They might be well-connected and well-organized but they’re still criminals.
How did Tom happen to show up here tonight, with Noelle’s so-called best friend?
I don’t believe in coincidences.
My breath squeezes inside my lungs as Tom’s hand engulfs Noelle’s and Karli finally manages to break my grip, pulling Noelle into a hug with the man my entire body is warning me about. That tattoo. The number.
Tom has blood on his hands.
And I’m afraid he came here tonight for Noelle’s.
2
Noelle
“Come dance with us!” Karli squeals, pulling me in for a hug where I’m suddenly sandwiched between her and the guy she’s been obsessed with for the last few weeks.
Tom’s hand is still attached to mine and somehow ends up squashed against my boobs as I stumble into them. My shoes are wobbly and hurt my feet and I never should have put them on, but Karli told me tonight was the perfect time to wear them.
“Sorry,” Tom’s deep voice growls in my ear but he doesn’t move his hand, managing to cop a feel, his thumb grazing my nipple. A shiver runs through me at his rough touch, but it isn’t one of pleasure. What a creep.
What a weird night this is turning out to be. I try to squirm away, but Tom latches his other arm around my waist, guiding both me and Karli to the dance floor.
“Catch you later, mate,” he calls over his shoulder.
Seconds later, Tom’s arm is forcibly removed from my body. Hiro takes my hand, standing by my side. “I don’t think so,mate,” he sneers.
Tom bristles, his dark eyes flashing dangerously. “Both ladies are staying with me.”
Karli tugs on his arm. “Don’t worry about it, Tom. He’s a friend of Noelle’s brother. I’m sure he’s just delivering gifts or something.” She wiggles her fingers at Noelle. “See what he wants, then come find us to dance.”
Tom’s shoulders straighten when Karli mentions Hiro is a friend of my brother’s. His eyes narrow and he looks between me and Hiro. Something in his expression leaves me with a bad feeling.
Is it possible Karli has told Tom who my brother is? I keep my family name a secret for a reason. People treat me differently when they find out Henry Black is my brother. As one of the world’s richest men, there’s a lot of scrutiny on him, and consequently on the rest us, especially since Dad died.
My throat closes and I swallow hard, sniffling. The drinks, the Christmas music, and the stifling crowd all of a sudden making me melancholy.
I wouldn’t have told Karli anything about my family, except that I lost it this year on the anniversary of Dad’s death, the full force of grief catching up with me when I thought about the fact that he wouldn’t be here to watch me walk across the stage in the spring to receive my degree. In my lowest moment, I confessed what my real name was and who my family was.
She told me she’d wondered why I never seemed to worry about money the way our friends did and assumed I was a secret sex-worker. She swore she’d never tell anyone.
I take a couple of steps back, bumping into Hiro’s hard, warm body. He huffs out a sigh of impatience and I roll my eyes. Hiro has always been stiff, controlling and about as much fun as acorpse at Christmas. He’s only thirty-one but he acts like he’s fifty. He’s always been so over-protective and over-bearing. I still remember the time he broke up a little party I was having in Henry’s Manhattan apartment. And yes, I was only sixteen, and yes, Henry was in London at the time, but it’s not really stealing a plane if it’s your family’s private jet, right?
I mean forty people isn’t that big of a party. And it was totally not my fault that Mrs. Albrecht got an eyeful of my friend Jonas’, um, appendage which is now famous thanks to his raw performance in last year’s Oscar-winning movie.
It’s such a shame because Hiro is drop-dead gorgeous, with his dark hair, dark eyes and lean, muscular body. He doesn’t even seem to notice the way he turns heads, that or he doesn’t care. He’s so straightlaced, sex is probably too messy for him.
That might just be sour grapes on my part. He’s turned down every flirtatious smile I ever threw him, and I’ve never caught his eyes lingering on me, even when I wore a bikini that nearly gave my brother a heart attack. Hiro treats me like an annoyance, his cold attitude sending me a clear message. He does not like me.
And although I’ve heard it loud and clear over the years, I was surprised tonight when he put his hand over my shoe and I met his gaze. I would swear I saw desire in his eyes. It must be the tequila playing tricks on me.
Hiro’s hands slide up my bare arms, leaving little trails of heat in their wake. I shake my head to clear it. Karli is tugging on Tom, who doesn’t look like her type at all, and doesn’t seem interested in dancing or even being here. His eyes are on me. I blink as Tom takes a step towards me, earning me a glare from Karli.
I nearly groan. We’re just getting past the Owen thing. I can’t deal with her suspecting this new guy is interested in me too, just because he looked at me more than once. I’m certain Tom checked out everything with boobs in here tonight. Maybe he’schivalrous and is worried about the way I’m being manhandled towards the door by a guy in a three-piece suit.
Hiro deftly guides me through the club and soon an icy blast of winter wind is hitting my bare skin. I shiver and Hiro whips off his jacket, covering my shoulders. “Did you bring a jacket?” he asks jiggling a set of keys in his hand, an SUV flashing its lights in the parking lot when he presses a button.
“No, but you could have asked before you dragged me out of the party. What are you doing here anyway?”
