Saving Dallas 2 Making the Cut(72)

“I got it, baby.” This was the Frankie that Maddie couldn’t let go of. It was wrong of him to conduct himself in a manner that was so thoughtful and nice, when in reality he was the biggest piece of shit on the planet. All he was doing was making this harder on her. I wanted to go up and slap him myself, but kept my composure, and my position, right up front in the middle of everything.

“Frankie, I’m trying to keep my cool here. Talk,” Luke said, standing in the LLC posture that all the women swooned over. Hell, even I couldn’t look at him when he stood like that. I looked over at Regg and saw he was casually propped up against the wall and almost laughed. He caught my eye and smiled. Only the two of us could find something funny in a moment like this.

“I stole some money from Charlie. He felt like it was better to punish me by making me look over my shoulder every day, rather than just coming to get me. He told me that he would see me one day and that I would never know when that day would be. I had the club to protect me, even had to pay some of them gangs around town when the boys weren’t around. He sent some of his guys after me a couple of times, but I managed to fight them off, or at least the guys I hired did. Can I have some more water?”

Luke let out a ferocious growl and grabbed Frankie by his shirt, lifting him out of the chair. Yep, Frankie was taking advantage and Luke was gonna lose his shit. I looked to Regg to find him still propped up against the wall. I motioned with my hands in an are-you-gonna-do-something gesture and he just shrugged. Then winked at me, and gave me his crooked smile.

Fuck.

I turned back to see Luke barking in Frankie’s face.

“One more time and I’ll splatter your brains against the wall. I don’t give a fuck who is watching.” Maddie managed to keep herself together; not letting on that what Luke was doing was bothering her. Frankie nodded, unable to speak and Luke slammed him back in the chair.

“He called me yesterday morning. Told me if I didn’t come willingly he was taking Maddie and I’d never see her again. I told him I would rather have you kill me than him. I thought he was bluffing,” he said, looking at Maddie, begging for understanding. She looked away with tears in her eyes, knowing that he would have given her up in an instant. “They grabbed me and the next thing I knew, we were here. He took Maddie and Dallas and left me for you. I thought we had a deal, but apparently we didn’t.” I saw the wheels in Luke’s head spinning. He was focusing on something when he turned back to Frankie.

“Tell me one more time, and don’t fuck up, what were his exact words to you about Maddie.” What was Luke getting at?

“He said, if I came willingly he would leave Maddie alone. If I didn’t, he would take her and I would never see her again.” Luke nodded his head, smiling a smile with no humor for a reason only he knew.

“Tie him up,” he said softly to Possum, then grabbed Maddie’s hand to exit the room.

“I’ll do it,” Frankie blurted, causing everyone in the room to turn their attention to him.

“No, you won’t,” Luke said softly, then kissed Maddie’s confused face and started out again.

“You promise me,” Frankie stuttered. I looked to see that his eyes were full of tears. “You promise to take care of my little girl, and I’ll do it.” Luke turned to stare at Frankie, his brows drawn together, probably wondering if Frankie was telling the truth or not. “You chose my girl over your own. I don’t care why you did it, or what reasons you had. You did it and that’s all that matters. I don’t know if your Dallas is alive or not, but if she is, I’ll take her place.” You could have heard a pin drop, as we all took turns staring between Luke and Frankie.

“You would do that?” Maddie asked, pulling her hand from Luke’s and walking towards him.

“I would. Not for Luke and not for Dallas, but I’d do it for you. I’ve fucked up my whole life where you were concerned, and now I have my chance to make it right. I always had your best interests at heart, Maddie. I just had a fucked up way of showing it. Luke can take better care of you than I ever could.” Frankie straightened in the chair, trying to salvage what little pride he had left. “He will keep you safe, keep you and Logan both safe. He did it before, he’ll do it again. I never meant to hurt you, Maddie. I know you lost any love you ever had for me after what I done to your sister. I’d rather die at the hands of the man I hate, than live without the only woman I love. My world only exists with you in it, and that just ain’t possible.”

I didn’t care that I hated this man. I didn’t care what kind of sick, sadistic creature he was. At that moment, I loved him and respected him more than any man in the room. Anyone willing to give their life for someone they love, no matter what kind of person they were, deserved a show of respect.