Chapter 44 I Don’t Share – Koen
I DON’T SHARE
KOEN
Now
There’s something off about Briar. She’s moving through the crowd, on her way back to me. I watch her the whole way. I can’t quite put a finger on it, but something doesn’t feel right.
She reaches the table and stumbles back as every head looks her way, and she pales under the attention.
Filip leans back in his chair, rubbing the upper part of his thigh and smiling at her. “Welcome back, beautiful. I got a seat for you right here.”
My hand lashes out, wrapping around Briar’s wrist and tugging her down onto me.
“Whoa,” she breathes, her eyes going subtly out of focus while her body sways slightly on my lap.
My brow caves in, concern weighing heavily, but Filip’s grating tone drags my attention up.
“Alright Irish, consider me interested. What do you want for her?”
Briar inhales sharply, her body freezes, and it feels as if she’s holding her breath as she awaits my response.
My gaze turns lethal when I meet Filip’s eye. “I don’t share.”
Liam sits up straighter in his seat when he hears my tone. Aleksander shoots a worried look over to Dominick, who tries catching Filip’s attention. But his attention is fixed on the girl sitting in my lap.
“Come on Irish, don’t be like that.” He leans forward, his hands folded in front of him but traveling dangerously close to Briar. “Everything has a price.”
My hand travels up Briar’s waist, closing around her middle and dragging her into me until her back is pressed up against my chest. Keeping my eyes on Filip’s growing scowl, I lean down. My lips graze lightly against the soft skin of her neck as I kiss it, feeling her shiver.
Briar’s breathing is strangled but she doesn’t stop me. When I reach her jawline, I grab hold of her chin, my touch firm—possessive—tilting her head back toward me.
I catch a glimpse of her face, eyes wide, pupils dilated, surprise flickering in them as I lean in, pressing my mouth to hers.
My hands grip her chin, holding her in place.
The kiss isn’t sweet or soft, and my hand drops to wrap around her throat as I claim even more.
At first I’m met with resistance, the little whimper that escapes her makes my dick twitch.
I keep one eye on Filip the whole while, enjoying the way his expression sours as he watches. I keep going just long enough until I’m sure I’ve hammered in my point. I release Briar, sitting back in my chair with a dangerous smirk on my face.
“Not this.”
Filip doesn’t ask me to trade again. He excuses himself from our table not long after my little possessive display.
We’re just about finished, finalizing the last few terms for our new trade agreement. Aleksander and Liam go over details at the end of the table. Across from me, Dominick is busy with a girl he’s summoned over, so my attention zeroes in on the dark-haired little rose I have seated in my lap.
I spin her around, one of her legs to each side of me.
My hand goes to the back of her head, guiding her face to my neck.
“Kiss it,” I order.
Briar hesitates, her breath warming my skin as her mouth hovers just above.
The hand I have on her outer thigh tightens, reminding her of my command, and she closes the distance, landing a tentative kiss on the side of my neck.
I let out a breath as she continues to move slowly up. When her ear nears my mouth, I ask my question.
“Did you recognize anyone?”
She freezes, and my hand flies again to the back of her head, keeping her pressed to me as she starts to pull away. “Don’t,” I say, keeping my voice low. “Whisper it to me in my ear.” No one’s watching us, and we’ve done a good job blending in so far, but I’m not willing to take any chances.
“Yes,” she breathes into my ear, the sound igniting every nerve in my body.
“Who?” My hand moves to stroke her hair.
She swallows, chewing her lip nervously. “By the bar.”
My eyes shift up.
“Older, dark suit, red tie,” she mumbles into my ear, speaking slowly, her words slightly slurring together. “The one that’s balding, with the sneer on his face…”
I scan the crowded bar ahead of us, freezing on the man she’s described.
“Him?” I ask. Needing confirmation, I lift my chin in his direction and watch as she tracks my gaze. I clench my jaw when she dips her chin nervously.
Fuck. Justice Thompson. Suddenly Giovanni’s obsession with Briar makes a lot more sense. The information in her head could be key to bringing down the network.
I’m so busy thinking about the possible implications that I don’t notice Briar slumping forward. Her forehead falls into my shoulder, and her body goes lax in my arms.
“Hey,” I try pulling her back, my voice sharpening, especially when I see her eyes are closed—she looks like she’s falling asleep. “Briar. Look at me.”
She does, but her gaze is unfocused. Her pupils blown wide, her eyes glassy in a way that has my blood pressure rising. I check the table. I ordered her a drink when we first arrived but she’s barely touched it. Sure enough, it’s still nearly full, ice melting just in front of us.
“Koen?” Briar says my name, instantly earning my full attention. She sways on my lap, her lids heavy. “I—I don’t feel so good.”
That little voice inside needles me again. Something isn’t right, she’s acting like she’s wasted, yet she’s hardly had anything to drink. She’s been with me the whole time except for—
I grip her chin, bringing her head back up to face me. The sudden movement catches her by surprise, and I’m faced with wide blue eyes staring back. Her pupils are blown wide now, there’s no mistaking it.
“What did you take?” I demand, my tone sharpening.
She blinks slowly at me. Confusion etching her delicate features.
“When you went to the bathroom, what did you take?” I ask again, growing more annoyed.
I hadn’t thought of it before but, fuck, that would explain how she ended up indebted to Gio—her apparent money problems. I reach for her purse, lying abandoned next to us on the booth, peering in quickly but not finding any evidence of drugs.
Briar’s eyes soften, and start to close again.
I shake her roughly. She needs to stay awake until I can figure out what the fuck she’s on.
“Not nice,” she grumbles, her bottom lip poking out.
“Briar.” I have to say her name twice to get her attention, asking her again, “Briar, what did you take?”
She doesn’t respond and I glare down at her, my voice growing more commanding, “Tell me what you took.”
“Nothing,” she mumbles out. She falls forward again, trying to rest her head on my shoulder, but I shake her again.
She scowls back at me this time. “Stop it.”
“Don’t lie,” I bite out, my voice full of venom. I have no patience for drug addicts or liars.
“I’m not.” For a second, her eyes clear, her focus sharpening with her growing irritation. “I didn’t take anything! I’m not a drug addict.”
I scoff and she glares at me.
I grab hold of her chin and lean in. “Tell me what happened in the bathroom.” I enunciate each syllable in an effort to keep my control from snapping.
“That’s private. No boys allowed.” Her words slur again and she smiles to herself.
“Briar.” I say her name, sharply enough to get her to finally open her mouth, and she rambles over her journey to the bathroom, the girl on her knees—and the collar—but when she gets to the part about taking a shot in the bathroom, I stop her.
“What shot?”
She shrugs. “Tara gave it to me.”
“Who the fuck is Tara?” I growl, losing my patience. By this point, Liam’s joined me, looking at Briar with concern in his eyes.
“They said I was too tense and I needed to loosen up. It was vodka, I think.” Her nose scrunches up in a way that would be adorable under any other circumstance. “I hate vodka.”
I study her. One shot wouldn’t do this. Briar’s acting like she’s at least ten shots deep.
My head lifts and I scan the crowd, spotting a pair of girls only a few yards away, watching us.
“Hold on to her.” I stand, sliding Briar off of my lap and into Liam’s next to me, before storming across the room.
“What the fuck did you give her?”
“What?” The girl blinks up, and I see a flicker of fear in her eyes before she masks it with faux innocence. “I don’t—”
“What’s your name?” I ask, cornering her up against a nearby table.
“I—” She looks to her friend for help, but the girl she was standing with has already made herself scarce. Her face turns slowly back to me and she gives me a nervous smile, brushing her hand up against my arm in a sorry attempt to flirt with me.
I reach up, grab her hand, and remove it from my bicep, glaring at her. “Don’t make me ask you again…” I warn.
She swallows, her eyes darting between me and Briar at the table behind me.
“Tara,” she finally admits, and my eyes darken.
“Listen up, Tara, you’re going to tell me exactly what you gave my girl over there, or you’re going to find out what it feels like to pray for mercy and not get any.”
“It was just a little shot. She needed to loosen up.”
“Do you think I’m a fucking idiot, Tara?”
“N-no, no,” she stutters out, shrinking back as far as she can into the table at her back.
“What did you give her?”
“Just a little liquid X!” Tara rushes out. “She’ll be fine!”
Fucking Christ. GHB. I turn to check on Briar, who is teetering dangerously on the edge of Liam’s lap. He’s doing his best to keep her upright, while also trying to touch her as little as possible.
My gaze falls back on Tara. “If anything happens to that girl… and I mean anything.” She gulps. “I will be back here, and I will make sure I do ten times worse to you.”
She pales, her eyes flicking between me and Briar as if to measure just how bad off she is.
Without another word I release her, stalking back over to our table and hauling Briar up onto her feet.
“Hey!” she protests, swaying precariously on her heels.
“Time to go.”
Briar goes to take a step toward the elevator and stumbles. I catch her, wrapping my arm around her waist to keep her from falling. We go a few more feet like this before my frustration wins out and I pick her up.
She watches me, surprise on her face as I carry her out of the club. She makes it as far as the elevator before her head falls down on my shoulder, her eyes fluttering as she tries to stay awake.
No one in the club even bats an eye at the clearly inebriated girl in my arms.
“So pretty.”
“Who?”
“You.” She smiles and reaches up, her fingertips touching my cheek. “Such a pretty boy.”
Pretty? I frown. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
“Mhm.” She half-laughs at the frown on my face, as if she can read my thoughts.
“What did you eat today?” How much she has in her stomach might affect how long the drug will affect her.
“Donuts,” she replies, and I grind my teeth.
“I know that. What did you eat after?”
She shakes her head. “Just donuts.”
Christ Almighty. She hasn’t eaten since breakfast?
“Why didn’t you eat?” I ask, frustrated.
Briar shrugs. “I forgot.”
Forgot to eat? I have nothing to say so I just shake my head, staring out the window and letting silence fall over us.
After a little while, I feel her fingers graze my chin. I look back down. She’s looking up at me, her eyes glassy, studying me.
“You haunt me.”
Her fingers move higher and I don’t stop them, allowing her fingertips to trace lightly along my jawline and trying to ignore just how good it feels.
“Your hair, your eyes…” Her fingers move back down to my mouth.
“She got your smile too. It’s not fair.” Briar’s brow furrows and she scowls.
“It’s not fair that the best part of me, looks like you. ”
“What the hell are you talking about?” She’s not making any sense. Briar continues on as if she hasn’t heard me, her eyes distant, lost to her thoughts.
“These eyes. Can’t get away from these eyes.”
I stare at her, as she searches mine. I want to tell her she’s haunted me too, but I don’t. Instead, I say nothing.
She sits up, and I watch her eyes drop to my mouth. She leans in but at the last second, I pull back—away from her. She’s messed up in the head, drugged, not aware of what she’s doing.
“Sorry. Not interested.”
For a second, something flickers in her eyes—hurt, maybe—but it’s gone before I can be sure.
She sinks back against the seat, quiet now, her hand slipping away from my face.
For a while, she drifts, half-asleep, drifting in and out of consciousness. I keep an eye on her breathing, counting her respirations, ensuring her chest continues to rise and fall.
The SUV comes to a stop and she’s out cold. I circle around, opening her door and scooping her up and into my arms once again. She doesn’t wake, even as I carry her up to the apartment, trying not to focus on the way she nuzzles her cheek into my chest.
As gently as I can, I lay her down on the bed.
And for a moment, I just stand there, taking her in.
She looks almost peaceful like this, sharp edges gone, the defiance she wears on her face whenever she looks at me is muted.
Her lips are parted as she inhales in and out, soft and pink against the soft gold of her skin.
She’s beautiful.
Too fucking beautiful.
A strand of dark hair lies across her face and I brush it back with the backs of my knuckles, barely skimming the soft skin of her cheek.
Briar’s lashes flutter, her eyes open—a startling blue, even in the dim light. They lock onto me and sharpen, dark and burning.
“I hate you.”
The corner of my mouth ticks up, the ghost of a smile on my face when I reply, “I hate you too, love.”