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“Nothing.” I rested my hand flat on his chest, trying to calm the beast. “I asked him if he’d heard from his mom, and he got worried. He’s over there, calling to check up on her.”
The music changed from fast-paced to slow, and Luc took my glass, set it down, then drew me on the dance floor. I went willingly. His strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me close. I rested my cheek on his chest, my arms going around his waist. My body tingled everywhere we touched, and the secret I held threatened to burst from my mouth. I wanted to tell him, but it still wasn’t the time. I didn’t want to tell him in a club, where I felt he could walk away…then where would I be?
Instead, I forced myself to relax in his embrace and be in the moment. We swayed from side to side, and I marveled at how his muscles rippled beneath my touch. The memory of what it was like to run my hands all over him bombarded me, and I shivered. I wanted that, but not until I knew where I stood with him. I would hate myself if I acted on the palpable desire that constantly swirled between us. I’d grown up watching my mom parade men through our small trailer, even having to jump out of the tiny window in my bedroom a time or two when I heard their footsteps on the other side of my door. I wasn’t going to stick around for them to open it with me in there. I’d made that mistake once.
Mom’s behavior taught me a valuable lesson about what I didn’t want in a relationship. One-night stands were not for me. I stifled a groan at the thought of the night that I acted out of character with Luc. A hidden part of me didn’t regret it, though, which scared the hell out of me. I refused to turn into my mother.
“When are you going to tell me what else is going on?”
I felt his chest rumble with his words and sank my teeth into my lower lip. I enjoyed that too much. Then what he’d said registered, and my body stiffened before I caught my reaction. I couldn’t keep lying to him. Maybe it was the right time.Not here but tonight?“I’ll tell you what’s going on when we’re back at the house and alone.”
My voice was just above a whisper, but he heard me over the music because he maneuvered me so that I was tucked into his side, no longer cradled in his arms as he led me off the dance floor. We stopped where the others were doing shots at one of the tables. Two had been set aside for us, but neither of us accepted them.
“We’re heading out.” Luc’s voice held a note of finality that the others responded to.
Lil’s pretty features went awash with concern. “Everything all right?”
“Yeah.” He didn’t elaborate, and I could see it escalated her worry.
“We’ll go with you,” Max said, reading his wife’s body language then lifting his phone to his ear, probably to call for a car to pick us up outside.
Lil handed me my coat, and Luc helped me put it on then ushered me out of the club to snickers of “have fun, kids” and “see you tomorrow.”
My stomach was a bundle of nerves over the conversation we would have soon. Max and Lil followed close behind as we weaved through the hallways and down flights of stairs until we were on the ground level and heading toward a back exit.
Our security detail was there, and one of the guards pushed the heavy back door open, leading the way. Luc went next. I trailed behind him, my hand securely tucked into his larger one.
I stumbled on nothing, probably my feet. Not uncommon. As I lurched forward, my hand went to Luc’s large back.
He blocked my fall, shielding me as a shot rang out.
A grunt sounded behind me. Then chaos erupted.
Luc locked me to him as he extended his right arm, a gun aimed high. He and Max fired dozens of shots as Lil and I were shoved into the waiting car. A few guards stayed behind. Max and Luc argued as they continued to shield the car, firing one shot after another, ejecting their magazines, and slamming new ones home. Max must have won because Luc got in the car with us, and we flew down the alleyway toward home.
My hands shook so hard that I couldn’t even still them by clasping them together. Then my teeth chattered, and Luc pulled me into his arms, whispering that I was okay in my ear as he rubbed up and down my back. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my breathing, working to slow it as the car careened around a corner then sped down another street.
I got myself calmed down. “I’m okay. It was just a shock.” I lifted my head from his chest and sat up, but he didn’t release me, so I settled against him while looking for Lil. She was in the seat across from us, her face pale. I grabbed her hand, and she squeezed mine back. There was a speck of red on her arm, and a jolt of panic sliced through me. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m fine.” Then her eyes darted to Luc’s before returning to mine. “Max was hit, but it wasn’t bad.”
“Shoulder,” Luc clarified. “The bullet only grazed him. He’ll be fine.”
What they said filtered through, and I realized why. “Oh God. I tripped.” I twisted around, horror washing over me as I met Luc’s granite expression.This would never have happened if I wasn’t with them.
It was all my fault.
“The bullet was meant for me.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
SUMMER
It didn’t take long to get home. Nicole met us in the kitchen, her gaze frantically crawling over each one of us before she pulled Lil into her arms, whispering that she was so glad she was all right. Then she asked about Max, and I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Fat tears rolled down my face in fast-flowing rivers.
Nicole released Lil then drew me from Luc’s grip and into her arms. I crumbled as she crooned in my ear that everything would be okay. The guilt was crushing, and the hormones that seemed to flood my body weren’t helping.God, if I cry like this the entire pregnancy, I’ll want to disown myself.
When I calmed down enough that I wasn’t cry-hiccupping all over her, she pulled back and held me at arm’s length. “Now, what’s this all about, sweetheart?”
