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Race: Miss you too, baby.
I put my phone back on the counter and turned to face Wyatt, who had fallen asleep. All the happiness I’d felt only a few minutes ago was gone. I was about to spend my first Christmas as a new mom alone. I would have everyone tonight, but that wouldn’t be the same. Truthfully, the club wasn’t the same right now. With a hell of a lot less enthusiasm, I finished decorating the tree before I went to the closet where I’d hidden presents and began pulling them out.
Smiling, I held up a few toys I’d bought for Wyatt. Even knowing he had no idea what was going on, I couldn’t seem to resist when I saw them online. Without bothering to wrap them, I slid them under the tree and grabbed a few more things, wrapping them slowly, attempting to fill the time I’d had every intention of spending with Race today.
When my phone rang, I jumped in anticipation that it was Race. I quickly glanced at Wyatt, who was still sleeping, before grabbing it off the counter. Without bothering to look, I answered the call before it could wake Wyatt and said, “Hello.”
“Merry Christmas.”
Closing my eyes, I laid my hand over my forehead and yet again, let disappointment overwhelm me. I’d hoped it was Race, but unfortunately for me, I wasn’t that lucky. “You hate Christmas.”
Sal chuckled. “It was hard to hate Christmas when you were around.”
That made me smile. We’d only spent a few Christmases together, and that was to say we hooked up on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but I was always in a great mood. Even Sal hadn’t been able to ruin Christmas for me.
“You have to admit we had fun.”
“We did,” I agreed before pulling out the stool in front of the island and sitting down. “But that was in the past. What do you want, Sal? You didn’t talk to me this much when we were together.”
I heard his engine roar to life and knew he’d just gotten in his car. “Need to talk to you about something.”
“What?”
“Not over the phone.” Tires squealed, and I rolled my eyes. Sal liked to make a statement when he drove, and usually that was my car is faster than yours. It was juvenile and arrogant, but so was Sal. I knew that when we first met, but at the time, I didn’t care. Now, I found it annoying.
“Is this about Wyatt?” I asked but had a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t.
“That his name?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t hate that name.”
“I don’t care,” I answered honestly.
“It doesn’t have to be about Wyatt, but that’s up to you,” he answered.
“What the hell does that mean, Sal?”
“Just that your life can stay exactly as it is. What I want, I can’t get from you, but you can help me. And if you help me, I’ll help you.”
“I don’t need your help.”
“You do need my help. So does your brother, and since I doubt you want your brother to know you played a part in this, I’m giving you a chance to help me.”
My head jerked back, and I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“You brought the club to Manny’s attention.”
“Manny?” I dropped my head and closed my eyes. “I don’t even know Manny. That’s impossible.”
“You sent Josie to him, didn’t you?”
My stomach sank. The moment I mentioned Manny to Josie when she talked about learning to shoot, I knew it was a mistake, but I had a feeling it was an even bigger mistake than I’d known. “For shooting lessons, Sal, that’s all.”
“Your brother walked his ass in that place, dragged Josie out, and is on Manny’s radar now. That’s not where he’s going to want to be. I can help him, though.”
“Why would you do that?”
