Page 36 of Love Above Law

"We got the basics from your original statement yesterday. To start, can you provide us with a list of friends? Whoever she was with last night?" I ask them. Mr. Miller shakes his head. "Her mother and I don't know that answer. She was twenty-three with a life of her own. She lived in a small two-bedroom apartment with her roommate close to the college campus over in Seattle," her father explains.

"She went out with a few girlfriends," a girl whom is a younger version of the mother sitting on the other end of the couch speaks up.

"Did Bethany tell you this herself?" I ask her.

She sniffles. "She's my sister. We talk about everything." She starts to sob. Kai reaches down and plucks a tissue from the box sitting on the coffee table and hands it to her. "I talked with her that morning because I was nervous about my swim meet later that day. She has this way of calming my nerves." She tries to control her breathing so she can continue to speak. "Her roommate's sister is getting married, so they were going to a club for the bachelorette party."

Okay. This is a good start—information like this I can work with. "Did she tell you the name of the club?"

"I can't." I give her a moment to think about it. Her red-rimmed eyes meet mine. "It started with an F."

"Fusion?" Kai asks.

"That it—Fusion." Her voice breaks with emotion. "Why? I don't understand why someone would kill her." Her mother pulls her into her side, and her body begins trembling. "She's my sister, and they took her away from me. What am I supposed to do without her.?" Uncontrollable sobs pour from the young girl. Mr. Miller stands ushering us toward the kitchen area of the open plan home. He pauses and picks up a framed picture from the bookshelf against the wall.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" I look down at the image of the striking young woman he's showing me. He looks over his shoulder at the women in his life—his family. "All I ask is you find the motherfucker who did this before he gets the chance to do it again. No family should have to go through this kind of pain."

By the end of the workday, my brain is fried, and all I can think about is getting home to Leyna. Hours were spent tracking down some of Bethany's friends, including her roommate. It turns out they'd all been drinking, and Bethany decided she'd had enough for the night, so she called a cab. Her roommate didn't show up to their apartment until after 2:00 am the next morning and didn't even realize she wasn't in her room until hours later when the police came knocking on her door. Whatever happened to safety in numbers; arrive together—leave together. Inserting the key, I unlock the front door letting myself in. Not finding Leyna in the kitchen or reading in the living room I go in search of her. Lightly knocking on her door, I wait for her to answer. "Lex?" she calls out.

"Yeah, beautiful, it's me." I put her at ease.

"I'll be ready soon." She puts a smile on my face when I hear the excitement in her tone.

A short time later, I had showered the workday off, slapped on some cologne and put on my black tailored suit. I'm standing in front of the large balcony doors looking out at the city lights when the sound of heels tapping across the hardwood floor grabs my attention, and I turn around.

She renders me speechless.

The black lace cocktail dress she's wearing hugs her body like it was made for her.

"You like it?" she asks pulling her arms from her sides. With a flick of my finger, I motion for her to spin around. Obliging, Leyna twirls. She's so fucking perfect. Crooking my finger, I keep silent as I ask her to come to me. Without hesitation, she crosses the distance between us stopping a foot from me. Taking a step forward, I take her face in the palms of my hands. "I had planned on saying all this later during dinner, but I can't wait that long. I've waited—waited until I felt you were ready. If I'm honest with myself, I waited until I was ready too." Her hands slip beneath my suit jacket coming to rest on my sides. "I want there to be an us—you and me. I want people to know you are with me—that you're my woman. I want you to be mine Leyna Martinez."

Leyna smiles up at me. "Okay." I smile back. I'm fucking crazy in love with this woman.

"I'm going to kiss you now, beautiful," I confess.

"About time." She doesn't even finish the last syllable before my mouth crashes down on hers.

18

Leyna

"Hi. You must be Leyna," a girl with red curly hair chirps the moment I step foot into Rumors. She looks to be around my age and about two inches taller. Like me, she's also on the curvier side. Without a shy bone in her body, she strolls up to me, links her arm with mine and leads me toward the back of the club. "My name is Dana. Dare said you'd be with me today while I show you the ropes." I can already tell I'm going to like this girl, so I give her a warm smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Dana. I'm excited to get started." That's the truth. I've been looking forward to starting my first day here.

"Come on," Dana ushers me along through a pair of double doors and down a long hallway. "We have our own dressing room." Passing by a door on the right, Dana nods her head in its direction. "That's the dressing room for the floor waitresses."

"Wait, we don't share with them?"

"No. Dare gives the VIP waitresses their own."

I stop, abruptly halting both mine and Dana's movements. "Um, shouldn't I get ready with the other girls?"

Smiling, she shakes her head, the movement causing her red curls to bounce. "Nope. Dare said you'd be working VIP with me."

"Is that normal for him to start a new girl out as VIP—with no experience?"

"No, he usually requires us to be here at least a year before you're considered, and that's only if there is a spot available. I waited two years before I was offered a position. It was worth the wait though. The pay is double, and one of the perks is we get our own dressing room."