Chapter 25
Disconnecting the call from Malachi, I turn back to Sally who’s just left me another drink on the table in front of me.
“They didn’t find him.” I try to keep the disappointment from my voice.
But fuck, knowing that deprived psycho is out there somewhere hunting me down is starting to mess with my head.
It doesn’t help that Jagger is now rationing out my pills and I have only been allowed the normal dose today.
I’m on edge, and I need something to take this out-of-control feeling away before I crack.
“Your brothers will catch him, it’s only a matter of time, babe. Don’t let it get you down.” She drops the paperwork for this weekend’s VIP event in front of me.
“Let me distract you with a little good news.”
“Give it to me, God knows I need it.”
“We have three new clients!” She beams with excitement.
“Highfliers, all willing to start at your new top platinum tier.”
“Shit, maybe Romeo was on to something.” I steal a quick glance his way and find him already watching me, my heart kicking up a beat.
Quickly, I redirect my attention to Sally, wanting to avoid him.
“I know he irritates the shit out of you, girl, but he’s smart, and the girls will be happy about making more money, as I’m sure you will be.”
“I never said he wasn't a savvy businessman,” I mutter under my breath, not wanting to give him a compliment .
She moves her hand to her hip, her gaze more pointed. “Why do you glare in his direction every time he walks past? I never did get to ask you what happened between the two of you at your party, and last night for that matter. You all just disappeared.”
I sigh heavily, kind of wishing I could confide in her, but he’s her boss now as well. It doesn’t feel right. “There are not enough hours in the day to go into the details of why that man gets under my skin.”
She smirks devilishly, like she can read my mind. “In more ways than one, hey.”
I close my eyes, massaging my temples, not even able to deny it. “You have no idea, Sally. What the fuck am I supposed to do about it? Working this closely with him is going to drive me to insanity.”
“Honestly, I don’t know what your problem is. For years I have seen you sulking around this place, working like a maniac because you were lonely as hell and had nothing better to do with your life.”
I throw her a filthy look. “I never sulked.”
“I’m the one telling this story.” She gives me a shut-the-hell-up-and-listen look. “For years you have been dying to have a guy to play with. Now you have three. Make the most of it, girl. Seriously, I know I would be.”
“What do you mean three?” I ask her, knowing what I mean when I think of the guys in my life, but is it really that obvious to everyone else as well?
“Romeo, mafia god and totally obsessed with you.” She counts one on her hand. “Detective Wilder, hot as sin and has a hard-on every time you’re in the room together.” She counts out two. “The forbidden, older bodyguard. It’s romantic as hell, girl. Please tell me you’re hitting that hunk of a man.” She tilts her head in Onyx’s direction as she counts out three. He’s at another table with Romeo and Jagger, the three of them deep in discussion. I have been trying to ignore them, but they have been chatting since Jagger arrived here this afternoon.
I slap her arm playfully. “Keep your voice down,” I say, even though she was talking quietly. “Do you think everyone knows?” I whisper.
Her eyes sparkle with mischief. “That the boss is finally having a little fun of her own? No offence, they’re too busy to care. But I’m happy for you. You deserve to fall in love and live happily ever after,” she says dreamily.
I sit up a little straighter, adjusting my shirt because my body all of a sudden feels uncomfortable. “Fuck no. I don’t want to fall in love. I want to screw around a little, live, not be tied down to one man for better or for worse. I couldn’t think of anything more punishing.”
She bursts out laughing. “Why did I assume anything different?” After checking her watch, she slides out of the booth seat. “Whatever it is you want, babe, I hope you get it. You spend your life trying to help the rest of us, and it’s time you got a little good karma sent you way. I’ll leave you with these new applications to approve.”
I take her hand to stop her from leaving just yet. “Sal, thanks. I know you’ve been working a shit ton of overtime lately. I appreciate what you’re doing for me and this place.”
“I know, I saw the bonus you paid me this week.”
She moves away from the table. That’s all we need to say. We’re not cuddly mushy types, but I hope she knows what she really means to me. I couldn’t do this business day in and out without her.
I pick up the first application and run my eyes over it. He’s a nice-looking man, a bit of a silver fox, working in property development. Must be high up to afford the yearly membership we’re charging at this tier. I screenshot his details and send them to Malachi for his background search .
The air around me crackles with electricity, and I know he’s approaching me. Romeo slides in beside me, a stupid smile on his face as if he’s so damn happy to see me. Even though we have been sitting in the same bar just a few yards away from each other for hours.
“I’m working, Romeo,” I mutter, only briefly glancing up from the next application. My body is now alight with sexual tension just knowing he’s close to me. Focus, Sloane, don’t let him distract you. I run my eyes over the next application. The next guy is younger, not much of a looker, but he’s an investment banker, so what he looks like means shit.
Romeo’s hand brushes my thigh, running all the way up to my hemline, leaving a trail of goosebumps skating over my body.
My eyes rise to meet his, a brow raised in question. “Did you need something?”
“Are you alright?” he asks softly, with way too much concern in his voice, his dark eyes looking deep into mine. It’s like he’s trying to search my soul. For what I don’t know, but I don’t like it.
I roll my eyes. “Fucking Jagger told you about the call.”
“Sloane, stop pushing me away. I just want to help you.”
I place my hand on his, picking it up and removing it from my thigh. “You can help me by letting me get on with my job. I have never been so interrupted with distractions in my life.”
The next thing I know, both his hands come to the side of my face and his lips are on mine. He kisses me so passionately it makes my toes curl. For just a second I let him, kissing him back because it’s exactly what I need, a distraction from the constant turmoil I’m feeling.
Until I remember I’m right here in the middle of my club, with my brother and bodyguard sitting at the table just beside us. I pull back from him in a rush, panting far too much for such a short kiss, but he does things to me he shouldn’t, like turning me into a melted pile on the floor. “What did you do that for?”
“I wanted to,” he says, way too smugly. He knows he has a stupid amount of power over me.
My glare intensifies to icy. “You can’t just keep kissing me whenever the fuck you want to,” I snap back, trying desperately to get my racing heart under control. He can’t, because every time he does, I fall a little further under his spell, and while my heart might race for him, my head is smarter and knows this man is deadly for me.
“Why the fuck not, doll face, I think I proved my point last night. Maybe it’s time to give in to your attraction to me and stop fighting with me over everything.” He stares me down with just as much intensity, and I can’t find anything to come back at him with.
I don’t know what is wrong with me, but Sally’s words keep rattling around in my head. Have fun, you deserve it .
His lips tilt up at the sides cheekily. “Finish up whatever it is you’re doing, then you’re coming with me. You’re taking the night off, we have all decided.” He motions in the direction of the table he was sitting at, where Jagger and Onyx are still deep in conversation, but Onyx’s eyes find mine. They always find mine. Is he really okay with Romeo taking me back to his place for the night? Why on earth are they getting along so well? It’s kind of disturbing.
“You three assholes don’t get to decide anything on my behalf.” I flick my glare back at him.
He considers me carefully, and he should be careful. The way I’m feeling right now, I’m liable to stab him for the fun of it. “You owe me a date, we had a deal, remember.”
I want to get up and storm into my office, but the asshole has me trapped in this booth with him. Probably his plan all along. What I don’t get is why this date is so damn important to him. He sees me every day, he’s constantly in my face annoying the shit out of me. Why does he need a date with me? I lean in closer so my brother can’t hear the next part. “And what, I suppose Onyx is accompanying us as well? Have you two been conspiring behind my back and got some fucked-up orgy planned?”
His eyes run down my body like he’s imagining just that. “Nice to know where your dirty mind went, doll face.” He laughs lightheartedly, standing up. “We leave as soon as you’re done with the paperwork.” He turns and walks back to the table with my brother and Onyx, a smug-as-shit grin on his face like he just won something.
He thinks he has so much power over me. Fuck him. He’s about to learn I didn’t get my reputation by being a good little girl and doing whatever the fuck assholes like him tell me to. I do what I want, when I want. I finish up assessing the last application quickly then send it off to Malachi. As soon as I’m done, I stand in a rush and move through to my office, finding the keys to my car, the car I haven’t driven in years because Onyx drives me everywhere. But tonight, I’m getting out of this place alone. God knows I need a break from the misogynistic world I live in. I slip on my jacket and pop the keys inside. Find my gun and pocket it on the other side.
I walk out of my office, ready to make a run for it, and flinch when I find Onyx is standing in the hallway right outside waiting for me. Fuck. I know after all this time I should expect it, but today he surprised me. In my head I was out of here, tearing up the highway with the wind in my hair.
He puts out his cigarette, his gaze shifting over me. “What are you up to, trouble?”
My hand rests on my hip defensively. “What makes you think I’m up to anything? ”
“I heard that altercation with Romeo, and I saw the look of determination on your face as you marched back into your office. I know you better than you know yourself, Sloane. You’re up to no good.”
I close the gap between us, getting right up in his face. “Did the boys club all have a little meeting about it? Discuss what you’re going to do to keep the poor damsel in distress safe from the big bad wolves?”
His brow rises, surprised by my sarcastic tone. “You pissed?”
“You think?” I sass, furious.
“We just want what is best for you, Sloane.”
I huff out a laugh. “Really? If that was true, you would give me what I really want.” I pause as I go to run a finger over his lips. I promised myself I wouldn’t throw myself at him anymore. But man, he messes with my head. “Did you tell my brother how you really feel about me, how you screwed me the other night? How you want to do it again and how you got off watching Romeo make me scream his name last night? Did you talk about that as well or was it all just how to control me.”
“Trouble,” he growls, the word a guttural warning that hangs heavy in the air.
I shake my head, disappointed. “Thought so. I got this, Onyx. I don’t need you assholes protecting me. Take a night off for once, I can’t be near you right now. I have everything I need to protect myself if this psycho comes for me.” I pat my gun at my side.
In one swift move with an enraged snarl, his hands grip my wrists, forcing them above my head. He flips us so I’m shoved into the wall, his face a mask of deadly anger. “You don’t leave this place without me, I don’t care how pissed you are.”
My jaw tightens. “Get your hands off me. ”
“No.” He stares me down with just as much determination. “I care about you too much to let you walk out of here unprotected all because you’re annoyed.”
I shove at him, wanting him off me. “I’m not that helpless little girl anymore.”
“And this guy isn’t playing games. You want to know where he called you from this morning? Your fucking apartment, Sloane.”
A cold shiver runs down my spine. “What?” I blink back at him, confused as to why this is the first I’m hearing about it. “He couldn’t have, that place has the best security system in the country.”
“He disabled it. Your room is totaled, another message left for you. That was where Malachi tracked him to. The phone he used to call you was right there on your bed. Jagger is raging about it, blaming himself for not being there, but he spent the night at his bar.”
My chest heaves. Nowhere is safe from him. “That’s what you three were all talking about without me?”
“We were trying to work out a plan to tackle this. Find somewhere safe for you to go until we track him down.”
They don’t trust me. It hurts more than it should because right now, I don’t trust them very much either. They have all been keeping shit from me, and now they have decided to blatantly leave me out of the decision-making in my own life. I fix my stare on Onyx. “If you won’t leave me alone like I want you to, take me to my apartment. I want to see the damage. I’m not hiding out. If this guy wants me, let him come for me and I will deal with him.”
“Sloane…” Onyx growls in warning.
“Onyx,” I cut him off. “I have a right to see my own place.”
“Come on then.” He releases my arms but not before taking the keys out of my pocket .
I stride off in front of him, heading for the back exit to avoid bumping into Romeo who thinks I’m leaving here with him. For a date! My body is so tight with tension it feels like something is going to snap. How fucking dare they discuss my life without me. I should have been the first to know about all of this, and when I see my brothers next, I’ll be having words with all of them.
A disturbing thought occurs to me; the power I believed I had all this time is all an illusion carefully crafted by my brothers. And now that my secret’s out, I’m starting to see the sad reality. I only hold as much power as they will let me have. That’s why I have a man watching my every move. I shake my head as I push open the back door and head out into the cold of the night. It can’t be true, can it?