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“I know she is,” I agree, rubbing my arm where she hit me.
“You love her?”
I nod. “Absolutely.”
“You want to live your life without her?”
I shake my head, my heart stalling at the thought. “No. Not a second of it.”
“Okay,” she sighs, studying me for a moment. “I suppose I forgive you then but you’d better fix this. I liked her.”
“She liked you, too, and I’m working on fixing it.”
She nods, satisfied with my answers, and turns back to the bar as I head for Blaze’s office and knock on the door.
“Come in.”
I open the door and step inside before collapsing in the chair in front of his desk.
“How is it going over there?” he asks and I scoff.
“She’s filled with the rage of a thousand suns,” I answer and he laughs before a wistful expression crosses his face.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes when you brought her to the barbecue. I knew she looked like Sarah but the two could have been twins.”
I nod, crossing my legs. “Ah, so that’s why you were so weird that night.”
“Yes. It was like going back thirty years.”
“I hope you know that I intend to make her my old lady someday,” I say and he lets out a surprised laugh as he grabs a bottle of bourbon out of his desk.
“Yeah, good luck with that. I’ve been running this club for a long time and dealt with some scary fuckers but I wouldn’t take on that woman. I like my balls right where they are.”
I laugh before letting out a sigh. “I’m just a glutton for punishment, I guess.”
“Just be careful, yeah? I know I let you down when I asked you to do this but it’s turned into a real mess.” He holds up an empty glass, offering me a drink, but I shake my head. I don’t want to be here that long anyway.
“Do you have any news?”
He nods. “Yeah, actually. Dominic King crossed the Louisiana state line last night around midnight. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s already here in Baton Rouge.”
“Okay,” I whisper, thinking over the moves we could make. “We going to wait for him to reach out?”
“I think that’s best. Once he realizes that he can’t get to Tate, he’ll be in contact.”
“About that, we need two people at the house at all times.”
He nods. “Keep Smith with you and make sure you keep everything locked up at all times. One slip-up will be all it takes to lose her.”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”
“Let’s hope not,” he mutters, turning away from the desk and sipping his drink. I stand and walk out of his office with determined steps. There’s no need to hope. I’ll take another bullet, this one to the chest, before I let anyone near her.
* * * *
“I’m exhausted,” Smith says and I glance over at him. “I think I’m gonna go pass out.”
“You can sleep in Theo’s room. It’s the room right at the top of the stairs,” Tate informs him with a smile. He nods and shoves himself off the couch.
