Full Throttle

Colby heard the words clear as day. She whipped her head around the room, looking for him. His voice floated like petals in the wind. It was impossible, but Colby knew what she’d heard.
She clutched her chest. Her heart ached something awful as her red-rimmed eyes filled with tears. Colby didn’t know if he could hear her, but she responded softly to that voice. “Drop that pedal.”
For the past twelve years, her life had been at a stand-still. Emotionally, Colby had been running in place.
It was time, long past time, to put an end to her nightmarish dreams.

Chapter 2
Brian Lockwood stood outside the doors of a private gentlemen’s club. He had replayed his situation over and over again in his mind. There was no fixing it. At least, not on his own. He had to put his pride aside and lay all of his cards on the table. Ironic, considering he was about to barge into a place where only the richest of the rich gambled away small fortunes without a second thought.
Brian took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and burst into the darkened smoke-filled room. Immediately, three beefy men who had been guarding the door stood from their seated positions with the sole purpose of handing him his ass. Each man looked as if they could bench press a car. And by their facial expressions, they were about to put his theory to the test, up to and including leaving Brian in an unmarked grave. One of them reached a hand inside his suit jacket. That is never a good sign. Instead of shrinking, Brian stood to his full height of six feet, narrowed his eyes, and with haughty arrogance, lifted his chin, as if to say, “I wish you would.”
Brian might have possibly pissed away most of his fortune, but he was still a Lockwood, which meant something. He was just about to raise some hell of his own when recognition finally hit a couple of the security guards. The man closest to Brian placed a hand on the arm of the goon who was reaching for his piece. He leaned over and whispered into his ear. Seconds later, they all relaxed. The leader of the pack began to speak. “Our apologies, Mr. Lockwood. We didn’t recognize you.”
That was the wrong thing to say. It was a trigger. Brian’s jaw clenched, and a vein pulsed wildly at the base of his throat. His tone was gruff as angry eyes scanned each of them but lingered on the man whose hand had gone inside his jacket. Brian’s face was stone cold as he directed his words to the others. “Keep that animal on a leash; otherwise,” he patted his own jacket pocket, “it might get real messy in here.”
Heads nodded in understanding. Slowly Brian continued to stand near the doorway, searching for his brother until he finally spotted him. With purposeful strides, Brian moved swiftly in his direction until finally, he stood at his brother’s elbow. Brian towered over Liam since he was sitting down at the poker table. Liam was laser focused on his game. Still, Brian was sure Liam knew he was standing there. After a few moments of silence, Brian cleared his throat.
, tensions eased, and the guards took up their positions again. If Brian had been anyone else, things could have gotten way out of control since only the most powerful people in business, politics, and crime were allowed access to this room. Brian understood the need for tight security, but it pissed him off to know that had he been his brother, the situation never would have occurred.
Even though he was fuming, Brian didn’t have time to deal with the personal slight. He was on a mission. He glanced around. Fortunately, there weren’t too many people in attendance. This night was reserved for the high rollers, those betting no less than a million dollars. That made his task a little easier.
When Liam still didn’t respond, Brian got impatient and let his words break through the quiet. “I need to talk to you.”
Liam knew Brian was standing at his side. He’d seen the commotion at the door. Brian had obviously gotten himself into some deep shit if he’d resorted to tracking him down at the club. This time, Liam wasn’t going to clean it up. He was going to let his brother figure it out.
“I said I need to talk to you.” There was a bit of desperation in Brian’s voice.
Liam sighed. “I heard you the first time.” He was annoyed. “You’re interrupting my game.”
“I’m out.” Gina Lee-Xiou, a billionaire boss, tossed her cards on the table, leaving three players down to two.
Liam looked over in her direction. “Smart and beautiful.” He wasn’t lying. Gina was stunning. She was a mass of dark curls and vibrant skin, the color of toffee. Her eyes were large and rounded with a slight slant, and dark as coal. She was a stunning beauty with a nice round, perfect ass.
“Don’t forget dangerous,” Harvey Lloyd, a real estate tycoon, said quietly as he continued to study his cards. Allegedly, Gina was the head of some type of Chinese mafia outfit called The Family.
Gina chuckled as she stood. “I’m all of that and then some, Harvey.” She turned to Liam. “It has been a pleasure to see you again, but I refuse to lose any more money to you.” Her smile was brilliant, her voice sultry. “At any rate, this has been fun, but good night gentlemen.”
Gina knew how to make an entrance and an exit. She didn’t even have to turn around to know that all the men at the table watched as she strutted away.
Liam thought to himself that Brody Windham was one lucky man.
Once Gina was gone, Brian came back to his senses. Even he had been transfixed by the woman. He ran a frustrated hand through his already ruffled hair. “I really need to talk to you. I wouldn’t be here if you had answered