Page 85 of Dark Love

Something about the urgency of his tone gives me pause. “This isn’t a friendly little visit.”

“I need a favor.”

That’s not good. “Can you just send me the name, and I’ll take care of it?”

“Not that kind of favor. Though thank you for the offer.”

Whatever he wants, it’s important. “Give me an hour. I’ll meet you at my office.”

“See you then.” Max hangs up.

***

My club is completely different first thing in the morning. With the lights on, the façade of the nighttime show falls away. The allure loses its shine without the smoke, mirrors, music, and freely flowing booze.

Dahlia was assaulted here. She was threatened.

This place isn’t for an innocent soul like hers. The filth see her and want to tarnish that beauty.

But the fact that it happened in my club, in a place that is supposed to be safe, makes me want to burn it down. I won’t because too many people rely on it for work. We need to up the security though. What almost happened can’t ever happen again.

Dogs… Maybe we need some drug-sniffing dogs to walk the line.

Or a head on a pike outside the door as a warning.

It would be brutally effective.

A knock sounds at the door and Tac pokes his head in. “Vincenti is here to see you.”

“Send him up.” Hopefully, it’s something easy that the family wants handled. Max has until Friday morning. Then I’m unavailable.

“Max.” I walk over as he steps in.

“Vex.” He takes my hand and gives it a firm shake.

Of all the Vincentis, Max is the richest. Not that you can tell. He doesn’t flash his wealth much more than I do. And only two people know that I’m worth billions. “Have a seat.” I gesture to the couch by the wall. He takes the armchair across from me instead. “What do you need?” There’s no point in wasting time.

“A security video.”

That’s it. He called this meeting for one of my security videos. “Why?” Max owns the biggest cybersecurity firm in the world. He can hack my system any time he wants without so much as blinking.

“I respect your privacy.”

Why have a cyber security company if you respect others’ privacy? “What date do you need?” It’s not like anything nefarious happens here in my club. All questionable activities are taken care of offsite.

“Last Friday.”

Why does he want Friday’s video? “Not possible.”

“What? Why not?”

“We had a system issue that night and there’s no footage.”

Max gapes at me. “None? Not even on your backups?”

“Nothing.” And there never will be. I permanently erased all of it. When you terminate filth, you don’t want a record of ever meeting them. Nor did I want Dahlia to ever have to go through the trauma of a court case.

“Impossible.”

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