Saving Dallas 2 Making the Cut (19 page)

“You’re not slipping, Luke. You just have a
lot on your mind.” My tone was exasperated and slightly bitchy. I
wouldn’t call him out on his behavior right now, but it more than
pissed me off that he thought I was to blame, even though I
probably was.

“Drop it. I need to have a few words with the
PROSPECT alone, so when we get in here, stay in the lobby. I’ll let
you see him before we leave.” Luke jumped out of the truck before I
could say anything and slammed the door. He stared at his phone by
the hood of the truck waiting on me.

I was still sitting inside, trying to figure
out what I had done to put him in such a shit mood. All I did was
suggest something. Was it really that big of a deal? I clambered
from the truck, deciding my skinny jeans and pencil thin stilettos
were probably not such a good idea. I wanted to look nice, since
Luke looked nice, but there was nothing more annoying than the
click of heels in a hospital corridor. I had to practically run to
keep up with Luke who held my hand like it was his job rather than
his desire. By the time we made it to the lobby, I was fuming. His
fucking phone got more attention than I did. Not uttering a word to
me, or looking at me or doing anything besides texting and staring
straight ahead had thoroughly pissed me off. Once we arrived, Luke
let go of my hand, then disappeared down the hall to Marty’s room,
without a single word.

The cheap, leather furniture in the lobby was
that awful mint green color that reminds you of the seventies. I
made myself comfortable on the love seat, only to get up and pace
the floor again. I was the only soul in the room and my ass had
graced every seat in there. It seemed like hours had passed when
Luke arrived with Worm, the VP, and another man, that I remembered
as Boss Hog, following him.

“Let’s go.” Luke’s tone was harsh and his
eyes hard.

“I want to see Marty,” I said, cocking out my
hip and crossing my arms. Bad move, Dallas. Luke rushed up to me
and grabbed me, looking down at me and bringing his face so close
to mine that our noses almost touched.

“Now,” He growled as I swallowed hard,
nodding my head vigorously at him. Luke was fucking scary. His grip
on my arm was a little too tight and by the time we were in the
elevator, I was sure there would be bruises.

“Luke, you are hurting me,” I whispered,
scared that if I spoke too loud or said the wrong thing that he
would lose it. He loosened his grip slightly, but kept a firm hold
on my arm as he led me through the hospital and to the garage. Luke
opened the passenger door and all but pushed me inside. He slammed
it behind me and walked around, climbed into the driver’s side and
cranked the truck. Worm and Boss Hog had climbed into the back seat
and I had an eerie feeling that something was wrong, and whatever
it was-I was the cause of it. Luke turned to me, placing a hand on
the back of the seat next to my head. I heard the smooth leather
crush under his tight grip as he spoke between his teeth.

“Who the fuck is Jeff?” His question caught
me off guard and I looked around the cab at the stone faces of our
passengers.

“I will ask you one more time,” Luke said,
his jaw clenching and his breathing hard. “Who. The. Fuck. Is.
Jeff?”

“An old friend,” I said, just loud enough for
him to hear me. What was with the questions? Luke’s fist smashed
into the radio and I jumped as the pieces fell to the
floorboard.

“Don’t you fucking lie to me, Dallas! Who is
he?” Luke yelled, just the power of his voice pushing me back
further into my seat.

“He-he is my ex-boyfriend,” I stuttered. Luke
should know this. He had been following me for years. How could he
not have known and why was it such a problem? My mind was racing,
and I was scared out of my mind, but I found the courage to speak,
“I broke up with him three months before I met you.” Luke just
stared at me, the darkness in his eyes so threatening that I found
it hard to breathe.

“How long have you been seeing him, Dallas?”
Luke asked, his voice so cold that I shivered.

“I dated him for several months. We met at a
convention through a mutual client. It was never anything serious.
I didn’t love him or anything, it was just sex.” Fuck me and my big
mouth. That was surely not the right thing to say. Luke’s eyes grew
bigger and darker, if that were possible, and I knew that I’d
pushed my limits.

“Let me tell you something, sweetheart, this
guy you were fucking just so happens to be playing on the wrong
fucking team. He has been doing dirty work for Frankie, and your
little idea that you had earlier has just back fired in my fucking
face. Now, I’m dealing with a prick whose cock has been in my
girl’s pussy and there ain’t a fucking thing I can do about it. I
have a meeting with your Jeff in an hour and I have to sit there
and strike a deal with him, just so I can find Frankie.”

The console between Luke and I disappeared as
he moved closer to me. My brain was screaming at me to jump out of
the truck and run, but my ass was frozen to the seat.

“Do you have any idea how hard it’s gonna be
sitting across from that motherfucker, knowing that he has seen
you? Tasted you? Fucked you?” Luke’s eyes glided over my body as he
spoke. He had made me feel a lot of things since I had been with
him, now I could add cheap to that list.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, tears welling up in
my eyes. In no way was I responsible for this. I didn’t even know
Luke existed when I knew Jeff, yet somehow this was all my fault. I
would have told him anything to get him to give me some space. This
was too much. I had been more than understanding. I didn’t deserve
to be treated like this. Luke was still too close for comfort and
time seemed to drag on. Tears now fell freely down my face as Luke
glared at me.

“Brother,” Worm said from the back seat,
placing his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “She didn’t know.”

I almost passed out at his words. Luke
thought I was playing him. He thought I knew Jeff worked for
Frankie. My tears of fear and sadness turned to anger, as it dawned
on me that this motherfucker actually thought that I had turned on
him.

“You son of a bitch,” I whispered in his
face, no longer scared of the man staring at me. “You think I knew
about this?” Luke sat up and replaced the console so that it was
separating us. Smart move. “You think I sold you out? I’m guilty of
nothing but loving you.” Luke stared straight ahead, his arm
resting casually on the steering wheel.

“Look at me!” I screamed, my patience lost.
“Do you know what they did to me? Do you?” Luke’s eyes fell to his
lap. “They came in my fucking house! They grabbed me and I fought
back, but they hit me so hard that I lost consciousness. When I
woke up they were throwing cold water on me. They hung me in a
fucking barn, Luke!”

His eyes found mine and I knew he regretted
everything he had said and done, but I wasn’t finished. My voice
was weaker as I fought the sobs that bubbled in my chest, “They
ripped my clothes off of me. Then they duct taped my mouth so I
couldn’t scream.” I stared into his blue eyes as I shared with him
that awful night. Telling the story was making me relive it over
again, but I pushed on. “They threatened to cut my tongue out if I
screamed. When he… touched me,” Luke closed his eyes as I struggled
to get the words out. “When he told me what he was going to do, how
he was going to let everyone get a turn, I started screaming again.
I hoped that if I screamed enough, they would just kill me. You
know what I was screaming?” Luke’s eyes shot open and he shook his
head.

“Baby,” he whispered, shaking his head and
fighting tears of his own.

“I screamed for you.” My voice broke as I
covered my face with my hands and sobbed into them. “I screamed for
you over, and over, and over, I begged for you, and you didn’t
come.” I was screaming now into my hands, my body convulsing with
sobs as I remembered the feel of their hands on me. Frankie had
taken over my life. Every day I thought about how he had scarred
me. The only comfort I found in life was when I was with Luke, and
now he thought that I had betrayed him. Frankie had consumed my
mind and body, but Luke gave the fatal blow when he crushed my
heart.

Chapter 10

Dallas

I was in a whirlwind, I couldn’t fully
process what was going on around me, but I knew that I was cradled
in Luke’s arms and the truck was moving. Luke was saying something,
but my loud sobs and shivering body overpowered his voice and it
went unheard.

When I wake-up, it’s dark outside and it
takes me a minute to realize where I am. The only clothing I’m
missing is my shoes, and I am curled up like a baby in Luke’s arms.
Memories of today wash over me and as much as I want to run, I know
I can’t. Despite his ridiculous behavior from earlier, I know Luke
has my best interests at heart. I’m still not sure what triggered
him, or how he found out about Jeff, but I would get to the bottom
of it before he left. Regardless of today’s actions, I knew Luke
would still be on a manhunt to find Frankie and make him pay for
what he had done. My confession from earlier sealed Frankie’s fate.
There would be no second chance, or time for discussion. His only
reason for living, the girl who had won over the club’s heart, was
not enough to keep him alive anymore. Maddie would deal with the
death of Frankie and I would be there to help her through it. I
knew all of these things like I knew myself. Regg had obviously
withheld information from Luke and I wasn’t really sure why. He
knew that I had been with Jeff, because he had been the one to
follow me. How had he not figured it out? Surely they looked into
everyone that I dated if their job was to keep me safe. The thought
was unnerving. The last thing I wanted to do was accuse one of
Luke’s brothers of something, but this was my life we were talking
about. I didn’t give a shit about how Luke would feel if he had to
confront one of his own. He didn’t seem to have a problem accusing
me, and I was under the impression that I was pretty high on the
important people in Luke’s life ladder.

Luke’s phone vibrated next to us, and he
quickly grabbed it, punching in a code and revealing a message from
Tiny.

*Everyone is on board. Will meet tonight.
I’ll let ya know what’s up. Hope she is good. I love ya
brother.*

Luke hit the reply button and I was shocked
at his one handed texting skills.

*She is still sleeping. Thanks. Love you too
brother. Be safe.*

Why wasn’t Luke going to the meeting? Was it
the one with Jeff? Was it because of me? I wanted to stay quiet
just in case another message came through, but my stupid bladder
had other things in mind.

“I need to pee,” I announced to Luke in a
hoarse voice. I attempted to clear it, but my throat burned from my
earlier screaming,-another reminder of that awful night with
Frankie. Luke stilled when he heard my voice, but recovered
quickly. He kissed the top of my head and swung his legs off the
bed, carrying me, still cradled to his chest, to the bathroom. I
didn’t have the strength or the willpower to fight him off as he
sat me down on the counter in his bathroom and began undressing me.
Once I was naked, he set me on my feet and moved to the bathtub. My
head stayed down as I made my way to the toilet, afraid that if I
looked at him, I would break once again. Just the sound of the
running water was soothing and I couldn’t wait to get in. Luke left
the bathroom and I took the opportunity to slide into the hot water
before he got back. When he returned, he held a glass of orange
juice in his hand along with a couple of small pills. He handed
them to me and like a robot, I took them, draining the glass of
juice before handing it back to him and lying back in the big tub.
I thought Luke would leave, but instead he sat on his knees beside
the tub and began bathing me. I watched his lathered hands as they
massaged my feet and legs then moved up my body, not hesitating at
my private areas that I would have rather washed myself. Luke
worked his way up to my head, piling my hair on top and securing it
with a band he pulled out of thin air. As he washed my neck and
back, I kept my head down, avoiding his gaze. Hunched over, I took
the opportunity to wash my face with my hands, feeling more alert
when I was finished. Luke released the plug in the bottom of the
tub, and grabbed a towel that sat next to him on the floor. He
stood and threw it over his shoulder then grabbed me under my knees
and behind my back and lifted me, carrying me into the bedroom. The
whole process had taken only minutes and I had managed to avoid his
face the entire time. I was dry, dressed in his t-shirt and under
his covers when he finally spoke.

“Hungry?” he asked and I could hear the hope
in his voice. I shook my head, playing with my knotted fingers.
“Nanny made some soup earlier. Is it okay if I fix you just a small
bowl? You haven’t had anything to eat.” I nodded my head, knowing
he wouldn’t shut up until I agreed to eat something, and the soup
did sound pretty good. Luke disappeared for a few minutes before
returning and presenting me with a tray full of soup, a sandwich
and a big glass of sweet tea. He turned the T.V. on and just like
this morning, I ate in bed while watching cartoons.

The soup was probably the best I had ever
tasted. I would give Nanny a job if she ever decided she wanted to
become a full time cook. The Abbey could definitely use someone
like her to work alongside three of the best cooks I had ever met.
I thought of Stacy and how I needed to handle the possibility of
him poisoning me. I mentally put that on my ‘things to do while
Luke was gone’ list. I could probably get Red to help me; maybe we
could reach out to her contacts and find out what was going on. I
couldn’t believe how well I had handled all of this. The shit with
Frankie and Luke and Stacy would be enough to put any normal person
in an insane asylum somewhere. I guess I wasn’t very normal. I
couldn’t hate Luke for the shit he had said to me or the way he had
treated me. I felt like an idiot for just acting like it didn’t
happen, but I would have done the same thing. Luke jumped to
conclusions and handled things in a way that only the President of
a MC could-by being intimidating and scary.