Page 55 of Whips and Chains
I screwed up my face then decided to just tell her the truth. “Stalking.”
Her eyes went wide. “Seriously? Like a police stakeout?”
Oh God, she was more innocent than I was. And dragging her into this was probably insane. But following the guys alone felt too dangerous. I needed her. “Yeah, I guess like a stakeout. You in?”
She glanced over at Dax.
The chemistry between them was so palpable I could practically touch it.
I squeezed her arm. “Sorry, no. Never mind. You should go get your freak on with him again. There’s clearly something between you two.”
But Nyah shook her head. “No, he has a line of people to tattoo anyway, and I really don’t want to be a desperate fool.” She grinned. “Better to leave him wanting more, you know? Then when I casually drop in at the tattoo shop during the week, he can be pleasantly surprised.” She set her drink down. “Let’s go do some stalking!” She tucked her arm into mine. “This night is the best night of my life. Have I told you that? You live a wild life, Violet Garrisen. I’m just happy to be invited to tag along.”
It took me a good long moment to process that. That she thought I, Miss Queen of Spending Weekends on the Couch with Fictional Doctors, lived a wild life was so laughable. I’d spent my whole life being vanilla.
But the girl I’d been before that night I’d met X in the most horrible of situations felt like someone I didn’t even know anymore.
Suddenly, I realized I couldn’t drag Nyah into all of this without explaining to her what she was getting into. I’d been thrown into this world without a choice in it. But it wasn’t fair to do that to her.
With one eye watching the guys talking to Vincent at the door, I pulled Nyah into a corner. “Listen, you need to know something before we go out there. The guys that were following me around at work today? That’s who we’re stalking.”
Her eyes lit up with excitement. “Oooh, eye candy. They were hot.”
A flicker of jealousy lit up inside me at cute, little Nyah thinking my men were attractive.
I had to do a double take at the possessive “my men.” They weren’t mine.
Except they felt like they were. And that was something I was going to have to get over. Because them being mine would make me theirs. And that was a thought I couldn’t comprehend, even though the idea left me warm on the inside.
I couldn’t belong to three men.
I couldn’t belong to threemurderers.
What the hell was I doing?
“Don’t be fooled by pretty faces. They aren’t good guys and they are involved with bad people. Coming with me tonight will be dangerous.” I blew out a long breath, realizing I’d made a huge mistake in even asking her to come. “You know what? Just forget I said anything. Stay here with Dax. He’s a good guy. And this club is safe.”
X shook Vincent’s hand, the two of them nodding, and I narrowed my eyes, catching X’s gaze.
He gave me the widest smile and then pointed at Vincent, then shook his finger with an overexaggerated frown.
Nyah squinted at him. “His charades game is weak. I have no idea what he’s trying to say.”
But I did. He was telling me Vincent wasn’t letting me out.
He was telling me I was stuck here for the night.
Un-fucking-believable.
But also stupid, especially of Levi, because I knew where the back door was. I’d seen it when he and I were cleaning.
As if I wasn’t going to use it.
I moved through the club, beelining for that back door, hoping it didn’t have an alarm on it.
Nyah jogged along beside me in her glittery heels, taking two steps to match each of my longer strides. “Wait for me. I’m coming.”
“You shouldn’t. It’s dangerous.”
