Page 16 of Bourbon Deceit
“What do you want, Jett?” Kace said without turning around.
“I brought bourbon.”
Kace just nodded as I brought up a chair next to him and handed him a glass. I poured us both a generous amount as we sat in silence, not really saying anything to each other, drinking away our problems. This was a tradition we did on this day, this day that changed Kace’s life forever. We didn’t talk about it, we didn’t share, all we did was sit and stare into oblivion. We didn’t need to talk, we knew what happened, we knew what we did to cover it up, and we knew the effects it had on the innocent people involved. Instead of rehashing everything, we just sat and drank.
We sat for what seemed like hours until Kace broke the silence and asked, “Everything settled with Lo?”
He held out his cup for a refill and I obliged while I responded, “Everything is fine. I was a protective ass that just ended up hurting her.”
Kace took a sip from his glass. “If she didn’t hear you, would you have changed your mind?”
I thought about his question and answered honestly, “Probably not, but seeing the look on her face was enough pain for the day, so I relented.”
Kace nodded while he continued to look out his window. “You okay with that?”
“No, but do I have a choice?”
“You used to.”
I did, I thought as I took another sip of my bourbon. I used to have many choices but now that Goldie is in my life, I found myself with a noose around my neck, not being able to do what I want because the fear of Goldie getting hurt plagues me. I don’t want her to hurt . . . ever. I don’t want her to get into trouble or see fear. I want to make everything okay for her, which is a big problem because I wasn’t expecting to feel that way.
“Don’t let her get hurt,” Kace interrupted my thoughts. “You have to help her if you bring her into your world.”
“No shit,” I responded as I shifted in my seat, suddenly uncomfortable in my skin. “You’re the one who pushed the idea of bringing her with me.”
“And I meant it but you have to be fucking careful. She’s not like everyone else in your world. She has feelings, she has a heart, she can easily be burned, ripped up, and spit out by a simple stare from one of your elites. You can’t let that happen . . . I can’t bear to see it,” he trailed off.
I gritted my teeth at the protectiveness Kace had for Goldie. I hated it, fucking hated it. I was the one who was supposed to protect her, not Kace, and every time he showed one ounce of concern for her, it grated on my nerves.
“I won’t,” I said sternly. “Miss Mary will be starting training with Lo tomorrow so just stay the fuck out of it.”
I saw a slight grin spread on Kace’s face from the corner of my eye, which only irritated me even more.
“You’re so far gone,” Kace said as he drained the rest of his drink and got up out of his chair. “I need to hit the head and then meet up with Claire.”
“Claire?” I asked, a bit curious.
He shrugged his shoulders and said, “She’s a good fuck with no intention of being a clinger.” Kace walked off toward the bathroom but then turned around before shutting the door. “Thanks for the bourbon . . . dickhead.”
I nodded with a smile. “Any time, asswipe.”
And that was it. That was the extent of our night together. Silence between us spoke a thousand words. Sometimes conversation was overrated, sometimes, you just needed to sit with another breathing soul, knowing that they understood you, that they felt for you.
Before Kace had shut the door completely, I called out, “Next year, just pay me to beat your ass. I would love taking your money.”
From the cracked door, Kace called out, “In your dreams, Colby. Any fist fight between us is going to be a guaranteed honest one.” With that, he shut the door, and I took off for the third floor.
Jeremy, my assistant, met me at the top of the stairs and said, “I found Keylee Zinc’s information, sir.”
“Put it on hold for now. Call Miss Mary, she has some etiquette lessons to give.”
A smirk spread across Jeremy’s face as he typed away on his tablet.
“And wipe that smile off your face. Lo was always my number one choice.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jeremy took off downstairs as I went back to my office. I set my bourbon down on the bar and walked over to the window overlooking the Lafayette Club lawn and the wonky tress that graced the streets of the Garden District. Beads from past Mardi Gras parades still dangled from the tree limbs and sparkled in the street lights. Pepper was walking to the back entrance, from the street, returning from one of her outings. She’d been going on them quite a bit lately. I had a feeling she was fooling around with someone else but honestly, I didn’t give a fuck. A girl needed to be fucked and she wasn’t getting it from me.
