“That fleabag he calls a pet will keep him safe.” Christian rested his elbow on the door and covered his face. “Feck me. I can’t ask that man if I can marry you now. Instead of seeing me to the door, he’ll see me right to the grave.”
“I have no choice but to tell him what’s going on. He has to know. Fletcher doesn’t have the balls to come after our team, so there’s no need to tell Viktor. If he ever finds out what you did—”
“He’ll toss me out on my arse. I knew the risk, but let’s just say that I was thinking less clearly back then than I am now.” He laced his fingers across his stomach. “I regret nothing. Hearing that man scream was a symphony to my ears.”
“Are you sure no one followed you here?”
“I would have heard them.”
“On that loud bike?” I started the truck. “Whoever stumbled upon your little house of horrors probably struck a deal with him.”
“Aye. Maybe he’s someone else’s problem now.”
I dug my thumbnails into the bottom part of the steering wheel. “Did he say anything about me?”
“I forbade him from speaking your name. He did it once. After the first night, he never did again.”
CHAPTER3
When Christian and I walked into the Mexican restaurant, we stood frozen in the entryway, taking in the chaos. Wyatt danced on a table, a sombrero on his head, shaking two maracas while a mariachi band played behind him. A crowd of customers looked over their shoulders at him and laughed before sipping their margaritas. Wyatt turned around and slapped the maracas against his ass in perfect rhythm.
Christian grabbed a peppermint from a bowl near the door. “Is this the private gathering you were referring to?”
I made a beeline into our room on the right. Switch was snoozing on one of the benches against the archways, his leather coat draped over his head.
I ducked when Hunter swung a long stick as he attacked the piñata hanging from the ceiling. Someone had let him up on the table, and he was having the time of his life.
Shepherd puffed on his cigarette from his chair by the wall. “Hit him in the legs. That’s right.”
I made my way to the far end of the table where Blue had a piñata of her own made from chocolate. Claude watched from the other side while she cracked open the chocolate with a tap of her knife, releasing a ton of fruit.
“Wonders never cease,” he said, breaking the larger pieces with another knife.
Blue divvied up the berries and fruit onto multiple plates. After Claude added a little chocolate to each one, they passed them around. Viktor hadn’t moved from his chair at the end, his cheeks flushed and beer glass empty. He looked ready for a nap. Kira sat behind him against the wall, two chairs facing each other so she could put her feet up.
“Well, this is casual,” I said, taking a seat next to Blue. “I thought we rented the whole place to ourselves?”
Blue scooted her chair in. “People saw our cars in the parking lot and kept coming up to the door. Viktor paid for privacy, but he talked with the manager and said it was fine to let the hungry people in. I think the employees were getting bored sitting around. I have no idea where the band came from. Wyatt’s in there making an ass out of himself and probably getting uploaded to the internet.”
Christian took the chair across from me. “And the eejit doesn’t care that his picture will be all over social media?”
Blue finished devouring a strawberry. “Does he look like he cares? He promised Viktor he’d track down and erase anything that leaked out. I don’t know how he’ll do that, but if he doesn’t get them all, serves him right.”
“Delivery girl!” Gem breezed in with a tray in her hands. “They let me watch them and everything!” She set down a platter, and I drooled. An army of churros surrounded a giant cheesecake with strawberries in the middle. And they had drizzled chocolate syrup over everything like a dirty fantasy.
I chuckled at all the desserts. “Uh, Viktor? How much food do they expect us to eat?”
Claude served himself a slice of cheesecake with churros. “They can serveallthe pastries they want. My stomach is here for it.”
I looked around, doing a head count. “Where’s Niko?”
“Outside,” Blue answered. “He got sensory overload. All the energy was giving him a headache, so he’s taking a walk.”
“In the snow?”
“He’s a Thermal.” She ate a slice of melon. “How much do you wanna bet he’s just circling the building? He wouldn’t venture off, especially if it meant getting his shoes and pants wet.”
“Perhaps it’s time to stop the party,” I suggested.
