"You"re not a nice guy?"
"No Olivia, I"m not. Honestly I"m the worst kind of person." His low voice and the fury in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine.
"I don"t believe that Jonah."
"That"s because your only seeing what I"m letting you see."
The warning in his voice had me asking a question before I"d fully thought it through, "Are you dangerous, would you hurt me?"
"I would never do anything to hurt you but what I do is dangerous and it could get you hurt."
"I don"t understand." I stupidly said again even though I"m pretty sure that was my cue to run for the hills.
"I know and it"s better that way. Just trust me. You deserve the best Olivia not me. You need a nice, clean, quiet guy."
That did it self-preservation went out the window as my anger over took the warning bells. "Don"t tell me what I need Jonah. You don"t know me well enough to know what I need."
"True and it"s better that way. You should go home now Olivia."
"I"m nineteen Jonah not ten, I think I know when I should go home."
Jonah"s eyes snapped up looking at me with a mix of anger and something else. "You"re only nineteen?" Oh s.h.i.t. "What the h.e.l.l were you doing in my club drinking?"
"Umm about thata""
"How did you even get in?"
"Fake ID."
"Stay out of my club Olivia." Jonah said harshly, chastising me like a small child.
Wow this was humiliating; it really was time to go.
"I have to go." I said in a rush standing up to make a quick exit but Jonah caught my hand.
Looking down at our joined hands I couldn"t help the feeling of contentment that washed over me. A look up at Jonah"s face told me he was feeling the same.
"If things were different Olivia I wouldn"t let you walk away."
"I wish they were different."
"Me too." he said dropping his hand.
The loss I felt from his hand leaving mine was silly I didn"t know him and never would but that didn"t stop the sting of tears behind my eyes.
Being a person who ended up crying at everything I turned and ran out of the coffee shop before I could embarra.s.s myself further and didn"t stop until I was safely in my car.
Chapter 5.
By the time Tuesday night came around I was ready to do anything to get my mind off Olivia. She wasn"t mine nor would she ever be.
So why was she still on my mind?
I told myself it was because I was just worried her a.s.shole father would send her on another date with that d.i.c.khead suit but despite telling myself that for the hundredth time it was still bulls.h.i.t.
So Sunday was spent yelling at everyone and everything while watching the door the whole night hoping Olivia would come in.
Monday and Tuesday the club was closed and I had an hours worth of coded paper work to do and two money drops that only took up Monday morning.
I needed more distractions.
Monday night I found my distraction in a bottle of whiskey.
Tuesday morning my distraction was throwing up the whiskey and cursing the person who made it.
Now it was Tuesday night, I felt like s.h.i.t and the stunning girl sitting next to me was boring me to death.
"Jonah, help me get the ladies some more drinks." Denny said giving me a heated look as he pulled himself away from the girl who was all but begging for Denny to take her to his room.
Once we were over the threshold of the kitchen Denny"s hand smacked me upside the head. "What is wrong with you? That girl is throwing herself at you and your acting like your sitting on that couch alone."
"She just not doing it for me."
"Give me one reason why?"
"She"s not Olivia." I answered honestly.
"Who?"
"Nothing. Take them both I"m going out." Grabbing my keys off the counter I left out the back door with Denny yelling after me.
In the car I was so mad I drove without a destination. I was mad at my parents for dying and leaving me with Vinnie. I was mad at Vinnie for pulling me into a life I never wanted. I was mad at Olivia for making me want something I knew I could never have. But mostly I was mad at myself. It shouldn"t have taken me this long to finally question if working for Vinnie really was worth the risk. I"d worked for Vinnie for ten years and each year I told him I was done with his business when the year was up. But Vinnie would always do something to pull me back in with the saying of just one more year. But never in the ten years had the need to get out been so great and it had everything to do with Olivia.
The cat in my arms wriggled to get free as I walked back to the section that housed the cats.
It was early afternoon on a Sat.u.r.day so the shelter was packed with screaming children. Normally I didn"t work at the shelter on the weekend because too many other people volunteered which left little to do. But this weekend I would take what I could get because the moment I stop I would have to explain to myself why I was acting like the love of my life had just broken my heart. It was silly really, Jonah wasn"t the love of my life he wasn"t really part of my life at all. So why he was still on my mind after a week was a mystery.
After settling the cat into one of their rooms I got my stuff, said my goodbyes and made my way home to get ready for a family dinner that was no doubt going to try the very little tolerance I had left this week.
Once I got home I went straight to my bedroom finding Ty and Darcy lying across my bed with a tub of cookie dough ice cream.
Laughing I joined them on the bed.
The ice cream was a running joke that had started last year when my parents put in a contract that I would go to a family dinner with them at least twice a month if they were going to pay for my college. So whenever those dinners came around Ty and Darcy would join me for an ice cream party a" which we would eat while I got ready a" so by the time I actually got to dinner I would barely eat which would p.i.s.s my mother off.
Two hours later with a belly full of ice cream and wearing a little black dress that was sure to send my mother into a conniption fit I walked through the restaurant to their table with a smug smirk across my face.
But once again the Universe reminded me to watch my att.i.tude when I saw Christopher sitting across from my parents.
Quickly turning before they could see me I ran right into a waiter causing him to wear the very full gla.s.ses of red wine.
"What in G.o.ds name are you doing?" My mother hissed at me making it sound like I had planned to run into the waiter.
Offering the waiter a" who was giving me a murderous look a" an apologetic smile, I joined my parents and Christopher at the table; very glad I wasn"t going to be eating because that waiter was so going to spit in our food.
"What did I tell you about borrowing clothes from that street walker you live with." My mother said as a way of greeting.
"I didn"t borrow it. It"s mine." It really was Darcy"s but no way was I telling my mother that after she called her a streetwalker.
"You"re just in time Christopher was just telling us about your date last Sat.u.r.day."
Oh no.
"Yes Olivia I was just about to get to the part about your rude friend."
Don"t do it.
"You know the one with the tattoos and piercings."
Closing my eyes I heard my mother choke on her wine and my father huff out a loud breath.
"Tell me about this friend?" My mother demanded loudly returning her gla.s.s to the table.
"There is nothing to tell. Sat.u.r.day was the last and only time I will see him."
"Good, you don"t need to be seen with a person like that." My father said in a matter of fact tone, like he had a say.
"He did look dangerous, Sir." Christopher said adding fuel to the fire.
"You"re not to see him again Olivia, are we clear?" My father snapped causing several people to turn their heads towards us.
"It doesn"t matter who or what he is, I"m nineteen years old, you can"t tell me who I can and cannot see."
"Oh yes I can. You are obviously not smart enough to know what kind of people are not ok to be seen with. Stop thinking of yourself and think of your mother and I, for once."
There it was.
It wasn"t about my safety it was all about what people might think of them. Well screw them, they didn"t get to tell me who I couldn"t see and Jonah didn"t either. Why did everyone think they could tell me what to do? And Jonah, who did he think he was telling me I couldn"t be with him and what kind of guy I should have? I had given up trying to explain to my parents that it was up to me what I did with my life, so it was pointless going over it again; but Jonah I could show.
After dinner I was going dancing at Club Risk.
Chapter 6.
It was Sat.u.r.day night, the club was packed, the music was loud and I was in an extremely bad mood. I"d spent the better part of the day tracking down a shady CEO who owed Vinnie less than what I make in an hour at the club. But with Vinnie being Vinnie he couldn"t let anything go, not even what was more or less change compared to the money I normally had to collect.
Joe was at the back door supposedly watching it but his eyes were on the dance floor. A look around showed that it wasn"t just him; half the club was watching the dance floor.
A pet.i.te girl in a skimpy black dress was moving her body to the music in such a sensual way she had every man in the club thinking about s.e.x.
My mouth suddenly felt too dry and the tie around my neck too tight.
The girl slowly ran her hands up her sides, through her long thick hair and in to the air while swing her hips, her face turned to the right side of the club and her blue eyes. .h.i.t me like a punch in the chest.
Holy mother of G.o.d that wasn"t just any girl, that was Olivia, my Olivia and she was showing every man in my club what it would be like to have s.e.x with her.
Ah h.e.l.l no.
Before I could make sense of what I was doing I was on the dance floor pushing through the circle that had formed around her. The anger I was feeling must have been showing because I was pushing and shoving but no one was saying a word.
Grabbing her upper arm her head snapped around and her eyes widened in shock.
Without a word I pulled her off the dance floor.
I was causing a scene. Joe had stepped away from the back door and two other bouncers were making their way over, but the only thing I could make sense of through the fog of rage was getting Olivia away from the dance floor and getting some freaking clothes on her that didn"t show everything she had to give.
Once we were off the dance floor I spun Olivia to face me causing her to stumble slightly and her eyes to go unfocused.
G.o.ddammit she was underage drunk and practically offering s.e.x to the entire club on the dance floor, if I got through the next five minutes without popping a vein it would be a miracle.
Taking a deep breath I asked as calmly as I could, "What are you doing Olivia?"
"You kept me waiting too long. I had to make my own entertainment." She said pushing her hands into the back of my hair that had me swallowing back a moan.
"Everything ok J?" Joe asked coming up behind Olivia.
Was I ok, let me think about that? h.e.l.l no, I wasn"t sure if I wanted to yell at her or take her to the couch in my office.
"We have problem," Denny said into my ear, "Ben called, Kay"s in trouble."
Giving me a meaningful look he eyed Olivia up and down, then walked straight to the office without looking back.
f.u.c.k.
I had to leave the club and there was no way I was leaving Olivia underage, drunk and in that G.o.dd.a.m.n dress here with out me.