Page 14 of Maid of Dishonor
A man yells behind the door near me.
Gio ignores the sound and holds up his hands to gesture to the empty club. "I mean, it was a stroke of genius getting this place cleared out the way he did when he found out what we had planned. But I didn't think he'd be so stupid to pull you into this mess. Then again—" he chuckles to himself. "He always did have a thing for beautiful redheads."
The man screams again, making me jump. The door opens, and a man that looks familiar stumbles out with a torn suit jacket, a bloody lip, and a broken nose. A young man follows him, and I definitely recognize him. He's the guy that led Dean back into the office earlier in the evening. He looks younger than the man in the suit, but there is something darker about him that I didn't see before.
“He still claims that his friend is coming with the money, sir.” The young guy says.
“For his sake, he better hope that his friend shows up.”
Dread sinks deep into my stomach. This man wouldn't be talking in thinly veiled threats like that if he had any intention of letting me go. My only hope is Dean showing up or finding my own way out of here.
Suddenly the doors of the club open, and in walks Dean, and he's holding a duffel bag with him.
"Hello, Gio,” He says, holding up both hands to show that he’s unarmed. “I brought your money for you.”
All the men, including the mountain of muscle, turn away from me when Dean walks in. I'm no threat to them, even if I wasn't tied up.
From the corner of my eye, I see a man appear from what looks like a secret door in the wall. Dean is talking animatedly with the men, and I realize he's doing everything he can to keep their attention on him and not on the man sneaking over to me.
“Dean sent me,” the man whispers to me as he snaps open a pocket knife and starts cutting at my ties.
“We have to help him.”
“He gave me strict instructions to get you out of here, no matter what.”
"I'm not leaving here without him," I say, trying to convey the harshness of my tone but still maintaining a whisper.
“He told me you’d say that.”
A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth, but this is not the time. I glance over at Dean, and he's still talking, but I can see the tension in his body. He's fighting everything in him not to look over at me and draw any unwanted attention.
"Please, this is the one thing he asked me to do to save my friend." The man creeps over to the bloodied man slumped in a chair nearby.
I run over and help the man help his friend. Despite every cell in my body screaming to stay, I knew that Dean would want me out of here.
We walk quickly over to the secret door the man came in. I hold the door as the man helps his friend in, and just as the door shuts behind me, we hear the faint sound of the police sirens wailing in the distance.
Patrol cars scream down the Strip as we step outside into the warm desert air. I should feel relief, but I won’t be able to take a breath until I see Dean walk out of the club.
Half a dozen uniformed police officers run into the club, and it takes two agonizingly long minutes before I finally see the face I need to see walk out the club doors.
“Dean!” I yell and run over to him.
He scoops me up in his arms, holding me so tight that I can barely take in a breath of air.
“Why the hell did you wait so long to get out of there?” He asks but doesn’t give me a chance to respond. His lips find mine in a bruising kiss. “I’m so sorry I pulled you into all this.”
I can’t help the chuckle that bubbles up out of me. “I’m not.”
"It was all worth it if it means I get to keep you," I say. He shakes his head like he doesn't understand why I feel this way. "You said that you've never met a woman like me. Well, I've never met anyone like you. And maybe that's what makes us so perfect for one another."
“We’ll never have a dull moment,” he says.
“And that’s what I want. I want a life unexpected with a man who’s honest and loyal and gives me the best orgasms of my life.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “I love you, Veronica.”
"I love you too," I say, pushing up onto my toes and kissing him again.
