It took him a minute to focus on her face, then before his eyes even opened anymore, he frowned. “Nightingale?” he croaked and shifted. “Where’s Ryske?”
Stroking his face, she rose to her elbow. “He’s not here,” she whispered. “He’s not home yet. It’s just me.”
No doubt Dover thought Ryske would’ve been the one to bring her back. “What’s going on? You’re home?”
His voice was coming back from sleep, so she touched his lips. “Anwen can’t know I’m here. Can you meet me downstairs?”
Pulling her hand from his mouth so he could lick his lips, he nodded.
Wearing an appreciative smile, she bounced forward to kiss his cheek and then climbed over him to get out of the bed.
Harlow was as quiet about leaving as she had been about entering. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she put her shoes back on and went into the bar. She hadn’t given much thought to how the place would look. When she flicked the light switch, recessed lighting flickered on, illuminating a room that brought her up short.
The place looked amazing. Clean and complete. The floor was a dark wood, varnished so it had a sheen to it. A far stretch from the black boards that had been there before. The bar had been finished in a dark wood too though the hue was warmer.
All the furniture was new. The tables and chairs matched unlike before. In place of the pool table was a dancefloor. The jukebox was at the back of the room now. Moving around to the front, she didn’t expect the bar to be stocked, but it was, with drink and glasses. The lighting was in place; the front door had been replaced. Everything had been done.
The more she looked, the less she found unresolved. So, when Dover came in clearing his throat and running his fingers through his hair, she opened her arms. “The place looks amazing.”
“Thanks,” he said, going around to the back of the bar like it was automatic for him to be there, which it was.
Grabbing a glass, he poured her a drink. Harlow went to sit on a stool at the bar, like this was any regular night. “I don’t get it,” she said, taking a sip. “Why aren’t you open?”
“We’re ready any time,” he said. She eyed him, trying to prompt him to continue when he paused for a ridiculous length of time. “I won’t open those doors to the public until every member of my crew is here.”
Lowering the glass to the bar, Harlow was so moved that she almost couldn’t breathe. “God, you guys are trying to kill me,” she whispered and reached over the bar for his hand. “You don’t have to wait for me.”
“You didn’t get a vote in absentia,” he said. “It was a unanimous decision among those of us who were here. We’re not opening until you’re here, Nightingale. I don’t care how long it takes.”
That just gave her a new sense of determination. They had to bring money in. Floyd’s was a good way to achieve a steady income. It didn’t bring in a lot, but it covered overheads and allowed them to keep the lights on upstairs too.
“I like the dancefloor,” she said. “I don’t think any of you have ever danced with me.”
“Yeah, well, don’t think we’ll be starting.”
“Ryske will dance with me,” she said, picking up her glass. Dover crooked a brow like he wasn’t so sure. Harlow smiled behind the rim of her glass. “If he doesn’t, I’ll have to dance with other men.”
Dover lost his doubt and smiled. “You know what, babe. You’re probably right. He might just dance with you.” She took another drink. “You didn’t come here to compliment the décor… And if you don’t want Anwen to know you’re here, I guess you’re not staying.”
She shook her head. “I don’t trust her.” His brow lowered. “I asked Noon to float the idea of you guys moving her out.”
“What happened?”
Glancing toward the door, she wasn’t sure that she could trust they weren’t being listened to. Much as she doubted it, she’d been the eavesdropper, which made her nervous about being on the receiving end.
Lowering her volume, she leaned over the bar. “You know she came to see Ophelia?” He nodded. “She came back here telling you guys that she got nothing. But that’s not true. She knows Ophelia is having an ongoing relationship with Anthony Yarker. And she knows who killed Hagan.” Surprise made his frown deepen. “She also alluded to forming an alliance with Ophelia.”
“And so we get to why you’re here?”
Licking her lips, she pushed the glass aside. “I need you to move everything. I think she might be trying to locate the weapon.”
“The murder weapon,” he said. “We have it secured.”
“Move it. Don’t tell anyone where it is. No one… And the recording, do we have that secure? Does Maze have backups?”
“I think so. Maze taped the original to the bottom of the desk.”
“I don’t know if we’ll need it. But…”
“You don’t trust her. I understand, and that’s all you have to say to me. I’ll take care of everything and talk to the guys… We’ve got you, Nightingale. You don’t have to worry about that. You took a risk coming here. You took a risk slipping away. How did you do it?”
“Ophelia let me go to Windsor’s,” she said, downing her drink and handing him the glass for a refill. “She caught me having sex with Penzance, so now she’s over the moon that I’ve surrendered Ryske to her. Though, you know, his ignoring me and favoring her was already working pretty good.”
Dover just looked confused. “You weren’t having sex with Penzance.”
“No,” she said, taking the fresh drink from him. “But she doesn’t know that.”
“Why would she think you were having sex with anyone?”
With her mouth on the edge of the glass, her eyes slunk to the side. “Because… I was having sex with someone.”
“Who were you having sex with at…” He trailed off and huffed out a sigh. “Oh my God, Maze is right; that guy is an asshole. He had the chance to get you out of there and chose to have sex with you instead? He couldn’t even wait until you got home, he just—”
“He offered,” she said. “He told me to go to Noon. That Noon would take me home.”
Dover looked left to right. “How did you get here?”
“Noon’s out back. He gave me a ride, and I’m hoping he’ll take me back.”
This whole situation was confusing him. “Why is he out back?”
It wouldn’t make sense for Noon to sit in the car outside if they were just discussing crew business. Their friend could be part of this discussion. That would be just fine, if it wasn’t for one small problem.
“He’s not alone,” she said. “Penzance is with him. Ophelia excused us to go back to Brash’s to have sex. So…”
“Instead of doing that you came here.”
She didn’t think it was necessary to tell him just how many people she’d visited. “If Ophelia had let me leave with Ryske, I might have followed through, but…” She smiled. “I promise, as soon as I’m done here, we’ll go back and act like that’s what we were doing the whole time…” Sighing, she hoped he wasn’t disappointed in her for taking the risk. “I had to come home, Dover. Just for a minute. I’ve seen everyone else tonight, I didn’t want to miss you the most. Besides, you’re the only one I trust to really listen when I talk. The others try, but…”
“Maze is too busy telling you what you’re doing wrong. Noon’s distracted by your face or your chest, and Ryske is too busy trying to get into your panties…” He held up a hand. “I know, you’re not wearing panties. You don’t have to say it.”
He made her laugh, he always could. Sometimes Dover was like a disapproving brother or a parent at the end of their rope. But, like either of those relatives, even when he was fed up with her, he still listened and did what he had to do for her.
“You know me so well.”
“Yeah, probably too well,” he muttered, making her smile widen. “How urgent do you think it is to get Anwen out?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I t
hink you should be subtle about it. I don’t want any big confrontation. That will push her closer to Ophelia. And she is helping. You heard about…” Circling her thumb and forefinger around her wrist, she indicated a bracelet, and he nodded. “She was wearing it at Ophelia’s. They talked a lot about Ryske. A lot about sex with Ryske.”
“And you didn’t interrupt? I’d think that’s your specialty.” Tossing a beer mat at him that missed, she laughed after he did. “Did you take notes?”
“Yeah, only on how wrong they got so many things,” she said. “Who would think a woman had to use words to tell Ryske what she wanted?”
Holding up a hand, he made a cut sign near his neck. “Okay, I love you both, but… I have to hear it in the apartment, I don’t want to talk about it too.”
Surrendering her palms, she conceded. “I don’t need to talk about it,” she said, unable to subdue her grin. “I still have something of his inside me.”
His expression fell flat and he straightened. “Okay.”
Laughing, she had to put a hand to her mouth so as to remind herself not to get too loud. “I’m sorry, I… couldn’t resist.”
“Try harder,” he said and she did her best to erase her smile. Though she knew he was kidding; his sense of humor was dry. They might not like the details, but her crew liked it when she and Ryske were getting along… or more appropriately, getting it on. “So, Anwen’s selling it to Ophelia that she and Ryske are fucking?” Harlow nodded. “And you’re okay with that?”
“It’s not fun to know she’s saying things about him that are untrue. I don’t like to hear her boasting about him. But… I don’t know… It is helpful that Ophelia at least thinks she has some competition. Ryske’s been doing such a good job of convincing her that he and I are through. After tonight, there’s no way she’s going to keep seeing me as a threat.”
“That’s good,” he said. “We want you safe.”
“Yeah, but it leaves Ryske open. Anwen’s lie does give some cover.”
His chin rose. “You’re sure it’s a lie?”
Putting down her glass, Harlow licked her lips clean. “Are you asking me if he’s sleeping with her or if I believe he’s sleeping with her?”
He only thought about it for a second. “Both.”
“Neither,” she said and raised her glass. “Because it’s you and this liquor is good, I won’t throw it in your face.”
“Didn’t mean to offend you, Nightingale.”
His smirk was almost proud, but she chose to ignore it and inspect the liquid she had at eye level. “Lesser women than me may be insulted. But if you believe he isn’t utterly besotted with me, you’ve never seen us together.”
“Oh, I’ve seen you together, Nightingale, and I’ve seen you apart. And I don’t doubt either of you.”
“Glad to hear it,” she said and turned her glass to move the liquid within it. “I just hope she doesn’t start believing her own lies.”
“What do you mean?”
“Anwen. If she starts to believe there’s something between her and Ryske, it’s going to make it more difficult to get her out of here. She could be setting herself up with more problems with Ophelia too. She’ll have to recognize when to back off and let Ryske take the lead.”
“Take the lead in dealing with Ophelia?”
“You know what I’m like,” Harlow said. “I’m bullheaded and don’t like to be told what to do…” His head was bobbing. “You don’t have to be so quick to agree.” He flashed her a smile. “But even I know when Ophelia needs to be dealt with, and I can’t be the one to do the dealing.”
“Like when you’re out on jobs with Ryske and you let him do the whole Lothario thing.” She nodded. “You know, I’d love to see that. You’d never dream of bowing to him elsewhere.”
Touching the edge of her necklace, she let her finger slip inside the central loop that sat over the notch in her throat. “Oh, I don’t know… Sometimes I bow to him.”
“Didn’t I say I didn’t want to talk about your sex life?”
Raising a hand in apology, she moved on by taking a drink. “I don’t want to think she’s evil, you know? Ophelia can bring out the worst in people.”
“You ever defended your relationship to her?”
“My relationship with who?”
He almost rolled his eyes. “With Ryske.”
Harlow scowled. “Why would I defend my relationship to her? It’s mine. It’s not hers. I don’t give a damn if she believes he loves me, I believe it. Her opinion doesn’t matter to me… Maybe if I wasn’t so sure about it…” Thinking it out, she began to speculate on why Anwen may be acting the way she was. “I guess it’s a competition for them. Anwen wants to mean something to Ryske, but probably fears that she doesn’t, or at least that she doesn’t mean enough that he’ll fight for her.”
“He wouldn’t fight for her,” Dover said. “I thought he told you how they got together. She blackmailed him into bed. He was never there because he wanted to be.”
“I know that,” she said, watching her drink move in the glass. “But you can’t be intimate with someone for six months and not come out of it feeling something.”
A single burst of disbelieving laughter left his lips. “That was Ryske’s specialty before you. Meaningless sex was his thing. He could fuck a woman, tell her all the right things, and still walk away feeling nothing.”
Funny then that when they’d met he’d refused to tell her anything, let alone the right thing. He’d ended up even refusing to sleep with her. By then, Ryske had known she was different. But even Harlow could admit they had no idea just how different their relationship would be.
“Anwen doesn’t want him to feel nothing,” she said, putting down her glass to draw a finger around the rim.
All this reflection probably wasn’t healthy. As secure as she was in the way Ryske felt about her, she did wonder what she’d done to deserve his adoration. These other women were going to all sorts of lengths to gain his affection. Harlow hadn’t done anything special to prove herself.
17
“Uh oh,” Dover said. “What’s with the puppy dog look?”
“What did I do to deserve his love?” Harlow asked. “I wouldn’t trade it or give it up for anything, but why me and not them?”
His smile was slow and definitely amused. “You want me to tell you that you’re pretty or something?” His eyes narrowed. “I seem to remember calling you beautiful once… beautiful and…”
Though she didn’t doubt that he remembered, she said it anyway because he was waiting for her to finish the sentence. “Dumb as a box of rocks.”
His grin landed on her again. “That’s right. Beautiful but dumb as a box of rocks… I stand by that statement… I think I told you at the same time that this whole damn mess was your fault… I stand by that too.”
“You know, you’re not much of a friend tonight.”
“I just tell it like it is, Nightingale,” he said and rested his hands on the bar, his arms wide. “I’ll answer your question if you answer one for me first.”
Skootching closer to the edge of her stool, she rested both forearms on the bar. “A game. I like it. Shoot.”
“Why do you love Ryske?”
That made her mouth close and her interest cool. “What?”
“Why do you love him? You could’ve had Marlowe… Flaxman… Costello if you’d tried at the right time… You could’ve even had Noon, maybe even Maze.”
Nodding in agreement, she considered that and picked up her glass to point at him. “Or you.”
Pushing out his lips, he shook his head. “You couldn’t have had me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I could’ve had you.”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
“I could’ve.” Dover just kept swaying his head side to side. “I could.” Her confidence cracked to a smile. “Ah, you’re probably no good in bed anyway.”
He bent down to retrieve a bottle of beer, which he popped open. �
�You keep telling yourself that, sister.”
“Calling me sister is never a good start for seduction.” The twist of his lips intrigued her. After he lowered his bottle, she flattened her hands on the bar, pushing her chest down. “What?”
“Just wonderin’ what my boy would think if he knew you were here asking me to seduce you.”
“Oh, yeah, right, like that’s what I was saying,” she said, snatching her drink. “You wouldn’t even know where to start with me.”
“With you it would start in the shower,” he said. She wondered if all the guys knew from experience how much she liked having sex in the shower or if Ryske had said something to them like he had to Rupert. “But you did say my boy left something in you… That’s a little too close to get to the guy, even for me.”
Yeah, that was a good point. Harlow was still covered in the exploits of her time with Ryske. Her body was bruised and marked. It was just a good thing that Penzance had been there to cover. She didn’t know how else she’d have been able to explain the imperfections to Ophelia.
She brushed a finger across the bruise on her cheek. “You didn’t ask where I got this.”
“Figured Ryske would’ve taken care of that,” he said. “You don’t need me beating a drum.”
And that was another thing she loved about Dover. “Thank you.”
“But you can answer my question. Why do you love him?”
“Why does anyone fall in love with anyone else?” she asked on a shrug. “He’s perfect and flawed. Endearing and infuriating. He’s a contradiction of a contradiction. He keeps me guessing about everything except the one thing that matters.”
“When did you fall in love with him?”
Dover had told her when Ryske fell in love with her; though they could all agree he’d fought the feeling and denied it to himself.
Go Full Circle (A Go Novel Book 5) Page 12
