I shrug and answer honestly, “Not sure. I need to find out more about the girl.”
“I’ll make a call,” Ryat offers. “See what I can find out.”
I see my wife walking toward us with Blakely and Ellington. I figured she’d make some friends while we were here. She deserves to have a couple of people in her life other than me as long as they’re women I approve of.
Walking up to us, Ryat notices his wife. “Everything okay?” he asks her, his eyes dropping to her pregnant belly in her form-fitting black dress.
“Yeah.” She smiles, leaning in and kissing his lips.
Sin drapes his arm over his pregnant wife’s shoulders and pulls her chair closer to his when she sits down next to him. Blake and Elli aren’t that far apart. Pretty sure they’re due around the same time.
I look at Lake, and she’s avoiding me. Her back is ramrod straight, and she has a new glass of champagne in her hand. I’m about to ask her where she got it when my cell vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out to see it’s Colton. “I need to take this,” I say to Ryat, then slide my eyes to my wife. He nods, understanding that he will keep an eye on her for me.
“Hello?” I answer, stepping away and walking out the back sliding glass door to outside.
“Sorry to call you, boss, but we’ve got a problem I wanted to let you in on,” Colton rushes out.
“What is it?” I ask, turning to face the glass to look inside. My wife is already glaring at me while sipping on her champagne. I hold her stare, daring her to look away first. When she does, I smile to myself.
“The cop showed up.”
I groan. “What did he want?”
“Well, that’s the thing. He asked to speak with you. I said you were unavailable at the moment.”
“He knows I’m here.” The house of Lords throws a party for their seniors around this time every year. But not every single Lord attends. I know for a fact that Collin didn’t even get an invite. He’s nothing in our world. “Did he say what he wanted?”
“He said he wanted to see the cameras from the night the girl went missing.”
“Why the fuck would he think I’d show him that? I already told him she wasn’t there.”
“Not sure, but he was already inside the club when I spotted him, asking around.” I’m about to ask who all he spoke to when he adds, “He was trying to speak to Bethany when I escorted him out. She was too busy to pay him any time.”
Sighing, I run a hand over my hair. “Okay. Thanks for letting me know. You and the guys meet me at Blackout at ten o’clock tomorrow morning. We’ll review the cameras again and see if we can find anything.” I’ve already gone over them once and didn’t see anything off. The girl came in with three guys and left with one of them. But nothing made me question if her life was in danger with him.
“Sounds good.” He hangs up, and I pocket my phone.
THIRTY
LAIKYN
Isit in my chair, facing straight ahead. The longer I sit here, the angrier I get. At my brother, at myself. He was the only person that I thought I had left on my side. Now I have no one. But did it ever really matter? Not really. Not in the long run.
The bad taste in my mouth is finally gone. I think that’s because I picked up another drink on my way back from the bathroom. My husband is going to fuck me later, and although my body is begging for it, my mind is screamingfuck no.
I look over to see Ryat and Blakely talking. Her elbow is on the table, face in her hand. I can’t hear what he’s saying to her over the voices in the room, but she’s smiling at him. He reaches out and pushes her dark hair behind her ear before he leans in and kisses her. I watch shamelessly as she leans into him. Her hand drops from her face to run along his black button-up. Placing his forehead on hers, he breaks the kiss only to give her a soft one. It’s like he can’t get enough of her, and the way she pulls him into her says she feels the same way.
My eyes look over at Sin and Ellington. He’s got his hand on the side of her growing belly and he leans into her, saying something to her. By the way her face flushes, I’d say it was what he has planned for her tonight.
Looking away, I down another gulp of my champagne. I want that. A husband who wants to be with me. One who wants me to have his children and make his house a home. Give him a family. I don’t want to be married to someone who only wants to use me for some sick revenge. I’m not saying I’d have that if I were with Luke. But I’m just asking why it had to be one or the other?
I catch sight of my parents entering the room. My brother enters behind them, and his eyes meet mine. They look at me with disgust. I don’t get it. Would he rather me be raped and beaten than enjoy my husband? Yep. He made that very clear. But why?
It just shows how fucked up the Lords are.
I sit up straighter when I see a guy walk up behind them. It’s the guy from our hotel room suite. The one who came in place for that Gavin guy. He taps my brother’s shoulder, and he turns around, giving him the one-arm handshake hug. My parents turn around as well to greet him. Another man I remember as Gavin enters behind them, and they all start a conversation.
“I told you; you could have one drink.”
