Drunk Dial (Hard Core #1) (Hard Core Series) (23 page)

I extended my hand, and he pulled me in for a half-hug. “Thanks, Coop.”

“You can thank me with tickets to your next fight,” he said, grinning.

“Done.”

Ace and Coop shook hands, and we watched him walk toward his truck before my friend said, “You ready to do this?”

It was suddenly clear to me—I didn’t have to waste any more time or energy worrying about the guys who wanted to take Lacy away from me, one way or the other. I had to worry about driving her away with the kind of shit I pulled last night.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

As soon as Coop’s truck pulled out of the lot, we walked up to the door.

“What if he doesn’t answer?” I asked, raising my hand to knock.

Ace grinned, leaning his back against the brick wall between Jordan’s door and his neighbors’. “We kick it in.”

“What if he’s not here?” I asked, scanning the parking lot. No vehicles were parked outside his room, but since he’d just gotten out of the joint, I assumed he couldn’t afford one.

“We wait,” Ace said, shrugging. “He’s got to come back sometime. Right?”

I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to see Lacy. But I couldn’t walk away until I’d faced the son of a bitch who tore her life apart.

I was surprised when the door flew open a few seconds after I knocked.

“Hey, you’re late,” he said, his smile slipping when he realized I wasn’t the company he’d been expecting.

I stuck my foot in the doorway before he could close the door. I pushed him back while Ace slammed and locked the door, in case he was stupid enough to think he could run from us.

“Hey,” Jordan said, looking from me to Ace. “We used to watch your fights on TV in the joint. What do you want with me?”

If he’d watched our fights, he had to know we routinely knocked out guys twice his size for sport.

“You call my girlfriend again”—I stepped toward him—“you’ll wish you were back behind bars, where there are guards to protect you.”

He looked as I thought he would. The remnants of a good-looking guy lingered behind unruly dark hair, yellowing teeth, dull green eyes, and pasty skin. He appeared to be in decent shape. Probably because working out was the only thing that kept him from becoming someone’s bitch on the inside.

“What’re you talking about, man?” he asked, looking nervous as his gaze jumped from me to Ace, who was guarding the door in case Jordan tried to make a run for it.

“Lacy.”

I watched the shift in his demeanor at the mention of her name. He went from nervous to scared shitless in the span of a second. I could practically see his heart thumping beneath his thin cotton shirt.

“You and Lacy?” His Adam’s apple bobbed repeatedly. “Shit. I didn’t know.”

“Yeah, well, now you do.” I stepped closer, forcing his back to the wall. “The phone calls stop.” I slammed my hand against the wall next to his head, making him flinch. “You or one of your buddies park outside her place again, and I’ll blow your tires out, then I’ll beat the shit out of you. All of you.”

“I want in on some of that action,” Ace said, folding his massive arms across his chest. “That’s not goin’ down without me, man.”

I hooked a thumb over my shoulder. “You hear that? My buddy wants a piece of you too.”

Jordan’s eyes were wide as he clenched his hands at his sides, preparing to defend himself. What a fucking joke. If I unleashed on him, he wouldn’t know what hit him.

“You scared, asshole?” I asked, leaning in close enough for him to hear me whisper. “You should be. You should be as scared as Lacy was when you had her holed up in that warehouse like a caged animal, begging for her life. You sick fuck!” I slammed my fist into the wall beside his head, making him jump. “I should break every bone in your motherfucking body for what you did to her.”

“That…” He licked his dry lips before clearing his throat. “That was a long time ago. I’m a different person now.”

“Oh yeah?” Ace asked, scowling at him. “Then why’ve you been hanging around her house, calling her… sending her flowers?”

“I just wanted her to know I’m sorry about everything that happened.”

I didn’t believe him for a second. If he was sorry, he could have apologized in court.

“You’re a lying sack of shit,” I said, grabbing the front of his shirt. “You were trying to scare her. Well, let me tell you this—you think the boys you spent the last seven years with were tough? We’ll make them look like fucking pussies if we have to come back here. Isn’t that right, Ace?” I looked over my shoulder at my buddy.

“We’ll beat you so bad you’ll wish you were dead,” Ace said, his voice lethally quiet. “You’ve seen what we do to our opponents, and those are guys we respect. Just imagine what we’ll do to you.”

Judging by Jordan’s expression, I was surprised he hadn’t pissed his pants by now.

“Have I made myself clear?” I asked.

He nodded vigorously.

I pulled him forward, then slammed him back against the wall hard enough to make his teeth rattle. “This is your one and only warning. You come near the woman I love again—you call her, send her flowers, a text, email, any-fucking-contact whatsoever—and you’ll be the sorriest prick alive. Is that understood?”

“Yeah, man, yeah,” he said, raising his hands in surrender. “I got it. I hear ya. Lacy won’t have to worry about me again, I swear.”

“You violated the terms of your probation,” I said, smirking. “I might just have to call your probation officer.” I still couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to do that, especially knowing Lacy’s brother was a cop.

“I’m not going back to the joint,” he said, his gaze darting wildly around the room. “I’ll kill myself before that happens.”

“Aw, what a shame that would be. One less loser taking up space.” Ace crooked a finger at me. “Let’s get out of here, man. We’ve wasted enough time on this piece of shit.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Lacy

I felt guilty for asking Reese to come to my place instead of making an appointment at her office, but the thought of stepping into another therapist’s office made me break out in a cold sweat. After I’d spilled my guts about what happened with Jordan all those years ago and how I felt that was connected to the fight I’d had with York last night, she stared at me.

“I guess I just needed a professional opinion, Reese,” I said, my hand trembling as I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Am I even ready to be in a relationship? Will I ever be?”

“Lacy, people who’ve been the victim of a violent crime never forget what happened to them. It becomes a part of who they are, whether they want it to be or not.”

I nodded, knowing that that single event had changed the course of my life forever.

“But that doesn’t mean they can’t go on to have happy, fulfilling lives in spite of it.”

Until I met York, I’d been so focused on survival, I hadn’t considered whether I was happy. “I want to be with York, assuming he still wants to be with me.”

Reese smiled. “But?”

“I’m worried that stuff like this will keep happening. That he’ll say or do something to trigger me, and I’ll go off on him for no reason.”

“Based on what you told me, you didn’t exactly go off on him for no reason. I think your anger was justified, given he was trying to pry into a part of your life that really was none of his concern since it happened before you two met.”

“I just want to be normal.” The words sounded weak, almost foreign on my tongue.

Reese chuckled, shaking her head. “Since I’m here as your friend, not your therapist, I can tell you this—normalcy is an illusion. No one is ‘normal,’” she said, air-quoting the word. “Besides, who would want to be normal? That’s boring.”

I appreciated her attempt to make me feel better, but a boring life sounded pretty damn good to me. “I’m just sick of all the drama. I’m tired of looking over my shoulder, being suspicious of everyone, unable to let my guard down or let anyone in.”

“I agree there comes a time when you have to take a chance and trust someone. Even if it’s scary.”

“I thought I trusted York.” I bit my lip, considering what I just said. “I do. I do trust York, but I’m afraid I may have too much baggage to make him happy.”

“It’s not your job to make him happy. It’s your job to make yourself happy.”

“What do you mean?” I always assumed people in relationships tried to make their partners happy. That was the foundation of a good relationship, wasn’t it?

“Does seeing York happy make you happy?”

I loved seeing him smile and hearing his laugh. I loved to watch him work out with his trainer, knowing he was in the zone. I couldn’t wait to be in the front row at his next fight, watching him do what he loved most… assuming I got the chance. “Sure.”

“Don’t you think he feels the same way, that all he wants is to see you happy?”

“I guess so.”
I know so.

“So just focus on making Lacy happy,” Reese said, reaching for my hands. “And let York focus on making himself happy. Two people who are content and enjoying their lives usually make for a pretty compatible couple when they’re focused on getting their own needs met and not relying on their partner to meet all of their needs.”

Everything she said made sense. If I didn’t have to rely on York to be my everything, a committed relationship didn’t seem as scary.

“The most important thing,” Reese said, “is that you go on being the strong, independent woman you were even before you met him.”

“I don’t feel very strong sometimes,” I admitted, lowering my head.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” Reese whispered. “Neither do I. It’s part of being human, I think.”

Hearing someone like Reese, who seemed so self-assured, tell me I wasn’t a complete mess made me feel so much better about the odds of my relationship with York going the distance.

“So you really think York and I can work this out?” I reached for the now-tepid coffee I’d made when Reese arrived.

“If you love each other,” she said hesitantly. “If you allow him to be there for you, to support you. If you’re willing to be honest with him when you’re scared and vulnerable, or when something happens to trigger a bad memory.” She reached for her own coffee. “I guess I’m asking whether you’re willing to let this man be your best friend, Lace. Your rock.”

Was I willing to let someone get that close to me? Closer than Jordan had ever been, even before he hurt me? The alternative was to go on living alone, afraid to get hurt again. I didn’t want that, not when I could be with York instead. “I think I’m ready for that.”

Reese took a sip of her coffee before standing. “Then my work here is done.” She pulled me into a long hug when I stood to walk her to the door. “Just remember that I’ll always be here for you, as a friend, whenever you need to talk.”

“Thank you so much,” I whispered, squeezing her hard. “You have no idea how much you’ve helped me.”

When I opened the door, I was shocked to find York standing on the other side.

“Hey,” he said quietly, as though he was uncertain what my reaction would be.

“Hi, York.” I gestured to Reese. “This is my friend Reese.”

“I’ve heard a lot of great things about you,” York said, extending his hand with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“You as well,” she said, clasping his hand between both of hers. “Well, I know you two have a lot to talk about, so I’ll be on my way. Call me later, Lace?”

“Of course.”

We waited for Reese to step onto the elevator before I invited York inside.

“I hope you don’t mind that I stopped by without calling first?”

I wanted him to kiss me, hug me, something to let me know he still cared. After last night, I had no idea what he was thinking or feeling. For all I knew, he could be here because he was man enough to tell me face to face that we were over.

“No, it’s no problem.” I gestured to the cups on the table. “I just made a fresh pot of coffee for me and Reese. Would you like a cup?”

“No, thanks.”

I hated that we were acting like polite strangers instead of two people in love. Even though we hadn’t said the words, I knew I loved York. I prayed he felt the same way about me. “Do you want to sit down?”

“Sure.”

He walked toward the small sofa and took a seat near the middle, forcing me to sit right next to him. I supposed that was a good sign.

“I’m sorry about last night,” I said, feeling awkward even mentioning it. There was no way he’d be able to forget it, but I wished I could.

“I’m sorry,” he said, reaching for my hand. “It’s none of my business who you slept with before you met me.”

“It was a rough night for me,” I admitted, running my thumb over the faded scars on his knuckles. “And a rough day today. But thanks to Reese, I have a better understanding of what happened and what I can do about it.”

“I want to hear all about it,” he said, his eyes zeroing in on my mouth when I licked my lips. “But first I should tell you about my run-in with your ex.”

“What?” I immediately thought of Brent before realizing that wasn’t the ex he was talking about. “Jordan?” I could barely say his name without feeling nauseated. “How? Where? When?”

“Coop told me where I could find him.” He smirked. “But he made me promise I wouldn’t beat him senseless. Believe me, it took a hell of a lot of restraint not to do just that.”

“What happened?” I couldn’t even imagine Jordan going up against York. He would cower in fear of a real man. He liked bullying little people, namely women.

“Let’s just say I’m confident he won’t be bothering you again.”

I released the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, then I hugged him. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that, but thank you.” My brothers could have just as easily intimidated Jordan, but I suspected hearing those words from a heavyweight champion would have a more lasting impact.

“I did have to do that.” He pulled back and tucked my hair behind my ears before his thumb brushed my cheek while his other hand curled around my jaw. “The days of that bastard terrorizing you are done, Lace. As long as there’s breath in my body, I promise he’ll never hurt you again. No one will hurt you, not if I can help it.”