by Diana Gardin
“I’m going to show you how I’m getting around that. And I want you to remember that this is the only way I could think of to make that much money in a short amount of time. I need to have my shit together when I talk to my dad, because he’s going to pull all his support out from under me. I need to be set up. You know?”
I glance at the door and pull Noah to a stop. My stomach is plummeting, my heartbeat rushing like rapids in my ears, but I’m still swamped in confusion. I don’t know why my body is reacting this way.
“Where are we, Noah?”
He squeezes my hand. “Do you trust me, Ny?”
I stare into his eyes. His blue ones are intense, as usual, but there’s something else there, too. There’s a hint of desperation, like so much depends on my answer. I’ve known Noah for years. And just because I don’t want to date him anymore, just because I’ve found Ace, doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be in my life. He needs something from me right now; I can see it.
“I trust you, Noah.”
So then why is my gut twisting, bunching, wrenching…like I’m making a terrible mistake?
Twenty-Seven
ACE
I’m still staring at the door that my girl just walked out.
A thousand questions chase each other through my head. But two of them stand out above the rest. Why did she come here with Noah? And why the hell did she leave with him?
Counts nudges me. When I glance at him, he grins. “That was her? The woman changing you into someone different from the guy I used to know?”
A frown creases my forehead. I told Counts about Naima, because I couldn’t get her out of my head and I didn’t know why. “Yeah, that’s her. And that guy was her ex.”
Counts whistles. “Not like you to just let them walk back outta here.”
Damn. No, it’s not like me. Not at all.
“I was just about to step in when he pulled her back out. What the hell?”
I pull out my phone to shoot her a text.
WHERE ARE YOU?
Yeah. I feel like this situation merits all caps.
Counts scans the room, his eyes bouncing over tables, couches, and security. “Everything’s going smooth tonight, man. No sign of your mark?”
Shaking my head, I stare at my phone, willing her to text me back. I can’t think about the shark right now, because my mind is filled with thoughts of Naima and Noah.
I wanted her away from all of this tonight. I didn’t tell her why because I didn’t want her to worry. Dammit! She was supposed to stay with Carson, but she gave him the slip.
Why? Why would she do that?
Daniel rushes up to us, his face lined with anxiety. I glance at him, back down to my phone, and at him again.
“What?” Trying to forget about my phone, I focus on Daniel.
“Why’d you let him go?”
I stare at Daniel, bewildered. “What are you talking about?” My attention shifts; I glance around the room with a growing sense of excitement. “The shark is here?”
When I look back at Daniel, he’s staring at me like he’s the one who’s confused. “I thought you knew. The way you were staring at him, I thought you knew it was him.”
Daniel glances at the door, and then back at me. His eyes are wide with regret and fear. “Son of a bitch! You just let him walk back out the door!”
Dread grabs hold of me, sinking so deep into my bones that my arms and legs go limp. I grab onto the counter, my phone clattering onto the tile. Squeezing my eyes shut, I will what I’m thinking not to be true.
No.
No.
No
Counts intercedes, placing a hand on my shoulder in an effort to calm me. “Wait a minute. Are you saying the guy with the dark-haired girl…the one in the striped shirt? That’s the guy you saw with your brother that day?”
I open my eyes as the rest of the noise in the room fades away. All I can focus on is Daniel and his response to Counts’ question.
Daniel nods, his growing sense of panic painfully clear.
“Yes!”
My stomach rolls and I grab my phone before I sprint for the door.
Turning back around, I yell at Daniel. “Cops are outside. Go! Tell them!”
And then I’m running for my Harley. My phone is clutched in my hand, because now I need to hear from Naima more than I need to breathe.
I just let her leave with the mystery loan shark.
And possibly, a killer.
Twenty-Eight
NAIMA
Noah and I exit the parking garage into the lobby of a hotel. It’s not one of the luxury brands that dot the main uptown streets, but a mid-level boutique hotel that’s a little off the beaten path. The name of the establishment is scrawled in shining silver letters across the exposed brick wall of the lobby, and Noah pulls out a room key.
Suddenly, my hands break out into a cold sweat.
Noah brought me to a hotel? What does he think we’re doing here?
My phone buzzes in the back pocket of my skirt, and I point toward the ladies’ room.
“Gonna run to the bathroom real quick. Be right back.” I don’t give him a chance to answer, just rush into the bathroom and lean against the door.
I can’t figure Noah out tonight. He wanted to go to the Ring, but he didn’t gamble once we were there. Now he’s brought me to a hotel? Is he going to try to talk me into spending the night with him?
Maybe I never should have left The Corner. The only reason I snuck away from Carson was because I thought I’d be with Ace. Making sure he was okay, and finding out why he was holding games at the Ring when he was supposed to be ending this nightmare.
I stare around me at the bronze-accented bathroom. What am I doing? My stomach clenches into a tight fist of anxiety.
Now, because of my nerves, I really do need the bathroom, so I use it quickly in one of the stalls before pulling my phone out and checking the screen. A text from Ace has me holding my breath.
WHERE ARE YOU?
I reply with the name of the hotel Noah’s brought me to and put my phone back in my pocket. I need to get out of this bathroom and explain a few things to Noah before this gets out of hand.
“Noah.” My tone is cautious as I walk up to him where he’s waiting against the wall beside the elevator. “I’m not sure why you’d bring me to a hotel. Whatever you think is happening between us—”
Noah’s icy blue eyes go wide, and he holds up two hands as he steps toward me. “It’s not what you’re thinking, Ny, I swear. I’m only showing you how I’ve been making money, and then we’ll go. I promise.”
Tilting my head to the side in confusion, I stare at him.
I guess I’m not going to figure this out until I let him show me what he’s talking about.
Noah holds out his hand and I take it with some hesitation. He pulls me into the elevator. I study him as we ride up to the sixth floor; he’s fidgety. He keeps glancing at me and then looking away, staring at the ticking floor numbers.
He’s nervous.
I fold my arms across my chest and follow Noah out of the elevator and down the dimly lit hallway. He stops in front of a room, and I glance up at the chrome numerals.
Noah takes a deep breath, shoots me a furtive smile, and uses his key card to unlock the hotel room door.
My phone buzzes again in my pocket. I’m sure it’s from Ace, but I’m walking into the hotel room and my breath immediately catches as I take in the sight before me.
It’s a suite, so it’s much larger than a normal room. The space is spread with card tables filled with guys of all ages. There are some girls walking around, too, holding drinks in their hands as they talk in small groups or linger close to the men they came with. There’s a football game on the large, flat screen TV.
I stare around the room, one hand reaching up to my head as it starts to throb painfully. I squeeze my eyes shut, but when I open them again, I’m still looking at what can only be one thing.
A gambling lou
nge.
“What is this, Noah?” My voice is an octave higher than normal, but I can’t stop myself from turning an accusing stare on him.
“This,” starts Noah, his voice full of pride and trepidation. “Is how I’ve been earning the money I need to buy in on my uncle’s business. I took a page out of your thug boyfriend’s book and opened my own ring.”
Like a fish swimming in circles, I open and close my mouth a few times. The words won’t come. They’re trapped somewhere between my brain and my mouth. But it only takes a moment before my muteness is cured.
“You stole Ace’s idea?” Another octave. I don’t even recognize my voice at this point.
My phone buzzes again in my back pocket, but I ignore it.
Noah shrugs, staring at me from a few feet away. “Why should he have all the glory? I went to his ring a few months ago and thought to myself I can do the same thing. Only I can be better at it. I run this ring in a different hotel every week.”
Noah’s getting carried away with his excitement. His words are coming faster and louder, and he no longer appears tentative or nervous. He’s proud of what he’s done. And he wants me to be proud of him, too.
Not gonna happen, bucko.
“I don’t limit how many people can play. And I don’t stop at letting them bet on games or play poker and craps. I’ve set up a numbers game, too. The cash literally flows in, Ny!”
Now gripping my head with both hands, I shake it from side to side. I stare around the room again, taking in the vast age differences of all the people playing here.
“Noah, you’ve got grown men gambling in here. Have you lost your mind? What if you get hurt by one of these guys?”
Noah’s expression turns smug. “That would never happen. Because like your boy, I hire muscle to make sure I’m safe. And to make sure that these guys pay up.”
I shake my head again, but then I freeze as his last words settle over me.
“Make them pay up? Like what, Noah? You hire guys who will rough them up for you?” My stomach plummets to my feet.
Narrowing my eyes on Noah, I watch his reaction. But he’s not reacting. He’s watching me carefully, like he’s waiting for something.
The oily taste of fear invades my mouth, and I bite down hard on my tongue. As the taste of blood mixes with the taste of my fear, I take a step backward from Noah. My phone begins to buzz repeatedly in my pocket, and I pull it out. Turning away from Noah, I put the phone to my ear.
I’m ready to talk to Ace now.
I feel the sting on my fingers as Noah’s hand connects with mine, snatching my phone from me.
“He can wait,” he snaps.
Tossing my phone onto table, he closes the distance between us again. Taking my face in his hands, he stares into my eyes.
“I never meant for them to kill that guy,” he says softly. “He owed me money. I wanted them to collect it. That’s all.”
My breath is coming faster, but I will my body to remain still.
I can’t freak out, I can’t freak out. Ace…he knows where I am.
But he doesn’t know that Noah is the person he’s been looking for the entire time!
“Noah…I don’t want to know any more, okay? I just want my phone. And then I have to go.” I hold my hand out, refusing to let it tremble.
Noah rips his eyes away from me, down to my outstretched hand…and back to my face. There’s disbelief in his eyes, and then regret. The last emotion that crosses his face is anger, and it’s the one that finally forces a tremor to skate down my spine.
“You won’t even give me a chance to explain? What did it take with Ace, for you to end up in his bed? An hour? Two? You’ve known me for years…but you’re staring at me like I’m a stranger. And you want to… what?” He grabs my phone off the table and holds it in front of my face. I’m not stupid enough to make a grab for it. “Call him to take you away from me? Again?”
Noah’s voice has lifted, and now the people in the room are giving us wary stares. A few of them head for the door, and I want to scream at them to wait, not to leave me here.
Noah glances up when the hotel door slams, and he glances around the room. Its like he’s noticing for the first time since he started coming clean that we’re not alone.
“Everybody…” His voice is a low rumble, but it commands attention. “Get the hell out.”
I watch with sinking desperation as the dozen or so people that were in the suite disperse, and when I’m left alone with Noah, I turn to face him.
I’m alone. There’s no one here to help me.
But Noah…he’s my friend. Maybe he lost his way, but he’s always been my friend. Right?
“Was it you?” I ask him, blatant and accusing. “That night at Bryn’s? Did you attack me? Hurt me?” I take a step closer to him, because now my temper is blazing.
He closes his eyes briefly, and when he opens them there’s real pain there. “One of my guys was in the trees. He told me when you came outside. I wasn’t trying to hurt you, Ny…”
I slap him.
Hard.
Right across the face, and the sting in my hand is nothing compared to the one in my heart.
“You asshole! I was terrified that night! And then afterward, you held me, comforted me…” I trail off, my voice trembling, my body shaking. “It was all just a lie.”
The way he pretended to care about me that night…his false concern. Looking back now, I’m horrified. The fact that he has that kind of acting ability chills me down deep. I thought he really cared, that he was worried about me.
Noah reaches toward me, stepping forward, but I throw up my hands to ward him off, stepping back. I gesture toward my phone. “Take the phone, Noah! I’m leaving.”
Whirling, I storm toward the door. My legs shake, but they manage to carry me across the room. Just before I reach it, a pair of strong arms catches me around the waist, yanking me back.
Yelping, my mouth opens for a full-on scream but Noah claps a hand over it, effectively cutting me off. He yanks me back, my heels drag across the carpeted floor. I’m fighting like a trapped animal: thrashing, kicking, and biting his hand. Anything to get him to let me go.
But he’s too strong.
“You’re not going anywhere yet, babe. I’m not done…you’re going to understand why I did what I did. You owe me that. You gave him more than that, right? It’s my turn. You like bad boys? Here I am, Ny.”
Noah’s breath is hot against my ear. He speaks through clenched teeth, holding onto me in spite of my struggling. My eyes are wild, staring toward the exit I can’t reach. And then the mechanical whir of the hotel door’s lock reaches my ears, miraculously loud despite the sounds of our scuffle.
My entire body goes limp with stark relief when Ace bursts through that door.
Twenty-Nine
ACE
I roll through that hotel room door hot, because I haven’t stopped running since I left the warehouse. When Naima sent me the text with the hotel name and then stopped responding to me, I just went faster.
But as soon as I’m through that door, the sight laid out in front of me brings me to a halt. I freeze, my eyes drinking in the scene. Naima, her hair wild and her eyes wide, kicking and trying to scream.
That animal with his hands all over her, holding her mouth so she can’t make a sound.
I see red, and all I want to do is murder him. Tear him apart like I know I can, until he bleeds. I want his blood running over my skin, and I don’t want anyone to stop me this time.
But one thing keeps me from moving forward, and that’s Naima.
My angel.
Her eyes are locked on me, and the hope in them slices me in half. She trusts me so completely to save her. And if I do this wrong, Noah could hurt her.
Or worse.
Wiping that thought from my mind, I skid to a halt and put my hands up. Showing him I’m harmless, even though I’m anything but.
Noah pulls Naima tighter against him, a pissed-off
snarl on his face. “How’d you get in here?”
Keeping my eyes locked on his, I step forward. Just a tiny step. My heart thunders against my ribs; sweat drips down my temple. “Met some people coming from your party on the elevator. One of them gave me a key. Just wanted to check on my girl.”
Noah jerks her closer to him, and she squeaks. His hand is clamped so tight on her mouth; he’s probably making an imprint on her face.
Murder will happen. He won’t get away with this. Not this.
“Your girl? Your girl? You’ve known her for what...five minutes? She’s not yours and she never will be.”
I glance at Naima. “Did he hurt you, angel?”
Noah snorts. “I would never hurt her.”
Keeping my eyes on Naima, I shake my head. “No? You hurt her that night at your house, didn’t you?”
Noah jerks his head with fierce anger. “That wasn’t my fault. I wanted to make her listen…make her stay away from you.”
I lift a brow. “Yeah? How’d that work out for you?”
He shakes her, but this time she doesn’t make a sound. She’s hardening herself, tightening all her muscles, toughening up. Because I’m here.
Tough girl.
Damn. I need to calm down my mouth.
Taking another step closer, I cut my eyes to Noah. “Let her go, man. This is between you and me, right? You want what I have…my business? So let’s settle it. But not with Naima between us.”
He jerks her to the right, and she winces. “Stop walking! You think I’m stupid? No way you get to be the hero here, Wells.”
I freeze, a war erupting inside my head. I want to rush him, I want to tackle him to the floor and hit him until he’s out. Maybe past that. I’m pretty sure I can push Naima out of the way—
“Get out.” Noah’s hiss knocks me out of my own thoughts.
Shaking my head, I raise my hands again, my movements slow and smooth. “Can’t do that, man.”
