Maybe they didn’t know who she was. She’d gone to great lengths to disguise her natural curls, her attire completely different. And with the shadowed light in the club, there was a chance she was safe.
But I couldn’t risk it.
The three men who’d surrounded the girls were definitely in Indulgence for all the wrong reasons.
They needed to leave. I motioned to a bouncer, holding up three fingers, which gave him direction of bringing some backup with him.
Moving closer, I caught Emmeline’s eye before anyone else.
And as usual, she was pissed.
Well, so was I at this point. She needed to be taken over my knee and spanked like a spoiled brat. Maybe that’s exactly what I’d do.
Her facial expression hardened the closer I came and when I was only a few yards away, she pulled one of the men deeper into the crowd. The bump and grind she initiated was meant solely for my benefit.
Bruno stopped me before I could reach her, the bouncer already made aware of Alexander’s concerns. “The three of them haven’t caused any trouble.”
I glanced at the other two girls with Emmeline, cognizant the little witch had already made her friends aware of my presence. They were doing their best to make a slight scene, even squealing to the music.
I gritted my teeth, catching the heated look one of the Spaniards was giving me. “How did they pay the entrance fee?”
“Cash. And from what I understand, they handed Mark and Damien several hundred-dollar bills to be allowed in ahead of the line.” Bruno adjusted his suit jacket, prepared to act on any directive I gave. “Do you want me to toss them out?”
So far, they’d yet to do anything remotely disruptive. The last thing I needed was to challenge legitimate guests. Even if my goddamn hackles were raised. “I’ll handle it. Remain close. I have a bad feeling it’s going to get dicey.” Only I was certain the initial refusal to cooperate would be caused by Emmeline and not the cartel thugs. I pushed my way through the crowd until I was only a couple of feet from Emmeline and her chosen dance partner.
“Emme. I think we need to go,” I told her, my voice loud enough the Spaniard definitely heard me. The main goal was to keep her identity a secret.
He turned his head in my direction, a sly smile on his face.
“I’m enjoying myself, Donatello. I suggest you run along.” She laughed and allowed him to turn her away. She had one arm slung over his shoulder and I instantly bristled.
Jesus Christ.
Was I fucking jealous? Apparently so.
Enough that I was more forceful than I intended on being when I approached for a second time. “Emme. I’m not kidding. We need to go.”
One of the other assholes muttered something under his breath in Spanish to the others. As if I wasn’t fluent in several languages.
Look at the punk. He thinks he’s tough.
Maybe I was simply in a shitty mood or perhaps I was irritated from Emmeline acting like a teenager instead of a grown woman. Whatever the case, with the son of a bitch’s ugly comment and the fact I noticed a tattoo peeking out from his open-collared shirt indicating a gang affiliation, I snapped. Which wasn’t good for anyone.
I was even stronger than I appeared, something I honed every other day inside the gym. The cartel member discovered very quickly he and his friends had crashed the wrong party. He was off his feet due to my hand being wrapped around his neck.
“Let him go!” Emmeline hissed. She wasn’t screeching. She wasn’t yelling. She was whispering the words in my ear. Her hot breath tickled the skin on my neck, but I wasn’t interested in letting go.
“You don’t seem to understand who you were dancing with,” I suggested.
By now, the other two were acting as if they were going for their weapons. With a single nod, all four bouncers surrounded us.
The two cartel members got the hint, holding up their hands.
“I don’t care. I can dance with anyone I want to. Let him go.” Emmeline was insistent. When I showered her with a heatedgaze, not from lust but from irritation, she offered her own angry flash of emotions.
“Not now, Emme. We can talk about it later. Now, walk away.” Perhaps it was something in my voice, but she stood even taller, glancing to the men then to her friends.
“Come on, girls. Let’s go find fun elsewhere.” She tossed another look of shade in my direction.
