Page 23 of Wicked Rush

“Exactly. Why does a brilliant scientist jump from major league field research to no job at all and then back into research again? Not to mention that Bart-Aqua isn’t exactly known to be environmentally friendly.”

“I don’t know. Something is off with this whole situation.”

Lars opened the front door. A cool sea breeze tunneled through the foyer.

Seth passed through the threshold and paused. “Lars.”

“Yeah?”

“Braelynn.”

“What?”

“She’s an attractive woman.” He smiled at Lars, unfolding the Ray Bans that hung on the front of his shirt. Pushing them onto his face, he gave his friend a cool smile. “You, uh, mentioned Altura in front of her.”

“I did,” Lars admitted.

“Do you really think that she’s innocent? That you can trust what she tells you?”

“That remains to be seen.”

“But you said something about Altura in front of her,” he pressed.

“There’s something about her. You and I were both there that day. The beach.” Lars scrubbed his hand over his chin. “But it’s more than that. I was with her in the hospital. Last night, the party. Here at the house. I need to know what happened.”

“Do you need to know what happened or do you need to know her? Because Lars, and you know I love ya, boy, but you are…” Seth bobbed his head while he searched for the perfect word, “a bit of a player.”

“Last I checked, you have no room to talk.”

“True, my friend. But you’re courting trouble where you don’t need to,’ he advised.

“It’s not that simple. It’s not like I fucking met her in a bar.”

“She’s attractive.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that.”

“Maybe you’re thinking a little too much with your dick?” Seth laughed.

“I can’t say that I don’t want her.” He shrugged.

“Well, maybe you need to be careful not to get that precious dick of yours shot at again.”

“Maybe you need to mind your fucking business.”

“Club Altura is my business. You don’t even know how open she is.”

“She agreed to let me restrain her today. She’s staying in my house. She just had breakfast with two men and knows she’s going to face off with me.”

“So?”

“All those things tell me she’s brave. She isn’t begging to leave, or crying her eyes out. No, she’s calm. She might be afraid to trust me or to ask for my help but she’s strong.”

“That may be true but you’d better be willing to test her if you’re planning on bringing her into Altura. And I’d suggest you run that by Garrett.”

“Oh I know he wouldn’t like it, but we all get to use our own judgement about who we want to bring to the club. And besides, I didn’t even say I was going to bring her.” Lars knew he’d need to be fairly confident in her ability to handle the situation if and when he ever brought her into his world. For the longest time, he’d warned Selby away, not believing she belonged.

“You sure ‘bout this?” Seth reached into his pocket, retrieving the keys to his Jeep.

“I can promise you this. If I ever bring her to Altura, she’ll be ready for it,” Lars assured him.

“As long as you know what you’re doing.” Seth began to walk to his car then turned to his friend. “I’d be happy to help if you’re interested.”

“Yeah, I bet you would.”

“Hey, now. Just think on it.” He waved before opening his door and sliding into the front seat.

Lars and Seth had shared women on occasion, and Braelynn should be no different than the rest. If they had sex, and she wanted the pleasure of another man, he’d consider it. As Lars’ mind began to wander, rolling the idea around in his mind, he heard Sasha barking. A scream echoed and he tore through the house, toward the back yard. Braelynn.