Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83677 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83677 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Diego cursed, walking over to the videos. With Richard’s help, he was able to see the barman in action.
The law was in their pocket, but there were times when no matter how much money and bribery you threw at them, you couldn’t make certain things go away.
Grabbing his phone, he called down to the security on the main floor and explained the situation. He wanted the women who’d been given the drugs secured and the men who’d been sold something else, to also be watched and to intervene.
What these people did on their own time wasn’t his problem, but he wasn’t going to bring unnecessary heat into his club.
“You know, the usual nicety is to say thank you.”
“What for?”
Richard laughed. “You don’t make being nice to you easy.”
“What I want to know is why you’re still here? Why you hang around when you clearly see I don’t like you.” Diego stared at the man, and he simply placed a hand over his heart.
“You have a magical way with words.”
“I think it best if you leave?”
“No can do, I’m afraid.”
“And why is that?” Diego asked.
“Since I was here all alone, I have a personal investment in a lady. I want to make sure she’s safe.”
“You got a crush?” Diego asked.
“Nope, not a crush. She entered the club with your friend, and I’ve got a feeling she’s blind.”
“Why?”
“The way they’ve behaved, and I want to make sure nothing happens to her because the friend has done no more than abandon her.” Richard grabbed the tablet that controlled the security footage.
Diego hated that his curiosity was piqued, and getting to his feet, he walked over to the screen. Sure enough, Richard had been able to zoom into one of the private booths. A quick look at the tag and Diego saw it had been reserved.
“What’s the reserved name?” Diego asked.
Richard typed on his keyboard. “Belle Johnson. Ha, with special recommendations because she is blind. Damn, I’m good.”
Diego looked at the screen. The girl was sitting alone, her eyes staring across the booth, but he also noticed the way she tilted her head to the side, listening to everything. Her long, raven hair was perfectly coiled and fell around her in ringlets, and her pale face made him think of an angel.
Shaking his head, he turned away, going back to his desk.
“And why does this woman have your attention?” Diego asked.
“The friend was supposed to stay with her at all times. The friend has decided to abandon her, and now she’s on her own.”
“You want to go and play knight?”
“For no other reason than I helped to install the security cameras. Women should be able to walk into any nightclub and have fun. That’s why I care.”
Diego had discovered Richard’s only sister had been raped in a nightclub. She’d been fed a drug that she had reacted to. During her rape, she had a seizure, but the guy had finished what he was doing and left her to die. Since then, Richard had made it his mission to help women.
It was a touching story and one Diego never intended to bring up during all of their meets.
The meets were not even initiated by him, but like today, he often just arrived, and it truly irritated Diego.
“If anything happens in my club, I’ll deal with it.”
“With all due respect, you didn’t know your barman was giving out drugs to men and women. You don’t even know if those men are using them to rape women. I’ll keep on doing a check. You may not think we’re friends, but a guy that does a thorough background check, finds out what you do, and then still questions me, I find fascinating.”
“You knew about that?” Diego asked.
“I’m a security specialist. I didn’t get where I am today by pretending to be good at my job.”
Diego ignored him, but his gaze was once again drawn to the security screen. The woman didn’t look frightened, more wistful. Her full lips called to his cock, along with other things, but he kept that little detail to himself.
Every now and then, he found himself looking toward the camera. She had a scar down her cheek, and he wondered what caused that.
Clearly, he needed some sleep. Women never appealed to him on any other level other than the basic, and he wasn’t about to ever change.
****
Belle listened to the heavy music. This was one of the reasons she hated coming to nightclubs. The loud, banging music always made it impossible for her to hear who was coming. Since her accident many years ago that had left her blind, she relied on gut instinct and excellent hearing, but this didn’t work, not in the club.
Where she worked, she played music and sang; that was her job. She also tutored talented kids, but tonight Melanie had asked her to come out, with the promise she’d stay by her side.