Page 4 of Love Loathe Devotion (Tightrope #3)

I spot Lucas 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.”

“She does and I think having her friend, Laney, around more is helping. She’s been a godsend, but her life is about to hit the shitter.”

I sit up straighter in my seat at Lucas’ words. “Oh, how so?”

I’d heard of Laney through Lucas and know she’s a volunteer at the hospital and has become close to both Lucas and Sam.

From what I understand, she’s been a great source of comfort and is like a literal fairy godmother.

She’s the kid sister Lucas never had, and he’s become like an adopted older brother to her over the last two years.

“Well, she doesn’t know I know this because Sam made me promise, but she caught that shithead boyfriend of hers cheating on her last week. She came home early and he was balls deep.” Lucas held up his hand. “Correction, her friend was ass deep with a strap-on dick in him in their bed.”

Anger makes every muscle in my body tense, the desire to punch that fucker in the face until he’s nothing but raw meat feeling good about now.

It’s a visceral reaction for a woman I have never even met, but then I’ve always had a strong reaction to men who treat women with anything other than the respect and love they deserve.

It was the one thing Encino Mancini instilled in us time and again.

Women were to be worshipped and protected because without them we wouldn’t exist. I always remembered him saying that weak men called women the weaker sex because they knew in their hearts that they’d never be strong enough to handle what they did or with such dignity and love.

“He still breathing?” Nico asks, deadpan, and most people would have laughed it off, but we know damn well he means it, and on this we agree. Nobody treats a woman like that and gets away with it.

“Yeah, he is for now. I’ve been with Joey the whole time since it happened.”

“You need me to take care of him for you, Lucas, just say the word.”

Lucas chuckles. “Thanks, Nic, but I think she wants to handle this one herself, although I’ll be having a word, too.

Make sure that fucker stays away from her for good, but I know it’s gonna put her in a bind.

She lives with him and works at his parents' hotel, so she might need to come stay with me and Sam for a bit. Although she has stringently turned down all of Sam’s offers.

I want to help her out, but I know she hates it when we get all over-protective on her. ”

“Since when has that mattered? She needs someone to stand up for her and let this prick know we won’t tolerate anyone treating her that way.”

Nico smirks at me. “Brother, have you ever met Laney?”

I shrug. “No, why?”

Nico leans in close. “Well, let me tell you, brother, she’s not a kid. That girl has it all going on and she’s a spitfire. It’s quite the package.”

Lucas slams his beer on the table. “Fuck’s sake, Nic, that’s my baby sister. Can you not?”

Nico’s lips tip in a smirk. “Not really your sister though, is she? And I’m just saying.

Laney is a grown woman. You know I’d never go there with her, neither of us would, right, brother?

” Nic tips his head at me and I nod. Lucas had made it clear the first time Sam mentioned her to us that she was off-limits.

I’ve always wondered if it is because he lost his baby sister when she was five, and she’d be the same age as this Laney, but I’d never asked him outright.

“Of course.” My voice is gruffer than usual and I cough to clear my throat.

Lucas smiles. “I know and I appreciate it. Laney, Sam, and Joey are my weak spots and right now I feel like I can’t protect any of them.”

“Come on, man, that’s not true. You’ve always had everyone’s backs. Maybe it’s time you let us have yours for a change.”

I lift my hand at a passing waitress and order us some food for the table and another round of beers. She slips me her number when she brings the beers and Lucas shakes his head laughing. “Fucking cowboy.”

“What can I say, woman love me.”

“Your dick is gonna drop off.”

I laugh at Lucas and play up my role as the easy-going playboy rockstar because it’s what he needs right now. Not to hear about my shit or the fact that my dick had been dead for the last six months. “You let me worry about my dick.”

“You gonna hit that?”

I glance at the waitress, who is eyeing us from the end of the bar.

She’s hot, with red hair and big green eyes.

Her tits are almost spilling out of her tight white tee and her short black skirt leaves nothing to the imagination.

She’s someone I would’ve happily taken home to my bed six months ago but lately, I’ve felt bored, jaded with easy pussy with no meaning.

I want more, I just don’t know what exactly. “Nah, not in the mood.”

“Jesus, Nic, did I just see a pig fly across the room?”

Nic shakes his head but I see his lips twitch.

Lucas had needed this and so had we. “So, I have a couple of thoughts about Joey.”

Lucas sobers and I hate that the tension seems to flood back into him at my words but I need to speak to him about this before I go ahead. We all love Joey but he isn’t our son and Lucas, as his father, needs to approve this kind of public action.

“Oh?”

“Have you ever heard of a kidney donor chain?”

“Sure, when a non-direct donor offers a kidney, and then someone from that person’s family offers to donate to the next, and so on.

They’re a nightmare to organize apparently because of all the added variables.

It’s why we haven’t considered it. Our insurance ruled it out because it’s almost impossible to get right. ”

“What if it could be organized and funded without the insurance companies?”

Lucas shakes his head. “I told you I ain’t taking your money.”

I grip my friend’s shoulder hard, needing him to hear me.

“Lucas, don’t be a stubborn fool. I have more than I can spend.

You’d do the same for me in a heartbeat, and you know it.

Let me help you, please? I can put a call out on social media and have people lining up to get tested. Let me do this for you and for Joey.”

Tears glint in Lucas’ eyes and Nico leans in and grips his other shoulder.

“Listen to him, Lucas. Let us help you. We’re family and there will surely be a time when we need you and you’ll be there.”

“I can never repay you. I can try but it would take years. But if it’s what it takes, I’ll try.”

I nod at Nico. “He’s right, we’re family, and fuck you for even thinking about paying me back. Joey is my godson and I love him, and family don’t repay shit like this.”

Lucas blinks and I feel a little choked watching my friend struggle. We’ve never been those friends to get sentimental, but we all know that one word is all it takes and we’re there for each other.

“Thank you. Let me discuss it with Sam first. I need her on board, too.”

Letting go of Lucas’ shoulder, I sit back with a nod. “Good call. Happy wife, happy life or so I hear.”

Lucas smirks as he tips his bottle up to his lips. “No truer word, my friend.”

We shoot the shit a bit longer and then we say goodbye. I know Lucas wants to get back to his son and I have my appointment with Kendal. As I walk down the street, I realize Lucas never did tell me how Laney was handling her ex-boyfriend and what her plans were for a place to live and work now.

Getting closer to Ink Tank, I hear raised voices and wonder if Rusty and Kendal are fighting again. Lucas’ brother-in-law, Rusty, is a big guy but it’s his girl Kendal with the temper. I’d seen those two fight like cat and dog verbally but the love between them is undeniable.

Pushing through the door, I hear a man screaming at a woman that she’s a bitch, just as a blonde-haired vixen barrels around the corner, running straight into me.

“Where you going, spitfire?”