Page 44 of Love In The Shadows

“Oh my God! Reed, I’m so sorry,” I gushed, backing up a step after bouncing off what felt like a solid wall.

Reed’s eyebrows were halfway up his forehead. “It’s all right, Avery. What’s wrong? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost!”

“Richie’s asking for you,” I said, trying to stop trembling. I wasn’t sure what unnerved me more, Richie’s subtle threat or the fact that he knew about Bennett and me. I’d bolted from Richie’s room before asking too many questions. To anyone on the outside, Bennett was Eric, and I was Avery. We could flirt, talk, drink together, hell, we could even fuck, but that was it. We weren’t supposed to have a history, and we definitely weren’t supposed to fall in love.

Reed grimaced at my statement. “Shit. What does he want now?”

I was surprised by the harshness of Reed’s tone. He wasn’t the type to raise his voice or get angry. Even when someone royally fucked something up, the most I’d ever heard him give was an irritated sigh.

“I—I’m not sure,” I stammered. “He had a big meeting. Uhm, do you know who Eric Starr is?”

I held my breath as I waited for his answer.

Reed nodded and ran his hand over his jaw. “He’s one of Richie’s new business partners. At least, that’s what I’ve gathered.” His eyes snapped to mine. “Why do you ask?”

I hesitated, unsure of what to say. I couldn’t bring myself to raise my concerns, and I couldn’t tell Reed who Eric really was. Not without blowing my own cover at the same time. I swallowed down the panic and shrugged. “He was the last one I saw in the red room.”

“Hmm. Well, to be honest, Avery, I’m not in the mood to deal with Richie’s shit tonight. Can you tell him I’m gone for the night? And to call my cell if it’s a real emergency. Though, I doubt it is.”

He scoffed and crossed to the desk to snatch the rain jacket from the back of his office chair. He shrugged into it and caught my eye again. “Paige may come by in an hour or so. She’s got some friends in town, and she said something about giving them a tour of the place now that we’ve remodeled the second-floor suites. Make sure that Richie doesn’t harass her and her friends, all right?”

I nodded, though I wasn’t sure what he expected me to do. I wasn’t security, and if it came down to it, there wasn’t much I could do to stop Richie from doing what he wanted. With any luck, he’d get pissed that Reed wasn’t at his beck and call and leave the club for the night.

Ideally, forever.

Reed clapped me on the shoulder and made for the back exit. “Thanks, Avery. Go ahead and have Barbie close up tonight. I’ll take care of the tills in the morning. You can take off as soon as Richie clears out.”

“All right. Have a good night, Mr. Parkston.”

“You too.” He smiled and slipped out the back.

I drew in a shaky breath once the door closed behind him, sealing me in the office alone. I wanted to curl up under one of the desks and never come out again. But I summoned all my strength, threw my shoulders back, and marched back to the red room, ready for a fight.

Richie was back on the couch, his companion now stripped down to her panties, on her knees, sucking his cock. Stubby. Old. Just as I thought. At least he wouldn’t be trying to get me alone if he was already spent. I jerked my eyes away from the revolting sight and met Richie’s fierce glare.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dalton, but Mr. Parkston has already left for the night. Is there something I can help you with?”

Something other than taking the other woman’s place on my knees.

Richie grimaced as the girl kept working him over, and I tried not to throw up in my mouth. Richie reminded me of a scaly creature found in a backwoods swamp. I felt that way long before Bennett filled me in on who he actually was. Now that I knew the truth, my disgust only ran deeper.

“Jake,” he barked, snapping at one of his goons. “Call Parkston.”

I bit back an objection. I knew Reed didn’t want to be bothered, but I wasn’t going to step in the way and deny them the right to call. I could only hope that Reed answered and sorted out whatever grievance Richie had so he would take his pack of goons and go.

As his henchman waited for the call to go through, I backed up and reached for the doorknob.

“Wait right there, Red,” Richie said.

Every alert and instinct in my body told me to run, to bolt while I had the chance, but I forced myself to stay rooted and plastered on a half-smile as I turned back to face him.

Just as he fucking bust his nut…

The grunt and wave of pleasure that rolled across his face made my stomach turn. When he opened his eyes again, he locked onto me and offered a smarmy grin.

“I’ll see you later, Red,” he said, throwing me a wink. “Next time, it’s going to be you.”

Paige and her girlfriends entered the club about an hour after I escaped the red room. I was hiding in the office when Paige came in, giggling with her three friends.

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