Page 59 of Past Due

Besian reached into his pocket and withdrew a neatly folded, thick packet of lekë. He held my questioning gaze as he dragged the edge of the bills down my neck and between my breasts. He then tucked the money into the waistband of my panties, mimicking the way men paid his dancers. I should have been outraged, but—God help me—I was even more turned on.

“For tonight,” he explained and tugged my dress down to cover my panties. “I’ve already put a credit card into the little gold purse on the bed.”

“Besian, I have my own cash.”

“And now you have my cash and card, just in case,” he said, ignoring my protest. “Your card didn’t work yesterday, and I don’t want you out in the city without money if you get separated from Rina.”

I swept my hand over his hard chest. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, rrushe.”

“What does that mean?”

His lips twitched. “Grapes.”

I blinked. “Grapes?”

A knock at the door interrupted us before I could ask him why in the world he was calling me that. He stepped back, and I pulled the money out of my panties. With the cash in hand, I smoothed down my dress and left the bathroom. I grabbed the clutch Rina had let me borrow on the way to the door and slipped the cash inside.

“Are you ready?” Rina asked, looking like a bombshell as she stood in the hallway. The black bodycon dress she had chosen had only one shoulder and a cutout above her right hip. She had applied a shimmering lotion that highlighted her tanned skin and pulled her dark hair into a high, sleek ponytail.

“You look incredible,” I said, taken aback by how glamorous she was.

“Thank you,” she preened. Gesturing toward me, she said, “I told you this was the perfect sexy dress for you!” Her hawkish gaze fell to my neck, and her eyes widened. “It looks like my uncle approves!”

I blushed furiously, and Besian called out to her from inside the room. It sounded as if he were scolding her, but she didn’t care. Rina laughed and grabbed my hand. “Let’s go.”

I turned back and waved at Besian. “I’ll see you later.”

“Remember what I said!”

My face flamed with heat. “I will.”

Rina eyed me suspiciously. “What did he say?”

“Never mind,” I said, waving my hand. “It’s not important.”

She clearly didn’t believe me and kept shooting me curious glances as we carefully headed downstairs. We were in the entryway when Luka popped out from his office. He saw what his sister was wearing and shouted, “Go change! Now!”

“No.” Rina stuck her tongue out at him.

“Rina!”

“Luka,” she shouted back.

I stayed out of it, skirting Besian’s angry nephew as we passed him. He let loose an earful of Albanian directed at his sister, but Rina paid him no mind. When we stepped out into the night, one of the guards gestured toward the idling Mercedes. Rina practically ran to it, sliding in and shutting her door quickly. Not wanting to give Luka a chance to catch her, I did the same, scurrying to my side and getting into the backseat next to her.

“Ugh!” She made an aggravated sound. “He is so ridiculous!”

“He’s just protective,” I said, buckling my belt.

“Over-protective,” she grumbled and slid her belt into place. “Like a psycho!”

Rina addressed the driver and guard in the front seats of the car, and we drove away from the mansion. She had her phone out before we reached the end of the circular drive and was tapping away in a group chat. My phone buzzed in the clutch, and I unsnapped it to retrieve it.

“Our group chat,” she explained when I glanced at my phone’s screen. “In case, we get separated. Also, I’ve asked the girls to speak English tonight so you won’t feel left out.”

“Thank you.” I sent a waving emoji to the group and slipped my phone back into the clutch.

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