Objective: (Bloodlines Book 2) (22 page)

“Why don’t you shower, change and get ready to go out?” I suggest as she brushes past me.

“What, and not make use of this amazing suite for the night?!” she squawks in horror.
“We’re in Nashville, baby, we should see it,” I remind her. She walks to the window, parts the shades and stares down below to the cityscape. I walk up behind her, wrap my arms around her middle and kiss her sweet spot again. I don't think I'll ever get tired of that spot. It’s like its unhidden but that nobody can see it but me. It’s mine. One of her hands comes to rest over mine at her belly and she lets out a big sigh.

“What?” I ask.

“Look at me, Cane. I can’t go out like this.” Her words make me feel like the biggest scumbag on the face of the planet. Probably because I am.

“Do you want to go out?” I ask.

“Yes, but...”

“Then we’re going out. My girl wants to go out, it’s going to happen,” I state.

“Cane...” she breathes, body going rigid in my hold.

“Shut up and get cleaned
up, Mags.” I demand. She turns in my arms and stares up at me. Her black eyes won’t really be hidden all that well with any amount of makeup but she’s still gorgeous. My stomach churns with disgust at the knowledge that I did that to her. She pops up onto her toes and stops just an inch shy from my mouth. I feel clammy and needy with want but I can’t do anything without her permission. I never could.

“Say
it,” she whispers a centimeter from my mouth.

“It,” I joke. She narrows her eyes at me playfully. We’ve done this dance before and I love being able to push her buttons. I’ve missed it.

“Tell me,” she pushes. Her voice is all business as she flattens herself against me and I like it.

“How many times do I need to tell you? If there's anyone in this world that I could love, it's you. Why is that never enough?” I admit. I’m warring with myself. Do I go all in and defy Ezra or do I just give enough for the next few days to get us home? Everything seems so complicated now. I want to tell her that she’s my world. That I will never give
up on her, but I don’t. She’s different now too. She’s holding back still and I don’t know why. We’re both avoiding any discussion which might break this fragile balance we have currently. I don’t want to ruin this limited time we have together by asking the hard questions. I watch her face go all soft on me before she gently caresses her lips over mine. She’s giving me sweetness and tenderness. She’s giving me truth. She’s giving me something I thought I would never get from her again.

“It was always enough, Cane and it always will be.” She pulls away and moves around me snagging her shopping bag from the couch on her way to the bathroom. I’m hard from her words and want nothing more than to follow her into the shower, but I’m not sure we’re there yet so I leave her to get cleaned up on her own. Hell, three minutes ago I was sure I’d never get to taste those incredible lips again.

Legend’s Corner is a long narrow bar. The stage is set up in the corner right by the front door and it’s packed tonight even though it’s almost one in the morning. Radio Romance is on stage performing and they’ve got the crowd going wild. Magnolia’s smile is infectious. She managed to hide her mangled face, sort of. I’ve never seen her wear so much makeup before but she’d come back from the lobby shop with a fully stocked bag of it. Eyeliner painted on thick, dark smoky eyes, thick lush lashes and her lips painted to perfection. She looks hot and badass and completely not like my girl. Her tank top shows her tattoo off and she’s got her hair swept off her back piled high on her head with some long pieces hanging around her face to cover up my marks. Men keep staring at her and I want to beat each and every one of their faces in for looking at her.

“Stop it, Cane!” she calls out over the music giving me the evil eye.

“What?” I feign innocence.

“I’m used to it, you know. The attention. I’ve been slinging drinks for a year,” she sighs, pressing a kiss to my ear lightly.

“I should’ve bought pants. Those shorts should be illegal,” I whine jealously. She quirks an eyebrow at me and smirks. I love it when she does that.

“What do you want to drink?” I ask, ignoring her look.

“Bourbon,” she states. Now it’s my turn to raise an eyebrow at her. Bourbon?

“They have beer and wine,” I inform her. Before I know what's happening she’s pushing her way to the bar and squeezed between two men. One looks down at her and grins before leaning to her ear and whispering something. She says something back and throws an elbow in his side discreetly before hollering her order to the bartender. The force of her elbow was great enough to make the man wince and move away. The day Magnolia White showed any kind of aggression was the day hell would have frozen over. My head pounds with all the changes. It’s too much to take on. Too much to deal with. I want
my
Mags back. Sweet. Gentle. Innocent.

“Here.” She thrusts a beer at me, holding a bourbon for herself.

“Bourbon?” I shake my head confused. Since when does Magnolia drink hard shit?

“Bourbon.” She shrugs and lifts the glass to her lips to drink.

We resort to drinking in silence and watching the band. I can’t stop warring with myself. I want this time together to just be as effortless as it always was between us but I know what waits for us at the end. I still don’t have answers over why the hell she shot me, or Ezra, or whatever the fuck she was aiming for that night. There are too many variables and I’ve lived with the hate that I harbored for too long to just let it go. I can see it eat at her too but for whatever reason, she seems to deal with it better than I do. Watching her sway back and forth, the music blaring turns me on. Instinctively I lean to her and brush my lips just under her ear and watch as goose bumps pop up along her arm. I’m so sick and twisted. Is it possible to love someone so deeply that you can hate them as well?

“I’ll be right back.” She twists her head to mine as she speaks. Unease bubbles in my stomach. Would she run? “Cane. I have to pee.” She rolls her eyes at me and starts towards the back of the bar. I can’t help but notice all the dudes staring at her ass as she walks away from me. I redirect my gaze to the stage. She’s just peeing. She won’t leave.

“Hey, hawtie,” some young thing drawls, breaking me from my thoughts. I look over the young face next to me. She looks tanked. Her eyes are glazed over a bit and her curly blonde hair looks a little too bleached for my taste. But she’s got a screaming body that just last week I would have taken advantage of, but now, now I don't really have interest.

“Hey,” I reply dully as she drinks me in. Her finger comes to my bicep and trails its way down the beer in my hand.

“Need a refill, sugar, or are you ready to get outta here?” she says pointedly while moving closer. I feel like a deer in headlights. I want to move, but I can’t seem to. “Let’s go home.” She pulls the near empty bottle from my hand while moving in front of me and wrapping her arms around my neck. She’s molded herself firmly against my front pressing her pelvis to my crotch. My hands are hanging limply at my sides while she hangs off me. This isn’t good.

Her head tips backward sharply and she lets out a howl before disengaging from me. Stunned I snap my gaze up to find
Mags dragging her away by her hair. I advance on Mags as quickly as I can when I catch on to the situation. I’ve never seen her violent. I’ve never really seen her aggressive at all.

“What the FUCK!” the blonde screams.

“Keep your dirty paws off him!” Mags yells, throwing her by a clump of hair to the floor of the bar. Her muscles are taut and her eyes look wild. She’s hot as shit. The blonde looks up to her and glares before adjusting her too-short skirt and standing up to face Mags.

“Maybe he likes what he sees!” she screeches. Magnolia’s shoulder slump a little and she shakes her head.

“He sees an easy whore. Of course men
see
you, you’ve made yourself hard to ignore for all the wrong reasons. Get lost,” she clips, irritated but seemingly calmer. There is a strange moment of silence that blankets the bar. The band has stopped playing and there is a crowd circled around us.

The blonde swallows hard and her body stiffens.
Mags clearly hit a sore spot in her ego. Her hands clench into fists and I know what's going to happen next. I cringe and close my eyes momentarily just before the blonde launches herself at Magnolia. I’m about to step in to block the blonde from getting to her but Magnolia changes her stance. She almost looks peaceful, calm. She watches the blonde carefully and just when she is within arm’s length, Mags throws out the heel of one hand, keeping her elbow slightly bent to counter the force of the impact. The hit lands directly between the blonde's eyes, stopping her momentum entirely.

The multiple gasps that ring out around us pretty much confirm my feelings. What the hell?

The blonde drops to the floor like dead weight and Magnolia hasn't even moved. When the girl doesn't get up, Mags lets her arm drop back down to her side and looks over to me. Her features show calm but there is rage burning in her eyes. She smirks at me slightly and I feel...scared.

“It’d be useful if you could at least try to keep your dick in your pants, asshole.” She turns towards the exit, the crowd opening up a path for her, and stalks outside. Fuck. What the hell was
that?!
Magnolia doesn’t cuss! She doesn’t hit and she definitely doesn't cause a scene in public. Women are clapping as they watch her exit. I shrug my shoulders at a couple of guys staring at me before taking off after her.

She’s not on the sidewalk when I get outside the bar. I scan the street to the left and right looking for her black locks piled high on her head. Was this a ploy? Is she gone? A loud whistle rings out across the street that draws my attention. I look over and heave a sigh of relief as I watch Magnolia turn around and confront the man who whistled. He puts his arms up in retreat and stumbles back a step.

“
Mags!” I bellow while trying to get across the four lane drag. Her gaze snaps to mine and back to the guy in front of her. She pulls back and lays the guy out with a single hit to the crotch. I swear my eyes are about to explode from my head. Who is she? I chase her back to the hotel. She doesn’t stop and wait, and she doesn't hold the elevator door for me either. I catch up to her just as the hotel door is swinging shut. How’d she get in?

“Dammit! STOP!” I scream. She stops mid-step and turns to me, seething.
“Why?” she barks.

“
Mags, what the fuck was that?” I ask, feeling out of place. She was my voice of reason, always; this role reversal has me confused.

“It was me,” she snips. Something deep inside me hardens at her statement.

“That’s not you. You don’t swear, and you don’t hit,” I remind her. I feel like a nagging mother.

“
No, Cane. That’s who I was. Who I am now is an ugly, well trained ball of anger. If you want to... you know...go check on the girl, please, go right ahead,” she spits before collapsing onto the plush leather couch looking utterly lost and defeated. I stalk over to her, charged. I don’t understand this new Magnolia and I’m not sure I want to. I yank one hand off her thigh and tug hard, forcing her to stand. She might be able to hold her own with a chick but she’s got nothing on me. She squeaks in surprise and scowls at me. Rather harshly I drag her to the massive bathroom in front of the mirror.
"What do you see?" I grind out, holding both her palms flat on the counter so she can't move.

"A mess," she whispers.

"I see beauty. Try again. What do you see?" Using both hands I hold her head towards the mirror, forcing her to take a look at herself.

"A hurricane..." she whimpers after a few beats of silence.

"I see the clear blue sky in the eye of it." Her eyes dart to mine in the mirror.

“
Again," I demand.

"I...I see...what’s
left
." She cries. Tears start to stream down her face. "I see the broken remains of what's left of me. There isn't a whole. Just pieces. I'm not who I was, Cane, can't you see that? It was all
stolen
from me." Her chest shudders and jerks with fast, uneven breaths. I want to hate her. I want to be objective and harsh to finish this. I do, but my heart is so twisted up seeing her tears that I'm spending every moment trying to figure out what she's thinking and why. And right then it hits me. The past doesn't matter. It never will. I. Want. Magnolia. There is no loyalty that runs deeper to anyone; not my uncle, not the crew, no one owns me like she does. There is no way I will be able to complete my task. There is no way I will be able to hand her over. Fuck.
"Steal it back then," I declare before dropping my hands and stalking away angrily. I need time to think. I need to figure out a plan. I get as far as the balcony door when she rushes me from behind, tackling me to the ground.

“What the fuck?” I squawk in surprise as she seamlessly repositions herself on top of me. Her thighs straddle my waist and her hair is haphazardly hanging loosely from her elastic. I’ve never seen anything more attractive. I buck my hips to dislodge her but she adjusts her weight to stay where she is. She rears back and punches me in the face harder than I’ve ever been hit by any guy before. My hips buck wildly and my hands fly to my face to try to avoid more pain. FUCK. My face hurts. Blood trickles in the back of my throat, no doubt from a broken nose.