Page 51 of Lucas
Suddenly, my breath rushed out, and I had no idea which of Rom’s various techniques worked. He was still bending over me, his face flushed with concern, and my giggles erupted all over again. Then I started coughing when the door burst open.
We both turned to glance up at Lucas’s surprised face, which darkened the longer we stared at him. He was back early from a store run, and even as I got my coughing under control, I couldonly imagine what the pair of us looked like from his vantage point.
But only one thing came to mind as I was caught in his sapphire glare.
“Bingo?”
Chapter Twenty
“I still can’t believehe told you.” Lucas stared out the front windshield as he drove us back to the motel after the third day of a bored-out-of-my-mind stakeout. His hands gripped the steering wheel, and his knuckles might have been turning white.
I giggled. He wouldn’t let it go, and every time he brought it up, I instantly pictured him and Rom hunched over a long table between two gray-haired ladies. The women would lean over, pointing as they double-checked the vamp’s multiple boards, whispering words of advice and encouragement. Or maybe the women were the cranky sort, explaining how they were doing it all wrong. Lucas and Rom would nod along, but their gazes would be stuck on the tumbling balls, eagerly awaiting the next call. It was just too precious.
Somehow, I managed to spit out, “I promise I won’t tell a soul.”
“Including Cressa.”
It wasn’t a question. “I’ll do my best.”
“Swear. Right now, in this van, swear you won’t say a word to Cressa.”
The giggles stopped. He was serious. I must have missed something about masculinity in the vamp world. Did he reallythink other vamps would think less of him if they discovered his secret obsession with bingo?
Rom had seemed just as serious.
“What’s this all about? It’s been how many days, and you’re still grumbling over this?” When he didn’t answer me, I noted his tight jaw and rigid posture. “Would it be easier if I shared something I thought was embarrassing even though Cressa didn’t give it a second thought when I mentioned it?”
His gaze flickered to me then back to the road. “Would it be true?”
I sighed. “No. But I’ll confess that Cressa and I might have been seen in a bingo parlor once or twice.”
This time he turned his whole head to determine my sincerity.
“If that’s true, why do you find it so funny when it’s me and Rom?”
“Aah. Now I see the problem. I’m not laughing about you and Rom playing bingo. I understand what draws you to the game.” That got a flicker of surprise. “It’s just the image of you surrounded by gray-haired women feeding you snacks.”
“Not everyone is old.”
Still sensitive. I glanced out my side window. It was better to let him stew on it for a bit.
“Why do you think we’re drawn to it?”
Finally. We were getting somewhere. I shrugged my shoulder. “Rom is a House leader with lots of pressure. His side business of granting favors must come with its own stress. Like Devon, his mind is always churning, trying to stay ahead of the game.
“You might not be a House leader but, as cadre, you have many responsibilities. Even when you were a bodyguard for Rom, it was apparent he gave you more responsibilities than others.”
“Why would you think that?”
I snorted. “Anyone can see he values your opinion. The point is, bingo is one of those games where you don’t think about anything other than each little ball. You stare at dozens of cards, waiting for the call. It’s not really about winning. And if I had to guess, I’d say you don’t always call a winner, even when you have one, letting some of the regulars have a chance in the spotlight. It’s all about clearing your head. Even with the mental task of searching the columns and rows, you’re not thinking of anything but the cards in front of you.”
We drove in silence, and I returned to stare out the window.
When we approached town, his hand touched mine, and I grabbed it. When he squeezed back, I knew he was alright.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He kissed my hand.
“I don’t know how you managed this long without me.”
