“Frankie knows I hate him. He deserves everything he gets,” she said while propped up against the counter, licking a spoon covered in chocolate cake batter. “Including those potatoes.” Motherfucker.
Chapter 18
Luke
By the time morning rolled around, Frankie was probably wishing for death. He had shit fifty times during the night. Not that I was keeping count, that’s just what he told me as we piled in my truck and headed West. I didn’t care that Frankie had been sick all night. He looked alive and well today, and that was all that mattered. He was clean shaven, dressed in my fucking clothes and looked almost normal. I informed him that I didn’t want to talk, and I only had to deliver him alive, not unharmed. It was a lie, but I didn’t fucking care. I promised to break a finger if he spoke, so he decided to just stare out of the window instead of striking up a conversation. Smart move, Frankie.
I called Charlie to let him know that we were heading out. He told me to meet him at the cabin and he would bring Dallas. Just the mention of her name helped me to remember what I was doing this for. I asked to speak to her, but he refused. He said he wanted to enjoy the morning with her, and speaking to me would just upset her. It pissed me off, but I didn’t say anything. He knew I was mad and calling him out on shit like that would do nothing but piss him off. I had come too far and gave up too much to let my temper ruin everything. I would deliver Frankie to Charlie. He would give me Dallas. Everything was going to be fine.
We pulled up to the cabin, and in the yard sat two black SUV’s. I backed my truck into the yard across from them. As soon as I had Dallas, we would be leaving. I would need a fast exit if things went bad, and we actually managed to make it to the truck. I nudged Frankie’s shoulder, waking him. The motherfucker had slept the entire way, even when I stopped to fill up, he refused to get out. I handcuffed him to the steering wheel, not sure if he would try to run or not. A man would do anything when he knew he was about to die. When he looked around and saw where we were, I expected him to turn to me and beg. He needed to fucking die. I couldn’t even think about what he had done to Dallas when he was in my house. I avoided him at all costs and if it wasn’t for the beautiful girl that would ride back home with me, in the same seat his grungy ass was in right now, I would have made him suffer a slow, painful death.
“Well, are we gonna get out or just fucking sit here? I gotta piss, and you need to work on your driving or get a better ridin’ fuckin’ car. This truck about beat me to death,” he grumbled, reaching for the door handle.
“No more than me, Frankie. No more than me.” I reached out and grabbed his arm, waiting for Charlie to make the first move. He stepped out of the car and held the door open, smiling sweetly to whoever he was talking to. Then I saw her. I forgot how to breathe when I saw my whole life emerge from the car. She was breathtaking, literally, just as she had always been. Her tight skirt wrapped perfectly around her toned, tanned legs. She stood tall in a pair of black heels, and even from here, I could see the necklace I gave her dangling on top of her black, button down shirt. She was fucking perfect, and she was mine.
“Get out,” I snapped at Frankie, he needed to do something to piss me off. The sight of Dallas for the first time in over ten days was throwing me off my game.
“You ain’t got to holler at me, you cocky little fuck. I’m going.” Well, that did it.
“Charlie may not kill you. He may actually let you live. Don’t push your fucking luck with me, though. I want you dead.” Frankie mumbled something I couldn’t understand and got out of the truck. I took a deep breath and stepped out. Time to make a deal with the Devil.
Dallas
I didn’t know where we were heading. Charlie had just said that he wanted to show me his cabin. I had asked him when I would get to see Luke, but he told me ‘when it is time’ in that voice that let me know I shouldn’t ask again. I thought the gravel road we had turned onto looked familiar, but in Texas, there were many open fields that looked just like this one. I still wasn’t sure if it was the right place until I saw Luke’s truck barreling down the road. Without realizing it, I had grabbed onto Charlie’s hand and squeezed. I couldn’t believe my eyes when his truck came into full view and I saw him for the first time. I looked at Charlie and smiled, he didn’t smile back, only watched my reaction. Luke backed his truck into the yard across from us so that the vehicles were facing one another.
“It’s time to get out, Dallas. Are you ready?” I nodded enthusiastically, the words ‘ultimate sacrifice’ resurfacing in my mind. I didn’t care about anything except seeing Luke at this point. Charlie stepped from the car, and reached his hand out for me to take, smiling warmly. I slid across the seat and placed my hand in his. When the doors were closed and I had a full view of Luke’s face, I noticed that he looked pissed as he looked at Frankie. How had he managed to ride all the way up here with him? Was he alone? The thought of Luke, alone with Charlie, Frankie and all of Charlie’s goons sent a shiver up my back. Where was the club? Every thought, every worry and all my fear subsided when Luke stepped from the truck.