My cousin, Riley, was a bitch before her mom’s death, but after, she got worse. She didn’t take her mom’s death well and tried coping with it through fake relationships.
She was always dating more than one guy at a time. It was as if she thought fucking every boy in school could fill the void of her mother’s death and her father’s indifference left behind in her life. If Riley wasn’t screwing around with the guys at school to get attention, she was finding new and fun ways to torment me in school or around the house. Finding a job as soon as I turned sixteen gave me an escape from most of it because it kept me out of the house and out of her line of fire.
The vacuum cut off just as I heard a low groan from the general direction of the bar. Yep, definitely not just cleaning over there.
“I think that’s a health code violation,” Krista walked by and whispered with a giggle.
“That’s a violation on so many levels.” I grimaced, thinking about what was going on across the room. “Seriously, couldn’t they at least take it in the bathroom this time?”
Krista nodded. “Maybe they like putting on a show?”
“Gross.”
“Really? With everything we read, that would gross you out and surprise you?”
She made a valid point. Maybe it had more to do with where we were and who they were that grossed me out. I’d walked in on him and a woman that wasn’t Cami in the office before, and he’d hit on Krista and me more than once when his girlfriend wasn’t working. I didn’t particularly like her, but she deserved better than Jeff.
“Let’s get this done before act two starts.” I nodded quickly toward the couple who were still behind the counter, though we could now see Cami all but crawling onto the bar in front of him.
“A little late for that,” Krista muttered before she flipped on the vacuum again to drown out the sound of the couple’s public display of fuckery.
Chapter 3
Killian
“He’s back,” Donovanmuttered, walking into my office.
I knew exactly who he was talking about. I’d seen him walk into the back room while monitoring the cameras. “I see that.”
“He’s broke, and he’s still coming in and trying to gamble away what he doesn’t have.” He leaned back against my desk and looked at the cameras in disgust.
“He’s weak, Donovan. Men like Judge Michelsen think they are above the law, but he’s got a weakness for cards. He can’t quit until he loses it all.”
“Among other things.” He muttered, and I swung my gaze toward my best friend and right-hand man. He’d helped me get where I was, and while I offered to let him be a full partner in my business, he turned it down. Donovan was content being my right hand, and I paid him well for it.
“What other things?” I hedged, curious what he’d found out about the corrupt judge that had been coming into my underground gaming room for a few years now with more and more frequency and leaving everything on the table.
