Blacklisted (Loveless, Texas #3) - Jay Crownover Page 0,47

he looked at my VP and sobbed, “I told you the truth. I gave you what you wanted. Don’t do this to me, please.” The plea would’ve been more effective if he hadn’t admitted to turning a blind eye while one of his long-term patients had been killed.

“You should count your blessings, Doc. If I was the one who had this kind of beef with you, I’d dump you naked across the border in cartel country just for shits and giggles. You’re getting off easy, at least until the police come for you. Gotta say, finding out she’s got a cop in the family is gonna work out well for Presley. Her older brother might be even scarier than me when he finds out this garbage you pulled with her and the investigation.” I wasn’t overly worried about the doctor trying to come for me and the club after Top was done with him. My VP had a particular way of getting his point across, and the doctor was about to be neck deep in hot water when it was disclosed he’d tampered with vital evidence.

Turning toward the door, I walked away from the sound of the doctor screaming as I pulled my phone out of my pocket so I could call Presley. It took her a minute to answer the call, and when she did, I could barely hear her over the loud country music in the background. It didn’t take too much brainpower to figure out she was at Kody’s bar and no longer dress shopping.

“Hello? Shot, is that you?” She sounded funny and not just because I could hardly hear her.

“Are you at the Barn?” I was already moving toward the golf course in the subdivision and the unsecured maintenance gate where we’d snuck in.

She said something I couldn’t quite make out, but a second later my heart dropped into my boots when she whispered, “I don’t feel well.”

“What’s wrong with you?” I barked the question as the line went dead. I shouldn’t be too worried. Kody protected her new sister like a mama bear, but something wasn’t right. I was on my bike and headed toward the bar like it was the most natural thing in the world to ride to her rescue, even if she didn’t end up needing me to.

Chapter 10

Presley

Thank you so much for including me today. It was really special.”

I smiled shyly at Della Deveaux, soon to be Della Lawton. She was Crew’s fiancée, and while the middle Lawton had been cautious about welcoming me into the family, the gorgeous blonde he was getting ready to spend the rest of his life with had been much more accepting. She fully embraced bringing me into the girls-only club that consisted of Aspen Barlow, Case’s live-in girlfriend; Kody; and herself. They were all strong and successful in their own unique ways, but what tied them together was family and the fact that they all had stubborn, complex men they loved unconditionally. I was the odd one out on that front, but it didn’t stop them from including me in their girls’ nights, and none of them ever hesitated to invite me along when they all got together like they did today for Della’s final wedding dress fitting.

Della was going to be a stunning bride. She had an ethereal, unreal kind of beauty that made her stand out in a crowd. Especially in a crowd like the one that filled Kody’s bar on a busy Friday night. She seemed so very different from Crew, who was a rough-and-tumble professional rodeo star. Crew made his money getting tossed off horses and bulls. He wore cowboy boots and competed to win giant belt buckles. Della was the CEO of one of the world’s premier cosmetic companies. She’d grown up in France, was multilingual and elegant to a fault. I had no idea what the two of them had in common, or how they made their relationship work considering both were on the road all the time, but they seemed deliriously happy and were obviously deeply in love with one another.

The blond woman tilted her wineglass in my direction and lifted a perfectly arched brow. “Are you sure you won’t reconsider being in the wedding party? You’re family. You should be up there with the rest of us.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d asked or brought forth that argument. She was an inherently kind person, but I couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable Crew would be if I was suddenly