Jodi
“This has to be quick, Lucas. Everyone will know in a moment that I’m missing.”
He grabs onto my arms so hard I’m pretty sure I’ll have bruises left behind. “Don’t you care, Jodi?”
“About what?” I try my hardest to struggle free. “What are you talking about now?”
“I told you that he will be next. I warned you that the people after me now want Brock.”
“No, that isn’t what you told me at all. You pretty much told me that he was dead.”
“I didn’t mean . . . I’m sorry. I wasn’t in my right mind when I said that. I was all freaked out.”
“Well, it wasn’t very nice. I got really freaked out about it and now . . . well, now I don’t know what you’ll do.”
“Yeah, damn right you don’t know what I’ll do. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Lucas, you’re freaking me out right now. I don’t like this. You’re being all weird. Are you on something?”
“Fuck you,” he said with a sneer. “It’s none of your business what I’m up to. You should focus more on your boyfriend. The rich asshole who can keep you in the style you’re accustomed to, you bitch.”
“Lucas, I already told you that I don’t want to see you again. I just want this to stop.”
“One hundred grand. That’s what it’s going to cost you to get rid of me.”
“A hundred grand?” That strips all the air right out of my lungs. “Is that how much you owe?”
“It’s none of your business how much I owe. That’s what I want. Maybe I can get that precious new life you keep telling me about. It sounds really appealing now. Get away, have a nice time.”
“I don?
?t have the money, Lucas. I’m sorry, but I can’t pay you off right now. I just came out here to find out whether or not you actually have people coming after Brock. This isn’t anything to do with him.”
“No, but if he wants you enough, he’ll pay it, won’t he? I mean, that’s what you do, isn’t it? You get boys to become obsessed with you, and then they’ll do whatever the hell you want. Isn’t that right?”
“Don’t start saying things like that to me, Lucas. Don’t be a dick about this. Just leave me alone.”
“No way. Me and you are damaged together. We’re both broken. You don’t get to be happy now.”
“I would want you to be happy. I do want you to be happy. Why don’t you want the same for me?”
“Because it always happens for everyone else. It never happens for me. It isn’t fair.”
“You don’t invite it in, that’s why. You let yourself be miserable. You gamble and gamble until you have nothing. Then you come to me, and you bleed me dry. That’s why no one sticks around for you.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard those lectures before, Jodi, but I’m not buying it this time. It’s bullshit. It’s not up to you. You just need to get me that fucking money. Go back inside, ask Brock for the money, tell him you need to get some bad people off your back, and let that be the end of it. I’ll be gone. Forever this time.”
“No way. Not a chance in hell. I’ve already told you this doesn’t involve him.”
“It does now.” Lucas’s face twists up in self-satisfaction. “I’ve made him a part of it. A big part, in fact. I’m holding the guys back at the moment, stopping them from committing an armed robbery on his casino. Not only would that damage him now, but it’d take him forever to rebuild his reputation up again. You know how long people are freaked out for. He won’t have a paying patron for as long as it takes for him to fold.”
“Don’t do that, Lucas. I mean, I don’t know if you’re telling the truth or not.”
“Why would I lie? I wouldn’t lie, would I? This is real, Jodi. Pull your head out of your ass.”
We stare at one another for a few moments, both listening to my terrified, ragged, and panting breaths. I can’t hide my fear. It’s pouring out of me in waves. The more fearful I become, the happier Lucas is about it. This is exactly where he wants me, pinned against the wall, so scared I can’t think, never mind breathe.
“Jodi, if you really like this new guy of yours, then you need to go back in there and tell him to give me the money. Warn him, if you must, that an onslaught is coming, and he really needs to think about his behavior.”