Page 13 of Hell of a Mess

Eleven

Luther

Those incredible eyes of her went wide, and her plump lips parted as she gaped at me. If I wasn’t so fucking pissed off because she wouldn’t tell me the goddamn truth about who had beaten her up and because I’d found Locke cupping her face like he was about to kiss her, I’d smile. It was cute.

“Go tell Linc we will be out there shortly,” I told Locke, wanting more space between them before I threw him several yards away.

Locke looked pissed, but he didn’t say anything. He looked at her one last time before leaving us alone in the hallway.

Had she wanted him to touch her face like that? What had he been saying to her? Had the fucker kissed her?

“I want to wait in the bedroom until Thaddeus arrives,” she told me, lifting her chin in defiance.

I wished she wouldn’t do that. I wanted to fucking stop caring about her well-being, but she was making it impossible.

“You really think that’s necessary?” I asked her.

She didn’t respond, but I saw the uncertainty in her eyes, as if she was trying to decide what to think of me.

“I’m not gonna stand here and lie to you,” I told her. “You were right. We aren’t good people. But we don’t hurt the innocent. No one is going to hurt you.” Unless you go back to that fucker.

She let out a shaky breath. “You sure about that? Because Thaddeus works for my father.”

She was misinformed.

I stopped her there. “No, sugar, he doesn’t. Thaddeus has one boss, and he isn’t your father. Whatever Thaddeus has done for your father, it’s because it benefited the family.”

Her brows scrunched. “How has the things he’s done benefited the family?”

I didn’t know what all Thaddeus and his guys had done for her father. “Not sure. Not my branch, but I do know how the family works. And those within who go against direct orders from the boss don’t live.”

She inhaled sharply. “Oh.”

I let that digest a moment before pushing her a little further. “Now that you know just how very capable of protecting you I am, are you going to tell me who beat the shit out of you?”

Her eyes dropped to the floor, as if she feared I could read the answer in her gaze. I waited, trying like fuck to be patient, but Thaddeus would be here soon. I’d have to hand her over if I had no reason to give Linc not to. She just had to give me something to go on.

“I can’t,” she whispered. “And not because I don’t trust you. Or think you can’t protect me. But…because I am a curse. One that you need to get out of your house and life.”

What the fuck was she going on about now? I waited, thinking she’d explain the nonsense she was spewing, but she turned around and started walking back toward the bedroom she’d been staying in.

“You can’t think I’m gonna take that bullshit explanation, Lace,” I called out, using the name she had given us. The other one, her legal one, she seemed to hate.

She paused. “It’s not bullshit. Trust me.”

I’d never met her father, but I didn’t like the man. I fucking hated him. Thaddeus wasn’t going anywhere with her until this knot in my stomach eased. Something was wrong. I had to find out what it was, but she wasn’t helping me.

“I’ll just follow you into that room,” I warned her. “Walking away from me isn’t going to help. I want to know who beat you, who has been hurting you. I can’t let Thaddeus leave with you if you don’t tell me.”

Her shoulders rose and fell with a heavy sigh, and for a moment, I thought she might test my threat to follow her into the bedroom. But finally, she turned back around to face me.

“The answer isn’t one and the same. I am a pawn in my father’s plan and have been since the age of eight.

In many ways…” She paused and shook her head, as if changing her mind on what she was going to say.

“You have to let me go.” There was a sad smile lifting the corner of her lips.

“Linc wants me to go. It’s best for his wife and daughter.

He’s the boss here, and I know you have to obey him. ”

Yeah, well, she was wrong. I wasn’t going to do what Linc wanted.

Blaise would have to send the direct order.

He knew that my willingness to obey Linc went only so far.

I’d made that clear to Linc and Garrett when I moved here.

We had been born and raised to obey the Hughes in command.

We hadn’t been born to obey the guy we grew up with, trained with.

Unless you were raised in a branch like this one.

We had been raised in Ocala. Linc could rule over the men here, but he wasn’t going to tell me what the fuck to do if I didn’t want to do it.

“Not exactly,” I replied. “Our situation is a little different than most. And I can help you. I just need you to tell me who beat you. Give me reason to stop Thaddeus from taking you back to your father. Without your word, I can’t do shit.”

We stood there, staring at each other silently. I’d give anything to know what was running through her head. Mostly because it would give me the information I needed and I could stop fucking pleading with her for it and do something.

“I want to leave. I want to go home,” she said in a firm voice, then began walking toward me instead of away.

She was lying, and she was also avoiding my gaze because she knew I could tell when she wasn’t telling the truth.

“Where are you going?” I asked as she walked past me.

“To the great room to wait on my ride home,” she replied.

The word home sounded bitter and hostile. As if it were a place she abhorred. Which only made this harder.

But how was I supposed to help someone who didn’t want my goddamn help?!

I glared at the wall and fisted my hands, fighting the urge to put my fist through the Sheetrock.

“When you leave, I can’t help you,” I said through clenched teeth.

She didn’t respond, and she didn’t stop.

Turning my head in her direction, I watched until she disappeared around the corner.

I could go after her. Lock her in a room and not allow her out.

But again, if she didn’t tell me who had beaten her and give me cause to keep her here, I already knew Blaise would be sending word for me to let her go with Thaddeus, and that was a command I wouldn’t be able to ignore.

I should go drink. Get so damn trashed that I didn’t care.

Live my life without concern for someone else.

It was a much easier choice in life than this shit.

Just keep doing what I’d been doing for years.

But I knew I wouldn’t be able to not be there when Thaddeus arrived to take her.

Just in case she had a change of heart and decided to trust me.

Taking a few more moments to calm down, I unclenched my hands and took several deep breaths, then headed in the same direction she’d gone.

Every step I took, the voices got louder.

If Locke was here, then I assumed Mal and Gathe probably were too.

I doubted we’d be seeing Than, but then Ransom and Hale might be here.

The voices seemed to quiet, and I realized that Lace had entered the room.

Most of them hadn’t met her. I was sure they were all making assumptions about my reasons for wanting to help her.

I scowled as my strides became longer, not liking the idea of her facing them alone.

Especially Linc and his ornery ass. I wasn’t in the mood for his opinion of Lace or her being here.

If he said the wrong thing to her, I couldn’t promise I wouldn’t take a swing.

It wouldn’t be the first time. Although the last tie-up we’d had put us both in hospital beds in the basement.

Just as I stepped into the room, I heard the alert that someone was coming through the security gate that surrounded our property.

Motherfucker! How fast did he drive? I’d thought it would be at least another hour before Thaddeus showed up.

Panic began to stir in my chest for the first time in my life. I’d had guns pointed at me and never flinched, yet the idea of Lace leaving to go back to the people who had hurt her or allowed her to be hurt was about to send me over the edge.

“Doc is here,” Linc announced.

I immediately eased. That wasn’t Thaddeus. There was still time to fix this.

Jayda was handing Lace a glass of water and talking to her near the patio doors. I watched them, wondering if maybe Jayda could talk some sense into her. Fuck knew I had failed at every turn.

“You gonna make this difficult?” Mal asked, and I tensed. I knew that question was directed at me.

And that cleared up why so many of us were here.

Linc thought he needed backup in case I decided to stop it.

I should find humor in the fact that he thought it would take almost all of them.

Normally, I’d make a quip about his being afraid he couldn’t handle me alone.

But I wasn’t feeling like it. Not today.

I slowly swung my gaze from Lace to see Mal sitting on the far-left end of the sofa with a cup of coffee in his hand, studying me with amusement.

“I’d hate to make it easy after Linc went to all this trouble to call in the calvary.” I smirked.

Mal chuckled and shook his head before taking a drink from his cup.

“I don’t want to have to go back to fucking Ocala to try and save your ass this time,” Hale said.

“Me neither. Considering it wasn’t any of you who saved Ransom’s,” I replied. And it hadn’t been.

Blaise hadn’t given a fuck that we were all there. It was his wife who had saved Ransom. Well, her and his woman for having the balls to go there in the first place.

“They aren’t here to control you,” Linc said, sounding annoyed. “We are dealing with a delicate situation that the boss wants handled with care. The more witnesses, the better.”

“She wants to go, right?” Mal asked. “Should be an easy delivery.”

Linc said nothing, but his eyes stayed on mine. The silent warning didn’t go unnoticed. He knew I wasn’t okay with this.