Saving Dallas 2 Making the Cut (31 page)

“Get out,” I snapped at Frankie, he needed to
do something to piss me off. The sight of Dallas for the first time
in over ten days was throwing me off my game.

“You ain’t got to holler at me, you cocky
little fuck. I’m going.” Well, that did it.

“Charlie may not kill you. He may actually
let you live. Don’t push your fucking luck with me, though. I want
you dead.” Frankie mumbled something I couldn’t understand and got
out of the truck. I took a deep breath and stepped out. Time to
make a deal with the Devil.

Dallas

I didn’t know where we were heading. Charlie
had just said that he wanted to show me his cabin. I had asked him
when I would get to see Luke, but he told me ‘when it is time’ in
that voice that let me know I shouldn’t ask again. I thought the
gravel road we had turned onto looked familiar, but in Texas, there
were many open fields that looked just like this one. I still
wasn’t sure if it was the right place until I saw Luke’s truck
barreling down the road. Without realizing it, I had grabbed onto
Charlie’s hand and squeezed. I couldn’t believe my eyes when his
truck came into full view and I saw him for the first time. I
looked at Charlie and smiled, he didn’t smile back, only watched my
reaction. Luke backed his truck into the yard across from us so
that the vehicles were facing one another.

“It’s time to get out, Dallas. Are you
ready?” I nodded enthusiastically, the words ‘ultimate sacrifice’
resurfacing in my mind. I didn’t care about anything except seeing
Luke at this point. Charlie stepped from the car, and reached his
hand out for me to take, smiling warmly. I slid across the seat and
placed my hand in his. When the doors were closed and I had a full
view of Luke’s face, I noticed that he looked pissed as he looked
at Frankie. How had he managed to ride all the way up here with
him? Was he alone? The thought of Luke, alone with Charlie, Frankie
and all of Charlie’s goons sent a shiver up my back. Where was the
club? Every thought, every worry and all my fear subsided when Luke
stepped from the truck.

He was so amazingly perfect that I had to
remind myself to breathe. Even with his left eye still black and
slightly puffy, the cut in his lip and the bandage he wore over his
eyebrow- he was beautiful. There was no way any person on this
planet could feel as strongly towards someone as I did Luke. He
wore loose fitting jeans and a flawless white t-shirt. He was the
only man I knew that could make something so simple, look so damn
good. He didn’t wear his normal black ‘DFFD’ hat, but in its place
sat a gray cap with an Under Armor symbol. It was turned around
backwards and Luke looked like a street thug mixed with biker and a
hint of country boy, hence his brown squared toed cowboy boots that
he wore on his feet. The six foot two bad boy wore a look of
determination as he stood with his arms crossed, baring the tattoos
that covered them for all of us to see. How had I managed to
survive ten days without him? Charlie took a step towards Luke and
I was thankful that he was holding my hand, or else I would have
fallen flat on my face. I willed my legs to walk at an even pace
with him, when all they wanted to do was take off running and wrap
around Luke’s waist.

Luke and Frankie met at the hood of the truck
and walked the short distance to us. I was surprised at the way
Frankie looked. He didn’t resemble the crazed maniac I remembered.
His head was clean shaven, as was his face, his clothing was nice
and he looked- normal. He wasn’t dirty and nasty, or bouncing
around waving a gun. This must be the man Maddie thought of when
she pictured him as her father. My heart hurt for her, and even for
him. Despite what he had done to me, this was a human being and he
had a daughter, one that he obviously cared about. He might not
have done the best job of showing it, but he sure had stirred up a
lot of shit trying.

“Luke, it’s good to see you. I’m proud that
you took my demands seriously and came alone. I’m sure your club
was not very pleased about that.” Luke shrugged his shoulders
feigning disinterest, but I noticed the distant look in his eyes
when Charlie mentioned the club.

“That’s ‘cause he patched out,” Frankie
chimed in. Even his voice sounded different. I didn’t know what
‘patched out’ meant, but I was guessing it had something to do with
him coming alone. Luke kept his eyes on Charlie, not acknowledging
Frankie’s outburst.

“Patched out?” Charlie asked, the look of
surprise on his face making me wonder what in the hell it meant.
Charlie turned to me and seeing the confused expression, patted my
hand and gave me a smile. I noticed Luke’s eyes fall to our hands
as he shifted his feet. “That means Luke left the club.” My eyes
found Luke’s and I could see that Charlie spoke the truth by the
look of loss in Luke’s eyes.

“Why?” I asked, unable to keep my mouth shut.
The club was Luke’s life. He looked at me, his bright, blue eyes
softening.

“It was a sacrifice I had to make to keep
everyone safe,” he said, speaking to me as if no one else was
there. Was that what Charlie meant by the ‘Ultimate Sacrifice?’ Did
he know Luke would have to patch out of the club to come get me?
The thought pissed me off and I turned to Charlie.

“You said you and Luke were good. That there
were no problems between the two of you. Why would you put him in
that position? Haven’t you hurt him enough?” I wasn’t yelling at
Charlie, but I wasn’t exactly whispering either. My voice was
probably higher than it needed to be. I turned back to Luke and now
it was his turn to look confused. Charlie laughed at my
outburst.

“Oh my sweet, innocent Dallas. The ultimate
sacrifice was not for Luke to give. It was for you.”

Chapter 19

Red

Luke’s house was nuts. People were running
around everywhere, hanging banners and running streamers. It looked
more like a five year old’s birthday party than a welcome home
party. The club house had been cleaned, the house had been cleaned,
the presents were on the table and the food would be here in the
morning. I was fucking tired.

I had to do something to keep my mind
occupied, so I called in the girls and decided that we should plan
a party. Regg didn’t think it was a very good idea. He tried to
tell me in a way that wouldn’t leave me screaming for the hills
that there was a possibility that Dallas would not make it
home.

I wasn’t having it.

Luke would bring Dallas home to us. I knew it
like I knew my hair was red. She would be here and she would be
happy, healthy and hungover by the time the night ended. Plus, she
had some shit to handle when she got home. I had begged Luke to let
me be the one to make sure Frankie was groomed to perfection before
they left. By the grace of God, he had agreed. By bribing him with
his favorite meal, clean clothes and a hot shower, I had managed to
squeeze information out of him about what happened while Dallas was
in Tupelo. Sure enough, that rat bastard, Stacy, attempted to kill
her by poisoning her drink. He thought he was going to get
something if she died, well not anymore. Stacy was as good as dead.
I would arrange for Dallas to see him, one last time, before his
life was taken from him. She could get her answers and then go on
living thinking Stacy had moved on somewhere else. I knew a bouncer
that owed me a favor, a big one. He would be happy to pay his debt
by eliminating Stacy, although he would have his work cut out for
him. Good thing that he liked a challenge.

Regg wouldn’t tell me shit, as far as Luke
was concerned. I tried to get something out of him, but he wouldn’t
budge, but seemed very interested in what Luke had told me. I
managed to get two date nights out of him at my restaurant of
choice if I gave up what I had. Apparently, Luke had not elaborated
to the guys on Frankie’s demands. He kept it short and to the
point, yet he told me. He knew that I would tell Regg, and it would
be long after he was gone. Ol’ Luke was a smart one. I knew it was
hard on him, leaving the club, but I couldn’t control myself when I
saw him. It also felt really good to slap him and know there wasn’t
a damn thing he could do about it. I had wanted to do that for a
long time.

I called Lindsey and got her on board with
what was going on. I didn’t tell her about the kidnapping; just
that Dallas had been out of town and would be returning tomorrow. I
told her the party was just something to lift her spirits and let
her know that we cared about her. Lindsey was easy to convince and
claimed to have a bunch of dishes she had wanted to make and
promised to bring them. I also called Brooklyn. Word had spread
about Luke and Ronnie was planning a trip over anyways, so it
worked out. Everything was in place and ready. All I needed was my
Luke and Dallas, and I prayed like hell that they would make it
back.

Dallas

We were now in the living room of the small
cabin. Frankie had suggested that we go inside, but I didn’t hear
him when he spoke. I was too busy trying to process what he had
told me. I sat on the old couch, looking across from me into the
eyes of Luke who only offered me a tight smile. He was sitting on a
loveseat, with one of Charlie’s goons on either side of him. They
stood with their hands at their sides and not clasped in front of
them like they normally did. Something was about to happen and I
could tell by their stance that whatever it was, might require
physical restraint of Luke. Frankie’s hands had been tied behind
his back and he now sat on his knees, in the middle of the floor.
Charlie was in another room on the phone and when he walked in, I
felt him rather than saw him. Just his presence demanded my
attention. I looked to him and the warm expression he usually wore
was now replaced with the cold, heartless one that I had seen from
him that first time I saw him. He walked across the room, and my
eyes followed.

“You know, Frankie, I thought about letting
you live until Dallas shared with me what you did to her.” I felt
Luke’s eyes on me and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t look at
him. “Since she told me, I have thought of a million ways to kill
you. You stole money from me, but from her, you took so much more.
When I asked her if she would kill to see Luke again, her answer
was that she had already given her life for the ones she loved. She
asked me, was that ultimate sacrifice not enough? You see, I do not
believe that giving your life for someone is that great of a
forfeit. It is when you take a life that you have truly done
something that makes a difference. That is something you have to
live with for the rest of your life. It can be good, and it can be
bad. Soldiers, for instance, take the lives of men every day to
protect our country. When they go to sleep at night, they think
about what they have done and it should give them a sense of pride.
Just knowing that there is one less man out there looking to hurt
their families and fellow Americans should be worth everything they
sacrificed for it. In some instances, you take a life by accident,
or because you have no other choice. You wake up every day,
wondering what you could have done differently. If you give your
own life, your worries are over. It is the living who makes the
sacrifices, not the dead.” He reached into the back of his pants,
and produced a small revolver. “Come here, Dallas.”

Luke stood before I could and was immediately
pushed back down on the couch. Each goon kept a firm hand on both
of his shoulders. I swallowed hard and looked at him. He was
visibly shaken about something, but I didn’t know what. Charlie
wouldn’t hurt me. Would he?

“Dallas.” I heard Charlie say, and I knew
that if I didn’t go to him, Luke might suffer for it. I stood,
wiping my sweaty palms on my skirt and walked towards him. “Are you
scared, Dallas?”

“Yes,” I whispered, my body trembling in
fear. Frankie was the only one that was supposed to die today, yet
he had not uttered a word.

“Don’t be scared, love. You are a soldier.”
His eyes narrowed as he looked at me. When he spoke, it was low and
menacing. “Now, you take this gun, and you kill the man that ruined
your life. You kill the man that took the life of your mother. This
is your chance to make the world a better place, Dallas. If you
want to make the ultimate sacrifice for Maddie, now you have that
chance.” I stared at the gun that he had placed in my hand without
me knowing. His hypnotizing words had me in such a trance that I
hadn’t even felt its weight until now. Charlie straightened in
front of me and nodded his head. I turned to see Luke staring at me
with a look I couldn’t decipher.

“You don’t have to do this, baby. This wasn’t
part of the deal,” Luke said, his voice caressing me.

“It’s mine and Dallas’s deal, Luke. It’s the
price that she has to pay to spend her days without me. Everything
comes with a price. You know that.” Luke ignored Charlie’s words
and kept his eyes trained on me.

“I will figure something out, babe,” Luke
started. Charlie cut him off before he could say anymore.

“There is no negotiating this.”

“She is not a killer, Charlie. Don’t turn her
into something she isn’t. She is innocent in all of this, and you
know it. I’ll do it. Just leave her out of it,” Luke pleaded. I
looked at Frankie, his head hung down in front of him. Could I
really take the life of this man? I thought of what he had done to
me. I thought of the nightmares he had caused and the way his
sickeningly sweet breath poured over my neck as he spoke to me,
while I hung in a barn. I thought of how it felt when he put his
hands on me, and how even now, it made me feel dirty. Then I
thought of what he had done to Maddie. How he had betrayed her by
running when he knew that if he did, she would be taken from him.
She would be taken from Logan, leaving him to grow up without a
mother or father. Frankie raised his head, his eyes pleading with
me. I saw him mouth the word ‘please,’ but it was too late. I had
made my decision.