Page 7 of Dark Love

Why don’t I pay an accountant to do this?

Because the last two stole from you.

“Vex.” Payne pokes his head in my office, letting in some of the music from the club below us.

“Yeah?”

“We just got a call from the Gatz’s security. They’re going to be ten minutes late for your meeting.”

Of course, they are. Why do I even provide safe spaces for stupid people to party? Because they pay me an even stupider amount of money for the privilege. “Is the VIP section readyfor them?”

“Yeah. We cleared the entire space out for their group. We have four servers and six bouncers waiting on their arrival. I will be overseeing them all night.”

“Good. How are sales tonight?” I walk over to the window and look out at the full club below us.

“Steady. We’re going to need to bring on an extra bartender next week to handle the crowds we’re expecting the celebrity DJ to draw.”

“Add two just to be safe. And four extra bouncers.” I hate celebrities. I absolutely despise them. But they’re a necessary evil to keep revenue up. “Any problems?”

“Nah. Tac is on the door. It’s been a relatively quiet night so far.”

Those scare me. Bad things happen on quiet nights. “I’m going to go spend some time downstairs.”

“Your table is free, as always.”

“Is Roxanna coming in tonight?”

“We broke up. She wanted a new car.”

“Another one?”

Payne shakes his head. “Driving last year’s model was embarrassing her.”

“Her loss.” They never last long. That’s why I stopped bothering with relationships long ago. Women see my money and power and think it can all be theirs.

The farther down the stairs I go, the louder the music gets. I step out of an unmarked door that’s right next to my private booth.

The view from here isn’t as all-encompassing as from my office, but it’ll do. The next business I open is going to be quiet.

My eyes scan the floor randomly.

Every night there’s at least one couple that thinks they’re invisible. That no one can see them in the middle of the dance floor trying to have sex. “Nic, Marc, take care of it before they give a show we aren’t licensed for.”

My two guards head off to remove the offending couple from my dance floor and, most likely, my club.

What? Why is there a woman in a cardigan running across my club? Who let a librarian past the rope? Tac is smarter than that. Librarians don’t sneak into bars. They’re smart enough to keep themselves and their sexy little skirts out of my club.

She’s running straight at me. All it would take is a word to stop her, but I don’t utter the word.

Curiosity is going to be the death of me one of these days. But I need to know why. Why is she here? And why is she running towards the scariest person in the room? Sane… normal women run from me. They shield their children from me. They never run to me. I’m the monster in the room.

She skids to a stop, barely avoiding a fall as she slides into the booth next to me.

Curious though I may be, my hand grips the butt of my gun as I slide the safety off...

“Hello, darling.”

Her words punch me in the gut even though her breathless voice is soft and sweet.

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