But silently, I add,Unless he’s available to see me right now ... I’d like to introduce him to Bad Scarlett. I think they’d get along just fine.
Twenty-Three
Legend
“She wants to see you.” This comes from Bump, and if he weren’t speaking so softly that I could barely hear him from two feet away, I’d have shut him up quick.
But I don’t have to. He’s already rezipping his lips and tossing away the key while he bounces from one foot to the other.
Q turns to me with a raised brow and murmurs, “Why the hell does she want to see you?”
I don’t have an answer for him. All I know is that I want to walk right through this glass, wrap my hands around her waist, and carry her off to somewhere we won’t be interrupted for a long, long time. I would trade burning in hell for a single night with her.
Fucking shit, this is a problem. A real one.
I don’t get involved with women. Sure, I fuck them on occasion, get my fix, and move on without any ties or strings. I take care of my physical needs, and that’s it. Nothing more.Ever.
But this woman.Goddammit. She’s something else. She’d have to be, because there’s no other explanation for why the hell I’m staring through a two-way mirror at her while I think about selling my soul to make her mine.
But sheisn’t.She can’t be.
I don’t do connections. I don’t let new people into my circle. It’s too risky. Too dangerous.
After all, the last woman I loved ended up dead.
And there it is. The only reminder that could kill any fantasy spinning to life in my brain.
I turn on my heel and march down the corridor, away from Q and Bump, intent on doing paperwork until I’m blind, deaf, and dumb. Maybe then it’ll be safe to come out of my office again because Scarlett Priest, and all the temptation that comes along with her, will be gone.
Except Q won’t let things lie. I’m not getting off that easy, not that I ever do. His footsteps echo in the hall as he follows me, not caring that I clearly want to be alone.
“Please tell me you’re not thinking about taking that fight with Black. Because I just got a call from his trainer asking if Rolo was really serious or just wasting his time again.”
“Fuck.” I flex my fist and manage to get my shit under control before I throw it through one of the wood panels in my office wall. “Rolo and his big fucking mouth.”
Q comes inside and shuts the door. “So, youarethinking about it.” His voice is even, the tenor he takes on when I might snap at any minute.
And maybe he’s right to be concerned, because I sure as fuck don’t know how long I’ll last before the pressure makes me crack. I’ve only broken down once before, and that’s not something I ever want to go through again. And I sure as hell don’t want Q to witness it.
I spin around and meet his almost black eyes. “I’m not going to let them take everything from us. Not if there’s a way I can stop it or buy us more time.”
“At what cost? Because that motherfucker wants to kill you, and if you die in that fucking ring, what good does it do the rest of us?” He says it like I haven’t already thought about it. Which I have. In detail.
“You take the money, pay off the creditors, sell the club, and take care of Bump.”
Q jams his hand through his hair, messing up the perfectly slicked-back locks.
“No. No fucking way, Gabe. I’m not doing this shit without you. Don’t go trying to be a fucking hero now. We don’t need that. We just need you. Breathing, and not through a fucking tube.” My best friend turns and reaches for the door handle. “I’m not sure it’ll work either, but you haven’t even given the woman a chance to work her goddamned magic, and you’re already trying to come up with a plan B. Why am I even surprised?”
“What if it doesn’t work?” I ask him. “What if I was wrong about her?”
“Then you’re wrong, and we figure something out that doesn’t include you ending up in a fucking coma or a body bag.”
I stay silent, because at this point, we’re running out of time and options, and Q knows it.
“Look, give it forty-eight hours. If this doesn’t work, you and I will lay all our choices on the table. It’s not like I don’t have some skills I can put to work to make some cash quickly if we’re that desperate.”
My teeth clench together because I know what he’s talking about, and I won’t let him do it.