“Exactly. I stopped him.”
“You stopped two of his light-weight goons, Travis. What are you going to do if there are a dozen of them? What are you going to do if they come after me during one of your fights?”
“It wouldn’t make sense for him to do that. I’ll be making him lots of money.”
“The moment you decide you’re not going to do that anymore, you’re expendable. That’s how these people work.”
Travis walked away from me and looked out the window, the blinking lights coloring his conflicted features. He had made his decision before he’d ever come to me about it.
“It’s going to be all right, Pigeon. I’ll make sure it is. And then we’ll be set.”
I shook my head and turned around, shoving our clothes into our suitcases. When we set down on the tarmac at home, he would be his old self again. Vegas did strange things to people, and I couldn’t reason with him while he was intoxicated with the flow of cash and whiskey.
I refused to discuss it further until we were on the plane, afraid Travis would let me leave without him. I buckled my seat belt and clenched my teeth, watching him stare longingly out the window as we climbed into the night sky. He was already missing the wickedness and limitless temptations Vegas had to offer.
“That’s a lot of money, Pidge.”
“No.”
His head jerked in my direction. “This is my decision. I don’t think you’re looking at the big picture.”
“I think you’ve lost your damn mind.”
“You’re not even going to consider it?”
“No, and neither are you. You’re not going to work for a murderous criminal in Las Vegas, Travis. It’s completely ridiculous for you to think I could consider it.”
Travis sighed and looked out the window. “My first fight is in three weeks.”
My mouth dropped open. “You already agreed to it?”
He winked. “Not yet.”
“But you’re going to?”
He smiled. “You’ll quit being mad when I buy you a Lexus.”
“I don’t want a Lexus,” I seethed.
“You can have anything you want, Baby. Imagine how it’s going to feel driving into any dealership you want, and all you have to do is pick your favorite color.”
“You’re not doing this for me. Stop pretending you are.”
He leaned over, kissing my hair. “No, I’m doing it for us. You just can’t see how great it’s going to be.”
A cold shiver radiated from my chest, traveling down my spine into my legs. He wouldn’t see reason until we were in the apartment, and I was terrified that Benny had made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. I shook off my fears; I had to believe Travis loved me enough to forget the dollar signs and false promises Benny had made.
“Pidge? Do you know how to cook a turkey?”
“A Turkey?” I said, taken off-guard by the sudden change of conversation.
He squeezed my hand. “Well, Thanksgiving Break is coming up, and you know my dad loves you. He wants you to come for Thanksgiving, but we always end up ordering pizza and watching the game. I thought maybe me and you could try cooking a bird together. You know, have a real turkey dinner for once in the Maddox house.”
I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh. “You just thaw the turkey and put it in a pan and cook it in the oven all day. There’s not much to it.”
“So you’ll come? You’ll help me?”
I shrugged. “Sure.”
His attention was diverted from the intoxicating lights below, and I allowed myself to hope that he would see how wrong he was about Benny after all.