“Later,” I heard Lee say to Luke.
“Yeah,” Luke replied.
After some time slid by, I lifted my head and looked at Luke. “I need cookies,” I told him.
His face got that almost-soft, still-hard look, his eyes going warm and he bent his head to kiss my nose.
* * * * *
Sissy had spread the word and by the time Luke and I (and Silent Santo) got to Fortnum’s, everyone had congregated. Everyone being Indy, Ally, Daisy, Jet, Roxie, Shirleen, Sissy (and Silent Lucky, her bodyguard and my other kidnapper), Tod and Stevie.
The minute Luke and I (and Silent Santo) walked in, all eyes swung to us.
“Babe,” Luke said, sounding amused.
I turned to him, my back to the Rock Chicks (and gay guys). “Don’t leave me here. Take me to Australia. Now.”
He looked down at me. “Don’t think I’ll find Dom Vincetti in Australia.” A shiver slid through me as Luke got close and his hand went to my jaw, thumb stroking my cheek and fuck buddies or not, it was nice. “I don’t want you leavin’ here, not even with Mancini. You gotta go somewhere, you call me.”
I nodded. Not because I was giving in to Luke’s tough guy, macho man demand but because I didn’t want to be kidnapped again.
He kissed my nose then he was gone.
No sooner had the door closed behind him when Tod squealed, “Girlie, get over here. Spill. We want details.”
Again, I had to ask, why me?
I walked to the Rock Chicks and flopped on the couch by Shirleen. Ally peeled away and got me a skinny vanilla latte. When my coffee arrived, I sipped and told them about Dom calling, Ren’s date and Luke giving me the business.
I didn’t go into detail.
Shirleen narrowed her eyes on me. “Girl, so far I’ve lost a hundred bucks on you. I gotta get somethin’ outta that hundred. I want it blow-by-blow. You don’t give it, I’ll cuff you to somethin’ my damn self.”
I stared at Shirleen. She looked serious, as in seriously serious. I didn’t want Shirleen to cuff me to something so I sighed and gave them a blow-by-blow.
When I was done, Sissy said, “Oh my.”
Indy said, “Holy crap.”
Roxie said, “Wow.”
Ally said, “Righteous.”
Stevie said, “Lordy.”
I said, “I know.”
“Oowee,” Shirleen said, getting off the couch and pulling her blouse in and out at her chest. “I need to go home and get me a cold shower before I go back to work. Child,” she said to me. “You did good. You held out. Then you got nailed. You’re a real Rock Chick now.”
Everyone watched her leave but it was probably only me who was, for the first time, wishing I wasn’t a Rock Chick.
“My favorite part is the cookie swipe,” Tod shared with the congregation.
“The cookie swipe was good,” Roxie agreed.
“That ain’t my favorite part,” Daisy put in.
“Mine either,” Ally concurred.
“I can’t believe you’re fuck buddies with Luke Stark,” Sissy’s tone was accusing and she was glaring at me. Obviously fuck buddies wasn’t where she thought this was heading. She likely had visions of wearing a bridesmaid’s dress and was planning my bachelorette party.
“I can’t believe it either,” Indy said but she didn’t sound accusing, she sounded amused.
“I wish I was fuck buddies with Luke Stark,” Tod told everyone and got a scowl from Stevie.
“Me too,” Ally’s voice sounded far away.
“Ally!” Roxie and Jet cried in unison.
Ally snapped back into the room. “I’m just saying.” She looked at Roxie. “Has Hank ever done a cookie swipe?”
Roxie looked away. “No,” she mumbled, obviously liking the idea of a cookie swipe.
“Eddie?” Ally’s gaze had moved to Jet.
“We did it against the wall once,” she hesitated. “Or twice,” she said in a low voice then her voice got lower. “Or maybe four times.”
Everyone stared at her.
Daisy gave a tinkly-bell laugh. “The wall is good.”
“So, what now?” Jet asked, moving attention away from wall sex with Eddie.
I shook my head because I didn’t know what now.
What I knew was that I’d always, since I was eight, wanted Luke Stark to want me to be his girl then his girlfriend and now I was “his woman”. I knew I’d had the best night and morning of sex in my whole fucking life. I knew that I liked moving around in Luke’s kitchen wearing his sweatshirt and kissing him while he sat on the counter probably more than he liked it.
I knew Luke was right. I was lucky, but not for the reasons he said. And I felt lucky. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
I also knew I was screwed.
Because worse than never getting what you always wanted was having it and losing it.
“Uh-oh, I don’t like the look on your face,” Tod said to me.
“What?” I asked, knowing exactly what he meant.
“I’m thinkin’ we’re not in the straightaway here, am I wrong Sugar?” Daisy put in.
She was not wrong. “I need more coffee,” I said to deflect conversation from me, mainly because I could take no more. I needed peace and quiet and alone time, something I hadn’t had in days.
Everyone looked at everyone else.
I got up and went to the coffee counter. “Set me up, Tex.”
He stared at me. “Darlin’…” he started and I just knew he was going to impart some sage piece of wisdom on me that I couldn’t cope with, not then, not ever.
“Set me up, Tex,” I repeated.
Tex ignored my demand and said, “He won’t let you do it.”
Whoa.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
I was not having this conversation.
“Set me up,” I said again.
“He’ll wear you down.”
“Set me up.”
“He’ll get through whatever defenses you put up.”
“Set me up.”
“He won’t give up.”
“Tex! Set me up!” I shouted.
Duke walked up beside Tex all the while watching me.
Tex turned to Duke. “Tell it to her straight, brother.”
Duke shook his head. “Not yet my time. I’ll lay the honesty on her when the time’s right.”
Tex nodded as if he understood this completely. I didn’t want to understand it. I wanted to get to a phonebook and start calling plastic surgeons to get quotes on a total face make over.
“Can I please have some coffee?” I snapped.
Santo walked up beside me and said his first words of the morning to me. “I don’t get it. I thought you were Ren’s woman.”
Someone! Please tell me!
Why me?
Chapter Sixteen
Milano Interruptus
After the Rock Chicks made plans to go see Stella Gunn’s gig the next night (Stella was a friend and The Premier Rock Chick on account of she was lead singer and lead guitar in a kickass local cover band called The Blue Moon Gypsies), Sissy took off with Lucky to inspect her house. She’d been delaying it due to grieving her Stephen Kilborn pottery.
I got a call from Jules saying she’d be over around lunchtime to hear the dirt on Luke firsthand. She warned she was bringing May.
I decided to hang at Fortnum’s because it seemed safe. I wasn’t all fired up to move from the Kidnapping and Getting Nailed Portion of my Rock Chick in Trouble Experience to the Shot At or Car Bombed Portion just yet.
I was standing behind the book counter when I saw Jules and May walk in. I gave them a smile as my phone rang. Seeing as I was on edge (and the ultimate dork), I jumped, knocked over a can of pens, a pot of paper clips and, unfortunately, a jar of pink and purple bouncy balls (which seemed a weird item to have at a bookstore but who was I to say, Indy had always been a bit crazy).
They went all over the floor, balls bouncing everywhere. I dropped to my hands a
nd knees, fumbling with my ringing phone and scooping up balls, pens and clips.
I put my phone to my ear. “Yo,” I said.
A low laugh then, “Ava.”
It was Ren.
I froze on all fours then said stupidly, “Yo Ren.”
“Hey,” he replied softly.
Ren, too, had a sexy soft voice.
Crap.
Where were these guys during my senior prom, I ask you? No need to answer that, I knew. They were nowhere near Fatty, Fatty Four-Eyes. They were dating Skinny, Easy Cindy Too Much Lip Gloss.
“Hi,” I said and my voice sounded too high.
“Babe,” I heard said from what seemed like far away. I jerked, dropped the phone from my ear and it clattered to the floor.
I did not want Luke to see me on all fours on the floor. It had grown somewhat chilly outside so I was wearing jeans, a pale pink thermal under a faded brown tee that had pink script on the front that said “Sah-weet” across my boobs and I was wearing pale pink Croc Mary Jane’s. I wasn’t flashing my ass or anything. Still, it wasn’t the best position to get caught in by Luke Stark.
I looked behind me, grabbing for the phone, but Luke wasn’t there. So I slowly lifted up and, eyes peering over the counter, I saw him and I froze. He was standing a few feet inside the front door facing Jules, body close to hers.
Ultra close.
He had his hand up to her jaw, like he had with me just hours before, thumb stroking her cheekbone. Worse, his face wasn’t semi-soft, still-hard. It was all-soft, totally soft in a way I’d never seen him look before in my life.
He was smiling at her, his eyes warm. Ultra warm.
He hadn’t called me “babe”. He didn’t even know I was there.
He’d called Jules “babe”.
What’s THAT all about? Bad Ava demanded.
Don’t jump to conclusions, Good Ava warned.
I jerked back down to all fours and started breathing deep, feeling bad feelings in fact, the worst feelings ever.
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit!
I heard Ren’s voice coming from my phone on the floor. I grabbed it, flipped it shut and my mind screamed, escape!
I listened to my mind thinking, at that point, it knew what the hell it was talking about.
I started motoring, cell in my hand, scrambling on all fours, sliding on bouncy balls and pens as I went, crawling down the side aisle of books that ran the length of the store perpendicular to the eight rows of fiction. I got to row four when I saw movement at my side. I stopped and my head whipped around.
Jet and Eddie were making out in the M-N-O section. Eddie had Jet pressed against the books, one of his arms around her, hand under her shirt, the other hand up on the shelves by her head. It looked like they were two minutes away from bookshelf sex.
They broke off kissing but didn’t move away from each other and both of their gazes swung to me on all fours on the floor. Jet’s mouth dropped open. Eddie’s brows went up.
“Erm… sorry,” I mumbled, gained my feet and ran through the front section into the middle section where there were more books and a big table topped with dozens of milk cartons filled with old vinyl, through that room and to the back room which was more books.
I went to a corner (Women’s Studies) and started hyperventilating.
Get out of here, now! Bad Ava screeched.
Go talk to Luke! Good Ava cried.
I didn’t listen to either of them.
All I could think was that I knew Jules and Luke were close. I could tell by the way she talked about him and the way he talked about her. I thought about the pain that moved through his face when he thought of seeing her bleeding on the floor and I didn’t get it at the time.
Now I got it.
I’d never seen that in Luke, that vulnerability, not outside of what little he showed whenever I was around him after he was in a rip roarin’ with his Dad. Never for one of his girlfriends, never for anyone, not even me.
He’d never looked at me with a full on soft look, not when my Dad left, not when he saw one of my sisters be bitchy to me, not even when he was inside me.
I leaned against the bookshelves.
He was in love with her. He would, of course, be in love with her. She looked like a movie star. And I was just Fatty, Fatty Four-Eyes, the girl across the street holding onto a screaming crush.
Okay, so I wasn’t really Fatty, Fatty Four-Eyes anymore, but… I was.
Worse, I always would be.
My phone rang in my hand and I jumped. The display said “Ren calling”.
I flipped it open and put it at my ear. “Hey,” I said breathlessly.
“What the fuck?” Ren clipped into my ear. “Are you okay?”
No! I thought.
“Yeah,” I said but that one word didn’t even convince me.
“Ava –”
I closed my eyes and blurted in a whisper, “I need to get out of here.”
“Where are you?” Ren asked, now he was sounding concerned.
“Fortnum’s.”
“Where’s Santo?”
“I don’t know.”
“Fuck,” he snapped. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be there in ten.”
“No! Ren, no.”
Santo walked into the back room, his head swung around and his eyes caught mine. Then he walked to me.
“Santo’s right here,” I told Ren.
“Come to me,” Ren ordered.
“What?” I asked.
“Have Santo bring you to me.”
My heart stuttered. “Ren –”
“Do it. I’ll be waiting.”
Disconnect.
I stared at Santo, my mind racing, my heart beating so strong I thought it’d jump out of my chest. That was my only thought. My mind didn’t have the capacity to process any more.
Then Santo’s phone rang, he flipped it open, listened for five seconds and said, “Right,” he flipped it shut and looked back to me. “We’re going to Ren,” he said firmly.
I just kept staring at him. Then, I didn’t know why, I nodded my head.
We walked through the books, the vinyl and down the center aisle of the front room. Luke was walking toward us. His eyes were warm when they caught mine then, immediately, they went on alert. I looked away as I approached him and went to move by him. He caught my upper arm, I came up short and lifted my eyes to his.
“What’s happening?” he asked, brows drawn.
“I have to be somewhere,” I told him.
His gaze moved from me to Santo and I pulled my arm from his hand and kept walking (albeit a lot faster), Santo following.
I was at the passenger door to the Volvo when I heard the scuffle. I turned and saw Luke holding Santo back with a hand at his chest. He gave a shove, barely a movement of his arm but Santo fell back several paces. Luke turned to me and advanced, pinning me against the Volvo.
“What’s goin’ on?” he asked, his voice low and lethal.
“Nothing, Luke. I have to be somewhere. I’ll see you later at the loft,” I replied, my voice small, my eyes skidding away from his.
I tried to slide away but he got even closer, his hand went to my jaw, his thumb splayed on my cheekbone and I looked at him.
“Babe,” he murmured, eyes warm on mine.
At that word pain sliced through me. Against my will and to my total mortification, I felt tears well in my eyes. He saw them and got ultra close. His face softened but not completely. Not even close.
And that hurt even more.
“Talk to me,” he whispered in his gentle, affectionate voice.
I jerked my face from his hand, slid out from in front of him and quickly got in the car.
Santo jumped behind the wheel and we took off.
I didn’t look back.
* * * * *
Ren’s offices were a lot like Lee Nightingale’s except the wood was darker and instead of a cowboy motif there was a lot of fancy glass and modern art.
&
nbsp; Also he didn’t have a black lady receptionist with a huge Afro and a messy desk. He had an ultra gorgeous blonde receptionist with an obsessively tidy desk.
Her head snapped up when she saw us enter and her eyes narrowed on me in immediate and unconcealed hate which I thought was kind of weird. Considering the fact that I was freaking out, I didn’t have time to confront a bitchy receptionist.
“Ren’s expecting you,” she told Santo and she didn’t sound pleased about it.
“Yeah, Dawn, I know,” Santo muttered, sounding like he thought she was a bitch too and leading me into an open doorway and down a hall. Santo stopped and so did I. He knocked on a door and when we heard Ren calling us in he opened it.
Ren was already moving around his desk. His office was huge and his desk was not obsessively tidy. It was covered with papers and files in a way that it looked like he was really busy.
I walked in with Santo, saw Ren give a jerk of the chin and without a word Santo took off.
Ren stopped in front of me, put his hand to my neck, tilting my chin up with a gentle thumb in the soft spot between my jaws and looked in my eyes.
“Jesus, Ava,” he murmured and I knew at his words that I was clearly not hiding my emotional freak out which was kind of a bummer.
I stared at him then started blabbing. “I need quiet space. I need to be alone. No bodyguards. No tough guys. No imminent threat of kidnapping and car bombs. I need to think. I need to get my head together. I haven’t been alone for days. I need to be alone.” Before I could stop myself, I leaned into him and put my hand on his (it must be said, rock-hard) abs. “Ren, please, can you arrange that for me?”
He watched me for a beat, his eyes scanning my face. Then he said softly, “Yeah, honey, I can arrange that for you.”
I sagged into him.
“Let’s go,” he finished.
I felt relief flood through me, so much, I didn’t notice he took my hand and held it as we walked out of his office, down the hall, through the reception area, to the parking garage and to his Jag (I did, however, notice Dawn glaring at me).
We drove through downtown where his offices were and I stared wordlessly out the window. My phone rang, I looked at it, saw it said “Luke calling” and flipped it open.
Then I flipped it shut, open again and turned it off.