Page 39 of Cruel Devil

The bouncer sees us approaching and stiffens, ready to fend us off. Then he gives Andy a double take and some of that aggression melts away from his shoulders.

I don’t hear what she says to him as she leans in and lays a hand on his arm, but by the time I reach them, he’s unclipping the velvet rope and standing aside for us to enter.

We’re halfway up the stairs before I whisper, “How’d you do that?”

Her face is grim. “Oldest trick in the book.”

“Sex?” I hiss.

“Money.” Andy lifts her hand, a folded bill clamped between two fingers.

She pauses outside the second set of doors. “Want to go in first?”

Once Savage had finally agreed that only me and Andy would venture inside The Foundry, we discussed what would happen if Sullivan was here tonight. The chances of him not recognizing me are slim. But I’m hoping he underestimates the living shit out of me so I can get close enough to talk to him.

The door closes silently behind us.

I pause to get my bearings before strutting deeper inside. Plush lounge chairs and booths are scattered throughout the dimly lit VIP section. Either things have changed here, or I was so wasted I never noticed the two stripper poles, or the set of poker tables near one wall.

Downstairs, the club is at capacity. Up here, there are maybe fifty people. Any more than that, and their collective egos would cause a narcissistic void in the space-time continuum, sucking them all into a parallel universe.

“I don’t see him,” I murmur to Andy as I casually head for the balcony’s railing.

“He’s not that guy in the back snorting a line from that stripper’s ass?” Her lips barely move as she comes to stand beside me. I turn around, propping my elbows on the cool metal railing, as if we’re just gabbing away like besties.

I glance over at the guy she spotted, shake my head. “Too blond.”

“Him or the stripper?”

“Both. Sheesh, what was she thinking?”

“And the one getting the lap dance?”

I sip my drink. “Soon as he gets his face out of the girl’s tits, I’ll let you know.”

Andy snort-laughs, and I manage my first smile of the night. I won’t lie, this mission is the most nerve wracking I’ve ever been assigned. Not because it’s tough.

I’ve definitely had it tougher.

If I fuck this up, my sisters will never live another normal day in their lives.

“Okay, because if it’s not him, then check the guy?—“

I cut off at the sound of a man’s voice. “Nyx?”

My drink sloshes over my hand as I hurriedly straighten, tottering on my heels. I recognize that voice. And I recognize the tall, brawny man coming our way.

“Is that Sullivan?” Andy whispers. Surprisingly, she sounds determined, not anxious or uneasy.

“No.” My voice is hollow as I watch Liam’s father approach us. “But if anyone knows where he is, it’s Patrick.”

Chapter 12

Savage

“Why are they taking so long?” My fingers drum against the Expedition’s console as I stare over the road. The queue under The Foundry’s neon sign has doubled since we stopped here an hour ago.

“They’re supposed to be clubbing, bro.”

---