Page 21 of Burning Bridges

"Sunday morning. It was dropped off at her salon and left with the staff there."

And that makes more sense. I was watching her Sunday morning but at her house. She was there with Hannah until she dropped into the salon to give her daughter a haircut. I had assumed when Axel turned up it was to see his daughter, not Piper. It also explains why she's been looking over her shoulder and checking that she's armed before leaving the house every day. "Why is this the first I'm hearing about it?"

"Because I had it under control, and until tonight when I tracked down my lead and got the information I needed to confirm my suspicions, there wasn't a lot to tell. I'm told the MMA title event next week is where they plan on showing themselves."

"If they want to start something, we will be ready for them. Next time, let me know as soon as something like this happens. We're on the same team, Axel, and if we want to keep scum like this out of our town, we have to keep a united front."

"From now on, you will be the first to know," he responds, surprising me with his compliance. Done, he stands, heading for the door. I follow him out, making sure he leaves the mezzanine without any trouble. I take a seat at the bar, ordering a scotch while I wait for Piper. She is due here any minute—that is, if she shows.

I watch the club below, the bass from the dance music pounding through the floor. Upstairs, there are two girls dancing on the stage, putting on a show for the higher-paying clientele. As Axel is about to walk through the door to leave, Piper enters the club, a sassy smile painted on her red lips. She walks toward him, and the two of them exchange words, and his angry eyes come back to me. Yeah, we are a united front, but we're teetering on all-out war at any moment. And there is most certainly more still between the two of them than there should be.

Piper continues past him, head held high and shoulders back. Every male with a pulse is drawn to her. Why wouldn’t they be? She has this confidence that oozes sex appeal, and she knows it. She also can’t be missed, in a sleek wine-colored dress and tall black stilettos. I have to wonder if tonight is a special occasion for her to have stepped away from her usual black attire, adding a little color to her wardrobe. Her long hair is out and flows out behind her as she stalks through our club like she is on a mission to take over the world. Unsuspecting bystanders part ways for her, like she is still royalty.

Her menacing eyes search the mezzanine above, scanning for me, but she hasn’t found me yet. She turns her attention to the bouncer at the bottom of the stairs. Poor man. I take my time finishing off my scotch, knowing how frustrated she will get having to wait for me, but the bouncer won’t let her through until I arrive. He's under strict instructions—and I want her to know right from the start that she has no control in this situation. This is my show; she is just a willing participant. It’s the only way tonight can work, because I don’t trust her. Especially after her running right to Axel at the first sniff of trouble.

When I feel like she has waited long enough, I place my empty glass at the bar and take the stairs down to the first floor. Piper is leaning against a wall, her arms crossed over her chest as she waits impatiently. “Princess.” I smirk, already having more fun than I've had in a long time.

“Rivera.” She scowls like she is pissed off already. She would be so pretty if she smiled, but life has taught her not to. People walk all over pretty faces who flash their teeth too much.

“Shall we?” She pushes off the wall, glaring at the bouncer as he lets her past the rope. I give him a nod, and I place a hand to her back so I can show her through. Her back is exposed, and the touch of her skin under my hand makes my skin tingle with awareness. I despise that my body reacts this way to her, knowing she has Acevedo blood running through her veins, but I realized a long time ago that I have no control over this feeling when it comes to her. Just like when I was a lovesick teen wanting her. Maybe I can put a stop to it tonight. Get this irrational longing I have for her under control. She is no one to me, yet I want her more than anything in my life. I fucking crave her, and it’s unnerving. She has always been the illusive princess, the only girl I wanted but couldn’t really have, and after her visit the other night, I decided maybe it was time to finish what we started all those years ago. Having her succumb to me in the bedroom will cure this irrational desire I have for her, then the two of us can move on with our lives.

“You should know better than to keep me waiting. I was about to leave,” she warns me, her glare icy cold.

“We both know that’s not true,” I mutter dryly. She can lie all she wants to herself. I know she is desperate to finish what she started. She wasn’t leaving until she at least had a chance to try.

“Why was Axel here?”

“Maybe I should be asking you the same question. Is there something you need to tell me?” I pause, waiting for any admissions she is willing to share.

“Not that I can think of,” she says like she’s playing dumb, but she knows I see right through that act.

“You know you can’t hide anything from me. I will find out all your secrets, Piper. All of them.”

“I wish you all the luck trying, but no one knows all my secrets, not even Axel, so I doubt he told you anything tonight I’m not comfortable with him sharing.”

I stop when we make it to the first of our club's many exclusive rooms. Not my ideal choice for our evening, but knowing she can’t be trusted means I’m limited to places I can take her. The house I share with my brothers is out of the question because I don’t need her snooping around my personal life, and her place could leave me vulnerable to a trap.

Her body stiffens, and she stops walking. “Take me back to your office. I’m not going into one of these rooms with you!” she demands, like she’s just worked out what I have planned for her.

I pull out a key card and swipe my way through. “Thought we talked about this. We do it my way or not at all.” I could take her back to my office, but the last thing I need is the memory of her lingering in there. This week has been bad enough after the show she put on for me. Every time I walk through the door, I smell her damn perfume and see her walking toward me in just her lacy lingerie. It’s a distraction I can’t afford. Especially with the shit we have going on at the moment.

This place, as well as three of our other establishments, have been hacked this week. So far, we have caught the threat before any damage was done, but they will keep trying until they have whatever it is they're looking for. What we can’t work out is what anyone could gain from hacking our system and who would be brazen enough to try. My gut tells me Piper has something to do with it, but there is no real proof. And what would she get out of it? Records of our clientele?

An unsettling thought washes over me that it’s not her, and it’s someone on the police force trying to gain intel on the way we run our businesses. They won’t find anything, but if they’re looking, then we’re on their radar. I need to get Kobe to talk to his contact just in case I’m right.

I love the glare my comment earns me. Her facial features are so expressive. “Fine, but the cameras better be off,” she huffs, following me through the open door reluctantly.

“What we’re going to do is just for you and me, Princess.” She might think I would be that perverted, but I’m not. The last thing I would want is my brothers or anyone else knowing what the two of us do in this room. It’s just as detrimental to my name as it is hers. Yet another good reason to bring her here. The only people that have access to this end of the building are invited guests, and tonight I booked the entire end of private rooms so I could be sure we would be alone. Yeah, someone could have seen us walk through to this part of the building, but knowing our history, they would assume it was a business meeting and that we were headed for my office. Just like she did.

Part of me wishes things were different and I could have taken her back to my place, but if my suspicions are correct, she’s got an ulterior motive here, and if I took her home, I would have been playing right into her hands or those of my enemies. If she wants to use her body to get to me, then she can do it here, and she will get thoroughly fucked in return.

“Drink?” I offer, pouring one for myself.

“Please.” She walks round, scrutinizing every detail of the room that Piper herself perfectly designed for pleasure. To the untrained eye, this room could look like a luxurious hotel suite, but the two of us know it’s not. In the center of the room sits a solid four-poster king-size bed. The lighting is low, giving the room a moody feel. There are no windows, and the walls are soundproof.

I take a seat on the tan leather couch, picking up the paperwork I had prepared earlier. “Since we’re in this room, you need to read this over and sign it.” I hand the papers to her.

She looks me over, curious. “NDA and contract. You don’t trust me, Rivera?” I had thought she might be irritated or even pissed at me for trying something like this mere seconds after she walked in. But instead, her face wears a sinister smirk. She likes playing these games with me; she gets a kick out of it, just like I do. Part of me is impressed that she is just as fucked up in the head as I am.

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