were trying to process my rejection of him, which was obviously more than he could bear. This left me speechless.

  “I’ve come here Thursday and Saturday to see you, and this is how you treat me? Give me just a few minutes,” the man said, and his words were forceful and harsh. “All I want is a dance,” he said in a much softer tone, then smiled. It was as if two people were living inside of his body.

  At this point, dancing was definitely not going to happen. A spray of mace in his face maybe, but nothing even resembling a dance.

  “She doesn’t want to dance with you,” Tameka cut in. I noticed her looking around the room, and I knew she was looking for her husband, Jeb.

  “Did I ask you anything, bitch?” the man barked at Tameka. Before she could register the shock of him yelling the derogatory term at her, he answered, “No! So you need to stay in your place. No one is over here for you anyway.” He glared at Jayne and Kemara to include them in his venom, in case one of them was thinking about interjecting.

  His face quickly contorted back to a smile when he looked at me. It disgusted me to witness his eerie changes in behavior, and the changes came so fast. His smile was the scariest thing I had ever seen on a human. All I wanted to know was how could a man so damn gorgeous be a nutjob?

  I positioned my legs on the stall so that it would be harder for him to pull me away. I had gone into the full, anti-abduction mode. The way he was towering over me, he had complete control over my movements otherwise.

  “Please, I can give you everything—” he started.

  “A bitch! Who in the actual hell are you calling a bitch?” Tameka screamed, cutting him off.

  “Is there a problem here?” Bruiser stepped up and stood beside the man who, in turn, shot a vicious look Bruiser’s way.

  “Sir, would you mind taking your hand off the lady?” Bruiser asked.

  “Fuck off, and find your own girl,” the man said flippantly.

  Everyone at the table knew this confrontation was about to go from bad to worse when Bruiser took two steps forward to position himself to take the man down. I had seen him in action before, and he was nobody’s joke. There was no way this man knew what he was getting himself into.

  “I said get lost,” the man yelled at Bruiser and pushed him in the chest.

  I blinked, and Bruiser had slammed him to the ground and was on top of him. Standing up, Bruiser tossed the man over his shoulder and carried him out of the club as if he were his son.

  People started to watch the commotion. Jeb followed Bruiser outside, and by that time Channing, Kemara’s husband, had come back to the table, found out what happened, and went outside, as well.

  “Are you okay, Alise?” a visibly shaken Tameka asked.

  “I’m a little shaken up, but I will be alright,” I said, taking a deep breath and finally a long-awaited drink of wine.

  “There’s always one that tries to mess up a good night,” Jayne said, shaking her head.

  “I bet he wishes he hadn’t after Bruiser got hold of him,” Kemara chimed in.

  Jayne began joking about the way the man wailed when Bruiser slammed him. We laughed. Yet, none of this sat well with me. It was funny, but not funny at the same time.

  “I don’t know what I would have done if he didn’t step in when he did. That man was a lunatic,” I said.

  “Hell, with that crazy motherfucker making threats to bother you again, you may need to hire Bruiser as your personal bodyguard. I know I’d love to have him personally guard me, whew,” Jayne said as she fanned herself dramatically. She leaned in close to my ear and added, “You know Bruiser looked good as hell when he took that man down.”

  “Calm down, sis. I don’t need anyone to guard me,” I replied. “I refuse to allow a crazy person to have me running scared.”

  I wore a shield of bravery but shook internally. No one ever looked at me with a crazed look in their eyes like that. He didn’t look logical or sane at all. He definitely didn’t look like he gave up easily. I feared he would come back looking for me and catch me alone and defenseless. For all I knew, I could have landed myself in the crosshairs of a serial killer.

  I couldn’t tell my friends that I was scared, but I was afraid of this man’s obsession with me. Every time he came to the club, he had to make himself known. He approached me and gave off this weird vibe as if we were already a couple. I didn’t like the thought of giving up even a little bit of my independence, but maybe it was time for me to hire a bodyguard.

  “With the way the world is these days, I might look into getting some security,” I said, both to appease my friends and to quiet my grim thoughts.

  “I’m just saying, Bruiser… He’s the man for the J-O-B,” Jayne repeated, dramatically snapping her fingers.

  Tameka joined Jayne and pleaded her case, too.

  “Okay, I’ll check into Bruiser’s company and see if he has someone that can go with me to my events and see me home safely on those nights,” I relented. That was as far as I would go. I would much rather buy a gun and defend myself if need be.

  “That’s all I’m saying,” Jayne said, sounding relieved.

  “If you have crazed fans at this level, wait until you hit number one on iTunes,” Tameka said.

  “Well, let’s just drink to you hitting that number one spot soon!” Kemara said encouragingly, and that was something I would happily drink to.

  ✦

  1:16 a.m.

  I packed my things and said my goodbyes to Tameka. Kemara and Channing had already gone home. Jayne had planned to come to my house for the night but got a call from Ned, and that was that. I tried to talk her out of it, but she ran out of the club before I could
count to five. I made it to my car with security watching me, but I forgot my charger, so I had to run back inside.

  “Hey, give me a second, and I’ll walk you out,” Bruiser said when I reached the door again.

  “I’m good, Bruiser. Goodnight.” I was exhausted and didn’t feel like waiting. I continued on, exiting the door, heading to my car.

  “Alise, I said wait. I’m going to walk with you to your car.”

  I had parked in one of the parking spaces close to the doorway. I didn’t think I needed anyone to walk me the short distance, but I only said, “O—kay,” and continued walking. While talking with my friends at the table earlier, I had convinced myself to be scared of my own shadow, but I was a big girl. I refused to live in fear. I could take care of myself.

  I was a few steps away from the building when I was jolted to a halt. I looked down at my arm that Bruiser’s large hand had tugged to get me to face him.

  “What’s up with men grabbing me tonight?” I asked, glaring at him with a confused look on my face. It wasn’t that he touched me. Most times, I welcomed that from Bruiser. It was that the way he grabbed me made me think he was the man from earlier.

  He loosened his grip a little, but he didn’t let me go. “Alise, you shouldn’t be out here by yourself. Someone could be out here waiting for you. That’s why I asked you to wait for me.”

  “Uh, okay. You can let go of me now. I’m not going to let some crazy man scare me so bad that I can’t walk outside alone.”

  “I only touched you because I wanted you to hear what I had to say, and you were walking away from me,” he said but still didn’t let me go. Somehow, when he held me, I felt forced but not forced to be there with him, at once. I couldn’t explain it.

  “Now that you have my attention, can you let me go?” I asked.

  “I can, but what if I don’t want to let you go, Alise? What then?”

  I gasped as his dark brown gaze roved over my lips that, by now, I was sure were pouting lusciously. I had to get away from him before I started panting.