“I bet you’re glad I insisted on coming after all,” Lyle said with a laugh.
“I owe you one,” Jace said to his friend, before turning to Lily Mae. “Baby,” he announced. “This man is dangerous. You’re not staying with him.”
Lily Mae could only nod as the three turned to make their way through the crowd that had gathered to watch. They could hear Tony yelling, his voice getting closer. The men turned back, and Lily knew they were wanted to be ready for what Tony might try when he reached them, but he didn’t get the chance. A black car had sped up to the curb, and two burly men got out and flanked Tony before he could reach the trio. He seemed to recognize them and stopped, his eyes darting from Lily Mae and her protectors to the two men looming over him.
“Tony,” one of the men said, his voice deep and low. “You had an important meeting with Mr. DeMarco tonight.”
“Guys, I’m kind of in the middle of something…”
“I don’t think so,” said the other man. “Mr. DeMarco was very unhappy that you canceled.”
“Very unhappy,” said the other. “So he’s had us come… convince you to drop whatever you were doing and keep your appointment with him.”
Tony licked his lips nervously. It was apparent to Lily Mae that the tables had been turned on the bullying businessman. He turned an angry glance at her and pointed.
“I’m not finished with you, Lily.”
The broader of DeMarco’s men raised an eyebrow. “Is this man bothering you, miss?”
Lily Mae nodded tearfully.
“I’ll make sure I mention his… harassment to Mr. DeMarco.” He smiled, revealing a gleaming gold tooth. The other man was now pushing Tony into the black car and winked at Lily Mae and her companions just before he shut the door and the car sped away.
For a moment, the three of them just stood there watching. Then Jace turned to Lyle. “Lily Mae and I have some things to discuss in private,” he said.
“Say no more, buddy,” Lyle said. “I’m bushed anyway, so I’ll be going back to the hotel to rest up for the flight home.”
“I’ll call you in the morning, Lyle,” Jace said. “Thanks.”
Lyle smiled and nodded toward Lily Mae. “See you two later.”
They watched him walk away in silence. Then Jace turned to Lily Mae.
“It’s time for us to have a little talk,” he said.
Chapter Sixteen
Lily Mae had asked Jace to take her back to her townhouse. The ride there had been silent save for the rental car’s GPS softly voicing directions. Jace focused on where he was going as he bit back all the questions he was dying to ask.
Once they’d reached Lily Mae’s place, she headed straight to the bedroom and shut the door. A moment later she emerged wearing a bathrobe. The dress, shoes, and underwear were all wadded into a ball that she threw into the kitchen wastebasket.
Jace had fixed them both a cup of tea. He handed one to Lily Mae.
“Thanks,” she said, and turned to walk into the living room. Jace followed. She took a seat on the sofa. He sat on a chair across from her. He said nothing, waiting for Lily Mae to take the lead.
“He was lying,” she finally said. “We were never a couple. He never touched me.”
“It wouldn’t matter if he had, Lily Mae. I told you once before that I won’t ever hold your past against you. The only thing that mattered to me was what we had.”
“Had.” She took a ragged breath. “You used the past tense.”
“You lied to me, Lily Mae.”
“Can you just let me explain?” she begged.
“You don’t have to.” Jace shook his head. “I figured it out myself last night, but might not have if Miss Edmunds hadn’t taken it upon herself to fetch the letter Tony Orzo sent you out of the trash. It was pretty clear that you’d been threatened, and when I checked up on Tony I realized you likely took off because you were afraid he might hurt me.”
“But if you know all this, how can you be angry at me?” she asked.
“Because you should have told me, Lily Mae!” Jace didn’t realize how angry he was until that moment. “My heart was in my throat the whole time I was on that plane. And thank god Lyle insisted on coming even though I told him not to at first. If he’d not been there to grab that sonofabitch, he may have shot you or me or both of us!”
Lily Mae began to cry. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it through…”
“Why not?” Jace felt himself becoming exasperated. “I’d taken care of all your other debts. If you’d told me you owed this guy money, I’d have taken care of him, too…”
“It was more complicated than that,” Lily Mae said. “I knew when I borrowed the money from Tony there were strings attached, that he expected more. But I was desperate, and so…”
“…so you let him think he could expect something in return.” Jace finished her sentence with a disappointed sigh.