Saving Dallas Forever (Saving Dallas 3)

“You said hated. That’s past tense. I’m assuming you and Maddie have reconciled your differences.”

“Only after we were both kidnapped by a man named Charlie Lott, who just so happens to be some kind of mob boss, I think. I’m not sure on that, but whoever he is, he is important and ruthless. Frankie owed him some money and he took Maddie when Frankie refused to cooperate. It just so happens that Luke found Charlie around the same time, and asked him for his help in finding Frankie. Luke used to work for Charlie, be his little errand boy or some shit, and when he quit, Charlie took it personally. So, when he grabbed Maddie, he grabbed me too. He made Luke decide which one of us he kept and I made Luke promise to keep Maddie. I felt like I owed it to her. He did, and I spent two days, which should have been a lifetime, with him.” I reached for another glass of wine, welcoming the buzz that was forming in my brain.

“So how did you escape?” Lindsey was such a captive audience. I loved how attentive and observant she was.

“Somehow, I guess as a last gift to Maddie, Frankie offered himself in exchange for me. Charlie is known as a man of his word, and accepted the offer, but at a price.”

“What was the price?” Lindsey spat impatiently when I paused. I downed my wine, trying to find the courage to tell her what had happened. It had seemed easy when I had mentioned killing someone earlier, now not so much. I stared at my empty glass, avoiding her eyes as I told her, my friend, what happened that day.

“The ultimate sacrifice.” I grabbed the last of the wine on the table and took a long drink, draining half the glass.

“You are killing me here, Dallas,” Lindsey whispered across the table, her wine glasses now empty as well. The waitress would be back any minute. As if my thoughts summoned her, she appeared. “We’re good,” Lindsey snapped before she could come to a complete stop at our table. I didn’t look up from my glass, but I was sure the waitress was staring holes through me. I waited for her to walk off, before I continued.

“He said that the ultimate sacrifice was not giving your life for another. Once you die, you are free. It is the living who suffer, and suffering is a terrible thing.” I placed my elbows on the table and leaned forward, focusing on nothing but Lindsey’s big brown eyes. By the way they widened, I knew she knew exactly what my next words would be. “Taking a life is the ultimate sacrifice. My only road to freedom was through the hole I made in Frankie’s skull. I killed him, Lindsey. I shot him execution-style while he begged me to spare his life. I pulled that fucking trigger, and even today, I don’t feel any regret. I thought about what he had done to me, and the feeling was nothing compared to what I felt when I thought of him sacrificing the life of his own daughter to save his sorry ass. Had I not been there, had Luke not gone to Charlie for help, Maddie would still be in that man’s custody. She would be away from her son, her life, her family, and no one would be able to save her from that. Now, I am stuck with his demons, haunting me from the shallow grave they threw that motherfucker in. Someone is out to get me. There is a bounty on my head, and I couldn’t have prevented it even if I had killed him seven times over. I can’t tell Luke, because he is in Louisiana dealing with serious club shit. I can’t tell Red, because I don’t know if I can trust her, and I can’t tell Maddie, because I refuse to put her in danger again. So, what the fuck do I do now? How do I keep myself alive without hurting the ones I love?” I should have been crying. Tears should have been streaming down my face, blurring my vision and staining my cheeks, but as a result of my breakdown last night or the wine that I had consumed today, my eyes were dry. Lindsey placed her hands over mine, and cocked her head to the side with a small smile.

“You can’t do this on your own. I’m here and I will help you, but you need your family. I don’t know what Red has done for you to have trust issues, but I know that she cares about you. She wants to see you happy and who doesn’t love a happy LLC? You need to talk to her, and Maddie is your sister. Your blood sister. Y’all have spent too much time being apart from one another. I think part of your problem with Red is that you are jealous of the relationship she and Maddie have. You have to remember that Maddie sees her as an equal. She doesn’t know you well enough to have the same feelings for you that she does for Red. Give her some time. Maybe you need to get to know her. I mean really, how much about Maddie has Maddie actually told you? Talk to them and get their insight on how they think you should approach Luke with the situation. I would do one thing at a time. You need to get your mind off this shit for a little while. There is enough stuff going on at Knox Companies to keep you busy for the rest of the week. This weekend, have Maddie come over, and you two spend the day together. Get to know her. Then, reconcile your differences with Red. Even if it comes to blows, let it all out. I promise it will end on a good note.” Maybe Lindsey really did know me better than anyone else. Her solution to my problem had me feeling better already. We hugged across the table, knocking over our wine glasses in the process, causing them to roll onto the wooden deck and shatter. We laughed, and I pulled another hundred from my wallet and dropped it on the table to cover the damage. I grabbed my purse as we hurried out, to avoid having to see our waitress once again.