Page 111 of Queen Of Dark Money

Strangersin theVIPlounge causing trouble.Checksecurity footage.Onelooks slightly familiar.

Isighed and pulled away fromKenzie, already aching in the wake of her lack of body heat warming mine.Toalways be touching her was a dream come true, but realistically, it’d never happen.Shewas already worming her way into the hearts of mycohorts, andI’dforever have to split her with three other men, if that was what she wanted.

Ididn’t want to share, butIwould, for her.Itwouldn’t be the first time, and for her,Iwould move fucking mountains.

“I’llbe right back, sweetheart,”Iremarked, trying to placate her as she wailed in despair at my departure. “Jaspercan keep you company untilIget back.”Myeyes zeroed in onJasper, who looked ready to pounce on her in my absence. “Nofucking on my counter, though.Ifanyone’s going to dirty it, it’ll be me.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” he taunted, saluting me with the stupidest look. “Iactually have business to take care of, soIwas planning to finish this cup of coffee and head out, if that’s okay with you.”

“Sure, sure,Ijust have to check the security tapes for something–”

Thefire alarm chose then to sound off, andIrolled my eyes at the untimely intrusion, peeking my head out the door to yell toSevento check the control room for a malfunction.Wehad accidental pulls of the fire alarm at least once a month, soIassumed this was another fluke, some asshole who’d been miffed at a stripper not paying him attention, just like every other time.

Exceptthis time, the hall was full of smoke, andIcouldn’t even see the elevators through it.Howit’d gotten so bad in the short amount of time sinceSevenhad shown up with the note was a mystery, but it couldn’t be good.Fireusually only spread that fast if there was accelerant involved.

Theclub.Thegirls.Fuck,Kenzie.

Iwas responsible for getting everyone to safety, andIcouldn’t be everywhere at once.Forthe first time in my life,Iwas torn between abandoning the womanIwas in love with or the workersIwas obligated to see to safety.

Ifroze, my mind going blank, panic setting in asIrealizedI’dhave to trust someone else with her safety.Therewas no one elseIcould rely on to clear out the club.Sevenwas good, but it wasn’t his responsibility to do a head check and put his life on the line for my girls.

Ishut the door with a pounding heart, dread settling in the pit of my stomach asIrushed back into the kitchen. “We’vegotta go.Thisis no false alarm.”

Jaspermust’ve seen the seriousness of the situation on my face because, in seconds, he was grabbing for his laptop and phone, tossing them into a bag before he tookKenzie’shand and led her to the door.Theman didn’t hesitate as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and instructed her to cover her mouth and nose.Heacted calmly whenIknew his heart was probably ready to beat out of his chest, too.

“Keepher safe, you high-class fucker,”Ispat, meeting his gaze. “Swearit to me.”

“I’llkeep her safe,River,Iswear.”Iwasn’t sure when we’d gotten on a first-name basis, but here we were, and it didn’t feel like now was the time to discuss it. “Getyour ass in gear and do what you need to.We’llsee you on the other side.”

“Parkinggarage, if it’s accessible.Secondarygarage if it’s not.Keepyour phones on you and get somewhere safe.”

Heshoved her out the door and into the hall with no regard for anyone’s safety but hers, and as they disappeared into the smoke,Igot the sinking feeling it’d be the last timeI’dsee her.

Iswallowed down the dread filling me and got to work.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

KENZIE

Ididn’t remember much about our flight out of that burning club.AllIremembered wasJasperStoneat my back, refusing to let me stop even thoughIcould see the tears tracking down his cheeks as smoke and ash clung to his skin, and he coughed ceaselessly.Hekept me moving until we hit the emergency fire exit at the end of the hall, and he shoved me out of it, following close behind.

Welanded in the street in a pile, inches away from oncoming traffic, the sound of fire engines in the background growing closer with every passing second.Sirensechoed off the underpass, andIstruggled to keep breathing, my lungs full of smoke, making it hard to breathe.Icould only imagine how he must feel, since he’d given me his only handkerchief.

Iremembered the ride to the hospital in the back of an ambulance, holding his hand as they strapped an oxygen mask on him, even as he struggled against their attempts, growling at them like a feral dog when they tried to separate us to examine me.

Whenhe pulled out his gun, they stopped fighting him and shoved us both into the back of an ambulance and off we went,his laptop case tucked under my arm, my phone stuffed in my shorts.

Icouldn’t think of anything else but survival until we reached the emergency room, and they cartedJasperoff without me.Hedidn’t put up a fight because he was now unconscious, and allIcould do was toss his laptop case on his stretcher and hope he’d call me the second he woke up as they moved me to another room, checking me over asIkept pleading for an update on my boyfriend.

Itwas the only thingIcould think to call him so they’d tell me anything.

Andeven then, they didn’t seem keen on giving me details at all.

Theystuffed me in an oxygen mask and ran some tests, scanned my lungs, and told meI’dmanaged to avoid any considerable damage, butIstill felt like shit.Mythroat was raw from yelling at doctors, my head was dizzy, and tears streamed down my face whenItextedRiverand got no answer.

Hehad to be okay.Theyboth had to be okay.Ifthey weren’t,Iwasn’t sure whatI’ddo.

Resignedto the forced confinement again,Isat back on the hospital bed and let the oxygen do its work, sticking my phone back in my pants after shooting off a text toDom, who was still refusing to answer me.Asan afterthought,Isent one toRafe, too, short and to the point, devoid of any emotion.Justplain facts.

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