Page 89 of The Club

That’s why Rafael is devasted by me making love to him. No—he’s devasted that he let himself receive it.

Most people wouldn’t be able to parse all that out from the little that Rafael actually said, but I can.

I start shaking. I doubt Rafael can feel it because he’s shaking too.

I feel sick. I feel angry. I want to scream. I want to hit something. But I murmur, “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay. I understand.”

When that only makes Rafael start crying, I order more firmly, “Come here. Please.”

He turns in my arms and buries his face against me.

I hate how he’s been hurt, how things have been twisted for him. I know I’ve been hurt too, but I can’t quite think about that, not directly. I’ve shoved it down too far.

But this …

It makes me want to burn the world.

Instead, I hold onto him to try to show him what I don’t think he would be able to hear right now.

I love you.

***

I’m still awake when my phone buzzes. I slowly extricate myself from Rafael, not wanting to wake him. I snag my phone from the beside table.

Unknown: 2M, green only.

My hand clenches so hard on my phone that I crack the protective case.

The message will have shown as read to the sender, so I’m not surprised when several additional messages come in. I’m given a location and am told to meet an assistant there at 5 a.m. to pay. From there, I’ll get a new location to meet and discuss the details of my order.

It’s 1 a.m. The point is clearly to make me panic. To make me scramble.

Unknown: Confirm in 30 seconds or you’ll be moved to the waitlist.

I glance at Rafael.

So beautiful.

So fucking broken.

Andthis manis responsible.

I don’t want Rafael anywhere near him, not until he’s secure. I’m going to do this myself. For him.

I type,Confirm.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Dominic

It’s 2 a.m. by the time I pull into the driveway of my family estate outside the city. The kind of cash I need for this meeting is well beyond what I have in my apartment. I need to get into the safe.

I get out of my car and start walking to the front door. On the steps, I pause, alerting. Did I hear something?

I turn, already pulling my gun from my shoulder holster. Something nails me in the neck. I wince at the hard sting. My fingers fly to the spot and find a dart. My heart leaps even though it’s already going sluggish. I pull the dart out and spin, looking for assailants. A figure moves through the darkness. I fire in the general direction, but it’s useless. The world is slipping and sliding.

I go down.

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