The door beyond King’s office swung open and a sequined, dazzling figure stood there, glowing with the light behind them. It took me a second to realize this wasn’t another Harlot springing an attack on us, especially since the man in front of us was wearing a pink minidress.
“Destiny,” I said, surprised. He tossed his blond hair and stared furiously at Jayce.
“Destiny has lots to say to you, honey. You need to sit down in here and listen good with both ears.” Destiny almost shoved me out of the way to latch onto Jayce and tug him into the boardroom. I went to sneak away, but Jayce’s hand shot out, and he snagged my wrist so that I had no choice but to follow him.
“Destiny is done with boys who act stupid and stomp all around the apartment breaking shit and acting like fools. He ruined two floorboards. Destiny is not having any more of this! Nu-uh!” His shrill outrage blasted into the hallway, and I had to laugh.
“That wasn’t my fault!” Jayce’s pleading was too much, and I laughed until I snorted. He actually looked like he cared that he didn’t get the blame.
“Like hell! You sit and you listen.” Destiny crossed his arms over his dazzling chest. Jayce and I both found ourselves doing exactly what he ordered, dropping into chairs, because the way his nostrils flared and his eyes shone with what could maybe betears, scared me a lot more than a gun.
15
Jayce
I’d never thought I’d be terrified of a man like Destiny, with his glittery gold eyeshadow and sparkly dress, but I dropped in the seat faster than I had ever before in my life and sealed my mouth shut, ready to listen to whatever he had to say. River was right beside me, and it wasn’t hard to miss the amused grin he’d been attempting to tamp down since the moment we’d walked in.
Destiny pointed at me with a gold fingernail that matched his makeup. “Now you listen to Destiny good, honey. I’ve had it up to here with British tantrums.” He hovered his hand horizontally in front of his face to gesture how much he’d had enough before crossing his arms over his slim chest again. “So this is what you’re going to do. We’re going back to my place, and you’re going to sit down and talk with Hayden. No ifs, buts, or whys. Do you understand?”
I nodded becausefuck, there wasn’t much else I could do.
“Good. You won’t leave until you’ve sorted out whatever this is. Destiny won’t let you.” He shook his head, blond hair fluttering, and then he smiled, his lip gloss shining under the overhead lights. “So let’s go. I assume you brought a car.”
“A truck.” I cleared my throat and stood, still holding River’s wrist tightly but not hard enough to bruise. “I brought my truck. But there’s a middle seat. River could take that, and you can sit in the passenger seat.”
He was clearly satisfied with the arrangement because he all but pranced his way out of the room with a flick of his hair.
I turned to River. “What just happened?”
He laughed. “That’s Destiny, Sir. He’s… unique.”
Unique wasn’t how I’d put it, but I liked him. Hayden always needed someone to wrangle him into line, and Destiny seemed the perfect fit. I rose from my chair and dragged River up and out of the room. King met us in the barroom again, smirking. The bastard knew exactly what we’d walked into.
“Sapphira and I were talking, and we think the best idea is to go into Derek’s as though you’re looking to buy someone. Knowing him, he’d be asking high prices, so we’ll need a few days to get together the money. We’ll call you when we’re ready.”
“Are you sure that’s the best way?” I asked, glancing at Destiny out of the corner of my eye. He stood near the door, his arms crossed and tapping his foot, with an expectant look on his face. Fiery and impatient; definitely perfect for Hayden. “That’s direct, and it could spook this Derek guy if he’s the one we’re after.”
“Trust me, nothing will spook Derek. He’s confident, and there’s a reason he’s where he is today.” King ran a hand down his face, and for the first time I saw vulnerability there. He looked tired, the grays at his forehead were more vibrant under this lighting. “We’ll call you.” He turned, obviously done with our conversation, and walked over to his boyfriend, wrapping his arm around his waist and taking him to the corner of the room where they sat on one of the couches.
I didn’t stick around to ask any more questions. So far we hadn’t been led astray. King got Pierre here, and they gave us names, fully aware of who I was.
River touched my back, and I twisted toward him. He frowned in King’s direction, but then slid his gaze to me. “King knows what he’s doing.”
“Why do you blindly follow him?” I asked before I could stop myself. Anger surged in my gut, alongside the jealousy. This man—thiscriminal—not only had River’s trust, but Hayden’s, too, and that didn’t sit well with me. He sold drugs and ran guns. Both killed people. Hayden and I might have gotten into trouble when we were younger, but the worst we did was steal. He’d never hurt a soul. Until now. I bet my arse he’d more than hurt someone for King.
“Because he’s never let his family down. What are the cops doing about this sex trafficking ring, Jayce? Nothing.” River’s gaze hardened behind his gold-rimmed glasses, and I knew this was a topic he wouldn’t back down from, which only irritated me more.
I clamped my jaw and inhaled deeply through my nose. “It’s Sir to you.”
River poked me in the chest. “It’s only Sir when you’re not being a jealous asshole.”
I grabbed his hand and glared. “I’m not jealous.”
“And I’m not gay.” He rolled his eyes at me. “Stop being a dick. King is helping us.”
Someone cleared their throat, and I looked at Destiny, who tapped his wrist as though there was a watch on it. “Time’s a tickin’, honey. You can have your lovers’ spat later. Let’s go.”
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “We’ll talk about this later.”
