Page 35 of Filthy Hot

Something crosses my mind, and my body freezes at the thought. Rider was here doing business with Sal. What the hell kind of business were they doing? And how well does he know the girls?

My stomach twists at the thought of Rider knowing them at all. I don’t know why. It’s not like I didn’t have sex with Xavier inthe past. It’s not like I’m some innocent virgin. But the thought of the girls I know,knowingany part of him… I hate that.

“What’re you doing back here?” a voice booms.

Turning my head, I look over my shoulder, expecting to see Sal or Dennis, but that’s not who is standing at the mouth of the hallway. It’s a man I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before in my life, but he’s standing in the hall wearing a three-piece suit, which strikes me as odd.

This is not right.

This is not right at all.

I open my mouth to tell him just that when he charges toward me.

I’m stuck with nowhere to go.

CHAPTER

FOURTEEN

GNAW

Women scream,and men grunt and shout. I should hate it, but I don’t.

I feel alive.

The sounds of the guns firing hurt my ears, but it’s a pain I enjoy.

And then it all ceases.

Silence surrounds us.

Turning to Atomic, I jerk my chin. He’s covered in sweat and blood, though the blood doesn’t appear to be his own. I shift my gaze to Clink. He’s the same. But something isn’t right. Something seemsoff.

“That was too easy,” I grind out.

Atomic’s gaze flicks up to meet mine. He looks about as worn and battered as I feel. I’m not sure we really did anything other than aim and shoot. But the way the women are all huddled together in their barely-there attire, you would think we all just fought the battle of a lifetime.

“Too easy,” Atomic states in agreement.

I hum, my gaze flicking around the room and taking it all in. This isn’t anyone’s home. This is a front. Everything looks as if it is from a hotel or something. Like it was bought in bulk as a set from a showroom somewhere.

This shit is staged.

The girls are all staring at us, trembling as they huddle together. They are wide-eyed and clearly fearful, but I’m not sure if it’s necessarily because they were kidnapped, or maybe they aren’t who they were portrayed to be, and we look like the bad guys here.

“Yeah,” I murmur. “Too easy,” I repeat. “That should have never gone down so effortlessly. Those men should have never just let us kill them. They weren’t important. Those were the patsies. Without a fucking doubt. Those men self-sacrificed for their cause, whatever that may be.”

Clink clears his throat. Turning my head, I look over to him. “What?” I ask when he doesn’t say anything immediately.

“I was just thinking…” His words trail off for a moment, and then he shifts his gaze from mine to Atomic’s. “If these men are the patsies, if this is a distraction, what is it a distraction for?”

I take a step backward and shift my attention toward the front door.Holy fucking shit. He’s right.

Sucking in a breath, I chew on the inside of my cheek and try to think about what they could be doing, but all I can think of is the bar, and that shit makes me sick to my stomach because I know Kyle is there.

“Sal’s,” I whisper. “That’s where they are.”

“I’ll stay here,” Clink grunts. “Monitor cleanup.”

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