Her smile doesn’t falter, but you can see the disappointment in her dark eyes. “Of course. He is expecting you.”
She holds the door open for us and then closes it after we enter. I follow behind Case as he trails after her down a hallway. I don’t bother looking anywhere except straight ahead at Case as I follow them. I don’t know much about this Rox guy. Case kinda keeps me in the dark about certain things that he does, and I don’t blame him. I find I prefer to be in the dark on the deeper shit. I don’t need to know where the drugs go or where they come from, but I guess this guy is pretty important. Case called me earlier and told me that Rox had called him asking questions about me. He said I needed to make an appearance. When I asked why, he said it was unavoidable unless I wanted my ass beat. So here I am.
“He’s already in there waiting for you,” she announces as we come to a stop in front of a door.
Case surprises me as he leans in and gives the woman a kiss on both sides of her cheeks. “Thanks, beautiful,” he says giving her a flirtatious smile.
“Don’t be a stranger, Case,” she says with a wink before she turns and walks off. Swaying her hips a little more than usual, I’m sure.
“Case.” An older looking man stands in the middle of a room. I’m guessing this is the Rox guy. Case enters, and I follow him. “Nice of you to call.” He comes up to him and gives him a tight hug.
He pulls away. “Yeah, I thought it was about time we have a meeting,” he says cheerfully. He steps out of the way and gestures to me. I take a deep breath trying to calm my nerves once again. Try to think about the beautiful woman you just saw who is wearing no underwear. “Blane, meet Rox.” It doesn’t help.
I wipe my right hand on my thigh and then reach out in order to shake his as we say our hellos, but he pulls me in for a hug. I actually let out a laugh to try to cover up my nervousness. I look over at Case, and he’s smiling in satisfaction. Maybe this means Rox likes me. That’s good because I would hate for him to hate me. I hear that he is a ruthless motherfucker!
“I thought you should meet Blane. He recently started working for me.”
“What exactly is he doing for you?” he asks Case as if I’m not even here.
“He is buying from Cricket,” he says simply.
“Cricket?” His eyes widen. “Trying to throw him to the dogs already?” He smiles wickedly as he arches a brow in question.
Case chuckles at that. “I have total faith in Blane. He can hold his own.”
“I’m sure he can,” he says slowly as his eyes turn to me. His gaze returns to Case. “And why exactly do you have him buying from Cricket? I thought we had an understanding. You get your drugs from me. Am I wrong?” If he’s mad, his words don’t show it. He sounds genuinely curious.
Case shakes his head. “You are correct. You are my supplier, but it never hurts to test the competition.”
Rox smiles widely, and it makes him look like the Grinch. “Test the competition,” he repeats with amusement. “Did they pass?”
Case reaches down into his pocket and pulls out the baggie of cocaine. I suck in a deep breath. “You tell me.”
Rox’s black eyes light up. “A gift? I love gifts.” The smile on his face reminds me of a child on Christmas morning. Case hands him the baggie and takes the few steps that separate him from a couch. Case plops down and I find myself sitting down as well. “Oh, please join me,” he says looking over at me as he sits down in a chair across from us. My body stiffens, and I pray they can’t see it. But I gotta do what Case told me to do in order not to give ourselves away.
I swallow nervously and hold my breath as I nod quickly.Fuck!I let out a long breath as my hands shake while resting on my thighs. I give him a shaky smile as I look him in the eyes. They’re so dark they’re black. I don’t know why, but the devil comes to mind—soulless. I lick my dry lips and speak. “I would love some …”
“You know how I feel about that.” Case interrupts me, and my head whips to the right to stare at him. Is he gonna save me from having to do it?Thank you, God! “I don’t allow my men to do something at that caliber when he has a job to do for me later tonight.” Case slides his eyes over to me, and then back at Rox. “That’s how shit gets fucked up.”
Rox nods his head quickly. “Yes. Yes.” He looks up at the ceiling as if in thought. “I have had to get rid of many guys who fucked up some very important exchanges for me,” he muses. And I have feelingget rid ofmeans kill.
He stands and digs into his pocket. Case smiles when Rox pulls out a pipe of marijuana. “Well, how about this?” He raises a dark brow to Case. “This way the man can get a little something and still be able to do his job later.” He then looks at me and nods his head. “Yes?”
I return his smile, but it’s a little shaky at best. When he looks away from me, I let out a long sigh. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I sure as hell don’t wanna get high, but I guess it’s better than snorting a line of cocaine.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
TAYLOR
I’m sitting on the floor in my room in front of my floor-length mirror drying my hair thinking about what happened earlier with Case. He looked at me as if he wanted me. His hands felt so hot on my skin that I wonder what the rest of him would feel like on top of me. I almost begged him to kiss me. I’m pretty sure I voiced that out loud. I almost threw my arms around his neck and begged him. This is bad. So bad! I can’t be around him anymore. I can’t do this to myself. My stomach has been in knots since he left. Not because he almost kissed me, but because he didn’t. I would have rather he kissed me than made me look like an idiot. Then he had the nerve to laugh.
I turn off the hair dryer and lay it on the floor next to me.
I jump when I hear my cell phone ringing. I reach over to see it’s my brother calling.
“Yes?” I ask with a sigh. He left with Case right after I gave him the free show. I’m hoping Case didn’t tell him what really happened.
“Hey, sis,” he says, and I can hear music blaring in the background. He must be up at Seven Deadly Sins with Case.
