Fitting The Pieces (The Riverdale Series Book 3)

To my sons, may you always be one
another’s best friend.

August

           
Luke sat beside Nick at the old
fashioned bar that was positioned in the center of Rudy’s Bar and Grille. The bartender
was a girl they had gone to school with many moons ago. She had left the bottle
on top of the bar and Luke helped himself. Once his glass was full again, Nick
snatched it and claimed it as his own. He scowled at him and took his empty
glass, filling it to the brim.

           
“How are things between you and
Leah?” Luke heard Nick say next to him. He shrugged his shoulders. He had been
asking himself the same question lately.

           
“They’re fine. I think she wants
more than I’m willing to give her right now, even though she hasn’t said it.”
Luke stated flatly. That was the best he could come up with right now. He knew
he wasn’t being fair to her lately. He took a long sip of his drink and let the
alcohol filter through his system. He didn’t want to think about his
relationship with Leah. He didn’t want to come to terms with the fact that
there was only one woman in his head that he couldn’t shake.

           
“Wait a minute, you mean to tell me
you can tell what a woman wants or thinks without her saying so?” Nick asked
shocked.

           
Luke lifted his gaze from his drink
and studied Nick for a moment, wondering if he was drunk or if in fact he was
serious. “Yeah man, C’mon a woman is an open book.”

           
Nick laughed at him and turned his
head. He was silent for a moment and Luke just sat waiting for him to say
something.

           
“Are you serious? You can’t read a
woman?” The idea was absurd to Luke. Granted, he didn’t classify himself as an
expert, furthest from it, but he still knew how to get into a woman’s head. He
assumed it was written in every man’s D.N.A.

     
Nick held up a hand in protest. “Now wait a minute. I can read
a woman in the bedroom. I can tell you what she wants and what she needs…”

     
Luke shook his head and closed his eyes. It was a struggle for
him to differentiate the Nick who was doing god knows what with his sister from
the Nick who was his buddy, the one guy he could shoot the shit with. “So
you’re saying take you out of a bedroom and you’re fucked when it comes to a
woman.”

     
Nick cocked his head to the side for a moment before nodding.
“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.”

     
“Nick, that’s a problem. If you can’t read a woman how can you
be one step ahead of her?” He asked his friend incredulously. The whole thing
was mind boggling to him.

     
“I’m never one step ahead.” He took a big gulp of his drink.
“I’m usually three or four behind, depending on the girl. For example, with
your sister, I’m like on a whole fucking different continent.”

     
Luke genuinely laughed out loud as he mentally pictured Sam
driving Nick nuts. It was an amusing thought, and for the first time he could
see them together and he accepted it. “Well, Sam’s not like any other woman.”
He patted Nick on the back. “Hey, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

     
“No, she’s definitely not.” Nick said.

           
Helena, their bartender, made her
way back to them and this time she helped herself to a shot. Luke raised an
eyebrow at her and then Nick.
 
“So I get
off in a few minutes and I’ve been thinking the three of us should go somewhere
and catch up.”

           
Nick laughed out loud beside him and
when Luke turned his attention from him back to Helena he saw her cheeks
redden. “I’m sorry that came out all wrong.”

     
“Nothing wrong in wanting to catch up with old friends,” Luke
offered trying to defuse Helena’s embarrassment.

     
She smiled at him and stumbled forward when the bartender
relieving her bumped right into her. Helena straightened up, finding her
balance. Luke looked right passed Helena into the haunting hazel eyes that
belonged to Cara.

     
“I didn’t know you went back to work.” He said softly. He
wasn’t expecting to see her, the truth was he had barely seen or heard from
her. He had no idea what she had been up to because she ignored all his calls.
She made it damn near impossible to keep his promise to his deceased brother.

           
“Well, why would you?” She nodded
towards Helena. “You can take off now, I’ve got this.”

     
Helena looked back and forth between them before untying her
apron. She took the seat on the opposite side of Nick and reached for the
bottle that sat between the two men. Cara grabbed the bottle from her before
she could pour any.

           
“Let’s get something straight. I’ll
be the one pouring the drinks.”
 
She
turned around and placed the bottle back on the shelf. She had one hand tucked
into the back pocket of her denim mini skirt and with her free hand, she wiped
down the mess that had been made by allowing Luke and Nick to pour their own
drinks.

     
Luke fought the urge to place his hand over hers, figuring only
then would she grace him with another glance. She stared at Nick completely
ignoring Luke. Nick turned to Luke. “Luke?”

     
Luke sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m good.” He
said as he watched Cara turn around and prepare Nick and Helena’s drinks. He
heard them conversing beside him and only made out three words that had come
from Nick’s mouth.

     
“Her fiancé died.” Nick said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Luke closed his eyes as his friend said the words. The words that rang as a
reminder that he needed to reel himself in.
 

     
“Tell me something.” Nick said as he leaned closer so that only
Luke could hear him. “If all women are an open book and you’ve got the magic
touch, why can’t you figure her out?”

     
“She’s not mine to figure out.” Luke answered automatically
before turning to look Nick dead in the eye. “Jake asked me to watch out for
her. He asked me to take care of her and make sure she doesn’t do anything
stupid. But for some reason she hates me and has made it damn hard to keep tabs
on her.”

     
Cara slammed Nick and Helena’s drinks on the bar. Luke stared
up at her, noticing the dark circles under her eyes that she tried to conceal
with makeup. She turned away and sauntered to the other end of the bar. Luke
watched as she helped the other patrons, shooting him daggers every time their
eyes happened to connect.

* * * * *

     
Sam’s friends had joined in on the good
time, in turn making Nick’s head spin with confusion just a little more. Luke
was starting to feel bad for his buddy. He felt Nick’s hand pat him on the
back.
“I’m heading
upstairs.”

      
Luke nodded and looked his friend over,
he looked like shit. It was probably best if he bailed now, while he still
could make it up the stairs to his apartment.

     
“I’m going to hang out for a while.
Leah’s working an overnight shift and Ava’s with Sam, so might as well take
advantage.”

     
Nick nodded and threw some money onto the
bar. “Good night…” He paused. “Everyone.”

     
Luke watched him stagger off towards the
door before turning back around and coming face to face with Cara. “Luke,
either order a drink or follow Nick out. I don’t need a babysitter.” She said
and for the first time there wasn’t malice in her voice.

     
He considered her words and nodded. “I’ll have a Jack and
coke.” She stared at him for a moment, studying him, and then she nodded
slightly.

     
“Okay.” She whispered as if they had an
understanding between one another. Little did she know he’d drink himself silly
if it kept her from lashing out at him.

           
And that’s exactly what he did. He
let her pour drink after drink, until he couldn’t feel a goddamn thing other
than the heat in his gut that yearned for her. He was sure it was apparent in
his eyes and the way he looked at her. He watched her work that bar the entire
night, watched as man after man hit on her. Some of them had caught Luke’s
glare as if he had a claim on her, and he didn’t give two shits. He wanted them
all to steer clear of her.

           
She leaned over the bar across the
way from him, his eyes traveled the length of her body, settling on her ass,
which stuck out as she leaned over the bar.
 
She threw her head back laughing at something one of her patrons said to
her. He wanted to sink his teeth into just one of those round cheeks of hers.
He lifted his drunken gaze as she glanced over her shoulder at him, listening
to whatever the guy staring daggers at him was saying. Luke slowly dragged his
eyes away from the man that had Cara’s undivided attention and settled on her
face. He saw a fire in her eyes when they met his. Drunk as he was, he could tell
the fervor she had in her eyes was different than the intensity that burned
within him. Hers was full of vengeance.

           
Luke tipped his half empty glass
towards the man and then repeated the gesture towards Cara before he finished
it off in one shot. He placed the empty glass on the bar and when he lifted his
head, he saw those hazel eyes fixated on him as she made her way towards him.
He swallowed the lump in his throat unable to tear his eyes away from hers. She
slapped her hand on the bar and leaned closer to him.

           
“Let’s go.” She said firmly and
straightened her shoulders. He blinked.
 
Did he hear her, right?
 
He didn’t
question her, though. She could ask him to help her bury a body and he was
pretty sure he would do it, just to be close to her. No questions asked. She
looked over at the other bartender that was cleaning up the tables. “Rob, I’m
taking a break.” She nodded towards the bar and motioned for him to take it
over as she slipped out from behind the bar. She looked over her shoulder at
Luke, who was still planted on his stool staring at her.

           
“Are you coming or what?” She said,
her eyes blazing with fury.

           
Luke pushed back the bar stool and
stood to his full height. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some money,
placing the bills on the bar to cover his night. He followed her down the
hallway where the bathrooms were, but they didn’t stop there. She kept walking
down the narrow passageway until they reached a door that had a sign on it that
read “Employees Only”. She slipped her hand into her back pocket and pulled out
a single key.

           
Once she had turned the key in the
lock, she opened the door and stepped inside. Luke followed completely unaware
of where this was going. She closed the door behind them. The only light
illuminating the office was the screensaver of the computer. Luke took in his
surroundings for a moment before turning around to face Cara.

           
She placed her hands on her hips and
glared at him. “What’re you doing Luke?”

           
He squinted and looked at her. What the
fuck could he have done? He followed her here didn’t he? She had asked him to,
didn’t she? “Excuse me?”

           
She started to undo the buttons on
her shirt. “Is this what you want?” She said through gritted teeth. “Huh?”

           
Luke’s eyes widened as he took a step
backward. The backs of his legs hit the front of the desk and he swallowed the
lump in his throat as he watched her unbutton the last button. “Cara…” He
warned.

           
She pulled her shirt off vigorously.
“Everyone can see it, you know… the way you look at me.” She reached behind her
unclasping her bra.
 
She cocked her head
and brought her hands in front of her. She crossed her arms at her chest as her
fingertips trailed over the straps of her bra. “Like I’m some forbidden fruit.”

           
He should deny it and run the hell
out of there, he thought, yet his feet didn’t move. His eyes fell from hers to
her chest as she freed herself from her bra, dropping it to the floor in front
of her. She stepped over the lace bra and closed the distance between them. He
looked down at her, realizing for the first time how tiny she was compared to
him.
 
He towered over her by at a foot or
so. Her leg brushed against his and he inhaled sharply.

           
He needed to get control of himself.
He made a promise, he reminded himself; a promise to his brother on his
deathbed. He was only supposed to look after her. Her eyes found his in the
darkness of the office. She was right. She was his forbidden fruit. “I’ll never
be yours, you know.” She whispered.

           
“I know.” He heard himself say as he
lifted his hand to touch her cheek. His hand hesitated for a moment, afraid of
what would happen when it actually connected with her flesh. She flinched as if
he had smacked her when all he did is run his knuckles softly against her
cheek.