Only three people in the world hated him. Shannon’s parents and her brother Gordon. They’d all made it abundantly clear. And yet something prevented him from mentioning the Deans by name.
Wade didn’t share his misplaced loyalty. “Someone needs to talk to the parents of Shannon Dean. A year later, they’re still trying to pin her death on Alex.” Wade sat up. “And don’t forget the paparazzi. They’ve been hanging around. A couple of them are real scummy. I can give you names.”
Wade provided those details, making sure to spend a few minutes detailing exactly how Bill Patterson had tormented both Alex, as well as Liam in the past. It seemed Patterson didn’t simply stalk the halls at Vice. He’d basically parked himself outside the administrative offices during the period when Liam was being harassed by the environmental group. Patterson had bothered numerous employees at the time, digging for dirt on Liam. Of course, he’d never uncovered anything because there was nothing to uncover.
It hadn’t stopped him from being a nuisance.
Alex kept an eye on the office clock. He’d been gone for an hour, if not more.
There was no way Dana would have waited.
Pacing his office, Alex almost didn’t hear the police officer when he said they were done. The cops handed them both cards, told them to contact them if anything else happened, and left.
Alex thanked Wade for his persistence. The men shook hands and Wade returned to his work.
By the time Alex was making his way back to the club, his dander was up. His shoulders tense, he reminded himself to breathe.
Whatever was going on, they would get to the bottom of it.
Rolling his shoulders, he realized he looked forward to seeing Dana even more now.
When he finally reached the door to Covet, he spotted her right away.
Two guys were grinding up against her on the dancefloor, sandwiching her. Her eyes were glazed. She barely moved and seemed to be held up by the two men, rather than by the power of her legs.
As red flashed before Alex’s eyes, he dashed into the crowd and put his hands on both men’s shoulders. “Back off.”
“Hey, man,” said one of them. “This is our party. Go get your own.”
His hands curled into fists. “I said, back the fuck off.”
The men scurried away.
Dana’s eyes widened, barely, and recognition lit them up. “Alex! You’re here.” She pulled on his arm. “Dance with me.”
He grabbed her by the arms. “Not right now. Look at me, Dana.”
She swayed. “I love this song. Do you love this song?”
“It’s a good song. Is your sister around?”
“I don’t know. I never found her. Maybe she went outside. Oh! But I met Ron and Dave. They’re such nice guys.”
“Yeah, real nice. Listen to me. Did Ron and Dave bring you drinks?”
“Nope. I told you, I’m a big girl. I got my own drinks.”
At least it didn’t appear she’d been roofied. “I’m taking you back to your suite. Where’s your key card?”
“In my bag.” She looked at her empty hands. “Wait. Where’s my bag?”
He extricated it from around her shoulders. “It’s right here. Do you mind if I open it so I can get your key?”
“Go ahead.” She rested her head on his shoulder and grinned. “There was something I wanted to say to you…oh, yeah! I like you, Alex.”
“I like you too.”
“You have a very tight ass. Did anyone ever tell you that?”
