Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 418(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“Yet both of them told me that they would quit if I didn’t come after you. They were fiercely protective of you.” He turned his gaze to me then. “Which makes me wonder if it is your exquisite face, centerfold body, or your charm. Perhaps all three. I’ll admit, for a moment, I considered you’d done what I warned you not to do, but there had been a purity to their defense of you. One that doesn’t come from merely sex.”
I tensed, unsure of what he meant by that. Yes, I was a woman, and hearing a man like Garrett Hughes call me exquisite and suggest my body was worthy of a centerfold made my heart speed up. I hated that because although he wasn’t accusing me of having sex with Leo and Felix, he’d still admitted it had crossed his mind.
Why did he think I was some club slut because I’d dated Micah? It seemed to be an unfair assumption.
“Felix and Leo are my friends. Nothing more,” I replied tightly.
“That might be so for you, but men are easily swayed by beauty like yours.”
The doors to the elevator opened, and he stepped back for me to exit first. The smell of cigar smoke and spice wafted by me as I passed too close to him. I wanted to turn around and bury my nose in his shirt and inhale some more. Why couldn’t the man smell bad at least?
“This way,” he said as he walked by me.
This floor was less elaborate and appeared more like an office building should. We passed a few closed doors until we reached one, and he stopped, used that card again, and then opened the door.
He walked into the room before me this time, and I followed slowly. I paused as I stopped inside the large square area. The entire back wall was a television screen with small boxes from floor to ceiling of different parts of the club. A man stood up in a black suit with a shaved head and scar on his nose that looked like he’d been sliced once. His brown eyes swung to me, then went back to Garrett.
“Boss,” he said simply.
“I need footage of the dressing room from four o’clock. I would also like you to pull up the Winchester Parlor from forty minutes ago,” Garrett said to the man as he looked at the large screen.
“Yes, sir,” the man replied and picked up a remote, causing the left side of the room to light up as a screen came to life.
I stood, watching as the dressing room came into view. Did they see us naked? I felt my face warm. Silas had said to always dress by the clothing in the right corner. Was this why? Oh God, I hoped so. I tried to think if I’d walked around in my panties and bra at any time.
“Stop,” Garrett ordered.
The screen showed Eliana and Blake laughing as Eliana bent down and pressed numbers into my cabinet’s keypad. The door opened, and Eliana took out my purse.
“Turn up the volume,” Garrett said angrily.
I could hear Blake’s laughter now.
“White trash,” Eliana said, holding my purse with her finger and thumb, as if it were something gross. “The cheap-ass purse fits her.”
“What are you gonna do with it?” Blake asked, giggling.
“Put it where nasty shit goes,” she replied and flashed her stunning white smile at Blake.
The evilness in her expression, however, made her appear cold and callous. When she walked to the door that led to the showers, I frowned. I’d checked in there. Then, it slowly dawned on me … she’d said shit. She meant it literally. I hadn’t gone into the toilet stalls.
“Bitch,” Garrett swore. “Send Core to retrieve Fawn’s purse and have her things cleaned and dried for her. Now, pull up the Winchester Parlor.”
“Yes, sir,” the man replied.
And there I was, walking away from the bar with the single drink on my tray. Eliana came up to me, and the look on my face made me feel weak. I should have stood up for myself. Why had I let that kid run all over me? Because I had been scared of Garrett?
Her words played over the speakers in the room just as she took the tray and flipped it. I flickered my eyes from the screen to Garrett. The veins on his neck stood out as he clenched his jaw. The way he glared angrily at the screen made me suddenly worried for Eliana. The threat that hung in the air when this man was unhappy was terrifying. How could someone so beautiful be so impossibly chilling as well?
The other man reentered the room, and I realized I hadn’t heard him leave. He said something in Garrett’s ear that was so quiet I couldn’t hear him.
“I’ve seen all I need. Make sure Eliana is handled before she leaves,” he said, not looking back at the man but turning to me. “Let’s go.”