Page 86 of Reaper and Ruin

I shook my head and figured now was as good a time as any to shoot my shot. “I’m actually looking for the owner, Cedric Matish?”

Kade stepped back a few inches, the easy smile he’d had for me all night suddenly disappearing. “Ah, Daddy, you were so close to snagging me, with those pretty blue eyes and older, experienced vibe you got going on. Now I find out you were just using me to get to my cousin all along? Geez, way to mortally wound a guy. You know he’s not gay?”

“That’s okay. I’m not here to fuck him.”

Apparently I wasn’t going to be fucking anyone tonight, not with the way Levi and I were steadfastly ignoring each other, and X was taking up all of Violet’s time. I didn’t begrudge them some fun. We’d had a long run of shit. They should enjoy themselves. I didn’t want Violet anywhere near Nyah’s family. If they were as bad as Nyah had told Violet, then the farther she stayed away from them, the better.

“You here to kill him?” Kade asked, wiping down a glass and asking the question as casually as he might have asked someone for the time.

“No. I’m a friend of his sister’s.”

Kade changed his tune instantly. “You know Nyah?”

I nodded.

“She’s been gone for weeks. Ric’s been really worried.”

My mouth pulled into a grim line, and I studied the man, trying to determine whether I could take his words at face value. “If he honestly cares about her, he should be. She’s not safe.”

Kade’s eyebrows furrowed. “That a threat?”

I shook my head. “No, not at all.” I pointed to Violet on the dance floor. There were a handful of other women on it, but men outnumbered them ten to one. “See my girl out there?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Your girl? Thought you were into prison tats over there?”

“Can’t a guy be into both?”

Kade sniggered. “Oh, to look like you. Must be nice.”

We were getting off track. “She’s become really attached to your cousin the last few weeks. They’ve been working together in a little town a few hours away. But Nyah didn’t show up for work two days ago. She’s missing.”

Kade put the glass down in the sink. “Shit. I think you better go talk to Cedric then. Come on. I’ll take you.” He called out to the other bartenders to say he was taking a minute and then rounded the bar.

I was still sitting on the stool, debating whether going with him was a good idea or not. I had my gun tucked into the back of my jeans and covered by my shirt, but that wasn’t going to be much good if Kade took me into some room surrounded by mob men.

Kade held a hand out to me. “You coming or not?”

“This guy likely to shoot the messenger?”

Kade laughed. “Won’t know until you try, right?” He wiggled his fingers. “Come on. Ric isn’t a bad guy, and he loves his sister. He’s going to want to hear anything you have to say.”

Clearly sick of waiting for me to assess the situation, he grabbed my hand and pulled me off the stool. He didn’t let go as he weaved through the crowded club that had filled upconsiderably while we’d been talking. The alcohol sloshed in my stomach, giving my head a pleasant buzz.

One that was pretty much wiped out completely when my gaze caught on Levi’s across the club.

Kade didn’t miss the way Levi stiffened, his gaze burning through me and Kade like we were doing something wrong.

Kade tutted. “Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise? Is he going to beat my skull in with his meaty mega fists?”

“No.”

“You sure? Because this probably looks a little suspicious, me dragging you down dark hallways, into private rooms…”

I gave Levi one last glance. His expression was unreadable. He was like stone.

It fucking pissed me off. I didn’t need him to get all deep and into his feelings, but fucking hell. I was sick of him being so adamant there was nothing between us. He ran hot when we were alone, then cold as ice when we were in public. Maybe I should have been more generous, but he wasn’t a scared fifteen-year-old kid, kissing a boy for the first time. An attraction to a man might have been new to him, but he was thirty-fucking-five, and we were in the middle of a gay club. And he still couldn’t come over and kiss me?

If he couldn’t do it here, he couldn’t do it anywhere. I was so sick of being a dirty little secret. I’d spent every waking moment thinking about what the hell I was going to do with my life now because I couldn’t stand the thought of fucking anyone but him or Violet ever again. I’d been scouring the newspaper, searching for anything that would make me enough money that I didn’t have to go back to being Wyatt DeLeon, the sex worker.