Drunk Dial (Hard Core #1) (Hard Core Series) (13 page)

“It’s okay,” I said, touching his arm. “Go grab a shower while I clean up here. If you could just drop me at home before you go and see your dad, that would be great.”

“Why don’t you bring her along?” Wes suggested. “You know Dad would love to meet her. After that last gold digger you hooked up with, he’s started questioning your judgment.”

I was sure York could read the panic on my face when I said, “Um, I don’t think we’re there yet, Wes. Meeting each other’s parents is a pretty big deal, and your brother and I haven’t known each other all that long.”

“Oh yeah, sure,” Wes said, shooting a look at York. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep.”

“What else is new?” York asked as he stood, tossing his napkin on the table. “I’ll be back in a bit, Lace. If this guy gives you a hard time, feel free to throw him out. It won’t hurt my feelings in the least.”

But I was worried I had hurt York’s feelings by refusing to meet his father. I knew that family was important to him and his dad had clearly been a better parent than my mom had ever been, but I wasn’t ready to take on the role of his girlfriend just yet.

When we heard York close the door to his bedroom, Wes leaned back in his chair, studying me. “I know this is none of my business, but are you really into him, or are you just having fun?”

I didn’t think having fun would be possible in my current state of mind, but being with York did make me forget about my troubles for a while. “Things are complicated, Wes.” I understood his concern for his brother, especially after York’s last relationship, but I wasn’t going to bare my soul to a stranger. “Just know that I like your brother a lot.”

“Way to evade the question.” He crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. “You’re beautiful, smart, tough, and from what I can tell, cynical. You’ve been burned before?”

I didn’t want to talk about Jordan, but I wasn’t willing to shut Wes down either. If I was going to continue seeing York, I wanted to be on friendly terms with his brother. “My last boyfriend cheated on me, so I know what York is going through. It isn’t easy to put yourself out there again after you’ve been hurt.”

“No, it isn’t.” He sighed, shaking his head. “He’s a really good guy, Lacy. He’d give the shirt off his back to a friend in need, and I know he may come across as this badass who doesn’t give a shit about anything or anyone, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“I can see that he’s a good guy,” I said, thinking about how good he’d been to me in the short time we’d known each other. “And you don’t have to worry, I have no intention of hurting him.” If I can help it.

“Did he tell you about what happened to our mom?”

I nodded, offering him a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for you, growing up without her.”

“The old man really stepped up,” Wes said, rubbing his jaw. “I don’t know what the hell we would have done without him.” He smiled. “York always promised Dad that if he ever made it big, he’d take care of him. And he made good on that promise. Before I started making real money, York started cashing in on his fights. He trained like a beast, and the whole time, he had his eye on the prize.”

“The championship,” I said, imagining how hard it must have been for him to achieve that goal.

“No, that was never his goal.” Wes chuckled. “You’d think so, but it wasn’t. The only thing that mattered to him was being able to do right by Dad. He was finally able to buy him a house and a car, which allowed Dad to retire. I’ve never seen my brother happier than when he handed Dad those keys.”

Damn, if I hadn’t already been falling for him, that story would have convinced me. “That’s so nice.”

“He’d never tell you that himself. He doesn’t like to take credit for any of his good deeds. I just thought you should know the kind of man you’ve got a chance with.”

“I’m not going to take him for granted or use him, if that’s what you’re worried about.” I felt Wes’s love and concern, but I wasn’t offended by his subtle warning. I would have felt the same way if I saw one of my brothers falling hard for a woman and I couldn’t figure out her intentions.

“I’m just not sure that I’ve seen him as hung up on a woman as he is on you.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “That means you could be the best or worst thing that ever happened to him, depending on how this plays out.”

“And that scares you?”

“Hell, yeah. I don’t want to see him get hurt. After what went down with Michelle, he swore off women for a while.”

I wondered about the woman he’d been with the night he drunk dialed me. “Except for hook-ups?”

“Well, yeah,” Wes said, smirking. “He is a guy.”

I nodded, understanding perfectly. I’d grown up with two guys just like York, who’d had no problem separating love and sex.

“What kind of bullshit has he been feeding you?” York asked, curling his arms around me from behind.

I jumped, laughing self-consciously when I realized he’d probably overheard part of our conversation. “Hey, I didn’t hear you come in.”

When he kissed my neck, I closed my eyes, inhaling the spicy scent of the same body wash I’d lathered myself with in the shower.

“Sorry,” I said, standing. “I promised to clean up, but Wes and I got to talking.”

“No problem,” York said, stacking the plates. “I can take care of that.”

In spite of his protests, Wes and I both helped with the clean-up, and we were all out the door twenty minutes later. On the short drive to my apartment, we talked about music, alternating between different radio stations until we all found songs we liked. We were laughing as we pulled into my parking lot, but my amusement died when I spotted a black car with tinted windows parked at the curb in front of my building.

Obviously York noticed it too because he jumped out of the truck, telling his brother he was going to walk me upstairs.

“You think it’s him?” York asked, leaning in close to me as he gripped my hand while we both tried to get a look at the person or people in the running car.

“I don’t know,” I said, my heart hammering. I knew so little about Jordan’s life now. I didn’t know if he had friends on the outside or whether he’d kept in touch with any of the people we used to know when we were a couple. I practically sprinted to the door. “I just want to get upstairs and make sure Rachel’s okay. I didn’t see Ace’s truck in the parking lot. Did you?”

“No,” he said, shooting a look over his shoulder. “But maybe they’re out together.”

I hoped so. I didn’t want to think of my friend being alone and caught off guard if some stranger came to the door looking for me. My hands were shaking as I tried to fit my key in the lock.

York took them from me, whispering, “Relax, babe,” as he unlocked the door and ushered me inside.

“Hey, you two,” Rachel said, smiling at us from her post on the couch where she was painting her toenails. “What’s up? Did you have fun last night?”

“Uh, yeah.” York kissed my cheek when I sagged against him with relief. “It was great. You want me to stick around for a bit, Lace? I can text Wes and tell him to come up.”

“No.” I patted his solid chest as I came down from the adrenaline high that had propelled me up three flights of stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. “I’m okay now. I need to talk to Rachel, and you need to see your father.”

“You said you’re working at the studio this afternoon?” he asked, looking as though he’d rather stay than leave as he reached behind him to grip the doorknob. “Then at the club later?”

“Yeah, I have classes at one, three, and five. Then I’ll be heading to the club ‘til close.”

“I’ll pick you up at closing time.”

“You don’t have to do that. You need your sleep.”

“Making sure you’re safe is more important to me than sleep,” he said, lowering his voice when Rachel shot us a curious look. “Don’t argue with me about this. I won’t sleep until I know you’re home safe and sound. Unless Ace plans to stay with Rachel again. Then you can come back to my place.”

“No.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend another night in his arms. I did. More than anything. But I couldn’t afford to get too comfortable in his posh home. If I did, I’d feel like Cinderella at the stroke of midnight when we eventually broke up and I had to return to my own modest digs. “I have an early class in the morning.”

He frowned. “You’re closing at the club and opening at the studio? What the hell? So you’re only going to get a few hours’ sleep?”

I rolled forward on my toes and kissed him. “You’re sweet to worry, but I’m just filling in for a friend tomorrow. Don’t worry. I’ll come home and take a nap before I have to go back to the club. I promise.”

He sighed, looking as though he wanted to argue, but eventually he pulled me into a fierce hug instead. “Just be careful, okay? And text me when you get to the club and the studio. Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Okay, see you later, Rachel.” He waved at her before he gave me one last kiss, and I closed the door behind him.

“Wow, looks like things are getting serious between you two,” Rachel said, wiggling her eyebrows.

“I could say the same about you and Ace,” I said, trying to deflect as I sank down next to her on the couch. “I hear he stayed here again last night.”

“He did,” she said, grinning. “I’m really into him. I’m just worried about scaring him off the way I did Ash, ya know?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” I said, making a mental note to talk to York about his friend so I could figure out whether he and Rachel were on the same page in their relationship. “I love my brother and all, but Ace seems a lot more mature when it comes to the whole male-female thing.”

“Oh, speaking of guys,” Rachel said, reaching for a slip of paper on the end table. “One called for you earlier. He didn’t want to leave his name or number, but I took down the number on the call display, just in case you recognized it.”

I looked at the local number, wondering if that meant Jordan was living in my zip code. “What did he say?” I asked, trying not to panic.

“He just wanted to know if you were here. When I said you weren’t, he wanted to know when you’d be back. I said I had no clue but could give you a message for him. He said he’d call back later.”

I didn’t give my number out to random guys, and those who called me always called on my cell, not my landline. But since our number was published and in my name, it would be easy enough to find. That, and my address. Damn it. I should have thought of that sooner, but when we moved in here, Jordan was still in jail and I had no reason to live in fear. What a difference a couple of years made.

I thought of the car I’d spotted downstairs and realized I couldn’t put off telling Rachel about Jordan any longer. She had a right to know that living with me may be putting her in danger. I would hate to lose her as a roommate, but I wouldn’t blame her if she decided to bail on me.

“So, um, if you have some time, I need to talk to you about something.”

She re-capped her nail polish and set it down. “This sounds serious. Is everything okay?”

“Not really,” I admitted, hugging one of Rachel’s favorite floral pillows.

“It’s not about York, is it?” she asked, glancing at the door I’d locked. “You guys seemed so tight when he dropped you off.”

“It’s not about York,” I said, trying to find the words that had come so easily last night when I was telling York my story. “It’s about my past. There’s a lot I haven’t told you.”

“Okay,” she said, turning to face me. “What is it?”

“You know I’ve never really been into relationships,” I said, tracing a pattern on the faux suede couch. “I mean, I’ve had plenty of hook-ups and I’ve dated a few guys for a while, but I’ve never really been interested in getting serious with anyone.”

“Yeah, I’ve wondered about that,” she said, tucking her legs under her. “Did someone really do a number on you, or what?”

“Something like that,” I admitted, knowing what I was about to tell her would shock and terrify her. “I was married before.” I ignored her gasp of surprise, determined to continue before I lost my nerve. “Right out of high school.”

“Wow, I had no idea,” Rachel said, laying her hand on my knee. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s not something I’m proud of,” I said, thinking how much shame I still felt regarding the first and only man I’d ever given my heart to. “He was a bad guy. A really bad guy.”

“Did he hurt you?” she whispered, her wide eyes fixed on mine.

“He tried to.” I swallowed my fear and met her gaze. “He tried to kill me, Rach.”

She clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my God! What happened? Where is he now? Rotting in jail, I hope.”

I was still emotionally exhausted from telling York the whole story and didn’t think I could do it again, so I simply said, “It’s a long story. Bottom line, he’s out of jail now. And I have reason to believe he might come after me again.”

She glanced at the cordless phone on the coffee table. “Do you think he’s who called you earlier?”

“It might have been. There was also a car I didn’t recognize parked outside of our building when I came in. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but the windows were tinted and—” The air rushed out of my lungs when she threw herself at me, hugging me tight.

“It’s going to be okay,” she whispered. “You have people who love you and would do anything to protect you, Lace. We’re not going to let him hurt you again. Ever.”

I’d never had a friend like Rachel, one who put my safety above her own. Who thought of me before she thought of herself and the danger this put her in. “Ash offered to let us stay with him for a while, if you want to? I know it might be awkward, given your history with him. But it’s a secure building and…” I tried to read her expression as she contemplated my proposal.

“I don’t think so,” she said, shaking her head. “How would I explain that to Ace?”

She was right. Her current boyfriend probably wouldn’t appreciate being told she was shacking up with her ex, even if there was a legitimate reason. “Then maybe you should think about staying with Ace for a little while?”

“No, it’s too soon for that. Besides, I’m not leaving you all alone here. You’d be a sitting duck if that prick came looking for you.”