Duke(43)

“That’s the thing. It’s more than just him not trusting me to leave my gun in the car. He said he’d have my back, and it’d be safe for me to go in without being armed, and then he trapped me and wouldn’t let me go. He didn’t have my back.”

Bethany added more rum to Gen’s drink and leaned back. “Fucking bastard.”

Gen smiled at her friend and took a huge swig. “Yeah. I know.”

“So whatcha gonna do?”

“I have no idea, but I think I need a few days to figure it out. Nothing’s going to be decided tonight while I’m trashed.” Gen looked at her drink and said, “Actually, I’m kind of getting tired. Let’s turn a movie on and watch it until we fall asleep. I’m thinking it’s a Coyote Ugly night, how ‘bout you?”

“Yeah, what time you need to wake up?”

“Don’t have to be anywhere till noon. Maybe nine, so I can go home and change.”

Bethany nodded and said, “My first appointment is at eight, but I’ll set the alarm for you before I go.”



* * * *



Gen didn’t hear from Duke all day, and was a little surprised he left her alone. She didn’t feel like going home when she finished for the day, and stopped by her brother’s dojo, as she knew his class should be ending soon.

She was waiting in the lobby when he finished, and Frisco, Cassie, Ethan, and Sam all walked to her. “Everything okay?” Frisco asked.

“Yeah, just didn’t feel like going home yet, and thought if ya’ll were going out to eat after class I might tag along.”

“Of course you can,” Cassie said as she reached for Gen and tugged her to the back of the room. “Come talk to me and Sam while we get changed, okay?”

As soon as the door closed, Sam said, “Big alpha dude like Duke? And you don’t want to go home? What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. I told him I needed time, though, and it looks like he’s giving it to me.”

“I’d be willing to bet he doesn’t give you much time,” said Cassie.

“We can always dump the guys,” Sam told her. “The three of us go out without them if you need to talk.”

Gen shook her head. “No. I don’t want to talk about it, just want to maybe have a few drinks and get something to eat.”

“Cam’s already at the billiard club with Isaac, and that’s where we’re headed,” Cassie said. “Why don’t I follow you home so you can leave your car there, and then I can drive you to the club. That way you can feel free to drink all you want. If you’re still there when we leave, Abbott will take care of you and arrange for someone to take you home.”

Gen nodded. “I don’t have anything on my schedule tomorrow until four o’clock, so that works for me. Thanks, Cass.”

When Cassie and Gen made it to the club, they discovered their group playing pool at two tables side by side, with tons of munchies on the table. Isaac drew her into a hug as soon as she arrived, and she was surprised when Abbott also greeted her. She was used to seeing him around, but hadn’t expected him to be hanging out with their group.

Gen ended up playing a game of pool with Abbott, and while it was close, he still won. As people started leaving, Gen realized he was out there so she could stay later and get sloshed. He was babysitting her for Isaac.

“Abbott,” she said after the others left, “I don’t need you to babysit me. Just keep the drinks coming. I’ll find someone to play pool with me, and if not, I can play with myself.”

“Your friends are worried about you and I offered to look after you. They didn’t ask me to, I made the offer. I can lend an ear if you want to talk about it, a shoulder if you need to cry, or I can get you into Isaac’s club next door and offer a punching bag if you need to beat on something. For now, you seem to be doing okay with your rum and Coke, but if you need anything else, let me know.”

“Why are you being so nice? You barely know me.”

“Because Isaac is important to me, and Frisco is important to him. You’re family, Genesis. I take care of family.”

Gen put her pool cue down and climbed onto a tall chair before leaning forward onto one of the lofty circular tables to fish for her straw and take another drink. Abbott followed her over and sat on the other side of the table with a smile.

“I think, when I finish this drink, I might be ready to go home.”

“Two options. If you don’t want to be alone you can sit in my office and drink and talk to me while I get some work done. I just need to look over the orders, make sure we aren’t about to run out of anything, that sort of thing. I can talk as I work. When you’re ready, I can take you home. Or, I can take you home when you finish your drink.”