Page 23 of Savage

“You smell like sex. Did you just come from the fifth floor?”

It would’ve been easier to just say yes, that a visit to the more salacious parts of the Libertine club was where I’d chosen to get off, but I wouldn’t put it past Alessio to check the security feeds later just to see who was coming and going.

And the last thing I needed was his ass sniffing around.

“No.”

“No. That’s it?”

I side-eyed him. “That’s it.”

Alessio took a sip of his drink, and just when I thought he’d let it go, he narrowed his eyes. “You’re full of shit.”

“And you’reannoyingas shit. Jesus, I just want to enjoy my fucking drink. Is that too much to ask?”

“No, but you look like you’d rather drown yourself in it than actually consume it.” Alessio shrugged. “In my experience that means one of two things. You regret what you did, or you don’t and know you can’t have it again.”

Fucking Alessio.If he wasn’t such a good friend, I might’ve knocked him out just to shut him up. But the truth was, if anyone knew about regret, it was him. And in this very moment I definitely fell into the second category, andthatwas pissing me off.

“Ah, I see, you want what you can’t have.” He gestured to the bartender, his eyes never leaving mine. “Sucks, doesn’t it?”

I grunted and downed the contents of my glass in one long swallow just as the bartender arrived.

“He’ll take another,” Alessio said, and as the bartender made what was no doubt to be the second ofmanydrinks I was about to consume, Alessio leaned into the counter and ran his eyes down over me.

“Would you stop looking at me? It’s creepy.”

“I’m looking for clues.”

“This isn’t a How to Host a Murder Mystery party.”

“Are you sure? Last time we chatted, there were a few bodies left in your wake.”

I narrowed my eyes on the sarcastic prick. “Don’t you have some computer to hack? Some government to infiltrate? I thought you only ventured above ground once a month.”

“Thisisthat one time. I was coming to stock up on some gin but when I saw you, I thought?—”

“‘Why not go and annoy the shit out of my friend?’”

“—I haven’t seen Lachlan for a few days, wonder what he’s been up to. Especially after he took a vested interest in a certain…Cooper Patterson.”

My spine stiffened—not to mention something else below my belt.

“You know, for someone as stealthy as you generally are, those stiff shoulders are a dead giveaway, friend.”

“Fuck you.”

“Thanks, but I don’t like playing second fiddle.”

I rolled my eyes as I reached for my refreshed drink and took a sip. “You don’t play any fiddle these days.”

“It’s a choice.”

“It’s a punishment, but whatever floats your boat. Unlike you, I’m not a nosy bastard.”

“Whatever. It’s my job to gather information.”

“When it’s needed.”

---