Two weeks later
WHENI landed in Sin City, the sun was starting to set and the lights had come on over the Strip. Throwing my duffel over my shoulder, I walked outside and breathed in the early evening desert air. It was the same dry, scratchy stuff I’d grown up on, and it settled my lungs as much as it kicked up my nerves.
Spotting the Tunnel’s pimped-out SUV, I threw a peace sign up in the air with two fingers before whistling to get Billy’s attention.
“Hey, man.” His blue eyes twinkled at me as I jumped into the passenger seat of my old ride and tossed my shit behind me.
“What’s up, Billy boy?”
He huffed as he looked over his shoulder and pulled out. “I just left a warm Sadie back in my bed to come and get your sorry ass.”
“Tough shit!” I smirked, thinking I called that relationship when Billy was still wet behind the ears and screwing up his security detail at the Tunnel. Knowing Asher, he’d be setting Billy and Sadie up with their own club before they even knew what was happening.
“I know, I know! It’s not often that we get the prodigal son back here.”
“Hey, we’re all Asher’s prodigals. He just keeps moving us out and setting up another of us as top dog.”
Billy snorted. “You got his number. Rumor has it, he’s shipping Sadie and me off to either Seattle or Texas when he gets back from the Bahamas. Apparently, Petey’s got some guy under him in Los Angeles that’s coming here to take my post.”
“Sounds about right. It’s been a few years since I left, so it’s your turn to move on. Hold up—can you swing by my condo, and then we can go directly to the club?” I asked, keeping my gaze firmly on the road in front of me.
Billy flicked a glance at me before returning his attention to the road. “You don’t want to unwind a little? I thought I’d just drop you at the condo and send someone to grab you later.”
“No.”
“Come on, Mikey, you’ve got to let that shit go. It’s been four years since you fell for her. All you’ve done is mope and beg that chick to do one single fucking thing for you. I know you cared for her and you got memories and all that crap, but from what Asher says, she’s in the wind. Like I said, let it go.”
Slamming my hand on the dash, I turned to face my friend. “She’s not in the fucking wind. She’ll be back, and I’m going to find her first, Billy. She deserves that, just like everyone else in our gang. Thank fuck we loved Sienna when she told us about her past as Lila. And the way we took Quinn under our wing when we learned Asher was his father? Or the way we accepted Petey into the fold, even though he lied about being Asher’s half brother? We’re a fucking family, and I want my girl.”
Billy held up a hand. “I got you, man. I hear you loud and clear. Believe me, we want you to find her. But all that doesn’t mean you can’t chill at your condo for a while.”
“It does,” I said as he pulled into my condo’s garage. I kept the place just in case Lynx came back there looking for me. The doorman knew to let me know if anyone—particularly Lynx—stopped by. The money didn’t mean a damn thing to me. I would never sell it until she was back for good.
“Keep the motor running, I’ll be right back down,” I told him as I slammed the passenger door.
I ran upstairs and grabbed my pistol out of the safe, shoving it in the back of my jeans and covering it with my track jacket. I threw my bag on the couch but quickly snagged it back up—I didn’t have any intention of staying at the condo full of memories. I could sleep in Asher’s office if I wanted to—as soon as he got the hell out of Dodge tomorrow.
Jumping back into the SUV, I yelled, “Let’s go, Billy. Time to make some money and take care of the ladies on the stage!”
INSIDE THEElectric Tunnel, I felt almost normal. Taking one deep breath after another of the crisp oxygenated air, I was home. I loved it there. And I adored Asher more than my own father, even though Asher thought I should let go of Lynx.
He didn’t get it. Nat had literally fallen back into his life. Yeah, he had to work for it, but he knew where the fuck she was.
Some song abouttwerking itblared through the speakers as I roamed the floor, slapping all the bouncers on the back, and kissing all the lovely women wearing thongs and G-strings. The navy-blue walls were like a balm to my battered heart. This pulsing deep-purple haze of a place was my home.
Sydney Luv kissed my cheek when I walked up to the back bar. “Hey, Big Mike.”
Sydney was an all-American beauty. All creamy freckled skin and strawberry-blond locks, she was an angel—an angel who did a damn good job of stripping. But she wasn’t really my type. Over the last few years, my preferences ran darker. Not just sexually, but skin color too.
The dancers had been trying to get me to break down and sleep with one of them for years.Not gonna happen.If they knew I was screwing one of my dancers in Florida—with regularity—they would fucking shit.
“Hey, baby,” I said, playfully smacking her ass peeking out from neon-green hot pants. “How’s it going, honey?”
“All good. I bought a new place over in Summerlin, and I’m sharing Sienna’s old slot with Sadie. Although, Billy’s losing patience. He wants Sadie off the stage,” she said, swirling her tongue around a cherry from her amaretto sour, still trying to tempt me.
I was pretty sure they had a bet going in the dressing room. First one to fuck Big Mike got a thousand bucks.
“My guess is that’s gonna be happening real soon, little girl.” I motioned for the bartender, completely unaffected by the stunning half-naked woman, and ordered, “Jack, neat.”
