Page 110 of Reckless Seduction
Toph nods. “Sarah had been after your mother since college. She’d set her up to be drugged and raped by her boyfriend and his friends. What I hadn’t known was that Lina had been in on it too.”
“There was no way for you to know who she was,” I assure him. “Crowe admitted that he’d paid good money to have her nipped and tucked enough so that no one would recognize her as Marilina Brandt.”
“Your mother knew,” he points out with a deep sigh. “She might not have known exactly who she was, but she knew something was off, and I-I didn’t listen. Lina was a club favorite, and I chose my men over her. It’s still my greatest shame.”
“If there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you can’t linger on the mistakes of the past.” My teeth sink into my lower lip. “You can’t move forward if you’re stuck there, and I’d like very much to move forward with you.” I pause, heat spreading across my cheeks as a sudden bout of shyness creeps over me. “If you would like that too, I mean.”
His answering grin settles any nerves that have crept into my mind.
“I would love that.” He leans back in his chair, shooting me a devilish smile. One full of mischief. “Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?”
FORTY-FIVE
I watchher like an obsessed fucking lunatic. Every move she makes has my gaze tracking to her and my body on high alert. Jesus, I need fucking therapy. I snort. That won’t fix the sudden need I have to be with her, near her, inside her.
We’ve slowly begun to mend the broken trust, but it hasn’t been easy. Shit, the wall she’s built between us is proving harder to take down than the Berlin Wall. Sure, we came together the night we brought her back, but that doesn’t mean shit in the long run.
Bailey is waiting for something. Waiting for us. I know deep down in my gut that the next few days will either bring the three of us closer together or break us apart completely. She won’t choose just one of us, and we won’t let her.
I was the one to betray her.
To utter those cruel words.
I had to.
It was the only way to keep her safe and away from us, but that doesn’t matter to her. She might not have believed me when I handed her over to her father, but on the day of the auction, I saw how my words shattered any hope she clung to.
Bailey’s rich laughter reaches my ears, echoing across the near-empty bar. It’s late, and last call was ordered a while ago. A few people still linger, mostly staff and a couple of my father’s men, but otherwise, it is a ghost town. I turn my gaze from where I’ve been busing tables with Seamus to our girl as she huddles at the bar with my sister, Ava. The two are smiling, and it’s good to see.
Ava has been off since the raid on Drew and Brittany’s condo a few days ago, and I can sense there is something she isn’t saying. I’m not about to pry, though. Our relationship is still new, and Ava is hurting. So much went down that night, and the responsibility that has been placed on her shoulders is enough to cripple most.
But Ava isn’t most people, and she has the backing of some of the most powerful men on the West Coast.
“I’m out of here.” Ava sighs as she stands from the barstool. “Let me know what you think about my offer. I could use a woman of your talents.” She reaches out to Bailey and gives her a small hug.
“Will do.” Bailey smiles at her. “Let’s meet for lunch next week.”
Ava grins. “Sounds good.” She turns toward Seamus and me. The two of us quickly turn away so neither of them thinks we are spying… we are. “Bye boys,” she hollers back to us and gives us a small wave.
We turn toward her and smile, giving slight waves of our own as she slides out the door with Leon, her bodyguard, right behind her. Sighing, I heave the tub full of dirty dishes behind the bar and slide it back to the kitchen for the washers to take care of. Seamus does the same.
“So,” Seamus coughs nervously as he undoes the apron around his neck and chucks his dirty rag. I follow suit. “What was that all about?”
Bailey raises a brow at my brother, her bright eyes narrowing slightly. “What was what about?”
Seamus clears his throat again. “The whole, umm, you know… offer.”
Bailey purses her lips. “Eavesdropping now, are we?”
Seamus shrugs unapologetically.
“She offered me a job,” Bailey exhales. “The Dashkov corporation needs a PR manager, and she thought it would be something I’d enjoy since I’m not going back to my old job.”
I cock my head, surprised by her words. “You aren’t?” She loves being an investigative reporter. Bailey worked hard to get where she is, and whenever she talks about her job, her eyes light up.
“No.” She shrugs a shoulder nonchalantly. “Honestly, with everything with Lina, it made me wonder how much of my work was what got me my position and how much of it was Lina pulling the strings to put me there. Investigative reporting was nice, but…” She trails off, her eyes searching ours as she bites her lower subconsciously. “Kind of hard to be an unbiased reporter when yourboyfriendsare the heirs to the biggest Irish Mafia on the West Coast.”
Bailey whispered the wordboyfriends, her voice unsure as it rolled over the word.
