Page 27 of Undeniable
Greta smiled warmly, the drill-sergeant edges softening. “You’re a good man.”
“By the way, Greta, when does Mazzie’s shift end? I’m here to give her a ride home.”
She checked her watch. “In an hour.” Then a commotion to her left had her beelining it in that direction.
Ryker sauntered up to me. “Who was that?”
“I’ll tell you later. Why do you look like something bad happened?” I couldn’t fathom about what.
Ryker scratched his neck. “Your old man is playing blackjack.”
“Come again?” I wasn’t sure I’d heard him over the din and the argument going on nearby.
“Your dad. He’s playing blackjack,” Ryker said. “You called it.”
Motherfucker. I didn’t want to be right. Part of me had hoped he changed, that he was a different and a better man after the time he’d done in prison. I wasn’t surprised, but I hadn’t expected him to gamble so soon.
“He didn’t change,” I mumbled as a buzzing filled my ears, or maybe it was the drone of the slot machines around us. “Where is he?”
“We’re not here for trouble.”
I was itching to ram my fists into something. I’d taken out some of my aggression on the field, but I still had more to expel.
He grabbed my arm. “Lucas, look at me.”
I did as he commanded.
“Your old man made his choice. You will never change that.”
I snarled, not at him but the situation. “I get it. But I want him to see me. I want him to know that he wasn’t fooling me.”
My mom would be devastated, but she needed to know he was gambling again. Give him a chance? No fucking way.
But when Ryker and I reached the blackjack table where Ryker had seen Kurtis, he wasn’t there.
“He was just here,” Ryker assured me as he stabbed a finger at one of the half-moon tables where gamblers were concentrating on their cards.
Kurtis became a distant memory when I spotted two people in a heated argument and did a double take.
Josh and Mazzie stood beneath the restroom sign up ahead, facing off like a contentious married couple. Mazzie poked her finger in his chest. Josh in turn grabbed her arm and yanked her closer to him. I was about to intervene then froze.
Kurtis came out of the restroom, rearing back as he assessed Josh and Mazzie.
“There’s your father, and is that Mazzie? Who’s the cowboy?” Ryker asked.
“Her ex.”
I stood rooted to the spot about twenty feet away, captivated by the unfolding scene.
Kurtis raised his hand with commanding authority, signaling Josh to release Mazzie. But Josh, the arrogant bastard, swung viscously at Kurtis. My father ducked effortlessly as though prison had clearly kept his reflexes sharp. Josh’s punch sailed over Kurtis’s head, causing Josh to stumble forward.
Adrenaline surged through me as I sprang into action, fearing for Mazzie’s safety. Yet I should’ve anticipated the little minx’s spunky spirit that I’d already witnessed tonight. As Josh regained his balance, Mazzie drove her knee straight up into his junk. The cowboy collapsed to his knees, holding his balls.
I could almost feel his pain. Getting sacked in the balls blinded a man.
As we approached, Kurtis was staring at Mazzie, awestruck by her actions. I couldn’t blame him. She was a force of nature—a midnight storm that rolled in and took command of everything in her wake. She sure as hell was taking hold of my damn heart. What stunned me even more was Kurtis’s unexpected act of chivalry. His actions didn’t overshadow his addiction, but maybe it was a start in the right direction.
“You bitch,” Josh squeaked out, his face blazing with fury.
