Page 31 of Reckless Pawn

I cringed at her probing questions. "I don't know that much about him actually."

Her left eyebrow rose and one of her hands landed on her hip just before she cocked it out. "Uh huh. As protective as that man was of you, I'm going to guess you know him better than you think. When he found out what Mandy did to you, he looked ready to commit murder. I'm kind of surprised the bitch didn't fall over dead the minute he locked those laser sharp eyes onto her. He was pissed and that's putting it mildly."

None of this made sense. For weeks I'd heard not a damned word from him and then all of a sudden when I went to work for the club he showed up. "I don't know what to tell you. I met him a few weeks before I came here. We spent a few days together and that's it."

My new friend narrowed her eyes, clearly not believing what I said. "I'm guessing there's a bit more to the story than that. A man like him doesn't go all caveman protective over a woman he doesn't care about."

My stomach tumbled. Nothing about Houston ever made sense to me. I still couldn't reconcile the sweet, sexy lover who consumed me that week to the man who came for me just weeks later. He still looked like the Houston of my dreams, but there was something different about him. I'd seen a darkness in his eyes when he killed my guard that left me reeling from the change.

Yet here I was feeling almost giddy at the thought of him rescuing me again, this time from a bitch of a coworker that I hadn't seen coming.

"Why was he at the casino?"

"I heard he was looking for JD before he saw you. After that I have no idea. And I guess you can't remember what happened afterward."

I shook my head. There were fragments in my mind, but I had no way of knowing what came from my dreams or what might have come from reality.

"So why do you look so sad? Jesus, Izzy. You're breaking my heart and I don't even have that much of a heart."

I glanced up at her. "Sad isn't the same as frustrated. I keep trying to remember what happened and all I get is this stupid headache. I feel like shit."

She smiled. "You kind of look like it too."

"Oh, thanks. That's what I need."

"I know what you need." She pulled out her phone and poked her finger a few times at the screen. "I'm calling the spa in town and making us an appointment for this afternoon. I guarantee a day of pampering will cure all that ails you. We'll get facials and massages. It's going to be great."

My eyes widened as I backed away several steps. "I can't do that."

"Why the hell not? A good massage and mud bath will work perfectly to get those nasty toxins out of your body. I promise a few hours of that shit and you'll be right as rain."

I shook my head, a sense of panic beginning to rise. "Seriously, no. I can't."

The hand that had slipped from her hip when she got excited about the spa returned and the look on her face looked as dug in as I felt. "Unless you can give me a legitimate reason you can't spend the day at the spa, we're going. You need someone to put their foot down and I've nominated myself for the job."

"I'm not allowed to leave the compound." My throat closed, tears threatening to form. Between the drugs, the possibility Houston may have been in my bed with me last night for real, and Sasha demanding we go to a spa, I was overwhelmed.

"Why the hell not? Last time I checked we're all allowed to come and go as we please when we aren't on duty and honey, you are in no condition to be on duty right now."

The prick of sensation behind my eyes grew stronger and along with it my anger. I was sick and tired of this out of control feeling.

"Her situation is club business." A male voice boomed from the front door.

Sasha and I jerked, turning to find JD had entered my home without either of us hearing a thing.

"JD, what are you—?"

"I came to check on you. Wanted to make sure you were all right and let you know that this kind of thing would not happen again."

"I-I'm fine." I lowered my voice. "Although I can't remember anything."

He came forward and touched my shoulder. A firm but tender touch that almost broke the flood of tears I'd barely contained. "Nasty side effect of a roofie. I understand though that it will be completely out of your system within twenty-four hours. So by tomorrow you'll be good. But if you want to go back to work tonight you don't have to worry about that bitch fucking with you. I took care of it."

I blinked, surprised to hear him say that. "You still want me to work at the casino?"

His hand squeezed my shoulder. "Of course I do. We made a deal remember?"

I nodded, unsure of what to think.

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