Seduced by the Loan Shark (7 page)

purse and fished around inside the bag

until I found my phone. I glanced at the

screen and frowned. It wasn't a number I

recognized.

"Hello?"

"Cassie?"

I didn't recognize the female voice

either. "Yes. Who is this?"

"Um…that doesn't matter. Look, Ronnie

is hurt."

"What? How?" My knees wobbled as

terror struck my gut. "Is he okay? How

badly?"

"He ran into some guys who owned

some debt of his. It's pretty bad."

"Where is he?" My voice was barely a

whisper now. My heart was racing so fast

I could hardly breathe.

She rattled off the name of a hospital

downtown and then hung up. I dropped the

phone and rubbed my forehead. Sick with

dread, I tried not to think about how badly

Ronnie could be hurt. He was out there

right now, suffering alone, and needed me.

The jangle of a belt buckle broke into

my thoughts. I glanced over my shoulder to

find Hagen getting dressed. Clearly he'd

pieced

together

my

side

of

the

conversation. I didn't understand it but the

sight of him infuriated me. The reality that

someone in his line of business—hell,

maybe even one of his goons—had put the

hurt on my brother for owing some debt,

hit me like a ton of bricks.

Hagen frowned at me. "Cassie, snap out

of it and get dressed."

I stiffened at his instruction. "Don't tell

me what to do."

He didn't even flinch at my snarled

reply. "I know you're upset."

My jaw tightened. "You don't know

anything about me."

"Are we back to this again?" He

leveled a maddeningly calm stare my way.

"I thought we talked about this in my

office. I know more about you than you

think."

The reminder of our discussion in his

office left me feeling unsettled. God, how

stupid could I be? What the hell was I

thinking getting involved with this man? I

knew better than to trust someone so

dangerous. What the hell was wrong with

me?

I'd let my guard down with Hagen. I'd

let him seduce me. I'd let the man who had

made it possible for Ronnie to get himself

into this kind of trouble wine and dine me.

Now my brother was in the hospital—and

I'd been sleeping with the enemy.

Hagen strode toward me. "Talk to me,

Cassie."

"I can't do this, Hagen." I pulled off his

shirt, threw it at him and reached for my

dress. "I can't be with the person

responsible for my brother's downfall.

You're the reason he's in the hospital

now."

His eyebrow arched. "Am I?"

I glared at him before tugging my dress

down over my head. "Don't play stupid,

Hagen. You knew he was a gambling

addict. You gave him the money. You kept

increasing his credit at those stupid poker

games. It's like giving a suicidal person a

loaded gun!"

"Guns aren't my line of business. That's

Jackie Boy's action."

I gritted my teeth. "I'm trying to be

serious. People like you prey on the weak.

You destroy them. You've destroyed my

brother. Someday you'll do the same to

me."

My accusation hung in the air between

us. Finally, he spoke. "Do you really

believe that?"

"I—" The answer didn't come. It died

on my lips. Everything Hagen had shown

me had been nothing but sweetness and

kindness. He'd gone out of his way to

show me that he would never harm me.

"No," I admitted grudgingly. "I don't."

"You know what I think?" He crossed

the distance between us with a few

powerful strides.

"No." I shook my head and kept my gaze

glued to my bare feet.

Hagen tipped my chin and forced me to

meet his warm, affectionate gaze. "I think

you're pissed off at your brother. I think

you're terrified that you're going to lose

him like you lost your parents. I think it's

easier to shout at me than it is to think

about how afraid you are right now."

He was right, of course. I was

beginning to wonder if he was always

right.

He opened his arms and I stepped into

his embrace. Hot tears burned my eyes.

Hagen didn't say anything else. He just

held me and rubbed my back until I was

ready to pull away and finished getting

dressed.

After asking me which hospital, he took

my hand and led me down to the garage.

We climbed into one of his cars. As he

pulled out of his gated community, he said,

"About your brother's debt with me…"

Dread settled in the pit of my stomach.

"Yes?"

"I wrote it off the second you walked

through my office door."

"What? But you said—"

"I know what I said. I just—I wanted

you. I knew a girl like you would never—

not with someone like me."

"So you bluffed me."

"Yes."

"I should kick your ass, you know that?"

He laughed and smiled over at me.

"You could try, Tiny."

"God," I said and wiped a hand down

my face. "You know what's even crazier

than this hot mess with my brother and the

money and your blackmail?"

"No. What?"

"I'm not even that pissed off at you." I

couldn't believe it but it was true. "I

should be. I should be furious with you—

but I'm not. How screwed up are we?"

"We're not anymore screwed up than

most couples, I'd guess."

My eyes widened. "Are we a couple?"

He rubbed his thumb across my palm. "I

don't know. Are we?"

I considered all that had happened in

the short hours Id' known him. There was

no denying the connection I'd made to

Hagen. Our relationship might not have

started in the most noble of ways but it

was real. It was true. We were creating

some sort of foundation. This could go

somewhere.

I bit my lower lip. "I think we play this

one day at a time."

"I can do slow and easy."

Our peace made, we drove in silence

through the ridiculously early Houston

morning. The windshield wiper blades

thwacked softly as they cleared away the

heavy dew that accumulated on the glass.

The warm, muggy morning promised an

even hotter, more miserable day.

When we reached the hospital's parking

lot, Hagen found a spot and killed his

engine. He shot me an apologetic look. "I

can't go in with you. Not now."

I started to ask why but then noticed the

police cruisers parked near the emergency

room entrance. "Oh."

"I didn't have anything to do with your

brother's injuries, Cassie. If the cops see

me strolling in there with you, it's just—

it's going to cause more problems for you

and your brother than you need."

"I understand." I figured this wouldn't

be the first time we had to navigate a

tricky situation because of Hagen's history

and occupation. I wondered if this was

why he was so keen on the idea of

shedding his past as a loan shark and

moving into the world of legal lending.

"While you're in there, I'm going to

make some calls. This thing with your

brother? It ends today. Right now.

Whatever he owes around town, I'll make

it right."

"No! Hagen, you can't. I mean, it's too

much."

He shook his head. "This is my gift to

you."

"Why?" I asked in a whisper.

He cupped my face in his big hand and

caressed my cheek. "I told you I'd take

care of you. Now let me do that, Cassie."

I leaned over and kissed him gently.

Our lips lingered for a long moment

before I finally pulled away and grabbed

my purse. "I'll text you when I find him."

He nodded. "I'll be waiting. Take your

time."

Purse in hand, I left his car and walked

across the mostly empty parking lot. There

were a handful of hospital employees and

firefighters enjoying an early morning

smoke under a small awning away from

all the entrances. I smiled at them as I

walked by and couldn't help but wonder

how crazy I must have looked all decked

out in my little black dress at four-thirty in

the morning.

A packed emergency room greeted me.

Over a dull roar of coughing, moaning and

rustling food wrappers, a weather man

rattled off the day's lows and highs for the

Gulf Coast region from the television

mounted on the far wall. I made my way to

the information desk and waited in line for

my turn.

An exhausted woman in scrubs greeted

me with a lackluster hello. She took my

information and told me to have a seat. I

picked a spot as far away from the

coughing, sputtering patient as possible.

Catching a cold or something worse

wasn't high on my list of to-do's.

It was a quarter of an hour before a

nurse came to fetch me. I hesitated outside

the curtain closing off Ronnie's exam

room. Gathering my courage, I pushed

aside the striped curtain and stepped into

his room. At first, he didn't see me. I was

glad for the few seconds to compose

myself. Rolled on his side and draped in

one of those thin, ugly hospital gowns, he

stared at the wall.

Well—out of one eye, at least.

His battered face was so swollen. One

eyelid was closed. His taped, bloodied

nose was clearly broken. The reddish

purple mottling on his cheeks and chin

looked awful and painful. One arm was in

a sling and obviously broken. His careful

breaths reminded me of the way I'd taken

to breathing after the car accident. With

multiple broken ribs, each breath had been

excruciating. No doubt Ronnie now

experienced the same thing.

"Hey," he rasped upon seeing me.

"Hey," I said and closed the curtain

behind me. I made my way to the chair at

his bedside and sat on the edge. Carefully,

I took his good hand, the one with IV's

attached, and raised it to my lips for a

quick kiss. The heat of tears prickled my

eyes. "Jesus, Ronnie."

"Yeah." His forlorn and ashamed

expression tore at me. "I really fucked it

up this time, Cass."

"What happened?"

He swallowed hard and lowered his

gaze. "I went to see a guy about getting in

on a game. I just—I thought if I could get a

hot streak going, I could earn the money I

needed to make things right. I was

counting cards and it was going really

well. I was up thousands—and then they

caught me."

"Ronnie," I groaned his name. "Things

were already being made right."

"With Hagen, maybe," he conceded,

"but the others?" He shook his head.

"Hell, Cassie, I owe money all over

town."

"How much?" I didn't know if I could

even stomach hearing the number but I

needed to know.

"A lot, Cass. So much," he added

remorsefully.

Even though I really wanted to smack

the shit out of him for being so stupid, I

rubbed his arm and reassured him. "It's

okay, Ronnie."

"It's not." He gulped and shook his

head. "It's not okay, Cass. What the hell

am I doing? Look what I've done to us. To

you. To me. I could have
died
tonight. And

for what? For some stupid, fucking poker

game or a football bet or a horse race?"

I was afraid to speak, afraid to shatter

the moment. Was he finally understanding?

Had it really taken something so violent

and so drastic to make him see what his

gambling addiction had done to him?

"I lost all of your money, Cass. I took

the life insurance money Mom and Dad

left us and I pissed it away. I screwed you

over, Cass. I ruined things for you."

"You didn't ruin anything for me. I'm

fine. I have scholarships. I have a part-

time job. I've learned to budget and to live

on cash only. I don't have credit cards or

loans. In a way, you probably saved me

from a lifetime of consumer debt."