“Keep swiping left, mi princesa.”’
I do.
“What do you see?” Joey asks.
“He leaves with a different woman in a different car.”
“Bingo. Guess what?”
“What?” I look up from the condemning evidence that Bobby lied to me. I wasn’t the only woman he propositioned inside Crimson.
“I overheard him and Dom talking. Bobby sold all his cars except for his Ducati and the lifted black pickup truck. He’s crazy for offloading those beauties.” Joey shakes his head.
Bobby sold the cars that other women were in, but kept the motorcycle from when we watched the sunset, living out his fantasy, and the truck where we kissed and made out, living out my fantasy?
Any hope that I’m the only woman in Bobby’s life is squashed by the photos on Joey’s phone. “Sorry, I didn’t see him.” I push the phone away and dig into my meat omelet.
Ty and the guys can never know what happened between Bobby and me. They’ll hurt him. My father can never know of our agreement. He’ll order his men to kill Bobby. I can’t break Gwen’s heart. I refuse to put her through what I went through. I lost myself with Carlos’s death. Two years later, I’m incomplete, still missing the pieces of my heart that I gave to Carlos. He took those pieces with him when he died.
Except he didn’t die.
Carlos was murdered.
There’s a rumor that Bobby led Carlos to the kill shot point. I’m not sure who started it or when, but what began as a spark is growing into a fire. The crew is angry. I overheard them demanding justice from Ty.
Is there truth to the rumor?
The Bobby who kissed me with tenderness, who took me to a scenic point to watch the sunset because it was his fantasy, couldn’t have done something so evil.
But Bobby knew who I was that night. He withheld his identity from me and didn’t tell me that he and Ty were rivals in high school when I brought up Ty’s name. Most importantly, he didn’t tell me he was the owner of Crimson.
If the rumor is true and Bobby was there with Carlos, then Carlos trusted Bobby with his life. Carlos’s body was found in a dangerous area, according to Ty. I trusted Bobby with my heart and my memory of Carlos. I also spent his money in exchange for one day and one night with him.
Crap, I’m in deep shit, but I refuse to give Bobby the upper hand. I’ll play to win. I’ll give Bobby one day and one night, then I’ll walk away with my heart intact.
I can’t fall for my best friend’s brother. I can’t be seen with the guy rumored to have been involved with Carlos’s murder. My father can never know of my bargain with Bobby. He’d rather take out Bobby than have me keep my end of the bargain.
Bobby is a jerk for misleading me, but I would never wish him harm. Unfortunately, life isn’t one or the other. Life is a messy intersection of paths.
My life and Bobby’s will soon collide.
20
BOBBY
“Are you sure that’s what she said?” I’m at the nightclub, upstairs in my office, texting back and forth with Blaise and Aaron and being the middleman in the convo as they throw ideas together for raising money for his charity and the date this will happen.
“Yeah, boss. She said it was the anniversary of her boyfriend’s death, and she was there to dance in his memory.” Sitting across from me, Slate pushes back his chair and stretches out his long legs.
The other bouncers are overseeing the crowd below, and Slate has his comms in his ears in case there’s trouble.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I set down my phone. “You that loyal to your cousin?”
I’ve learned that friendship takes a back seat to matters of family. Blood is thicker than water. I lean back in my chair and steeple my hands over my mouth.
Fuck, I knew something was up when my video calls and text messages didn’t go through late Sunday and Monday. Ever said she was having brunch with Ty, José, and their crew, and she’d call me once she was back in Dumas. The call didn’t happen. Worried, I called her and got nothing.
She blocked me, and I don’t blame her. Joey, my latest hire, must’ve spilled that I’m Crimson’s owner. I’m surprised it took him so long to out me. I text my human resources contact and inform her to double his hourly wage. Money talks, and I’m hoping I can convince Joey to be my eyes and ears inside their crew.
