Mister Diamond

by Chance Carter

  I hoped he couldn’t see how my legs were shaking, or at least if he could that he attributed it to the cold. There was a battle raging inside of me. My mouth was saying things my heart didn’t agree with, but I was used to disregarding the will of my heart. It was weak where my head was strong. So what if my long-held fantasy seemed to be unfolding right in front of me? There was no way that Shane’s return meant anything but trouble.

  “I don’t want anything from you.” Shane took a step forward, and I took a step back. He smiled a little, unfazed. “I can help you, Dallas.”

  “You think you can help me?” I let out a bitter bark of laughter. “You’re out of your fucking mind. Go fuck yourself, Shane.”

  My heart started fighting back, urging me to listen to him. All my head wanted to do was run, but my heart held my feet firm. Spending time with Shane was a surefire way to accumulate more hurt, so why couldn’t I find the strength to leave? The door back into Satan’s Perch was literally behind me, and within two seconds I could slam that door right in his beautiful face and try to forget this happened. If I didn’t forget, I might do something stupid, like hope, and it would be a painful fall when he let me down by not being the man I hyped him up to be.

  He licked his lip, studying me, then pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it over. At first, I considered refusing it, but curiosity got the better of me.

  “I’ll see you around,” he said, “But you’ve got my number just in case.”

  Shane turned and left the alley before I had a chance to ask in case of what. He left before I could say anything. I wondered if I’d ever even see him again, or if he only popped back into my life long enough to turn everything upside down. And he had the balls to say he could help me, too. There was no helping me.

  I shoved the paper in my bra and slipped back into the pulsing darkness of Satan’s Perch, trying to ignore the liquid warmth in my belly.

  All I wanted was to escape to the solitude of my dressing room and process what just happened, but fate had other plans. Wes was leaning against my dressing table, waiting for me. He rose when I entered, eyes narrowed.

  “Where have you been?”

  “I stepped out for some air.” I tried to make myself sound as collected as possible, hoping he wouldn’t suspect anything.

  But what if he already knew? What if he or his guys had been watching Shane all night? Shane should know better than to be here in the first place, and it would be wishful thinking to assume that he made it through the whole night without being seen. What if Wes was testing me?

  “Some air?”

  I stepped around Wes, taking a seat and starting to remove my makeup.

  “Yeah, like the kind you breathe?” I replied dryly. “It’s stuffier than Nelson during allergy season in here, and I was feeling a little overheated after my set. I stepped into the alley to chill out for a minute. Is that a problem?”

  Wes looked down at me from his perch with folded arms. He and his father were both control freaks. They ran everything in this town, and I was no different. It always annoyed Wes when I did something unexpected, something he couldn’t anticipate. I just hoped that was where his current frustration stemmed from, and not from suspicion.

  “I was worried,” he stated.

  I glanced up at him in the mirror. “Aw, you were worried about me? That’s sweet.”

  He didn’t reply because we both knew his concern had nothing to do with my wellbeing. He was worried that I was up to something, or that I was making a play against him. Paranoia didn’t run in his family—it galloped.

  I just wished he would leave. Thank god I was removing makeup instead of applying it. I’d have had a hard time trying to put on eyeliner. My hands were even less steady than my thoughts, and all I wanted to do was to smash everything on the table.

  Shane coming back meant nothing, not when I still had to spend my nights in this shit hole of a club and report to Wes Gromley. There was nothing Shane could do to help me, so how was it fair for him to come in here and try to get my hopes up?

  Good thing he didn’t succeed. Lucky for me it would take a little more than a vague promise of help to summon a little faith in me.

  “You were great tonight,” Wes said after a moment.

  I was running a wipe over my eyes and paused to glance up at him.

  “Thanks.”

  He cleared his throat. “You always surprise me. I think that there’s no way you could be more beautiful and then you come on stage, and it’s like I’ve never seen you before in my life.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I mean it, Dallas. I’m in awe of you. I’d like to take you for dinner. If you’ll let me.”

  Weird. I could only imagine that his friends were giving him tips on how to win me over, since his rough wooing had so far yielded nothing but rotten fruit.

  I was tempted to say no to his proposition, just to see what he’d do. Usually, if Wes wanted to go to dinner, I would be going to dinner, and that was that. I’d never been given a choice before, and if there was any chance of him softening up a little, then I should probably take it. Then again, if Wes did start being kinder to me I might make the mistake of being kinder to him in return, and I didn’t want there to be any question in his mind of my unflinching hatred toward him.

  What a pickle.

  I decided to go with my first instinct—to test him. I had no idea what this game was, but if it was as fragile as a paper screen, I wanted to reveal that right away.

  “Not tonight, Wes. My dad probably hasn’t eaten all day, and I’d like to check in on him.”

  Wes pushed off from the vanity and came to stand behind me. He rested his hands on my shoulders but didn’t squeeze, just met my eyes in the mirror and smiled.

  “Sure,” he said. “Do you want me to get Grant to drive you?”

  Okay, now I was freaked out.

  “No, that’s fine.” I mustered up a tight smile.

  Wes bent down and pressed a kiss into the crown of my head, then left the room. The second he closed the door my body sagged into the chair, and I let out something between a sigh of relief and a strangled gasp.

  What was going on tonight? Was I even awake? I pinched myself and, sure enough, I was conscious. I’d been living a static life for so long, one where I knew the rules, and I knew what I could expect. In the past hour, everything about that world turned topsy-turvy.

  It had to be a fluke. Shane’s arrival meant nothing, and I’d probably never see him again. Wes’s behavior was a one-off, and I shouldn’t get used to it. It was nice that tonight I got to say no to him, but I couldn’t expect that kind of treatment in the future.

  I had to go forward as if everything was business as usual. I couldn’t afford to indulge in something as silly as optimism, and I’d never survive if I used that optimism to push the boundaries of my world.

  Chapter 22

  Shane

  I was cautious when I arrived, parking my bike a couple of streets down from Satan’s Perch, but the only way to access the alley behind the club brought me uncomfortably close to the front entrance. I was on high alert as I made my way back.

  Meeting Dallas outside was a spot of luck. I thought I was going to have to break into the club through the backstage entrance to find her, and I didn’t relish the idea of being in an enclosed space with my worst enemies. Our meeting turned out better than I hoped for, even if she did tell me to go fuck myself.

  Jake was right, she was different now. Not only had she changed her appearance, but Dallas was the sassiest, angriest version of herself. She always had that fire inside, but now it burned brazenly, without direction or consideration. Dallas wanted to burn everyone and everything that got close to her, and I didn’t blame her. I wanted to burn most of them too.

  Even though I didn’t like that she had to become this person, it looked good on her. She hadn’t let her abusers ruin her. She hadn’t let them win. It took all the steel she possessed, but Dallas hardened he
rself into an impenetrable fortress, and I was proud of her. I’d worried about her every day for the last three years, wondering what kind of wreck I would find when I returned. It wasn’t that I doubted her strength, just that I didn’t underestimate Wes and Preston’s cruelty. I thought she would buckle and that I’d be coming down here to lift her broken body from the ashes and take her to safety. As it turned out, Dallas didn’t need anybody to carry her. She just needed someone to help clear the path so she could sashay out of her prison of her own accord, and I respected that. I never wanted her more.

  I emerged from the alley and started south down the street, thoughts too wrapped up in Dallas to notice the figure walking toward me. I should’ve crossed the road, but I was feeling cocky and alive and wasn’t being vigilant.

  I recognized Nelson Vurdock only a second before he recognized me. It wasn’t a long enough second for me to hide, so I prepared myself to fight instead.

  Nelson was just as ugly as I remembered, only he’d gotten bigger and fatter since our last meeting. It was like his big personality and overinflated ego were pushing his body out at the seams, and I half expected a button to pop off his shirt, which was at least one size too small, and come flying at me like a bullet. To top it off he now kept his long dark hair in a tight top knot that only exaggerated his swollen features.

  “I better be fucking hallucinating,” Nelson boomed.

  I offered up a polite smile. “I’m afraid not. Terrible luck for both of us.”

  “For both of us?” He cackled. “You’re the one with the bad luck. Does anybody else know you’re here, or were you trying to fly under the radar like the pussy you are?”

  “You’re the first of the merry band of idiots that I’ve come across,” I replied.

  “This is going to be good.” He made no move to come for me, but cracked the knuckles on each of his hands and grinned at me with crooked, yellowed teeth. They hadn’t been that bad three years ago. From the packet of smokes in his front pocket, I assumed he’d picked up a new habit.

  “Preston and Wes are going to kill you, you know that right?”

  I shrugged. “They can try if they want.”

  “Yeah, you’re all tough now, but I remember when they chased you out of this town with your tail between your legs.”

  I snorted. “Not exactly how it went down. And I always intended to come back.”

  “Why? For Dallas?” he sneered.

  My jaw ticked, and Nelson caught it, his grin widening.

  “Don’t you know she’s Wes’s bitch now? He owns her. He gets to do whatever he wants with her, and there’s nothing you or anyone else can do about it. I would tell you to go home while you still can, but there’s no way I’m letting you leave my sight.”

  I tried not to let his words get to me, tried to keep my calm even though I couldn’t stand the thought of Wes laying a single hand on Dallas. I learned a lot of things in the military, and one of them was discipline. Keeping my cool against Nelson’s brand of smug douchebaggery was a piece of cake compared to keeping my cool in the line of fire.

  I casually thrust my hands into my pockets and shrugged. “What are you gonna do, big guy? I bet you’re not much of a runner, are you?”

  He frowned. No way in hell was I going to run away from Nelson tonight, but the mental image of him trying to catch me, face red and breaths heaving, was enough to make my lips curve into a smile.

  “I think I’ll request that Wes breaks that smart mouth of yours first,” he muttered. He started to rifle around in his back pocket, and I knew our volleying of insults, weak as it was, was at an end. I couldn’t afford to have Nelson call Wes or Preston out here now. Not yet. I had to be ready for them, and right now the only thing I was ready for was a good night’s sleep. And inflicting a little punishment.

  Nelson pulled his phone out of his pocket, but I darted forward and smacked it from his hand before he could dial. His eyes widened in alarm, and he lunged for me clumsily, swiping out with both hands like he was Frankenstein’s monster. I laughed and stepped to the side. He lumbered right past me.

  “I don’t think it would be fair for me to kick your ass, but I’m going to do it anyway,” I said, kicking his back and sending him sprawling onto his face.

  Nelson groaned and pushed himself up onto his elbows.

  “Why am I going to kick your ass?” I said, pretending to interpret his groans as language. “I’m glad you asked. Because, Nelson, you’ve pissed me the fuck off, and I’m not the kind of guy you want to piss off.”

  I waited for him to get back to his feet. He turned and glared at me, cracking his knuckles again like he thought it might do some good. I rolled my eyes.

  “I’m going to make you wish you were never born,” he bit out.

  I laughed. How original.

  “Come on then, big guy,” I taunted. “Do your worst.”

  Nelson came at me, throwing lefts and rights without any coordination or plan. I dodged most of them, delivering jabs and crosses into his side and face when he opened himself up to attack. His breaths came hard and fast, like a rabid bear with asthma. To his credit, the few hits he got in had some power behind them, but Nelson had always been all bark and no bite. He was lazy. He’d probably never taken on a fight in his life that his friends couldn’t win for him. He’d been an enthusiastic participant in my beating under the bleachers several years ago, but only once I’d been knocked down. I hadn’t forgotten. It felt good to give him a taste of his own medicine, even better to do it with such ease.

  Nelson grabbed me by the collar and tried to throw me to the ground, but I held my ground and head-butted him in the nose. He moaned and released me, staggering back as blood streamed down his face. I pulled back and slammed my fist home into his jaw, and his head spun to the right.

  Nelson dropped back onto his hands, and I stood over him, catching my breath and evaluating the damage. His face was a bloody mess, bun askew and a few buttons popped open on his shirt. He made no attempt to get back up but held his face in his hands and groaned in pain. I broke his nose. Excellent.

  “Had enough?” I asked.

  “Fuck you!” It came out nasally and thick.

  I chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  I squatted down in front of him and caught his eye, wiping all traces of humor from my face.

  “Tell Wes I’m here, and that I’m not the scared little kid I used to be,” I instructed. “Tell him that I’m coming for him, and anybody who gets in my way is going to get the same treatment you did. Got that, or do you want me to write it down for you?”

  Nelson glared daggers but didn’t say anything. He knew when he was beat.

  “Great.” I slapped my thighs and rose. “I’m off. Great to see you, Nelson. I’ll be around.”

  I turned back in the direction I was heading before and walked off, smiling. It felt like I was a step closer to my goal.

  I found my bike and hopped on, heading back toward the highway and away from town for the night. I’d accomplished all I came to do today and more, and I was due for a shower and a good night’s sleep.

  I thought that talking to Dallas might help me figure out what I could do to get her out of here. She hadn’t been much help, though I couldn’t blame her. Who was I to come in out of the blue and say that I was going to save her? Her attitude didn’t deter me. I was still going to get her and her dad out of Sitka Valley and away from the Gromleys for good, I just didn’t know how yet.

  I couldn’t afford to pay their debt, that was for sure.

  It seemed hopeless, but I never turned from a challenge.

  And I would never, ever give up on Dallas Keane.

  Chapter 23

  Dallas

  Bringing my dad dinner at the shop was fast becoming routine. I’d already done it four times this week, which was unheard of. I spent most nights with the Gromleys, and tonight was the second night this week that Wes had allowed me to skip out on plans after my show to see my dad instead.
I was highly skeptical of his motives, but I was going along with it for now. It meant I got to worry a little less about my dad and at the same time I got to avoid spending time with Wes and Preston and their whole grimy entourage. It was a win-win, and I didn’t want to peer too hard into the gift horse’s mouth. I also didn’t want to get too used to it, since I suspected it wouldn’t last.

  I let myself in the back door and turned toward his office, stopping when I heard something odd. Laughter. Muffled voices. I frowned.

  My dad wasn’t here alone.

  I cautiously approached his office door, keeping to the wall and remaining just out of sight. Who would visit my dad this late at night? Or maybe the better question was with whom would my dad have such a pleasant conversation.

  When I was finally close enough to spy inside the room, my breath caught in my throat. Shane and my dad were sitting at his desk, each of them with a bottle of beer in hand and smile on their face. I could only see them in profile, but the effect was striking all the same. It was the first time I’d seen my dad happy in three years, and it warmed my heart.

  They continued chatting, unaware of my presence. They were reminiscing about Shane’s early days at Keane’s Bikes, when he was gangly and uncoordinated and couldn’t step into the shop without knocking something over. These were memories we didn’t share, but I could picture it so vividly that I found myself smiling too. Such easy days, those were. My mom was still alive, my dad was still himself, and my big Broadway dreams were so close I could taste them. All that stood in my way was a few years of high school and however long it took me to save the money to get to New York. Then I’d be a star.

  I made it almost to the doorframe without being seen and decided to announce my presence before one of them caught me watching. I cleared my throat, and two sets of eyes zapped to me.

  “Hey,” I said. I raised the bag of Chinese food in my hand and addressed my dad. “I brought you some dinner.”