Saving Dallas (18 page)

“I just need some pants
,” I mumbled.
What was wrong
?  I had never seen Luke so furious.

“Come here
,” he said to me, still holding the phone to his ear.  I slowly approached him.  He was knelt down digging something out from under the bed.  When I was close enough to touch him, he turned and grabbed a pair of sweats out of the dresser.  “Look, I don’t have time for this shit.  I am taking Dallas home.  I’ll call you on my way back through.”  He hollered into the phone, and then ended the call, sliding his phone into his pocket. 

Still on one knee, Luke held out the pants for me to
step into.  He looked tired, angry, and somewhat worried.  I started to ask him what was wrong, but he cursed under his breath and grabbed his phone from his pocked.  “What?” he snapped again, but this time he sounded a little exasperated. I held onto his shoulders while he dressed me.

When my pants were on, he stood, grabbed my
hand and the duffel bag and led me out to the carport.  “I’m pulling out now,” he said to the person on the other end of the phone.  Luke opened the driver’s side door of the truck and ushered me in.  I moved across the seat and he climbed in behind me.  I noticed when we pulled out that the shop doors were open. 

“The shop door is open
,” I said softly. 

“It’s called a clubhouse and I know
,” he said seething. 
Geez.  What was up his ass? 

“What’s wrong?” I asked cautiously.  He was still on the phone, but he must have been put on hold. 

“Nothing.  I’ll drop you off then I have some stuff to handle.  I’ll pick you up from work tomorrow.” 

“Luke, have I done something wrong?”
I asked.  I wanted him to talk to me.  I thought if I played my innocent card he would open up.  Someone came back on the line and my question went unanswered.  I only caught tiny bits of his conversation and none of it made sense to me.  He was being very evasive and it bothered me. 

Something had
gone wrong and either he was hiding it from me or someone had pissed him off and he was taking it out on me.  Either way, I wanted some answers.  When he hung up the phone, he immediately turned the volume on the radio up and I knew I wouldn’t get anything from him. 

We pulled into my driveway and he opened the gate without a problem.  Pulling under my carport, he answered his phone once again ignoring me completely.  Before I could open my door, he had his truck in reverse ready to leave.  I had never felt so alone or hurt.  I found my hidden key and unlocked the door.  I replaced the key in its hiding spot then entered the house leaving Luke and all his problems in my driveway.

Chapter 13

At that moment all I wanted was to crawl under the covers and cry myself to sleep.  So many questions were on my mind.
  Why was he being so ugly to me?  Was he mad because I got my hours mixed up?  Was he mad because I asked him to call Lindsey? 
He could have taken two minutes to talk to me.  Even if he didn’t want me now, he could have had the courtesy of telling me it was none of my business.  If it was about me then I deserved to know.  Instead of talking to me, he had hollered or just not said anything at all. 

Neo greeted me in the living room and even he could tell something was wrong.  I patted his head and he dutifully followed me into the bedroom.  I crawled under the covers, Neo in tow, and was crying before my head hit the pillow. 
How could a man make me so happy one minute, then have me in tears the next
?  Ever since I met him, my life had been turned upside down.  I cried more in the last two weeks than I had in my entire life.  I was so sick of this.  One minute he was mad, then he was happy, then he was a sex God, then he was bossing me.  He was giving me whiplash with his mood swings, and I was starting to regret ever meeting him.  I wanted to be myself again, someone who didn’t have time for a man or a relationship. 

“Dallas
,” I heard Luke call from the kitchen.  I was hoping that if I didn’t answer he would just go away, even though deep down I knew I didn’t want him to.  I could sense Luke’s presence.  I didn’t even have to turn over to know he was behind me.  I tried to keep my breathing level, but my snotty nose betrayed me and I sniffed.

“Dallas, baby I’m sorry
,” Luke said, crawling under the covers with me and wrapping me in his arms.  The sweet sound of his voice and the touch of his strong hands made me cry harder.

“Why are you so fucking mean sometimes?  I didn’t even d-do anything
,” I stammered.  “And if I d-did why don’t you just tell me.”

“Shh
baby.  You didn’t do anything.  I just didn’t want to worry you.  Protecting you and taking care of you is what I want to do more than anything, and earlier I couldn’t do that,” he said, rocking me in his arms.  “While you were sleeping, I was in the Harley Room tinkering on my bike when I heard the kitchen door close.  I assumed it was you so I didn’t pay any attention to it.  A few minutes later, I sensed something was wrong and went to find you.  You were still in the bed sleeping, but the door was open.  I heard a glass break and ran outside to find someone had broken into the club house.  The guy took off through the woods and I was beginning to chase him when I heard you holler my name, and then I heard you scream and I panicked.  I called the club and they told me to get out that they would handle it.  I wanted to handle it myself.  I wanted to track him down and hurt him, but I knew that I couldn’t leave you.  I’m not use to feeling like that Dallas.  It’s very new to me.” 

Oh wow. 
I had no idea
.
  My tears had stopped, but my body tensed in worry. 
What if something would have happened to him?
  Luke was busy looking after me, but who was looking after him?  I remembered the sickening feeling I had at the bar when he went outside to fight those guys.  I didn’t even know him then, and now that I did that feeling had only intensified.

“I’m so sorry
,” I whispered, turning to bury my face in his chest.

“You did nothing wrong,” Luke said, looking me in the eyes.  He looked like he had aged a few years in just the past several hours.

“Please don’t leave me
,” I begged. 
I was not worried about my
own safety
.  No one could get to him out here, but if he went back to his house, he was fair game.  He had said many times that he wanted to protect me.  I knew if I asked him to stay that he would.  Especially if he thought I feared for my safety.  He looked torn and I felt like shit.  I knew he wanted to be there with his brothers.  He didn’t like sitting on the sidelines, but his safety was not only important for me but for everyone else too.  If someone was after Luke, then this was the safest place for him to be. 

I heard a phone ring and realized it was mine.  Who would be
calling me?

“I got it
,” Luke said, leaning over and grabbing my phone from my clutch on the end table.  “What you want Red?” Luke asked, answering my phone.  “Really?” What was she saying?  “Ok, hang on.”  He handed me the phone and rolled his eyes. 

“Hello?” 

“Dallas, do you have a blue pair of heels?” Red asked, surprising me completely. 

“Um.  Yeah I think so.”

“Can you please go look and maybe tell me what other colors you have?”

Well this was weird
.  “Yeah sure, hang on,” I said, getting out of bed and heading into my closet.  Luke was concentrating hard on his phone and paying no attention to me.  “Ok, I have several different blues I ha-.” 

“Dallas
,” Red said, cutting me off.  “Listen very carefully to me.  I don’t care what you do or how you have to do it, but I need you to keep Luke there tonight.  I can’t go into detail, but please.  Consider it a favor for the club.”  I knew whatever was going on was not good, but the urgency in Red’s voice was enough for me to do anything she asked.

“Ok, I can do that
,” I answered her.  “Is everything ok?” 

“I’ll talk to you
tomorrow and Dallas…. Thank you.”  She hung up and I walked back into the bedroom to find Luke still lying in my bed.

“What did she want?” Luke asked, never looking up. 

“To borrow my Jimmy Choo’s, but they’re the wrong size.”  I said, quite convincingly. 

“Babe, I have to go
,” he said standing. 
Shit. 
I had to think fast.  I thought I had convinced him to stay, but apparently not.

“Luke
, please don’t leave me,” I whined. 

“You will be fine darlin.  I promise no one is going to mess with you out here.  Come lock the door behind me.” 

“Luke, wait!” I said a little too anxiously.

“Baby, nothing is going to hurt you.  They were after me
,” he said soothingly.  I ran into his arms and without even trying, I was sobbing into his neck. 

“Whoa babe.  Are you that upset?”  He asked, smoothing my hair and kissing my cheek. 

“Yes.  Please don’t leave me.” I begged, exaggerating my sobs.

“Baby I won’t let anything happen to you, but I have to go.  I’ll send a prospect or I’ll take you to Lindsey’s.”

“I s-saw him Luke,” I announced, surprising myself when I said it.

“What?”  Luke asked, pulling me from his chest so he could look at my face. 

“I saw him.  He was standing beside me and he touched my face.”  There was a special place in hell for liars as good as myself, but this was my last resort and I prayed it would work. 

“He touched you?” Luke asked, completely shocked by my admission.  I nodded my head, and with an
enormous amount of effort I forced my body into sobs and shudders.  I felt him dig something out of his pocket.  Without letting go of me, he grabbed his phone and dialed a number. 

“Tiny
, I’m staying at Dallas’s.  Call me in the morning and let me know what you find.  Be careful brother.”  I didn’t hear Tiny’s response, but I knew he was glad that Luke was not coming. 

“Come on baby, let’s go to bed.”  Luke pulled the covers back and undressing, joined me in the bed and wrapped me in his arms. “Baby I am so sorry. 
No one will ever get that close to you again.  I promise.”  I felt guilty for lying to him, but I was asked to keep him safe and that’s
exactly
what I planned to do. 

Luke and I didn’t get much sleep that night.  It seemed his phone rang every hour-waking me and him.  He would get up and go into the next room to talk, but I stayed awake until he came back each time.  When my alarm went off at seven o’clock, I felt like I had just gone to sleep.  I drug myself into the shower, hoping the hot water would wake me
. 
I wandered what had become of the man that broke into the clubhouse and why did he do it?  Tonight I would see Red and squeeze as much information from her as possible
.
  When I came out of the shower, Luke was still asleep in bed.  Not wanting to wake him, I slid into my closet and closed the door behind me.  I dried my long hair as quickly as possible, curled the ends, and applied my makeup only using some light blush and mascara and coral colored lip gloss.  I chose a sleeveless white crepe dress that came just above my knees and was accessorized with a thin orange belt around the waist.  I grabbed a pair of bright orange pumps to match the belt, some diamond studs for my ears, and my usual watch and bracelet.  Satisfied with my appearance, I packed a quick bag for tonight consisting of some jeans, a white fitted t-shirt and my black ankle boots with a low heel.  I walked out of the closet to find Luke no longer in bed. 

“Luke?”  I called.  Wondering where he had wondered off to. 

“I’m in the kitchen babe,” he answered.  Luke was sitting at the bar with two steaming cups of coffee in front of him.  As I approached he turned to stare at me and his eyes shot in surprise, but he quickly recovered giving me a smirk.  “You look good babe.  Real good.  The color orange suits you.”

I walked into his arms, planting a kiss on his lips with a loud smack and sat down to join him.  “Well, what’s the news?” I asked, picking up my coffee and taking a big sip. 
Damn, Luke could make some good coffee, just how I liked it; strong and dark. 

“Nothing yet.  The guy took off.  We don’t even know who it was.”
  He looked like he was thinking hard, and I didn’t want our morning to be anything like last night so I quickly changed the subject.

“Where are we going tonight?”
I asked, flashing my best smile.  His eyes softened and he smiled back. 

“Shenanigans.  Ever been there?” 

“Once, a band I like played there.  The Glitter Boys.” 

“Ah.  Gotta love The Glitter Boys
,” he said playfully.  Luke seemed to be in a good mood, but I could tell he had a lot on his mind
. 
I was hoping having a break from me would give him plenty of time to handle it.  I still felt like a jerk for lying to him, but I kept reminding myself that it was the right thing to do.  I knew in my heart he would have done the same for me.