Faith turns toward me, and though I keep my eyes on the road, I feel her narrowed stare.
“Your partners are annoyed. Do they know why you haven’t been to work? And why didn’t I even think about the fact that you had somewhere to be at night?” She groans. “You were so busy during the day I forgot you ran a nightclub in the evening.” She twists her hands together, working herself up with a heap of self-blame and recrimination.
I place a calming touch on her thigh, immediately aware of the soft heat of her body, and the desire I’ve been fighting off and keeping at bay makes itself known.
“I make my own choices,” I say in a gruff voice. “And I wanted to be with you. Now I can drop you off at the apartmentbefore heading to the club. I know with Christopher, my night doorman, on duty you’ll be safe. I’ve just always felt better being there myself. Especially after your apartment was broken into.”
She shakes her head. “I’ll come with you. It’s the least I can do. You don’t need to make another stop just for me. Besides, it’ll be fun to see you in your element.”
She grins at me, and I laugh. “Fine, but don’t take anything the guys say to heart. Tanner, especially, can be an ass.” Because he’s never gotten over Landon’s loss. None of us has but we each deal in our own way.
“I can deal with it.”
I know she can. She’s been holding up like a champ so far. She’s even dealt well with the robbery, although the loss of the necklace put a dent in her armor. I called Jack Renault, and the PI is looking for the jewelry based on Faith’s description and an old photograph where the piece was shown from a distance on her mother’s neck. Lord knows there are a lot of pawnshops in New York City for him to scour, and the process will take time.
We walk into the club well past suppertime, when people come for after-dinner drinks and the Friday night crowd has started picking up. I gesture for Faith to head upstairs ahead of me, following close behind, and we enter the main office area to find Tanner and Landon dressed for a night on the floor.
“Well, well, well. Look who’s here,” Tanner says.
“Thanks for coming. We know you have other things on your mind right now,” Landon says, his gaze falling to Faith.
“I suppose introductions are in order. Faith Lancaster, these are my best friends and partners, Landon Bennett and Tanner Grayson.” I gesture between them.
“Nice to meet you,” she says.
“At least now I understand Jason’s reasons for being tied up elsewhere,” Tanner says, laughing.
I shoot my friend an annoyed glare.
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Faith.” Landon always had better manners than Tanner, who is only a charmer when he wants to be one.
“Jase, we need to talk,” Tanner says bluntly, his stare on Faith.
I roll my eyes at the man’s rude behavior.
“I can go downstairs,” she offers, eyeing the crowded bar area with little to no enthusiasm.
“Sweetness, how about I set you up in my office for a few minutes?” I ask, offering her a more palatable option. She doesn’t need to be surrounded by strangers at the moment, and my asshole friend knows better.
“Sure. That’d be great.” Her shoulders relax, and she is clearly relieved.
I place a hand on her back and lead her to my private office. “Make yourself comfortable. I won’t be long. These guys… they just need a group hug sometimes.” Chuckling, I wink at her. “And Tanner’s bark is worse than his bite. Honestly.” I lean in and brush a kiss on her cheek, her sweet scent and warmth calling to me. “I’ll be back.
I stride back into the room and glare at Tanner. “Do you have to be an asshole?”
“Sorry,” he mutters. “I just thought it’d been awhile since the three of us had gotten together. I didn’t expect you to show up with her.”
“She’s in danger. Her drug addict brother broke into her apartment last week. I told you this. Come on.” I place a hand on Tanner’s back. The man holds on to the three of us like a lifeline, and I should have realized I needed to come down here long before now.
Tanner narrows his gaze. “Who is she to you, Jase?”
I run a hand through my hair and meet my friend’s gaze. “I wish to God I knew. I don’t believe in love at first sight, but Ihaven’t slept with her and she already means something to me. And trust me, I tried like hell to keep an emotional distance. You know me. You know I keep people out and why. We all do.”
Landon strides over and places a hand on my shoulder. “If she’s important to you, then we all step up to help. Right, Tanner?”
The other man grumbles but nods. He’s always the last to come around when it comes to outsiders in our small circle. Which is weird, since Landon lost his twin, but Tanner’s life hasn’t been an easy one in all ways.
“I appreciate it. Now as for the club, how are the improvements coming?” I walk over to the glass window that overlooks the downstairs bar area, which has grown even more crowded since we arrived.
