Текст книги "All or Nothing "

Автор книги: C. C. Wood

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 13 страниц)

Chapter Twenty-Two

‡

As we walked toward Tia’s table at IHOP, I could tell by the knowing smile on her face that she understood exactly why King and I were almost twenty minutes late. She didn’t seem to mind.

Getting to her feet, she grabbed me in a hug. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her just as tightly as she held me. Now that I could see her, I realized how much I missed my cousin. Since I didn’t have any siblings, she’d sort of taken that role in my life.

A year older than me, Tia was the sister I never had. We spent a ton of time together growing up, always having sleepovers and studying together. It wasn’t until her parents divorced that I lost touch with Tia.

Her mom started dating again almost immediately and each guy was worse than the last. It finally got so bad that Tia ran away because her mom couldn’t be bothered to stop her boyfriends from putting their hands all over her seventeen year old daughter.

When she left, she stayed in touch. It took a year and some convincing but my mom talked her into moving in with us until she graduated high school. She insisted on working part time, pitching in to help pay bills. Mom tried to tell her it wasn’t necessary, but she insisted.

That was the kind of woman Tia was. She took care of herself. She had for a long, long time.

After she released me from her hug, Tia held out a hand to King. “Tia Preston. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Alaric Sloan. Everyone calls me King.”

Her eyebrows went up. “Can’t blame them.”

I snorted and they both looked at me. I shrugged. “What?”

We sat and the server came by to take our orders. After she left, Tia, as usual, cut right to the chase.

“So what exactly did Jena leave out last night?”

I frowned at her. “Tia, is that why you’re here?”

She stared me down. “I’ve known you all my life, Jen. I know when you’re lying to me.”

“For your own good,” I stated. “I knew you’d be up here in a flash if you knew what was going on and this is not the time for you to visit.”

“Hell yes I would. You and your mom are my only real family. If I think you need me, I’m here.”

“It’s not a good time, Tee.”

“Shut up, I wasn’t talking to you anyway,” she snapped, turning back to King. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“I-”

She glowered at me. “I said. Shut. Up.”

When I pointed my finger at her, King wrapped his around it. “Calm down, Jena.”

“King, she shouldn’t be here, she’ll get hurt or-”

“I can take care of myself,” Tia insisted.

“Jena, Tia, would you like to talk louder so everyone around us can hear our conversation?” King asked dryly.

We both fell silent, glaring at each other.

Finally, Tia’s eyes moved to King. There was a look in them I’d never seen before. Normally, they were a pretty hazel color, both green and brown. Right now they were burning and bright, the color of amber.

“Tell me what’s going on and don’t leave anything out,” she demanded.

He considered her for a few seconds and, to my surprise, he told her. Not all of it, but a lot more than I had.

When he finished, her face was set and stony. “I think I’ll be sticking around for a long while,” she murmured. “What can I do to help?”

King shook his head. “Nothing.”

She leaned forward. “I can help, King.”

“No.”

She flopped back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. “Fine. Know anyone who’s hiring? I’m gonna need a job while I’m here.”

King shook his head. “I’m full up on bartenders. Only staff I need right now is a bouncer, but you’re a little too scrawny for that.”

That light came back into Tia’s eyes, the one that reminded me of Wick and made chills run down my spine. “Actually, I think I’d like to apply.”

King scoffed.

She leaned forward. “I’m serious. I think you’ll be surprised how well qualified I am for that job.”

“Tia, no,” he answered.

“I’ll tell you what, just let me do the interview and then you can decide.”

“I don’t hire female bouncers.”

Tia pushed a little harder. “Just think about it. Everyone would think I’m a bartender. I’d have the element of surprise. Not to mention, it would be easier for me to talk them down if they’re drunk, because drunk guys still have the eternal hope that the woman smiling at them intends to go home with them too.”

“I don’t think so.”

I knew Tia wasn’t going to give up, so I intervened. “King, what’s the harm in letting her go through the interview process?” I paused. “What is the interview process anyway?”

“Usually, I ask’em a bunch of questions about their background, training, and get a good look at’em, then they’re hired.”

“You don’t make them, I don’t know, audition or anything?” I asked.

King shrugged. “Usually they all look like Jack.”

I nodded. Jack was six foot three and solid packed muscle. No one, sober or drunk, would be stupid enough to fuck with him.

“Well, give her a shot at least.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” King muttered. “Fine, fine. You can come by later tonight. But I’m telling you, it’s not gonna happen.”

Tia looked at me and smiled. I giggled because I knew that, if nothing else, tonight would be entertaining and I needed the distraction.

“Fuck me,” King muttered.

Tia and I both laughed.

Breakfast was nice. Tia and I caught up and King seemed to get a kick out of the mildly bitchy way we talked to one another. It was good-natured, more like teasing than actual insults, but a lot of people didn’t know how to take it when they witnessed it for the first time.

There was a bit of a scuffle when it was time to settle the check because Tia insisted she would pay it. When King put his foot down, she was adamant she would pay for her own meal. He and the server both ignored her protests and he settled the tab with cash.

“Got a place to stay?” King asked her.

Tia shrugged. “Since Jena’s not at her apartment, I could stay there.”

“Not a good idea,” King stated, shaking his head. “Larry’s guys are probably watching her place.”

“I’ll be fine,” Tia insisted.

King shook his head. “We’re not arguin’ about this, Tia. You’re not staying there. You can stay with me and Jena or you can stay in a hotel, your choice.”

She put her hand on her hip. “I’d say a hotel, but I have a feeling I won’t be paying for it.”

King just smiled.

Rolling her eyes, she sighed. “Shit. Fine, I’ll stay with you two lovebirds, but I need some industrial strength earplugs.”

“You’ll follow us over there now,” King instructed.

“Yes, sir!” Tia gave him a mock salute.

“So, I’m seeing the smartass gene runs in the family,” King murmured to me.

I shrugged. “You’re the one who insisted she stay with us.”

He shook his head, but he was smiling.

*     *     *

“Please tell me you’re fuckin’ kidding,” Jack rumbled.

He stood in front of Tia, his massive arms crossed over his chest, and looked down at her. I’d forgotten how tall Tia really was. Even though Jack was six-three, she was only four or five inches shorter than him.

However, she was a lot leaner. He outweighed her by at least sixty pounds and all of it was muscle.

Tia mirrored Jack’s post, but grinned cockily at him as she did it. “King promised I could interview for the job as bouncer. As part of that interview, I have to prove I can handle a big, ole bruiser like you.”

Jack’s eyes cut to King, who was sitting next to me at the bar. “Seriously, boss?” He did not look pleased.

King shrugged. “She wouldn’t shut up about it.”

Jack didn’t say anything, but he shook his head as though he were done with this situation.

“I promise I won’t hurt you,” Tia offered generously.

Jack shifted his massive weight and looked bored. “Let’s get this done.”

Tia shot a look to King. “So, what do you want me to do?” she asked.

“Well, how would you handle a drunk guy if you needed to get him off the premises?”

She squared her shoulders and stepped into Jack, smiling. “Hi, I’m Tia. How are you doing tonight?”

Jack frowned at her but didn’t respond.

King sighed. “Jack, man, just play along for chrissakes.”

Jack lowered his arms to his side. “I’m fine.”

Tia kept smiling, wide and friendly. “Glad to hear it. I noticed you were upset. Is there something I can help you with?”

“No,” he growled.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to step outside.”

“Make me,” Jack grumbled, frowning at her.

I ducked my head and bit my lip to keep from laughing out loud. My cousin was a tough chick. She could take care of herself. I didn’t know if she’d be a good bouncer, but I was looking forward to seeing what she did when faced with Jack.

“I’d prefer you let me escort you, sir,” she replied.

“Oh, fuck this,” Jack stated, reaching out to grab Tia’s wrist. “You weigh, what, one forty or one fifty? There’s no way you could take me-”

He didn’t finish his sentence. I watched as Tia did some complicated maneuver, placing a hand over his and swinging her arm down and around. I had no clue what she did next because she did it so fast, but she had Jack’s hand in a position that looked very unnatural. He flinched.

I glanced over at King and saw that he was watching the scene with a lot more interest.

“Jack, you know what to do,” he murmured.

“Boss.” He seemed reluctant.

“Do it.”

Without warning, Jack’s free arm swung out. Gracefully, Tia evaded the punch and, while he was off balance, managed to turn Jack around and stand at his side, facing the door.

She readjusted her grip on his hand, but I knew it had to hurt because he grunted. “Let me just show you the way out,” she murmured, taking a step forward.

Jack resisted for a split second before grunting again when she tugged at his hand and following her lead.

“Okay, I’ve seen enough,” King called out.

Tia immediately released Jack and stepped away. Jack watched her, a new respect in his eyes as he shook his hand out.

“Where’d you learn how to do that?” he asked.

Tia shrugged. “I picked up a few things here and there.”

I looked at King, who was staring at my cousin with an unreadable expression on his face.

“So, still don’t think you could use me?” she asked.

King leaned back in his chair, considering her. “You’re quick,” he observed.

Tia shrugged. “Have to be.”

“You’re hired, but only for the short term,” he stated firmly. “Know how to tend bar?”

She nodded.

“Here’s what we’re gonna do. You’re going to work for Jack. He’s in charge unless I tell you something different. You do what he says, no more, no less. Once I find another bouncer, you’ll tend bar here and act as back up. We rarely have major trouble here, but it would be good to have a bartender who knew how to handle herself.”

Tia smiled. “I can do that.”

With a nod, King got to his feet. “You start tonight. Jack will show you around. I don’t think we have shirts in your size, so we’ll order you a couple. Until then, you wear black like the rest of the guys.”

She nodded. Jack motioned for her to follow him as he headed down the hall.

I heard him rumble, “You gotta show me that thumb lock. It would be so much easier than dragging guys outta here in a fuckin’ full nelson.”

I heard Tia laugh as they walked out of earshot.

King looked over at me. “Did you know she could do that?”

“Uh, well-”

“Never mind,” King interrupted. “Even if you did, you wouldn’t have told me, would you?”

I grinned at him, completely unrepentant. “Nope. It was more fun this way.”

King grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the exit. “I can see things won’t be boring with you around.”

He had no idea just how un-boring things were about to become.

Chapter Twenty-Three

‡

I woke up early the next morning. Unlike King and Tia, I’d gone to bed before midnight, so my eyes popped open around seven-thirty. King was lying on his stomach, his head turned away from me, and I was sprawled across his back, my head on his shoulder.

Wanting to let him sleep, I carefully slipped out of bed, pulling the blankets up to cover his bare back. Grabbing my cell phone, I left the bedroom, shutting the door silently behind me. Moving down the hall, I saw that Tia’s door was closed and I knew she would probably sleep until a little before noon.

As I walked through King’s living room, I shook my head. Like most other things with Alaric Sloan, I was shocked by his house the first time I saw it. He lived in a subdivision that consisted of spacious homes on large lots. His lot was populated with quite a few established trees, creating a pocket of privacy for King’s house. The back yard was beautiful and well-kept and there was a fire pit about forty feet from the back deck with a circle of Adirondack chairs around it.

The interior was even more surprising to me. While it wasn’t straight out of a home decor magazine, the furniture went well together and the suede couches were high quality and extremely comfortable.

I brewed a pot of coffee and made some toast. When everything was ready, I carried it out onto the back deck and settled on a chaise lounge. After I ate my toast, I was enjoying my coffee when the back door slid open.

Tia walked out wearing a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt, carrying a cup of coffee. Her eyes were so heavy I was surprised she could see.

She flopped down on the chair next to mine.

“Morning,” I greeted her.

She grunted in response and sipped her coffee, letting her head fall back on the lounge with her eyes closed.

I smiled because, as a teenager, Tia had never been much of a morning person and it appeared nothing had changed.

We drank our coffee in silence, both of us soaking up the early sunshine.

“King seems like a really cool guy,” Tia commented after a few minutes.

I nodded. “He is.”

I glanced over to find her looking at me.

“You’re crazy about him, aren’t you?”

Nodding, I turned away from her and drained the last few sips from my cup.

“I’m pretty sure he feels the same way,” she murmured.

“I think so too.”

“Okay, well, just remember to pick a fucking dress I can wear again when you ask me to be your maid of honor, okay?”

I was grateful I didn’t have any coffee left, because if I had, I would have choked on it. “Maid of honor?” I squeaked.

Tia grinned at me. “Girl, King is not some kind of boy-man who’s terrified of settling down. Hell, he’s already settled down, even without a wife.”

“Yeah but King doesn’t strike me as the traditional type. He’s more of the live-in-sin type.”

My cousin nodded. “I can see that, but my Jena is the marrying kind, so he’ll do it for her.”

Throat tight, I smiled at her. “I hope you’re right.” Because I was suddenly feeling sad, I stood. “I’m going to get more coffee. You want some?”

She handed me her cup without a word.

I wasn’t gone more than a few minutes, but when I returned to the back porch, Tia had my phone to her ear.

“Oh, here she is.” She held the phone out to me. “It’s someone named Katie.”

I froze, staring at my phone as though it were a poisonous snake.

“What’s wrong, Jena?”

I shook myself out of my daze. Dealing with Katie wasn’t exactly how I wanted to start my day, but putting it off was no longer an option. If she was willing to risk whatever King threatened her with to call me, then she must have been freaked the hell out.

I took the phone and lifted it to my ear. “Hello, Katie.”

“Jena, I need your help.”

No greeting, no apology, just a demand for my help. Vaguely I wondered if she’d always been so self-centered and I hadn’t noticed because I cared about her.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, Katie, but I can’t imagine why in the fuck you’d think I’d help you after the way you treated me the last time I saw you.” When she didn’t speak, I continued, “Or after I saw the video of you groping my boyfriend.”

“Hey! King took that video before you and he hooked up, you can’t be mad about that!” she exclaimed.

“I wasn’t talking about King,” I answered softly.

There was another long pause.

“I also know exactly when the video was taken because you and Justin were dressed up. You were fucking my boyfriend after my New Year’s Eve party a few weeks before he died.”

“Jena, that’s not important right now-” she began.

“Shut the fuck up,” I whispered shakily. I didn’t trust my control, so I had to keep my voice low or I’d end up shrieking at her. “What kind of person are you? Hell, who the fuck are you? After years of being friends, how could you do something like that to me?”

“Because I was sick to fucking death of you getting everything!” Katie yelled. “Perfect fucking Jena, always getting exactly what she wanted. You had the perfect job, the perfect apartment, the perfect car, clothes, boyfriend, EVERY GODDAMN THING! It was my turn to get what I wanted!” she screamed.

Tia jumped to her feet and I knew she could hear Katie shrieking. I shook my head at her. Her eyes narrowed, but she slowly sank down into her chair. I could tell by the tension in her body that she was supremely pissed off.

“And it didn’t matter that you had to betray me to get it,” I stated, still quiet.

“Oh, I’d say you landed on your feet,” she replied nastily. “You forget, Jena, I’ve had King too. He’s so much better in bed than Justin and richer, so I don’t think you’re going to be crying into your cereal at night, surrounded by cats.” Her words were followed by a bitter laugh. “It was so disgustingly clear to everyone but you that King wanted your ass. I saw it at the funeral. Why in the hell do you think I fucked him two days later? I knew he’d give you time to grieve then he’d make his move. I had to have your sloppy seconds when Justin and I were together, so I figured it was only fair you have mine.”

The toast and coffee in my stomach soured at her words, but I refused to be weak in front of Katie. She didn’t deserve my reaction, even if I felt it, there was no way in hell I’d show it to her.

“Well I guess the joke’s on you,” I retorted, “because I don’t care. King and I both have pasts. If I got pissed off about every skank he’s ever slept with, I’d be angry every day for the rest of my life.”

“Did you just call me a skank, bitch?” she shrieked in my ear.

“Yeah, I did,” I answered, my voice stronger. “I’m done with you and with your shit. I don’t care what kind of help you need, find it somewhere else, because the only thing I’m willing to do is spit on your grave. Have a nice day, Katie.”

With that, I hung up. The phone immediately started ringing again, but I dropped it on the table and dashed into the house. The roiling in my belly was too strong. I couldn’t hold it back anymore.

I ran through the house to the bathroom by the living area. I made it to the toilet just in time to lose the contents of my stomach.

I heaved over and over, even after there was nothing left. I couldn’t believe the hatred I’d heard in Katie’s voice, the things that she said to me. I couldn’t believe I’d never noticed it before.

The intensity of her loathing for me was so strong that I didn’t understand how I could have missed it. No one could hide hatred like that.

As the heaves wracking my body eased, I felt someone crouch behind me, pressing a cool cloth to the back of my neck. Finally, I stopped and took several slow deep breaths.

“Better?” King asked.

“Yeah,” I whispered, taking the cloth he held out to me and wiping my face.

Stiffly, I got to my feet and moved to the sink. I rinsed my mouth out with water. Tia appeared in the doorway with my toothbrush and toothpaste. I gave her a grateful smile and quickly brushed my teeth.

When I was done, King wrapped an arm around my waist and led me into the living room to the couch.

“What happened?” he asked Tia, pulling me across his lap.

“I can talk,” I insisted hoarsely.

They both shot me a look, so I wisely shut my mouth.

“Some bitch named Katie.”

Sitting on King’s lap like I was, I could see the muscles in his jaw tighten. I even thought I heard his teeth grinding.

“Don’t worry, she won’t be calling back. I blocked her number.”

Damn, why hadn’t I thought to do that myself?

He nodded shortly.

Tia looked at me. “I’ll get you some tea or soda to settle your stomach.”

King’s jaw worked and I knew he was gritting his teeth. His eyes met mine. “What did she say to you?” he asked quietly.

I shook my head and sighed. “She wanted my help. I basically told her that I knew about Justin and that I didn’t really give a damn what she needed. It deteriorated from there.”

His face was so tight I worried that he might pop a blood vessel. “I take it she mentioned the fact that she and I-”

I really didn’t want to talk about it. “It came up. We both have a past. Regrettably, both our pasts have Katie in them.”

He cupped my face, his fingers threading through my hair. “I’m going to say something and I want you to listen closely because I’ve never said it to another woman before.”

I sucked in a breath and held it, but I nodded.

“I love you, Jena. You’re right, we both have people in our past, but you’re my future.”

My vision started to get blurry and my heart beat so hard and so quickly that I could feel it in my fingertips. I knew I loved King, but I honestly never expected him to say those words to me, or me to him. He wasn’t emotive. He didn’t talk about his feelings. Instead, he expressed them through actions. Hearing the words was so unexpected, I didn’t know what to say or do.

“Breathe, Jena.”

I released the air I was holding and sucked in another deep breath.

“Jesus, are you gonna pass out?” he asked, amusement in his voice.

“No, no. I just…” I took another breath. “I just didn’t think you’d ever say that to me.”

He frowned. “What?”

I waved a hand. “I didn’t think badasses ever said ‘I love you’.”

King’s eyes twinkled and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Well, this badass does.”

Though I wasn’t big on sentimentality, I did have one thing I wanted to say. I put my hand to his cheek and looked him straight in the eye. “You know I love you too, right?”

He grinned even wider. “I kinda had a feeling you did.”

“I think a beach wedding would be a good idea. Small, simple, and everyone can lay out in the sun for the rest of the day,” Tia called from the kitchen.

My eyes widened in horror, but King burst into laughter.

Still chuckling, he answered, “Sounds good to me.”

“You do realize the rest of my family is crazier than she is,” I murmured.

“I heard that!”

Wrapping his arms around me tightly, King started laughing again. “I don’t care, as long as I get you.”

Because that was an awesome answer, I melted into his arms, hugging him back. Tia was right. If joking about us getting married didn’t freak King out, he was in it for the long haul.