Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 105065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
“Not even if you were the last man on earth.” I smile sweetly.
“Jesus, Donny.” Sasha tugs on his shirt. “You better be careful. She’s Lachlan’s.”
“Lachlans?” he furrows his brow. “You gotta’ be shittin’ me. He’s banging this broad?”
“She’s his,” Sasha repeats.
Though it couldn’t be further from the truth, I don’t negate it. I want to see how Donny handles this information. He shoots me another glance and this time the irritation in his eyes is unmistakable. With a dismissive wave of his hand he makes for the door.
“Fuck that, you ain’t worth the trouble.”
The minute he’s gone, I glance over at Sasha, who has tears leaking out of her eyes and smeared mascara.
“Really, Sash?” I give her a pointed stare. “That guy?”
She fakes a smile and sits down in front of the mirror. “It’s what Donny expects, honey. And it’s easier to just give him what he wants, otherwise he’ll be making trouble for all of us.”
“Does Lachlan know about this?” I ask.
Her face pales and she shakes her head. “You can’t say anything to him, Mack. I don’t want no trouble. I’ve got a sick mother to support.”
I smash my lips together and nod to ease her worries, but like hell is that going to be the last word on this subject. Sasha starts fixing up her makeup, and I sit down beside her to watch since mine’s already done.
“I didn’t know if you’d be back,” she says.
“I’m tougher than I look.”
“I just hope you know what you’re getting yourself into,” she replies in a bitter tone.
“What do you mean?”
“This whole world, it’s just… a whirlwind, you know. I never know if I’m comin’ or going half the time. These guys will protect you like one of their own, but they’ll also use you up if you let em’.”
“Well, maybe they should be worried about me using them up,” I tease.
Sasha laughs and shakes her head. “I highly doubt it, now that Lachlan’s put the word out. They wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole, honey. But don’t go thinking that means anything. He’ll still fuck whoever the hell he wants. It’s how things work in this world.”
I swallow the annoying lump in my throat as Sasha applies her lipstick.
“Did you date one of these guys, Sash?”
Again, she laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “I wouldn’t call it dating. He fucked me whenever it suited him until he ended up burning rubber outta’ town. He’s the one who dragged me into this world, and now I’m stuck here.”
“Jesus, Sasha… that’s awful. I’m sorry.”
She blinks back the glassiness in her eyes and fixes her mascara.
“It’s not so bad,” she says. “I probably shouldn’t be unloading all this crap on you, huh? Niall and his men have done right by me, so I can’t complain about any of that. I’m just having an off day and I don’t want to see you get hurt like I did.”
“So besides Donovan, you haven’t had any trouble with the rest of them?” I ask curiously. “I mean… what about the Russians? I’ve heard a whole bunch of stories about them.”
Sasha’s face pales a little at my question, and I know I’m onto something. But she clams up real quick and starts shoving all her makeup back into her bag.
“No problems,” she says quickly. “Just the usual stuff, you know. Women drama. I gotta’ go get warmed up.”
Before I have a chance to stop her, Lachlan makes an appearance. And I’m not exactly sure why, but I’m already annoyed with him. All of that stuff Ronan said in the car, and now Sasha too. He might as well have a giant target on his forehead for my arrows.
“Come here.” He gestures towards the door.
Would you get a load of this character? Come here, he says, like I’ll just do it.
I do.
He pins me up against the wall and boxes me in with his arms again. When I look up at him, he’s got that possessive look on his face. It’s making my chest feel weird, and I want it to stop.
“Did you need something?” I ask. “Or you just want to manhandle me some more?”
“What did I tell ye about that mouth?” he grunts.
“That it’s pretty and looks good in red lipstick?”
His lip twitches, despite his best efforts to hide it.
“I’ll have that drink with ye tonight,” he says.
“What drink?”
“You promised me a drink.”
Yeah, right. He’s probably squeezed me in right between Mandy and Cinnamon. Pfft.
“I did not. And besides, I’m busy tonight.”
His eyes harden and he leans a little closer. He smells good.
“Doing what?” he asks.
“That isn’t your concern.”
He takes a step back and scrubs a hand through his hair.
“I don’t play these games, Mack.”
“So?”
“That’s all,” he says. And then he walks down the hall.
Chapter Twelve
Lachlan
Just after eleven, Niall drops into the club. When he sits down across from me in my office, I already know the reason for his visit.
“Viktor called me.”
I scrub my hands over my face and nod. Should’ve seen this coming.
“Are we going to have a problem here, Lachlan?”
“No,” I tell him resolutely. “The girl is not a threat.”
“He isn’t convinced of that,” Niall says. “And neither am I. The sooner we can sort this out, the better for all of us.”
I’d like to tell him I agree. It’s the right thing to do. For all of us. Instead, I open my cabinet and pull out the ballistics report and hand it off to him.
“Confirmation for Viktor that the problem is on their end.”
Niall nods as his eyes scan over the report and then he stuffs it into his jacket.
“Who is this girl they want?”
“Some foster kid from the projects,” I tell him. “She knows to keep her mouth shut. I don’t reckon she’s clued in on anything like Ivan claims.”
“Ye’ll need to tread carefully here, Lachlan. I don’t need to remind ye the way things are right now.”
I glance across the desk at the man I’ve respected all these years. Always, I’ve trusted his judgement. I’ve done what he asked without question. And if he’d have told me a week ago that the girl needed to be offed, I haven’t a clue what I’d have said.