Saving Dallas 2 Making the Cut(86)

He was so amazingly perfect that I had to remind myself to breathe. Even with his left eye still black and slightly puffy, the cut in his lip and the bandage he wore over his eyebrow- he was beautiful. There was no way any person on this planet could feel as strongly towards someone as I did Luke. He wore loose fitting jeans and a flawless white t-shirt. He was the only man I knew that could make something so simple, look so damn good. He didn’t wear his normal black ‘DFFD’ hat, but in its place sat a gray cap with an Under Armor symbol. It was turned around backwards and Luke looked like a street thug mixed with biker and a hint of country boy, hence his brown squared toed cowboy boots that he wore on his feet. The six foot two bad boy wore a look of determination as he stood with his arms crossed, baring the tattoos that covered them for all of us to see. How had I managed to survive ten days without him? Charlie took a step towards Luke and I was thankful that he was holding my hand, or else I would have fallen flat on my face. I willed my legs to walk at an even pace with him, when all they wanted to do was take off running and wrap around Luke’s waist.

Luke and Frankie met at the hood of the truck and walked the short distance to us. I was surprised at the way Frankie looked. He didn’t resemble the crazed maniac I remembered. His head was clean shaven, as was his face, his clothing was nice and he looked- normal. He wasn’t dirty and nasty, or bouncing around waving a gun. This must be the man Maddie thought of when she pictured him as her father. My heart hurt for her, and even for him. Despite what he had done to me, this was a human being and he had a daughter, one that he obviously cared about. He might not have done the best job of showing it, but he sure had stirred up a lot of shit trying.

“Luke, it’s good to see you. I’m proud that you took my demands seriously and came alone. I’m sure your club was not very pleased about that.” Luke shrugged his shoulders feigning disinterest, but I noticed the distant look in his eyes when Charlie mentioned the club.

“That’s ‘cause he patched out,” Frankie chimed in. Even his voice sounded different. I didn’t know what ‘patched out’ meant, but I was guessing it had something to do with him coming alone. Luke kept his eyes on Charlie, not acknowledging Frankie’s outburst.

“Patched out?” Charlie asked, the look of surprise on his face making me wonder what in the hell it meant. Charlie turned to me and seeing the confused expression, patted my hand and gave me a smile. I noticed Luke’s eyes fall to our hands as he shifted his feet. “That means Luke left the club.” My eyes found Luke’s and I could see that Charlie spoke the truth by the look of loss in Luke’s eyes.

“Why?” I asked, unable to keep my mouth shut. The club was Luke’s life. He looked at me, his bright, blue eyes softening.

“It was a sacrifice I had to make to keep everyone safe,” he said, speaking to me as if no one else was there. Was that what Charlie meant by the ‘Ultimate Sacrifice?’ Did he know Luke would have to patch out of the club to come get me? The thought pissed me off and I turned to Charlie.

“You said you and Luke were good. That there were no problems between the two of you. Why would you put him in that position? Haven’t you hurt him enough?” I wasn’t yelling at Charlie, but I wasn’t exactly whispering either. My voice was probably higher than it needed to be. I turned back to Luke and now it was his turn to look confused. Charlie laughed at my outburst.

“Oh my sweet, innocent Dallas. The ultimate sacrifice was not for Luke to give. It was for you.”





Chapter 19





Red





Luke’s house was nuts. People were running around everywhere, hanging banners and running streamers. It looked more like a five year old’s birthday party than a welcome home party. The club house had been cleaned, the house had been cleaned, the presents were on the table and the food would be here in the morning. I was fucking tired.

I had to do something to keep my mind occupied, so I called in the girls and decided that we should plan a party. Regg didn’t think it was a very good idea. He tried to tell me in a way that wouldn’t leave me screaming for the hills that there was a possibility that Dallas would not make it home.

I wasn’t having it.

Luke would bring Dallas home to us. I knew it like I knew my hair was red. She would be here and she would be happy, healthy and hungover by the time the night ended. Plus, she had some shit to handle when she got home. I had begged Luke to let me be the one to make sure Frankie was groomed to perfection before they left. By the grace of God, he had agreed. By bribing him with his favorite meal, clean clothes and a hot shower, I had managed to squeeze information out of him about what happened while Dallas was in Tupelo. Sure enough, that rat bastard, Stacy, attempted to kill her by poisoning her drink. He thought he was going to get something if she died, well not anymore. Stacy was as good as dead. I would arrange for Dallas to see him, one last time, before his life was taken from him. She could get her answers and then go on living thinking Stacy had moved on somewhere else. I knew a bouncer that owed me a favor, a big one. He would be happy to pay his debt by eliminating Stacy, although he would have his work cut out for him. Good thing that he liked a challenge.