Havoc

Chapter 2

Kenna

Iwiped the mirror free of steam and blinked through the tears that blurred my vision. In a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, I limped to my bedroom. I hadn’t wanted to stay in my suite at the hotel. I needed to be in my own space, my real space. Once everyone stopped hovering, I left. I’d decided to do the fifteen-minute drive to my house. It was pretty late when I got there, but I was glad I did. I slept like the dead, got up and managed to eat, then called in sick.

I had shared everything with Minnie when she came to my suite that morning. Grim had called her and told her. He probably wanted her to report back. Her mouth hung open when I got to the part where I was being blackmailed. I stopped her rant about how I needed to share the truth with everyone, and I told her I would. I convinced her I needed a little time to heal before the wrath of Grim was set upon me. She was horrified at the idea of me leaving the hotel, but she also understood my need to be in my own space to recover. She made me promise I’d check in, and I called her as soon as I arrived.

Feeling only slightly better, I checked the locks on my windows, closed the blinds, then pulled out the metal box from my vanity drawer. I removed the small gun, loaded it, and put the safety on.

The floor-length mirror I stood in front of showed no mercy when I pulled up my shirt to reveal a massive, deep blue bruise on my right side and several scattered scrapes and nicks around my back. It was the first time I’d examined the damage. Even my arm was sore from where I was grabbed and hauled into that nightmare.

“So, he was right,” came from the door, and I whirled and wildly pointed the pistol at him.

“What the hell are you doing here, Morgan?” I winced at the pain that went through me with the unexpected movement. I thought about offering myself over to the reaper featured on the leather Devil’s Reach cut he wore. It sure would make things easier at this point. “I could have killed you.” I carefully put the gun down and shifted my shirt back in place to cover the bruises.

“Not with the safety on, you wouldn’t’ve.” He stepped into the room and came close. He lifted my shirt and made a noise of disapproval. “You take anything for that?”

“Yeah.” I pointed to the pain relievers by the bed. “Hopefully, they’ll help. They’re expired.”

“Those won’t touch that, anyway.” He handed me a joint. “Take this for now, and I’ll get you something else in the morning.”

“’K.” I sniffed, and he studied my face.

“Wanna tell me what happened?”

“No.”

“All right.” He leaned against the desk while I lit the joint. “Grim found me that night at the fundraiser, said you left. He wanted me to check in on you.”

“Is that so?” Sweet smoke rose from my lips. “Seems he is telling everyone my business.”

He ignored my words. “I thought maybe you had it out with Jayden again, but I saw him at the bar. He was talking to that bartender Dale slept with last week. Then I thought, what did your dad do now? But he looked happy as a pig in shit entertaining his clients with your mother on his arm.” He took the joint from me, drew in a hit, and passed it back.

“Then Minnie told me you went to her club, so I went lookin’ for you there.” He paused and watched me for a moment. “Guess I just missed you, according to the bouncer. I called Shore, your all-time favorite driver, and he said you got a text just when you stepped out of his car at the hotel. Said your face went pale. Then fifteen minutes later, you show up on the twentieth, with wet hair, red eyes, lookin’ like shit. What happened in that fifteen minutes, Kenna?” He crossed his arms and waited for me to speak. I took another much-needed draw.

“Someone watches too much true crime with Rail.” I coughed and my eyes watered.

“Kenna.” His tone told me he wasn’t having it.

“Fine.” I dropped my arms. “I pissed off some people and had to deal with the consequences.” That wasn’t a lie. I certainly had pissed someone off; I just wasn’t sure who or why.

“Who?”

“I don’t know.” I slowly moved across the room. “Now,” I swiped at my eyes again and pulled back the covers on the bed. “I’ve had a shitty last forty hours, and all I want to do is sleep, so, if you don’t mind.”

“You have a concussion? Because you slept all day.”

“No, and how do you know that?”

“Minnie told me, plus Grim saw you leave. I slept in the van last night. Figured I’d break in once I knew you were up.”

“That’s reassuring,” I muttered.

“I found Grim out on the rooftop after I looked for you.” I glanced away and carefully slid under the covers. “Yeah.” He gave me a look with raised eyebrows. “He thought you left the fundraiser because you were upset about him and that girl he fucks sometimes.” He rolled his eyes, and I gave a sarcastic huff. He waited for an answer, but I didn’t offer one. His gaze flicked to my side. “He watched the video from the parking lot.”

“I figured he would.”

He snagged my phone off the table and held it up. “So, who’d you call when you were getting’ in your car to come here?” I went still, and I knew he saw me swallow. “Whoever it was,” he unlocked my phone, “made you look over your shoulder while you talked.”

“Natural reaction for what I’d just been through.”

“Maybe,” he looked at the number without a name attached to it, “but what did you mean by ‘I’ll do it?’”

I wished the drug would hit me now. I hated the attention this whole terrible situation had brought me. I didn’t like to feel so vulnerable.

“Grim knows you made a phone call,” he repeated. “He’s gonna ask you about it. Who was it, Kenna? Who upset you like that?” I rolled on my back and hoped the weed would hurry and take the throb out of my side and help to numb my thoughts. “Kenna?—”

“Morgan,” I fought hard not to tell my friend, “please, don’t ask.” I sniffed then dabbed out the joint. “This entire thing is so much.” I rubbed my chest. “It’s like dominos, you know? I’m just trying to keep them from all crashing down.” I paused to catch my breath. “I’m just trying to keep it all together.”

“Fuck! Okay.” He sighed heavily, toed off his boots, and laid his cut on a chair then crawled into bed with me. He was careful to tuck the covers in around me, then he settled and lay there quietly on top of the covers. I could hear his slow breaths as we both stared at the ceiling and listened to the house sounds. I matched the rhythm of his breathing, and it helped slow the panic I held inside. I relished that he was with me, and I wasn’t alone.

“Make me laugh,” I begged. He was always so good at that.

“Rail crashed a wedding at Indulge couple nights ago. Thought he went back to the room with the maid of honor, but it was actually the bride’s grandmother.” Morgan said it in a deadpan voice, and I started to laugh despite the stabbing pain in my side. “I’m unsure how he made that mix-up.”

“Do you think he noticed before or after she took out her false teeth?”

“I think it was after he helped her into her fluffy floral dressing gown.” He made me laugh harder, but soon the humor faded away and we were left in silence again. “Can I ask you something?” He got up on his elbow.

“Depends.” I used the back of my hand to clear the tears that insisted on outing my nerves.

“Are you really okay?”

I huffed out a long breath and craned my neck to look up at him, but I couldn’t find the words. I just shook my head. My chin quivered, and I put my hand on my mouth.

“Okay.” He pulled the blanket tighter around me, and I curled into his side. After a few minutes, he pulled out his phone and I saw he had a text. He waited a few minutes, most likely hoping I’d fallen asleep.

He unlocked his phone, and I read the screen.

Grim: Update.

Morgan: I’m spending the night.

Grim: Is she okay?

Morgan’s thumb hovered over the letters, and as my eyes grew heavy, I saw him text.

Morgan: Far from it.

* * *

As much asI wanted to go to work the next day, I spent the night staring at the wall. The day after that, I still found myself ready to spin out over my own shadow. I knew it wasn’t healthy to stay so secluded, but I was internally trying to process the attack and who knew what.

Minnie came by, and I filled her in on everything again and made sure I left nothing out. I felt terrible about dumping another secret on her, but I promised I’d make it right, or at least that I’d tell one of the guys. She agreed not to say a word but only because she saw I was hanging on by a thread. She insisted I get myself back to work the next day so she could keep an eye on me. I kept my promise and headed to the hotel first thing in the morning.

I spent a couple hours with my client Yen Hong before he had to leave for the airport. He had to be back in Hong Kong for business. He’d gotten to know me fairly well, and I saw him glance at me a few times. I knew he could tell I was off, but he was too polite to probe.

“Have you thought any further about my offer of a job?” He shrugged on his jacket, and the tailor got to work. Yen’s offer for me to come work for him in Hong Kong would have tempted me a few years back. He basically gave me the go-ahead to write anything into the contract that I wanted. I was flattered, but my roots were now firmly planted in Vegas.

“I have, a lot, actually,” I crossed my legs and leaned back in the chair, easing some of the pain in my side, “but right now I see myself here.”

“My hotel needs you, Kenna. I don’t take refusal easily.” He grinned, but it morphed into work mode when he suddenly got a call. “Hello?”

I checked the time and knew he’d have to leave for the airport soon. Once he left, I’d be free for the rest of the day. Sadly, the idea of being alone upstairs in my suite wasn’t as appealing as I hoped.

“Kenna, I’m sorry. I have to go. Keep thinking of that offer.” Yen blew me a kiss, and we said our goodbyes as I snagged my bag and headed for the lobby.

Once I was back in the lobby, I spotted Rail with a group of young women. He made them all laugh loudly. Oh, the Rail charm.

“I didn’t see you as a Paul Anka fan.” A security guard chuckled, and I blinked at him.

“Pardon?”

“Put Your Head on My Shoulder, that’s a classic.” He pointed to my purse where my phone was playing that song.

“Oh.” I forced a smile and pulled it free, curious as to who the hell it was. “Please excuse me for a moment.” I stepped away and answered the now silenced call.

“Hello?”

“Walk over to Rail and ask what his meeting with Trigger was about last night.” The automated voice made my blood run cold. I couldn’t forget that voice if I tried.

“I can’t.” Somehow, I found my voice and scanned the crowd to see if I could spot someone watching me. “I would never ask him a thing like that. It would be too risky. He’d know something was up.”

“I don’t recall you having a choice in the matter,” the voice said loudly. “Why did Simon Gable call you that night?”

My head spun. How did he know so much?

“He, ahh…” I tried to put my thoughts together, but this call had frozen my brain. “The night I was attacked by you?” I tried to show some guts.

“Don’t be smart, Kenna. Remember what I told you. You want the cops at your door for murder?”

“He wanted to talk to me, but we didn’t get very far. I had to hang up because that woman you were with interrupted us.”

“Look to your left.” I slowly turned and saw Grim talking to Jenelle. “Always got a woman on his arm,” he pointed out to me. “Grim had a meeting with his father early this morning. I want to know what was said.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“You were supposed to be at it.” Wait, how did he know that? How did he know any of this?

“Get the details on what I asked and wait for my call.” He paused, and I caught Grim’s eye. “Remember, Kenna, I got to you once. I can get to you again.” He paused. “That color looks good on you, by the way.” The line went dead.

I lowered the phone and felt the massive room tilt as panic waved through me. How was I going to pull this off? Breathe, Kenna, breathe. A cold prickle went up my back when my mind finally slowed down.

He was watching me. He told me where to look, he knew where Rail and Grim were, and that meant he was close by. The thought terrified me.

I scanned the busy lobby, but no one stood out, then I looked toward the cameras, and my stomach sank. What if…?

Rail caught my attention. He was headed toward me, so I turned on my heel and went quickly in the opposite direction. I wouldn’t ask him about Trigger’s meeting; I could never cross that line. The less I knew, the better, anyway.

I wanted to see those cameras. I used my ID card and hurried through the locked doors, wove my way through the shift change of dealers, then ran up the stairs. I paused at the door and raised my hand to knock then thought better of it. I held up Grim’s black keycard he’d left with me and held it to the security pad. The light turned green. There was Leo watching the craps table. He didn’t glance up because at the top of the screen it read Grim’s name for who entered the room. It was so you didn’t have to take your eyes off the screen.

“How’s Jenelle? Ya married yet?” He snickered, and I sighed at his comment as I stood there and watched the bird”s eye view of the hotel. I had been here before but never without Jim or my father.

“Kenna?” He had turned and eyed me oddly. Then he saw Grim’s black card in my hand. “I see.” He didn’t question it, and I didn’t offer any explanation. He knew I would never cause any harm or trouble to the hotel. “How’s your side?”

“Still hurts a lot, but it’s getting better each day.” I kept my eyes on the monitors.

“I saw the tape of what happened, and we’ll get the animals who did that to you.”

“No doubt.” I wanted to talk about the problem I had now and keep the conversation off what happened before. “I need a favor.” I hated to put myself on Leo’s radar, but I had to figure this out fast. “Can you rewind the video on the lobby?”

I felt Leo study me for a moment. Then he spoke quietly into a mic and had another guy keep an eye on the man he’d been watching at the craps table.

“How far back?” He switched to the lobby camera.

“Ten, maybe twelve minutes ago.”

“Okay.” He started to tap on the keyboard, then the picture jumped to that timeline. “Anything I can search for? A color of a shirt, jeans, height?”

“A man on a phone.” I spotted myself on the screen and moved closer to study the footage. Multiple green boxes outlined several men on their phones.

“Can you help narrow them down?” he asked.

“Are any of them watching me?” I knew it was a longshot, but to my surprise, he moved the camera angle, so it was from my point of view looking around the lobby. He did a compete circle and the green boxes followed the men.

“Two of them were.” He brought their faces to the side of the screen.

“Can you see if they were watching Grim too?” I pointed to Grim across the way.

“Yeah.” He tapped away, and the green boxes around the two guys turned red. “No, they didn’t look in his direction.” I rubbed my head and ran multiple scenarios of what was happening.

“Can you tell me approximately how tall they are?”

“This guy,” Leo brought up the guy on the left, “given by what he’s standing next to, is roughly five-five.” He tapped again. “This one is about five-eight.” I thought about the man who attacked me; he was much taller. “What’s this about, Kenna?”

“Can anyone access these cameras?” He laughed but stopped when he saw my face. “I’m serious, Leo. You hear about hackers, so could these be hacked right now, and you wouldn’t know?”

“Not with how much we pay to keep people out. You’d have to be the best of the best, and those guys work for us.”

“Who has access to this room?”

“A select few and, apparently, you.”

I looked at the phone and sucked in a deep breath.

“What about my phone?” I tossed in on the desk like it might bite me. “Could my phone be bugged?”

“Highly unlikely, but,” he moved to a different computer and plugged in my phone, “I can run it through here and see if anything pops up.” I stood over his shoulder, then he pulled out a chair next to him. “This will take a moment.”

“Maybe I’m losing my mind,” I confessed but knew I wasn’t.

“Maybe it’s because you were attacked, and you haven’t dealt with it yet.” He shrugged sympathetically. “I wasn’t aware you had one of those.” He pointed at the black key card.

“Grim knows.”

“I figured, considering it’s his.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“If my brother gave you his black key card, I’m fine with it.”

“He didn’t exactly give it to me, more of he didn’t take it back when I tried to give it to him.”

“I see.”

“Strange, right? I mean, does this get me anywhere? I’m still trying to understand why he hasn’t asked for it back.”

“He must really trust you.” The corners of his mouth went up, but he focused back on the computer.

“I don’t think Grim trusts most people. Well, the ones who aren’t in his direct bloodline or have four legs.”

“He does love his dogs. Did he ever tell you about how he came to own them?”

“I just figured they were a gift from the Devil for all his hard work.” I didn’t mean to be so sarcastic, but I was dealing with a lot. “No, he never told me.”

“Grim’s dark, there’s no question about it.” Leo smiled. He loved to talk about his older brother. “He knew Leal and Zhar when they were just babies. They belonged to someone else back then. Then when they were about two, something bad happened and he took them. It’s a long story, but ask him about it sometime.” The computer made a noise and drew our attention. “Just as I guessed, it’s clean.”

“Can people hack into your phone and change a ringtone?” I knew I sounded crazy.

He tried to pry. “Only if they have access to your account online or know the passcode to your phone. Did that happen?” I ran a frustrated hand through my hair and closed my eyes, confused how this person knew so many things. “You seem very spooked, so what do you think happened?”

“Spooked doesn’t even describe what’s going on inside me,” I huffed. “Look, I really appreciate your help. Wish I could say I’m just overreacting, but…” I shrugged. “Thanks, Leo.” I patted his arm and stood. “As always, I appreciate that you’re so ready to help.”

“Any time.” He nodded and handed me my phone. “Are you staying at your house or in your suite tonight?”

“My suite, via Jim’s request.”

“I think that’s a smart idea.” He leaned back and looked at me. “Have you slept?”

“At first, I did. Slept like the dead.”

“And now?”

“I don’t know.” I leaned my hip into the desk and pressed my lips together. “It’s like I’m scared to shut my eyes. Afraid they might come into my room at night. I’m afraid of where my mind will go when I’m not in control of it.”

“Sounds—”

“Exhausting, overwhelming, the list is endless.” I smiled apologetically. “Sorry. It’s just been a hard last few days.”

“Don’t be sorry. I’m glad I’m someone you feel you can share stuff with.”

“You are.” I loved Leo. He had such a warm heart. “Well, I’m off to go lie in bed and count the minutes until tomorrow.”

“Remember, that card opens any door,” he called as I left. I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant, but my head was too tired to figure it out. I almost ran into Simon as I headed for the elevator.

“Whoa. Everything okay?” he asked as he looked at me.

“Yeah.” I was sure my lie was written all over my face.

“I’d like to finish that conversation we started the other day on the phone.” My stomach rolled, and he appeared to read my mood. “Perhaps a little later, then.”

“Thanks. That’d be better.” I could barely make eye contact, I felt so out of sorts.

“No problem.” He studied me for another beat then smiled warmly and let me pass. I hurried into the elevator and was glad when the two steel doors closed.

I showered and changed into an oversized t-shirt I’d stolen from Dale before we broke up. It had his name on the sleeve and the culinary school where he’d graduated. I only wore it because it was soft, and maybe it reminded me of a time where I hadn’t slept alone.

The glow from the flameless candles on the living room table provided just enough light to move about comfortably in my suite. I missed my house, but I didn’t miss the ground floor windows or doors. Sounds were different here. It was quieter way up in the sky, and even though there was only one way into the place, I found myself staring at the door. Scared the handle would turn.

The time ticked by, and I never moved from the couch. My heart was in my throat, and tears streamed down my cheeks. I was such a strong person, and it bothered me that I couldn’t hold it together now that I was alone.

The sound of the gunshot and the jolt of his body played out in front of me for the first time since that night at Minnie’s. I clenched my jaw and pushed the image back inside where I kept it. With all that had happened lately, I felt like I was losing control.

The sound of the elevator motor slowing caught my attention, and I sprang to my feet and grabbed a knife from the chopping block. My heart pounded so hard it made it difficult to hear if there was anyone outside my door. With my phone in one hand and the knife in the other, I slowly moved over to the door and pressed against it to listen. Just as I did, my phone buzzed in my hand and my heart went into my mouth. Any bravery I had left inside me fizzled out. I silenced the alert then unlocked the screen to see a text message.

Unknown: Your suite can’t protect you from me.

A tremor tore through me, and I fought to turn the phone off. I grabbed my purse and, without another thought, ran into the hall and, with shaky hands, held Grim’s card up to the screen and bolted inside the elevator the moment the doors opened. It took forever for them to close again. When they opened, I stepped out to meet two sets of pissed off eyes.

“Oh, shit.” I took a couple of involuntary steps then froze. “Grim?” I called hopefully as a wave of terror washed over me. “Hi, puppies.” I tried to keep myself calm.

Leal, the moodier of the two Doberman brothers, let out a low growl and bared his teeth as a warning.

“Okay, boy.” I turned to find Zhar had now blocked my way to the elevator. He just stood there in an intimidating stance while his brother did all the talking. “Yeah, this is great. Shit.” Without warning, I hit my emotional limit and broke. I slumped down until my butt hit the floor, unable to hold my weight any longer, and sobbed. Both dogs moved to stand in front of me. I was sure neither had any idea what the hell was happening. I drew my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around myself.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered through a hiccup. “It’s like things are snowballing, and I can’t stop it.” Zhar looked at his brother, who had a death stare on me, then he sat down. Almost like he knew I just needed someone. “Have you ever been so scared that your own mind works against you? I don’t know if I can do this.” A pair of black loafers stepped into view, and I looked up into eyes colder than Leal’s.

“Go on,” Grim commanded the dogs then bent down in front of me. “You’re lucky they didn’t hurt you.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time this week.” I gave a small shrug, and his face remained like stone as he helped me to my feet. “We need to talk.”

He looked down at the t-shirt I had on, and I saw he registered there was nothing else under it. He lifted an eyebrow.

“Seriously, Grim, I’m not okay, and if I don’t share this now, I don’t know if I can.”

“Then let’s talk.” He walked into his living room and took a seat on the couch. I couldn’t sit. I needed to stand as the panic of what I was about to do started to kick in. I just let my mouth run. “I need to tell you about the night I was attacked. Your dad knows the version I gave him, but there was more.” With a deep breath, I began to tell him my story.

“Thanks. Shore. I appreciate you dropping me off here and not out front.” I snapped my compact mirror closed, pleased my makeup was on point. Now if only I could say the same about my wet hair. But when the hotel owner, Jim Gates, summoned you to the twentieth floor, you hauled ass.

“Anytime, Kenna.” He held up his phone. “Duty calls. It’s Mr. Salazar. Gotta go.”

My own phone rang as I gathered my things.

“Hello?”

“Kenna, it’s Simon. I need to tell you something.” He hesitated. “Is now a good time?”

“Oh, hey, yes, just give me two seconds.” I pulled the phone away from my mouth as Shore opened my door.

“Be sure to let Salazar know I say safe travels.”

“Happy to.” Shore smiled as I stepped out into the parking area. Then he rushed off to go pick up an actual paying client.

“Sorry, Simon. I was letting my driver go. What is it that you needed to tell me?”

“The deal with Trigger and your father just got more complicated.”

“How so?”

“Luis Aquilar is dead.”

I couldn’t understand why this was being brought up to me, and not Trigger.

“I didn’t know the man, but I’m sorry to hear he’s dead.”

“No, you don’t understand, Kenna?—”

“Kenna Lodge?” a woman’s voice interrupted from somewhere nearby. I squinted into the dark corner of the car port. I knew Jim had some construction going on for the level five employees after a couple of the battery charging ports had been vandalized, but I didn’t see anyone. “Yes, that’s you.” Heels clicked on the pavement while I stayed put and waited for whomever it was to show themselves.

“Simon, there’s someone here who wants to talk to me. Can I call you back?”

“Yes, okay, but make sure you do. We really need to talk.” I hung up and saw a brown-haired woman, about my size, give me a coy wave. She looked oddly familiar, but I couldn’t place her. I took in her hair cut and her freckled face as she got closer, but nothing rang a bell.

“This all feels very Deep Throat, doesn’t it?” She chuckled. Something about the way she held her bag told me she was nervous.

“Do I know you?”

“No, but your friend Hanna Hudson does.” Oh. “Look, I’m sorry to come at you here where you work, but I’m Linda Pestle, and Hanna and I used to work together.”

Okay, I must have seen Linda in a couple of Hanna’s photos over the years, and that was why she seemed familiar. It came to me then.

“Oh, yes, Hanna’s mentioned you.” Apparently, they were pretty good friends. I’d left before Linda came. If I remembered correctly, she worked for Markle Hotel.

“Good, I was hoping she’d mentioned me.” She let out a small breath of relief, and I felt my defenses come down a bit.

“She seemed to be upset the last time we talked. Do you know what kind of trouble she’s having?” I took a couple steps toward her, dying to know how my friend was. “Have you spoken to her? She called me the other day, but I never heard back from her.”

“See, that’s the thing.” Linda licked her lips nervously. “One moment she was rambling to me about some guy, and the next she gets a call and races out. That was two days ago.”

“Why did you come here?” Curiosity nipped at my core.

“Because you were the one who called her that night.” Her mouth twisted. “Is there any chance she said something to you?”

“Like what?”

“Like who the guy was or if she was in some kind trouble?” Her eyes darted around.

“She wanted to tell me, but…” My words fell away like my mind put a stop to them. Something wasn’t right here. Tiny sparks of fear prickled my veins as my brain tried to process something I was unable see.

A surge suddenly connected those sparks together, and my heart jolted as a leather hand slapped over my mouth. I was lifted off the ground and swallowed up by the shadows.

Fear consumed me as I was slammed into a wall. I struggled to see, but his face was covered by a dark mask that only showed his weird white eyes. Then something flashed by my face.

“You scream, and I’ll slit your throat.” I felt the cold steel against my windpipe. Then he pulled it back so I could see the ugly switchblade he held to make his point. I nodded and couldn’t control the heavy, hot tears that burned as they ran over the suddenly hypersensitive skin on my cheeks. He lowered his hand, and I desperately tried to make out his features through the covering. I realized he wore white contacts, and his voice was altered by some sort of device. It sounded mechanical and deep. “What did Hanna say when she called you?” his weird voice demanded. A faint whiff of body odor mixed with spice and something else found its way to my nose. It may have been my fear, but it wasn’t pleasant, and I felt myself gag.

Focus.

Linda, or whoever she was, stayed back, and her head kept going back and forth as she watched. So many terrifying thoughts went through my head, but I willed myself to fight my nausea and stay in the present.

“She told me.” I shook my head to get my thoughts straight. “She thought she was in trouble, but she never said what it was.” An unexpected explosion of pain in my side took my breath away, and I doubled over and felt sick. I’d never experienced anything like that before. I fought to breathe as I was pulled up by my hair and the knife stuck in my face again. I could hear whimpers and realized the sound came from my own throat.

“Try again.” The hand with the knife waved around, and I desperately swallowed back the vomit that threatened.

“She, she got another call. Said she had to call me back.” The man hit me again in the same spot, and I blacked out for a moment. I was on the cold concrete and felt him move my skirt around. I came to with so much fight that I managed to kick him square in the balls. He fell, and I raced around him, but the woman snagged my arm and yanked me back with such force she knocked me right off my feet. My back hit the ground hard, and I was dragged back out of the light.

The man breathed heavily in my ear. “Fucking whore! I should fuck you right here and see what the Gateses think of that.”

It’s strange how some humans handle a life-threatening experience. I switched into survival mode. I kicked, scratched, tried to bite, and flailed around like a crazy person. Sadly, he held on, and I was soon exhausted.

“Are you done?” He punched me hard in the side again, and I lost my will to fight back as the pain blinded me.

“Come on, hurry up!” The Linda woman’s voice found me. Was someone coming? “You’re taking too long. Just tell her.”

What? I struggled to stand. My battered body hurt everywhere.

“I told you to shut up!” he snapped at her, and she gave him the finger. I saw her cower at his words. The guy loosened his hold and put his face to mine.

“Here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to be my own personal little spy. So, when I call you, you answer. When I tell you to do something, you do it.” He held up a piece of paper with a number on it. “Memorize it.”

“Spy?” I looked at him. “I’m not going to spy for you. What are you talking about?” My lips trembled as I looked at him in amazement.

“Oh, you’ll do it,” his weird voice threatened.

“Why should I?” I felt anger replace the fear, and I raised my chin at him.

“Oh, you wanna know why?” He smirked, and I waited for another blow that might finally burst my kidney. “Because I know.” He leaned so close to my face I almost choked on his breath. “I know what you did.”

I froze in pure fear. How could he?

“Hey, bitch, bring it here,” he called to the Linda woman. She glanced at me and kept her distance as she reached way out to hand him a pink phone case. Hello Kitties waved at me from their liquid home on the back. He turned it around, and I felt my knees give out as I watched.

“This is my favorite part right here.” He pointed at the phone, and I watched in horror. “When will people learn that there’s always someone with a phone, watching?”

“Like right now?” the woman huffed, but he ignored her. He tossed the phone at her, and she cursed when she missed the catch and it clattered under a car. “All I need to do is leak that tape, and the world as you know it is over.”

“Please, I won’t do it.” I gasped. “You can’t.”

“Oh, can’t I?” He gave a crazy, mechanical laugh. “That little tidbit all by itself would make Daddio see his little girl in a whole new light. That his own daughter is a murderer.” As he let that settle into my consciousness, I stared into his eyes through the cutouts in the mask. The creepy white contacts he wore made my mouth go dry. “You got balls, baby girl. I’ll give you that.”

“Let’s get out of here,” the woman begged as she looked around.

“Listen for that call, Kenna, or kiss your world goodbye.” He suddenly dropped me like a rag doll, and I watched helplessly as he and the woman hopped in a car. As it peeled out of the parking lot, I tried to see a plate, but there wasn’t one. I sagged into the wall. The pain in my side helped to ground me as my world spun.

I heard a car door slam and knew I had to get out of there. My phone pinged in my purse, and I somehow dug it out.

Unknown: Get inside, Kenna. There’s a lot of dangerous people out here tonight.

I snapped out of the vivid memory and stared at Grim, who seemed to be stuck in his own trance.

“Say something,” I whispered.

“Was that why you’ve been avoiding the meetings?”

“Yes.”

“Why you’ve been avoiding me?”

“If I don’t know anything, how can I share anything?”

“And the call you made at the car? Was that to him?”

“Yes. I had to make a decision to do it, or…”

“What are they blackmailing you with?” His angry gaze held mine. I knew he was a breath away from losing his shit. “Is it the same thing you’ve been keeping from everyone, even your friends in the DR?”

“Grim, please, it’s so much more complicated?—”

“No, it’s not!” he yelled, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. He stood and pointed a finger at me. “Stop lying!”

“I’m not lying!” I matched his temper because it felt good to be mad. “I just shared all this with you, and now you’re here yelling at me—no, demanding I tell you something that I just can’t share.”

“Why?” He stepped closer. “You’ve seen things I’ve done. Shit, you watched me kill a man in front of you. So why can’t I know this?”

“Grim, stop!”

“Why can’t you tell me?”

“Because! Because I’m starting to see what I did is connected to so much more than I thought. I’m terrified to see the truth, and now someone else is holding it over my head. I’m totally fucked.” I dropped my heavy arms and head. “God knows what will happen now that I’ve told you. I’ll probably end up in some ditch somewhere.” Shit, I’d welcome a ditch right now.

“I just want to sleep, but when I’m alone, I relive that moment. If I so much as close my eyes, that moment comes to my mind. I came up here because he just called and mentioned I wasn’t safe in my suite.”

“He knew you were home alone tonight?”

“Yes. I panicked and thought what was worse, the ditch or being the Cujo duo’s midnight snack.” I looked around for the dogs.

“Okay.” He cleared his throat, and I looked at him.

“That’s it? No more scary Grim?”

“Not tonight.” He shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it over the chair.

“Good.” I felt like it was a trap but was pleased not to waste any more energy I didn’t have. The yelling took its toll. “I’ll let you get back to your night.”

“No.” He waved for me to follow him to his bedroom. Leal glared at me as I made my way behind Grim. He disappeared into his closet and returned a moment later with a t-shirt. “Put that on and get into bed.”

Huh?

“I’m confused,” I said as I held it. Then he reached down and tugged the t-shirt I wore over my head. He made a show of reading what was written on it as I stood there in bare feet and my panties. I didn’t cover myself up. He’d seen everything and been everywhere on my body anyway, so I just stood. He homed in on the bruises on my side.

“Jesus.” He shook his head then tossed my t-shirt in his hamper, and then he went into the bathroom and slammed the door.

I shrugged and slid his shirt on and pulled back the covers to his massive bed. I hesitated when a strange feeling came over me. I tried not to think of when Jenelle was there last, or God knew who else. The bathroom door finally opened. He’d stripped down to his boxer briefs, and it wasn’t lost on either of us that he was aroused.

“Aren’t their guest rooms in this penthouse?”

“Three.”

“Should I be in one of them?”

“No.” He pulled back the covers and slid between them. He ordered the dogs to their beds on the far side of the room. “Go to bed, boys.” I heard a low growl, but the click of their nails told me they did as they were told.

“Why?”

“Goodnight, Kenna.” He turned off the light.