Page 21 of Scarred Hearts

“Sorry,” I apologized. “Ty and I were having a conversation.”

He paused, studying me. “Is everything good between you two?”

“Good?” I scoffed. “I doubt things will ever be truly good, but they’re tolerable.”

“Sure.” He sneered. “Did he tell you that Jade wants you as the headliner?”

“He did. Were you planning on telling me about Ekaterina being here?” My lips pursed as I waited for an answer.

Instantly, his expression became guarded. “Did he tell you that?”

“I’m glad someone did,” I hissed. “Why was she here?”

He glanced over his shoulder before grabbing my wrist, just like Tyler had done earlier. Pulling me through the bustling lobby toward the hallway leading to champagne rooms and dressing areas, he remained silent. I thought he would let go once we were past the crowd, but he maintained his grip and pulled me all the way to Room One, Mr. Knight’s personal room.

Releasing my hand, he closed and locked the door behind us. Kirsten appeared moments later, completely naked and grinning when she saw me. Before she could speak, Luke waved her off.

“Not now, Kirsten.”

“Okay.” She glanced at me before exiting the room. “So happy you’re back!”

“Thanks,” I mustered a smile, though happiness was far from what I was feeling at that moment. As soon as she was out of sight, I became serious.

“What did Tyler say about it?” Luke asked.

I leaned against the platform edge situated in the middle of the room. “Nothing, just that she was here. But I want to know why, and I deserve an explanation.”

“It’s business.”

“Okay,” I exhaled, “and I understand that, but is everything alright?”

“Well, she’s not happy about you being here anymore. And for some God unknown reason, she’s definitely not happy about Declan’s interest in Kirsten, so there’s that.” He put his hands on his hips, taking a deep breath as he stared at the ceiling, then lowered his eyes back to me. “She met with Ian and me about other things too that you don’t need to worry about, but she tried to buy you back.”

“Buy me?!”

“Don’t worry, Ian made it clear that you’re not for sale.”

A sinking feeling settled in my stomach. This situation was bound to end badly. Ekaterina never took no for an answer, especially when money was involved. I shifted my gaze to the floor.

“I assure you that you have nothing to worry about.”

I lifted my eyes back to him. “Mr. Knight has no reason to fight for me. And even if he does, it’s only because he feels guilty about what happened with my dad. But he would never fight for me because he actually wants to.”

“I think you’ll soon find you’re wrong,” he defended. “Ian’s loyal as shit and besides leaving us for a while to sort out your own grief, you never fucked us over. More importantly, you stood by him when shit got weird with Britney and then pulling those fuckers out of the audience for us. You’ve more than earned his respect. He just doesn’t want you getting too cocky about shit, so he told you to earn his trust again.”

I remained quiet. He wasn’t wrong, but I still felt like Mr. Knight probably thought I was a burden. In the end, when she started a war over me, would he fight for me out of obligation or turn me over to her? I earned his trust, but I wasn’t sure he’d earned mine just yet. I’d still fight by his side and prove myself to him, however, I didn’t know if he’d return the favor. Either way, it didn’t matter. Ekaterina was a fucking bitch who always got her way.

Reaching inside his pocket, he pulled out his phone, staring at it for a minute before putting it away. “Tyler said he needs you back in Luxe.”

“Okay,” I replied, though I thought it was weird that he needed me again so soon. “Am I safe to wander around the club alone?” Not that I was worried about much, but Ekaterina was a different breed. She’d controlled me for so long because I allowed it due to my desperation to separate myself from my family.

He chuckled. “Yeah, things have really changed around here quite a bit. I’ll catch up with you later. I have a few things I need you to do, but since it’s your first night back and you’re dancing too, we can get together tomorrow and work out the personal assistant stuff instead of tonight.”

“Sounds good.” I beamed. “Thanks for taking me back.”

5

THE TRUTH HURTS

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