“I’m done for the night. Can you cash me out?” I asked Stephen an hour later. I finished my shift early tonight because it was quiet, something that didn’t happen very often. But since I was tired, I didn’t even care about the hit to my paycheck.
“Of course, doll, just give me a minute.”
I leaned against the counter, easing the pressure on my feet.
“There you go,” Stephen said, handing me my tips.
I went back into the dressing room and slipped my comfortable jeans and sweater back on. There was still no sign of Sebastian when I came out, and I was starting to get worried.Should I call a taxi or wait?It was earlier than I was meant to finish, but he didn’t say he was going to leave the club. Maybe he was in the office.
I went to the long hallway leading to the office, toilet, and staff room. Smitty’s door wasn’t closed all the way, and I could hear voices.
When I recognized Sebastian’s growl, I stopped, curiosity getting the better of me. His back was blocking my view, and the opening was too small to make out who he was talking to.
“It’s your call. If you want to bust them now, we’ll bust them now,” an unfamiliar voice said.
“We have enough on them to put them away for a while,” Sebastian’s familiar timbre rang through the room. “But I want Jim Turner. We’re not making a move unless he’s there.”
“You shouldn’t have put so much pressure on him. He ran like the spineless little weasel he is as soon as he knew we were on to him. He’s only a small cog in a big machine. And we finally have enough on his boss. I’m not going to hold off much longer.”
Feet shuffled on the ground, and then the unfamiliar voice asked, “Did you get anything out of his woman?”
There was a loud growl, then a crash. “She’s not his woman,” Sebastian said, his voice icy. “And she’s not involved.”
“Then why are you still wasting your time with her?”
I ground my teeth, hoping the man would trip and fall into a toilet.
The blood in my veins turned to ice. Had Sebastian been playing me this whole time? It all made so much more sense now. That would explain why he’d suddenly shown so much interest in me after ignoring me for the past year. Nobody who looked like him and could have his pick of girls would choose someone like me.
There was another crash and a few shouts.
“Let him go,” Blade said, sounding like he was on a Sunday brunch date instead of in an office in a strip club. Guess it made sense for Sebastian’s boss or president or whatever he was to be there as well.
I suppressed the gasp that wanted to escape. Jim’s betrayal didn’t hurt. It was an annoyance I could do without. What caused a stabbing pain to shoot through my chest was the thought of Sebastian using me to get to my ex.
I stepped back, running into one of the bouncers coming out of the storeroom. “Oh, sorry,” I mumbled, ready to go home.
I adjusted the strap of my bag and shot the guy a tight smile. I didn’t know his name, but he was part of the regular rotation. He nodded at me and turned back to the main area when the door behind me opened.
Sebastian came out, looking like a bull ready to charge. He stopped, his face going soft when he saw me. “Nora. You finished already?”
Bastard. How dare he talk to me like nothing happened. And he made me swear on top of lying to me. Double bastard.
“Just on my way out,” I replied, my voice wavering.
I couldn’t seem to take a proper breath; the only thing on my mind was putting as much space between us as I could.
“Let’s go,” he said, taking a step forward.
My hand shot up, and he frowned. “That’s okay. You look like you’re busy. I’ll call a cab.”
“You’re not taking a taxi,” he said, not giving me a chance to reply before taking my hand and leading me outside.
I found myself on the back of his bike before I could protest. He put a helmet on my head and untangled a strand of hair that had gotten caught up in the strap. His fingers whispered across my cheek, the gentle caress making my chest feel like it would cave under the pressure of my emotions.
And I hated him a little in that moment. How dare he make me fall for him and then turn out to be my biggest downfall?
We drove back to the compound, and I jumped off the bike as soon as he’d come to a stop, the engine still running.
