by Coralee June
“Don’t give me flirty eyes, Beau Boedecker. You’re in trouble for following me here,” I replied while putting my hands on my hips. His eyes trailed the movement, taking in my short black dress that hugged every curve. He also looked at my legs, long and lean, thanks to the heels I was wearing.
“You shouldn’t have snuck out, Rachel. Where are you going?”
At that, I smiled before nodding at the Salvador bar. “An underground poker game. JJ’s guys might be there.”
At my words, Beau turned stark white, his lips even seemed pale as he flicked his eyes back and forth between my face and the ornate door. “What? Why would you want to go where they are? They want to kill you. Why do you think your dad has been keeping such tight security on you?”
“I know, but I have to.”
“Like hell you do.”
“I’m going,” I said with steely resolve.
He shook his head. “You don’t think JJ’s men will take one look at you and shoot you point blank? We’re not going in there. I’m calling your dad.” Beau reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cell, but I instantly reached forward and grabbed it. There was no way in hell I’d let him call my dad. Not when I finally had another lead.
“They won’t do shit. There are too many eyes here. Besides, I’ll make sure they don’t see me. I’ll blend in.”
Beau looked at me incredulously and motioned at my outfit. “In that getup? You won’t be blending in.”
He had a point, but I couldn’t very well show up in jeans and a tank.
“Look, I have to do this. I need to find someone.” Beau looked genuinely conflicted, and I sensed that there was something he wanted to tell me. “What’s going on, Beau?” I asked. “You’ve always been my partner in crime.”
“It’s too dangerous,” he replied while taking a step closer to me.
“Well, then it’s good you’re with me, right?”
“Rachel. Turn around right now and get back in your car.”
I bristled at his tone. “No. I’m going in there, with or without you.”
Anger flashed over his features, and I flinched at the aggressive posture.
“The fucking mayor is in there. What do you think they’ll do? Shoot me in front of him and the sheriff in the most popular bar in town? They’re reckless, but they aren’t stupid.”
“And your dad has barely been able to keep you hidden. If you go in there, they’ll know exactly where you are. You’ll be letting them win.”
“And if I don’t go in there, they win anyway!” I yelled back. “I need my own revenge, and I’m going to get it.”
He let out a breath on the busy sidewalk as people walked past us heading to dinner or movies, just going about their normal, easy lives. I envied them. “Why?” he asked again, and I knew right then that Beau would never understand.
When Forty-One texted me this morning and told me that JJ’s men would be at the poker game tonight, I got a feeling of finality. I knew something was going to happen tonight, and good or bad, I would finally be one step further than I was now.
“If you have to ask that, then you don't know me at all.” I couldn’t help but think that Godfrey would understand. He’d hold my hand and let me spit in the face of Pick. He’d know that I couldn’t handle letting my father do the dirty work for me. I wasn’t some stupid damsel in distress; I was a woman on a mission to take some of my power back. “I want to prove that I can go into the lions’ den and come back with blood on my hands.”
“You’re not going. End of discussion,” Beau said before moving forward faster than I could track. In an instant, he wrapped his arms around me in a half-assed attempt at manhandling me, using his strength to start yanking me away.
Fury and panic swarmed me at his aggressive hold, and I squirmed in his grip, letting out a yelp. “Let go of me!”
“Stop struggling!”
I managed to turn in his arms, and I brought up my hands and shoved his chest as hard I could. As soon as I broke away from him, I lifted my foot up and kicked him in the balls. “Fuck!”
He immediately crouched over, clutching his balls in his hands, while people around us started to stare. He took two breaths before trying to lunge at me again. This time, I knew he was coming and dodged his advance, making sure to kick him in the back of his knees as he went past me.
“I’ve been learning self-defense for months,” I told him, my body tense. Mostly, I’d just been watching YouTube videos and practicing on some of my dad’s guys, but I guess I’d retained it after all.
Beau whirled on me once more, his eyes bright with anger, and my stomach twisted at the sight. But before he could come for me, a hand tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around only to be greeted with Luis Salvador’s fist. Luis hit hard and fast, knocking Beau right in the face and making him fall to the ground.
He pulled a switchblade from his pocket and crouched over Beau with a sinister smile. “Oh, damn. I didn’t see you there. Your face just knocked right into my fist,” Luis said. “Isn’t that bad luck?”
Beau looked up at him warily and swiped a hand across his bloodied lip. “Yeah. Bad luck.”
Fingers suddenly threaded in mine, and I turned to look at the young woman behind me. She had long, dirty blonde hair and big, brown eyes. Her smile was warm and her body was curvy. “You okay?” she asked while giving me a once over. She looked familiar somehow, but I couldn’t place her.
“Yeah,” I replied before turning my attention back to Luis and Beau.
“There’s nothing to see here,” blonde girl said to the crowd paused outside of the Salvador bar. At her words, people began to go on their way.
Luis kept twirling his switchblade, watching Beau with dark, unwavering eyes.
“Let him go. He won’t do anything,” I said.
“You sure? His face could fall into my knife next,” Luis offered. Such a gentleman.
I was shaking some, the residual adrenaline from being grabbed so harshly rocking through me. I knew Beau was loyal to my father, but I’d never thought he would lunge for me like that, especially considering my history. “I’m sure.”
Luis lingered for a moment more before pulling away, purposely stepping on Beau’s fingers before taking a step back and standing beside the girl still holding my hand. “Get the fuck off my property. And if I see you messing with Rachel Nomar again, you’ll have all the Heirs beating your ass.”
Beau gave me one last look before getting to his feet and pocketing his phone that I’d dropped. I watched him turn on his heel and stalk away without a backward glance.
“Let’s go, I’ll buy you a drink,” the girl said, tugging on my hand while guiding me to the door. “I’m Royal Taylor by the way. What's your name?”
I balked. “You’re Godfrey’s sister?”
Now that she said it, I could see the family resemblance. She had brown eyes whereas Godfrey had blue, but their mouths and the intense look they had—that was the same. Royal was older, and she looked beautiful in that trendy Savannah way, wearing designer jeans and a breezy mint top accessorized with a long gold necklace. She had Chanel sunglasses perched on the top of her head, but my eyes were drawn down to some faint markings I could see on her upper arm, where it was obvious someone had bruised her skin from grabbing her.
When she saw me looking, she shrugged. “My father is an asshole,” she said simply. Her brown eyes darted down to my forearm, seeing the tattoo and old needle marks.
I shrugged in return. “My kidnappers were assholes, too.”
She hummed and then her eyes moved over my shoulder. I looked behind me, seeing Luis pressing the lock on his phone before slipping it into his pocket. He looked up at us as he came forward. “Okay?” he asked me.
“Yep, I’m good. I was handling him.”
Luis started laughing. “I don’t doubt that, chica. Anymore handling, and I wouldn’t have been able to come in and look all badass and shit.”
I chuckled as we walked insid
e. “I’m sure you would’ve been impressive,” I told him, which only made him laugh again.
“Hear that, Majesty?” he said, elbowing Royal. “Rachel here says I’m impressive.”
Royal sniffed, giving him a bored look. “She’s been dealing with that ass outside, so she probably doesn’t have a good pool to dip from,” she replied coolly, making me grin. She looked over at me. “No offense.”
“None taken.”
Luis rolled his eyes and strolled over to the bar. Rather than wait for the bartender, he reached over and grabbed a bottle of whiskey and three glasses, but I held up my hand. “No thanks. I’m here for a different drink. Rum, in particular.” I remembered the rules. The only way I was getting into the poker ring was with a sip of Legacy by Angostura.
Luis cursed under his breath and set the glasses and bottle back down. “Fuck. You hooked on that gambling shit?”
“Nope.”
He eyed me and shook his head. “Chicks, man. You’re all fucking complicated as hell.”
Royal glared at him.
“Anyway, thanks for stepping in. See you around.”
Before I could go around him, he stepped in front of me. “Hold up. Let me take you down.”
I crossed my arms. “I don’t need a babysitter, Luis.”
He broke into a grin. “Damn girl, put your claws away. Never said you did, but tonight is big time players only. It’s not just a buy-in. The players have to be approved. You won’t be able to play tonight, but I might be able to get you in to watch.”
Oh, I hadn’t considered that. I stared at Luis for a moment, gauging the severity of what he was saying. He looked almost nervous. “Okay. Thanks.”
“You sure this is important? There’s some shady sons of bitches down there tonight. They won’t give you a red carpet welcome. Not even to Her Majesty over here,” he said, tilting his head at Royal.
“Screw you,” she replied, rolling her eyes.
I looked between them curiously. “Are you guys...friends? I honestly can’t tell one way or the other.”
At that, they both laughed. “Oh, we’re more than friends,” Luis said, giving Royal a once-over that even had me blushing. The only indication that Royal was affected was the way she swallowed and dropped her eyes to her polished fingernails.
“We’re family acquaintances, and he was my ride. I needed to get out of the hotel room, so here we are,” Royal said nonchalantly.
“I was your ride alright,” he said, wagging his black eyebrows.
Her brown eyes snapped up to his and her lips pressed together into a thin line. “Grow up,” she snapped before turning and walking away, her heels making her hips sway as she went. I watched her approach a group of people near the dance floor, obviously recognizing them, and when they all started calling her name, she laughed and was swept up into hugs and cheek kisses. One of them was a guy probably around her age or in his late twenties. He tugged her close and gripped her waist. Beside me, Luis went rigid, and his expression darkened.
“Look, why don’t you stay and talk to her, and I’ll just go down and see if they’ll let me in anyway?” I offered.
He dragged his eyes away from Royal as she started dancing with the guy whose hands still hadn’t left her. “Nah. Let her play her games,” he said, turning on his heel and stalking towards the VIP elevator. “Besides, Godfrey would kill me if I didn’t go with you.”
I tried not to find hope at the bottom of that statement. Hearing that Godfrey might actually give a fuck about me was doing shit to my stomach, making me itch to see him one last time. It was like I just needed one more hit.
Once we were on the elevator, I gave in to my curiosity as he hit the button for the basement. “Godfrey wouldn’t give two shits if anything happened to me,” I said in a low voice while staring at the panel that flashed what floor we were on.
“Why don’t you ask me what you really want to know, instead of saying shit like that?” Luis asked as he leaned against the wall of the elevator, giving me a speculative look. I quickly hit the stop button when I realized we only had a few more seconds until the doors opened. I refused to miss out on this opportunity.
“Oh, Dios mío, I had a wet dream that started out this way once,” he said with mock giddiness while bouncing on the balls of his feet.
I rolled my eyes. I was quickly learning that Luis was the playful one, but there was an observant depth in his personality that I connected with. If I hadn’t fallen for his best friend, I probably would have liked him.
“Why did Godfrey push me away?” I asked. It had been bugging me so much, I couldn’t stand it.
Luis studied me, and I wondered if he was trying to determine if I could handle the answer. “Godfrey has his reasons. I won’t go into detail because it’s not my story to tell.” He leaned over me, inhaling me before pressing his thumb on the button that made the elevator go again. The bell dinged, and just before he pulled away to exit, he whispered in my ear, “Godfrey has a bad habit of thinking the only way he can protect someone is by pushing them away. He does it to everyone. Hell, he’d tried to do it to us, but we didn’t let him. Find his pattern, and you’ll find him.”
My pulse was racing at the implication of his words. “Thanks for the advice,” I murmured.
With a wink, Luis straightened up before reaching out and pulling me by the wrist, leading me out of the elevator. “Now let’s get you into that game.”
And let the game finally give me an in.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Godfrey
“Dude. Is that your sister?”
We had almost made it to the elevator when Bonham’s question made me look over my shoulder. The dance floor was like a giant clothed orgy. People ground and sweat against each other and pretended they were dancing. I had my eyes peeled for Rachel, determined to find her and drag her to safety. For all I knew, Eddie could already be on his way. We might be in Luis’s bar, but it was the Macon Mob’s turf. I needed to find her—and fast.
But Bonham’s words had me distracted. I had way too many people to take care of, and this juggling act was getting old. I followed Bonham’s gaze and saw that my sister, Royal, was currently one of those pretend dancers, currently being sandwiched between a dipshit with so much gel in his slicked back hair that it was shining under the colored lights. The other dude all up on her was wearing a fucking wife beater and had a Chinese symbol tattooed on his bicep that he probably had no idea what it actually translated into.
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. I liked my sister better when she was in Ecuador. Stalking over, I shoved douche number two out of my way, startling my sister. “Godfrey!”
“Royal, I’m sure you missed all the comforts of home while you were in a third world country, but you don’t have to volunteer yourself to the needy anymore.”
She gave me a death glare, but for the guys, it took them a good seven seconds to comprehend that I was insulting them. Ignorant fuckboys.
“Hey, fuck you!” douche number one slurred, puffing up his chest like a gorilla. Too bad his tiny muscles made the effect almost comical.
“Really? This guy?” I asked dryly.
She shrugged and started pushing away from the dance floor, ditching the guys without a backward glance. I followed behind her until we caught up with Bonham, and Royal smiled at the bouncer by the VIP elevator until he moved aside to let us in. “I went to high school with them,” she explained as the three of us entered the elevator. “Thought I’d say hello.”
“Your hello was about to make him come in his pants,” I said dryly.
Royal smacked me on the arm while Bonham chuckled.
Once we were in the elevator, Royal leaned against the wall and looked up at the ceiling in exasperation. “You always ruin my fun, Goddie,” she said in a singsong voice.
She didn’t actually believe that. It was all an act. She liked that our dynamic was switched. I’d always acted like the big brother. I’d always taken care of her.
Maybe it was her daddy issues rearing it’s big head, but every now and then, she pushed the boundaries just to test if someone cared.
I always passed the test.
I loved my sister. She was my complete opposite—carefree and optimistic. Despite all the hell our father put us through, she saw the world as an adventure. I was glad for that.
“I got to meet Rachel,” she said. “Seems like a nice girl. We walked up on her beating the shit out of this greasy-looking biker dude. He gave me bad vibes, brother.”
At the mention of Rachel, my entire fucking soul went on high alert. There were so many parts of that statement I wanted to dissect, but the elevator doors were opening, and I didn’t even have a chance to ask her about it.
I knew Rachel was here, but Luis didn’t mention that some asshole was giving her a hard time. My chest swelled with pride at the idea of her holding her own, but I didn’t like that she had to. I didn’t like that all the damn Savannah politics were putting a giant target on her back.
Royal was all about vibes too. So if she got good ones from Rachel, then that meant…
No. I refused to think that way. Not until my father was taken care of. Not until every single threat standing between us was eliminated.
“She should be around here somewhere with Luis,” my sister said distractedly. She looked around the room, and I knew for damn sure she wasn’t searching for Rachel Nomar. She smiled when she saw Luis in the corner chatting with Rachel, but then her smile twisted when she saw how close they stood to one another.
I knew that Luis would rather cut off his own dick than betray me like that. We hadn’t had the bullshit talk about feelings and territory, but he knew Rachel was mine. Their proximity didn’t bother me. I trusted the guy with my life. But Royal looked like she wanted to swallow poison right there on the spot.
“Is Luis with her?” she asked.
I decided then to do my bro a solid and play along. A little jealousy never hurt anybody. Except when I was the one feeling jealous. That was how assholes like Beau got killed.
