Ryske sat up, throwing both arms around her. She twisted to look over her shoulder and saw Penzance striding into the room. The instant he noticed them, he held up a hand that was holding one of her shoes, and turned his head to the side.
“Fuck, you not done yet? Sorry, but you are done. We’ve got a code red. Miss Thang is less than a minute away from walking in here. Lala is trying to head her off, but that will buy you a few seconds at most.”
12
Leaping off Ryske and the bed, Harlow tossed her hair back and scrambled to grab up the clothes from the floor. Penzance didn’t take his time about turning his back like he had in her bedroom earlier. After witnessing her riding one of his oldest friends, he’d probably got as much of an eyeful as he wanted.
“Can you get back to your room without her seeing you?” Harlow asked, throwing Ryske’s pants onto the bed and then running to her dress.
Luckily, all she had to do was step into the circle of fabric and pull the straps back to her shoulders. “Trink—”
“Go, Crash,” she said. Although Ryske was still on the bed, he put on his jeans, lying down to drag them over his hips. Rushing back to the bed, she grabbed his chin to force a kiss to his mouth. “I love you.”
Leaving him, she went to Penzance and leaped in front of him to drive her fingers into his hair, messing it up.
“Ow,” he said, shoving her shoes at her. “What the fuck! I don’t know where those hands have been.”
Harlow held onto him and hopped into her shoes, one after the other. “Everywhere you think they have,” she said, undoing some buttons on his shirt and pulling the tail of his belt from its buckle.
“You want me to take the heat without getting any of the heat,” he said. She bobbed her brows and grabbed his hand to drag him toward the door. “You do look just fucked, Har… very fucked.”
“That’s ‘cause I was…” She glanced back at him over her shoulder. “Twice.”
Just as they stepped outside, Ophelia came upon them. Literally. The hostess couldn’t have been more than ten seconds away from opening the door.
“What the hell are you doing in there?” Ophelia barked. “You were given a job! A task! How dare you think that you can…”
Harlow didn’t know what had made her trail off until the anger in Ophelia’s eyes morphed into curiosity as she examined the couple.
“Miss Hagan…” Penzance said.
Ophelia held up a hand to silence him. “What have we discovered tonight, Harlow?” she asked, a smirk forming on her lips. “Does someone like watching others? Did you maybe like it a little more than you thought you would?” Folding her arms, Ophelia drummed her fingers on her upper arm. “Maybe you should thank me. Being a voyeur wasn’t such a terrible experience after all.”
Harlow cleared her throat, doing her best to appear embarrassed. The flush in her cheeks had come from a different source, but it would serve her. “No, I… I guess not.”
“You’ve got to be open to new things,” Ophelia said, a grin forming on her mouth. “I’ve got to say… I’m surprised… But it’s wonderful.”
“Wonderful?” Penzance asked, probably expecting to get his ass kicked.
“Yes,” Ophelia said, nodding. “I never wanted bad things for Harlow. But she was holding on to something that was never going to happen. Not ever. She had to come to terms with that and I’m glad that tonight, it seems she has… Didn’t take long, did it?” Ophelia took her shoulders, but as she was about to pull her into a hug, she hesitated. “Oh, I… don’t suppose you had time for a shower.”
“Uh, no,” Harlow said, sliding her fingers between Penzance’s.
There were more eyes on them than just Ophelia’s. When Penzance tried to take his hand back, she gripped him tighter. She hadn’t had time to wash her hands either; no doubt Penzance was all too aware of that.
Brushing her palms together, Ophelia stepped back. Harlow almost laughed. Penzance wasn’t that bad to look at. Few women would recoil from the idea of being intimate with him. The fact that she reeked of sex was probably putting Ophelia off getting too close. Little did the woman with the curled lip know, but the man all over her wasn’t the one at her side, it was the one Ophelia had been coveting.
“I thought you two were becoming friends. I had no idea that you were…” Ophelia glanced to the left, a telling sign that she was thinking about Ryske. “I wonder…”
“You…” Harlow started and then sealed her mouth pretending to second-guess herself.
Being hesitant got Ophelia’s attention back. “Yes?” she asked. “What were you going to say?”
“We’d rather he didn’t know,” Penzance said, somehow picking up the same signals from Ophelia, and her signals too. Just another example of the man’s impressive skill. “Probably won’t make a difference to him, but… we’d rather he didn’t.”
Ophelia made a sign of buttoning her lips and tossing an invisible key, but she smiled, and then laughed. “Oh, this is wonderful… Isn’t this wonderful?”
If Harlow was no longer interested in Ryske then Ophelia perhaps felt she had a clearer run at him. There was no way on this Earth that Ophelia wouldn’t tell Ryske; there was zero chance of their confidence being respected. Asking her to keep it quiet was a manipulation strategy. It gave credibility to their apparent betrayal and Ophelia got a chance to feel superior.
“We’re not too sure about that yet,” Penzance said.
Harlow let his hand go to put an arm around his waist. She didn’t pull herself too close. They’d just asked for discretion, so being too loved up wouldn’t make sense. It was just fun to watch Ophelia’s excitement grow with every touch.
“It could be,” Ophelia said, pulling a bunch of folded bills from her cleavage. “Don’t take anything for granted. You have to work at these things. Stoke the flames of passion.”
She shoved a bunch of bills into Penzance’s hand; Harlow’s smile faltered. Had Ophelia just paid Penzance for screwing her?
“Thanks,” Penzance said, putting the money in his pocket. He wouldn’t be any kind of grifter if he didn’t take money when it was handed to him. “Not a bad night for me.”
Yeah, fake sex and a pile of cash, could shape up worse for him.
“Take her out,” Ophelia said, optimism bleeding from her.
Harlow lost her urge to laugh, and her jaw swung loose.
Penzance was just shocked. “Uh… what?”
“Drinks,” Ophelia said, throwing up her hands. “Take her out for a drink…” She gasped. “And you know what? You should go home with her. Stay in her bedroom at Brash’s tonight. Yes. Stay the night. Stay overnight.”
“Miss—”
“Thank you, Ophe,” Harlow said before Penzance could talk their benefactor out of her generosity.
Of course, Ophelia was only being generous because she knew where Ryske was. While he was at Windsor’s, there was no chance Harlow could do anything to corrupt him. Ophelia would be able to keep an eye on him. But Ryske wasn’t the only man Harlow could benefit from connecting with.
Ophelia began to back away, her arms open. “Go, lovebirds, before I change my mind.”
Harlow smiled to show her gratitude, then grabbed Penzance’s hand to pull him toward the door before Ophelia did flip. Though Vane was quite a weight to tug along, especially when he wasn’t as enthusiastic as she wanted him to be. Harlow didn’t let up. She kept dragging him through the club until she had him down the stairs and outside.
“Har, we’re not really going to—”
“Just go with it,” she said, pulling him across the alley, knowing exactly where she was headed, even if the men in her life weren’t as quick.
Opening the back door of Noon’s car, Harlow saw her startled friend pounce to attention. She shoved Penzance into the back and then ran around the car to leap into the front seat.
“Night—”
“Drive,” she said, pulling her seat forward.
Noon didn’t ask any qu
estions; he got the car going and drove into the street. “You know what shit I could get for leaving my post? Maze is going to tear strips off me.”
Pulling down her visor, Harlow tipped her head back to run a hand down her throat, checking the marks her love had left on her in the mirror.
Noon did a double take at what she was doing. “Oh my God, you fucked!”
It was difficult to keep the smile from her lips. Sinking back in her chair, she slid down, exhaling her relief and satisfaction.
“How do you know that?” Penzance asked, sitting on the edge of the backseat to lean between the front seats. “Other than the look of bliss on her face.”
“Ryske chokes her,” Noon said, glancing in his mirror. “Nightingale has a thing for breath play… You didn’t know?”
Penzance held up his hands. “How the hell would I know that?”
“You probably should know that,” Harlow said, opening the glovebox to retrieve a mint. “If we’re supposed to be fucking.”
“Uh… what?” Noon asked, almost swerving from the road.
“Ophelia gave me the night off because she thinks me and Penzance are having sex.”
“Why does she think that?”
Penzance groaned. “Because she was riding your buddy when I went in to warn them they were about to be busted. Ophelia caught us coming out of the room and decided I was her ride.”
Noon laughed. “And now I’m your ride.”
“Yeah, I’m quite the slut tonight,” Harlow said and twisted to address Penzance. “You got paid for the privilege, so, you know, quit complaining.”
“Ophelia paid you to have sex with Harlow? I heard the guys talking about what you were into these days,” Noon said. “Had no idea you were a gigolo.” Harlow laughed, enjoying the look of offense on Penzance’s face. Noon wasn’t trying to insult him, he was just playing. “Good money in it.”
Harlow slid a hand across Noon’s thigh. “We are not letting you sell your body,” she said. “No way things are that desperate.”
“My sex life might be,” Noon said. “Though, I’ve gotta say, picking up women is easier now that I’m not competing with Ryske.”
Leaning closer, she gave him a squeeze. “When this is over, I’ll let him pick up a few for you.”
Noon flashed her a grin. “Yeah? Thanks.”
“You don’t help a guy by giving him bread,” Penzance said. “You’ve gotta teach him how to grow the wheat.”
That just made Noon frown. “What?”
She shifted her shoulder deeper into her chair. “Are you offering to teach him?” she asked. “Because picking up girls will take Ryske a few minutes, those I can spare. But I don’t want him taking on a project that will be time consuming. I have other uses for his time.”
“Yeah,” Penzance said, pushing his fists into his eyes. “The memory is burned into my retinas.”
“Try sleeping in the bed beside them,” Noon said.
Penzance slapped his shoulder. “I feel for you, man. I do.”
“We are not that bad!”
“You’re at it like rabbits,” Noon said. “Guy can’t even go for a slash without hearing you enjoying his buddy’s dick one way or another.”
She licked her lips and let her eyes trail to her side window. “I prefer another.”
Noon laughed, but Penzance shook his head. “You know, you look like such a good girl on the outside.”
Raising Ryske’s star to her mouth, she kissed it. “That’s ‘cause you don’t look close enough.”
Catching sight of something on Noon’s wrist, she grabbed his arm, pulling it away from the wheel to get a closer look. It was exactly what she thought it was: the black flame tattoo. The same one that she and Ryske got to show solidarity with Dover after the fire.
Surprised and touched, she blinked up to find him looking at her. Holding in her sentiment, Harlow raised the symbol to her lips and pressed it against her mouth.
After a few seconds, Penzance leaned in closer. “Just a friendly word, buddy… I know where that mouth has been tonight.”
Letting Noon go, she swatted for Penzance. He lunged back, laughing, managing to avoid her hand.
“I did not suck his cock,” she said, settling in her seat again. “I prefer to do that after he tastes like me.”
Both men inhaled sounds of shock and admiration that made her laugh.
“I think I’m beginning to get it,” Penzance said. “You’re a vixen.”
She flopped a hand in his direction. “Oh, you’ve known that since the night we met.”
“So, what’s the plan, Night?” Noon asked. “Want me to floor it? Get you across the border?”
It was so amazing to be in this safe cocoon. It was only a car, but it was the closest thing she’d had to home in a month. Well, other than her brief interlude with Ryske.
“I remember when Ryske came to me at Bale’s,” Harlow said. “After the charges were dropped. Do you remember?”
“I remember getting that call,” Noon said. “I’ve never seen a man move so fast. Shit, he thought you’d blown your release. Thought you were going on the run.”
She laughed. Her smile widened until her cheeks hurt. “I remember he almost pulled my shoulder from its socket when he told me you were taking us over the border.”
“He’ll be pissed he’s missing this road trip,” Noon said. “Think it will be worth having Maze kick my ass for abandoning them at the club.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, patting his thigh. “We might have to work fast and hard tonight, but we’re not going on the run. If all goes to plan, you’ll be back at your post before either of them leave the club.”
Both men had told her to take Noon and go, so she knew they were willing to get themselves home if it came to it. But she wasn’t stealing their ride, just borrowing it for a while.
13
“So, what’s the plan, Nightingale?” Noon asked.
Given that she hadn’t expected this turn of events, Harlow was still formulating it. “Clyde’s,” she said. “Can you take me there first?”
He nodded and without asking any questions, started the journey to her friend’s apartment building. Harlow hadn’t expected to see Ryske tonight. Not only had she seen him, but they’d had time to be intimate. Limited time, but any time together was a gift.
Penzance had been a good sport. Even if he didn’t like being used as a beard, Harlow doubted it would change his loyalty to them. Of course, there was still a good chance he was playing them. To what end, she had no idea. When she got the chance, she’d try to probe more into his motivation.
Harlow hadn’t known him long, but so far she trusted in his heritage with the guys. Ryske seemed to trust him. Maybe not enough to share detailed insider info, but enough that he didn’t worry about her safety. None of the guys were wary around Penzance, not like they’d be wary around strangers. If Penzance was going to screw them over, then he was going to screw them over. Nothing about that night was going to change that.
On arriving at Clyde’s, she asked the men to wait for her in the car, and slipped out to run up the stairs alone. There was every chance that her friend wouldn’t be home. If he wasn’t, she had to weigh the risks of leaving a note. A paper trail meant evidence Ophelia could track.
Relief cascaded through Harlow when she pushed down Clyde’s door handle and it gave to let the door open. She strode inside and found her friend seated at his dining table surrounded by paperwork.
“You should really lock your doors,” she said. “Any crazy could just walk right in.”
Clyde’s shock gave way to a grin. “Harlow!”
Rushing over, he pulled her into his arms, squeezing her tight. “Easy, buddy.”
“Where have you been?” he asked, hugging her and letting her go, only to pull her back into another embrace. When he pushed back again, he sighed. “What’s he done this time?”
“This time it’s not Ryske,” she said, patting his arms and nodding to
the couch. “Can we sit? Just for a minute, I’m sort of on a clock.”
“Okay,” he said, keeping an arm around her as he guided her to the couch to sit them down. “You don’t need a place to sleep tonight?”
Tempting as it was to sleep anywhere that wasn’t Ophelia’s apartment building, Harlow had to shake her head. “It’s a long story, but my life isn’t my own at the moment. You can’t tell anyone that you saw me. Not anyone.”
“Not anyone… Not Ryske?”
That question brought her up short and she frowned. “Ryske? Why would you see Ryske?”
“I went over to Floyd’s last week… No one told you?” She shook her head. “I was worried about you. I wanted to know what was going on. I didn’t see Ryske. To be honest, no one would say much.”
“Like I say, it’s complicated… I’m not staying there at the moment.”
“Where are you staying?”
These were the kind of questions that she didn’t have the time for. As much as Clyde meant well, Harlow couldn’t loiter around to catch up with him. There were other places she had to be, and other people she had to see.
Ophelia could leave the club at any time. Harlow expected she’d stay at Windsor’s for at least another hour. Even at that, Harlow had no reason to think Ophelia would check on her at Brash’s, but she wasn’t going to take any chances.
“I’m safe, okay?” Harlow said. “And, yes, if you see Ryske, you can tell him anything and everything, I trust him completely.” Clyde didn’t know quite what was going on. It was clear he was doing his best to keep up. “Listen, I came here because I need you to do something for me.”
“Name it.”
She winced. “Actually, it’s a few things. You might want to get some paper.”
Leaving the couch, Clyde retrieved his notebook and a pen from the dining table. “Okay, shoot.”
“Anything you write down, burn, as soon as you’ve committed it to memory, okay?”
That just piqued his curiosity further. “Harlow, what are you into? Is it dangerous?”
She smiled. “When is it not? First thing, I need you to see what you can do about finding out who Jarvis Hagan donated money to. I know he donated to a bunch of city causes, including your department. That’s how he got Gina to do his bidding. I need to know if there are any specific officials he donated to, either in a campaign, or to some cause they were affiliated with. I need to know anyone who may have respected him or owed him something.”
Go Full Circle (A Go Novel Book 5) Page 9
