Page 49 of Exposed

Rand turns to leave, but stops himself one last time and turns to me. “Watch your back, Goldie. You and I have unfinished business. I plan to see it through.”

King’s arm around me tightens, but we don’t move. King doesn’t take his eyes off Rand as he casually jogs down the stairs and stalks through our beautiful courtyard to the parking lot.

I’m still fisting his shirt as my heart starts to calm. I pry my fingers loose and slide my arm away, but not before I come into contact with something rock hard above his waist.

A gun.

“Let’s get you inside.” King finally lets me go and puts a hand at the small of my back to give me a little shove. The door slams, and the locks click. “I take it you know that guy.”

My fingers tremble as I bring them to my face and will myself to calm down. “If that’s how this is going to go, I might have to tearup our contract. I can’t handle that, and you want me to attend a dinner meeting with you and Dex at The Pink?”

King doesn’t try to make me feel better. Instead, he goes straight to my kitchen and opens my refrigerator. Without looking at me, he asks, “Water, seltzer, or wine?”

“Water.”

He reaches in the fridge for my filtered water pitcher, but he also grabs a bottle of wine that’s half empty. It’s nothing fancy. I think it might’ve been seven dollars.

What can I say, times might be tough, but sometimes a girl just needs wine.

He rattles through two cabinets, but it doesn’t take him long. My kitchen isn’t that big after all. He pours me a glass of water and a brimming glass of wine before turning back to me. “Sit. Our list of shit to talk about just got longer.”

That’s one thing I won’t argue. I feel like today will never end. I’m exhausted and the only meal I’ve had was from a vending machine. I fall to my sofa leaving plenty of room for my guest. But King doesn’t sit at my side. He plants his behind on my coffee table directly in front of me.

“I feel another interrogation coming on,” I mumble. “Two in one day. Yay me.”

“Here.” He hands me both drinks, and I gladly take them. I gulp half the water before setting it on the table next to him and settle in with my glass of wine, probably the last I’ll have for a while if my checking account has anything to say about it. “Time is not on our side, Goldie. I know who Randall Becerra is. That motherfucker is high on my list of targets to arrest. There’s nothing good about him, and he proved it tonight by trying to get into your apartment. Had I not been here, he might’ve succeeded.”

I shift to sit up straighter and rest my wine glass on my thigh. “You’re right. What Rand wants, Rand usually gets. Unless itcomes to me, which is why he hates me. And how did you know he was here?”

King shrugs like it’s no big deal. “I was parked across the street making sure you didn’t run off into the night and renege on our deal.”

“That sounds like a good idea at the moment,” I mutter.

“I’m not sure you understand, but moving back to Virginia will not make you safe. Drug dealers do travel, you know.”

“I’ll be safer there than here,” I argue.

He’s about to argue further, but pulls out his phone and puts it to his ear. “Shit. Sorry. Yeah, he’s gone. I’m with Goldie.”

He doesn’t take his eyes off me as he listens to the caller.

“I’ll be here. I’ll touch base in the morning. Later.” He puts his cell on the coffee table next to my water. “I got a call from Dex’s assistant. We’ve got dinner tomorrow at The Pink. I did everything I could to keep you out of it, but Dex insisted. In fact, he wouldn’t take the meeting with me if you weren’t there. We have less than twenty-four hours to prepare and get our stories straight. I need to know if you’re in or out. If you’re in, you need to be all in. You signed the contract, but now you’re freaked. I get it.”

I shake my head. “You don’t get anything.”

King leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees and lowers his voice. “Then help me get it. No one has information on Carter like you. I want that information. All of it. The more you communicate with me, the faster this will go. But the most important thing is I can keep you safe. Swear to you, Goldie. Nothing will happen to you—I won’t allow it.”

My apartment is so quiet, I’m hyperaware of everything.

His blue eyes boring into me.

My shallow breaths.

The small space between us. His legs are spread to make room for mine. He’d barely have to lift a finger to touch my knee.

“I’m scared.” The words come out on a whisper.

He exhales. “I know.”

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