Page 82 of Corrupted Union

“Touché.”

All three laughed so hard they started crying, and Noemi had to run to the restroom wailing about peeing in her pants. That only made the other two laugh harder.

I didn’t anticipate my intense pride at seeing Rowan fit in so well with my family. Yeah, I wanted her to like them, and vice versa, but I hadn’t realized how important it was to me until I watched her blend in like a natural part of the group.

I caught my wife’s eye and leaned forward. “I was thinking of calling it a night. Did you want to stick around a while longer?” I loved seeing her so happy, but that didn’t make me any more of an extrovert. I’d peopled for hours and was ready to escape home.

“We can head out. I’m pretty wiped out myself.”

Thank God.

I was about to stand when my phone vibrated in my pocket. Everything in the city was shut down, and everyone who was important to me was in this room. Who the fuck was calling?

“Yeah?”

“Mr. Byrne? This is Aaron with Precision Security. We’re showing sensor activity at 126 W. 38thStreet. Would you like me to send the police over to investigate?”

The alarm had gone off at Moxy? What the hell was that all about?

“No. I’ll head over and check it out. I’m sure it’s nothing.” I wasn’t so sure, but the last thing I wanted was the cops snooping in my club. If there was a problem, we’d handle it on our own.

“Thank you. Have a nice night,” said the monotone voice before the line went dead.

“What was that all about?” Rowan asked as Torin joined us. He’d noticed me take a call.

“Alarm went off at the club.”

“I’ll go check it out,” Tor quickly offered.

“We were about to head out anyway,” I told him. “I’ll run in with you on our way home, just to be safe.”

He gave a curt nod, and Rowan jumped to her feet. We said a quick goodbye to everyone and were on the road in a matter of minutes. Torin was on his bike behind us. I liked a good bike as much as the next guy, but I’d never understood his refusal to drive anything else. Stubborn asshole had to be freezing. Between the fights and his bike, sometimes I wondered if his mother hadn’t dropped him as a baby.

Thirty minutes later, we parked out front of the Moxy. Everything looked as it should. I preferred to prepare for the worst, but the alarm might have been a fluke.

“I’m going to check things out with Tor. I want you to stay here, doors locked. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir, Colonel Sir.” She saluted, hand at her forehead.

“Smart-ass.” I smirked. “Spare gun’s under the seat, just in case.”

“In case of what?” She balked.

I shrugged. “Hell if I know.” I stepped out of the car, turning and waiting for the doors to lock behind me before joining Torin at the Moxy entrance.

“It’s locked. If someone got in, they went in through the back.”

“I seriously doubt anyone’s in there,” I told him, inserting my key into the lock. “It’s Thanksgiving. Even the Albanians aren’t out tonight. If I had a guess, I’d say it’s those damn rats that keep multiplying in the back alley.” I opened the door and stepped inside, flipping on the light switch, which only turned on a set of fluorescents at the front. The main switchboard was in the back.

Gun in hand, Torin started making his way through the club. I kept mine holstered and followed him. Everything looked fine until we got to the lady’s locker room. A light shone from under the door.

Tor and I exchanged a look. We moved to either side of the door, and I finally took out my gun, clicking the safety off. After listening for a minute and not hearing anything, he flung open the door to reveal the very last thing I expected to see.

Stormy sat against the lockers, her knees curled protectively to her chest, shaking like a leaf. And that wasn’t all. Her left eye was swelling shut, and her lip was bleeding. When we burst inside, she flinched, then brought her arm around her middle and winced.

“Storm, what thefuck!” Torin roared.

“Easy,” I barked at him.

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