“My head isn’t up my ass.”
“It’s about to be.” Whistling under his breath, Reaux retreated, leaving Donovan to face the music, as he’d so eloquently stated. The door had barely snicked shut behind him when the shouting started—all from the fiery redhead.
Ah, to be young and in love again. There was nothing quite like that first passion in a relationship to get the blood pumping.
He wondered if he would experience it again once reconnected with Violet.
In just three days, he would find out.
Violet
Standing in front of Evander’s office door, Violet lifted her hand and knocked twice, firmly. It was almost a week to the day since she’d booted Adrian off her schedule and she’d been waiting to be summoned here ever since; she was actually surprised it had taken this long.
It didn’t matter—she could handle Evander. His size was intimidating, but in comparison to his husband, he was a teddy bear. He was dominant in the eyes of everyone but Elias, the only one with the power to make him submit.
“Come in.”
All she needed to do was stick to her guns. She’d made a decision which protected herself, the club member involved, and the club itself. Continuing a working relationship with Adrianwas simply untenable, bound to cause more harm the longer it went on, and that was unacceptable.
She reminded herself of that as she pushed open the door… and stopped in her tracks.
Shit, shit, shit.
Not one, butfourpairs of eyes locked on her as she froze in the doorway. Instantly, her mood plummeted into a dark, foul abyss from which it would take days to resurface.
Scowling so hard her forehead twitched with the strain, Violet shook her head and stepped back, slamming the door viciously. Whirling on her heels, she strode back down the hall and was almost to the stairs when she heard the door open again.
“Mistress Violet.” The sharp British accent cracked the air better than a bullwhip. When she didn’t even pause, it snapped again. “Violet.”
Fuck. Elias was a good man who loved his family, and she liked him, but several of his qualities reminded her too much of another handsome asshole, one with a very different accent, who’d broken her heart, her confidence, and ruined her. “What, Elias?”
“Come back here, please.”
Thepleasewas little more than a cordial afterthought—the order was clear.
Violet stopped at the top of the stairs, one hand on the newel post. Turning her gaze back to Elias, she tried to fry his gorgeous ass from a distance with all the fury bubbling in her veins. “That is a fucking ambush, Eli. Don’t try to tell me otherwise. Both owners, the Master of Security, and motherfucking Adrian? It’s a fucking ambush, and I do not appreciate it.”
Darker than sin, emanating that edgy, sadistic vibe, Elias prowled along the hallway as though he had all the time in the world. “One might see it that way, yes.”
“Onedoessee it that way,” she snarled back. “Stay where you are, Eli. I don’t want to do something I’ll regret. Callie would never forgive me if I messed up your pretty face.”
Of course, he didn’t listen. Men like him never listened.
“Physical violence against another member of staff is a termination offence.” Humor glinted in his eyes despite his stern expression.
“It would be worth it,” she hissed, knowing she was trapped—one step backward would send her tumbling down the wooden staircase. “Trust me, Elias, I’m thirty fucking seconds away from punching you in the fucking nose and handing in my goddamn resignation. Do not fucking push me.”
“Do you know, I don’t believe I’ve ever heard you use profanity in such a quantity.” Using his dominance to intimidate, a habit of his she didn’t think he even realized he had, he stopped with his fancy-ass shoes less than six inches from the toes of her heels. “Would you please come back to the office so we can talk about this like adults?”
“No.”
He sighed. “Why not?”
“How many times do I have to say the word,ambush?”
“It isn’t an ambush, Violet. Adrian is a prized member who has expressed his unhappiness with the sudden removal of your services. He arrived this afternoon and requested a meeting with both Van and I. We thought it best to include Grit, both for security purposes and as moral support for you.”
The sniveling weasel was trying an end run around her, she thought. Any prospect of her being cordial or maintaining an outwardly professional relationship on club grounds had just been dropkicked out the window. “I don’t need moral support. Adrian overstepped my personal boundaries and out of respect for myself, him, and this club, I chose to end my involvement with him.”
