“Did you see Scarlett last night?” Enzo asked, his voice deeper than Joaquin’s. “She’s single now. You should hit that.”
“Nick’s got that covered,” Joaquin said. “They used to be together, and they looked cozy at the Gilded Cage last night.”
My eyebrows drew together. Was Nicksleepingwith someone? No wonder he’d disappeared. Had he really spent all that time with me...and touched me with such reverence...knowing he’d plannedto return to someone else? Anger surged up my spine as I strained to listen.
“I don’t know,” Enzo said, his voice carrying down the hallway as they waited for Michael outside his office. “Nick’s been weird since he got back. I think getting snatched with Alexis fucked with his head. I’m not sure he’s into Scar, but maybe. Who knows?”
“Hey, guys,” Michael said, opening his office door. “Sorry. I was on the phone updating Sal on some of the intel Alexis gave me. Come in. I want to talk about...”
His voice trailed off as his office door closed, and I sat back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest.
“That son of a bitch!” I hissed. How dare he actually pretend to care about me and then come home and fuck someone else? A hot erotic dancer, no less? How in the hell was I supposed to compete with that?
Tears stung my eyes as I struggled with deep emotion. My brain couldn’t fathom that he’d felt nothing during our time together. Was he just going to ignore me forever and act like everything between us didn’t happen?
“Fuck that,” I said, rising and closing my laptop. Heading upstairs, I took a shower, making sure to shave all the appropriate parts so they were extra silky smooth.
Unfortunately, I didn’t own anything sexy since that wasn’t really my vibe. But I did have lots of tight yoga pants, and I’d noticed Nick ogling my ass quite often when we’d been sequestered together. I searched in my drawer for my tightest pair of yoga pants before donning a push-up bra that lifted my breasts higher than Mt. Everest.
After tugging a tight tank top over the bra, I gazed in the mirror. I probably wasn’t as hot asScarlett, but hell, it would have to do. Striding to my window, I saw that Nick’s kitchen light was on.
“Good, you’re home. Get ready, because you’re done ignoring me, buddy.”
I tugged on my Uggs and tossed on a coat before quietly descending the stairs. The last thing I needed was for my mom to hear me on my way to confront the man I was pretty sure I was in love with.
I rushed through the kitchen, thankful Leticia and Carmen weren’t in there cooking. Opening the back door, I headed into the back yard, shivering at the cold. It was dusk, and I knew this was the time to catch Nick before he headed back out to the club later. My boots crunched the cold grass as I stomped toward his back door.
Once I reached it, I rapped on the glass as I waited for him to appear.
He strode into the kitchen, his eyebrows drawing together when he saw me. He was shirtless above gray sweatpants, and I told myself to remain strong. Wanting to lick his pecs wasn’t going to me any favors if I was going to give him hell.
Feeling like an idiot, I knocked on the glass again several times.
He yanked the door open and scowled. “What the fuck? Are you trying to break the glass?”
“Sure, I’d love to come in,” I said sarcastically, breezing past him before he could stop me. “How gracious of you.”
He released a heavy breath and shut the door. Turning, he faced me as I planted my hands on my hips.
“Well?” I asked, tapping my foot. “Should you start, or should I?”
His expression was laced with confusion. “Start what, exactly?”
“Don’t you ‘exactly’ me, mister.” I made quotation marks with my fingers before pivoting and heading into what I hoped was his living room. Sure enough, I found a large room filled with ahuge L-shaped couch and a fireplace with a large flat-screen TV mounted above.
I picked up the remote on the coffee table and clicked off the TV before tossing the remote on the couch. Turning, I observed him enter the room.
“I was watching that,” he muttered.
“Why are you ignoring me?”
Sighing, he closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “Can we do this another time? I was at the docks in Bayonne at six a.m., and I have to be at the Gilded Cage at eight. This is my only downtime today.”
“So, you’re a bouncer now?” I asked, lifting my eyebrows. “Or maybe the new head of security at the club? Is this what Michael has you doing?”
His eyes narrowed. “It was my idea. We’re worried that Oskar Poska isn’t going to be happy about Michael shutting down the last of your father’s trafficking business from Eastern Europe. I want to keep an eye on things, especially at Michael’s clubs where a lot of formerly trafficked women work. They could be targets for him.”
I unzipped my coat and tugged it off, tossing it on the couch before crossing my arms again. Nick’s eyes lowered to my cleavage before reclaiming my gaze. He remained silent, which somehow infuriated me more.
