“Wanted to check on my girl. Make sure she’s doin’ okay. Seems I had no’ting to worry about.”
“That’s sweet. I’ll admit I was a little nervous when we opened but now I’m back in the groove.”
“Yo, Remy, how’s it going? Man, you’ve got a helluva woman there. Thanks to her, we may have figured out where some of the missing stock has gone,” Caleb said when he spotted the leopard.
“Good job, Kitten.” Even Remy could hear the pride in his own voice.
“Thanks. I’m not so sure how happy I am about it. I mean, if I’m right, someone is losing their job and possibly going to jail.”
“You be proud of steppin’ forward, cher. If someone is stealin’ from Eme and da club, dey need to pay da consequences. You didn’t do anyting wrong. Dey did.”
Kylie sighed. “I guess you’re right. I have to get back to work. Are you sticking around a while?”
“Plannin’ on bein’ here when da doors close, Kitten. I’ll give you a ride home so Emelise doesn’t have to wait for you.”
“Okay then. Here, on the house,” she said and set a beer in front of him.
Remy chuckled. “Not happenin’, Kitten. I know ‘on da house’ is code for you’re payin’ for it outta your pocket. I got dis,” he countered and set the money for his drink on the bar. Then he moved to a spot where he could keep an eye on her and enjoy the show she put on for the customers.
“Hey, Remy, do me a favor, would you? Keep an eye on things up here while I go take a look at the security tape so I can fill Emelise in on whatever I find.”Caleb obviously suspected Emelise would want to know right away.
“Sure ting, Caleb. How’s da Pack workin’ out for ya?”
“So far so good. I haven’t met everyone yet, but that’s to be expected since some of the pack work for Ghostpoint Security and are off on jobs.”
“I told you it wouldn’t be so bad. Declan’s a good Alpha.”
“Yeah, he is. I’ll be back as soon as I’m done with the tape.”
“No worries. I got dis,” Remy told him and waved him off.
Half an hour later, Emelise came stalking up the stairs. That was the only word Remy had for the way she was moving. She was the hunter searching out her prey. Whatever the tapes revealed, it was easy to tell the woman was pissed. When she went to Kylie’s side of the bar, he had to bite back a growl. No fucking way was Kylie involved in the missing stock.
“…think you can handle running it alone?”
He caught the tail end of Emelise’s words and his anger fled. She wasn’t trying to blame Kylie—she just wanted to be sure she could handle working the bar by herself.
“Yeah. I’ve done it before. I know that when Sally went home sick and I had to run the Lounge by myself I hadn’t just returned from having a mental breakdown, but I’m okay. Really. I can handle it, Eme.”
“Good.” Emelise nodded at her before she made her way over to where Terry was working.
Remy watched as Eme approached the other Drink Mixologist. He watched as the color drained from the woman’s face. Yep, she was busted. From the corner of his eye he saw Julius Lafluer come up the stairs. Jules was quiet while he read the woman her rights, and he didn’t put her in cuffs, but he did take her arm to lead her out of the club. He was the kind of cop every cop should aspire to. He had respect for everyone, even the people he was arresting. He wasn’t the type to humiliate the woman in front of so many witnesses.
Of course, that didn’t stop some assholes from taking photos of her being led out by one of NOPD’s finest. But, really, if she didn’t want to risk arrest, she shouldn’t have been stealing in the first place.
When the night was finally over and the bar was cleaned up, Remy approached Kylie. “You look beat, Kitten. What do you say we head back to da compound for some sleep?”
“That sounds like the perfect idea for me.”
He slipped his arm around her as he escorted her out of the club and two blocks down to where he’d parked his truck. “Do you want to go to da cottage or stay wit’ me tonight?” As much as he wanted to hold her every night, if she wanted some space he would give it to her.
“With you. I like waking up next to you, Remy.”
“Dat’s a very good ting, Kitten, because I love wakin’ up wit’ you in my arms. When are you off work again?”
“I was supposed to be off Friday, but with Terry being fired I don’t know if I still will be. Why?”
“Find out from Emelise. Because, cher, I’d like to take you to dinner.”
