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Fuck. Okay. I shake out my fists, which I’ve had clenched since I got out of the car. “Okay.”

I glance between the other people at the table. Corvus is the one who speaks up. “You can speak freely here.”

Since I don’t know this guy, I look to Liam and Brendan, who respectively shrug and nod. “Okay. Fine. I need a gun.”

Somewhere in another room there’s a crashing sound, as if some clumsy busboy fumbled a tub of glasses. In the ensuing silence all I can hear is my own heartbeat. And Brennan’s judgment.

This is a line I never wanted to cross, but I’ve turned the problem over in my head the entire way here. The senator won’t want to leave me walking around as a potential problem. I don’t have another solution.

Brennan, who rarely looks surprised, hikes his eyebrows up to his hair. “No offense, but you’re not exactly the murdering type.”

“Who says I’m trying to murder someone?” Once again, I glance around the table.

“Just tell us what the fuck is going on, Michael. In all the years you’ve worked for me, you’ve never threatened anyone. Not even Dean, and he’s surely given you reason.”

Squaring my shoulders, I make sure to look him fully in the eye. “Don’t talk about Dean like that.”

Brennan holds up a hand. “Fair enough. Now, I suggest you quit while you’re ahead. Who you trying to kill?”

With a hard swallow, I explain what happened at the senator’s house.

Liam pushes his chair back. “Don’t do it. Don’t go back there, don’t even so much as consider running an internet search on the guy’s name.”

“He knows I know about him. Before I left, he tried to call someone. If I don’t go after him, you know he’ll come after me.”

Liam shakes his head. “You can’t make a guy like him disappear without consequences. He’s got friends in high places. Billionaires. The governor. Some guys at the federal level. Trust me, it’s not worth the risk. My firm’s already been looking into this operation. Let us handle it.”

There has to be something I can do. “What I don’t want to risk is the guy deciding to have me arrested, or fuck knows what else. He’s got too much on me. He knows too much about my family.”

Liam’s face softens. “I hear you. You’re Ravi’s friend. He likes you, and from what I’ve heard, you’ve looked out for him in the past. Let me return the favor.”

Fuck. I don’t love it, but it makes sense. “All right. Thank you. Here. This might help if you can get anything off it.” I pull the smashed phone from my pocket and hand it over.

“Thanks. Don’t worry,” Liam says again. Then he glances back toward the door. “Ravi’s up in one of the private rooms right now. I’d actually better go check on him. I’ll tell him you said hi.”

Familiar voices filter to me as the door opens. PJ, another former escort, comes in with his boyfriend, Fallon. They both get a little wide eyed when they see me.

“Michael. Hey. What are you doing here?” PJ’s always seemed a little closed off. A little cagey. Today, he looks like he got caught shoplifting.

“Needed to talk to Brennan.” I gesture at the man in question, who’s gone back to his cards. “What’s up with you guys?”

PJ shrugs. “Just hanging out.”

“They’re here for a group fuck,” Brennan says with a roll of his eyes. At PJ’s glare, he adds, “Is it supposed to be a secret? These two—” He gestures at Fallon and PJ. “—love to have people watch, and those two—” He gestures in the direction Liam left in earlier. “—like to share. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist.”

Well, that’s, uh… “Cool. Have fun, guys.” Since I’ve got nothing constructive to say, I’m slowly walking backward, toward the way I came in.

On a different day maybe I’d be filing this moment away for brunch gossip fodder. Today, I can hardly muster the interest.

As it is, I’m feeling antsy, but then my phone vibrates with an incoming call from Eve. I asked for more information after her earlier text, and she said she’d call me. “I have to take this.” I hold up my phone. “I’ll be back if I can.”

Honestly, I’m not sure whether it’s better to stay here or go. If the senator sends people looking for me, he’ll probably have no trouble getting in here. The club is filling up, forcing me to weave in and out of bodies and waiters carrying trays of drinks as I make my way to a quiet-looking alcove by the door.

“Eve. Hey.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to take so long to call. Family stuff.”

“No worries. Everyone okay?”