Page 5 of Forbidden Need

“Yes,” she said.

In the absence of certainty, she erred on the side of honesty. Who knew what someone else might tell Tulip or what she already knew?

“What are they like?”

“We didn’t hang out. We weren’t buddies. Like you said I—”

“Oh, my God.” Tulip leaped off her stool. “I just saw her. Whisper Doherty. She’s headed for the ladies’ room.”

Before she’d even finished the sentence, Tulip was off the stool, rocketing across the room.

Whisper using the public restroom while the club was in full swing seemed unlikely.

The alone time gave her a chance to absorb the ambiance. Not so long ago, Stag meant safety. Sanctuary. Now being in there, after crossing the threshold and not bringing the roof down on her head, she was beginning to relax.

“Who tipped you off, High Class?”

Someone slid onto Tulip’s stool. Not Tulip, the woman she was pursuing. Damn the Doherty was smart.

THREE

“WHISPER,” Sersha said. “It’s good to see you again.”

“That’s not an answer to my question,” Whisper said. “Who was it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, twisting her stool toward the Doherty, checking out the room behind her. “But I do know the woman I came with will be back any minute. She wants to know why you and your husband are here. In town.”

“And you brought her here?”

“Coming here was not my idea. It was hers. You could say I’m here under duress because my boss ordered me to back her up.”

“Because he thinks you know the McDades,” Whisper said, assessing her. “Ire’s on a kick—”

“I don’t want to know,” she said, returning to her drink. “You should walk away before—”

“Your friend won’t get out of the bathroom until I want her to get out of there.” Whisper’s smug smile held a power only a mob daughter could own. “The guys aren’t here. Ire’s on a rampage. Raze is doing what he can. Though, if you ask me, there are certain things he enjoys a little too much for a guy who’s supposed to be retired from the game.”

“I don’t know what that means, Raze is doing what he can?”

“You fucked your guy up good. My guy, he’s changed… kinda,” Whisper said, picking up Tulip’s drink to sip it and scowl before pushing it away. “Some might say it happened years ago. Most of the time, that’s the side of him people see. The world sees.”

“What are you trying to tell me?”

Everything pleasant or positive was gone from Whisper when her eyes cut around. “My husband isn’t squeamish about doing what needs to be done.”

“Neither are you.”

“Are you?”

“Hey, gorgeous ladies…”

The drawl of a half-drunk playboy was familiar, as was the arm that slid around her waist. Asshole. Of all the women at the bar—

Whisper pounced fast, up to a crouch on her stool. The guy was slammed down on the bar so hard, she jumped off her seat on reflex.

But there was Whisper, a knee between the guy’s shoulder blades, twisting his arm up his back, holding a knife to his throat. Honestly, it happened that fast. Boom, Whisper had control.

“You want to say that to me again,” Whisper snarled. “Creeping up on a woman has consequences.”

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