Page 56 of One for the Money

“The Veil, that’s where we have to go next, so you need to clean up. Your face is kinda bloody, and you’ve got…” Erik said, pausing to gesture to his head, “… chunks in your hair.”

Memories of the last time I’d been at The Veil flashed through my head. It had been one moment I might have considered myself happy. I’d closed the deal with Mamba, been guaranteed more orders, and to celebrate, we all went to The Veil. Everything about that place was amazing—the food, music, and ambiance, and it was also the first time I’d taken ecstasy. After it kicked in, I remembered some things, but others were a blur of emotion and sensation. I’d been able to let loose and simply enjoy without worry, which is also why I’d never take that drug again in a public setting like that. Part of me didn’t want to go back there in case this wonderful memory I had was merely a dream created by the drugs I consumed.

“Good call, man. It shouldn’t matter if there’s no power here if it’s a pump well,” Erik said, responding to something Bear must have suggested. “Come on, you little psycho siren. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Bear slid his hand around the back of my neck and used his grip there to direct me. He knew I’d zoned out but wasn’t going to bring attention to it. Instead, he was just going to take care of me like he always had.

Lifting my gaze to his, I signed a simple gesture, “Thank you.” His eyes softened for a moment, letting me see a glimpse of the Bear no one else knew.

The well bath at the mine got me clean enough to make it back to the city without drawing attention, but I had to have a shower. Plus, we still had the machine gun that needed to be put somewhere safe. Once scrubbed from head to toe, making sure there weren’t any bits of Judge still clinging to me, I felt grounded. I’m not sure killing Judge made that much of a difference, but I could now free up that space in my subconscious that was always searching for any sign of the man.

Reading over the clue, I noticed it didn’t have the same flair to it the others had. It was one sentence with zero underlying meaning. I even held it up to the light again, but there was no hidden message or cartoon.

Clue 3 of 4: See you at The Veil, save a dance for me.

- C xo

The Veil wasn’t a club you could just roll up at, wearing street clothes. You definitely didn’t go before ten o’clock, so we had some time to kill. I got in a nap after my shower, and Erik surprised me by cooking. He’d gone to the store while I slept, and the smell of the yummy food woke me up. Groceries weren’t the only thing he’d gone shopping for—he got himself some new clothes. Makes sense since he couldn’t wear Bear’s clothes forever. Plus, he needed something to wear to the club, and Bear didn’t have many shirt options.

It was finally time for us to head out, and I did one final check. It’s hard to hide weapons in fishnets, booty shorts, and a black leather corset. A low, impressed whistle had me looking up from checking out my ass to see Erik. He was wearing black dress pants with an emerald silk shirt that was only halfway buttoned.

“You don’t need to worry, your ass looks fucking fantastic,” he shared with a grin, wagging his eyebrows.

Rolling my eyes, I ran a hand over the area just before the swell of my ass. “Can you tell there’s a knife hidden here?”

“Little siren, no one is going to notice when they have other things to pay attention to,” Erik assured me. “But to answer your question, no, I can’t see an outline or anything.”

Giving my hair one more zhuzh to get that eighties shaggy-mess look, I grabbed my card holder and shoved it between my boobs.

“So that’s what you do when you don’t have pockets,” Erik commented, catching me around the waist as I passed him. He peered down my cleavage and poked around, clearly amazed. “That’s what I call using your assets.”

Groaning, I slumped into him. “God, if I’d known you were a dad-joke type of guy, I never would have kidnapped you.”

“Which is exactly why I hold onto those for when I know it’s too late to return me,” Erik added, chuckling.

I relaxed into his hold, letting my fingers glide over the silk. “It’s real silk.”

“You can tell by just touching it? Damn, you’re good,” he said absently, pressing a kiss to my head. “Bear gave me a wad of cash, told me to get food and my own damn clothes.”

“Out of all your faults, Big Red, your taste in clothes isn’t one of them,” I commented, pulling out of his hold, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do. “Come on, one more clue, and we can be done with this game.”

“What, you're not having fun?” Erik asked as we headed downstairs.

“Oh, I’m having a fucking blast, but I don’t like how well this mysterious Coronis knows so much about me. He didn’t come up with this game recently, it took years of digging. I’m talking about serious digging on a level that is obsessive. Bear didn’t even know about Judge. I never talked about it with anyone,” I explained.

Scanning the living room, I looked for Bear and came to an abrupt halt upon seeing him. He had his back to me, staring out the window, hair slicked back, wearing tight leather pants and a sheer black tank top that had a slight shimmer to it. I’d always thought Bear was goddamn fucking sexy, but when he decided to go all out, I was a goner. Slowly, he turned, catching my eye, a knowing smirk on his face.

“Speechless is a good look on you, my goddess,” Bear taunted, knowing it didn’t happen often.

Hands covered my eyes. “Nope, we do not have time for that. I’m betting when it comes to the two of you, neither of you know the meaning of a quicky. Let’s get the last clue, then you can fuck him however you like.”

Not willing to take a chance on me listening to him or not, Erik tossed me over his shoulder and carried me to the car.

The line at The Veil was long, wrapping around the building, but I went right for the head of the line. One of the many perks of being friends with Mamba was VIP status at any nightclub.

“Evening, boys, I’m on Mamba’s list under Wolfie, and I have my two men with me,” I stated upon reaching the bouncers.

Both men looked at me then the two behind me as if confused that I was the one giving orders.