Daring Devlin (Lost Boys #1) - Jessica Lemmon Page 0,34
that. Did that mean he’d tell me why he had that much money if I asked? Only one way to find out. “What are all the hundreds for?”
Are you a drug dealer?
He didn’t hesitate. “They’re not mine. It’s bet money.”
Bet. That word again. I thought of his “friend” Travis who delivered cash to Oak & Sage. “Do you bet often?”
“I don’t bet ever. People lose bets and bring the money to me to give to Sonny. Sometimes they win and I deliver the payout from him to them.” His gaze was steady on mine, his expression unapologetic.
“Sonny?”
“Sonny,” he confirmed, as if that cleared everything up.
I thought for a moment. And then guessed. “Is Sonny… like a bookie?”
“Exactly like a bookie.”
“Oh.” I digested this fact. “Isn’t being a bookie… illegal?”
“Completely.”
Completely. I tried to decide if I cared that my new boyfriend—er, hookup—was involved in “completely” illegal betting. I didn’t think I cared at all. What did that say about me?
“So?” he asked after a few seconds had passed.
“So, what?”
A delicious grin split spread his talented mouth. “Guessing you’ve had enough for one night, huh?”
Without waiting for me to answer, he stood and offered his palm. Then he pulled me to his chest in a hug. My arms rose to loop around his neck. That tender move was totally unexpected, as was how wonderful it felt to be held. I gazed into his blue eyes, not wanting him to let me go.
“We’ll save the other condom for next time, sweetheart.” He released me and tugged the hem of my shirt before retrieving the rest of his clothes from the floor. I watched with a heavy heart as he pulled on his sweater, coat, and scarf, and walked to the door.
I wanted a next time right now. I suspected if I latched onto his arm and begged him to stay, I’d meet with resistance. I might not know much about hookups, but I knew that.
Just as he was shutting the door, I spotted his wallet on the floor. “Devlin, wait!”
He appeared through the open doorway again and my entire being levitated. Which was bad. So, so bad.
I offered the wallet, and the thousands of untaxed hundred dollar bills in it. He opened his palm and waited, forcing me to walk the rest of the way to deliver it without taking a single step to meet me. It said so much about this entire situation. How invested he was. How invested I was.
Laying the wallet in his hand, I asked, “Was that a test?”
He smiled. A small one with a secret meaning. Then he tucked his wallet into his pocket and walked out into the snow.
Just a wave. No kiss goodbye.
I wondered if this entire night had been a test.
Devlin
“Hot damn!” The final score for the rivalry college football game flashed on the screen of my sixty-inch television: a cool 47 to 46. Paul had won by a point. One fucking point. In overtime. It’d been almost too close for comfort, and I didn’t technically have anything on the line. Still, I’d been sweating it.
That bastard is lucky to know me.
I drained my beer and stood from the couch. Before I made it to the kitchen for another, my cell phone rang. Watching on TV as the stadium’s fans pour onto the field, I shook my head with pride. Somewhere deep inside, I knew they’d win this one.
Paul’s name flashed across my phone’s screen. I pressed Accept.
“What’d I tell you?” I said.
A loud whoop pierced my eardrums. “You did it, Dev! You fucking did it!”
“Yeah, we won this one.” Barely. But a win was a win.
The take wasn’t much. I’d managed to double Paul’s money, but he wasn’t out of debt with Tex yet. It would make a good head start on a payment plan, though, and that meant Paul was no longer my problem.
“It’s a great start, Dev. A great start. Once I reinvest—”
Reinvest? Oh, hell no.
“One and done.” I reminded him, my scalp prickling. “Five hundred goes straight to Sonny for your payment and the rest you use to buy an arrangement with Tex.”
I heard an audible gulp and my hand curled around my phone tight enough to crack the plastic cover. Another warning bell rang in my head, different from the one I’d heard at Rena’s, but in the same foreboding tone.
“Paul,” I started, really not wanting him to confirm what I already knew. “Did you bet again?”