“What if I give you the information you wanted?”
The information about Ella? Luke’s hands tightened on my hips. “No.”
“I don’t just mean hooking you up with Henri,” Todd said. “As I said, I’ll do that anyway. It’s good business sense. I like the bigger-pie analogy. That’s sweet. But I meant information about the other thing.” He smiled at me. “The other girl.”
My heart did a little flip. The other girl. Was that what Luke had been asking about? Was that why he’d sent me to the bathroom, so I wouldn’t know?
Luke’s hand felt like warm iron around my thigh, his grip tightening with every word from Todd’s lips. He crowded me, his body blatantly interested in the offer, despite his denials. The smug look on Todd’s face said he knew exactly what effect his words were having.
“You said you didn’t know anything,” Luke said with a hint of question.
“I lied. There wasn’t any incentive for me to tell you. Now there is.”
“You’re bluffing.”
“What was her name? Ah, that’s right. Daisy. Very pretty, like the flower.” Todd lifted one bare tattooed shoulder. “I may have fucked her.”
A shudder ran through Luke’s body, visible to anyone at the table. But even if they hadn’t seen it, they could feel it. His rage rolled off him in almost-palpable waves. I had felt his intensity before, his lust, but never this. Never unadulterated hatred, and sure as hell never a love so strong as to generate such a thing. How he must have loved her. How he loved her still. But he wouldn’t do it, would he? He wouldn’t give me to them, even if it meant finding his long-lost love.
His voice was hoarse. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
Todd considered that, looking off to the right. Everything, from the stillness of his hands to the steady, unflared slope of his nostrils, indicated he was remembering something, not making it up.
The din of the club seemed to quiet, as if someone had turned the volume down. I heard my blood pumping in my ears, fast against the backdrop of Luke’s harsh breathing. I realized that his rigid discipline hadn’t been him all along but a container for years upon years of unfulfilled fury. Through force of will, he had carefully tunneled his energy into the places he could effect change. His almost inhuman efforts to help me and the other girls were merely steam from the release valve. All the while pressure had built, waiting for someone to set it free.
“She was a natural blonde,” Todd finally said. Then he glanced at me. “Not as hot as this one, though.”
It happened so quickly. Luke pushed me out of the booth and lunged across the table. Half of the people spilled out from the seats while the others stared, slack-jawed. That was when I knew we weren’t getting out of this alive. This was an insult of the highest order to the woman who meant the most to him. Luke couldn’t find her, but he wouldn’t let her go unavenged.
He had his hands around Todd’s neck, while the larger man grappled futilely, unable to shake him. He landed blows on Luke’s side, on his head, but nothing would shake him. Would Luke kill in his rage? I saw no other way out. Unless Todd killed him first. I fumbled for my gun before remembering I had given it to Luke for safekeeping. Where had he put it? He had reached back and tucked it behind him.
I yelled out a warning, but it was lost to the melee, evaporated like sound underwater. Helpless, I watched in horror as Todd’s wild blows found the gun, as he whipped it out and pointed it at Luke’s cheek. The two men froze, one on top of the other, panting. Slowly, Luke levered himself up and stepped back. I breathed a sigh of relief. I had been half expecting him to continue fighting, blind to his rage. At least he had this much self-preservation. Though it was unclear whether it would be enough, whether we would get out of this after all, considering the look of vengeance on Todd’s face.
He let out a stream of incoherent curses, promising all manner of retribution upon Luke, his mother, any pets he might or might not have. But when Todd turned to me and our eyes met, I knew exactly how he meant to exact revenge.
Still holding the gun, he spread his arms wide. “I know what will make me feel better after this. We’ll have a party. And your girl will be our main attraction.”
“Try it,” Luke snarled. “And count how many breaths you have left.”
Despite his clear disadvantage, his words seemed to give Todd pause and me too. There was something unbreakable about him then, as if a bullet couldn’t stop him. It was only his will, his decision to stand there instead of beating Todd to a bloody pulp, that kept him safe. Todd seemed to think this over while wiping a dribbling line of blood from his brow. He looked around, as if aware that everyone in the room was watching us—far too many witnesses to keep quiet, far too much bother to rape and murder us for what amounted to a barroom brawl.