Chapter 1
Rahat (Six Years Later)
God, it was good to be back in London. The city hadn't changed a bit in the six months I'd been in Colorado. The heavy bass coming from Velour hit us as soon as we stepped out of the taxi, along with the ozone scent left behind from an earlier rain shower and the exhausts of too many cars.
I smoothed down the hem of my cute ruby-red mini dress while Rex came around from his side of the taxi and offered me his hand.
I took it with a beaming smile on my face.
We were going to meet Gabriel, and I was beyond excited to show him my home and have him meet my family.
Although Gabriel was technically not family, he might as well be.
He was my best friend's brother and the owner of Velour.
He was also always there for me when I needed him growing up.
He also had business dealings with Forever Midnight, the motorcycle club Rex belonged to, and I guess Carina married into when she wed Jameson.
"Wow, the clubs busy for a Tuesday," Rex said as he looked up at the club’s black awning and the queue snaking back along the street.
"It's always like this. Velour doesn't do quiet."
He'd left his club jacket back at the hotel.
It was weird seeing him without it. But I was glad he had.
For one, tonight was hot. Like really hot!
He would have been sweaty if he kept it on.
But I was even more glad because it meant I got to drape myself on the arm of a fucking hunk of a man whose tight T-shirt did nothing to hide his lean body beneath.
With his broad chest and defined muscles, not to mention his super sexy hair with that tousled fringe and those brooding eyes that had my panties flooding, every woman in the queue had already clocked him. But he was all mine.
I leaned into him, needing to stake my claim and feel the wall of his muscles against my side. Just being close to him made my core throb. If he so much as brushed my arm, i was at risk of turning into a sopping mess right there on the pavement.
Rex glanced at the doorman and then at the camera above the entrance. After that he turned his attention to the side street running adjacent to the building. His hand tightened around mine.
"You can stop clocking the exits for one night," I said, stifling a laugh.
"I'm not clocking exits," he said.
I tilted my head. "We've been here all of five seconds, and you've looked at the alley twice."
He glanced at me sideways, looking rough, ready and entirely edible. "There's a man in the black transit. The engine's running, but the lights are off."
"This is Brixton, Rex. It's just a fucking van." I shook my head, but couldn't help the smile that split my face. "Come on," I said before ignoring the line and climbing the steps. The doorman nodded us straight through. This was Gabriel's club. Gabriel was family. We didn't have to queue.
The bass hit us as soon as we entered. House music filled the room, and made my body thrum. I was itching to get on the dance floor.
"Hey Rahat," Nicki called from the cloakroom. "How you been?"
"Good," I said as her eyes landed on Rex with obvious appreciation.
"I can see that."
Rex leaned closer to me, his mouth curving into a smile. And here came that big fucking grin of mine again. God, if I kept this up, my cheeks would be burning in less than an hour.
As we moved deeper inside the club, the lighting system shifted from midnight blue to a slow amber pulse.
Which meant that the main floor was at seventy percent capacity.
I'd helped Gabriel's tech team reconfigure the whole rig about three years ago.
There were motion sensors feeding into the board.
Zone-based colour coding lets the bar staff read the floor without a radio call.
"Come on," I said. "Gabriel will be upstairs."
We found him on the mezzanine, looking as devastating as ever.
Gabriel is a man who demands attention. He's also one that looks good in a suit.
He reminded me of Tom Ellis as Lucifer in the TV series.
He had that knowing and superior, not to mention dangerous, air about him.
Of course, I didn't know then that he was a fucking mafia boss and head of the Rizzo family.
You'd think my best friend would have told me at some point in the fourteen years I'd known her.
But no, I had to find out when some other mafia don, or whatever the fuck they liked to call themselves, decided that she was his, and we were both shipped off to Colorado.
Not that I objected. Carina found her one true love, and well.
.. I gripped Rex's hand tighter and gave it a quick squeeze.
A part of me wondered, hoped, that maybe I did too.
Gabriel spotted us instantly. He said something to the man beside him that clearly ended their conversation and crossed over to us. "You look well," he said, before kissing both of my cheeks. "Colorado must suit you."
"It does." I stepped back. "Gabriel, you remember Rex."
"Of course. It's good to see you again," he said as they shook hands.
Gabriel was not small by any stretch of the imagination, but Rex had a few inches and a fair amount of bulk on him. But what I liked most was the way neither was sizing the other up the way you often see weaker men do. They knew their worth. And neither of them was lacking.
"Carina mentioned you were going to be around for a few months. I hope that means we'll see a lot of you at the club." Gabriel led us to the railing where we could see the club filling up. A mass of bodies moved to the pulsing music beneath the amber light.
"You couldn't keep us away," I said, making Gabriel smile.
"Good." Gabriel waved over one of the VIP serving staff and ordered us all a drink before turning his attention back to Rex.
"Jameson also mentioned we had some club business to discuss.
We'll have to arrange a meeting once you've settled in a little bit.
In the meantime," he added just as the girl returned with our drinks, "enjoy your night.
I have some other business to attend to, but if you need me, I'll make time. "
With that, Gabriel grabbed his whisky and disappeared into the crowd.
I downed my shot and took Rex's arm again before leading him downstairs.
I really wanted to dance, but I decided to give him a guided tour of the place first. I showed him the main floor layout.
The bars were positioned so that staff had full sightlines in both directions.
Cameras covered any blind spots. Whatever went on at the club, Gabriel wanted eyes on it.
As always, Rex clocked everything before I had the chance to tell him.
He even spotted the secondary exit behind the DJ booth that most people never noticed.
The entire time, Rex kept his hand on the small of my back.
More than once I caught an appreciative murmur from the women we passed.
We soon found ourselves on the dance floor.
And I had to say, dancing with Rex was a whole sensory experience.
The way he shifted his body against mine.
The look in his eyes and the smile on his face as he ran his hand down my hip and pulled me closer.
Pretty soon, any thoughts of dancing were replaced by only one thing: heading back to the hotel, pushing Rex down on the bed and fucking him senseless.
But when he spun me around and pulled my back flush against his chest, I spotted a familiar face watching us from beside the bar. It took me a moment for my brain to register who it was. The beard and moustache were gone. But I'd never forget those piercing blue eyes or the menace in his smile.
My whole body went cold, and my stomach churned.
The warmth of Rex at my back, the bass thrumming through the floor, and the heat of two hundred bodies… all of it faded into the background.
A shiver ran through me and I stopped dancing. Rex reacted instantly. He followed my gaze before grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him. For a moment, he locked his eyes onto Adam, who only raised his glass as if in a toast before downing the contents and leaving.
Rex didn't move straight away. He watched the space where Adam had been standing for a moment before turning back to me.
"You okay?" he asked when Adam was completely out of sight.
"Yeah," I kept my voice steady. "Just some creep. That's all." Because that’s what he was. What else could I say?
"You sure?"
"Positive." I squeezed his hand and smiled, and if Rex didn’t believe me, he was kind enough not to say anything. "Come on," I said, and pulled him back to dance.