RJ shrugged and the lights from the dash highlighted the gray in his stubble as he shifted. “Of course he did. He was ripping you off. Hopefully the security footage is helpful. Sometimes it’s grainy or catches bad angles.”
“Okay.” My stomach flopped and made me queasy. This was going to be an awful night and I wished I hadn’t gulped down wine earlier.
“What’s wrong?” he snapped.
I flinched, side-eyeing him. I shook my head because I couldn’t imagine him caring that there was anything off with me.
His face transformed into a perfect mask. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or not.
“I was waiting for food when you dragged me out of the Zin! And oh my God!” I slapped a hand to my forehead as my heart began to race. “Van! I totally forgot about him. He must be worried sick!”
“Who?” RJ asked.
“A man I work with was there at the Zin with me, and I left him without a word. Well, not on purpose.” I took my phone out of my pocket.
Winter: Are you all right? One of Madam Winters’s men grabbed me at the bar because there was a terrible mistake. What’s going on with you? I’m on my way back to the shop.
“What are you doing?” RJ asked, irritation heavy in his tone.
I hit Send. “Letting Van know I’m on my way to Beaulieu.”
He sighed, long, loud, and annoying. The look he gave me had my toes curling in my boots and I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. “You didn’t just fucking send that message, did you?”
I glanced at my phone, but the message had gone through already. “Yes, why?” I asked.
The jerk rolled his eyes. “Do you have a bunch of texts from him asking what happened to you?Where are you? Why did you go?Begging you to call him? I certainly would be upset if the gorgeous man I was out on the town with vanished. I wouldn’t rest until I found him.” His fingers squeezed the steering wheel until his knuckles were white.
My heart fluttered at the compliment, then dropped to my toes as what he was implying sank into my obviously muddled brain. “No... that’s weird. You ask a lot of questions. You’re like a cop,” I grumbled and frowned at my phone. I brought up my messages to Van and the last one from him was telling me that he was running a bit late this morning.
He grunted. “I used to be one.”
“Really?” I tucked my phone into the inner pocket of my leather coat. “How did you go from a policeman to whatever it is you do for Madam Winters?”
He grinned, giving me a cocky eyebrow waggle. “Cause when I find the guy who did this?” He tipped his chin back just enough to let me see the scar there better while keeping his gaze fixed on the road. “I’m killing him. The law frowns on that type of justice. They would call me a vigilante and toss me in a prison cell, but I figure I deserve to get some of my own.”
I sat up straighter in my seat. “I mean, that seems reasonable.”
“Reasonable and legal are two different things, sunshine. Your boyfriend text you back?”
“He isn’t my boyfriend.” I checked my phone again and my stomach continued to churn. “He’s more like a hopeful coworker, but no.” Some time passed as we neared the place I rented. The high-rise was coming up on our left. I gripped my seat belt. “I fucked up, didn’t I?”
“Definitely,” he said, without missing a beat, and I grimaced when he chuckled.
“He didn’t really like me, did he? You’re right. I would be out of my mind with worry if the man I cared about was missing, or hell, even just a friend. What kind of person doesn’t care when the man they went out with disappears?” I ran my hands through my hair. The certainty that I was a dumbass weighed heavier than a rock on my chest.
RJ didn’t say a word as he found a parking spot near the front door along the curb. I fumbled with my seat belt and got out as quickly as possible. I couldn’t stand the thought of RJ coming around to hold the door for me right now. As we approached the front of the brick high-rise I moaned and glanced upward. All the lights on each floor were lit, even on the levels that weren’t in use.
“What is going on?” I rushed toward the front door, but RJ raced ahead of me and put out a hand. He was a massive wall of muscle between me and the entrance. I gulped when he took the gun out of the holster under his suit jacket.
“You will stay behind me.” He tapped my chin to make me look up at his stern expression. “You will listen to me. And if you don’t think you can do that, you will stay in my car.” He pointed back to the Roadster.
“I’ve gotta see what’s happening. Those lights shouldn’t be on!”
He nodded, and I huffed, rushing to the lobby door, which easily opened. I closed my eyes. “I locked this before I left.”
“Get behind me,” he said, tone soft as he pushed in front of me and opened the door. He went in first, and I glanced around while keeping up.
“I know I locked the front door. I always do.”
