Live for You (20 page)

“
I’m so sorry, Cole.” I
sit up, swinging my legs over the side and moving towards him. He
pulls me between his legs, his hands settling on my
hips.

“
It’s not your fault,
sweetheart.”

I let my forehead drop to
his chest. “What can I do to help?’

“
Think of way for The
Double Deuce to get back to its glory days. Hell, I’m so desperate
I’d settle for a country music act.”

The only way Nashville
would ever forget about someone is if they did the one sending the
acts wrong. “Who used to send the bands?” Maybe that unknown person
is no longer a powerhouse.

“
I’d rather not say who he
is.”

“
Why? Do I know him or
something?” Who could I possibly know that has connections here? My
mind races. I come up with nothing.

“
Maybe…Everett Morgan’s
the one who used to send them.”

“
My producer Everett
Morgan?” Morgan. Same last name as Cole. I gasp. “Is he related to
you, like your dad’s brother or a cousin?”

“
Something like that.”
Face tight, he sets me to one side and stands. “I’m going back on
the floor. Text me if you need me.”

I’ve done something wrong,
but I don’t have a clue what. “Don’t shut me out,” I
cry.

He exhales, then looks at a
point over my shoulder. I want to kiss the lines of worry that
appear around his eyes, making his one bruised eye look even worse.
He’s too young to have so much on him. “I’m not.” But his clenched
jaw says otherwise.

“
Then why the sudden need
to leave?” Tears being to fall, but he still won’t look at me. I’m
not crying to get his attention though. I’m hurt. I’m guilty of the
same thing. I’m asking him to share all aspects of his life without
giving hardly anything in turn.

“
Because the woman I’m
dating works for the person I hate the most. I’ll get Parker to
take you home when he leaves tonight.” With those final words, he
stalks to the door, yanks it open and slams it behind
him.

Chapter
Twenty

Cole

After texting Rae to make
sure she got home okay
and
helping Jane close up, I light a cigarette and
pull the card Baldy slipped me out of my wallet.

Tonight I can’t shake the
rage. I don’t want to shake it. I want to let it all out.
Grimacing, I punch the address into my phone and then head to my
Jeep. I squall tires out of the oyster shell covered parking
lot.

Despite almost thirty
minutes of uninterrupted driving time or because of it, I’m edgier
than ever when I pull into a semi-full parking lot next to a
warehouse.

My phone vibrates as I get
out of the Jeep. Out of habit I check it.

Parker: You with Rae
now?

Me: No.

Parker:???

I don’t have time to
explain. I don’t want to explain. My phone vibrates again. This
time it’s Beau.

Beau: Where r
you?

Me: Warehouse off of
Fifth

Beau: Be there in
ten

I smile. Of all my buddies,
he’d be the only one not warning me of the consequences. Lighting
another cigarette, I hear the roar of a crowd and start in that
direction.

Baldy meets me at the door.
A grin splits his face. “Thought you’d come by.”

“
Tell me what I need to
do.”

“
Get rid of the shirt, the
piercings and the cuffs. The rest is up to you,” he says, leading
me inside.

It’s nicer than I expected.
The place is well-lit and there’s a locker room of sorts. I stash
everything, including my wallet, phone and keys in the first open
bay, then close the door.

“
Where’s the
lock?”

Baldy keeps smiling. I
really need to remember his name. “My associate, Frank, will be
standing here the entire time.”

Frank is about seven feet
tall and has hands the size of my head. Yeah, no one will be taking
anything from him.

“
What’s up,
Frank?”

Frank grunts, leather
creaking as he folds his arms. A flash of silver catches my eyes.
The dude is packing.

My heart races. Maybe it
was a mistake coming here.

Baldy turns to me. “Coming?
You’re up next.”

Frank grunts again and nods
his head.

And maybe it doesn’t matter
anymore.

***

I stumble to the opening in
the cage, my hip on fire, and I swear that at least three of my
ribs are cracked. I can barely see out of both of my
eyes.

Spitting out a mouthful of
blood, I glance back at the other guy. My neck screams in protest.
He’s lying on the floor, only his chest moving.

Baldy suddenly appears,
another face splitting grin. “Here’s your cut. Two grand. Not bad
for your first time.”

Two thousand dollars, for
ten minutes of beating the shit out of some guy whose name I don’t
even remember. “Holy shit.”

“
Come back Friday night
and do this again, and I’ll triple your cut.”

The crowd cheers my name.
But I don’t get a rush from it. Only when I’m wailing on a dude,
pretending he’s all the guys that have done my family wrong,
including the mother who hates me, do I feel a rush. A high. A
sense of justice in the world.

And now I’ve found a way to
make it profitable. I make a fist, holding tight to my money and
grin.

***

“
That was insane, Cole,”
Beau says as he walks in the locker room. Frank must be a NASCAR
fan or Beau threw some serious cash Frank’s way to come back
here.

I’ve showered and washed
the blood away, and feel mostly human again. Right after I’d dried
off, a medic appeared to check me out. He ended up taping my ribs.
Now, I can barely move without wanting to cry but at least
nothing’s broken.

“
I know, right? Two grand
for ten minutes,” I rub the back of my head with a towel, then get
dressed. Slowly. “This Friday, I win again, and it’s triple
that.”

“
Nice.” Beau shakes his
head, lip ring gleaming. “But you look like hell.”

I managed to get my shirt
back on, but buttoning it up will be a bitch. “Little help
here?”

With a roll of his eyes,
Beau strides over and begins buttoning my shirt. “You’re on your
own with your pants. I’m not getting my hands anywhere near your
junk.”

“
Seriously,
bro?”

“
It’s a well-known fact
that I’m irresistible to women and men. Sure hate for you to be all
caught up in my hotness.” He slips in the last button and steps
back. “I saw Parker take your girl home.”

“
Yeah, I don’t think this
is her kind of scene.” I grab the rest of my stuff and make myself
stride out of the locker room like my entire body doesn’t feel like
it needs to lay in bed for the next month. I need to learn how to
do kicks like the dude I took down. My advantage during the fight:
I can take a hit to the head and I can always find my opponent’s
weak spot.

Once we’re outside, I offer
Beau a cigarette and he takes it, lighting up.

“
Where to next?” he
asks.

“
Been thinking about
getting another tat.”

“
Not enough pain for you
tonight?” Beau blows out a thin stream of smoke.

I pull a bottle of pills
out my pants pocket. “Medic hooked me up.”

He takes it from me,
holding it up to the light in the parking lot. “Percocet. That is
the shit.” He tosses the bottle to me and takes another drink from
his Red Bull. “Want something to wash it down?”

“
Not that
crap.”

We stop at his truck, which
is parked two down from my Jeep.

“
I have some water in my
truck, from one of my sponsors. I have to be seen drinking it at
least once day if I’m out and about,” Beau says.

The specifics of the
contracts Beau signs never fail to amuse or amaze me. I remember
one month, he could only be seen wearing a certain brand of
sunglasses. Only Beau hated that brand. I think his dad made the
deal just to mess with Beau.

“
Hit me with your non-ill
gotten gains.”

Beau unlocks the gate of
his truck and rummages around, then throws me a bottle of water. I
pop the top off the pills and take a couple, then wash it down.
“Ride with me or…?”

“
Only if you’re down with
going to—”

“
We’re not going there.
You’ll be too high for them to work on.” He motions for me to get
in his truck. I climb inside. He starts it up, backs out and heads
down Fifth.

“
Take me wherever.” As we
drive the Percocet takes effect, leaving me floating on the
highway. I’m warm and free as we go.

Beau hits the gas at the
next green light and the truck fast forwards to the next light.
Then backs up and does it all over again. I blink, then rub my
eyes.

Next thing I know, we’re
standing in a tattoo shop that I know I can’t afford. All slick
chrome and hot girls in barely there outfits serving drinks. One
smiles and at me and winks.

Looks like drinks aren’t
all they’re serving.

Beau’s speaking to what
looks like the manager. While we’re waiting the room gets that warm
and floaty feeling, just like in Beau’s truck. I take that as my
cue to sit down.

My phone vibrates and I
pull it out, then answer it.

“’
Lo?”

“
Where are you?” Rae’s
voice washes over me. She sounds concerned and not
angry.

“
With Beau.” Suddenly, I
miss her. She should be here. “You should be here. Drive that sweet
ass of yours here and we’ll get something done.”

“
Something
done?”

“
Tattoo, baby.”

“
Oh.”

I take the drink from a
rather endowed brunette with blue eyes. But she’s all wrong for me,
so I send her on her way. “So you coming?”

“
I can’t.”

“
You can. I’ll give you
the address…wait a minute, I don’t know the address….Beau will text
you the address and you get in your nana’s truck and—”

Her thick sigh cuts me off.
“I’m not allowed to drive.”

I frown. “That doesn’t seem
right. To leave you all alone, without a—”

“
No, the state of
Tennessee says I can’t drive.”

I blink at the drink in my
hand. “But we’re in North Carolina.”

“
Are you
drunk?”

“
Nah, girl.”

“
Yeah…so, I don’t exactly
want to get into this over the phone, but I had my license taken
away after the wreck.”

In that moment, clarity
chooses to make an appearance. “Were you drinking and driving?”
This does not fit my image of Rae, but maybe it fits the image of
Violet Lynn.

For long moments, I hear
nothing but the sounds of men talking, women laughing and the low
buzz of the machines.

Finally, she says,
“Yes.”

“
So you gave yourself that
damn scar?” I tighten my grip on the glass in my hand.

“
Cole, can we please talk
about this later? When you’re sober?” Her breath hitches and I can
hear her crying.

I hate that she’s crying. I
hate that she’s alone. I hate that I realize that I don’t know this
girl at all.

“
Ready?” Beau mouths and I
nod.

“
Listen, I’ll let you go.
Don’t wait up for me or…expect me anytime soon. I found a place and
need to get my stuff moved in.” Honestly, I need time to think. I
need to time to come off of this shit and actually talk to Rae. In
person.

Another hitch of breath and
a muffled sob. “I understand. It was nice knowing you, Cole.” Then
she hangs up.

I stare down at the phone
in my hand. What the hell had just happened?

“
Cole?”

“
I think Rae just broke up
with me.” I hit number again, but it goes straight to voicemail.
There’s no way I’m leaving some half-assed apology on there. I try
again and again, until Beau snatches the phone out of my
hand.

“
You’re a free agent
tonight.”

I become completely
fascinated with the pattern of the tiled floor. “Gimme back my
phone.”

“
Only if you promise not
to call her again.”

“
Fine.” My phone is shoved
under my nose and I take it. “Thanks.” I glance up at Beau. He’s
already got his shirt off. His nipples are pierced and there are
tattoos of an angel on one hip and a devil on the other. The
initials P.S. are on his chest, wreathed in roses and thorns, and I
wonder why he hasn’t had that covered yet.

“
Their specialty is
pierc—”

“
Oh, hell no. I’m not
getting anything pierced below my neck, you damn freak.”