Page 60 of Reckless

“Really?” I asked, excitement taking over me. “Are you sure? If you think it’s inappropriate, I won’t keep it against you.”

Although I would be really disappointed and frustrated that I had to start looking for something else first thing in the morning.

Amanda shrugged and waved she hand. “Just don’t make a huge deal about it in the office.”

“I won’t say a word to anyone.”

She put her plates on a tray and strolled over to the door.

“The more I think about it, the more I like the idea, Hannah. And you will have a great weekend there. It was a pool. Eight bedrooms. It’s actually perfect for a party.”

A villa all to ourselves. A private pool. That sounded like exactly the fun weekend I needed.

“Thank you so much, Miss Reed. I owe you one.”

“Don’t worry about it. Swing by my office tomorrow morning and we will set it up.”

Chapter Nineteen

Tyler

OnThursdayevening,exactlyone week after I got back from California, I sat behind the bar counter. Alone. The big opening was scheduled for the next day. Not only that we were opening the bar for customers, but we were having a fight downstairs. A fight I knew nothing about because no one told me shit these days. Being kept in the dark while I also would be one hundred percent accountable if anything went wrong bothered me. And I never got bothered.

I also had another issue that made me stay at the bar every night, rinsing and drying brand-new glasses that were absolutely clean. I couldn’t get Hannah Spencer out of my head. My brain played on repeat every second we spent in that bathroom at my mother’s house last Wednesday.

More than a week had passed, and I still couldn’t shake it off. The gentle brush of Hannah’s mouth on mine that detonated my resolve to only vex her.

I no longer wanted to enrage her.

I wanted to corrupt her. To drive her mad.

She knocked walls down with the success rate of a wrecking ball and I wanted to do the same with her. Break that perfect good girl exterior to pieces.

I could still feel her velvet skin beneath my palms, beneath my fingertips. I remembered how I dug them into her flesh hard, furious at her and the way she made me feel.

I was rearranging the storage room for a third time since I got back from Cali, when I heard footsteps. I found two of Patrick Hayes’s thugs leaning over the bar counter.

“You are coming with us. The boss expects you in his office.”

This was my life now. Patrick Hayes had me by the balls and I wasexpectedto keep my mouth shut and follow orders. So I locked the bar and got into their car.

An hour later we finally arrived at the Hayes’ mansion. The last ten minutes of the drive we spent after we crossed the gates. Huge trees surrounded his enormous two-story house. It looked like they were planted around it on purpose, to hide it from sight. And his many enemies.

Not that I was expecting a tour or anything, but I wasn’t expecting to be pushed through a door right after we stepped inside the house. A staircase led down to a dark corridor to an underground level. It didn’t look good, but I hadn’t fucked up yet, so I guessed they weren’t about to kill me and set me on fire.

That was Patrick Hayes’ signature act. Setting on fire everything he wanted gone. It wasn’t enough for him to put a bullet in your head or slash your throat. He wanted his enemies to disappear completely. Like they never even existed. At least that was what people said about him around town.

We walked past a few closed doors. The only sound around came from our footsteps and the buzzing of the lamps. We reached the end of the corridor and one of Patrick’s men opened a door. I entered and they shut it behind me without a word.

It turned out Patrick wasn’t waiting, so I spent some time looking around. The room was big, but it had so much furniture it felt claustrophobic. A beige sofa was plastered against one of the walls. There was a table with four chairs in the other corner. It looked like a room he used for talks rather than for beating the shit out of people. I didn’t know what would Hayes use a desk for, but he had a big one. Two comfortable chairs in front of it for his visitors. I sat down at one of them.

And just sat there alone for an hour and a half. No one came in. I spent most of the time with eyes closed, Hannah’s face dancing behind my eyelids. The door finally flew open, and I forced her out of my mind. Patrick Hayes walked in, followed by his son.

I shook hands with the father. The son stayed close to the exit.

“Sit,” Hayes said and did the same. “Is everything ready for tomorrow?” He asked Kieran, who didn’t say anything, but I assumed he nodded because his father continued. “Good. And you?” He asked me. “Are you ready?”

“No. I have no idea what I am supposed to do tomorrow. I don’t even know who’s fighting.”

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