Page 19 of Power

I took a sip from my glass and let the smooth liquid warm my throat. Tara slinked her way to my seat. Her long black hair flowed past her fake tits and ended right above her belly-button piercing. Her body shimmered in the darkness from glitter or whatever she had used to highlight her skin.

She licked her lips as she neared me and swung her foot over my lap and onto the side of the seat of my chair, exposing her inner thigh to me. I was enveloped in a cloud of cheap perfume that smelled overly sweet, like cotton candy. She bent over her knee slightly while arching her back and slid her hands from her calves up to the top of her legs. One of her hands lingered over her G-string and pressed against her pussy through the fabric as she moved to the music.

Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and stared at the screen in surprise.Amelia.I rose from my chair, pushing Tara off me as I walked to the hallway outside of the suite. I answered on the second ring.

“This is Shyam.” There was no response from the other end, just a lot of noise, like she was in a busy place with a lot of people. But I knew she was there because I heard her breathing over the phone.

After a beat, she spoke. “I want a letter of recommendation.” Her voice wavered as she said it, not sounding anything like the sweet purr that I was used to hearing from her. She sounded like she had been drinking.

“What?” I asked gruffly, annoyed that she was out somewhere, drunk.

“I want a letter of recommendation in return for helping you track down Tarun.” Her voice carried stronger this time. She’d made her decision, and I felt relieved. But it wasn’t smart of her to use Tarun’s name in public. Prying ears were everywhere in the underworld. She should have known better after seeing the map of data in the computer lab.

“Where are you?” I changed the subject to keep her from exposing anything further than she already had.

“A hallway,” she answered hesitantly.

I smirked to myself, remembering the last time I found her in a hallway. “Bad things happen to girls who spend time in hallways.”

“Only when bad men find them in those hallways,” she breathed into the phone. She remembered too.

“Jaan.”Dear.“I’m the baddest of them all. Tell me. Where is this hallway?” She shouldn’t have been out and intoxicated. Any jerk could take advantage of her in a vulnerable state.

“In a bar,” she answered coyly.

I could already tell I wasn’t going to get specifics out of her, but I asked anyway. “Where?”

“I’m not telling you.” It was cute that she thought she could keep anything from me. I had my own ways of finding out what I needed to know.

“Stay there,” I commanded her and hung up before she could argue.

I tracked her location using Sethi Tech tracking software and found her at a bar not too far from her apartment. I was certain she’d try to walk home inebriated and put herself at risk for assault.

I left the club through the private back entrance. The valet brought my car around. I shifted gears and sped away into the New York night.

Chapter XV

Amelia

“Stay there.” Click. The line went dead.

Shit. Why did I have a feeling that he was tracking my location at this very moment? Soon, he’d show up here and I’d lose all the nerve I had built up just to make that phone call. One look at him and I knew I’d lose my resolve to hold out for my demands.

A text popped up on my screen.Are you okay?It was Nat. I must have been gone for a while if she was worried.

I tapped my reply to her.All good. Just needed a breather.

Oh, OK. I’m going to head out with Rob. Want me to walk you home first?

No. I’m OK. Go ahead. Have fun.

K. Luv you! XOXO

Luv you, too!

I had forgotten to ask if Josh was still out there too. I really didn’t feel like seeing him again.

I returned to the bar and glanced around the area. No Josh. Now I just needed to avoid Shyam too. I grabbed my coat from the barstool and wrapped it around myself over my black tank top and skinny jeans, then stepped outside into the brisk night to make my way home before Shyam showed up.

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