by Karen Renee
Even I knew Jackie was stepping over the line with her attitude, so I said, “What’s done is done. I’m alive, and Roll will always have my gratitude for that. I told him he could have a massage anytime he wanted, but he said that’s too sissy for him. Tyler offered to do his taxes for him this year, but I think he refused that too.”
Volt sighed. “Sounds like Roll. We good, darlin’?”
I nodded.
After a beat, Volt asked me, “You gonna forgive him?”
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t feign ignorance to his question. “Oh, I forgive him and wish him well. But, it doesn’t change the fact that when something’s over, it’s over and I’m not going back.”
Volt grimaced. “Fair enough, babe. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry to hear it. You were a good influence on him.”
I did not tell him that there was simply no way I could share a bed with a killer.
Liar
Liar lined up his shot on the eight-ball and felt Laura’s gaze on him. There was no shame in her game as she eye fucked any brother in the room. She licked her lips and her eyes roamed over his body leaned over the pool table. He blocked her out of his mind and took the shot pocketing the eight-ball in the far corner. When he straightened, he felt his dick jerk in his pants. It had been over a month since he’d been laid, and Laura was tempting in her way, but Liar never took the easy way out.
He ignored her and wandered to the bar. They had three prospects on hand now, and all of them were behind the bar.
“Beer for you, Liar?” one of them asked him when he leaned his elbows on the bar.
“Yeah.”
Soft, slim fingers slid along his arm and up over his shoulders. He knew it was Laura without even looking because of her cloying designer perfume. Not only was her touch unwanted and uninvited, but it reminded him of Andrea because Laura’s touch was nothing like Andrea’s deft caresses.
With a deep breath, Liar straightened, which forced Laura to lose hold on his shoulders. “Appreciate the gesture, Laura, but the answers the same as it’s always been. No.”
Her eyes narrowed at him. “What the hell makes you think you’re too damn good for me, Liar?”
“Never said that, so don’t put words in my mouth. I’m not in the mood, so you need to damn well leave it at that before you overstep.”
Liar grabbed the beer the prospect put in front of him and went to the back patio area. He sat on a picnic table bench with his back to the table. Half-way through his beer, Volt rode behind the clubhouse. A few minutes later, he sauntered up to Liar and sat down beside him.
“First, anyone asks, I ain’t here. Second, she forgives you.”
Liar tore his free hand through his hair. “Right.”
Volt shook his head. “No, man. Asked her straight out. She told me she forgives you and wishes you well.”
Liar couldn’t keep his smart-mouth in check. “Good to know, Prez.”
Volt arched an eyebrow at him. “You might think about payin’ her a visit and gettin’ it all resolved. Whether or not y’all get back together, you should end it on better terms, man. Anyway, my bed’s callin’ my name, and any motherfucker wakes me up is in for it.”
Liar wanted to know who was with Jackie and Simone, but even he wasn’t going to stir that hornet’s nest.
***
Just as Liar was easing off the bench seat of the picnic table, his cell rang. The display said it was his father, which was strange. They had just spoken on Saturday. He and his dad were good with once a week conversations.
“Dad. Somethin’ wrong?” Liar greeted.
“No. At least not with me. Hear you been walkin’ ‘round with a chip on your shoulder.”
Liar sighed. “Not sure what you’re talkin’ about Dad.”
“I’m not entirely sure myself, except you’re closed off the last two times I spoke to you. Your cousin’s concerned.”
“Beast put you up to this?”
His dad chuckled. “No. You know better than that. Nobody puts me up to anything.”
“I’ll talk to you sometime on Saturday, Dad. Bye.” He disconnected and put the phone in his back pocket.
Liar stalked into the clubhouse and found Beast at the bar with Rage. Both men stiffened when they saw the look on Liar’s face.
“What the fuck, man! You called my dad?”
Beast stepped away from the bar. “Fuck, no. Called my Dad. That must be how he found out.”
Liar wanted to punch his cousin, but it wouldn’t be worth it, and he could just see his Grandmere sitting in heaven with a scowl on her face. He stormed out of the clubhouse to his bike and headed for home. With the wind roaring in his ears, his Gran’s voice came back to him. “Hang on to her.”
His felt like a lead weight was pressing on his chest, and reluctantly he passed the turnoff for Argyle Forest Boulevard. An idea struck him, and he went to the Jimmy John’s sub shop. He had gone there with Beast and Andrea just after Thanksgiving. Since he and Beast both gave her a hard time about ordering a sandwich with bean sprouts on it, he had no problem remembering she liked their tuna salad sub.
Twenty minutes later, he was in her parking lot holding a bag of sandwiches and chips and hoped he wasn’t about to make a huge mistake. Taking the steps two at a time, he paused at Andrea’s door because he could hear her friend Janie giggling inside.
Her friend’s voice came through faintly too. “C’mon, girlie! That is funny, and you know it!”
He knocked twice at the door. Their conversation immediately stopped. After a couple of beats, Andrea pulled the door open only as far as the security chain would allow.
“Liar,” she said quietly.
He shifted and felt like he was fucking sixteen or some bullshit. “I brought you dinner, but I didn’t know you had your girlfriend here. I wanted to apologize, but it seems this is a bad time.”
“No!” her friend cried out. He caught a glimpse of Andrea’s profile as she tried to shush her friend and the reminder of how beautiful she was punched him in the gut.
The door clicked closed as Janie came up behind Andrea. Then he heard, “If you don’t, I’m not having lunch with you for a month!”
“You wouldn’t!”
“You’re misera—” Pause, and then, “Do not cover my mouth, Andrea Suzanne Paglia!”
The chain on the door rattled, and then she opened it wide. Her arm was in a sling, but she was standing in front of him looking like she had lost some weight.
Janie peeked around her shoulder at him. “Ooh! You went to Jimmy John’s. Good call. Andrea loves their tuna subs. Come inside! I was just leaving, but it’s good to see you.”
“Yes, come in, Liar. You are not just leaving, Janie. You and I are going to split my sub, and you’re sticking around.”
As Liar moved into the small foyer, he noticed Janie was wearing a pantsuit, and she was shoving her feet into stylish black high heeled shoes. “No way, Andi. You two have serious things to discuss and God willing, work out. Y’all need privacy for that. See you soon. Liar, it was nice to see you again.”
The woman deftly sidestepped Andrea and closed the door on her way out.
Not only was the ensuing silence awkward between them, but Andrea couldn’t bring her eyes to his. She darted her gaze at his chest, to the wall, and the door behind him as if she wished she could follow Janie. He wanted to put a hand on her chin to capture her attention, but his instincts told him not to.
“What’s the matter, Andrea? I can just go if you like.”
Finally, she looked him in the eyes. Then she closed her eyes with a sigh. When she opened them again, she said, “I forgive you for treating me the way you did. You were under a certain impression, and you’re a certain type of man who isn’t going to take chances. Truly, I wish you well, but I’m sorry to say, we aren’t eating together. You made it clear it was over, and we should both move on.”
Liar gave her a sideways glance. “Why won’t you eat with me? And what is this
‘certain type of man’ bullshit?”
She shook her head as if she couldn’t believe he was asking her these things. “You’ve killed someone, okay. I can’t be with someone who’s a cold-blooded killer.”
“I didn’t kill Prank, Andrea. And even if I did—”
“Bush? You killed him according to Prank.”
Liar brushed by her and went to the table in her kitchen. He put the sandwiches down and turned to face her. “I did six years in the Navy, Andrea. The Navy don’t run a fleet of cruise ships. Bush wasn’t the first man I killed, and —”
“And what? He won’t be the last? I get that you were in the military and I’m grateful for your service to our country. If you killed someone while serving—”
“It’s no different.”
“Did you know them?”
“Doesn’t matter if I knew them or not. The situation’s the same: kill or be killed. You step down from your high horse, you’d know that it was kill Bush or watch Razor get killed.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You can’t—”
He leaned toward her. “Do not tell me what I can’t. You weren’t there. Razor showed up with no weapon other than a fuckin’ razor. He’s my brother, and I’d lay down my life for him just as much as any one of my brothers would do the same for me.”
She turned from him and opened her refrigerator. Leaning into the fridge, she shuffled things around, and Liar forced himself to ignore her ass jutting out. She straightened but didn’t turn around. Her arm shot toward him holding a Goose Island IPA his way.
When he didn’t take it from her, she looked over her shoulder at him. “You left three of these here. Take it. I’m sorry for getting on a ‘high horse.’ You’re right, and I was out of line.”
He took the beer from her but put it on the counter. They had a long way to go, and he knew he wasn’t likely to spend the night there. If he needed to get back on his bike, he needed to have his wits about him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Andrea
It did not escape me that Liar hadn’t opened his beer. It was going to take some time to get us back on track. Of course, I was assuming he wanted to get back on track with me. While I couldn’t say I was comfortable with the idea that he had killed a man, I had to admit that in a situation where it was kill or be killed, his actions made sense.
I had pulled out an open bottle of pinot grigio from the fridge, so I poured a glass to go with my tuna sub. At least, I hoped that was what he brought me.
Liar opened my fridge and put the beer back. “I’m riding tonight, Andrea. And I’m here to apologize to you, not the other way around, though I appreciate you acknowledging being a little judgmental about me.”
I picked up my glass and looked at him leaning against the counter. “What’ve you got to be sorry for?”
“Don’t go shittin’ me now,” he grumbled.
After a sip of wine, I said, “I’m not.”
His lips pursed at me, and I noticed he hadn’t shaved in quite some time. His stubble was almost too long to qualify as stubble, but it was a deeper shade of red than the hair on his head, and it enhanced his angular jaw. My heart clenched because I had blocked out how damn good looking he was. He pulled me from my thoughts when he spoke.
“I apologize for not lettin’ you explain things in December. Roll was right, but I was too damn hot-headed to see it. We all knew Leventon had a history of using women, but I couldn’t see past him bein’ with you. Especially after you told us, you had never met him, but I didn’t know he’d be using your former co-worker to get at you.”
I nodded at him. “Thank you. Like I told Volt and Jackie, it’s done. So, um, I assume you brought me tuna?”
Liar lifted his chin at me. “Yes. Someone has to eat the baby plants.”
Shaking my head, I said, “They’re not baby plants. They’re sprouts.”
Liar chuckled while he pulled out a chair from the table. “Yeah, and sprout is the name of a TV network for little kids.”
“Here we go, again,” I muttered.
“And my cousin said that’s the name of the Green Giant’s kid or some shit, so I’m thinkin’ it’s safe to say you’re eatin’ baby plants.”
***
“You, uh, got plans for tomorrow?” Liar asked me as he stood in my tiny foyer.
I shrugged my good shoulder. “Have to go see my doctor tomorrow. She’s gonna check my shoulder. My ankle seems better, finally, but my arm still seems tender.”
“You gonna be okay? Your arms and hands are your livelihood. Ain’t right this asshole’s shit caused you to take a hit financially.”
I smiled weakly. “Can’t get anything past you, can I? It wasn’t ideal to have to rearrange so many standing appointments, but luckily I had some money saved so that I can make the mortgage this month.”
He grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Seriously. Don’t be a martyr, you need help, Riot’ll pitch in any way we can, babe.”
I nodded, and he let go of my hand. I thought he was going to leave, but then he said, “What time’s your appointment?”
“Ten-thirty,” I said tentatively.
He looked past me as he thought about something, then focused on me. “I’ll borrow Major’s truck and be here at ten to take you.”
He would? “Um, what? I can drive my CR-V, Liar.”
His eyes held my gaze. “Gonna be here at ten, Andi. You aren’t drivin’.”
My head tilted a touch. “Really, you don’t have to do that. I’m glad we resolved things, but I can—”
“I know you can. It doesn’t mean you are, though. See you tomorrow.”
He turned to the door, but I couldn’t hold my question inside. “Why?”
His frame turned back to me. “Why what?”
“Why do you want to take me?”
“Are you shittin’ me again, woman?”
“No!” And I wasn’t. We had cleared the air, but our dinner conversation was stilted, and it seemed we were entering that strange friend-zone of former lovers, which I knew meant he would be less and less part of my life.
“I’m taking you to your appointment because you’re mine.”
“Then why aren’t you staying?”
He closed his eyes and snorted. After a head shake, he looked at me hard. “Just because I’m not staying doesn’t mean I don’t want to stay, but I feel bad enough you’ve got that damn injury to your shoulder. Ain’t no way I’m gonna fuck it up even further and cause you more damage to your business or some bullshit because I want to sink my dick into your sweet pussy. Trust me, Andi, the first four times, at least, are gonna be fast and rough, so I’m gonna be damn sure your doctor has given your shoulder a clean bill of health before I stay with you.”
“Oh,” I whispered.
He chuckled. “‘Oh,’ is about right, babe. Now, lock the door after me.”
My eyes bulged. “Not even a kiss?”
His eyes bulged back at me. “I love you, Andrea, but you are tryin’ my damn patience. No, not even a kiss because I won’t be able to hold myself back. Like I said, lock the damn door after me.”
Before I could even return his ‘I love you,’ he opened the door and closed it behind him. I threw the lock to with a huge smile on my face.
Liar
Liar sat in the examination room with Andrea watching the nurse take her vitals. He was wondering if they were going to refer her to a physical therapist or something to help her get her shoulder mobility back faster.
The nurse jotted down Andrea’s temperature, and asked, “This your husband?”
He and Andrea spoke at the same time. She said, “No.”
Liar’s, “Not yet,” was firmer though.
The nurse looked between the two of them and smiled. “Dr. Marshall will be in shortly.”
Andrea’s eyes were glittering and humongous when she turned to him. “What do you mean by ‘not yet’? Have you lost your mind?”
“No, but I lost my heart to you over two month
s ago, babe.”
Her eyes narrowed abruptly. “Do not flirt with me in the middle of a doctor’s office, Jim.”
His lips tipped up. He loved it when she called him Jim in an effort to be more serious with him. It was cute and funny. “Not the middle of the office, babe. It’s an examination room.”
She turned an irritated glare to the wall and then back to him. “Whatever. Don’t split hairs here.”
For once, Liar’s luck had turned because he was saved by a female doctor knocking on the door and then walking into the room seconds later.
Fifteen minutes later, the doctor advised Andrea that she could stop using the sling but should make time for doing some physical therapy exercises. Her grimace wasn’t missed by Liar or her doctor.
“I’m serious, Andrea,” she said.
“Oh, she’ll do them,” Liar added.
Andrea shot him a look that said, Really? He matched her look with his own that promised he meant it.
The doctor nodded at him. “I’m glad to see Andrea has someone around to look after her. She sticks to the PT stretches, and whatnot, she should be good as new by Valentine’s day.”
***
Liar hated driving cars or trucks, but he had to admit Major’s Nissan Titan was a pretty sweet ride. The silence in the cab was somewhat tense, mainly because it was all on Andrea’s part. She wasn’t thrilled with him and not because he insisted on her doing her PT exercises, but because when the nurse at check-out told her she owed over one hundred and fifty dollars, Liar threw two hundreds on the counter. Andrea lost her mind and began to argue with him.
“Don’t argue, b—”
“I’m not arguing, Liar. I’m refusing your charity.”
His temper nearly flared at the term ‘charity,’ but instead, he said in a low voice, “You’re causing a scene, Andi.”
Her spine stiffened, and she realized he was right. She slid the bills toward the nurse and then she handed the change to Liar. They left, and he hadn’t heard a peep out of her since.
He turned the truck right onto Argyle, and Andrea came out of her funk.
“I hate to tell you this, but you’re going the wrong way, Jim.”
