Page 191 of Awakened by Sin

“You’re a nudist?” This mundane and slightly bizarre conversation was keeping her from losing her shit.

He threw back his head and laughed. She examined him more closely. He had a slick braid down his back. The beard made him appear older than he was. He was probably in his early or mid-thirties, and when one got past his size, he was quite handsome in a rugged sort of way. He could be a basketball player with his height, but his width made him a better fit for rugby or football. When he wiped his eyes, she noticed his black fingernail polish.

“You’re a rock star?”

He grinned. “You could say that.”

“What’s your name?”

“John.”

There was a slight hesitation before he answered, which told her he was lying, but that wasn’t unusual. Most men who frequented clubs lied through their teeth, but she continued anyway.

“What’s your last name?”

Another pause and then, “Smith.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a shit-eating grin spread over his lips. He didn’t even bother to hide the fact that he was amused by his bad improv.

“Really? That’s the best you could come up with?” she asked.

He gave a halfhearted shrug. “Yeah.”

“Why the hell is Pocahontas on your mind in a gentlemen’s club?”

“I have no idea. I heard him call you Pyre. You’re related to Gavin?”

She tightened her grip on the gun. “Who wants to know?”

“I ran into him a few months ago. He left an impression.”

She tried to decipher what that meant. Friend? Enemy? She had no idea.

“Are you Angel Roman’s whore?”

“Excuse me?”

“He called you Angel’s fuck toy, which makes you his whore, right?” When her gun hand shifted he asked, “What else do you call a woman you fuck?”

She glared at him. “Lover, girlfriend, friend,wife.”

“Are you his wife?”

She bared her teeth. “Don’t push me, John.” Then she registered what he said. “You know AngelandGavin?”

He didn’t look like he was from the underworld. He didn’t have the edge that Gavin and Angel had. He was huge, but he wore fucking nail polish and had the social awkwardness of a geeky weatherman.

“I ran into both of them. I was hoping they frequented a place like this,” John said.

“Angel has. Gavin doesn’t.”

John nodded. “Right. He’s committed now.”

She relaxed a little. “Yes.”

“I really enjoyed that,” he said and gestured to the blood and puke on the floor. “Very entertaining.”

Before she could come up with a response, a figure turned the corner. She relaxed when she recognized Mickey. He had his gun out, and when he spotted John the behemoth, he raised it. John gave Mickey a friendly grin, which made him blink. John was definitely an odd one.

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