Loving a Daredevil (Book 1 of the Billionaire Bad Boys)

7

Lucas stepped outside and took a deep breath trying to regain his natural composer. She always got to him. He resented the fact that his mother supported everyone but him. Maxine appeared at his side. Though he couldn’t look at her, he was aware she was looking at him. The night had not gone the way he had planned. First, his brother had to make fun of the way he felt about Maxine, had felt, he corrected himself. He didn’t feel that way anymore. At that point, he looked down at Maxine and those dark eyes looking up at him. Then again, he wasn’t entirely sure what he felt.

The night he had seen her at his show, he had felt all the old feelings. Excitement, apprehension, and when he had thought she belonged to another he had felt the disappointment he had when she was seeing Nick. Was it possible he was still crushing on the girl that got away? When she smiled at him, he felt the same rush of excitement he had when he was racing.

She was beautiful even now, more so. She was the stop your heart, knock you out, can’t believe she’s smiling at you beautiful. Awe hell Lance was right he was still crushing on Maxine. What would have happened if she hadn’t moved away? If he had said screw Nick and gone after her? Would things be different now?

On second thought what would happen if he went after her now? It wasn’t like she belonged to another man. She was playing a part, acting, it was just a job? Then again, he didn’t think Carlos would be too pleased to find Lucas stealing what he believes is his woman.

Speaking of Carlos, Lucas looked down the street and saw that same Rolls parked in the shadows of the alley. He felt his ire rise. Did they really think he didn’t see them? It was insulting to his intelligence. Maybe he should let it slide as Maxine suggested but he really hated being followed. The mood he was in he wasn’t going to put up with it.

“So, what do we do next?”

Well, he knew what he was doing. “Stay here.” He said walking away. He went around the other side of the building taking a long way around through the back alley coming up behind the Rolls. He was sure they didn’t see him. They were facing forward trying to pick him out of the crowd at the doors.

Lucas looked around the alley for something sharp. He found a jagged piece of rebar in a pile of what looked like discarded construction material behind the dumpster. Crouching low he snuck up behind the car’s rear bumper, and with all his strength he used the jagged end to puncture the rear tires. Then he crawled along, pass the passenger’s side and did the same to the front tire. He crawled around the front of the car and punctured the last tire before making his way back to the dumpster. He tossed the rebar in the trash bin and went back the way he came rounding the building and meeting up with Maxine.

“Where did you go?” She asked.

“To pee in the alley.” He lied. She turned up her nose.

“You know you don’t have to tell me everything.” She teased. He simply smiled and ushered her down to the street as the valet retrieved his car. It only took a moment and when the car arrived Lucas held open the door for Maxine to get in. “Well aren’t we the gentleman now a day.” She smiled playfully.

“Well, my Mother did her best to raise me right.” He said getting into the car. “Too bad it didn’t take.” They pulled out, and as they passed the alley, Lucas slowed down to wave at the men who had been following him laughing when they tried to pull out of the alley only for the flat tires to the bunch, tear, and come off the rims. Satisfied they would not be following him any farther that night Lucas hit the gas and sped down the road.

Maxine was watching the art gallery fade away in the rear window. “What happened to their car?” Lucas just snickered, and it didn’t take too long for her to put two and two together. “What did you do to their car?” Again, he snickered pleased with himself. “What were you thinking? I told you what was going to happen if you kept losing them. Carlos isn’t going to like this.”

“Oh, lighten up. Carlos isn’t going to do jack he needs me too much.” He said with confidence. “Try to have a little fun and quit worrying. Let’s hit the X-factor.” The X-factor was a trendy LA nightclub near the water. The clientele list was very exclusive only people with money ever got in. It was a great place to party and an even better place to move some product. The X-factor dancefloor was a seller’s market. He didn’t know how much was considered a lot to move, but he had no doubt he could sell the rest of the product Maxine had by the end of the night. It was surprisingly easy. Were it not for his integrity he would have made a rather successful drug dealer.

In the end, one fact remained the more he could sell the sooner he was likely to meet the suppliers, and the sooner that happened, the sooner he could get back to his own life and put this gong show behind him. He sure as hell was going to do this for two years. Actually, he had an idea on just how to move large quantize, and he was sure he could find who he needed in the X-factor.

They reached the club and parked the car. Lucas opened the door for Maxine, and she followed him past the line and to the door. The burly doormen stepped in front of them to prevent them access. Lucas took out seven hundred dollars and handed it to the men who immediately stepped aside and allowed them to go inside.

Once inside Lucas took Maxine’s hand in his to keep her close. The place was packed wall to wall. “Let’s dance.” He suggested leaning in to speak in her ear so to be heard over the music and crowd. He took her out on the dancefloor. From there he could see the whole club. The tables, the bar, the washrooms, and the back-service halls where more illicit business usually went down.

“What are you looking at?” She asked loudly.

Right now, in this place, he was just one more dealer. From where he stood he could spot four others who were well known and often worked the crowd. Tonight, he walked in a dealer, but he was going to walk out a supplier.

“How good is the stuff we’re moving?” He asked leaning into her ear. He wanted to be sure of what he had before he made his sales pitch.

“Top shelf.” She answered. “He only deals in the best. You can’t get any better.”

That’s what he was hoping. He took her hand and headed right for one of the dealers. He tapped him on the shoulder and leaned in close to be heard. “Let me buy you a drink. I got something you may be interested in.” He didn’t wait for a reply but instead headed for one of the other dealers and offered him the same thing. He then went on to entice the other two. Ten minutes later they were all seated in a booth in the corner. The waitress had brought a round of tequila, and he had everyone’s attention.

Lucas made his pitch and then held out his hand to Maxine for one of the bags she was carrying. He then tossed it on the table as a sampler. It took a little convincing to get them to try it, but eventually, each one dipped a finger into the bag and licked the powder off trying to judge just how good it really was. A pleased nod went around the table, and everyone seemed to think he had a good product. Now that he had their interest next came the hook. He told them the price per ounce and then offered them a discount if they ordered in bulk.

He drew a surprised look from Maxine, but he ignored it. He was sure Carlos wouldn’t mind if he pulled this off. They ordered another round of drinks which Lucas paid for. As his father always said it never hurt to schmooze the customers. They haggled for half an hour, and in the end, Lucas had managed to make a rather large sale for a pretty top-notch price. Once he tallied up the three orders, he had cleared a hundred thousand dollars. Each ordering five pounds at a bargain price of thirty-five thousand.

He wasn’t sure how long it would take to get the orders filled, but that was when Maxine jumped in she took down their contact information and explained that she could have their orders filled by Wednesday if they had the money by then. They hashed out the details and then went their separate ways.

Sitting alone at the booth, they ordered another drink. Lucas held up his shooter to toast their evening. Maxine held up hers likewise with a smile. “You are good at this.” She smiled, and they drank back their tequila shooters.

“I’m good at everything I do.” He bragged. Perhaps he should be humbler, but the truth was the truth. Anything he set his mind to he excelled. “So how are you enjoying my life?”

She flashed him a dazzling smile. “You were right it’s fast. What do you do to relax?”

“I tinker with engines. Figure out how to make them go faster.”

She smiled awkwardly and placed her glass on the table. Lucas waved down the waitress for another round. “I have to ask, is what Lance said true? Did you do all that crazy s**t to impress me?” Her gaze held his now, and he didn’t know what to say.

“I did it because chicks dig it. Even as a kid it didn’t take me long before I realized that girls like the daredevil thing. When I was eight I tied my mother’s drapes around my shoulders like Superman, and I gathered up the neighbourhood kids, and I told them I was going to fly. I jumped off the garage roof onto a trampoline I didn’t count on the bounce back. I flew,” he smiled proudly, “right into the neighbour’s Corvette. I broke the windshield and my right arm, but I got a kiss out of the neighbour girl.” He laughed as he remembered that day. “I remember sitting in the hospital with my Dad while they stitched up the gash on my arm before casting it. He looked at me and said ‘son I hope you’ve learnt your lesson’ I looked right back at him and said ‘yes Sir… next time I’m going to wear a helmet’.”

She laughed as the waitress placed two more shots in front of them. “No wonder you mom always seemed stressed.”

“You weren’t around when I got my licence. I got that learner’s permit in my hands, and not five minutes later I jacked my mother’s Jag and went cruising. I wasn’t used to it, and I was driving way too fast and couldn’t handle the corner. I overcorrected and wound up spinning in circles. I lost control and took out a mailbox, then a fence, and then a BMW. The owner called the cops. My folks weren’t impressed.”

“You got better at it.”

“It took a lot of practice and a lot of broken bones and crushed cars. I got the hang of it, and now I can drive anything.”

She looked at him skeptically. “Are you really going to jump off a cliff?”

He laughed. “I might.”

“Your mother is right you know. One of these days you’re going to kill yourself.”

He just smiled and held up his shot. “You know me… ain’t no grave…” He winked. They both downed their shots and placed them on the table. “Let’s get out of here.”