Page 12 of Bourbon Deceit
“And she listened to you?”
Kace sat back in his chair and smiled over the rim of his glass as he took a gulp of my expensive- as-hell bourbon. Irritable fuck. I hated that Goldie and Kace had some kind of connection, hated it with every damn bone in my hollow body. It didn’t slip past me that they shared something, that there was an underlying attraction they had for each other, it was easy to see. What kept me sane was that the minute I walked in the room, all of Goldie’s attention was drawn to me. I was the one she truly wanted, Kace was just a little sideshow for her—I was the God damn main event.
Changing the subject, I asked, “When are you going to stop letting people beat the ever-living piss out of you? You look like hell.”
Kace didn’t answer me, he just looked down at his hands.
“How does it even help the situation?”
Kace blew out a long breath and said, “You know when you first started the Lafayette Club and opened the Bourbon Room? You brought girls up there to forget, to forget and control the pain that coursed through you after Natasha’s rejection?”
I winced from the memory but nodded.
“It’s completely fucked up on so many levels but this day—” he looked me dead in the eyes and said, “—this day was the worst day of my life. Not only did I ruin my shot at a normal future, I destroyed a little girl’s, a family’s. I killed a man, Jett.” I nodded as I watched the pain pour out of Kace. “Getting my shit beat up for a couple of hours relieves the pain I feel every damn day of my life. Feeling someone’s fist connect with my face blacks out the emotions rolling through me, the thoughts that haunt me every day. What if I didn’t get drunk that night? What if I didn’t let him provoke me? There are so many questions running through my head that paying some meat heads to take me to a back alley and fight me is the only way I can survive this day. It’s the only way I can manage the pain.”
Kace was all kinds of fucked up, and I truly felt bad for my friend. We dicked around with each other most of the time but we had a general understanding of each other and what we’ve gone through in our lives. We had demons that we were trying to fight every day, but Kace was facing an army of them, and it was rare when he talked about them so when he did, I made sure to be there for him.
Watching him sit in front of me with his head hung in shame and his leg jittering up and down had my stomach twisting in knots. I couldn’t imagine the pain and torment he went through on a daily basis, so even though it didn’t make much sense to get the crap beat out of him, I kind of got it. It was a little escape from the reality he had to face every day.
Not wanting to get too deep with him because he would just close off, I said, “You know where to find me and the bourbon.”
Nodding his head, Kace tipped his glass as a salute to me then took another sip. Silence fell between us as we soaked in the moment, just being in each other’s company.
Breaking the silence, Kace said, “Seriously, what number is Jeremy looking up?”
Sighing because I knew Kace wasn’t going to drop the topic, I said, “Keylee Zinc’s. I need an escort for some events I have to attend in order to get in with the Lot 17 project.”
“Keylee? The tiny tart with tits?”
A small smile spread across my face from Kace’s mention of Keylee’s old nickname from school. She was small like Lo but had olive skin and raven black hair which hit her at her waist. Her eyes were a deep gray color, and she had a rack that had the guys in high school dragging their tongues around on the ground. She still did have a great rack, but now that she was all grown up, she’s tightened her body up, graced her neck with a set of pearls, and opted for a classy display of cleavage. She had just enough class to get along with the wives of the men I had to impress, and just enough sexiness that the husbands would appreciate the arm candy I brought along.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Why aren’t you bringing one of the girls, like Lo?”
My attention snapped up to Kace as I tried to read his face. Was he serious?
“You know I can’t bring one of the girls; everyone would know they’re a Jett Girl. I won’t put them in that position.”
“Everyone is going to assume Keylee is one,” Kace suggested. I shrugged my shoulders, not caring. Keylee’s welfare was none of my concern. Yes, she was attractive, and we grew up together, but if it came down to her or one of my girls, I would rather sacrifice her reputation over my girls’.
“Jett, you’re going to fuck it up.”
“Fuck what up?” I asked, trying to tamp down the anger that was starting to boil. I didn’t take well to people questioning me, ever.
“Everything with Lo. If she finds out you’re out with some other woman, she is going to freak out.”
The thought crossed my mind, but she wouldn’t find out, at least I hoped she wouldn’t. It wasn’t like Goldie gallivanted around with the same people I did. Her friends were locals on Bourbon Street and mine were on St. Charles, they were vastly different.
“She won’t and it doesn’t matter.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Kace called me out. “Lo would be perfect, she would give you the extra help that you would need.”
“She has no class,” I practically seethed, hating myself for admitting the thought that was hounding me in the back of my mind.
Kace sat back in his chair and eyed me with distaste. Taking the last sip of his bourbon, he set the glass down on my desk and said, “The only one who has no class is you. That girl has done everything you’ve asked. Why not give her a shot, rather than instantly putting her down? She might surprise you.”
“Not going to happen,” I muttered as Kace walked away. When he opened my door to leave, he almost ran right into Goldie who stood there, her stance defeated, her head hung low.
