Page 92 of Mad Love

“More than you can afford,” I assured him. I turned to leave, and he grabbed my wrist.

“You don’t need to be a bitch,” he hissed.

“And you don’t need to be an asshole,” I snapped back, feeling a prickling awareness zip up my spine.

Dammit. If Ryan saw this, he'd lose his shit and blow our chances at getting into the vault.

I sucked in a breath and softened my approach. “Look, honey, it’s my first night, okay? I’m a little overwhelmed. Can you please let me go?” I wobbled my lower lip, and the dumbass caved.

He released me. “Sure thing, sweetie. I’ll let you get settled, but yell for Ned if you need anything.” He winked at me. “And when you start taking private requests, don’t forget I was your first friend here.”

Oh, gag me.

I smiled shyly, looking up through my lashes with a giggle. “Thanks, Ned.”

He sauntered off, an extra swagger in his step as I turned away with a repulsed shudder.

Yuck.

I needed to get this over with.

I marched over to the bar that spanned the length of the back wall. It had seen better days, but that didn’t deter the crowd. Three women and a man handled the patrons with practiced ease, skirting the line between business and flirting.

Finally, a woman with big brown eyes and dark blonde hair came over to me with a smile. The lights caught the sequins of a bikini top that barely covered her nipples. “What can I getcha, babe?”

I cleared my throat. “I wanted to request a private dance.”

Her brows shot up.

“With Violet,” I added.

She covered her surprise quickly and reached beneath the bar to grab a glass of ice. She used the soda nozzle to fill it with water before pushing it to me and turning away. She walked over to the man and whispered something to him. His gaze snapped to where I stood.

Throat suddenly dry, I lifted the glass and sipped. Finally, the man gave a curt nod, his dark eyes still on me as the woman came back.

“You can wait for Violet in the blue room,” she informed me with a smile, coming around from behind the bar. “I’ll take you there. Can’t have a pretty thing like you wandering around now, can we?”

I left my glass as she linked her arm through mine and guided me through the crowd. When a few men called her by name, she grinned and waved coyly, never faltering despite the sticky floor and her insane heels.

A curtain flanked by two guards hung at the back of the room. They looked like normal security until I spotted the guns at their hips. Most nightclub security guards didn’t come with a Glock as an accessory.

“She has an appointment with Violet,” the woman said to them.

The one on the left didn’t blink. He simply pulled back the heavy black curtain for us to walk though into a tiny corridor with a door at the end. The space was barely lit, but I spotted a camera above the door, a red light blinking angrily at me.

“I’m Nancy, by the way,” the woman told me, approaching the door and knocking twice.

“Maddie,” I murmured back, eyeing her warily as the door opened and another armed man appeared.

“She’s here to see Violet. Jake said the blue room’s free,” Nancy told him.

The man nodded and stepped back. Nancy turned and waved me toward him. “This is as far as I go, sweetheart.”

“Uh, thanks,” I stammered, and walked through the doorway. The guard slammed the door, and I heard a locking mechanism engage, sealing me off from the rest of the club.

The silence here was so startling it made my ears ring. There was no music, no bass, no whistles and shouts. Just quiet.

“This way,” the guard ordered, leading me down a hallway to the left with several more doors, each one closed. Dim sconces provided just enough light for me to make out the dark walls and gray wood floors. But there were no pictures, no artwork. Nothing but a row of doors.

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