The Unlucky Ones, page 14
“What is too late?”
“Everything,” he answered evasively, clomping his boots on the ring of my chair. “You didn’t tell me it was your birthday.”
“I don’t make a big deal of them.” I shrugged. “I haven’t made a big deal of them since my dad died. He was killed a few weeks before my sixteenth, and then the next year I was dealing with my mom.” Birthdays became a reminder I was getting older, but my life couldn’t move forward. Stuck. Because I would suffer guilt over feeling trapped, and knowing my mom didn’t want this for me either, I began to ignore the birthdays, forcing my sister and Skylar to do the same.
“Well.” He brought his glass up to mine, his head only inches from mine. “Happy belated birthday.”
“Thank you.” I clinked my drink against his, downing the rest. The room spun slightly, the heat of his physique alluring. I felt warm all over.
“You’re blushing, Devon.” He tipped closer, his eyes darting up and down, stopping on my mouth.
Mine mirrored his, trailing his full bottom lip, frozen by the urge to trace it with my tongue. The world around us blurred, the alcohol cocooning us in a heated bubble, filling it with desire and lust.
“Must be the tequila,” I croaked, feeling myself leaning into him like a magnet.
“Too bad.” His wide, wry grin was somehow carnal and suggestive.
“What?”
“I hoped it was me,” he murmured, his focus entirely on my lips.
Holy shit. Did he just admit he was attracted to me? That he wanted this as well? Maybe I wasn’t going insane thinking something was between us.
Lincoln inched closer, barely a sliver away from me, so close I could feel the heat of his mouth. Longed for it. I wanted nothing more than to feel his mouth on mine. Consuming me.
“Linc?” Rick’s voice called over. Lincoln jerked back, his jaw twitching as his lips clenched together. Slowly, he glanced over his shoulder. “Hey, man, can we get more beers?” Rick pointed at the empty glasses, his attention still on the TV, clueless of what he interrupted.
“Fuckin’ timing, asshole,” Lincoln grumbled so low I didn’t know if I heard him right. He shoved out of the chair, stalked behind the bar and poured two more beers for the guests.
He moved defensively. Like an animal always ready to fight off an attack. His shoulders rolled forward, dropping the beers in front of the men. He gripped the tabletop, keeping his back to me, sucking in a deep breath.
I could see the shift happening, but my eyes greedily soaked in his broad shoulders, tapering down his back, to his firm ass. Damn. That ass….
He rubbed his head again, then turned around; his demeanor had changed.
The wall had gone back up, cutting off the man who had almost kissed me. The man who smiled, laughed, and flirted, with the husky voice that had dampened the space between my thighs. Now he was empty, displaying his talent at hiding all emotions. Becoming stone.
“I’ll call you a taxi.” His clipped tone stabbed at my chest.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll take the bus.” I slipped from the chair, rejection and sadness pulling the weights back on me like an overcoat.
“No, you won’t.” He tugged out his cell phone, his brown eyes drilling into me. This time no warmth came behind them. “Not at this time of night and in the pouring rain.”
Not wasting the energy to fight him, I went back and collected my bag, pulling on my damp jacket. I turned, about to head back to the main room, and stopped.
Lincoln leaned against the wall in the dark corridor, his looming figure outlined from the light behind him.
My heart jackhammered against my ribs, my feet stepping up to him.
“Devon.” His voice raked over my name, sending shivers through me, drifting my lashes up to his brown eyes.
He stared down at me. He didn’t move or speak, but his penetrating gaze burned into mine. All my words were locked behind my tongue, unable to find an escape. For a second, I thought I saw disappointment and frustration flick behind the façade, but I could never be sure.
His hand lifted, and I froze, watching him reach out. His fingers skimmed over my collarbone, feeling warm and sexual, robbing my lungs of air. Slowly he followed the trail of the bone, flipping out my tucked jacket collar, letting his hands slither over my jaw before he folded them back into his chest.
I wanted more. More of his hands on my body.
A buzz sounded in his pocket. “The taxi’s here.” His intensity still discharged from his eyes, his voice even. “You better go.”
No was on the tip of my tongue.
“Please,” he whispered, then yanked his body away from me, striding out as though he had no care in the world.
Huffing out a shaky breath, I followed him. He unlatched the door, opening it to cool, damp air. A taxi waited out front, windshield wipers moving back and forth.
“Good night, Devon.” Lincoln’s voice wound close to my ear, tingling down the back of my neck.
“Good night.” A hint of irritation braided through my farewell. I bolted forward, climbing into the taxi, but I couldn’t help looking back at him as I shut the car door.
Our eyes locked. Something ricocheted between us, but I couldn’t make out its meaning. It felt bottomless and unresolved.
Then he closed the door, shutting me out, again.
Rain trailed down the window, lights from the street glittering off the drops, fracturing me. I was a heap of jumbled feelings and thoughts, lost in what hadn’t happened and what could have.
Buzzzz.
My cell joggled me out of my reprieve, a hopeful part of me wanting it to be him. Telling me to come back.
Staring at my sister’s number lit up on my phone, I saw I had missed seven calls within a few minutes of each other, all from her. Four from an unknown number. My fingers trembled with dread as I hit the button.
When different people try to call you many times in a short time, it was never good news.
Mom. “Amelia?”
“Oh my god, Devon! I’ve been trying to call you. Why weren’t you picking up?”
“I was at work.” Actually, I was busy trying to make out with my boss, who has two identities, and who I should stay far away from. “What’s wrong?” My tongue seemed to swell three sizes, struggling to let saliva and air in or out. “Is it mom?”
“No.” Her voice rattled with grief, thick with tears. “Oh god, Devy…”
“Mia? What, Amelia? Tell me now!” My nails dug into the cell.
“It’s Uncle Gavin… He’s been shot.”
The universe outside of the taxi shrank down to the size of a pea. Nothing existed except the scream ringing inside my chest.
No. No. Not again. No.
Every detail of my father’s death flashed through my head. The phone call, my mom falling to the floor wailing, the surreal pain absorbing into me when I took the phone from her, hearing the news myself.
“Amelia…” My voice strangled.
“He’s in critical condition. But still alive. It’s all I know. His deputy called me, saying she couldn’t get a hold of you,” she bawled. “I don’t know what to do, Devy. I can’t…I can’t go through this again. Mia won’t go back to sleep or stop crying. She knows something’s wrong.” Amelia’s voice barely climbed above a whisper. “We can’t lose him.”
No we can’t. Uncle Gavin was all we had left. Life was playing a sick game of Russian roulette with us.
“I will be home in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” She sniffed, the tension in her voice easing because she knew I would handle it. Whatever was ahead, I would take the lead.
I usually did.
Chapter Sixteen
“When will you be back?” Amelia stood at the end of my bed watching me pack.
“I don’t know.” I was stuffing clothes into my bag, not caring what it was or if it matched anything else. I hadn’t even slept, spending most of the night on the phone to the hospital or with his deputy, Lucy Vasquez.
She had stayed the night at the hospital but knew little more than I did. Lucy had gone through the academy with Gavin. They had even been partners at one time, but Gavin’s ex-wife, Lisa, didn’t want him working with a woman, probably jealous. He switched partners until becoming captain.
I had always liked Lucy. She was smart and compassionate and reminded me of my dad. She always looked at both sides of a situation and assessed it from multiple angles, whereas Gavin used the same regulations on everyone, no matter the circumstances.
“You know I would love to come with you…” She sat down on top of a pile of my T-shirts.
“I know.”
It wasn’t true. Amelia was relieved she didn’t have to go. “I can’t leave work or take Mia out of school.” As though I could leave work. She wasn’t wrong; it was simply I knew even without those obligations she still would have found a reason. She didn’t handle crisis well.
The one thing I made her promise was to visit Mom. I wanted to hold on to the moment of clarity where she’d remembered me, even though I knew it was like trying to hold water in my hands. Hopefully seeing Amelia’s and Mia’s faces would keep Mom tethered to this world until I got back.
“What about your job?” Amelia folded one of my shirts and placed it in the bag. It was still really early. The bus back home would take hours, and I wanted to get there as soon as I could.
Around three in the morning we finally got Mia to sleep, as exhaustion took over, but Amelia and I couldn’t rest.
Lucy said they had been on a drug bust in the hills. A big meth area. The dealers weren’t ready to give up their moneymaker without a fight. Uncle Gavin saw one of them sneaking around the corner, ready to shoot Lucy. He stepped in, pushing her away.
He was shot in the neck, right above his bulletproof vest, close to an artery. Lucy hadn’t left the hospital since they rolled him in.
“I haven’t called yet. It’s too early.” I was relieved I didn’t have Lincoln’s cell number, and I didn’t want to wake Nat this early. I knew I was being a weenie. I just didn’t want to call.
Anxiety at losing my job was high, and I didn’t want any more bad news, but I had to be with Uncle Gavin. We were his only family. He had no one there either. Family came first. The rest I would figure out later.
“Lincoln wouldn’t fire you, would he?”
“He’s been wanting to since the beginning.” I zipped my bag and started out the room.
“Do you want me to go talk to him?” She followed me. “It’s the least I could do.”
My hands rolled tighter around my bag. She acted as if she had sway over him, that she could bat her lashes and he would agree to anything. When in truth, it was a reason to go see him.
“So altruistic of you, Sis,” I scoffed. “I’ll call soon and explain what’s happened,” I said as I clomped to the hallway closet where I grabbed my jacket. A patch of it was still damp, reminding me of the night before. The feel of his lips so close to mine. My mind kept wanting to finish it, pretending we had not been interrupted. But it simply made me more frustrated, grinding my teeth. I didn’t want to imagine. I wanted to know.
Amelia stayed quiet for once.
“Tell Mia I love her and I’ll be back soon.” I buttoned my coat. “Please visit Mom. She needs to see you and Mia. It helps her.”
“I promise.” Mel bit down on her lip, sorrow filling her eyes. “Please call me when you know anything. I love you so much, Devy.” She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug. I let go of all my negative emotions, hugging my sister back. She drove me crazy, but I loved her more than anything.
“I better go; the bus is leaving soon.” I didn’t trust my car to even start, let alone get me all the way back home. The bus was my only option.
To make myself feel better, I kicked my car on the way to the bus stop, where the local bus would take me to the main bus terminal.
It was going to be a long day.
Six hours later, I sat in the waiting room next to Lucy, anxious to hear anything from the doctors. The last we’d heard, the operation had gone smoothly, but we had to wait until he woke up.
Every time the doors opened, Lucy and I looked up hopefully, only to sag back in our seats when they walked by.
“Avoiding a call?” Lucy nodded to the cell sitting in my lap. For the last hour my work number had been waiting for me to push the call button.
“Yeah.” I sighed. “I didn’t tell work I was leaving. It’s not going to be a fun call.”
“Rip the Band-Aid.” She smiled sympathetically. “Better to get it over with than have it looming over you.”
I nodded, standing up. “I’ll be right outside. Come get me if we learn anything.”
“I will. I promise.” With her elbows on her legs, still wearing her bloodied uniform, Lucy let her head fall forward in exhaustion, her loose braid falling over her shoulder. She reminded me a lot of the actress Michelle Rodriguez. Beautiful, strong, no nonsense, and could kick your ass in a second.
It was chillier than I anticipated as I stepped outside, so I burrowed farther into my jacket. On an exhale, I pushed the call button, putting the phone to my ear. About now, Nat would be there setting up. But what if her son was still sick? What if…
“Hello?” A deep voice answered.
Shit.
“Hey, Lincoln.” I gulped. “It’s me…” Were we on “me” terms? Would he know my voice? Was I being presumptuous? “Devon… It’s Devon Thorpe.”
“Yeah, I know who you are, Devon.” His voice vibrated with slight humor, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
“Of course you do.” I smacked my head. This was why I probably didn’t have a boyfriend. “Listen, I—”
“Are you quitting on me?” He cut me off, irritation flaring up in his tone. “Because of last night?”
“No.” I shook my head as though he could see me.
“Again, if I crossed any line,” he was curt, bowling over my response, “it was a mistake. It won’t happen again. You have my word.”
Incense hurtled into my blood. Rejection. Hurt. I had wanted him to kiss me. Badly. And he was acting like our non-kiss was the worst crime he’d ever committed.
“You know what, Lincoln?” I snapped, my nose flaring. “Not everything is about you. I have bigger things going on in my life than getting all weirded-out over something that didn’t even happen.”
My outburst silenced him, so I continued. “I called because my uncle was shot last night. He’s in intensive care.”
I heard a muffled swear come from him.
“I took the bus back home early this morning, and I was calling you to let you know I wouldn’t be making it into work today…and probably the rest of the week,” I seethed, fear for my uncle transforming into rage. And for once I didn’t care if it was at my boss or if it would ruffle feathers. I was tired of being agreeable. “Is it all right with you? If you’re looking for an excuse to fire me, then here you go. You finally have it. But for your information, I was not calling to quit.”
“Devon…” I could hear him scrubbing his forehead. “I-I’m sorry. Is he okay?”
As if his voice was a pin popping the rage in the balloon of my chest, my shoulders sagged down. “We don’t know yet.”
“Was he shot on duty?”
“Yes.” My head tilted, my brows gathering. “Wait, how did you know he was a cop?” I had never talked to him about my family, except my mom. And that was just last night.
“Uh…something I must have heard from Nat.”
Nat didn’t talk, hadn’t spilled one other thing about me, but she must have mentioned it. There was no way he’d know otherwise.
“Are you okay? Do you need anything?” His voice grew low. “You should have called me. I would have let you borrow my car.”
“What?” His kindness made me reel. He was the first person who had asked about me. “You would have loaned me your car?”
“Your uncle’s in the hospital, and you had to sit on the bus for what, four-plus hours? If it weren’t breaking my word and crossing lines, I would have driven you myself.”
Through my grief, a smile curled upon my mouth, butterflies crashing around in my stomach. “I would have been okay with that.” The words fell off my tongue, my mind slow to filter my words.
“Fuck,” he whispered hoarsely. “You are so much trouble for me.”
“Me?” I snorted. He was the definition of trouble. I had seen his other ID. I knew he was involved in something shady, but still I couldn’t stop myself from jumping in the ring anyway.
“Yes. You.” He growled, sending my butterflies into a frenzy. “You have no idea how much I need to stay away from you.”
“Are you?”
“What?”
“Going to stay away from me?”
He didn’t answer, but I could hear his deep breaths. Moments ticked by, my heart thumping in my throat.
“Lincoln?”
“How long do you need off?”
“Oh, um—” Jarred by the switch of topic, I tried to gulp back the sadness at his non-answer. “I don’t know.”
“We are going into the busy holiday season, and the bar already has parties packed through the holidays.”
My lids squeezed together. “I understand if you need to hire someone else.”
“We might. Julie can’t handle it when it’s too crazy. You know that.”
I nodded, even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “I understand.”
“I have to go…” He went quiet again before I heard a weighted sigh. “Your job will be waiting for you when you come back.”
The line went dead before I could respond. I gawked down at my cell, feeling once again I’d been through the Lincoln spin cycle.
“Devon?” a voice called out behind me. “The doctors are back.”
I whirled around, forgetting my own drama, and jogged after Lucy to the waiting room.
The fate of Uncle Gavin demolished any worry outside of the here and now. Even Lincoln faded in the face of Uncle Gavin’s life.
Or death.
Beeps from the monitor echoed in the room, mingling with the steady pumping of the machines. IVs and tubes draped over him, attached to his arms and nose. I was jolted back in time to another terribly similar situation. The similarity choked me, strangling me of oxygen.
