Page 36 of Nothing Stays in Vegas

“Oh fuck,” gasped Bitty.

Papers were strewn about the floor. Books, tables and chairs were scattered, the bar overturned. It looked like animals had made the once pristine room their nesting grounds.

“—bitch!” Came the low snarl.

“Slut—” Forced through gritted teeth.

Cal couldn’t tell which sister was which. The hair of one stuck out in a wild matted bunch as she rolled on the floor, pinned by the other whose dark hair was slicked to her face with sweat.

“Lara?”

Neither registered his presence.

“Tacky trash—”A slick leg shot out and then the women were rolling, savage snarls and catty insults flying with their hair.

An open palm swung wide and smacked the already pink cheek of the woman on top. Cal staggered back in shock, but Bitty’s hands shoved him back into the room.

The woman on top let out a guttural growl as she cocked her fist back. “You fight like a girl!”

“Lara!” he yelled.

Lara, on top, froze, one fist grasping a mahogany mass of strands attached to Dette’s head, the other stalled an inch away from Dette’s eye. The color washed out of her face in a flash as she turned and looked over at him. “Cal?” Her attention snapped to Bitty beside him and the color flooded back with the blaze in her eye.

Bitty put out her palms as if in defense. “It was either enlist Cal’s help, or call Mary on her afternoon off. I did what I thought was right.”

Lara’s head dropped, hanging heavily between her shoulders. Dette snarled and shoved her off, scrambling to her feet. One high heel dragged loose off to the side, secured around her ankle by the delicate strap, the other was nowhere to be seen. Staggering to a club chair, she sank into it and discarded the shoe, throwing it at the wall.

Gingerly probing her ankle, Dette glanced over at Lara, still kneeling on the floor, and then to Cal. “I wouldn’t let her tell you.”

Lara closed her eyes, shaking her head as Dette continued. “In the beginning I was panicked that you were going to let it go public, and even Adam wouldn’t stand for that. But after, when she wanted to tell you, I wouldn’t let her. I was…miffed. Lara’s easy to boss around if you know what buttons to push, so I lied and pushed them until she felt like she had no choice. She loves you. For whatever that’s worth.”

She loved him. It was what he’d been feeling and what he’d wanted, but that was before. A part of him was relieved it hadn’t been Lara in Vegas. It answered so many questions. But knowing that he’d been so easily blindsided again…he couldn’t stand it. He was a fucking idiot being led around by his dick.

Lara pushed herself back onto her hip and rubbed her knee. “Dette, you don’t need to justify my behavior to Cal.”

Sighing deeply, Dette picked at the torn seam on her blouse. “I suppose that maybe I did need to explain my part in it though. But I’ll leave you two to figure out the rest. Bitty, can you make sure the coast is clear before I head out there?”

Bitty grabbed the door and stuck her head out for a quick peek. “Looks good, Adam was working damage control earlier. I think he got everyone out.”

“What a man.” Dette started for the door, slowing as she passed Lara. Cal thought she’d say something but Lara didn’t even look up. Dette nodded and left, taking Bitty with her.

Cal stuffed his hands in his pockets, unsure of what to say next.

“You don’t have to do this.” She rose, her gaze still focused on the ground.

“I don’t have to do what?”

“You don’t have to try to talk it out with me. I’m so sorry. For dragging you into this craziness, for lying to you, for everything.”

Cal nodded. He reached down and cupped Lara’s jaw. The warmth of her skin permeated his palm. It seeped into his veins and coursed through his body, into his chest, easing the chill that had settled there. Tilting her chin to him, he saw the tears glistening in her eyes. “Was Dette telling the truth?”

Lara blinked and one tear made its silky descent down her cheek. She sniffed using the back of her hand to swipe it away. “Yes. She might not make a habit of it, but that time she told the truth. I love you. As she said, for whatever that’s worth.”

Amid the torrent of conflict within him, one question rose clearly in his mind. What was Lara’s love worth?

Her eyes were sad, soft. Images of grabbing her into his arms and begging her to forget everything that had happened swept through his mind. But he couldn’t do it. “I’m sorry.”

Chapter Sixteen

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