Secret Curves (Dangerous Curves Book 5) (5 page)

King glared at Aidan. “Fuck off, Carter.”

“I will
not
,” Aidan said. “Don’t be pissed at
me
, just because you know what I’m saying is true.”

“It’s
not
true,” King snarled. “I can keep her away from all of that. I can keep her safe.”

“Well, it’s nice that you want to protect your woman,” Mac said. “But you
do
remember what happened when I wasn’t honest with Mirrie about a dangerous situation? She dumped my ass, after informing me that she had a right to know when I was in danger. She had the right to worry about me, man.” Mac shrugged. “That’s what we
do
when we love someone… we want to know if they might not come home.”

“Of course I’m going to come home.”

“Oh, right. Sorry,” Mac said. “I forgot that you can deflect bullets with the power of your glare, man, thereby
totally
guaranteeing that you’ll never,
ever
be killed by some fucking lunatic drug lord, or crazed pimp, or hard-boiled serial killer.” He blinked his blue eyes. “Yeah, my mistake.”

“Fuck off, Mac,” King growled.

Mac turned to Jax. “Well, me and Aidan have to fuck off now, so you’re the last man left standing, Hamill.
You
try to reason with him.”

Jax was staring at King hard. “How much time are you and Naomi spending together, Matt?”

King jumped a bit at Jax using his real name. “Well, not much. I mean, I’m out all night and sleep during the day while she’s at work. And she’s traveling now, so she’ll be gone for about a week.”

“Uh-huh.” Jax sighed a bit. “So you aren’t even really talking, are you?”

“I just
told
you, man,” King said tightly. “I’m not gonna involve her in anything to do with Jensen.”

“I’m not talking about your work, OK?” Jax’s husky voice was gentle. “Forget about King’s Men, and Kirk Jensen, and all that. Yeah? What I meant was, are you talking to Naomi about movies, or what you’ll order for take-out, or how her artists are doing? Are you talking to her about
anything
?”

“I… I’m…” King floundered, then fell silent as realization hit him smack between the eyes. Naomi had tried to tell him this very thing just that morning, but he hadn’t wanted to face it. “No. I actually can’t think of the last time we spoke for real.”

Fuck. And it’s worse than that, isn’t it? When was the last time that I made love to Naomi? It was… oh, Christ. It was weeks ago. She must feel so alone right now.

“Well, I’d say that
that’s
gonna wreck your relationship with her faster than any goddamn special op, man,” Jax said with his usual, and totally unnerving, no-bullshit and bulls-eye honesty. “Not only are you leaving her totally in the dark about what the hell you’re doing that’s getting you hurt, but, from her perspective, you’re
also
checking out of the relationship.”

King didn’t say a single word. He knew that he had nothing
to
say – at least not to the guys. There was only one person for him to talk to… and she was in Miami. He couldn’t believe that he was taking relationship advice from Jax Hamill, of all people, but he was. After all, when it came to his woman, Jax had his shit together in a way that the other guys didn’t. At least, not yet.

“King?” Aidan said softly. “You OK?”

“No,” King said, taking a disconsolate swig of beer. “I’m an asshole.”

“Well, yeah,” Mac said cheerfully. “But not
irredeemably
so. I mean, it’s not a
permanent
state of existence for you. You can still fix this, man.”

Finally, King cracked a grin. “You think?”

“Oh, sure.” Mac nodded. “All you have to do is open your mouth and
talk
to the woman, King. That’s it.”

“Yeah.” King stood up, pulled his cell out of his pocket. “Can I use your office, Jax?”

“Of course.” Jax tossed over the key. “Go. Call Naomi. Take as long as you need.” He stood up and stretched, watched King barrel down the hallway to his private office. “You two feel like a few games of pool?”

“Me too?” Aidan said, pouring a shot of whisky. “It’s not time for my break yet.”

“Have Luke come out here,” Jax said. “Some of the ladies were asking after him, anyway.”

“They’d better watch out,” Mac said. “His girlfriend could kill them with her baby toe.”

Jax laughed. “Yeah. Selena’s awesome.”

“She sure is,” Aidan said. “OK, I’ll get Luke out here and then we’ll play, though I fully expect to lose to you, man.”

“Damn shark,” Mac muttered. “I’ve only ever seen one person kick your ass at pool, Hamill, and you’re lucky to be marrying her.”

“Oh, I know it,” Jax said. “That woman will keep me in line for the rest of my days… and don’t tell her this, but secretly? I kinda like it.”

“Ain’t no secret, man,” Aidan said, deliberately accentuating his Texan drawl. “You were a goner the second Red showed up here, and turned your whole world upside down.”

“Yeah.” Jax grinned, loving that it was all true. “Yeah, I was.”

Chapter Four

Curtis stood against the wall, arms crossed, scowling. He was watching Tessa serve up another round of drinks, of course, and she was deliberately ignoring him. Of course.

She headed over to the bar now, gave Luke her next order. Seizing the opportunity, Curtis walked over there, leaned on the bar next to her.

“Hey, man,” he greeted Luke Rhodes. “How’s it going tonight?”

Luke glanced over at him as he poured a few shots of J.D. while holding them in place with his elbow. No matter how many times Curtis saw the man working the bar or grill with one hand, it never stopped amazing him. Luke just didn’t let missing a hand slow him down, and most of the time, Curtis suspected that Luke simply didn’t think about its loss.

“I just got out here, but all looks fine to me.” Luke shrugged and grinned. “Mellow, even.”

That had been Curtis’ observation too. It was unusual for Curves to be so calm, but since he was well aware of just how far things could go in the opposite direction, he’d take it. He looked at Tessa now.

“How are things on the floor?” he asked her, his husky voice pitched low. “Any trouble, sweetheart?”

She took the shots from Luke, set them on her tray.

“Tessa?” Curtis tried again. “Anything you worrying about?”

She shot him a look roughly the temperature of liquid nitrogen, narrowed her eyes. “Stop talking to me.”

“Hey,” Curtis said, getting angry now. “I get that you’re pissed at me, alright? But the fact is I still have a job to do here, and it includes keeping you safe. So you need to drop the attitude and talk to me, Tessa. Stop being a brat, and let me know what’s happening at the tables.”

Tessa glared. “No.”

“
No
?” Curtis repeated coldly. “No, what?”

“No, there’s no trouble. No, I’m not worrying about anything.” She turned. “
Now
stop talking to me.”

The men watched her walk away, Luke surprised, Curtis wavering between rage and worry. Luke blinked at Curtis.

“What the hell, man?” Luke said. “What’d you do to Tessa?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.” Luke shook his head. “Did you jerk her around somehow? Sleep with her and then not call?”

“
What
?” Curtis exploded. “Why the hell would you go
there
, Rhodes?”

“Because I ain’t stupid, Manning, and when a woman’s
that
pissed at a guy, it’s usually about sex and being treated badly after. Plus, she’s the sweetest woman alive, and no way she’d talk to you like that for no goddamn reason.”

“I didn’t sleep with Tessa.”
Unfortunately
.

“So if that’s not it, then what’d you do?”

Curtis was about to stride off in a huff, then he thought about it again. Luke was as rough and tough as hell, he knew that, but he was also well-liked by the staff. Maybe
he
could get through to Tessa?

“Can I talk to you?” Curtis said abruptly.

Luke was so astonished, he almost dropped the beer mug he was holding. Curtis never wanted to talk about anything, except maybe football, and occasionally food.

“Uh, yeah,” Luke said cautiously. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Tessa.”

“OK.” Luke leaned back. “Go.”

“The thing is, man, she’s…” Curtis stopped. What
was
Tessa? “She’s sick.”

“What?” Luke went straight to full-on red alert. “Sick how?”

Curtis sighed heavily. “That ain’t easy to explain.”

“Well, give it a shot, ‘cause you can’t drop that kind of conversational bomb on me, and then go all coy.”

“No, I know. It’s just – she’s hurting herself.”

Luke’s eyes were steady. “How?”

“She’s starving herself.”

“She’s
what
?”

“She’s not eating. She’s losing weight at the goddamn speed of light.”

“But Tessa’s not some anorexic waif, Curtis.” Even as he spoke, Luke shot Tessa a doubtful glance and looked troubled. “Though she
did
look better before, that’s for damn sure.”

“It ain’t
about
that, man.” Curtis ran his hands through his cropped hair. “I don’t know what to call
any
of this – anorexia, bulimia, excessive exercising – but it’s some seriously disordered eating for damn sure. Me and Gabi figure that she’s dropped about fifty pounds. Maybe more.”

“You – really?”

“Yeah. And that’s in just a few months. OK, could Tessa have lost a few pounds and still looked awesome? Sure, she could have. She could have gone on a diet, and been safe and healthy about it – but she
isn’t
being
safe and healthy, Luke. It’s not like she decided to eat more vegetables, and get a personal trainer at the gym. She’s just
not
eating
. She’s fucking
hurting
herself, and it’s bad.”

Luke was seriously alarmed now. “You sure about this?”

“Look for yourself, man. Forget that she’s not passing out all over the damn place. Forget that she’s smiling and going through the motions. But just
look
at her, OK? Think back to how she was just five months ago, yeah? Think about how she acted, how funny and genuinely sweet she was, how much energy she had – and then look at her now.”

A bit taken aback at how urgent and garrulous the normally-almost-silent Curtis was being, Luke did. He gave Tessa a long, hard look, really focused on her. And the more he looked, the more worried he became.

OK, yeah, she was smiling and chatting automatically, all robotically charming and cute. But she was – flatter somehow. Flatter and more deflated and thinner, and Luke didn’t just mean her body. No, now that he was actually looking –
really
looking
– he saw how stretched her spirit was. How close to snapping it was.

All he when he looked at her now was the forced gaiety, the fake joy, the almost-desperate determination to be
fine
. But Tessa was, in fact, barely holding on, and Luke couldn’t believe he was only seeing past the pretty, glittery mask now.

Her eyes were hollowed out, surrounded by dark circles that she’d made a real effort to cover up with makeup, but which he saw as clear as day. Her cheekbones were too angular, her wrists too bony, her posture too slumped. Tessa looked like she was wasting away as she stood there, and Luke felt horror start to move over him.

“Christ,” Luke said softly. “How the hell did we all miss it?”

Curtis shrugged. “Shit’s been going on around here lately, man, what with the Fallen Angels, and Jax’s wedding, and all the recent bar fights. Besides, she’s done her damnedest to hide it.”

Luke stared at her baggy shirt, saw how it fell to almost her knees. “Her clothes, you mean?”

“Yeah. When was the last time you saw Tessa in anything tight? When did you last see her body as it really is?”

“Goddammit.” Luke was getting angry now. “What do we do?”

“I’m not sure.” Curtis heaved another sigh; this one was one of relief that he had another ally. “I mean, I tried talking to her more than once, and you see how things are between us now.”

“Yeah. Fucking sub-zero.”

“You know it.” Curtis stared across the room at the drinking, laughing patrons, seeing none of it. “Gabi’s heating up some food in the staff room right now, and she’s going to try to convince Tessa to eat something, but she hasn’t had much luck in that. Tessa just tells her that she ate a big meal before arriving for her shift, or she’s allergic to shellfish, or she's lactose-intolerant, or whatever the fuck the excuse of the night is.”

“Is Gabi going to push?”

“We haven’t wanted her to, because we were afraid that Tessa would cut her out completely.”

“Like you.”

“Yeah. At least this way Gabi’s still inside.” Curtis paused. “But I think – I think I need to do more. I need to do
something
.”

“Talk to Mac.”

Curtis stared at Luke, startled. “Mac? Why? This ain’t his department. He’s a brain guy.”

“Who
cares
if it’s not Mac’s fucking department?” Luke said impatiently. “He’s a doctor, Curtis, and he may know someone who can help Tessa. Even if he doesn’t, though, just having him back you up on all of this will show Tessa that you aren’t being an asshole and picking on her for no reason. If someone like Mac’s involved, that may shake her up a bit. Make her realize that a medical professional’s concerned.” He shrugged. “It may carry more weight than a bar waitress and a bouncer and a bartender freaking out, you know?”

“Huh.” Curtis contemplated that. “Strength in numbers.”

“Right. If it’s you,
and
Gabi,
and
me,
and
Doctor MacIntyre? Tessa may listen.”

“Or she may lose her mind with anger. Quit, and disappear, and never be seen again.”

“Maybe.” Luke saw Tessa glance at her watch, and then head to the staff room for her break. “But I figure we need to take that chance. Don’t you?”

“Hell, yeah.” Curtis spotted Mac coming over to the bar now, and he squared his shoulders. “Yeah, we do.”

**

Gabi gave Tessa a smile that she hoped wasn’t as strained as it felt. She was going to sit the woman down tonight and make her eat… this was non-negotiable, and it was going to happen. What Gabi
didn’t
know was what the hell would happen next; she just hoped it was good.

Though I highly, highly doubt it.

“Hi,” Gabi said, and gestured at the second plate of food on the table. “I made extra pasta tonight for Aidan, but Luke fed him a burger, much to my annoyance. You want his share?”

“Oh, no, thanks.” Tessa didn’t even glance at the plate. “I ate at home before I came here.”

“Yeah, but that was hours ago,” Gabi said, trying not to sound combative. “We still have four hours to get through, and you look tired. Food’ll give you some more energy, yeah?”

Tessa turned now, pinned Gabi with those green eyes. “What are you doing, Gabi?”

“What do you mean?” she responded evenly. “I’m not doing anything.”

“Yes, you are.” Tessa frowned. “All you
do
lately is shove food at me, and I’m pretty damn sick of it, actually.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“You know how to make me back off?”

“No.”

“Eat something.”

Tessa stood very still and stared at her. They’d been in this same conversational loop over and over again over the past few weeks, but something was different this time. Usually, Gabi made a few feeble attempts to get her to eat, and when Tessa said no, Gabi looked unhappy but she stopped asking. She seemed to be afraid of Tessa’s anger, worried about pushing too hard, and Tessa had taken advantage of that uncertainty every single time.

But Gabi wasn’t backing down tonight, she was digging in, and Tessa suddenly knew that she had no choice.

“Fine,” Tessa said airily, as if she truly didn’t care either way. “I’ll eat if it’ll get you off my case.” She held out her hand for the plate.

“You’ll eat here,” Gabi said, that inflexible tone back in her words. “Here, at this table, with me.”

“Fine,” Tessa repeated, and shrugged. She sat, picked up the fork. “Whatever makes you happy.”

“I’ll be happy if you eat it all.”

“Uh-huh.” Tessa rolled her eyes, and that was when she actually looked down for the first time. What she saw in front of her scared her almost to death.

Good Christ, it was just
so much food
. It was more food than she’d seen all in one place, all at one time, in… how long? Weeks? Months? The pasta was piled high, and it was dripping with some cream sauce, and it was a goddamn bomb to her plans.

Oh, my God. I can’t eat all of this. This is more calories on one plate than I eat in a week, in two weeks. If I eat this, I’ll gain weight… everything I lost this week, I’ll gain it all back!

Panic crashed over her, huge and blinding, and she forced herself to stay calm.

“Something wrong, Tessa?” Gabi asked quietly.

“N – no.”

“Good.” Those dark eyes were nailing her in place. “Eat.”

There was no way out of this, so Tessa gritted her teeth. She forked up a bit of pasta, tried to find pieces with the least amount of fatty sauce on them. Carefully, as if the farfalle was covered in arsenic –
which it fucking might as well be
– she brought it to her mouth. She hesitated, then deposited the food in her mouth. She chewed, a grimace on her face.

Urgh. So damn heavy… I can actually
feel
the oil and fat between my teeth.

Gabi watched all of this with nothing but terror. What the hell had Tessa
done
to herself, that she was literally unable to eat a single mouthful of pasta without looking like she was being tortured? Suddenly, all Gabi wanted was for Curtis to come in here and drag Tessa to the E.R. They were at that point; Gabi was sure of it now.

Tessa forced herself to swallow the food, then she forked up some more. She glared at Gabi.

“Happy now?” she snarled in a voice so unlike her own, Gabi started.

“Tessa…”

“Shut up, Gabi,” the woman who looked like Tessa, but who was talking and behaving nothing like Tessa, snapped. “You got what you wanted.”

Furious now, Tessa ate another bite, then another, then another. Her stomach protested at the onslaught of food and her throat tried to close up, but she was
damned
if she was going to give this bitch one more reason to do this to her again. If she managed to eat her fucking pasta, Gabi would have to leave her alone. Not that Tessa had any plans to ever speak to Gabi again in the future. Not after this betrayal.

Gabi was silent and shaking now, just watching Tessa. It was a mission, she knew. Tessa was making a point – and she was ramming it down Gabi’s throat as forcefully as she was ramming the food down hers.

Oh, God. We need to get Tessa some help… we should have done more, and way sooner. We made a big mistake, thinking that we could wait it out, reason with her. We waited way too long.

Tessa shoveled the last mouthful in, chewed, swallowed. She felt sick from the cream and the carbs, but she was going to keep the food down… at least she’d keep it down in front of Gabi.