Page 69 of Blackbeard
Baby Doll blew out a breath and met my gaze with an apologetic look.
“If I was in your position, I would operate under the assumption that she’s lying to you.”
Ouch. That stung. But it was exactly what I needed to keep my head on straight, in case I was falling in love with a woman who didn’t love me back.Again.
Chapter sixteen
Leigh
To my surprise, I was granted a part-time shift bartending at the Blackjacks clubhouse on the weekends. As the room filled up on Friday night, I lost track of Blackbeard in the chaos. Too busy pouring, mixing, and serving drinks to pick him out in the crowd.
Once in a blue moon, I would get a glimpse of Crash as he passed by, or disappeared around the corner. But we never spoke, and he never ordered a drink from me.
It seemed we weren’t going to be besties any time soon.
My phone rang in my back pocket, barely audible above the hubbub. Wiping down the bar with one hand, I retrieved my phone and glanced at the screen.
Dad.
My heart leaped.
I tossed my rag onto the bar and gestured at Big G, seated at the counter.
“I’m taking a fifteen-minute break. Can you cover for me?”
“Only because you’re cute,” he replied. “And you pour a mean bourbon. Which I will expect as payment when you return.”
“Deal,” I replied, slipping into the kitchen and out the back door.
When I was alone in the alley behind the clubhouse, I glanced around to make sure no one was within hearing range. Then I answered my phone.
“Pack your bags, sweetie,” Dad said before I had a chance to speak. “Change of plans. You’re coming home early.”
Home.
For a split second, an image flashed in my mind—hazy with sleep in the morning, wrapped up in Blackbeard’s silky sheets, with my arm draped around his middle.
No,I chastised myself.That’s not home.
I shook my head, shoving that thought aside, and tried to grasp what Dad was telling me.
“Wait a minute. What’s going on?”
“The timeline has moved up.”
My stomach twisted into a knot and a lump formed in my throat.
“Ever since that kid shot you,” Dad continued. “I’ve been racking my brain, looking for a way to get you out of there. Leaving you in the hands of the Blackjacks for an entire year…I couldn’t do it.”
I raised my eyebrows. Is that why he’d been radio silent lately? Scrambling to get me out of this marriage before I was hurt again? On the other hand, was he really too busy to spare a phone call before now to tell me what was happening?
I pushed my misgivings aside. It didn’t matter. I had to make it work. My leverage with the Blackjacks wasn’t as strong as it should have been. They didn’t trust me yet, and if they got a whiff that something was off, their suspicion would turn on me.
“I’m listening,” I said.
“We’re bringing the Blackjacks down tomorrow night,” Dad replied.
I sputtered with surprise.
