The Millionaire's Deception, page 10
“But it’s not enough, according to headquarters. I’m sorry.”
“I can give you a check today if you’d like.”
“Unless it’s for the full fifteen hundred you owe us, I’m not authorized to release the goods to you.” To his credit, he hung his head and couldn’t look her in the eye.
“You know I can’t do that.” Her voice was barely audible. “There has to be another way.”
This was the chance Rafe had been waiting for. If she didn’t have food, there was no way for her to keep her restaurant open. But he didn’t want it to happen that way. It had to be on her terms. A conscious choice to surrender her business. He couldn’t let Probst win by cheating.
Without even thinking about it, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cash. In the end, this wasn’t even a decision. “This should cover it, along with the order we’re picking up.”
Two seconds later, the guy scuttled into the back, barking out orders before he’d made it through the door.
She grabbed his forearm and shook her head. “I can’t let you do that, Rafe.”
“Think of it as a loan.” One no doubt he had no chance of ever getting back. But somehow that didn’t matter right now. He brought his arm up across her shoulder. “Besides, a man’s gotta eat and I’d starve to death if subjected to my own cooking.”
Chapter Twelve
Rafe had no doubt that Probst was behind the fiasco at the food distributor. Assholes. When they couldn’t get their way, they played dirty. He’d told them he’d deliver, and he would. But it wouldn’t be done through dirty tricks or sleight of hand—except for the whole lying to her thing.
He sat on the dilapidated yellow school bus determined to turn the situation around, even if they were headed to another protest gone lame with the ever-present pain-in-the-ass cop Cole no doubt popping in to boost the testosterone fight.
“This isn’t about the loan I gave you, so don’t take this the wrong way, Frankie, but I’m concerned you keep throwing good money into a bad situation. I know you love Crossroads, but the offer from Probst is fair. Still, maybe I could get you more or maybe you could have some say in the direction they’d take the place. With more money it would give you a chance to make a fresh start somewhere else, maybe even New York.”
He could have picked any city, so why did he mention New York? What would he do if she moved there? Probably run for the hills. Either that or he’d lose his fascination with her. Getting emotionally attached was not what he did. Ever. Why would he ever think she’d be any different?
She glanced sideways at him and blew out a breath. “Let’s get real, that kind of money wouldn’t buy me a parking space in New York. Besides, I can’t see me as the big-city-girl type. I’m sure New York is a nice place to visit, but I think I’d be homesick after a week or two. Remember what I told you about my experience in Italy.”
“But you were a college kid then. Now you’re a grown woman. Things will be different.” A trail of guilt slid along his back as he grasped her hand in his.
Her shoulders slumped. “But I missed things, like the way the wheat smells when it’s ready to be harvested, the corn that grows knee-high by the Fourth of July, the beautiful nights with stars in the sky and nothing but the sound of crickets in the background, making love in the back of a pickup truck. I don’t imagine you hear too many crickets in New York.”
“Wait a minute. Did you say something about having sex in the back of a pickup truck?”
“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. A couple of sleeping bags under the stars, it can be quite amazing.” She laughed. “But dousing in mosquito spray is kind of a buzzkill, so I’d try to avoid that if possible.”
Rafe ground his molars. “I’ll try to remember that if the opportunity comes up.” He needed to put on the hard sell and get this deal done. “Maybe you could come to New York with me. No crickets, and probably no pickups, but I think I could show you a good time.” Maybe he was playing this all wrong. He needed to get her away from the hypnotic lure of this place and bring her to see the real world. Entice her with possibilities.
“A visit might be nice if I can get away, but I have roots here. I love the people, as annoying as they can be at times. They’re my family. They get me. I get them. Besides, without me they’d be lost.”
The impact of her words hit him squarely in the chest. She had family here. Even though he had a twin, they had been estranged for so long he couldn’t imagine he’d ever be able to have a real relationship with him.
She stifled a giggle, bringing him out of his funk. “I think I’d miss the book club ladies most of all. While sometimes I want to tear my hair out when I hear them talk, they’re like family. Since my parents died and my uncle passed away about ten years ago, I have no one else that I consider family.”
Rafe didn’t know what to say. He understood her resistance, although he thought it might be like going down with the ship. Still, he couldn’t help but make one final attempt. “I’m serious about going to New York with me. We’ll see the sights. Maybe take in a play or two. What do you think?” Rafe figured he might have lost his damn mind; maybe it was worth a shot as a last-ditch effort to get her to sell. Or maybe it was something else…
She chewed her lip in that sexy way that had him thinking about things that sprang certain parts of his body to attention. “Maybe I can get Carl to take over for me for a couple of days. But I’m not riding all that way on your motorcycle. We can take my car.”
“Better yet, we can fly.”
She rubbed her hands up and down his arm. “I was thinking that maybe after we get back, to my place, we might be able to finish what we started the other night.”
He kissed her. “It’s a date.”
“Besides, I sneaked a peek at your fine backside while we were at the swimming hole and don’t mind admitting I was more than a little intrigued.”
“Oh yeah? There’s more where that came from.”
…
Whew.
Frankie didn’t know if she should be nervous or puke. Now knowing they were definitely, positively, absolutely going to have sex in a few short hours, her body started to hum in anticipation.
When they stopped the bus, Rafe stripped off his T-shirt to put on the one they brought for the occasion. Besides the fact that Frankie would never get tired of looking at those yummy abs, she had to give him a big thumbs-up for being a team player. The T-shirt this week was in screaming red and said, Probst are sissies for picking on old people.
Although whatever between them hadn’t gone beyond the PG rating—well, except for that night in the kitchen and a hot steamy session tonight—she had to believe he’d become more comfortable around Wilcox. He hadn’t mentioned his bike in several days. It sat in the garage in back, right next to her yellow VW Bug. Waxing nostalgic, she couldn’t help but think their respective vehicles looked cute together. On more positive days the contrast of the two reminded her of them: him sleek and sexy and her old-fashioned and frumpy but trustworthy.
Sigh…
Frankie tried not to read too much into what he’d said, but it was hard not to. After his conversation on the way here she had to wonder if he thought there was something in this relationship thing, or whatever it was between them. Would he offer to show her New York if he wasn’t at least considering the possibility? She blew out a breath as they walked together off the bus.
In contrast to the last time they’d been there, the place was busy with people. With the weather balmy, people seemed to like nothing better than to visit casinos and strip joints.
“I thought of an idea on the way here.” Bette cornered Rafe and her as she as she ambled off the bus. “I think we should do one of those sit-in things like they did in the sixties. With a little luck, we’ll get ourselves arrested and get more publicity for our cause. We need to step this protest up a notch or two.”
Before either one of them could stop the group, all fifteen had linked arms and plopped themselves across the entrance to the casino. Then they started chanting, “Probst sucks.”
Rafe glanced at her. “What do we do?”
She winced. “I’m not sure. I don’t see them moving any time soon. Once old people have their minds made up—”
“Oh hell, here comes the bouncer from the club. He looks like he’s not playing games.” Before she could protest, the man charged toward the crowd.
“What are you old people doing here?” To illustrate his point, the bouncer nudged Clyde with his foot, causing a domino effect with the not-so-agile seniors.
Frankie rushed over to intervene, with Rafe right on her heels. She had a feeling this whole thing was going to go bad, and her lucky skirt didn’t have a prayer of stopping the trajectory of this mess.
“Don’t go there, dickweed,” Rafe shouted.
She tried to jump between them and stop the crazy before it spiraled completely out of control. But before she could say anything, the bouncer held out his arm and pushed her. She stumbled backward down the last few steps and landed on her butt on the sidewalk.
That’s about the time all hell broke loose.
Rafe went a little crazy and started pounding on the bouncer, who had to outweigh him by at least fifty pounds. Despite that, he was winning, at least until a second then a third bouncer joined in, which only caused the old men to join the ruckus. Clyde began hitting one of the men across the back with his cane; Joe joined in pummeling with fists that didn’t seem to faze any of the bouncers. Frankie jumped on one of the bouncer’s backs to try to keep him from hitting Rafe, who growled something at her about getting away. But it was too late. She wasn’t going to allow the guy to beat the crap out of Rafe if she could help it.
“Hey, break it up there.” Cole pushed his way through the melee, moving the crowd apart with his billy club. Another officer joined him, corralling the lot of them. Before she knew it, they were all handcuffed and walking toward the station.
She’d lost track of Rafe in the process, but finally spotted him up ahead. He appeared to be trading obscenities with the bouncer. She gave kudos for his tenacity, but had to believe he was also a little crazy for throwing gasoline on the fire.
Bette looked pathetic shuffling in handcuffs down the street. “That boy loves you.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Handsome.” She poked Frankie with her elbow. “Rafe, of course.”
She shook her head. It was a giant leap from defending her to loving her. “He was worried that I’d been hurt and kind of overreacted to the situation. Do you think he’s all right? I saw a cut above his eye.” She chewed her lip. “I think he might need stitches.”
“They’re putting him in the clink. In fact, I think they’re putting us all in the clink.” Louise did a half a clap considering her hands were tethered in front of her. “We had such a good time last time we were in there.”
“But do you think Rafe’s okay?” Frankie scanned the crowd as they entered the police station. If she could see his face, she’d feel so much better. Her heart seemed to squeeze inside her chest.
“Rafe?” she called.
When he turned, blood was trickling down the side of face, and the makings of a black eye had already started to show. “I’m good,” he shouted before Cole ushered him into the holding cell.
Cole undid all their zip ties and put the women in their holding cells. His jaw was set in a firm line as he scowled.
She ignored Cole as worries about Rafe took precedent. He could have a concussion. A brain bleed. Myriad scenarios from every hospital show she’d ever seen flashed through her brain. “I think you should have Rafe checked out by a doctor. He might need stitches. Or have a concussion. Or—”
“He’s refusing medical services.”
“You need to make him go. He could be bleeding internally as we speak.” She worried her lip as her heart beat like a bass drum. “That big guy kicked him really hard. And so did the other one.”
“It seems like he gave more than he got.” Cole sighed. “Besides, unless I miss my guess, I don’t think Rafe’s a stranger to a street fight. He’ll let us know if he’s feeling like he needs a doctor.”
“But he might not know he needs a doctor.” Her voice went shrill but she couldn’t seem to prevent it as the worry quadrupled.
“Damn.” Cole shook his head. “You like him, don’t you?”
“I…” she sputtered. Denial was impossible as reality came thundering through her like a runaway freight train. This felt so different from Dustin or any other man she’d been involved with. It was real. Genuine. And oh so scary.
“He’d better do good by you.”
“Cole… I…” Words clogged her throat as she wrestled with the truth. “What happens next?” She bit her lip and willed everything away, but that didn’t work.
“Right now the casino is threatening to press charges. If they do that, Rafe might be in trouble. Looks like he broke one of the guy’s arms.”
…
Adrenaline popped through Rafe as he struggled to contain the anger. Normally, he was slow to combust, but that guy pushed Frankie to the ground. Everything in him still wanted to pound the guy senseless.
He paced the small cell as he tried to make sense of what happened. Never being a possessive kind of guy, he was shocked by what happened, which spurred unwanted memories of his father.
His father had constantly gotten thrown in jail for drunkenness and fighting. The idea that he’d followed in the old man’s footsteps caused a hitch around his throat. He knew it would come to this. The demons he’d tried to outrun were knocking at his door. But he wasn’t drunk, and the guy had manhandled Frankie. He couldn’t let that go. He hadn’t held his temper in check; he’d started the altercation. Somehow he had to make this right.
“Cole, what will it cost to get the others out?” Rafe leaned his forehead against the bars as remorse and second-guessing filled his thoughts.
“A couple hundred bucks. But depending on if you’re charged, you’ll be here a little longer.” Cole handed him a bag filled with ice. “You’re going to need this for that eye of yours.”
“Frankie and those old people can’t stay here. Pay their fines with the money I have in my wallet.” The only good thing Probst had done in this endeavor was to give him a $10,000 cash advance for expenses. Little did the man know how Rafe had been using that money.
“Will do.” Cole hesitated. “And we got a call from the casino. Somebody wants to talk to you.”
Oh hell. Probst had gotten wind of what happened in record time. He couldn’t help but wonder what the conversation might entail. Either way, he wasn’t going to like it.
“I’ll get the others out, and then I’ll call back the guy from the casino.” Cole gave him the once-over. “I’m a little curious why the casino dudes know your name.”
“I have no idea.” It was all he could offer by way of explanation. If the expression on Cole’s face was any indication, he wasn’t buying it, anyway.
Now he had to figure a way to spin this shitstorm of trouble to Probst. If anybody could do it, he could.
But did he want to? Was he willing to grovel to achieve his goal if it went against Frankie? That was the rub. Not more than two weeks ago, he would have said yes. Now he wasn’t so sure about anything. He kept trying to think of a way to make everyone happy, when in the past that hadn’t been a passing thought.
Before he had a chance to think, Cole came back and handed him the phone. “This is Rafe.”
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” The unmistakable voice of Robert Probst roared on the other end of the line. “You broke one of my bouncer’s arms and damn near shattered another one’s eardrum.”
“They crossed a line and pushed a woman. I wasn’t going to sit around and put up with it.”
“A woman or Frankie?”
He clenched and unclenched his swollen fists. “Last time I checked Frankie Ritacco was a woman.” Rafe blew out a breath and tried to not think too hard. He needed what Probst was offering for his future. But that meant Frankie lost what she wanted.
“The woman you’re supposed to be convincing to sell, you end up on a damn sit-in with. Talk about sleeping with the enemy. You’re not doing that, too, are you?” His chuckle made the hair on Rafe’s arms stand at attention. “Although I wouldn’t be against it if that’s what you had to do. She’s quite a good-looking woman, so it isn’t as if I’d blame you.”
He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of responding. “One of the meatheads you hired pushed her so hard she flew down the steps and across the sidewalk, landed on her ass, and hit her head. Didn’t matter if I knew her or not, that’s bullshit.”
“Keep your eye on the prize, Rafe.”
Like he had to be reminded of the power and potential of this deal. More money meant more security. It meant he wasn’t, nor would he ever be, his dad. “Did you make a call to her food distributor to keep them from extending her credit?” His already sore jaw hurt more when he clenched his teeth.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The man could lie with the best of them and, unless Rafe was way off base, he was now as well.
“Yep, that’s what I thought.” The scum-sucking weasel. But could he consider himself any better? “It’s going to backfire on you.”
“I’ve got a lot of money invested in this. You need to come through for me like you always do.” He left off the “or else” but it was hinted at in his tone. “You get her to sign within a week and I’ll get the bouncer to drop the charges, which could escalate to assault, which means jail. Do you really want to go there? The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, does it?”
Rafe closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. It didn’t help. “What the holy fuck does that mean?”
“Come on, like I didn’t do an extensive background check on you. I know all about your father, his temper problems, and his stints in jail.”
Rafe couldn’t get his mouth to work, and it had nothing to do with the cut on his lip. What would he do? What should he do? Normally they weren’t mutually exclusive concepts. He’d always rolled with who he was. But lately, he’d been plagued by woulda-shoulda-coulda thoughts.
