“That’s putting it mildly,” I say.
“Well, at least you’re marrying a hot guy and a former boy band member.”
Keira is a singer, and she used to be a member of a popular girl group. She was a little peeved I never asked Phoenix about his former career as a pop star. I read about the glory days of the boy group 4Destiny—4D, for short. Slate, Wilder, Roman, and Phoenix were at the top of their game when Barron died.
and I even drooled over a few videos while I was doing my recon. Finding out more about that part of his life was way down there on the list of priorities for our meeting.
“I haven’t decided if I’m marrying him yet,” I say.
“It doesn’t sound like you have a lot of options, Mikki.”
“That may be the case, but I want to make peace with the decision. It’s the only shred of control I have left. When I’m ready, I’ll give him my answer.”
Keira shakes her head, her disbelief still written all over her face. “This is wild.”
“Oh, it gets better.”
Her head whips in my direction. “You’ve been holding back from me?”
“Phoenix knows Rhys.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. Something about a club. I asked him to elaborate, but he was evasive about it. I figured I’d get the scoop from you.”
“Oh…” Keira’s face turns as red as a tomato.
“Why do you look like the cat that ate the canary?”
She stares at me, wide-eyed.
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Keira, I’ve had enough surprises for one day. What club is Phoenix talking about?”
She shifts in her seat. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but you can’t tell Rhys I told you.”
“Okay.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“I won’t tell him.”
“Swear it,” she says.
“Holy shit, woman. You’re scaring me.”
“There’s nothing to be scared about, however, this isn’t public knowledge, so it requires a high level of secrecy.”
I lift one hand and place the other against my heart. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”
She shifts her gaze to the left, then the right before fixing her hazel-green eyes onto me. “There’s this hotel called the Quintus Hotel. From the outside, it’s another five-star hotel, but it has many layers. There’s a secret passage that leads to a club that caters to LA’s high rollers.”
“Oh, like a business club.”
“Well, that’s one of themanylayers. There’s a gentlemen’s club where members conduct business and there’s also one exclusively for women. Given Rhys and Phoenix’s power positions, I’m sure they rub elbows at that club to talk shop. But there’s more. A whole lot more…”
She cocks an eyebrow, as if I’m supposed to pick up on her cryptic explanation.
“For the love of God, woman, stop speaking in codes. Spit it out, already.”
