Page 67 of Dark Horse

“So you could tamper with them or take them down? No, thank you.”

“I can run my business how I see fit.”

“When it’s well and truly yours, and I don’t own the building, then yes, you can. I’ll gladly step out of the way.”

“Fat chance of that happening when I can barely stay in the black and these fucking cops are running out my clientele on one of the busiest nights of the year so far. I’m going to have a reputation for bullshit cop raids, and everyone will go to Cowboy’s or the Avarice instead.” I stare out the window, watching the world roll past as he starts down the main road.

“I’ll take care of the cops.”

“They want me to drop the Sinner’s Showers. He basically said all the things you did. So, you can tell me you told me so. I’d like to get that part out of the way.”

“Seems like you’ve got those bases covered on your own. We’ll run everything by my lawyers and see what they say. And before you argue, I know you had a lawyer look at it, but mine are a different brand of lawyer, and they can help refine it until it’s impenetrable. They can also help us figure out how to tell these cops to go fuck themselves for the harassment.”

“You’re not mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you? That was no reason to arrest you. The whole thing—that many cops. Feels like a stunt. You have anyone pissed at you?”

“Not besides you, no.”

He half grunts and half laughs at that. Tilting his head as he takes the corner.

“Well, I didn’t raid your bar.”

“I know.”

“But it might be about me.” The words are as much a realization for him as they are a statement to me. “Fuck.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Just some things are going on behind the scenes with the business. I’ll need to talk to some people.”

“If it involves me, shouldn’t I know about it?”

“If it does, yes. I’ll have to see what I can find out.”

“Where are we headed anyways?” My brows knit together as he takes another turn that doesn’t seem like we’re headed back to my apartment.

“Does Vendetta have enough food and water for the night?”

“Yes…” I trail off. I gave her extra before I started my shift since I figured it would be a later night than usual.

“Good. We’re heading to my place then.”

My heart and brain go to war with each other over that information. My heart is doing tumbles over itself with excitement that I finally get to see where this man lives. That he trusts me enough to let me in. But my brain is reminding me that I’m on the verge of a crash out, and I don’t want to have it in front of him. We’re still in the whole need-to-be-sexy phase of this. Well, it’s not even a relationship. It’s an agreement that’s on shaky ground since I didn’t even deliver on my side of the bargain today. But no matter the circumstances on that front, I definitely can’t be falling apart in front of thisman.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I’m tired, and I’ll probably fall asleep the second I walk inside the door.”

He flashes me a sideways glance. “I’m not expecting anything if that’s what you’re worried about. You can go straight to bed if you want, and I have an extra bedroom if that would make you more comfortable.”

Maybe I could make that work. Hide from him long enough that he can’t see… but I doubt that. He’ll have eyes on me like a hawk. There’s probably a camera in every room of his apartment so he can make sure nothing he doesn’t know about is happening under his watch.

I think I need the crash out—the long self-pitying cry that I’ll now have an arrest on my record and possibly charges I’ll need to fight. My eyes start to well up again at the prospect of jail time or a large fine that will bankrupt me. As if I’m not nearly there already.

“No. I know you can be a gentleman. It’s just that…” My voice wavers, and I have to pause to continue. His eyes flash over to me again, and I can feel them like a heavy weight as he watches my reaction. He can hear it in my voice and see it in the way I rock back into the seat. “Honestly, I’ve been on the verge of tears for hours. I just didn’t want any of those assholes to see me cry. But I was planning to curl up at the bottom of my shower when I got home and cry until I was tired enough to sleep. I need to let it out, or I’m going to combust. I’m sure that sounds pathetic—”

“It doesn’t sound pathetic. If it makes you feel better, you can cry anywhere you want for as long as you want at my place. I just want to know you’re somewhere safe tonight. Make sure that they can’t give you a hard time again in the morning. Know you have someone to protect you. Give me that?” He glances over at me.

“You think they’ll come back?” Panic rises in my throat.One night I could handle, if this was going to be a multi-day event, well, I don’t know if I can hold tight that long.

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