I fought off the shiver those words caused, but the goose bumps that raced up my skin were beyond my control.
"Wade Dearborn will change his mind after I talk to him Johnny boy, rest assured."
I grabbed his wrist and twisted, ducking out from under the knife as his muscles flexed. I let go before he could twist mine back and backed up, slamming into the sink. I was angry, so I was stupid and I reached out and shoved him backwards, watching with satisfaction as he almost fell on his ass, instead running sharply into the counter behind him.
"What the fuck is your problem Luke? My mom is dying, this isn't about me and you! Why would you fuck up the only chance I might have at saving her!"
He recovered, standing slowly and staring at me, anger in his eyes, "This is about me and you Johnny as much as it's about her. It'll take you 4 months at least to save up enough money to get that operation, and it will clean out your savings. By that point you don't know how bad the tumor will be and hell she might even need a different surgery, a more expensive one. Come work for me and I'll have her in that operating room as early as next week. I promise."
I just stared at him. He was right I knew that, I was going to try to sneak in extra hours with Wade so it wouldn't take as long but he was right. It might be too long.
"Work for you. Doing what Luke? What I did before?" I didn't bother saying it out loud, he knew what I meant.
He ran a hand through his short spiky black hair, "No Johnny, no. I won't put you back in the field, just help run the compound. That's all, you have my word. No one has the skills you got when it came to that shit Johnny. I'm not nearly as patient as you are, and I didn't understand half that shit you did to make it all run so smoothly. Work for me, and I'll save your mom."
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. Luke was involved with a lot of illegal trafficking, everything from drugs to electronics. His compound is where everything happened, and it was damn official. I mean it didn't have papers or some shit because no one is stupid enough to leave a trail, especially not a powerful man like Luke Havers. However, I made it real, efficient instead of a bunch of thugs winging it.
I had schedules, client meetings, I made sure it all went down smoothly; code words for everything though we had never got caught. Not to mention a lot of the runners lived there and I was good at being the peace keeper. Unless I was in the field. That wasn't something I even wanted to think about.
I felt Luke move closer and I didn't open my eyes. I didn't try to stop him like I know I should have. His arms wrapped around me and my head fell to his shoulder automatically. I needed the comfort, I was so scared for my mom, so stressed out, I just needed it. God I was so weak sometimes.
He still smelled the same, still wearing the addidas he knew I loved. He was so strong, he worked out a lot but that wasn't really it. He was stubborn, pig headed, and cocky; and every time I fell he had caught me. Every damn time.
He held me close and I couldn't stop the tears from coming. So much had happened in the last two years and now the one woman who had remained vigilant through everything in my life, the one I always knew would be my rock might be gone.
Luke held me the whole time, and I clung to him like he was my last lifeline. I should have let him go, pushed him away, but I didn't.
I held him so tight it must of hurt but he didn't complain, didn't make one sound, just held me close, reveling in my scent, the feel of my body against his. It felt to damn good.
I started to pull back and he refused to move, "No Johnny. You want to be in my arms as much I want to have them around you. Give me another minute before you go back to hating me. Please."
He had never sounded so vulnerable and I realized now just had badly I had really hurt him by leaving. I couldn't stay though, he had known that. Besides he wasn't exactly all hugs and kisses either. He had held me at gun point, knife point, everything. He was a dangerous, dangerous man, and we had been in a very dangerous relationship.
He had a quick temper and he was beyond possessive. He had more power than anyone I knew, and he could and would snap his fingers and someone's neck would snap just as quickly. He always got his way and he didn't take no for an answer. Luke was indeed very scary.
Somehow though he had fallen for me, and I had fallen oh so hard back. No one knew him like I did. No one saw the soft side, the gentle side. Besides, no one knew all the secrets like I did to. Everyone that worked for him were runners, pure and simple. Only certain people were the killers, and only Leslie, Luke and myself knew who they were.
