He then lifts a stack of papers, “That’s why we were going through these. These are medical records for Paul and Amber during their stay with The Wolves.” He lets out a snort and then shakes his head, “They kept medical records for when they were going to sell them. It’s all here. But man, you need to think about whether you want to know or not.”
I should probably wait for Amber to tell me what happened to her. But when I looked into her eyes, she had a hint of sadness in them. She tries to mask it but I don’t want her to have to mask it. I don’t want to see it anymore. I will do anything to save her from any more heartache.
I look back at my friend and ask, “What would you do if it was Blanche?”
He looks back at his wife, and I can see it written all over his face. “I would find out anything and everything I could and–.”
Blanche interrupts us. “If you do this Jake, you could risk her getting upset and maybe even lose her.”
“I don’t care if it upsets her. If I keep her safe, I won’t lose her ever again.”
Zeev then nods his head toward a chair, “Have a seat then. Let’s get started.”
Chapter fourteen
Amber
I’m back at work. The fear after Jake came storming back into my life has dissipated some, but not completely. There are still times I feel like someone is watching me, but I’m not sure if it's me being paranoid or if I need to be more on guard.
I want to hope that it’s paranoia but sometimes it feels like so much more. I’m ready to get things back to normal, I need something to ground me. Routine grounds me. It helps to keep me sane. “Hey, Paul.” I wave to him as I pass by.
Paul doesn’t say anything, just waves back to me. Perfect. Normal.
I head to my office to drop my things off, and then I head back into the main bar area. I look around the room. Ella is behind the bar bartending, and people are mingling and talking. Some of my dancers are on the stage while the rest are in the back room. I take a deep breath and count to ten. I remind myself that this is how things are supposed to be, nothing is out of the ordinary.
I head over to the bar. “Hey, Ella. How are things going tonight?”
“Everything is good, except for this asshole scaring everyone away.” She grins while smacking the arm of her boyfriend Mikhail, sitting across from her.
“Babygirl, I’m not scaring everyone away, just the ones who look at you,” he grumbles.
Ella grabs a tumbler and pours him a whiskey, handing it to him. “Mikhail, I work here. You can’t scare anyone away.”
“Well, that’s your fault. I told you that you didn’t have to work.”
“And I told you that I don’t need your money.”
My eyes ping-pong back and forth during this whole exchange. When Ella finishes, Mikhail doesn’t say anything else, just grabs her face, pulling her closer to him. He then crashes his lips to hers, kissing her like his life depends on it.
My face heats up and I look away. I feel like I’m interrupting a very private moment, but before I can excuse myself, he lets go of her.
“Now everyone knows you are mine,” he declares as he slinks back onto the barstool.
“Ugh, you guys are disgustingly cute,” I say with a look of disgust.
“Don’t act like you can’t have that,” she whispers.
I turn back toward Ella but don’t comment. I’m not ready to face my feelings for Jake just yet. “I’m going to the back room to work on inventory from the shipment we just received if you need me.”
“Got it, boss,” Ella answers me with a wink. I just roll my eyes, grab the invoices, and head to the storeroom.
The room is filled with boxes. “Ugh, I wish Max would hire more people to help with this,” I mutter under my breath.
I start opening boxes, using the invoice I have to make sure that we have everything. As I’m working through them, checking things off the list. I get that feeling again.
My heart starts to race as the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I glance over my shoulder but don’t see anyone. Sweat starts to run down my back. My hands get clammy and I rub them on my jeans. Closing my eyes, I count to ten. Breathe in, breathe out.
As my heart calms, a loud noise bangs through the room. I jump, letting out a scream. I grab the first item next to me, and I frantically search. I don’t see anyone but I can’t seem to calm myself either. My vision starts to waver, black spots forming in the corner of my eyes. I try again to take a deep breath.