Page 44 of Hidden But Not Safe

Naz didn’t like those strings. They made it look like one good tug and her whole dress would just slide right off, leaving her vulnerable among all these strangers.

She kept smiling up at Julio and laughing, but the falseness of her laugh was as grating in Naz’s ears as the drumming bass of the music.

Julio didn’t keep them in the crowd for long. He led them to one of the VIP rooms on the upper floor, and the glass door swished shut behind them, dulling the music by a decibel or two.

That deep bass beat still thrummed under his skin.

Rocks and Naz took their positions by the door while Seb and Miguel followed Julio and Meg toward the couches.

“This is wild!” Meg’s eyes looked glassy. Julio had talked her into doing a line earlier, saying that she’d need it that night. Meg had tensed, but she hadn’t put up more of a fight.

There was something in her eyes that had been bothering Naz all day, but when he’d tried to ask her about it on the Notes app, she’d said she was fine.

Just like with Diego, Naz had known she was lying, but he didn’t push.

Julio pressed against Meg’s body and kissed her, his tongue moving into her mouth. Time stretched while he devoured her. There was a wet sound when he pulled away that Naz shouldn’t have been able to hear so clearly from his position by the door.

“You’re the one that needs to be wild tonight, baby. Come here.” He dragged her down on one of the plush sofas to sit beside him, turning her face so he could study her eyes. “You coming down already?”

She shook her head in his loose grip, curling her legs up on the couch to press her torso into him.

The movement brought Julio’s gaze to her feet, covered in the striped cloth shoes Naz had bought for her back when she’d walked to the convenience store in bare feet.

“Why the fuck did you wear those ugly things?” Julio asked with a scowl.

The pitch of Meg’s laugh was too high. “These are all I have. You didn’t buy me anything that matched the dress.”

His grip on her face tightened, making her hand scramble for his wrist. “You blaming me? I bought you a fucking dress.”

“It wasn’t blame!” His palm over her mouth muffled the words.

“She’s got a point, Julio,” Seb cut in. “It’s not like she’s been walking around in heels.”

Julio released her, and her hand dropped from his wrist like lead, gripping the couch as she stared down at it.

“Take them off,” Julio said.

Meg nodded. Her hands were slow as she slipped them off, though, as if she didn’t want to. “I might lose them,” she mumbled, gripping them hard in her hands.

“I don’t give a shit,” Julio said.

Meg’s lip trembled.

Naz stepped forward, holding out his hands.

Her trembling stopped. Meg looked up at him before placing her shoes in his hands.

“She’s not fucking Cinderella,” Julio muttered.

Naz tucked each shoe into one of his back pockets, though they still stuck out. He’d worn his jacket to cover his gun, but it worked for the shoes as well.

The club was owned by the Guzmans, so they got to keep their weapons on them, but flashing them in public never ended well. Plenty of bodies were crushed into the building that weren’t cartel.

“Give me those feet,” Julio said, dragging them onto his lap and making Meg flail, her hands catching her balance again as she leaned back.

Julio pressed his thumb along her arch, drawing out a soft moan. “Yeah. Bare feet are sexier. You like that?”

Meg bit her lip but nodded.

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