Page 51 of Starting Our Chance

29 Duke

How we found the housewas a miracle. After a frenzy of phone calls, Felicity had given us an address and then forbade us from going inside. We had argued with Felicity, but she had taken charge of the situation. Remaining in the vehicle was one of the hardest things either of us had ever done. Marcus, the scarred soldier, hadn’t stopped breathing heavily by my side.

“No,” Felicity had barked. “I will go and negotiate.” She’d held up a hand to stop her husband’s protests. “I speak the man’s language—both literally and figuratively. My brothers are driving down here from Atlanta, and this will all be over in a few hours.”

Ever since Felicity had left the vehicle, my eyes had been glued to the front door. Felicity had messaged the moment she was inside that Lore was unharmed—as she’d said she would be—and that things were proceeding amicably. But it didn’t ease the tension in the car. Marcus tapped his thumb against the steering wheel, and I wanted to shout at him. I was only able to keep my lips pressed firmly together, because I knew what he was doing for me by letting his wife get involved.

When Felicity finally waddled out of the house, her lips were moving and her hands were gesticulating. I searched her face for signs of fear but found none. Marcus was out of the truck in a heartbeat and rushed over to her. Crushing her to him, I watched the worry evaporate from his face. Felicity, however, pushed against him after a moment and looked straight at me.

Pissed. Felicity was definitely ticked off.

Tucking herself into the vehicle, she said that everything was settled. “Except the man wants financial compensation for the inconvenience of the time lost given that he would have been able to invest and grow that stolen wealth.”

It was understandable. I processed Felicity’s words, still unsure of what had enraged the Mediterranean beauty. Although Lore’s old boss had seen that the theft wasn’t her fault, he wanted payment, and the thief clearly would not have it.

“I’ll pay.” I felt the clamps that were around my chest begin to loosen. This was it! I would have my moment and prove to Lore that I was her knight in shining armor. After all, I hadn’t pulled myself out of poverty to just stand by and remain remote. “I’ll let them know that I can have assets liquidated in twenty-four hours. Lore should be allowed to come home if I give them a portion up front for good faith, right?”

“Well . . ..” Felicity leaned against the seat, rubbed her protruding belly, and asked her husband about stopping for tacos before answering me with, “Lore said that she would find a way to get a loan.”

“She can’t get a loan for the accrued interest on six million.” I’d done the math in my head. Depending on the amount, I knew it was out of the question for someone like Lore, especially since she had lost everything. “I’ll pay it. Just let me run in and tell Oscolti that I’ll get him the money.” I was willing to venture into the house, but I would sit back and let Felicity communicate with him if my presence would be offensive to the man.

“No.” Felicity motioned for her husband to start driving. Exhaling a long breath, she dropped a bomb shell. “Loretta looked directly at me and told me that you would step up to be her hero. She said that she loved you too much, and if you paid out on her behalf, then you would own her and it would ruin your relationship.”

“So, that’s what that face was about,” Marcus said as he reached over and rubbed her fingers. “You had to let her stay because she’s just as stubborn as you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But there was a soft smile on Felicity’s lips as she turned her head to gaze at her husband. “I want to go home, eat my tacos, and put my feet up. All we can do now is wait for my older brothers to show up and finalize this thing.”

Tears pricked my eyes. As the frustration bubbled up, I clenched my fists until the whites of my knuckles showed. Felicity had assured me that Lore was fine and was figuring things out on her own. So, for now, I was expected to wait.

Grinding my molars, I looked out the window. It would be uncalled for to blow a fuse in front of my friends. Yes, Lore was currently not in danger, but she wasn’t free, either. However, my logical side knew that there was nothing that could be done about it right now.

This was the eternal struggle between us. It would also be a sore point in our brand new relationship, but given our history, it was painful to endure. Stewing in silence, I contemplated what moves were left to me: independence and freedom, as opposed to flight and poverty. I wasn’t sure how to navigate this mess without disrupting that careful balance.

Two things were certain though: Lore couldn’t pay and neither could I. But the money would have to come from somewhere. The alternative was too horrid to think of. “What happens if she can’t pay?”

My friends stopped their hushed conversation. There was a heartbeat of silence before Felicity answered me. “I don’t think it will come to that. The thief could have more money from other jobs to pay the ransom—or Lore could get some kind of a loan, but not from a traditional source. She could bargain with Oscolti for the terms of repayment.”

Another source for the funds? An idea rocketed through me, and when Marcus stopped the truck at the taco shack, I bolted from the vehicle. Shouting an excuse that I’d be back, I took off at a jog, carefully monitoring the restricted feeling in my chest. There was a way to make this work. I just needed to be fast.

~*~

MY FIST RAPPED ON THEpine door of the old hunting cabin. I had driven like a fiend, leaving the city in my dust. The woman on the other side of the door had to be my solution. I wouldn’t settle for anything else—my relationship with Lore depended on it!

Through the front door, I heard a muted exchange of words and a thud. I didn’t want to think what Nikki and Tyler were doing. It had taken me a long time to make it out here, stopping every so often to make sure that I hadn’t been followed.

“Nikki,” I barked through the pine.

Tyler ripped open the door. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Ruining your weekend.” I looked past his shoulder to where my business partner was wrapped in an afghan blanket. “Nikki, I need you to come back to town. It’s urgent.”

“My office burnt down—I know.” Nikki dramatically emphasized her words.

“Lore needs money.” I held her gaze, ignoring the looming brute who could shut my lights off at any second. “She won’t take the loan from me—because she loves me.”

“How much?” Nikki waved her hand, then slapped her forehead. “You have access to our accounts, just fucking take the money. You know I would be okay with it—”

“It needs to be cash. It needs to be untraceable.” I let the final shoe drop as I added, “I can’t liquidate without your signature.”

That shut Nikki up—a feat that was rare.

“Please, Nikki,” I begged. “Her old boss is holding her until he gets his cut. Felicity and her family solved the other problems, but we need liquid cash—and we need it now.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Nikki raised both her arms to high heaven to add emphasis to her exclamation. And the afghan fell to the floor. Thankfully, some inhuman reflex saved me from seeing my partner’s tits. I squeezed my eyes closed, but soon heard the door slam in my face.

I could hear the argument through the door. When those two got to shouting, it could bring down the house. I tried not to eavesdrop, but I was also on tenterhooks, wondering what Nikki would decide and what Tyler would let her do.

“I’m a queen, Ty,” Nikki finally roared. “Someone needs my help, someone less fortunate than me, and I’m the one who is in a position to help her. Not her boyfriend, not her family. Me. So I’m going. You have your fucking duty that drags you all over the globe and leaves me behind to wonder if our most recent goodbye will be our last. Well, I have my duty. And it just called me.”

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