37. LACEY #2
“You will not speak of anything you see or hear that relates to my work. Not to friends. Not to family. Not to anyone. Loyalty is survival in my world.”
“Understood,” I said. “You’ll have my silence.”
He studied me for a long, tense moment. “This is not a game, Lacey.”
“I understand exactly what it is,” I whispered. “It’s a blood oath disguised as a wedding vow.”
“Then choose.” His voice was steel now.
For a heartbeat, I sat there, studying his face—the man who had stalked me, saved me, taken me.
There would be no going back from this.
But the thing was… I didn’t want to go back.
I wanted him.
“I choose you,” I said. “My life. My body. My soul. They’re yours—if you dare take them.”
His jaw flexed. His eyes burned.
And in that moment, I sealed my fate.
Nik brushed his thumb across his lip contemplatively.
Then, with the push of a button, he gave the order: “Club Xyst.”
The car shifted into gear and turned south.
My pulse, a nervous metronome, tapped against my ribs.
Within a few minutes, we pulled up in front of one of the most exclusive clubs in the city.
Slade opened the door before the car had fully stopped. I recognized him from earlier, when he’d come to the penthouse with Aria.
Nik stepped out first, then turned, reaching for me. “Come.”
I took his hand. My heels hit the sidewalk, and instantly, flashes erupted. Reporters shouted over each other, and people strained to catch a glimpse of us.
The icy wind caught my coat, sending it fluttering behind me as we moved through the grand stone arch of the portico.
I hadn’t even gotten a full glimpse of the ornate entrance of Club Xyst when someone took my coat.
Someone else tried to speak to Nik, but in the next moment, his hand was at the small of my back, and he was swiftly guiding me forward as though we were slipping through a current of humanity.
We didn’t slow down.
Nik’s hand never left me as we strode across the dance floor, moved past a section of tables, and stepped onto the stairs.
I had to focus on every single stride just to keep up with him.
My heels threatened to snag my dress. Stunning as it was, it wasn’t made for sprinting.
But somehow, we glided through the throng unscathed.
Everything about Club Xyst surprised me.
It wasn’t flashy or chaotic like The Sacrifice. It was lavish. We were surrounded by old-world elegance built from money and power. Everywhere I looked, I saw polished wood and warm brass. Cut-crystal sconces. There was nothing cheap here. Every inch of this club was thoughtfully curated.
As we moved up to the next floor, I swore I saw Damian Jasper from Toxic Romance standing near the private bar, sipping something amber and neat.
I must’ve smiled and nodded at a hundred people—maybe even said something to a few of them, but I couldn’t remember.
It was like my body was on stage, hitting all the right marks, while my mind was still back in the car, wrapped around the words You’ll be my wife.
With every step we took, the crowd shifted, allowing us through, as if Nik were Moses parting the Red Sea.
People stared at me—really stared —as if I was someone worth knowing. A VIP. The entire experience was surreal.
Nik tightened his arm around my waist, pulling me closer as if sensing my unease.
“The main floor is for patrons with reservations,” he said, his lips close to my ear.
“Below is a casino for members only. The two floors overlooking the main area are also for members, with tables and private rooms. Then there are a couple more floors for staff and storage. There’s a kitchen that serves only by prearrangement, but the casino offers hors d’oeuvres.
The top floor houses our offices and private meeting spaces.
” He gestured around as we continued making our way through.
It was the most he’d spoken since I’d said I would marry him.
At the top of the stairs, we stopped before a sleek black elevator. Nik placed his palm on the scanner. After a quiet beep, the doors slid open.
The ride was fast and silent. His eyes seemed vacant, as if his mind were a million miles away, his whole demeanor was stormy, like a man wound too tight and ready to snap.
God, why was he so serious?
Was he regretting this? Regretting me?
I had no time to dwell on that thought. The elevator opened to a reception suite. Straight ahead was a heavy onyx desk, and behind it—
“Aria,” I breathed.
She stood up so fast her chair nearly toppled over. “Lacey!”
Her heels clicked across the marble floor before she enveloped me in a hug that smelled of jasmine.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” she whispered into my ear. “I knew you’d make the right choice.”
Heat rose in my face. Of course she knew. Of course everyone knew. The idea that my decision would be a secret had clearly been laughable.
Nik’s hand found the small of my back again, and he guided me through another door, past a conference table, and further into a spacious office bathed in low light. He led me to the floor-to-ceiling window and stopped, pulling me back against his chest.
Below us, Club Xyst pulsed with life—music thrumming, bodies swaying, money flowing.
Nik wrapped his arms tightly around my waist as his lips grazed my neck, just under my ear, soft and possessive.
Then he whispered—
“Welcome to my world, little lamb.”
I closed my eyes and let his words sear into my soul.
I’d barely taken a breath before the door behind us clicked open again.
A wall of men stepped into the office—each one commanding, each one lethal in his own flavor of tailored suit. They stood just feet away, their attention fixed on me.
Nik didn’t release me, but when he spoke, his voice had shifted. It was now businesslike, edged with possession. “Lacey, these are the men who built Club Xyst.” One by one, he gestured to the men. “Lucian, Lachlan, Julian, Gabriel.”
Lucian gave me a single, respectful nod. Gabriel offered a lazy smirk. Julian’s intense stare felt as though it was peeling back layers of my skin.
“Hello, sweetheart,” Lachlan said. “It’s nice to meet Nik’s mystery woman.” This one had an air of dark Irish mischief about him.
They closed in slowly, and I instinctively leaned back into Nik’s chest, grateful for his claiming arm wrapped around my waist.
Lucian’s voice was also accented in Irish. “Welcome to the family, Lacey. Joining us doesn’t promise peace. Only loyalty. And vengeance, if needed.”
Lachlan’s smirk widened. “And it’s permanent.”
“Till death do us part,” Gabriel added.
“And if you ever need a body moved,” Julian said with a smirk, “I know a guy.”
I swallowed hard.
Nik chuckled under his breath, but his grip on me didn’t loosen.
The men shifted into casual stances and dispersed throughout the office, dropping into chairs or leaning against the bar. Then the atmosphere darkened more.
“So, who’s next on the list?” Lucian asked Nik. “I heard Morales fled to Montreal.”
Julian scoffed. “If he thinks maple syrup and Mounties are gonna save him, he’s dumber than he looks.”
Lachlan dragged a hand down his face. “It’s getting harder to find these bastards. I’m starting to miss the actual chase.”
Nik’s response was chilling. “They’ll crawl out eventually. They always do. And when they do, I’ll be there.”
The room buzzed with silent understanding. This wasn’t bravado. This was their everyday reality.
Before I could sink too deep into my own dread, Aria breezed in with perfect timing.
“All right, boys,” she said, her heels clicking over the polished floor, “can we keep the murder talk to a low roar? Our girl hasn’t even had dinner yet.”
I nearly sagged with relief.
Aria gave me a wink that told me she knew exactly how it felt to be swallowed alive by testosterone. She took her place beside me and placed her hand on my back as if I were her little sister, finally entering the family business.
Lachlan reached behind the bar and pulled out a bottle with reverence. “Let’s drink. Redbreast 12. One of the best Ireland has to offer.”
He poured with flair, then slid the glasses across the desk—one for each man, one for Aria, and one for me.
“To the lass,” he said, raising his glass. “May her tongue stay sharp, her loyalty run deep, and her enemies die choking on her name.”
Everyone knocked their shot back in one go.
So did I.
Bad decision.
The whiskey hit my throat like molten fire, and for a second, I was sure I would either cough, choke, or combust. My eyes watered instantly, and I blinked hard, willing my face not to crumple.
Nik watched me carefully.
Before the burn even settled in my chest, Aria slammed her glass down on the bar and clapped her hands. “Dinner’s ready. Come on, you two, before the guys scare her into thinking we’re all butchers and extortionists.”
Keeping his hand on my lower back again, Nik guided me down the hallway. The deeper we went into the club, the quieter it got. Soon we reached a small room with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the dark Hudson.
Hundreds of roses graced every surface, and candles flickered everywhere. Their glow painted the walls in honeyed warmth. In the center sat a table covered in white linens, white roses, and crystal glassware. Romantic. Intimate. Dreamlike.
I turned to Nik. “How…? How did you pull this off so fast?”
His lips rose into a faint smile. “I stay prepared. I have good people. And money may not buy happiness, but it gets things done.”
I stared at the setting again, overwhelmed.
“What if I’d said I was going to Tacoma?” I asked, honestly curious.
“Then you’d be on a plane right now,” he said without hesitation, “and Midtown Children’s Hospital would’ve received all these roses.”
My breath caught.
We sat. Or rather—he waited until I sat, then joined me. Plates appeared as if by magic, delivered by quiet staff who vanished just as quickly.
Dinner was rare filet mignon with a blackberry-port reduction, truffled potatoes, and sauteed broccoli—every bite tender and rich. A glass of expensive-tasting red wine sat near my plate.
I picked at my food nervously, unsure of what would happen next.
The hum of the club rumbled beneath us. The wine in my glass disappeared quickly. It collided with the warmth of the whiskey in my veins, easing my nervousness.
Across from me, Nik appeared contained…on the surface. But I could see what the last three weeks had done to him.
He was coiled tight and was quietly seething about something.
But still, he was impossibly magnetic.
My thoughts spun.
The dinner. The power. The men falling in line.
He wasn’t just involved with the mafia.
Nik was the king!
Which made me…what? His pawn? His prize?
Surely not his queen.
Just then, Nik’s gaze cut into mine. “Eat, Lacey,” he said softly. “We’ve got a long night ahead.”
Something in the way he said it made the air between us crackle.
Heat swept through me, blooming in places that had no business reacting to a simple statement. But nothing was simple now—not with him.
I took two more bites quickly, barely tasting them.
“I’m done,” I said, breathless.
Nik’s smile was slow. Dangerous.
“So eager,” he murmured, his voice a velvet threat. “I could fuck you right on this table, little lamb. But first things first…”
He stood, extending a hand to me.
“We’ve got a midnight mass to attend.”