All is Lost (All Series, Book 2) (28 page)

“
Pretty much everything,” He
smiles. “I know you're working with them to find…” His words stop
abruptly as he turns away from me and frowns.

Feeling the pain of loss replace my fear, I
press my fingers to my temples and rub slow calming circles.
Staring at my feet, I slowly gain control over my body through
controlled breathing, but it does nothing to help the loud buzzing
sound rapidly firing off in my mind. Something feels off about
Tyle. Drifting my eyes up again, I see him facing me. He takes a
seat that is pushed against the back wall.

“
I–I was
dating
Waverly,
before...” He stammers roughly.

Ohgod no
! Shaking my head intently, I
wordlessly tell him that I cannot take him telling me anymore.
Thankfully, he shuts the hell up before I bolt out of this room,
the club and this whole fucked up plan.

“
I'm sorry.” I whisper. A pathetic
excuse of an apology hangs in the air without his response. I sneak
a glance at him hoping to gauge his reaction while silently praying
that he won't hate me.

Loud banging on the door breaks our silent
vigil. Jumping to his feet, Tyle stalks past me, opens the door and
finds Rhys scowling as he glances between me and Tyle
suspiciously.

“
What the hell?” Tyle growls
completely pissed off when Rhys plows into his shoulder, forcing
his way into the room.

“
That is exactly what I was about
to ask you two.” He snaps at Tyle before turning to me. “Ensley's
looking for you Beatrice, but I told her you need a potty-break.
You better get moving, can't have you getting canned on your first
night.” He says, standing directly in front of me leering down with
an almost fatherly expression.

After I don’t respond, Rhys grunts loudly,
pointing toward the door as an indicator that he means business. If
I wasn't already shaken from the bullshit his little brother just
put me through I'd tell him where he could put his bad attitude and
that finger. Instead, I drop my head like a scolded child and rush
out away from the eccentric Bentley men. Ensley spies me as she
tops the last step with brows furrowed and her jaw set
tightly.

“
There you are,” she says. “Rhys
said you used the ladies room downstairs.”

Panting and flushed, she walks past me, sits
on a barstool and slowly turns around, facing me with an aggravated
expression. She pats the back of the chair next to her indicating I
need to sit then she slaps that same hand on the bar top at
Tracelyn.

“
Bring me a bottled-water Tracelyn.
Where the hell is Tyle?” Ensley asks, craning her neck to look
around the nearly empty lounge area.

“
He's in storage.” Tracelyn snaps
brutally, causing me to look at her and catching the daggers she
shoots at me.
Great
. She witnessed him dragging me in there,
and apparently she thinks I willingly went–or worse. She thinks
something happened.

Scanning the area to avoid her glares, I
notice that the crowd has thinned out downstairs too and
instinctively I peek over the railing, searching out my favorite
pair of green eyes.

“
Fine,” Ensley replies reaching for
the water Tracelyn plops down dramatically on the bar. Ensley
flashes a curious smile at me before taking a sip of her water.
“So, what do you think about the club? It's great, isn't it?” She
asks, smiling proudly as her eyes scan the VIP area. “Tox really
did a great job with this place. Can you believe that it use to be
mortuary?” My eyes grow wide with shock.

Nodding enthusiastically, Ensley takes in a
long deep breath and continues speaking without waiting for my
response. “He's so incredible, like the best man I've ever dated.
I’m so lucky to have him. We are so perfect for each other.” She
smiles, but her eyes don’t reflect her proclaimed happiness. “Oh,
Tox should be in by the end of the week so you'll get a chance to
meet him.” She pauses and adds, “I'll warn you now he's so good
looking, especially when he's dressed for the club. Oh mygod I've
never seen a man more appealing.” She pierces me with a direct
glare and a half-ass smirk. “So, hands off. Tox is
mine.”

Is she joking right now? I don’t know why she
feels the need to warn me off her boyfriend.
Unless
.
Scrutinizing her facial expression, I realize she's fearful and
panic lies in her eyes, she's clearly unsure of their
relationship.

“
Ensley, your concerns are
uncalled-for, believe me. I just ended a horrible relationship with
a guy too gorgeous for words too, and I'm in no condition to start
anything new. Besides, I wouldn’t do that to a friend.” I say
adamantly. “He is
all
yours.”

Smiling confidently, Ensley’s features soften
and I’m happy that my partial lie reassures her that Tox is safe.
Unfortunately, reassuring her that I'm not going to be a threat to
her relationship only encourages her to continue telling me about
all the amazing and literally unbelievable sexually abilities of
her god-like boyfriend. I cringe at the gory details. Thankfully,
she gets interrupted when Rhys and Tyle join us at the
bar.

“
So Beatrice,” Rhys starts. “You
look like you fit in well tonight. I'm thinking that if your dream
career in sports reporting doesn't work out, you will always have
waitressing to fall back on.” Rhys chuckles out, before adding.
“Perhaps, you can follow in your momma’s footsteps. Aunt Janessa
was the best Hooters girl in Shelby County, for what, three years
running?” He smirks. “You must be so proud.”

Rolling my eyes dramatically at his antics, my
rebuttal to his antagonizing gets interrupted by a loud bellow
directly behind me.

“
Ensley!”

Jumping at the booming deep voice, I shift
around to see the band strolling toward us, lead by
adversary–Miller Adams. Suddenly my skin begins to crawl, knowing
that this could be the one person who may recognize me and expose
our plan. She has known me my whole life. Pulling my hair around to
cover my face, I pretend to absentmindedly play with a strand,
catching Rhys attention. His eyebrows furrow and his gaze darts
between me and the approaching group. Quirking an eyebrow up, he
slips out of his chair and leans across the bar in front of me.
Elbows placed on the bar top he turns, facing me, but his eyes
never leave the group as he speaks.

“
Do you recognize someone?” Rhys
whispers, glancing down at me.

Slowly nodding my head I answer. “Yes, but not
for the reason you're thinking. The girl could recognize me.” My
voice is shaky with nervousness.

Grinning suspiciously, Rhys turns his body
completely facing me. Reaching down, he tugs my hand fidgeting with
my wig, interlocking it with his, and pulling me close to him. He
drapes an arm over my shoulder, leaning in so close that I grow
uncomfortable quickly.

He's going to kiss me. Ohgod
,
no
.

“
Rhys, I gasp before laughing
softly. His eyes remain focused, watching the group until they pass
us. “You're my cousin.”

“
Yeah Doll, but they don't know
that.” He whispers against my hair. “Besides, this pink on your
cheeks was well worth it if we get a reputation for being kissing
cousins.” His deep, soft laughter rumbles against the side of my
head as he presses his cheek against mine.

Seeing the group walk around me to the other
end of the bar, I roughly jab Rhys in his ribs with my elbow.
Choking on the sharp pain, he retreats away as he turns his head
looking over his shoulder confirming they are oblivious to our
dangerous shenanigans.

“
Let's go cuz,” he orders
playfully, turning me in my chair and directing me toward the
stairway.

Jogging quickly down, Rhys wraps a thick hand
around my bare arm and begins leading me toward the back of the
club. Reaching a dark corner, I notice Raithe and Marcus huddled
up. They separate quickly when they spot us approaching. Marcus
stands abruptly, reaching a hand out to me and I notice his face is
drawn tight with concern.

“
Is everything alright?” he asks,
staring at me briefly before glaring at Rhys. “What
happened?”

“
Yeah, everything is fine, but
apparently tonight is a bust,” Rhys says, glancing down at me. “How
about you take her home and we'll pick it up again tomorrow
night?”

“
Sorry,” I offer all of them,
seeing the disappointment on their faces.

“
Hey,” Marcus says, entwining our
fingers together he leads us through the bar and outside. “You have
nothing to be sorry about. After what those guys did, it will be a
miracle if they show up here. Let's go home.”

Once we reach his car, he asks, “Did something
happen? You seem upset.” He opens the door allowing me inside but
waits for my answer. Placing his hands on the roof of the Jeep he
leans in against me, bringing his face close to mine.

“
I spotted someone upstairs that
could possibly recognize me so Rhys brought me down to
you.”

“
Okay,” smiling, he drops one hand
to my cheek and stokes a thumb over my top lip. My eyes flutter
shut at the sensation of his hot hand on my cool cheek. “That’s
all?” I nod. Breathing deep his scent completely engulfs me and I'm
spinning. Everything about this man continues to overwhelm my
senses and I can't stop the smile as it spreads across my face.
Hearing him groan, I glance up to see a darkening in his green
eyes.

“
Mygod I love your smile.” Dipping
his head down, he presses his lips tenderly to the corner of my
mouth. Making sure he's being fair, he kisses the other side then
strokes his nose over mine. “Let's get you home and out of this
costume.” He growls softly. My breath hitches as my eyes flick open
to see him smiling proudly.

Dammit his teasing is driving me mad.
Well,
two can play that game, Mr. Walker
.

“
Ohgod, yes,” I breathe, tugging
the top of my corset up. “This thing has been squeezing the life
out of my boobs all night. I can't wait to strip out of it so I can
breathe again.” Sultry and seductive, the words roll off my lips as
I watch the tension consume his features and his eyes widen in
shock.

Ha! Take that buck-o
.

Stiffly pulling away from the door frame,
Marcus slowly closes the door and gingerly walks around the front
of the vehicle. After several long moments he opens the driver’s
door and climbs into his seat. Gripping the steering wheel tightly,
he turns his head facing me, but not looking at me. His jaw works
back and forth, but his eyes tell me everything I need to know.
He's completely turned on and fighting desperately against
it.

“
Baby,” He pauses. “You can't say
things like that to me. All I dream about is doing just that. I'm
like a man on a ledge, just barely hanging on with my fingertips. I
want you so badly.” He moans out, more frustrated than I've ever
seen him.

Feeling guilty about playing with his emotions
I offer a simple nod and a tiny smile, but he sees neither since he
still hasn't looked at me. Backing out of the parking lot his face
softens, but his body remains taunt and rigid. I won't lie I would
love to run my fingers over the tense muscles in his arms, but I'm
afraid if I touch him right this moment he'll run us into a ditch.
Chewing on my bottom lip, I vow never to do that to him again....at
least not until after we've made love.

Riding toward Rhys compound in the darkness of
the early morning hour, I glance out the window. Sadness envelopes
me as we drive past the roaring ocean and the castle hanging off
the mountain side. My insides begin twisting with a deep and severe
need to take a trip up there and sort out everything that I have
been feeling from all that I've lost.

My whole life has been put on hold
indefinitely. Before everything happened, I killed myself with a
rigorous workout regimen and now I only exercise occasionally. I
haven’t been to the castle since Morgan’s party, but as we pass it
I feel it calling my name, like a long lost friend.
Friends
?
I have real friends now and they are more important than my stupid
old routine. Sending up a silent prayer for their safety, I close
my eyes and lean my head against the headrest.

Anna and Waverly, I'm sorry. Where
ever you are, I promise that I will find you. Whoever has you, I
guarantee that I will make them pay. With all that I am, I vow that
I will get you back home.

Chapter
Twenty

Morgan

A hot, early morning sun slices through a lone
dirt caked window, sitting high up near the ceiling, burning across
my puffy eyes. Harsh scents invade my throat and I cough hoarsely,
like I smoked a carton of cigarettes last night. Lifting my arm up,
I shade my face and focus on my surroundings. Feeling pain in my
entire back, I realize I'm lying on a hay covered barn floor and
the putrid smell is coming from the massive horse staring at me in
the stall from across the way. Controlling my movement so that I
don't force the ache-memory to the forefront of my mind, I gingerly
twist my head to the left and see a sexy blonde kitten curled under
my arm.

Waverly
? Like I am struck by a
lightning bolt, my heart skips a beat in the excitement of having
her back. Unable to wait for her to awaken and desperately needing
to kiss her, I lift her chin with a delicate finger.