Page 29 of Cruel Ice

And…toward the entrance they went. He headed straight for the bouncer. Big, covered in tats, and featuring a hoop in his nose. Declan stopped right in front of the man.

“Line’s to the left, buddy,” the bouncer snapped.

“You weren’t here last night,” Declan noted.

“Nah. I wasn’t. Not supposed to be here tonight, either. Got called in when the prick who should be on duty didn’t show.” He pointed to the left. “Now like I said, the line’s?—”

Declan put some cash in the bouncer’s outstretched hand. “I’m going in with my lady.”

The man looked at the money. Whistled. “Yes, indeed, you are going in with your lady. Tonight and any night you want, my new best friend.”

She strained to see just how much money Declan had handed the man, but the money had been shoved inside the bouncer’s pocket in a flash.

Declan lingered with his new best friend. “Tell me where the bouncer is who was on duty last night. Six-foot-two, stocky. Black hair.”

The description he gave of the bouncer could have easily been the same description for the guys who’d taken him. As she’d told Parker, the men had both been big. Thick with muscle and fat, and their hair had been dark. Or at least, it had appeared dark from a distance and in the poor lighting from the streetlamp.

“You mean Hugo. Guy didn’t show up today. Asshole. I was supposed to be with my girlfriend tonight, but that prick didn’t come to work. Now I’m here, and who the hell knows where he is?”

Declan slanted a glance back her way.

Marley nodded. Yeah, Hugo’s absence was suspicious as hell. She got it. But she didn’t speak those words out loud. Declan led her in the club and the music was even more pounding and ear-shattering inside. The bodies were crammed too tightly. And eyes were suddenly on her. She looked up and found men ogling her. Their gazes drifted over her as if seeing her naked.

Great. Fabulous. And this was why she didn’t like to party. “I’m not on the menu,” she muttered. Why were they even looking her way? Her clothes wereway tamecompared to the other outfits. Maybe they just stared that way at every woman who entered the place. Jerks.

Declan looked over and frowned at her.

“Why wereyouhere?” she suddenly demanded. “This does not feel like your scene.”

“And what is my scene?” Vague curiosity.

She didn’t know. Because she didn’t know him that well. But it was hard to imagine that he’d come to this crowded meat market unless…Oh, crap. Did he come here to hook up with someone?And was that jealousy gnawing in her stomach? Sure felt like it. “I don’t know.” A mumble.

He didn’t move. And he seemingly ignored everyone else as he focused on her. “I was here because I was bored. Sometimes,you just want to vanish in a crowd.” He turned and made his way through the throng of bodies. People immediately moved the heck out of his way. Then they were at the bar. Declan shouldered up to it and made room for her at his side. Lights shimmered overhead.

“Be right with you,” a bartender promised.

Her gaze locked on him. On the back of his head. Blond hair. Slim but athletic build.

He spun around. “All right, what can I get—you.”His eyes widened as he got a look at Declan.

“Hello, Keith.” Declan’s voice easily cut through the noise. “You remember me. What a coincidence. I also rememberyou.”

And maybe Keith hadn’t said anything suspicious to the cops. Maybe he’d cooperated completely. But he took one look at Declan’s face—and the fierce intent he saw there—and terror filled Keith’s eyes. He spun and dashed toward the far end of the bar. And toward the exit.

“Sonofabitch.” Declan jumped over the bar and gave chase.

For one moment, Marley admired the jump. He’d cleared that bar in a single lunge. Impressive. But her job wasn’t to sit around and be impressed. So she gave chase, too. She didn’t jump over the bar. Instead, she twisted and snaked through the crowd and made her way for the door marked STAFF ONLY. The same door that Keith was bounding toward.

He rushed through the door, followed by Declan, and Marley was right on their heels. In her experience, innocent people didn’t tend to run this way. And the terror that had been in Keith’s eyes? Oh, there had to be a reason for his fear.

Up ahead, Keith shoved open another door. She saw the darkness of the night waiting. Keith had raced into the back alley. If he got away…

Declan rushed out the exterior door, too. She slammed her hand into the wood and followed and?—

“Ah!”Keith hit the ground.

Not because Declan had tackled the bartender. But because James had tripped the guy as he ran. James stepped from the shadows, straightening his suit coat as he did so. Looking dapper and vaguely annoyed as he stared down at the sprawled form on the litter-covered ground. An old light at the rear of the bar flickered on and off. Revealing, then concealing the scene.