Page 37 of Dirty Little Sins

Crap. I didn't even know where my purse was. It had dropped from my shoulder at some point, but I didn't remember when. Maybe in the living room. Maybe in the car. Shit. My cell phone was in there and I'd need that to call for an Uber to get myself back to the hotel.

Guess it was time to return to the main area of the house and face whatever Vincent had cooked up. I couldn't imagine who had arrived here in the middle of the night and why I would want to talk to them.

I left the bathroom and made my way back the way I'd come. As I approached the beautiful open living room I could hear male voices talking. Vincent and... I didn't recognize the voice.

"She's convinced that the threats have come from her ex-husband, but that's not the case, is it?"

Vincent's question made me freeze.

What?

Was he talking about my situation with a stranger? I was going to fucking kill him.

Chapter Fifteen

ZIA

I rounded the corner and found Vincent seated in the living room with another man seated across from him. His back was to me, but not for long because Vincent spotted me the minute I entered the room and sprang to his feet.

"Zia, perfect timing. I need you to meet someone."

The stranger also stood and slowly turned to face me. I don't know what or who I expected, but the ruggedly handsome man with short buzzed hair and vibrant blue eyes caught me off guard.

"What's going on?" I didn't care if I was interrupting. In the twenty seconds since I'd heard Vincent discussing our situation, I'd gone from curious to furious.

"I told you I hired someone to look into this situation. This is Houston Reed. He heads up the Hawkins Security group here in Vegas. Houston, this is Zia. The newest headliner at The Sinclair."

The man stepped forward and held out his hand. "Very nice to meet you, Zia."

I didn't want to make small talk or exchange pleasantries, but the manners instilled in me at a young age wouldn't allow me to ignore his greeting. I shook his hand. "Mr. Reed."

"He's here to update us on his progress so far as well as gather what information you can give him."

"A clandestine meeting in the middle of the night. Isn't that an unusual way to conduct business?"

Mr. Reed and Vincent both laughed. "Kind of par for the course when celebrities are involved," Houston explained. "Once the paparazzi has followed you home late at night they tend to get bored and assume that they aren't likely to get much before the next day. Especially when there hasn't been much gossip lately. So instead of ten or more camped out front, there might be one or two nearby or if we're lucky none. Vincent's been pretty good at keeping a low profile lately with his extended out of the country trip. Although with the next fight approaching I suspect we'll have to come up with a new plan. Luckily, our firm is known mostly for the security we provide versus the investigations we conduct, so my presence shouldn't send up any immediate red flags."

By the time Mr. Reed finished explaining his approach to privacy, my head was spinning. Clearly, I wasn't giving Vincent's celebrity status enough attention. All the more reason for us to stay away from each other as far as I was concerned.

"This is too much. Why investigate it at all? It's done. I paid him and he went away. Stirring the pot now sounds way to risky."

"It's not that simple, Zia," Mr. Reed began. "Blackmail is a complex and twisted game. It's also usually addictive to the perpetrator. It's rarely a one and done situation."

I shook my head. "No. No. That can't be the case here. He knows I have nothing left. Which I'm pretty sure was his plan from the beginning. Only when the courts didn't give him what he wanted, he found another way. It’s not as if he needs the money. He just wanted to punish me."

"I assume the he you are referring to is your ex-husband, Dante."

I nodded, while inwardly cringing. I was really uncomfortable sharing this information. "Yes, Mr. Reed. He is the one who blackmailed me."

"What makes you so sure it was him? Or let me be more specific. Is there anything more besides the fact the email came from his account?" he asked. "Oh, and please call me Houston. Mr. Reed is a little too formal for me."

I turned and glared at Vincent. His willingness to share my information unsettled me. "You'll have to excuse me as I wasn't completely prepared to share such sensitive information with a stranger tonight."

Hah. That was a complete understatement.

"No worries. I get it. This is unpleasant business and something we naturally want to keep private. However, this is what we do. Discretion is our number one priority when it comes to our clients. Seriously, we take your privacy very serious."

I might have balked some more at Houston's reassurances had Vincent not taken that opportunity to wrap his hand around the side of my waist and squeeze. I wasn't sure if it was meant to reassure me or serve as some kind of warning, but that instant connection gave me a sense of warmth and protection.

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