My eyes fill with tears, and I stand up so quickly, my seat topples backwards. I vaguely hear her gasp of surprise, but I don’t stick around to hear her gushing over her fiancé and the tricks he plays on unsuspecting women. Gullible women like me.
I stumble across the mezzanine, aware of everyone’s eyes on me. Do they all know about the games the Murray twins play? Weretheir earlier smiles disguising looks of pity, or do they all find it highly entertaining? Perhaps Cash gives them a heads-up when he brings another victim to the Titan. They probably all have wagers on how long I’ll last before I realize that he was simply messing around.
Now that I know the truth, I can see everything through their eyes. The sexy dress. The fake introductions. He probably sent Tom over with a drink so that he could gloat too.
Guests dodge out of my way on the casino floor. I don’t even stop and apologize. By the time I reach the corridor between here and the foyer, my ears are ringing and I’m viewing the world through blurry tears.
Someone blocks my path. “Remy?”
“Cash?” The word sticks in my throat when his fiancée’s voice replays inside my head.We’re going to be married.
The man grips my upper arms as my knees give way. “Remy, it’s George.”
“George?” I’m slurring my speech. I try to bring him into focus, but everything feels fuzzy around the edges and slightly off kilter. “Why… you… here?”
“Are you drunk?” He’s still gripping my arms, and I try to pull away.
“Hurting…”
“Fuck, Remy. What did he do to you?”
“What…” I shake my head and nausea crashes through me. “He didn’t…”
Something is wrong. I must be sick. I felt fine when I got here, but now my pulse is racing and George sounds like George, but when I try to focus on him, he looks different.
“Don’t try to protect him, Remy.” He pulls me aside and shields me from onlookers. Or at least that’s what I think he’s doing. I can’t be sure.
Then through the fog in my brain, I realize what’s niggling me about George. “Your… face.” I try to touch him, but my hand isn’t cooperating. “… black… eye.”
“I’m going to help you, Remy.” He speaks firmly. “Don’t fight it.”
My limbs have turned to marshmallow. My tongue is too big for my mouth. I couldn’t fight a flea in this condition.
George pulls something warm and lightweight over my shoulders. A coat? I try to shrug it off, but nothing is working as it should. He puts something on my head. I can’t see it, but I know it’s there.
Then he walks, and I think I’m walking with him, only I can’t be certain because the world is spinning, and the sounds are fading, and I’m shivering violently.
Then everything goes black.
19
BASH
He tookher to the Titan without speaking to me. Not that I expected him to ask permission, but now it feels like he deliberately staked his claim first and waved a flag for all to see as evidence that he was there first.
I hate myself for looking at it this way.
Remy Jones is not an object to be owned and paraded around the city like a prize.
But he should’ve told me. This relationship is complicated enough without the added pressure of going public before we’ve had a chance to figure it out. Instead, I had to find out from Kyle.
I down a brandy shot and rub the cold glass across my forehead. There’s probably a perfectly reasonable explanation, only I’m not aware of it yet.
Then I get a call from Terry that changes everything.
“Remy is missing.”
I don’t speak. The call ends, and I’m in the elevator heading down to my underground parking bay without any consciouseffort on my behalf. Muscle memory kicks in. The car is waiting for me, engine idling. Outwardly, I’m calm.
