As soon as we step through the door of the club, sensual music echoes in my ears. My gaze slides to the velvet, gold-colored chairs where several men are being entertained by scantily clad girls. Jasmine, one of the girls, winks at me as her customer stares at her breasts. With my hands in my pockets, I nod back and walk slowly but deliberately toward the white marble bar.
“Hey, man,” I say to Jake, the bartender. “Get me a beer.” I slide onto a stool.
“No problem. You, too?” He looks at Pax and when he nods, Jake goes to work.
With a sigh, Pax sits down next to me and then I hear her.
“Kyler,” she coos.
I briefly close my eyes and take a deep breath. Feeling her hands on my upper arm, I turn toward Carly and remove her fingers from my skin. She straightens herself and clears herthroat. “How nice of you to come here,” she forces out. Her eyes scan the place, but don’t land on my face for more than five seconds before they’re gone again. She avoids Pax altogether.
“There you go.” Jake sets two beers on the bar and walks discreetly to the other end of it.
Quietly, I take a sip. “You think so?”
“Of course.” A fake smile appears on her face.
Shaking my head, I bring my glass to my lips. “Business alright?” I ask when I put the glass back down and have swallowed the sip. Meanwhile, I run my eyes over the dancers performing sensual moves on the stage across the room.
Her head nod is an exaggerated version of the normal one. “There are two new girls starting next week. Fresh meat is always in demand. Despite high demand for some girls, two quit their positions last week. So I’m very—”
“Carly,” I interrupt calmly and stare into the golden drink. “Yes or no.” I raise an eyebrow and glance at her from the corner of my eye. “I don’t give a damn how you run the place, as long as you do it right. And besides, that’s not something you discuss in front of guests.”
“Sorry, Ky,” she stammers. “I was just excited and I—”
“Yes or no,” I spit out. Today, the incessant rattling is more irritating than ever, given yesterday’s events. “The question isn’t difficult.” The menacing tone is clearly audible.
“Yes, definitely yes. It’s going great.” Meanwhile, Carly’s gone white as a sheet and her eyes wander from me to Pax and back again.
With a lack of interest, Pax sips at his beer. We’re not playinggood cop, bad cop, but if we were, I think he’d be perceived as the good cop. People should know better.
“Good.” I pour the last drops of my beer into my mouth and hand her the glass.
A watery smile appears on Carly’s face.
“Are you coming, Pax?”
He shoots me a sullen look before downing the rest of his beer. “Sure. Off to Wicked.” We get up from the stool and walk out, side by side.
“Something’s wrong. She was more nervous than usual and that’s never a good thing.” I rub my forehead. “Maybe we should ask for the accounts.”
“Who do you want looking at that?” Meanwhile, Pax lights a cigarette.
“Josh,” I say. “He’s our secretary for a reason. He’s got a degree in economics.”
“Fine. I’ll tell him to ask for Infinity’s accounts,” Pax says as he holds the smoke from the cigarette in his lungs.
After he finishes smoking, I put my helmet back on and start the Indian. Time for the next club.
Fifteen
Thebedroomdoorisslightly open, and the bed is empty. My hand instinctively goes to his side, and the sudden realization that he’s gone aches in my heart. I can’t just leave everything behind and keep the promise I made. It was selfish, but Connor just died three months ago and I…
I turn my head toward the living room, let my gaze pass over the couch where I put Rebel to sleep yesterday. Empty. The blanket lies over the back of the couch and there’s not a sound inside. Maybe she went to the bathroom for a moment?
But a few minutes later, it’s still quiet. I push the comforter off of me and carefully get up.
“Rebel?”
