Page 13 of Need (Men of Inked Sinners #3)

LULU

“Hey, kid. What’s the face for?” my uncle Vinnie asks as he slides into the booth across from me.

I turn my face toward him and away from the window facing the street. “Something’s wrong with the guy I’m seeing.”

“Break up with him,” he says quickly, without even a moment to think of anything else. “If he’s already a problem, he’ll always be one.”

I smile at my uncle, loving that he’s forever trying to look out for me. “He’s not a problem, Unc, but there is something wrong. He called and wanted to talk to me, and I could tell by the tone of his voice that something’s wrong, and I don’t know what it could be.”

My uncle blinks at me a few times like he’s processing all the words I just said. Hell, it would take me a minute or two too, if I hadn’t been the one who said them.

“When do you talk to him about whatever is wrong?” he asks, being patient with me like he always is.

People would think that my uncle would be the impatient type.

He’s an ex-pro footballer and one of the most well-known players in Chicago.

There are people who come to the bar on the off chance they’ll get to meet the great Vinnie Gallo, quarterback and football savior of the Windy City.

But to me, he’s my uncle, and he’s a sweet man who only wants the best for his family and friends.

“He’s on his way here.”

“I’ll stick around in case I need to kick his ass.”

I laugh as soon as the words come out of his mouth, trying to picture Oliver and my uncle going at it. “That’s unnecessary.”

“Why?” he asks, tilting his head and staring at me like I’m off my rocker.

“He’s nice. You’re nice.”

“We’re men, Lulu. We’re all shitheads.”

“You’re not a shithead,” I say, thinking back on all my great memories with my uncle when I was growing up.

“Wait. Which guy is this?” He makes it sound like I have a ton of men in my life who are dying to date me.

“Oliver. ”

“The one who saved your life?”

Of course word has already spread around the family about Oliver’s heroic act. “That’s the one.”

“He’s only half a shithead, then,” Uncle Vinnie says.

The loud rumble of an engine draws my attention back to the street. It’s Oliver. My stomach twists as he cuts the engine and climbs out, looking so damn sexy from my position.

“That him?”

I nod slowly without looking at my uncle. “It is.”

“A man his size missed his calling. He should’ve been a football player,” he says, always looking at everyone from a sports angle.

He keeps talking, but I can’t reply. I don’t have the bandwidth because I’m too busy staring at Oliver’s face, trying to decipher what the problem is before he walks inside.

“I’ll go so you two can talk, but I’m sticking nearby in case you need me to handle him.”

“What?” I ask, looking at my uncle once Oliver is out of view, heading toward the entrance to the bar.

He slides out of the booth and stands at the end of the table, his fingers pressed against the wood top. “I’m here if you need me. I won’t leave until I know you’re okay.”

“Thanks,” I say, my voice soft and my throat dry. I pull my hands into my lap, twisting my fingers together to do something to keep myself from a complete panic attack.

The door to the bar opens as my uncle walks away, leaving me to have whatever this conversation is with Oliver alone.

My eyes lock with Oliver’s, and I wave, not even bothering to stand from my seat.

I can’t. I think my entire body would shake from nerves.

Oliver doesn’t stress me out, but I could tell when he called that something big had happened and he wanted to talk to me as soon as possible about it.

“Hey,” he says once he makes it to the table where my ass is virtually superglued to the seat. He bends forward, his hand touching my face as he kisses my cheek. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, sweetheart.”

“Hey, handsome.” I stare up at him, seeing the storm raging in his eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I’m better now,” he says as he takes the seat my uncle just vacated.

“What’s wrong?”

He scrubs a hand down his face before his fingertips disappear into his beard. “I ran into an issue today.”

“Okay,” I reply, drawing out the word. I twist my fingers faster in my lap as the knot in my stomach tightens.

“Mark is a problem.”

“Mark?” I ask, trying to think of who the hell Mark is, when the name suddenly slams into me like a ton of bricks. My body goes cold .

“Yeah, that one,” he says as the color leaves my cheeks.

“What happened?”

He places one hand on the table, kneading his fingertips into the wood. “Don’t freak out.”

I suck in a deep breath as my body goes rigid. My heart, which was already beating at a frantic pace, picks up speed. Nothing good starts with that statement. Nothing.

He glances down at the table. “The cops came to the garage.”

My chest tightens as my heart feels like it’s battering the backs of my ribs and is liable to burst free. “Oh no,” I whisper as I place one of my hands near his on the table, my pinkie touching his.

“He went to the cops, and they arrested me,” he says, finally bringing his gaze back to mine. “But I have a lawyer working on everything.”

My head starts to spin, and my vision goes blurry as I breathe faster than any human probably should. “Fuck,” I whisper, feeling the world go fuzzy.

“Lulu,” Oliver calls out as everything goes white and there’s only nothingness around me.

When my eyes flutter open again, I’m in warm arms and I’m comfortable. I blink up at Oliver, who’s staring down at me with softness dotting his features. “Sweetheart,” he whispers. “Breathe, baby.”

“I had the worst dream,” I say, trying to lift myself up from the awkward position I’m in .

But then it hits me. It wasn’t a dream. I’m at the bar. I’m here with Oliver. Everything comes crashing into me again. All his words. The statement about the cops. His arrest. Mark.

“Fuck,” I hiss as I sit up quickly, my head spinning again.

“Easy,” Oliver says to me softly.

“Here’s some water,” Uncle Vinnie says. “Good, she’s awake.”

I turn my glassy gaze toward my uncle, but I can’t find the words. My head’s too busy trying to process everything Oliver said, even if it was only a few sentences.

“What happened?” Uncle Vinnie asks as he takes the spot across from us while Oliver stays by my side, moving the glass of water in front of me.

“I didn’t eat today,” I lie.

Zoey doesn’t want anyone to know what happened.

I wouldn’t either. And there’s no way Uncle Vinnie can know why Oliver beat up Mark because it’ll spread through the family like a brush fire during a drought.

And once everyone knows, they’ll go after Mark too, and they’ll be arrested just like Oliver.

“Entirely my fault. I know not to do that.”

Uncle Vinnie eyes me. The man can smell bullshit a mile away, and I am awful at lying. Without missing a beat, my uncle turns his skeptical gaze toward Oliver .

“You going to be honest with me or bullshit me like my niece?” he asks Oliver point-blank. “What had her pass out cold when she was fine a minute ago?”

Oliver peers over at me, and I do my best to convey to him to keep his mouth shut. But I don’t have ESP, and this is a time when it would be absolutely useful. My fingers tighten on the sleeve of his jacket, holding on to him like my very life depends on the connection.

This is bad.

So very bad.

He was arrested.

Arrest leads to court. Court leads to jail. Jail leads to Oliver being gone for however long the judge feels is necessary for the crime that wasn’t a crime that Oliver supposedly committed.

Shit.

This is my fault. He wouldn’t have gone to Mark’s place if he hadn’t overheard my conversation with Zoey.

We caused this problem for him.

A week ago, he was living his best life without our issues. He wasn’t facing jail time for something that had nothing to do with him.

“A man was a problem for a woman in this family, and I took care of him, if you know what I mean,” Oliver starts to explain, doing his best not to give too many details, which is impressive .

I couldn’t have done a better job myself, and I am adept at giving as little information as possible.

“Go on,” Uncle Vinnie says with a lift of his chin in Oliver’s direction.

“The asshole went to the cops, and I was arrested because the guy is a dick.”

“Which woman?” my uncle asks with a raised eyebrow as his gaze slides in my direction.

“Not me,” I say quickly, but I don’t say anything more. “And it’s not important who because Oliver handled it.”

“He handled it, but now it’s coming back to bite him in the ass, Lou. You have a lawyer?” Uncle Vinnie asks Oliver.

Oliver nods. “He came to the station and bailed me out. He’s working on a deal right now to save me some jail time.”

“What kind of time are we talking?” Uncle Vinnie asks.

“Under a year if I’m lucky,” Oliver says like he’s ordering a pizza or talking about the weather and not how many months of his life he’ll lose because of something that was done to a member of my family and not directly to him.

His words play on repeat in my head as I sit next to Oliver, finally feeling numb.

Uncle Vinnie whistles as he shakes his head. “That’s a fucking lot. How badly did you handle him? ”

“I broke lots of shit, but he deserved it.”

“No doubt,” Uncle Vinnie says with a nod. He’s awfully calm about the entire conversation, which is like him, but under the circumstances, not like him at all. “And who did this guy do something to?”

My family never can let shit go, and neither will Uncle Vinnie. I know that deep in my soul, but that doesn’t mean I will give up the information willingly without Zoey’s consent.

“It doesn’t matter,” Oliver says. “I’d do it for anyone in this family.”

Uncle Vinnie’s lips turn up ever so slightly. “Good to know. Who’s the lawyer?”

“Hal Bloom.”

Uncle Vinnie’s lips twist. “I don’t know him.”

“He has his own office. He’s my brother’s lawyer. I’ve never needed one except for business stuff, but Hal assures me he can work out a deal so I don’t have to do a longer stint inside.”

A stint inside. I never thought I’d be with a man who uttered those words. But here I am, and I am proud of Oliver, even if he did something most people would abhor. He did it for the right reasons, and I’ll forever be grateful to him for having Zoey’s back at a time she felt violated and helpless.

“I have some friends in the DA’s office. I’ll place some calls,” Uncle Vinnie tells Oliver.

“Totally unnecessary,” Oliver grumbles. “Hal will handle it. ”

“You seem like a good guy, Oliver. You did right by my family even if you won’t tell me who you were protecting.

” Uncle Vinnie’s gaze slides to me, and I look away.

I’m not saying shit, and he knows it. “But sometimes the criminal justice system has less to do with justice and more to do with who you know. I’ll poke around and see what I can do. ”

“Thank you,” I say to my uncle, but I’m still unable to meet his stare because I don’t want to break.

Oliver reaches over and intertwines his fingers with mine. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not sure you can change the course of events. I messed him up pretty bad.”

“Did he deserve it?”

“Completely,” Oliver replies.

“Never hurts to try. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I didn’t at least make a few phone calls. You saved my niece’s life and helped someone else I love, even if I don’t know who they are.”

I swallow roughly and seal my lips shut.

Vinnie taps the table with his index finger. “I’ll be in touch,” he says before sliding back out of the booth, leaving us alone.

“This is bad,” I whisper, staring down at where our hands are connected and resting on my leg. “So bad.”

“Hey,” Oliver whispers, squeezing my hand.

“The worst. ”

“Lou,” Oliver says, placing the fingers of his free hand under my chin and forcing my eyes upward to meet his. “Look at me, sweetheart.”

Tears sting the corners of my eyes. He’s so sweet and gentle with me, and my heart can barely handle any more.

I should be comforting him. He’s the one who’s about to lose his freedom for something he never would’ve been involved in if it weren’t for me and my family dropping into his life out of nowhere.

“It’s my fault.”

Oliver strokes my chin with his thumb. “Baby, look at me.”

I let out a deep breath I didn’t know I was holding and finally drag my gaze to his. “You wouldn’t be in this trouble if it weren’t for us.”

“I’d do it all again, even knowing what I know now and facing jail time.”

My mouth drops open. “How can you say that? Jail is jail, Oli.”

A small, sad smile forms on his lips. “I’d do anything to keep you and the ones you love safe, Lulu. A few months away is worth it to know that shithead will never do that to Zoey or another woman again.”

“A few months inside?” I ask as my body stiffens. “A few months inside? A few months inside?” My voice rises with each repetition. “It’s more than a few months inside. It’s a record. It’s your freedom. It’s your life.”

Oliver pulls me against him, holding me so tightly the only thing I feel is his warm strength. “It’ll be okay, Lulu. I need you to calm down and breathe.”

“I’m breathing, and I’m freaking out,” I say as I sag against him, pulling in a deep breath as loudly and dramatically as I can so he’ll stop telling me to breathe.

He tightens his hold as he places his mouth near my ear. “If I go inside, I don’t expect you to wait around for me.”

I shiver at the deepness of his voice as the anger from his words ignites my insides. “Don’t be an asshole.”

“I’m not being an asshole, sweetheart. I don’t want your world to stop turning, even if mine does.”