Page 6

“Unbelievable. You know what, I could defend myself, but you don’t deserve another second of my time. You’re in the wrong, you’re the cheating piece of shit and now every woman will know it. So go ahead and do your worst.”

His face is blotchy and almost purple with rage as he steps toward me with menace in his eyes. A growl from Rusty stops him and I feel my heart rate pick up, as, for the first time, I consider that I might have poked this bear too hard.

“You’re a fucking bitch, Laney, and you’ll be crawling back to me in no time, especially when you have no job and no home.”

I poke him in the chest, angry that he thinks I’m so hard up I’d ever crawl back to him. “I’d rather sleep in a cardboard box than come back to you. We’re done. Don’t call me, don’t contact me, and tell your parents to find another skivvy to handle their marketing and PR. I’m done with all of you.”

I race from the shop not looking where I’m going and slam straight into a wall of muscle. I blink, as big hands curl around my biceps securing my footing, and find the blue eyes of the man who has been my every fantasy since I was fifteen.

3.Eddie

I spotLucas standing at the bar the second I walk into Mickey’s. He’s a big guy with broad shoulders and the all-American blond good looks that women love. He’d been the best tight end on our high school football team and ready to go pro, when his parents had been killed in a car accident and he’d had to step up for his little brother, Joshua, who was now studying in the UK to be a microbiologist.

I knew he had no regrets about the football scholarship he’d turned down. Lucas was the best of men, he deserved everything good in his life and yet he kept getting thrown into the line of fire all the time and there was fuck all we, as his friends, could do about it.

“You just gonna stand and stare at him like a love-sick puppy, or are we getting a fucking drink?”

Nico claps me on the shoulder as he comes up behind me and I turn to greet him with a hearty punch to the arm. Neither one of us could be considered warm and fuzzy; our childhoods hadn’t allowed for it. “Good to see you, man.”

Nico eyes my hat with a raised brow. “I see you’ve gone full-on cowboy, now huh?”

“What can I say, I’m embracing my cowboy era.”

“For fuck’s sake.” Nico’s lip curls and I smirk as we make our way to Lucas.

We all exchange greetings with back slaps and hugs, and it feels right. These two men are my brothers in every sense of the word. I’d die for them and I know they’d do the same for me. We grab a beer and head for a booth in the corner. A few people recognize me, but they all leave me alone. I’m sure the death glares Nico sends them help make their decisions not to approach. Usually, I love my fans, but tonight is about me reconnecting with my friends.

Taking a long pull of the cold beer, I feel my shoulders relax for the first time in months. I don’t think I even realized how uptight I’ve been feeling.

“So, tell us about Joey. How’s he doing?”

Lucas smiles like he always does when his son’s name is mentioned. The exhaustion around his eyes though tells the extent of the toll this is taking on him. He looks almost gray and is noticeably thinner. Nico gives me a look and I know he sees it too.

“He’s doing a little better. Hopefully, we can get him home in the next few days.”

“That’s good news, right?” Nico says, leaning back in his seat, the angle making the tattoos on his neck seem like they’re alive, giving me an idea for my next piece.

Lucas sighs, pulling my attention back to him. “Yes, it’s good but honestly, I feel like we’re being thrown from one disaster to the next. The periods when he’s well are shorter and the sickness is lasting longer.”

My hand clenched harder around the bottle of beer. “They say why that is?”

Lucas shrugs. “He’s getting weaker so his body can’t fight things like a normal kid his age. He needs a kidney, and soon.”

“He at the top of the list yet?”

“Second, so hopefully soon.” Lucas huffs “What sort of asshole does that make me, wishing someone dead so my kid can get a kidney?”

“Hey, cut that shit out, you’re the best of us. You aren’t wishing anyone dead, you just want the best for your son. That doesn’t make you a bad person, Lucas.”

Nico points at me. “What he said.”

I hate that he feels that way and I glance at Nico, who lifts his chin to let me know we’re on the same page. We’d all been tested to see if we were a match for Joey but none of us were and it kills us. Lucas has forbidden us from doing more to help him but I’ve decided it’s time to do something and I have an idea that might work. If I can get a few things to line up. If they don’t, I know Nico is also at the point where he’ll ignore our friend’s request not to get involved and handle this his way.

“How is Sam coping?”

Lucas’s throat bobs and he nods. “She’s Sam, you know? Amazing, resilient, but it’s taking a toll and we’ve been fighting a lot more lately, too. I just get so fucking angry that Joey is having to go through this, you know, and I take it out on her when I know I shouldn’t.”

“I’m sure she understands.”