Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 138003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 690(@200wpm)___ 552(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 690(@200wpm)___ 552(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
“Is he dead?” one of his friends half demands, his voice full of panic.
“Why?” I growl, my chest heaving. “You wanna be next?” Antonio offers me his hand, and I stagger upright. “Fucking lowlife.”
He groans as I boot him in the thigh.
“You two, fuck off,” I growl, sliding my knife away.
“Drugs are very bad for your health, boys.” Antonio waggles an admonishing finger. “Same for if we find you still in Gib tomorrow.”
“What about…?” Wide-eyed and terrified, they hesitate. Prevaricate. Should they stay, or should they go?
“He’s not dead.” I swipe my wrist over my mouth. “But he won’t be using his boyish good looks to attract any more girls. Call an ambulance,” I address Antonio with a jerk of my chin. “I’m going back inside.”
Gravel crunches as the assholes take off. The man on the ground groans. In the darkness, I notice how the gloves shine wet and dark.
Were they chestnut or burgundy before?
“Looks like I owe him a new pair.” Throwing them Antonio’s way, I begin to walk away when he clears his throat.
“What?” I ask, spinning back.
His eyes on mine, he points at the placket of his own shirt.
I look down and curse. My once white shirt is now a very different color. “Give me yours,” I demand, already slipping off my jacket.
“Boss?”
“Hurry the fuck up.”
“There he is!”
Lavender throws out her arms, and Leo stands as I approach the table.
“He promised you hadn’t bailed,” she says, pointing at Leo.
“And she didn’t believe me,” he mutters, stepping back to allow me to take my seat.
“Where’d you go?”
“Everything okay?” I murmur.
Leo nods. “She seems fine. Maybe a little buzzed.” He shrugs uncomfortably.
“Hey, don’t talk about me like I’m not here.”
I turn back to find Lavender’s arms folded across her chest, a scowl on her face. “Where were you? I came back from the ladies, excited to bust a few more shapes, but you weren’t here?” She leans in, her gaze narrowed. “Neither was my previous dance partner. Funny, that.”
“He had to leave.”
Her eyes dip to my shirt. “Did he still have all his teeth?”
“What do you take me for?”
“That I’m not sure of yet.”
“Let me know when you’ve decided.”
“Oh, you know I will. I didn’t know you could dance,” she says, her words like an accusation.
I lower myself into the seat. “That doesn’t come as a surprise, given our whole relationship hasn’t yet spanned twenty-four hours.”
She tsks, slumping back in her seat. “That was your cue to tell me you’ve got moves I haven’t seen.”
“That wouldn’t be hard.”
“That’s disappointing.” She smirks.
“Behave.”
“Okay, Buzz Killington. I can’t help that I like a man who can dance. It’s much better than one who stands on the sidelines scowling for effect.”
“Do you make many men scowl, princess?”
“Oh, you know how it is,” she answers airily. “I definitely had you pegged as the brooding, scowling, I’m-too-masculine-to-get-down-and-boogie type.”
I don’t answer, not sure what to make of that when she leans in again.
“You know, I haven’t been this turned on watching a man dance since I saw Tom Holland lip-sync Umbrella.”
Words. I have no idea what she just said. Except that she was turned on.
“You didn’t watch me dance.”
“I didn’t need to.” Her tongue darts out to wet her lips. An unconscious action, not a come-on, I think. “I felt you dance, which was way better.”
“I can think of something even better than dancing.”
“Yeah? Well, thinking is all you’ll be doing about it tonight.”
“Understood.”
“Honestly, you could give him a run for his money.”
“Who?” My brow furrows. I can hold a rhythm. The prick she was dancing with couldn’t.
“Tom Holland. You know, the actor? You don’t happen to own a basque and a pair of leather shorts, do you?”
I ignore the snort from behind me. The one that’s then faked into a sneeze.
“Bless you.” Lavender’s gaze flicks to Leo. “Or should that be salud, amor, y dinero? Health, love, and money—that’s the blessing, right?”
“Only if I sneeze three times,” the idiot answers.
“Anda pa allá que nos vai a contagiar,” I interject, my words quick and harsh.
“Sí jefe.”
“What was that?”
“I told him to leave before he gives us the flu.”
It was a mistake, I realize, as she props her elbow to the table and her chin to her fist. “Why do you have security in the first place?”
“Why does anyone? Your brother has someone, I believe.”
“He has a driver.” Her lip curls.
“I expect he has some military training.”
“Whit is a banker. You’re…” Her expression? Fill in the blanks.
“In a line of business that’s a little more dangerous.”
“That line of business being?”
“Entertainment.”
“Well, I’m sure some people find you entertaining,” she says, leaning back with a sigh.
“Not so much you, my little liar?” And now were back to narrowed eyes again.
“I own nightclubs, mostly. A couple of casinos. Some hotels.”
“But I bet that’s not all,” she murmurs, angling her gaze toward the dance floor. “Not by a long shot.”