Page 37 of Wicked Lies

“I got a fuckin’ hole in my chest, and I feel like I’m sucking air outta a goddamn straw,” Samson wheezed. “So yeah, careful.” He touched his side and groaned.

“All right.” He didn’t want Samson all worked up, but being careful was not the answer.

“I kept an eye on our new employee while you were at the Marquis.” Samson strategically changed the subject. “She seems to know what she’s doing.”

“She’s definitely worked a bar before.”

“I also told Tina to keep an eye on her. Although our POS system is good, it’s not foolproof.”

“What is it about her you don’t trust?” Samson had a sixth sense when it came to their employees, which made him invaluable. A little insight might be helpful since Nick just found Cheryl with her hands in their safe.

“It has nothing to do with her.” Samson stifled a yawn. “I don’t trust any new hire.”

“Agreed,” Jax added. “I expect everyone of them to fuckin’ steal until they prove different.”

Fuck, they were both right, and Nick was usually the most suspicious of all three, so why the big fuckin’ turnaround now? Sure, Cheryl was smokin’ beautiful, but he’d had plenty of hot women, yet he never lost his edge. They had too much to lose for any misjudgments in character or to get tangled up with a woman who might be tied to Frank. It was bad enough he had Angela on his ass. Nick didn’t need another woman that he couldn’t trust.

Nick pushed out of the chair. “I’m gonna head out.” He nodded to Jax. “Let him get some rest. I’ll check in with you in the morning.”

Samson laid his head against the pillow with his eyes already closed.

Nick paused when he and Jax got out in the hall.

“You coming?” Jax asked.

Nick stared at the closed bedroom door across the hall. “Just wanna check on something first.”

“Yeah, sure.” Jax definitely had something to say but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

Nick should’ve left with Jax. He should’ve walked through the living room and right out the apartment door, but he’d never been known for playing it safe. He waited until Jax left, then he checked his phone. Three a.m. The club would’ve been closed for an hour already, and his gorgeous thief should be on the other side of the door unless she was taking another crack at his office safe.His gorgeous thief?Fuckin’ ridiculous.

This would go down much better tomorrow in the light of day. When he wasn’t dead tired, but instead, he stared at the closed door like an asshole, then he knocked, a bigger asshole move.

Cheryl answered after the first knock. She’d changed from her club uniform into a pair of baggy sweats hanging dangerously low on her slim hips topped with a well worn white t-shirt. The type he could probably see through if the lights were brighter. Yeah, he was a fuckin’ dog.

She opened the door wide enough for him to slip in. “How’s Samson doing?”

Nick did a quick appraisal. Bed still made, TV off. She must’ve been sitting in the chair staring at the wall.

“A little busted up, but I think he’ll be fine.”

“Good,” she whispered, then an awkward silence followed.

“I’m heading back to the penthouse.” Why the fuck did he say that?

She nodded, then her eyes met his. “I really am sorry about being in your office and—”

“I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I should stay far away from you, but I can’t.”

She bit her lip, and all he could think about was how they’d feel against his neck. “You show up outta nowhere and try to steal from me, and I know you’re either lying to me, or you’ve got some kinda secret, but I can’t get you outta my head. Hell, if I understand it.”

“I know. I feel it too.”

Somehow this complete stranger had wheedled her way into his chest and squeezed his heart. He had no fuckin’ clue what he was doing. He just wanted to be the person who made her safe. Even if it meant going against every cynical bone in his body.

“I got too much at stake and too much going on right now, so I need to know what happened after I left the Pit the other night and why you showed up at the Oasis a few hours later.”

Her lips parted, but no words came out.

---