by Sophia Rae
Eve’s brows drew together.
“At the time I didn’t get it,” Nick went on. “I’ve been having dreams since then, but it wasn’t ’til the other night that it hit me. He was trying to say Roman. He obviously knew who Roman was and he wanted me to know who shot him.”
Slowly, Eve stood. “Let me get this straight. You knew my father and were there the night he died, but you got sidetracked by some bimbo who was obviously planted to distract you. Then when you find out the same person who’d been stalking me had also killed my father, you didn’t say anything?”
“Eve, I didn’t want you in the middle of all this.”
“Too damn bad,” she screamed. “I am in the middle of all this. Do you know how much I wanted to know who killed my father? How I needed to know for sure who pulled that trigger that ended his life? I guess not, since you said nothing about it.”
Eve raked her damp hair from around her face. “Oh, wait, let me guess. Grady knows all this shit, too?”
Nick hesitated, but finally nodded.
“You two can just go to hell,” she said in a calm, eerie voice. “I don’t want or need either of you right now.”
“Eve, wait.”
“Don’t touch me,” she commanded when he stepped toward her. “I don’t want you to even look at me. I’m finished with you and your lies.”
She went to her bag and stuffed what few articles of clothing she had into it. Nick wasn’t surprised at her reaction, but he wished to hell she’d stay and let him explain better.
“Eve, you can’t leave. It’s not safe.”
She whirled around on him. “Obviously it’s not safe with you, either.”
Nothing could have hurt him more—except the fact she’d been right. She wasn’t safe with him.
“Please let Grady protect you,” he pleaded.
“He can do what he damn well pleases, so long as it doesn’t involve me.”
Once her things were stuffed into the small bag, Eve jerked up the zipper.
“I’ll finish this myself,” she told him as she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and shoved her feet into her flip-flops. “Stay out of my way and my life.”
“I love you,” he said softly.
Eve laughed. “You don’t love me. How can there be love when all we’ve done is lie? No relationship can be built on that.”
More truthful words. They hurt, but not as much as watching her walk out the hotel door.
Nick had a sinking feeling he’d never see her again.
Chapter Fourteen
Eve entered the club through the front door. Even though they didn’t open for another couple of hours, Hank would be around.
With a new outlook on life, and a new vendetta, Eve marched around the scarred bar and straight to Hank’s office. His door stood ajar a few inches, so she knocked. Without waiting for an answer, she pushed it open.
Hank sat at his desk shuffling through applications. More than likely looking for the next victim to make money off of.
“Do you have a minute?” she asked.
Hank leaned back in his rickety chair, placed his hands behind his head. The gesture only pulled his white button-up shirt even tighter across his protruding belly.
“Eve. I’m surprised to see you. Your boyfriend said you’d quit.”
She smiled. “He isn’t my boyfriend, nor is he my spokesman. But I would like to speak with Roman. Now.”
Hank offered a condescending smile. “Roman isn’t coming in this evening. Is there something I can help you with?”
Eve moved farther into the office, placed her hands on the edge of his desk and leaned down. “You can call him and tell him I have a proposition for him. If he’s interested, he’ll get here in ten minutes.”
“Eve—”
“Call. Him.”
Hank kept his eyes on her as he picked up his phone with a shaky hand. He relayed her message and hung up.
“He’s on his way.”
Hank must have seen the anger and murder in her eyes, she mused. He didn’t seem so sure of himself. Somehow Eve figured she wasn’t the only one making him nervous.
She remained standing in front of the utilitarian-style desk. She crossed her arms under her breasts and looked down.
“Don’t let me stop you,” she told him, nodding down to his stack of papers.
He cocked his head to the side as if trying to figure her out. Eventually, he began shuffling back through his stack.
Eve glared down at Hank’s greasy brown comb-over. “So how much money does Roman give you for finding the perfect women for him to sell as sex slaves?”
Hank’s face shot up. “What?”
“You heard me. How much?”
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he stammered.
“Bullshit. You know as well as I do he’s running an illegal prostitution ring out of the club. You probably know where the missing women are.”
The nervous man came to his feet. “Now, Eve. Calm down. You’re clearly not thinking straight.”
“Oh, I’m thinking straight all right,” she told him. “I know your ol’ buddy Roman is a slithery snake who has taken these women for his own enjoyment. Who knows where the hell they are now.”
Beads of sweat broke out onto Hank’s wrinkled forehead. “Neither Roman nor I know the whereabouts of those women. The cops have been keeping me informed of my dancers, but so far there’s no sign of them.”
“You might want to ask your business associate,” Eve offered. “I guarantee he knows. If you really don’t know, looks like he was screwing you over as well. He owes you some money.”
Hank opened his mouth to speak, but before he did, his beady little eyes darted over her shoulder. Just as Eve turned, something sharp stuck her arm.
The room faded to black.
***
Nick cursed himself for allowing Eve to leave the way she had.
Yeah, right. Like he could’ve stopped her. Nobody “allowed” that stubborn woman to do anything. The woman prided herself on being independent and determined; two traits Nick feared would just get her into even more trouble. With anger driving her, who knew what she’d end up doing.
Grady came back into the room a few minutes after Eve stormed out.
“She knows,” Nick said the second Grady closed the door.
“What?”
He sat on the edge of the bed, rested his elbows on his knees. “That it was my fault Roger died.”
“Dammit, Nick,” Grady blasted. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Nick shook his head. “It really doesn’t matter whose fault it was, Eve’s gone.”
“She’s not coming back?”
“No.”
Grady grabbed Nick by the shoulders, hauled him up. “Would you snap out of your pity party? We don’t have time for this shit. Where did she go?”
Nick looked into Grady’s angry face. “I don’t know.”
“The police are getting ready to bust Roman,” Grady told him. “If she’s gone off half-cocked, we have to find her. She could be in more danger than we first realized.”
The image of Eve in any kind of immediate danger snapped him back to reality. Forget she’d left him, he had to find her. His emotional state would have to wait.
“Let’s try the club,” Nick suggested.
Both Nick and Grady checked the clips on their guns before heading out the door.
***
Faint voices filtered through her head. She couldn’t make out the words, though. Her eyelids felt as if they had cinderblocks on them and she had no idea if she was dead or alive.
Soft. She knew she was lying on something soft. A gentle hand fell across her forehead.
“…she’s coming…of it…”
“…who…she…”
Eve forced her lids to work. She couldn’t stay like this. Who had taken her? Were they in the room now?
“Shh. You’re okay,” a woman assured her.
When Eve finally manage
d to open her eyes all the way, she looked to the man and woman who seemed to be examining her.
A beautiful, pale-faced blond lady with deep blue eyes and a sweet, innocent smile smoothed Eve’s hair away from her face.
Another set of beautiful blue eyes watched her. The man had golden skin, like Nick, except this man had softer features. No visible scars, no hard lines to his face.
“Do you know your name?” the man asked.
Eve nodded, winced when her head pounded harder. “My name is Eve.”
“Can you tell us how you got here?” the soft spoken lady asked.
Eve tried to sit up. Both strangers slipped an arm around her waist to aid her.
“Do you want some water?” the female asked.
“No. Where am I?”
The two exchanged a look before the man spoke up. “Do you know Roman Burke?”
Even at the risk of splitting her head open, Eve nodded.
“You’re at his house,” the man said.
“I was drugged,” Eve recalled out loud.
“Do you by chance work at The Excalibur?” he asked.
“Yes. Who are you guys?”
“I’m Allison Myers.”
Eve whipped her head around, wincing at the burst of pain. “You’re okay. I’d heard you were, but I wasn’t sure you if were still around or not.”
“I’m fine,” Allison assured Eve. “Thanks to Max.”
Eve glanced back to the man. “You’re Max?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Max Price? The FBI agent?”
“FBI?” Allison exclaimed.
“I am an agent,” he confirmed. “But if either of you accidentally leak that, we’re dead.”
Eve nodded. “I’m an agent myself.”
The skeptical look Max gave her had her smiling.
“I really am,” she said. “I am on suspension, but I work in Quantico. I’m down here trying to find who killed my father last year. He was undercover at the club when he was shot.”
“Detective Watts was your father?” Max asked.
Eve nodded. “Roman killed him, and now I’m here to make sure that bastard pays. He must’ve known I was close because he drugged me.”
Allison continued to fiddle with Eve’s hair. “I was in here alone when Roman carried you in. He said you were a present for me and that when you awoke, I was to teach you the ropes.”
Eve shuddered at Allison’s tone. The poor girl sounded so lost, so beaten down. God, how were the other women faring if Allison was so far gone? Were the others even alive anymore? If so, were their lives worth living?
“He told me there was a present for me as well when my shift ended,” Max offered. “He said it was double the pleasure because I’d been such an invaluable employee the past week.”
“Now what?” Allison asked.
“First of all,” Eve started. “I need to see if I can even stand up. I have no idea what he gave me, but I feel like my arms and legs are detached from my body.”
With the help of her newfound allies, Eve came to her feet. When the elegant room spun, Max’s strong arms came around her.
“Easy now.”
“Just give me a minute,” Eve told him. “Once I get my bearings, I’ll be fine.”
After taking some major deep breaths, Eve stood straight up on her own. Her head still didn’t feel quite right, but at least she didn’t have an overwhelming sense of nausea anymore.
“Where is Roman now?” Eve asked.
Allison looked to Max for the answer.
“When he told me about my little surprise, he was on his way out. He stopped by the front gate and said he had some unfinished business to take care of with his brother.”
The nausea came back full force, but Eve wouldn’t allow nerves to override common sense.
“Do you have a cell phone?” Eve asked Max.
“Yeah.” He dug it from his pocket and handed it to her. “What is it? You’ve gone pale.”
Eve made her way back over to the lush canopy bed and sat down before her legs gave out on her. She punched in Nick’s cell number and prayed.
“The brother Roman is referring to is the idiotic man I’m in love with.”
***
Nick kicked open Hank’s office door. “Where the fuck is Eve?”
The manager of the gentlemen’s club stood at his desk, filling boxes with forms, pens, paper clips, a stapler.
“Going somewhere?” Nick asked.
“I don’t know where she is,” Hank said as he continued to pack. “I swear. I don’t know.”
Nick pulled his Glock from the holster and aimed it at the lying scum. “Wrong answer. You have three seconds to tell me where she is.”
“The back is clear,” Grady said, coming in behind Nick. “She’s not in the club.”
Hank held his hands up. “I tried to tell him I didn’t know where she was.”
As always, Grady remained calm. “If you don’t tell us where Roman and Eve are, I will have you arrested with enough charges that you will not get out of prison until you are at least three hundred years old.”
Sweat stained the armpits of Hank’s white dress shirt. “All I know is she came in here looking for Roman.”
Nick stepped closer, wanting Hank to get a good look at the Glock. His finger itched to have a reason to pull the trigger.
“And?” Grady prompted.
“Um…Roman came in behind her.”
Dread filled Nick’s gut. His hair stood up on the back of his neck.
“What did that bastard do to her?” Nick demanded.
“He stuck her with some sort of syringe. I don’t know what was in it, but she dropped to the floor.”
Oh, God.
“Then what?” Grady asked. “Where did Roman take her?”
Hank’s hands shook as he shrugged. “I assume to his house. He just picked her up and told me not to say anything until he called me.”
Grady moved farther into the room. “Sit down,” he ordered Hank.
The slimy creep sat in his creaky leather office chair. Grady whipped out a pair of cuffs from his pocket and slapped them around one of Hank’s wrists. The other end went around the arm of the chair.
“The feds are on their way,” Grady told him. “You can relay this story to them again. Only next time, you’ll need to back up a year or so and tell them what Roman has been up to from the beginning with these dancers.”
“I don’t know anything,” Hank insisted.
“Give me Roman’s address,” Nick ordered. “Now.”
Hank rattled off the directions and the name of the road, but he wasn’t quite sure on the house number.
“It has a gate with guards,” Hank explained. “You can’t get in without a pass or an invitation.”
“I’ll get in,” Nick promised as he looked to Grady.
“Go,” Grady said. “I’ll catch up. I want to make sure this guy gets in the proper hands before I leave.”
Nick didn’t wait for any further instructions. He couldn’t get to Eve fast enough.
God, she’d been drugged. How would that affect her mind? Would she remember what had happened to her? If that sick pervert had put his hands on her in any way, Nick prayed she wouldn’t remember.
He sped through the streets, not giving a damn how many lights he ran or laws he broke. He had to get to Eve.
Out of the corner of his eye, the red light on his cell phone caught his attention. He’d left it in the console when he’d pulled into the club.
He flipped it open to see he had a message.
“Nick,” Eve’s sweet voice came through the receiver. “I’m at Roman’s estate. Allison Myers is here and so is Max Price. Max is posing as a guard at the gate and I’m on his cell phone. Roman drugged me and he’s after you. You have to be careful, Nick. He said he had unfinished business to take care of. I lo—”
His voicemail cut her off…just before she could tell him she loved him. Thank God. She still loved him.<
br />
He wasn’t afraid of Roman. If Roman wanted to settle the “unfinished business”, then so be it. Nick felt like settling the score himself.
At least Eve would be protected with Max, a trained FBI agent. She would be safe until Nick could get to her… She had to be.
Finding the estate was no problem. The large, white two-story was surrounded by a concrete wall and tall, wrought-iron gate.
He pulled up to the gate and waited for a guard. A young man came out of the little guard’s station and bent down to Nick’s window.
“Can I help you, sir?”
“I’m here to see my brother,” Nick said, as if he’d been there a hundred times before.
“Who is your brother?”
“Your boss,” Nick gritted between his teeth.
“I’m sorry, sir, I don’t have you on any list as a visitor today.”
Just then a tall blond guy came jogging down the driveway. “It’s okay,” he called. “Let him in.”
Max Price, Nick presumed.
“Sorry, sir,” the young boy said. “Enjoy your visit.”
The gate slid open and Nick pulled on up. The tall blond hopped in the passenger side.
“I’m Max,” he said.
“I figured. I’m Nick.”
“Roman’s brother?”
“Stepbrother,” Nick corrected. “Where’s Eve?”
“I’ll show you. Park here.”
Nick stopped the car in front of the stone steps that led to the main entrance. A wide porch, bare of any furniture, stretched across the front of the house. The windows were all covered with blinds. The landscaping was cut to precision.
The house seemed cold, sterile.
Nick wanted Eve out of there. Now.
“Follow me,” Max said as he stepped from the car.
Nick let Max lead him up the steps, through the impressive entryway equipped with a hanging chandelier that cost more than Nick made in a year.
The large, curved staircase looked like something from a movie set. Unfortunately, real life took place here.
At the top of the steps, the second floor looked like a hotel. Doors lined the long, narrow hallway.
