Page 98 of The Secrets That Kill

Ifshe survives all this andifI decide I’m finished with her, she can go back next semester. She’s smart enough that she’ll probably still get her undergraduate degree early.

But that’s now part of my problem. That whole letting her go thing might be harder than I thought. Because I want to keep her. Fuck my life.

“People are talking,” Malone says, walking over to where I’m standing at the bar in the Obsidian Knight’s club, deep underground in Soho. “At the clubs and even here. Everyone has something to say about your little side piece. I don’t get why the fuck it’s such hot gossip.”

He shoots me a disgusted look as he drops an envelope on the bar and hails the bartender over.

“Rumors of you not sharing and threatening people who want to touch her. You got their attention, that’s for shit sure. And I’ve got some firsthand evidence of that.” He taps the envelope. “Right fucking here.”

“Blow me, West.”

“Sorry, you’re not my type, Vale.”

I pick up my drink and pocket the envelope. “What else?”

“Our favorite scumbag is back in town.”

“Where was he? Anywhere important?”

“Mexico.”

Girls for some of his seedier side businesses. Not to mention he probably had a cartel meeting for overpriced, over-cut drugs.

Most clubs don’t like drugs and keep drinking to a minimum. Some don’t have booze at all. But the higher-level clubs that take in boatloads of cash serve alcohol.

No drugs, though. There are rules. Standards. And members have to abide by them.

I take a long gulp of my Laphroaig. “I’ve been turning down invites from Broken Angel. He saw us at Wolf and Lamb recently, so now that he’s back, I guess we’ll see what happens next.”

He eyes me. “Not in a hurry?”

“Never in a fucking hurry.”

“Nothing to do with your little sweet thing?”

“She’s not my anything.”

He nods. “So I can have her.”

“If you like breathing, don’t even think about touching her.”

Malone shakes his head, then takes a swallow of his drink. “That’s what I fucking like about you, Mercer. You’re a man of reason.”

“This is my job, Malone.”

“Like fucking her in a public bathroom?” He pauses, takes in my expression, and nods. “Yeah, you got some attention all right. Someone’s following you two. Heard she looked so fucking sweet at that Beneton thing and that you both basically fucked at an upmarket club.”

That last one’s a lie, but rumors are beautiful things. We’re definitely being courted for a club, and this is how the exclusive parts of Broken Angel operate.

Keep an eye on the prospective members long before they know they’re going to become prospective members.

“Things might move a little more quickly than I thought.” I drain the rest of my glass. “This information. Good?” I pat the side of my jacket where I stuck the envelope.

“Gathered it personally myself.”

“Thanks. I’ll be in touch. I think with the news about Henderson being back and me and Pollyanna being followed, it’s time to have another outing.”

“Smith and Jones are both here tonight.”

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