House Rules(28)

Both of my businesses were successful fronts for gambling. I’d done everything possible to prove that I could do it. The idea that Dad would keep me away from taking over what I helped to improve made me want to punch a wall.

“How the hell can you say I don’t respect what you built when I helped to make it better than it was?”

“That maybe true, but I will not have a man who treats women like shit stepping into my shoes.”

“I’m not Ashton. I don’t want to settle down and have a happy little wife at home. That’s not me. You know that. And just because that’s not what I want doesn’t mean that I treat women like shit. One time I let things go too far and you’re talking about taking away my future?”

“One time leads to two and three, and before you know it you’ve lost all your morals.”

“Morals? You’ve got to be kidding me!” I ran a hand through my hair. “We launder money for a living and you’re worried about morals?”

His fist flew out, snapping my head to the side and dropping me to the floor. I wiped my hand across my mouth and saw the trickle of blood left behind. I looked up to see my father standing over me.

“There’s difference between personal and business dilemmas. If you can’t figure out the difference between the two, you can get the hell out of my sight. My sons won’t be heartless assholes.”

For a moment, I sat on the floor and thought about what he’d said. Tess wasn’t some random chick who threw herself at me in the bar, hoping to get her hands on my money. At first, she’d wanted nothing to do with me. Which was even more clear the morning after when I’d woken up to an empty bed. The other women, they got what they wanted from me—a night in my bed.

Fuck. I knew I needed to smooth things over before it got worse.

With a sigh, I stood and faced my father. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I know there’s a difference between business and personal. I should never have let Wasden bet his girlfriend. It was stupid.”

He opened his mouth and I braced myself for the next round.

“Go get yourself cleaned up and we’ll talk.”

Not what I expected. Without a word I turned and stepped into the bathroom connected to Dad’s office. Mom would lose her shit if she saw the blood. In a little over a week, Tess had flipped my life upside down and nothing was going the way it was supposed to.

It was clear that no matter what kind of chemistry we had in bed, I needed to keep my dick in my pants when it came to that woman. My resolve to hunt her down dissipated in seconds. No woman was worth risking everything I’d worked my whole life for.

In the end, she meant nothing.





CHAPTER 9





Theresa




Exhausted, I climbed out of the car, bracing myself for what I might or might not find. Ray was supposed to have all of his shit out of the apartment by the time I got back from class but I didn’t trust him one iota. The jerk kept calling, leaving tons of voicemails, all of which I deleted at the end of the day. Money would be tight until I could find a new roommate and I’d probably need to pick up extra shifts at the store, but I’d make it work. There was a little bit of money in my savings account I could use if I really needed to. I only hoped I wouldn’t have to and could save that for a rainy day.

I dug through my bag looking for my keys, finding them all the way at the bottom, which wasn’t really a surprise. I had a hard time keeping things neat and organized in general, and that didn’t take into account the giant bag on my arm. One of these days I’d get myself together. For the moment, the only thing I cared about was finishing school. Until that happened, the rest of my life could be a mess.

Before I could turn my key in the lock, the door opened. Belatedly I looked at the jamb.

Broken.

I took two steps inside and turned on the light, just as a hand wrapped around my waist and another covered my mouth. I was going to kick the ever-loving crap out of Ray when I got out of his hold.

“Stop fighting,” an unfamiliar voice whispered next to my ear.

I froze.

If Ray wasn’t in my apartment, who the hell was?

Another guy, one I didn’t recognize, stepped in front of me. My knees shook so badly, I could guarantee if there hadn’t been an arm around my waist, I wouldn’t have been able to hold myself up.

“Where’s Ray?” His voice was heavily accented and his breath smelled of stale cigarettes. I shook my head and whimpered.

“If I move my hand, you better not scream.”

The night of the poker game came rushing back. Those guys hadn’t messed around and I didn’t get the feeling this guy was any different. I nodded my head slowly, hoping if I complied with their demands they’d let me go. The hand slipped from my mouth. I kept it closed.