Page 38 of Queen Of Dark Money

Withevery mileIput between myself and the previous problem, my chest felt heavier, not lighter, and it made my head hurt with the contradictory emotions rising inside me.

Isolved my issue, so why did it feel likeI’djust stabbed myself in the foot?

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

RIVER

“A

www, come on, ladies, don’t be like that; there’s enough of the two of us to go around for all four of you!”

FuckingRafewas wasted, as usual, and hereIwas, left holding the bill for his bottomless stomach and invincible liver.Hedeserved a fucking award for the way he drank like a fish and still managed to get up at the ass crack of dawn like nothing had happened.AndIwas the one who owned a bar.

Anda nightclub or three.

Anda strip club and sex dungeon.

NotthatIwas one of my own customers, butIwas familiar with the high-end lifestyle.Eventually, it would catch up to him, but it didn’t seem like that would happen any time soon.

“Comeon,River,” he whined, hanging on two of the girls we’d pilfered for some fun tonight. “Hurryup and open the door.Meghanhere wants to know what it feels like to be bent over the couch by a millionaire.”Heslapped her ass, and she jumped and yelped with a side eye at the handsy man. “Yeah, baby, you gonna learn what it’s like to be a high-class hooker tonight.”

Irolled my eyes as she peeled away from him and moved against my side. “River, your buddy’s drunk,” she purred, her hand traveling into the open vee of my shirt.Igroaned as shetwirled her fingers in the hair on my chest, appreciating those long, pointed claws, and wondered if she could be convinced to use them on me later.

“Finally,”Imuttered as the key slid home and turned in the lock, the door swinging open to permit us entrance. “Okay, let’s go,”Imuttered, slipping an arm aroundMissMeghan’swaist to lead her inside.

Andstopped short whenRafeflipped the light switch and revealed a restrained woman, tied to a fucking chair, in the center of the damned living room, a tie for a gag in her mouth, a sticky note on her forehead.

“Uhm,River, you didn’t tell me you ordered out,”Rafeslurred, confusion warring with delight on his face as the woman stared him down with one of the meanest glaresI’dever seen.

“Ididn’t,”Isnapped, rage building in my brain.NobodybutRafe, me, and security had a key to this place.Sohow did someone sneak a whole ass woman into my place?Andwhy?

Imarched over,MissMeghanforgotten momentarily, asIripped the note from her forehead.Aslow smile spread over my lips as she growled like a feral hound.

“Oh, come now, sweetheart, that didn’t hurt,”Itold her, my tone patronizing and my smile falling with every wordIread on the damn note.

Igot to the bottom and swore.

“River?”

“Who’sshe?”

“River, baby, what’s the hold-up?”

Iblinked slowly, staring at the note asIfought to process the words on the page, scrawled in sloppy black ink.

TheKingsleftMissSinclairwith me.Iam not a babysitter.She’syour problem now.Noreturns, no refunds, call theKingsif you’ve got a problem with it.

–Stone

“Ohhellno,”Igrowled, crumpling the note in my fist. “No, this isnothappening.”Iyanked out my phone and dialed that bastard’s number faster than you could blink.Ofcourse, he didn’t answer, and whenIredialed him, it went straight to voicemail.

Iwas damn luckyIcouldn’t break my phone with the force of my grip because it was tight as fuck right now, and the urge to throw it against a nearby wall was growing with every second.

Ofall the lousy things to do, this bastard just dumped some socialite brat on my fucking doorstep–no, not even my doorstep!Mydamned living room.Whichmeant he got in somehow.Itwas time to re-evaluate my security measures around here if a sleazy fuck likeStonecould get in without being spotted.

Ofcourse, security knew to let him through because of our monthly meetings, soIcouldn’t really blame them.Butthat didn’t explain why one of them would let him into my personal residence here at the club.

“Uhm, no offense,River, butIthinkI’mgonna pass on adding another pussy to the mix,”MissMeghancomplained, heading for the door with a disgusted look on her face. “Maybesome other time, huh, handsome?”

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