Page 27

CHAPTER 26

KIM

A n electric hum ran under my skin as I added a bounce to my steps. Tonight was the night.

Snatched's first Showcase. A night filled with artistic or celebrity headliners and guaranteed to be a life-changing experience. A religious experience for some, depending on whatever street drugs they took before coming into Snatched.

We arrived together in the same SUV. Lake drove. Even now, we walked together toward the entrance from the underground parking lot.

Lake was on edge, but he had loosened up a bit since we arrived.

Atlas was calm and steady like he always was. Joaquin was a ball of energy just begging to be let loose in the gold room. For that very reason, he wouldn't be stepping foot in there. We knew his limitations and he agreed. No temptation. Especially tonight.

Everyone was dressed to the nines. Partly because I personally picked out each of their outfits. Lake wore a sleek, black-on-black ensemble. I tried to liven him up a bit with a splash of red, but he refused. Spoilsport.

Atlas was debonair in his colorful plum shirt and charcoal polka dot vest. I'd paired it with dark navy slacks and Italian loafers. It was exactly what I'd expect someone of his status to wear to an art opening, which is exactly what we were doing tonight.

Hosting the most highly sought-after modern art movement.

Joaquin fell somewhere in the middle. He was dressed in a navy suit, two tones darker than Atlas' navy, and a blush pink dress shirt. He left the top two buttons undone for a little sex appeal, and he even let me fold a matching handkerchief in his suit pocket.

I was the most fashion-forward of the bunch, wearing a double-breasted, brass-buttoned satin shirt, fitted and tucked into wide-leg navy slacks. Except for Lake, we were all a matched set.

Even Beasty.

Her reflection in the elevator as we approached was enough to steal my breath.

I didn't dare look at her for fear of getting stuck. After I helped her fasten her dress earlier, she'd turned around and I'd almost passed out from sheer worship.

She was stunning in a collared satin dress with three-quarter-length sleeves and a front slit that was almost scandalous. I'd tried to put her in a runway outfit, but she'd declined. Our compromise was a dress that was both sexy and stylish while effortlessly screaming money. Though, I wasn't sure she realized exactly how much money it screamed.

I’d happily drawn devilish cat eyes on her and finished the look with a crimson lip combo. She was every man’s most intimidating dream.

The patrons here in the fashion circle would know and that was enough. Sometimes optics were everything, and I was absolutely mesmerized by Beasty.

Lake hit the button on the elevator and the doors opened right away. As we filed inside, Atlas caught Beasty around the waist, kissing her neck. A smile softer than anything I'd ever witnessed on Beasty's face spread over her mouth as she melted into him.

This was what it was all about. Not the club or the money or the status, although those things were nice and had their necessity in keeping us safe. It was about pulling this glow from Beasty every. Damn. Day.

"You're to be in pairs at all times, got it?" Lake said as the elevator shifted from the upward movement.

"What about you?" Beasty asked.

I'd already called dibs on her tonight, and Atlas and Joaquin would be paired off.

"As soon as I step off this elevator, Guy will be there, and he won't leave my back open for a second."

Squinting, Beasty pursed her lips. "You trust him?"

"Of all our employees, he's the only one I trust."

"Good." Beasty nodded.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. This one would drop us off in the staff hallway. True to his word, Guy was there, dressed in a matching black suit, a holster visible under his jacket, and a flat expression. For the Head of Security, tonight was probably his worst nightmare.

"Guy," Lake greeted, stepping out and to the side so we could exit too. I grabbed Beasty's hand and pulled it through my arm.

Atlas glared at me playfully as he let her go.

"Lake. Beasty. You're looking beautiful tonight."

Beasty's cheeks suffused with pink. She wasn't used to these kinds of compliments. We'd change that.

Lake's phone buzzed. He checked the screen and cursed.

"What?" Joaquin tried to see who it was.

"Parker. I don't have time to pander to his games right now. He'll have to wait." Lake faced us, looking each of us in the eye. "Stay together. Joaquin and Atlas, you have the themed rooms. Beasty and Kim, you two will tour the invitation-only rooms. All of you will take turns rotating through the VIP section in the main room. You are not security. You're making appearances for the press and the patrons. We paid a hell of a lot to pull in security from the west coast. That's not your job,” he reiterated. “If you see anything that looks out of place, call me or Guy. We'll send people in to deal with it," Lake repeated the instructions we'd heard no less than five times today. "We'll reconvene in the Urban room for Beasty and Kim.

Beasty shifted on her feet. She was nervous, but she was going to be great.

I couldn't wait to show her off.

At least this way, she could perform and no one would be close enough to touch her. Not with the guards we employed.

Lake's phone buzzed again. "God fucking damn it. Oh." He hit the screen and lifted it to his ear.

"Ms. Chen. A pleasure to hear from you, as always." He locked gazes with me and my heart flipped. Was this the call we'd been waiting for?

I bent forward, Beasty leaning with me. Even Guy, who'd been made aware of the arrests, scooted closer.

Lake's brows raised and his lips curled up at the corners. Then he full-out grinned. "That's great news. Absolutely. Of course. It was no problem at all. I'm just glad I could help you with research. There's always a VIP pass waiting for you at Snatched, just tell your name to the doorman." He chuckled. "Understood. Goodbye."

He hit the end button, staring at his phone with that stupid grin on his face.

"Don't be a jackass!" Joaquin exclaimed. "Tell us what she said!"

"The charges have been dropped." He pocketed his phone and picked Beasty up in a tight hug, swinging her around and whooping with more enthusiasm than I'd ever seen him exhibit. “The threat of exposing the real contents of the will was enough to get the Pescis to legally back off. The files of back-room bribes and extortion on the judge and D.A. did the rest.”

Beasty laughed, the sound bright and clear. "What does that mean?"

Lake set her down. "It means that we're free and clear of court charges. She's going to work on getting the arrests expunged considering these were first offenses. But it's a process and of course, a bigger bill." He rolled his eyes.

"Doesn't matter. It's worth it." Beasty squeezed the tops of his shoulders.

There was a new level of tension running through everyone except Beasty and Guy.

Beasty furrowed her brow as she turned left, then right, getting a good look at all of us. "What's wrong? This is a good thing, right?"

Guy cleared his throat. "I'll be on the other side of that door. Come get me when you're ready, Lake." In a flash he was gone, his long strides eating up the hallway.

We crowded around Beasty, and the pulse point on her neck skittered. Was this because she was surrounded or the situation? I hoped it was because of us. It opened so many doors I was dying to explore with her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Lake said as he pulled her hips into his. "This is what we wanted. It's the next stage of the plan. It also means we have to be careful tonight. Maybe we should all stay together." His lips pressed into a thin line.

"That's not necessary, is it?" Beasty hated being confined.

"Beasty," Joaquin started, hesitating before pushing a lock of hair off of her shoulder. "This is great, but it also means the Pescis are pissed. They hate getting one-upped and they’re going to be gunning for us the way we expected in the first place."

"Which you're prepared for, right? That's why you have the facial recognition software, the extra guards, and the media here. They wouldn't dare make a move when it could be recorded in any number of ways. Not here, right?"

She made valid points.

Rubbing his forehead, Lake said, "Shit, you're right. I'm overreacting. The plan still stands; don't get separated. We'll all meet in the Urban room when it's time, and from that moment, we can probably head home. We'll have made our appearance."

We nodded. My excitement had dimmed, but not enough to want to change the plan. I'd been working hard with Beasty, and I wanted her to see just how beautiful she was. With me.

Lake dropped a fierce kiss on Beasty’s lips, and Atlas tried to outdo him by bending Beasty backward for his goodbye. What surprised me was Joaquin stepping in when Atlas released her.

"Stay out of trouble, okay?" he asked softly, leaning in and pressing his lips so close to the corner of her mouth, I wanted to scream just kiss her already!

They stood back, waiting for us to head deeper into the club.

"Come on, Beasty. We have rooms to flit through." I tugged her away, pulling her hand into the crook of my arm again, and guiding her toward the door that led to the invitation-only rooms.

She glanced over her shoulder as the guys disappeared through different doors. When she faced forward, she bit her bottom lip. "Are we doing the right thing? We're safe?"

"Don't work me up, Beasty. It took a long time to get back to this place where I feel comfortable leaving our house," I teased.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

We were in the hallway, and it was more packed than I'd ever seen it as people waited in lines to get into each room. A guard who had been on the wall with attendants stepped forward. He'd be our shadow for the night.

"Don't apologize. If we're safe anywhere, it's here. You're right. There are too many people, too much recorded, and too many witnesses. We'll be fine, and we're going to kill it on stage." I grinned down at her.

The crowd parted for us as both men and women gawked. First at me and my outfit, then at Beasty and hers. The attention thrilled me.

Beasty fidgeted, her fingers twitched against my arm. She was uncomfortable, and I couldn’t have that.

I ducked us through the first door to get her away from their stares. The Whip room.

"Does this feel nostalgic for you yet?" I whispered in her ear as we walked behind the rope that sectioned off the edges of the room. This way we'd be out of the way of patrons and out of touching distance.

Hard rap beats woven with classical music thumped from the speakers as elevated dancers swirled the whips around their bodies. Trina T, a headlining dancer from Vegas, was on stage, performing a burlesque-style dance with her shifting LED fans. It was gorgeous and people flocked to her.

"It's so beautiful," she breathed. She was.

We walked around the loop, pausing at each stage for a few minutes to admire the dancers. The crowd was a giant wave of movement, people swaying with arms raised and bodies gyrating, all while focused on the performers.

Soon, we left that room and headed for the Masked room. This one was more interactive. The dancers wore special masks that were lit up and easily identifiable. They also wore ripped clothing that glowed under the lights. Men in predator masks prowled through the crowd, hunting the few women in doe or bunny masks.

When they caught them, they entered into a sensual dance. People moved out to create a circle, oohing and ahhing at the display. Then the woman would break away and the hunt would begin again. There was a ten-to-one ratio to make it extra exciting for the people.

This room didn't play rap music. Instead haunting notes of Aurora and other similar artists bled through the room creating the perfect atmosphere.

A swell of pride so bright it lit up my chest, consumed me as I watched how well this had all come together.

Maybe we were always supposed to be club owners. This was a high that was ten times greater than anything I'd ever gotten from a runway show. That was just a job.

But what we did tonight, the organizing of art that both entertained and inspired, with Beasty on my arm, was magical. I couldn't wait for our performance.

As we neared the back of the room, still behind the roped-off perimeter, a few fans called out. Beasty had never been with us before when we'd been asked to take pictures or sign autographs.

She wasn't even paying attention, so mesmerized by one masked man whipping his woman around to her hands and knees on the floor as she clawed to get away from him. They simulated fucking for barely ten seconds before she climbed to her feet and ran as graceful as any gazelle through the crowd.

The girls pressed up against the rope, calling my name again. I didn't want to engage. It was too risky tonight. Waving, I gave them my signature soft smile and moved Beasty along.

Andrea was huddled with Holly behind the rope. The nice thing to do was to greet her, even if she was a bitch. For the time, she was still our employee.

"What the hell is wrong with these people? They're fawning over Kim and Atlas like they're some kind of gods." Andrea shook her head.

Holly caught my eye, and hers widened. I shook my head. I was much too interested in what Andrea had to say.

"I should sell a news story. A Tell-All." Andrea laughed. "The guys would be slapped with so many bad press stories, Snatched would be a ghost town. They're fucking assholes anyway."

Beasty vibrated on my arm. She could hear everything as clearly as I could. Tension rippled through her arm seconds before she jumped, but I was too slow.

"You bitch!" She snatched Andrea's hair, yanking her backward.

"Cover us," I shouted to the guard. He nodded, whistling to the attendants staggered along the ropes. They formed a wall between Beasty and the crowd. No one would get pictures.

Beasty yanked Andrea so hard, she fell to the floor. Rucking her dress up at her hips, she straddled the choreographer and started slamming her fists into Andrea's face. Thank God for the slit, or she'd have ripped her very expensive dress at the seams. Noted for future designs.

"They are better than you'll ever be! You fucking cunt . You mean-ass snake. You're as vile as they come."

Holly held her hands out like she wasn't sure if she should try to pull Beasty off or not. She was smart not to follow through with it. I was enjoying the show too much.

"Aren't you going to stop the fight?" Holly yelled.

"Not yet." I crossed my arms.

I couldn't explain the feeling that replaced the pride at watching Beasty defend our honor. She didn't have to. From the second we walked up behind Andrea, she was done for, but this moment was reminiscent of childhood Beasty who fought for us when anyone called us names.

She didn't think we knew, but we did. Atlas made sure of it.

I grinned. When Andrea's eyes closed and didn't open again, I used gentle hands to lift Beasty. I thought she might fight me. She didn't, allowing me to help her stand.

A lock of hair fell in her eyes, and she blew it out of the way as she caught her breath. "That fucking bitch. She's done here, Kim. You don't need people like her. She's the toxic kind that Books was talking about."

I'd ask about that later, but right then, I spun her around and kissed the hell out of her.

Her lips softened against mine and she moaned in my arms. If it wasn't for fear of messing up her makeup on our night, I might have tried to talk her into a backroom tryst in the office. As it was, I didn't want there to be any pictures of Beasty that were less than perfect. I did my best to fluff her hair back into place and wiped my thumb along the lipstick smudge at the corner of her mouth. It was more of a tinted balm, but I wasn’t complaining.

With the self-control of a monk, I pulled back. "Come on. We have to go fix your hair and touch up your makeup." Then over my shoulder, "Stan, escort Andrea to the office to wait for Lake."

I sent a quick text to let him know what had happened. I got a one-word response.

Fuck.

Rodney, our guard, followed us to the dressing room. Several of the girls Atlas had hired were here. They gave us a wide berth as I touched Beasty up.

"Was that fun?"

Beasty gave me a grumpy cat look. "Fun? No. Liberating? Yes. This was how I should have been..." She glanced at the girls. " That day."

"I don't know what you're talking about. This was everything I could have asked for."