Page 21 of Devious Truth (Vicious Sinners #3)

“ I ’m going to have such a headache tomorrow.” I press two fingers to my temple.

Max levels me with a stare. “You’ve had one drink.”

“True.” I glance at the almost empty wine glass. “But this music is like being hit over the head with a hammer.”

“The DJ changes soon.” Nicolette assures me. “I know this hard rock is a bit much, it gets more techno once this guy is done.”

Flashing multi-colored lights dance over the crowd that moves with the beat of the harsh music. It’s like a swarm of bees, the way they sway together. The DJ works the crowd from a raised platform.

“You come here every weekend?” I lean into Nicolette to ask.

“Well, not every weekend, but a lot. My ex-boyfriend owns the place.” She wraps her thickly lip-sticked lips around the straw of her margarita and takes a long sip.

“Your ex-boyfriend?”

“Yeah. It’s fine. It was a mutual break-up. We weren’t into the same things at all,” she says.

“What do you mean the same things, like hobbies?”

Caroline laughs and pushes my drink toward me. “You need more of this.”

“What’s so funny? If they didn’t have much in common, then it makes sense to break up.”

“I didn’t mean things like hobbies. I meant sexually.” Nicolette places her hands over mine and gives me a kind smile. “He was just too vanilla.”

“Oh.” I shoot Caroline a look. “Don’t make me regret asking you to come out with us tonight.” She responds by lifting her middle finger at me while sipping her margarita.

“Don’t get me wrong; he was amazing, but I need someone who’s a little more take charge. Someone I can’t walk over.” Nicolette goes on.

Someone like Ivan. I don’t think a bulldozer could get over him. As she goes on explaining her current male obsession—a man she met at a club her brother doesn’t know about—I can’t help but think about how easily Ivan takes charge.

In some ways he’s a bull in a China shop, but most of the time he’s just casually dominant. The way his eyebrows flicker when he’s annoyed with me, or how one small squeeze of his hand can relay what he’s thinking.

“Which is all very weird because I absolutely hate being told what to do.” Nicolette laughs, bumping into me.

The music switches over, and Nicolette jumps up and down. “Yes! Let’s dance!”

“Oh, I’m a horrible dancer.” I look at Max for back up on this.

“It’s true. She is.” Max is a good friend. “But who cares, we’re just having fun. Let’s go.”

“Okay, you remember the rules!” Caroline points to Max and Nicolette. “Phone numbers are two points, and free drinks are five.”

“Wait, what if they get free drinks for the whole table?” I shouldn’t be egging on this little game of theirs, but they’re having fun.

“If we get a guy to buy a full round? Ten points?” Caroline looks to Max and Nicolette for agreement, then points to the dance floor. “Then let’s go!”

I’m yanked away from the high table we were able to snag when we first arrived and am dragged into the swarm of bodies. The crowd is so thick it doesn’t matter that I can’t dance, there isn’t enough room to do much more than jump around and sway.

By the time I finally get Max and Nicolette to agree to take a break, a thin veil of sweat covers my face and neck. The high table we left behind has been taken over by a bachelorette’s party.

“Let’s get drinks, then we can find something.” Max tugs me toward the bar.

“I just need water. Can you get me one? I have to get some air.” I fan myself.

“Be careful!” She yells over the music as I slip away.

At the back of the club is a set of stairs with a bouncer standing at the bottom. He’s all puffed up like he’s ready to take on anyone who tries to get past him. A black earpiece is tucked into his left year.

He blocks the staircase as I approach, like I’m going to sprint past him or something.

“I’m just looking for some air. Do I have to go out front?” I lean into him so he can hear me.

“No. There’s a patio out that way.” He points toward the restrooms. “Just go past the bathrooms, down the hall. It’s for smokers, though, so I doubt there’s much fresh air out there.”

“That’s fine. Just need some cool air.”

He frowns. “You got someone with you? You shouldn’t be wandering around by yourself.”

“I’ll be fine. Thanks.” Besides, I’m sure I have two men somewhere around here that have their eagles’ eyes trained on me.

Ivan and Lev may have said they’d each have one or two of their men around, but I’m confident in believing it’s at least twice that.

Their trouble with the DeAngelo family escalated when they sent someone to kill Kaz.

Having us out in the wild like this wouldn’t be tolerated unless there were a small army hanging in the shadows ready to take on anyone looking suspicious.

As I make my way toward the restrooms, a familiar voice grabs my attention from above. When I look up at the balcony overlooking the dance floor a woman turns from the railing. For a second, she reminds me of Elana.

I stop cold, taking several steps back to get a clearer view of the balcony.

She comes into view again, but only her profile.

A man next to her is laughing and he wraps his arm around her, pulling her into him.

I can’t be sure. I’ve only met her a handful of times, and she’s upstairs so I can’t get closer to be positive.

Deciding it’s not her, I make it outside into the cool autumn breeze.

Winter will be here soon, along with the cold and ice and the snow.

My favorite time of year is when the city is blanketed in fresh snow.

It only lasts until after morning rush hour.

Then the dirt and oil from the cars and busses will turn everything into gray mush.

But in those few quiet moments before it’s all messed up, it’s pure and fresh, and uncorrupted.

“Hey, do you have a light? I forgot my lighter with my girlfriend.” A guy with shaggy light brown hair taps my arm.

“No. Sorry. I don’t smoke.” I put my hand protectively on the small purse I have strapped across my chest.

He frowns. “Why you out here then?” He heads off to a couple standing off in the corner of the patio before I can answer him.

Letting his rudeness roll off my back, I grab my phone from my purse. It’s already eleven o’clock.

Got another one!

Caroline’s text comes through at the same time as a notification that Ivan has sent one as well. Swiping away her declaration of victory, I open the text thread with Ivan.

Meeting finished early. Heading your way.

I check the time stamp; it came through five minutes ago. Which means I probably have ten or fifteen minutes before he muscles his way into the club.

It’s a girl’s night, Ivan. No boys allowed.

It’s a complete lie. While those three have been rounding up free drinks and phone numbers for the last hour and a half, I’ve been corralling my thoughts and trying to keep them from wandering too often to what Ivan was doing tonight.

Lev said he was needed. Which meant there’s a problem. Could that problem end in gunfire? Am I going to find him bloodied and unconscious on that metal slab in Alexander’s dungeon with a hole in his chest?

It’s not lost on me that every time Ivan goes to work, he’s opening himself up to violence and murder. Even with all the protection he has, it doesn’t mean someone can’t get to him. Kaz is evidence of that reality.

Be there in ten. How many drinks have you had?

I could tease him; tell him I’ve had half a dozen glasses of wine. It would be even more convincing if I misspell half the text. But the image of his frown, the deep creases etched across his forehead that appear whenever he's upset with me, makes my thumbs hover uncertainly over the screen.

Just one.

His response is instant.

Good girl.

There has to be some medical diagnosis that can explain why my body melts when he says things like that. And he didn’t even say it this time. His thumbs just typed it out on a screen and carried the words through the air on radio waves to my phone. No voice. No look. Just the two words.

Yet, as I read his words, I can feel them deep inside me. It’s as if he’s right here, his lips brushing my ear, whispering his praise.

A thick cloud of candy cane scented smoke envelopes me. More people have come out to enjoy the fresh air and destroy it with their vapes and cigarettes while I’ve been pondering Ivan’s seductive voice. Waving a clear path for air, I go back into the club.

While this air is slightly cleaner, the noise assaults my senses. The club seems to have gotten even more crowded since I stepped outside. The crowd has to be some kind of fire code violation.

“Hey!” Caroline pops out from behind me, sliding her arm through mine. “I was just coming to find you.”

“I just needed some air. It’s so hot in here.”

She pulls me close. “I know what you mean.”

She nudges her chin toward our right where a man wearing a black button down and a pair of dark gray slacks leans with his back against the bar watching her. He brings his drink to his lips, while keeping his eyes completely fixated on her.

“What about Jeremy?”

She laughs. “He’s a boy. That guy is all man.”

“Just don’t leave with him, okay?” I sound like a mother hen, but there’s something sinister looking about him. Maybe it’s the way his hair is slicked back, or it’s the tattoo on his neck. Whatever it is, I’m getting a bad feeling.

“I’ll be safe. Promise.” She squeezes my arm. “We were able to grab a table over there. The girls are waiting for you.”

“Seriously, Caroline. Don’t go home with him.” I hold tighter when she starts to pull away.

“Hey.” She turns a softer smile on me. “I’ll be safe. I promise.”

As she approaches him, he puts his drink down and holds his arm open for her. She steps into his embrace, reaching around him to grab his glass. He gives her a sexy reproachful look as she takes a sip.

“Hey. We’re over there.” Max taps my arm. “Oh, yeah, she found that guy.”

“You don’t approve?”

“Of his looks, fuck yes, but I get a little skeezy vibe.”

“Me too. Maybe I should go over there.”