by Hart, Eve R.
“Then you should get something to eat,” she responded in her to-the-point tone.
“I plan to. Would you like to join me?”
We had made it back to the car. She hurried around to the driver’s side and I didn’t bother trying to get the door. She would have hated it.
She blinked at me over the hood.
“Are you asking me on a date?”
“Yes,” I told her with a chuckle.
“Aren’t we too old for that?”
“Never too old to let me show you a good night.” I tossed a wink her way and opened my door. Not giving her a chance to say anything else, I slid into the seat and waited for it all to sink in.
“Where am I heading, then?” she asked as she started driving away.
“Back to your place,” I told her as I kept my eyes straight ahead. “I’m puttin’ you on the back of my bike tonight.”
I expected her to tell me no, but there was only silence that followed.
I smiled the entire drive back to her place.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Petra
I shouldn’t have let Iron take me on that date or whatever you wanted to call it. I wasn’t saying that because it was awful. It was rather nice and by the end of the evening, I knew I wouldn’t object to another one.
True to his word, he put me on the back of his bike and I would say that wasn’t awful either. As I held onto him, it was clear he knew how to control the beast. Not that I had any doubts. I may have liked the way he put his hand on my thigh every time he rolled to a stop for a red light and kept it there until it turned green.
That was two weeks ago.
And while I liked riding on his bike just fine, I had been on it enough in the last two weeks. It seemed that once I gave that inch, he took a mile, deciding that we needed to ‘head out’ and ‘ride’ whenever he came over.
I think he liked having me behind him. I got the sense that it meant more than simply taking me out for a ride. That was the only reason that I hadn’t said anything.
Our relationship wasn’t exactly defined, not unless you counted the fact that I was his, as he liked to put it. I took that to mean that I was the only woman he wanted in his life and that it was some kind of biker way to lay claim on someone. Did I like those words? No, of course, I didn’t. Every time he said it there was something in my brain that sparked and my eye twitched. But then I would remember the words he spoke to me. I supposed it was the meaning behind those words that caused me to let it go. I wasn’t his in the way that he owned me. I was his because he only wanted me.
I honestly still didn’t have a clue what to do with that weeks later.
Iron and I worked well together, that much I could admit. He was the best sexual partner I’d ever come across. The fact that he cared had a lot to do with that. He gave on days when I needed to feel like I had the power. He bowed down for me when I was stuck in moments where I felt like I wasn’t strong enough. What really stood out was how well he read me. He took the time to see what was going on with me. Those times when I felt the weight on my shoulders, he took over and gave me a safe place to let go without losing myself.
I feared that I’d let him in too much. There wasn’t a thing I could do about it though. It was done and I couldn’t undo it. While I knew I could walk away and cut him out of my life, there was something keeping me from making that move.
Where did that leave me?
Mostly confused.
I wasn’t someone that breezed in and out of each day without a care or plan. I liked to have a direction and a goal to work toward. I liked to see the outcome when it was miles down the road.
What was his end goal with me?
Did he want to get married?
Did he want children?
I could truthfully say that neither of those two things had ever been a goal I wanted to obtain. I didn’t dislike kids, I just wasn’t the motherly type. I knew it and there was no sense in trying to make myself be something that I would never be. As far as marriage went, I guess I hadn’t thought of it too much either way. I didn’t see the point in it but then again, I understood that some people needed that unnecessary step to feel whole. To complete their union and feel closer to one another. I couldn’t see that ever being me.
Even as I sat in my office and tried hard to think about myself in a long white gown while I said vows to someone, I couldn’t envision a clear picture. It was like it wasn’t even me in that image because I simply didn’t fit there. Placing Iron in the faceless figure beside me didn’t change anything. Which told me that if that was something he wanted, I wasn’t so sure that I would be the person to give it to him.
I supposed these were things that I needed to bring up with him. It was smart to go ahead and get it out of the way if we were going to continue the way we had been. There was no sense in wasting any more of each other’s time if the goal wasn’t the same.
A notification popped up on my computer letting me know that someone had entered the building. It was still early in the day that I wasn’t expecting any clients to come in any time soon. Most of the activity happened later in the night. The girls did come and go as they pleased, so I wasn’t on any kind of alert, but I did like to know what was going on in my building.
I tapped the keys, pulling up the camera on the first floor.
Rowan’s bubbly face appeared as she waited for the elevator. She smiled and waved at the camera like she knew I was watching her. I supposed she knew me well enough at this point.
A brief smile kicked up my lips as I let out a silent chuckle.
I knew she’d be back from her honeymoon by now but I wasn’t sure why she was here. The moment she found her perfect match, she hung up her mask and whip. Not that I blamed her. In fact, I saw it coming. And since their romance had been a whirlwind, it wasn’t all that long ago that she left me.
I hadn’t found someone to replace her. Not for her rooms and clients, and not for stepping into my spot when I needed someone to.
I trusted most of my girls enough but I wasn’t so sure about any of them having the same level of caution and care that I did. It was a hard thing to step back and take a break.
“Surprised to see me?” Rowan said in a cheerful tone as she stepped into my office.
“Maybe a little,” I told her with a small smile. “Was your honeymoon good?”
“Amazing,” she said wistfully. “Can’t you tell? Check out my tan.”
She laughed, deep and throaty.
I raised a brow at her.
I understood that it was a joke but I didn’t usually make a habit of laughing.
Rowan was fair skinned. She was a true redhead and that bright color she had now was all natural. It was gorgeous on her.
In other words, Rowan didn’t tan. And it was apparent by her still creamy, pale skin.
She sat down on the opposite side of the desk and crossed her legs as she leaned back casually.
“You’re here for a reason,” I stated because I wasn’t a chit-chat kind of person and Rowan knew that.
“I have a proposition for you,” she said and I raised a brow as if to tell her to go on. “I love this place. And I love you, believe it or not. I’m not ready to walk away.”
I wasn’t sure how that would work. I detested drama and a married woman working in a place like this was just inviting it to walk right in the door.
“I don’t think that will work,” I told her pointedly.
She laughed again and shook her head.
“My man and I talked about it and he is fine with what I want.”
“And that is?” I was willing to hear her out.
“I want to be your second,” she said with a bright smile.
I sat up straight and thought about it for a long minute.
“No clients, no rooms. Just me looking out for the girls and running things so you can get a break,” she went on like I didn’t get what she was saying. “We both know that I will go crazy sitting at home. I
would make a terrible trophy wife.”
To that, I nodded with a small smile.
This place was a lot to run by myself. I’d been doing it so long that I rarely stopped to think about it. But the truth was, I wouldn’t mind the help and a break every now and then. Perhaps I thought about it long and hard because of Iron.
I didn’t hate the thought of getting more time with him where I wasn’t constantly thinking about what was going on here.
“You’re thinking yes, but you’re not saying it. It’s okay, Petra, I hear you.” She got to her feet. “I won’t let you down.”
Her pointer finger pushed at the air in the direction of my face like she was air-poking me on the nose.
I didn’t understand the point of the movement but I didn’t say anything.
“Send me a schedule. I expect to start next week,” she tossed over her shoulder before she glided out of the room.
Leaning back in my chair, I thought about how much I could give her and still feel comfortable.
Three days.
Three days a week she could sit in this chair and I could relax.
I didn’t hate the idea that much.
I don’t know how long I sat there but a hearty knock at my door brought me back to reality with a slightly irritated feeling.
“Come in,” I called out.
“Petra,” Garen, my head bodyguard, said with a nod in greeting.
“What can I do for you?” I asked as he stepped up to my desk but didn’t take a seat.
“Might be nothing, but I noticed that Midori was a little shaken up after her last meeting with Mr. White.”
I blinked as I thought about what he said.
“Did she say anything?” I asked, wondering why she hadn’t come directly to me if there was a problem.
“Um, no, ma’am.” He cleared his throat. “She seemed upset though. When I asked her if there was something that I needed to take care of, she brushed it off.”
“But you feel like something happened?” It may have come out as a question but it was clear that he did.
He shook his head, his eyes going to the side as if he was trying to think of how to put whatever it was into words.
“She seemed upset,” he repeated as his eyes slid back to meet mine. “I got a feeling.” His shoulders rose and fell like that should have been enough of an explanation.
“I’ll watch the video and see if I can find anything odd.” I was already pulling it up as I spoke the words.
“I watched it. There wasn’t anything that I found.”
“Yes,” I said as I cut my eyes over to him. “But sometimes I can catch things that you don’t.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded his head letting me know he wasn’t going to say anything more. “Let me know if I need to handle anything further on the matter.”
My eyes narrowed as I scrutinized every little thing about his expression. The tapping of my nail against the wood of my desk rang out but he didn’t even take his eyes off of me to watch the movement.
“Anything else you care to tell me?” I asked him with a raised brow and hard eyes.
His lips tipped up in a smirk that was on the verge of flirty. He really was an attractive man when his face wasn’t hard and serious. But that was not what I needed from him when he was here. I needed him focused and intimidating.
“No, Petra,” he replied but there was almost a hint of laughter in his voice.
“Your problems are your own to deal with,” I started. “But when it affects my business then they become mine. And I don’t like problems. So if there is anything you need to tell me, now would be the time.”
“You’re absolutely right, my problems are mine to deal with.”
“Keep it that way.”
“I have to.” There was almost a sadness in his tone and though it wasn’t like me, I wanted to press him for more of an answer.
I was his boss and as long as it wasn’t going to cause problems, then I didn’t really need to know. I was simply going to have to let my curiosity die out on this one.
“Let me know if you catch something I didn’t,” he said, then with a nod of his head, he left my office.
I watched the footage from the last time Midori was in a room with Mr. White. I noticed nothing out of the ordinary on his part.
I kept watching even after they both had left the room, my eyes scanning over everything as best as I could. I figured there wasn’t a clue to find but I wasn’t going to let it go until I was sure.
Elsa entered the room and started stripping the bed. Not once did she pause as she cleaned, letting me know that she hadn’t found anything unusual as well.
Momentarily, I let myself think about Alina. She had been the one that cleaned the rooms before I hired Elsa to replace her. Alina had been with me for years and she seemed as if she never wanted to leave me.
My lips twitched, threatening to tip up at the corners as I thought back to the day I practically forced her to retire. I set her up with a house on the beach in the southern part of California. It was my plan to have her far away from here where she wouldn’t try to come back. She’d been happy at the time, even when she’d said her goodbyes.
I pulled out my tablet and made a note to get in contact with her. It had been nearly a year since I’d checked up on her and it was long overdue.
Blinking myself back into focus, I sat up straight.
Then I rewound the footage and watched it again.
My head drew closer to the screen as I watched Midori.
She had been here a little over six months. She wasn’t exactly shy when she came to me and asked for a job. She’d been point blank about telling me she knew what went on here. Which I almost found funny. Sure this place wasn’t advertised but most people knew what happened inside the walls of this building.
I saw something in her right away. Something that made me take her in and let her give it a try. She fit in easily and I hadn’t had any problems with her so far. She genuinely seemed to like her job here.
Mr. White had been one of her first clients and I saw how they were together. They were a good match for the rooms. There wasn’t anything beyond that which was the way it was supposed to be.
Yes, there were exceptions to that but it was usually me who planned that move.
What could I say? I was good at reading people.
And maybe I had pretty decent skills when it came to seeing things that others didn’t. But you shouldn’t ask me why I meddled, I didn’t think it was something I knew myself.
I stopped the footage, then quickly pulled up the one from the hall. I watched as she hesitated before entering the room.
Garen was right, there had been something going on, but it had nothing to do with Mr. White. It made me relax a little bit.
I rarely had problems with clients. I wasn’t saying that it never happened, it was simply not very often. I think people understood the consequences of what could happen if you crossed me. And hurting my girls was something you didn’t do in my eyes. So for the most part, things played out smoothly here.
I kept watching. Midori stood there for a good three minutes. I knew how long it was because I watched the seconds scroll on at the bottom of the screen. She shook her hands out and then rolled her head. I could see the shutter going down and whatever she’d been thinking about had been pushed away.
There was a problem, that much was clear. However, I wasn’t sure what it was. It could have been anything but I didn’t think it had to do with something that happened under this roof.
My mind zipped through things I knew it couldn’t be.
She didn’t have any family that she was in contact with.
She didn’t have a boyfriend. At least not that I last knew.
She didn’t have any kids.
As far as I knew, she only hung out with the other girls.
I pushed back in my chair and stood.
It was something I was going to have to keep an eye on. Maybe she was h
aving a strange day. I understood that people had those from time to time.
I didn’t see a need to bring it up if it happened to be nothing.
I quickly typed off a text to Garen and let him know that I didn’t think it had anything to do with the client and that I’d keep an eye on it. Then I told him I was stepping out for a bit.
There were some things that needed to be talked about and there was no sense in wasting time.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Iron
I was surprised to find Petra walking into the clubhouse mid-afternoon.
By the look on her face, I could tell this wasn’t her coming around for some fun.
She had something on her mind and she was here to sort it out.
I loved that about her. She didn’t play games. If there was something wrong, she’d come right out and say it.
“Hey, babe,” I said as I slid off the stool at the bar where I’d been talking to Mason and B-ry.
Smiling, I walked over to her. I could tell she was a little tense and I hoped that I could ease whatever was going on in her head. I wrapped my arms around her and leaned down to give her a kiss.
“No,” she told me with a shake of her head.
“No? I can’t kiss you?” I was more amused than pissed off.
Whether or not she would admit it, I’d somewhat broken her into kissing me when she first saw me. I couldn’t say that I hated it.
“We have to talk and if I kiss you I might forget everything,” she told me pointedly. Though it was kind of sweet and cute, there wasn’t a hint of that in her tone.
I held my chuckle back as I took her hand in mine.
With a jerk of my chin, I let my brothers know that we’d finish our conversation later.
Now, I wasn’t saying that Petra came before the club. If it had been something that required serious attention, I would have told her so. And she would have understood it. I knew how to prioritize things and I thought I kept a good balance when it came to all the important shit in my life.
“Talk to me, Pet,” I said to her after we were tucked away in my apartment.
