Page 36 of Beautiful Dangerous

“She’s strong. All of this, it gives her a reason to push forward and do what needs to be done.”

“And then what? When she’s had her retribution; taken her revenge, what happens then?”

“You know what happens. The Delgado cartel becomes the main player. It takes control of everything.”

“And what about Olivia? What happens to her?”

“That’s not something we need to worry about just yet.”

I give the bridge of my nose another pinch, and squeeze my eyes tight shut, as though that’s going to fix everything. The same old shit is still going to be here the second I open them.

“Just keep an eye on her, Lucca. Follow the orders you were given.”

I turn around, open my eyes, and quickly scan the crowded casino floor. The bikers are still hanging around, although Eddie’s left now. He’ll be on his way to see Olivia, I’m guessing.

“Go and check on Olivia, Lucca. We’ll talk later.”

I wasn’t done, but at the same time I haven’t got the energy to continue with that conversation. And I don’t think Olivia needs “checking on”. She’s fine. So I order another whiskey and continue to watch the bikers as they gather around the blackjack table; put their filthy hands on willing waitresses’ asses, what the fuck do women see in these men?

Men like you, you mean…?

And then I catch sight of him– Angel Ruiz. All cocksure attitude as he slides an arm around the waist of a redhead with legs up to her armpits; fake tits spilling out of her slightly-too-tight top. Just a matter of hours ago he had his dick inside Olivia, and shewantedthat? I find that so hard to believe, but then, something hasn’t been right with her for a while now. I know it hasn’t. And I want to think I know the reason why… I want to hope that I’m right…

Even if you are, what does it matter?

It can’t happen…

Downing my whiskey I slam the glass down on the counter and leave the casino. I’ve had enough of watching Devil’s Creed brothers act like overgrown schoolboys, I’m out of here. And going where, exactly? Because I don’t much feel like going back to the house yet. There’s too much on my mind, shit that’s only been polarized by seeing Angel just now. Shit I need to face up to, accept, and then forget about. I have no other choice but to forget about it, because acting on it – that could kill me…

Olivia

“Everything’s falling into place, huh?” Eddie smiles at me as he pulls his helmet on.

“Now that your club is a much bigger part of the cartel, yes. We’re getting there.”

“We won’t let you down, Olivia. I know it’s been a long time coming, but we’re almost there.”

I cross my arms and smile back. “I know.”

“We’ll clean the bastards out, I promise you.”

“Thank you. And thank you for coming back to me so quickly.”

“It was a no-brainer, in reality. Just a matter of letting everyone else know. No point in hanging around as far as I’m concerned.”

We hug, and then he climbs onto his Harley and kicks it into life.

“We’ll talk soon, Olivia. You take care, okay?”

I nod and watch him drive off, and for a moment I just stand there. My head’s all over the place, and it’s so unlike me. Getting distracted isn’t what I do, and I know I have every reason to be distracted today, but what’s scaring me more than anything is that my distraction has very little to do with me still grieving Javier. I can’t do that forever, but it doesn’t mean I don’t still miss him sometimes, I do. I still miss him. Sometimes. I probably always will, in some way, but today I woke up and something felt different. I don’t want to be alone anymore. I want to love again. And I think I already do, love someone. And I’m almost certain that he loves me, too. It’s just that neither of us has been brave enough to step over that line.

Heading back inside I make my way to the kitchen, all of a sudden my appetite’s returned and I’m craving bacon and eggs. Maybe some pancakes, too. Thankfully, Celine is still here, and she kindly starts making me brunch while we chat about her children, one of which is about to start law school this fall. She’s very proud of him, and so she should be. The irony, though, is glaringly obvious – the son of the head housekeeper for the Delgado cartel is training to be a lawyer. And that’s something I will, unfortunately, have to keep a very close eye on. Something Celine is very much aware of, because she knows exactly who her employees are; that it’s thanks to them that her son can go to college. Train to be that lawyer.

“Crispy bacon?” Celine asks as she dishes up my eggs.

“As crispy as you can get it, please.” My phone ringing is an irritation I can do without, my food’s almost ready. But it’s Lucca, so I answer it. “Yes?”

“Jimmy Golden – we need to sit him down and get a few things straight.”

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