Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
“How do you know?” I ask.
“A bartender at Throwdown said there was an underground fight going down that weekend and he saw them there.”
“You sure?” I ask him.
He nods, and I know to trust my best friend.
“Motherfucker,” Roman says under his breath. “Why would they lie?”
“Because they’re fucking guilty,” I say, standing from my chair. “Let’s go.” I’m already moving out of the office, headed toward the door of the club. They follow closely behind. We descend the stairs and move through the club like thieves in the night until I spot Swan staring at us.
She hustles over to block my path.
“Get out of the way, Swan,” I tell her.
“Where are you going?”
I stare down at her. “It’s none of your business.”
Ledger and Roman chuckle behind me.
“Are you all off to do vigilante work?” She has both hands parked on her hips.
I step within inches of her face. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“Yes, it does concern me. If you’re trying to do what the cops should do, then it concerns me.”
“I’ll be safe.” I brush past her, but she latches onto my arm.
“Where are you going?”
Roman rolls his eyes. “Oh, my god. Tell your girlfriend where we’re going already.”
I shoot him a look and turn my attention to Swan. “We’re going to Throwdown to check something out. Not that it’s any of your business.”
“About the prostitution ring?”
I shake my head. “Someone lied to me about something. Just going to figure out why.”
She glances up at me with worried eyes, and suddenly my heart aches for speaking to her in such a way. “Be safe,” is all she says.
We’re out the door before I can give anymore thought to why this woman is occupying space in the forefront of my mind. What is it about her that has me all twisted up in knots?
“I thought there was nothing going on with Swan and you told her about the prostitution shit going on,” Roman says once we’re all in his SUV, and he’s pulling away from the club.
“Shut up,” I mutter.
“Are you and that chick fucking?” Ledger asks, like he’s just now catching on to our conversation.
“There is no fucking. I’m not fucking her. I haven’t fucked her, nor will I fuck her.” Lies. I’m already planning when I can get my hands on her body again. I know it’s crossing a major line, and I need to stay away, but she’s just too damn tempting. There’s only so much temptation a man can handle before he’s on his knees begging a God he doesn’t believe in for mercy.
“We’re not idiots. We see the way you look at her, and now she’s staying at your place,” Roman says as he heads toward Throwdown.
“She’s staying at his place?” Ledger asks from the backseat.
“Someone slashed her tires.”
“Did it show on the security footage?” Ledger asks.
“No, I already checked. Apparently, I have some blind spots. I need to get the entire lot covered. The cameras didn’t show where her car was,” I say, shoveling a hand through my hair.
“Damn. The other girls weren’t harassed like that, right?” Roman asks.
I shake my head. “No, not that I’m aware of. Someone’s fucking with me, and I need answers.”
“Well, Dimitri and Vlad know something,” Ledger adds. “Those motherfuckers are hiding shady shit.”
“Yeah, but what?”
We arrive at Club Throwdown, and Roman leaves his SUV with the valet. Even though it’s still early, there’s a sea of people when we get inside the club.
I don’t see Yuri here, which is a good thing, because I don’t want to play nice with the Russian mafia tonight. I do, however, see the two assholes I’m looking for.
They spot us at the same time.
We weave through the crowd, past the fighters in the ring, over to the brothers.
“Gentleman, how are you tonight?” Vlad says in a thick Russian accent.
“Cut the shit,” Roman barks out.
Dimitri holds his hand to Roman’s chest. “Let’s take this into a more private location.”
“Fine,” I clip out.
All eyes in the club are on us as Dimitri and Vlad lead us upstairs, but I don’t give a fuck if we’re making a scene. Dimitri and Vlad usher us into an office and as soon as the door slams shut, I spring into action, planting my fist into Dimitri’s face before I head toward Vlad.
“Start explaining,” I tell him.
He cowers. “Explaining what?”
Ledger and Roman stand aside Dimitri while I question Vlad. Their security watches us with wide eyes, waiting for us to start something so they can pull out their guns and take us out.
“You weren’t in Russia. Why did you lie to me?”
Vlad and Dimitri exchange a look.
Fuck.
“Heard you had some underground fight going on that weekend. Were any of my girls there? Maybe Ginger?” Is that where she went when she left Club Greed on the night of her murder?
“I’m not sure. A lot of your members come out for the fights.”