Page 34 of Sins of a King

“Except that you’re not even sleeping with him,” Ash pointed out.

“But I want to be.”

“Despite the fact that he owns an illegal casino and brothel? We never really talked about that.”

“It doesn’t bother me.”

“Yeah, with a face and body like that, I don’t blame you for not caring.”

Ash had gotten a good look at Flynn when he’d shown us to the luxury suite the night before. She’d observed his overly solicitous behavior where I was concerned and made no qualms about liking that he was a man who took charge of things.

“I do care,” I protested. “I mean, I know I’m supposed to care because of the illegal thing, and that means he probably pays people off—”

“Not probably. He does.”

“Okay. So he does. But”—I shrugged—“I don’t know.”

“He made a deal to take you in lieu of three hundred thousand dollars,” she pointed out. “And from the sound of it, he was perfectly happy to take payment in form of…” She gestured to my lap.

I rolled my eyes. “But he didn’t. If I tell you something, you have to swear to me you won’t blab it to anyone.”

“I promise.”

I stared hard at her.

“I promise,” she said again.

“Someone is bringing drugs into Flynn’s club. Our deal, independent of my brother, was that I’d help him figure out who it is.”

“So working in his club is just a cover.”

“Yes.”

“So you had no intention of ever trading sex for money?”

“Way to break it down, Ash,” I said with amusement. “I thought about it. Briefly. But I couldn’t do it.”

She smiled, but it quickly died. “I know you, though. If you get involved with a man who lives in a gray area, makes up his own rules, and has the money to do whatever he wants, that will rub off on you.”

“Are you saying I’m corruptible?”

“I’m saying you didn’t grow up with wealth. It changes how people see the world. It will taint you.”

“Oh, not thepoor rich girlspeech!”

“That’s not what this is and you know it.”

I sighed. “I know.”

“Be careful. That’s all I’m saying.”

“I will.”

You couldn’t be careful when you were falling for someone. It was all or nothing. But because Ash was my best friend, she pretended to believe me even though she knew I was lying to her.

The back of summer broke, and a slight chill took over the city. It felt good breathing in the crisp air as I pounded the walkways in Central Park. I still wasn’t any closer to being a night owl, but my body was slowly acclimating to my new routine. Though I missed my academic job and getting lost in history, I was glad to be working in the club. I’d always enjoyed puzzles and discovering who was behind bringing drugs into The Rex was a puzzle of epic proportions.

I slowed my pace to cool down as I left the park and jogged home. As I rounded the corner of my street, I saw Andrew approaching my apartment building. I hadn’t heard from him in nearly two months, not since he’d coldly traded me like a commodity on the stock market.