Page 4 of Full Throttle

Brian leaned over and began speaking again. “If I could have foundanyother way, I would not be here. But I’ve run out of options, and I’m running out of time.” Brian was the spitting image of his older brother, just a younger version. His blonde hair, square jawline, and bronzed skin were like holding a mirror up to Liam’s face, except for the eyes. Liam’s eyes were that of a man who had experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly of life. They were very intimidating.

Liam continued to ignore Brian and tossed four-hundred thousand dollars’ worth of chips into the large pot of over two and a half million. He smirked, and then placed his cards face up on the table as he leaned back in his chair. “Full house.” Nothing ever seemed to rattle Liam. Not even his baby brother sitting next to him sweating bullets.

Liam stared down his opponent, but his next words were meant for Brian. “Whatever trouble you’ve found yourself in,youare going to have to figure a way out of it.”

Brian responded through clenched teeth. “Didn’t you hear me? Why do I have to keep repeating myself? I just said that I wouldn’t be here if I had any other choice.”

Liam watched Harvey use the back of his thumb to rub above his eyebrow. In that moment, Liam knew he had won the game. “I don’t care how long you stare at those cards. They are not going to change. Give it up so that we can enjoy the rest of our evening.” A small smile started to form at the edge of his lips. “I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather spend my time with a beautiful woman.”

The older man, who was known as a card shark, tried to keep his features blank, but his cheeks were slightly flushed. Five seconds later, he threw his cards onto the table. “Fuck you and your brother, Lockwood.”

Liam’s lips curved up into a full smile now that the pot was officially his. “I can only imagine how difficult it must be to lose money and your pride at the same time.” Liam and his team stood. “Markos, settle up with the house.”

Brian shook his head. “Markos, man . . . you need another job. Being my brother’s personal assistant has got to suck.”

Markos kept his expression blank. He could have easily been mistaken for one of Liam’s two bodyguards. The man could body double for The Hulk.

“I don’t think Markos needs employment suggestions from you.” Liam picked up his custom designer suit coat from behind his chair and put it on, then nodded to Harvey as he left the table. Liam strode out of the room with his bodyguards following closely. Brian, however, walked side by side with his brother. He mused about the best way to tell him about his problem. Then he remembered what his father always said,when delivering bad news, just get right to it, and let the chips fall where they fall. “I made a wager with Anthony Luccesse.”

Those words stopped Liam cold. His head turned slowly toward his idiot brother. “You. Did. What?” He enunciated each word through clenched teeth as if he hadn’t heard Brian the first time.

Brian detested his tone. It wasn’t exactly a growl, but it was low and menacing and, for a lesser man, very intimidating. However, Brian wasn’t easily intimidated, especially by Liam. He actually admired him and hated to have to ask for his help. “It started with a few not-so-friendly wagers, and it escalated.”

“A pissing contest?”

Brian remained silent.

“Goddammit!!” Liam was struggling to tamp down the rage that was beginning to bubble up through him. “How bad?”

“It could end with me giving up my shares to our company, or dead if I try to back out.”

Liam didn’t need Brian telling him how it could end when dealing with the Luccesses. He’d seen it first-hand. At one point, their father and Anthony’shadbeen friends. Their father had warned both Liam and Brian about wanting money and power at any cost using the Luccesses as an example. Anthony was the youngest, but he was also known as a shrewd kid.

Liam lost it. Standing in the middle of the private hallway of the club, he yelled, “What in the actual fuck, Brian?! The Luccesses? How many times did both Dad and I tell you to stay away from them? You always have to do shit the hard way!”

Brian tried to explain. “Anthony and I were drinking, and things just got out of hand.”

“How the hell were you two even in the same room?” Liam put up a hand. “Never mind. The bottom line is you are twenty-fuckin-nine years old! When are you going to grow the hell up and let that shit about the girl go?” Liam was in utter disbelief. “I can’t believe you betyourshares toourcompany?”

“None of this was about the girl.” Brian lied. His underlying anger was definitely about her. “And, yeah, I did.”

Liam dragged a hand down his face. “These antics makeyoulook weak. Not only that, you’ve put us all in a precarious situation!”

Right or wrong, Brian had some pride. He wasn’t going to let Liam continue to talk to him that way. “I’m not weak! I made a mistake.” He raised his voice. “Did we not just leave a private room where you raised a bet by four-hundred thousand dollars? How many hundreds of thousands would you have pissed away had you lost? I’m sure you probably had already dropped several hundred thousand in that big ass pot before I arrived.”

“What’s that to me?I’mworth billions. I would never wager more than I could afford to lose. And, if you haven’t figured this out yet,genius, your bet doesn’t just affect you! If you lose, you’ll be diluting the company with criminals.” Liam tried to gain some measure of control. Although he was ready to explode, he lowered his voice. “If you lose and have to give up your shares to the Luccesses, the FBI, CIA, DEA, and every other government agency will be at our offices within minutes of it happening.”

Brian’s pride wouldn’t allow him to back down or blame it on a night of drinking. “If I don’t follow through, you might as well call in the order for my casket, and that’sifthey can find my body.”

Liam wanted to wring Brian’s neck as he looked down at his little brother. Liam had Brian’s six feet by about four inches. His fists clenched at his sides as he fought back the urge to smash it into Brian’s face. Liam thought better of it. That’s all he needed was for him to do something stupid that would make the blogs. Liam took a couple of deep breaths and stepped back. His night was ruined. There would be no enjoying the spoils of his win or the body of a beautiful woman. Instead, he needed to get on the phone with his lawyers and business managers to develop a plan in the event Brian had to give up his shares. Liam would be damned if he let that happen, but he still had to plan for the worst-case scenario.

Liam turned and started walking away from the club’s main floor and toward the parking garage. He barked at one of his bodyguards. “Change of plans. Have them bring the car around.”

“Are you going to help me or not?” Brian called out after him.

Liam kept walking. His mind was racing. Brian had most likely been set up and didn’t even realize it. He didn’t have a choice but to help him. The Luccesses had been trying to launder their dirty money through the Lockwood businesses for years. However, their father, and now Liam, had managed to protect their family and companies from it.

Brian kept yelling as Liam walked farther and farther away. “Anthony’s family has a car in the NASCAR Cup Series in Atlanta. My car has to beat his.”