The One Who Got Away (Wilde Ways #12) - Cynthia Eden Page 0,57

But, baby, never, ever think that you don’t know me. You know me better than anyone else.”

The ache in her heart—the fist that had squeezed her so fiercely when she’d heard Jacob telling her news that sent her world spinning far, far too fast—it eased. Some of the pain slid from her as she stared into his eyes.

He was wearing his glasses. His stare was so intent and focused behind the lenses.

Her lips lifted into a slow smile. “You always had a chance.” Ella leaned toward him. “You might not know it, but I have a thing for men who wear glasses.”

His head lowered toward her.

The horn blasted behind them.

“I think Jacob missed my last message,” Antony groused.

Another honk.

She looked behind them. “I think that one came from the car behind him.”

Antony’s lips twitched. “Then I guess we should go.” His head angled back toward the road as the vehicle headed forward.

Her gaze lingered on his profile. “Did you mean it?” Ella heard herself ask. “Am I really so important to you?”

No hesitation. “More important than anything else.”

She didn’t reply. She just absorbed his words, and realized how very, very much that she wanted them to be true.

***

They spent most of the day chasing dead ends. Axel’s buddy? He’d seemingly fallen off the map. His rental house had been empty, and the neighbors said they hadn’t seen Cal in days. His mechanic job had been a bust, too. When Antony had questioned the manager of the shop, the guy had been adamant that he hadn’t seen Cal in at least three days.

“The optics of this are terrible. Cal is missing. Right after his good buddy Axel winds up dead.” Ella’s voice was musing. “Nope. Doesn’t look suspicious. Not at all.”

Antony directed his gaze toward the packed bar. The next place on their visit list. They’d gotten a tip at their last stop that had led them to the bar—a tip from one of Cal’s ex-girlfriends. She’d said that when Cal liked to blow off steam, he headed for his favorite drinking spot. The favorite spot in question was this hole-in-the-wall that looked as if it should have been condemned years ago.

He eyed the people falling out of the bar’s sagging front doors. It was dark, but hardly late. The music blaring from the bar and the weaving bodies told him that the people there didn’t particularly care about the time.

“Do you think anyone will recognize you inside?” Ella asked.

“I highly doubt it.” The folks he could see seemed more interested in drinking and partying than anything else.

“If you are recognized, you could always just say you wanted a walk on the wild side.”

As they approached the entrance, Antony handed a bored-looking bouncer a twenty and glanced over at Ella. “This doesn’t qualify as wild.” They stepped inside.

Glass shattered. A woman screamed. Antony turned to see two men slamming their fists into each other. Behind them, a woman stood with a broken bottle gripped in her hand.

“Not wild?” Ella murmured. “You sure about that?”

He was sure he didn’t like the way some of the guys there were eyeing Ella. He pulled her a little closer and made his way to the bar. When the bartender sauntered toward him, Antony pushed a few twenties toward him. “I’m looking for someone.”

The cash disappeared. The bartender squinted at Antony as he raked a dirty cloth over the top of the bar. “Who you want?”

“He goes by Cal. Real name’s Calvin—”

The bartender—a short, round, bald guy with hoops in each ear—jerked his head up and down. “I know Cal. You give me one hundred more, and I’ll tell you where he is right now.”

“Uh, Antony…” Ella said, voice uncertain.

He pulled out a hundred. Tossed it on the bar.

The bartender whistled. “Just how much cash you got?”

A battle-ready tension slid through Antony’s body. “Where is Calvin?”

Ella tugged on Antony’s arm. “You need to—”

“He’s behind you,” the bartender said with a smirk—and that was the moment when something slammed into Antony’s back with the force of a battering ram. He barreled forward, Ella screamed, and Antony’s face pounded into the bar top.

His glasses broke on impact. The sonofabitch had just broken his glasses. Now you’ve made me mad.

“Get your hands off him!” Ella yelled.

Whoever she was yelling at didn’t follow her order. Instead, hard hands spun Antony around.

Just what Antony had wanted.

When he spun, he swung. His fists slammed into his attacker’s stomach. A right punch, then a drive with his left that sent the tall, blond