AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I lifted my single finger. Since my career had imploded years before because of an injury, I’d changed into a kind of man I no longer recognized. Gone was the playboy I’d enjoyed being, girls hanging on to my every sentence and my arm, eager to spread their legs for just a couple of hours with me. Gone was the fame, the money, and the adoration of fans. All replaced with the kind of hard work that would usually break a man.
And extreme loneliness.
Maybe that was also partially because I’d found the girl I’d fallen head over heels for with another guy doing the boot-scootin’ boogie completely naked.
And under the sheets.
I’d felt it more over the last few years, my two brothers both with wives and children, cute little houses with flowers and shrubs, swings in trees. Me? I had the two guys, a shitty apartment that I didn’t bring anyone to, and I hadn’t gotten laid in…
A grin almost popped across my face. The time spent with Rylee had been more enjoyable than I wanted to admit to anyone, especially myself. Why? Because I’d known from the second we tasted her it wouldn’t last. Now I knew it was against some unwritten rule. You didn’t get involved with someone you worked with.
Everybody knew that.
No matter the circumstances, it never worked out, especially when the other person involved was your fucking boss. I still had a tough time believing the Irish filly with the sexy smile, flaming red hair, and eyes that would melt any man’s soul was in charge of a manly rig. Oh, here I was being a fucking chauvinist again. My mother would kick my butt from here to Hawaii. Still, she’d also raised me to open doors for girls, pay the check, and always remember birthdays and holidays.
If that made me a chauvinistic pig, then so be it. Rigging wasn’t just tough on the body and mind, it was dangerous. I’d watched two men die horrible deaths in my less than illustrious career. I couldn’t stand to see something happen to her. I raked my hand through my hair, thinking about what I’d seen. “Look, I know you think I’m overreacting but?—”
“Nah! Never,” both men said, interrupting me.
This time I issued a harsh glare. “I’m serious. I followed Declan because I got a bad feeling about him. Didn’t you notice he was on his phone as soon as Rylee forced him off the lot? That shit nagged me all night long.”
Foxx snorted. “It didn’t dawn on me to care. I’m not his keeper.”
“Yeah, well, I was curious. I figured out where he lived and went to his place. Nice, by the way. Too nice for a fucking rigger if you ask me.”
“So, his family has money. So what?” Jack asked before taking a gulp of his drink.
“I’m telling you. The dude is up to something. After I pulled up to his house, two men visited him. Not the kind of men we’ve seen in Cork so far. You know the type. Dark suits and shades. Dark SUV with blacked-out windows. The meeting wasn’t friendly. I’ll tell you that much. Declan wasn’t happy to see them. The visit was maybe five minutes and the dudes left but not before I noticed one of them had a weapon strapped to his waist.”
“You’re serious.” I finally got Jack’s attention. He planted his feet on the floor, sitting up and staring at me with an incredulous expression.
“Yep,” I said, angrier than I’d been before.
“Well, her old man did tell me they’d been experiencing some trouble. Sabotage is the term he used.” Foxx had a faraway look in his eyes.
“Yeah, I know.” A couple of the Irish riggers had provided a pretty accurate and ugly telling of several recent incidents. I wasn’t entirely certain I wanted to go on that goddamn rig.
“Maybe there is something to the dude. And he was possessive. Plus, since her dad asked if we’d go with her to their rig first to provide our opinions, it could be Declan is going as well.” Foxx rubbed his jaw. I could tell he was as concerned as I was.
“That’s a recipe for murder,” Jack teased.
“I could kill the son of a bitch,” Foxx snorted. “Maybe we should have a little talk with the man.”
“Yeah. That’s what I was thinking. Maybe the three of us could knock some sense into him. At least we could explain if he touched Rylee, he would face our wrath.”
Jack laughed at my statement, giving Foxx another look. Goddamn, the man could piss me off more than any other. “Well, then why not? Saving a damsel in distress will be a new tool in our arsenal.”
“Funny. I don’t think Rylee will see our interference that way as a positive thing but the last thing I want to do is have a lucrative contract fucked with.” Foxx locked eyes with mine. “Let’s go have a nice, long chat with our boy. We’ll make it clear we’re going to be her right-hand dudes.”
“Now you’re talking.” As we headed out of the room to the rental car, I couldn’t seem to get the feisty filly off my mind. She wasn’t just beautiful and bold. She’d managed to spark something in me that was rare. Unbridled lust. I craved her like I had no other woman in my life. I wasn’t a relationship kind of guy but with her, anything was possible. Anything and everything.
I jumped into the driver’s seat, glad the asshole’s house wasn’t that far away. We were close to the shore, the mixture of houses ranging from shitholes to mansions. There was no rhyme or reason to the communities, but it was easy to tell the city had two subcultures. The rich and the poor. There was no in-between.
My two buddies chatted on the drive over while I did nothing but think about Rylee. The girl was hiding something painful. Whatever she’d been through, Foxx had more of an idea about than either Jack or I did. And the crazy thing was I could see in both men’s eyes how much the time we’d spent with her had affected them. Maybe I was making something out of nothing, but in my mind, something special had occurred. Something that could mean a change in our futures.
Or maybe I was just an asshole longing to use a woman like I had all those years ago.
A couple of minutes later I pulled down the street and the second I drove in front of Declan’s house, the man came tearing out of his driveway at an excessive rate of speed, hitting the bottom of the blacktop surface with a hard thud. He even squealed his tires as he raced down the road.
