Page 94 of Savage Promises

“Uh, okay. Thanks.” Eyes lowered, the woman wipes her mouth and scurries away.

“Icontrol the schedule,” Garrett barks, getting to his feet and shoving his dick back into his pants. “And I said no days off until—”

“Shut up, Garrett.” I slam the office door. “You had no intention of giving her a night off. Good blow job or a bad one. You’re disgusting.”

“What do you want, Lennox?” Garrett zips his pants, his jaw tightening. In a T-shirt and jeans, he looks like one of the sketchy customers. “Or should I say,Mrs. Quinlan.”

“You’ve got some nerve,” I hiss, stepping closer. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

He rolls his eyes and sits at my old desk, leaning back in the chair. “Back off, Lennox. This is my place now.”

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t rules,” I scoff, planting both palms on the desk. “Garrett, you’re the boss. You can’t sexually assault the women here.”

He shoots to his feet. “That wasn’t assault.”

“Sex in exchange for favorsisassault and trafficking.” I struggle to keep my voice steady, the rage bubbling beneath the surface. “You could be sued or arrested. Do you even understand how reckless this is?”

He waves me off like I’m a buzzing fly. “Don’t lecture me. You’re not in charge of me.”

“I still give a damn about this club,” I snap. “Employees shouldn’t have to do tricks or have their paychecks withheld. You think I worked my ass off to make this place profitable so you could burn it to the ground because you want your dick sucked?”

Something dark flickers across his face. He stalksforward, towering over me. “Don’t fucking talk to me that way, Lennox. You think because you’re married to a Quinlan, you’re better than me? That you can treat me like shit the way your husband does?”

“From what I see, you deserve it.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he spits. “You got that last name because you spread your legs. You’re nothing but a whore with a ring.”

The insult hits me like a baseball bat to the head. Before I can stop myself, I smack him, dead in the face. The crack of my hand on his jaw echoes through the office, and for a moment, we both freeze.

But then Garrett moves.

“Big fucking mistake.” He backhands me, the force of it sending me stumbling.

My shoulder slams into the side of the desk and I sink to the floor, dazed. My lip stings, and when I touch it, my fingers come away bloody.

“Oh fuck. I’m sorry, Lenny!” Garrett’s panicked voice trembles. He crouches in front of me, his hands hovering awkwardly. “I’m so fucking sorry. I didn’t mean it. Are you okay?”

I shove him away and with fumes of strength, I claw at the desk to get to my feet.

“Don’t touch me,” I hiss. My vision blurs with angry tears that I can’t keep from falling. “Don’t youevertouch me again.”

“Please,” he begs, his voice cracking. “Please don’t tell Shane. I’ll fix things here, okay? I’ll do better. Just don’t tell him I hit you.”

I worry Shane will use this as an excuse to either kill him or send him away to a punishment camp. I’m not sure I care, but Neve will be devastated. Garrett is all she has. I don’t trust my father to do the right thing by her. The clock is ticking before I can get her into a college far awayfrom him.

I glare at my brother, my chest heaving. “I’m leaving Mara here one more night. You pay hertonight. You have one month to get this place back to what I made it,” I say firmly. “If not, I will tell Shane. I swear—”

“I will,” my brother cuts in, nodding frantically. “I promise.”

I don’t wait to hear more. His voice grates on me. I storm out of the office, and holding my face, I stop at the bar to see Mara.

“Holy shit. I hope the other guy looks worse.” She wraps ice in a napkin for me.

“Not quite. I told him to pay you.” I gently press the wrapped ice against my cheek and see stars. “Please stay here one more night. After that, you’re done here. I’ll cover your back pay if Garrett doesn’t come through.”

Mara gasps when I take the bloodied napkin away. “Go home and lie down with more ice.”

“Yeah, sure.” I avoid the curious stares of the barebones staff that Garrett scraped up to replace the loyal, hardworking people who worked for me for years.

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