Page 6

Stone

W e waited for the elevator to arrive, and, more than anything, I wanted to tell Serenity to stay here, but Vanetti wouldn’t let me do that. Still, having her dogging my every step was getting on my nerves. I’d told her she was a distraction, and that was putting it mildly.

Having her so close was messing with me. Since her visions didn’t seem to help much, I’d latched onto that as an excuse to stop working together. It had hurt her feelings, but I didn’t know what else to do.

Taking her to the shop hadn’t been the best idea. The way the guys had looked her over had set my teeth on edge, and I’d wanted to punch each of them in the face.

Then there was the bike. What was I thinking? Having her body molded against mine filled me with pleasure. It brought her close enough that I could still smell her scent, which seemed even more intoxicating than the first time we’d met. Was it possible that her psychic ability included seduction? If I didn’t know better, I’d think she’d put a spell on me.

We stepped into the elevator, and I was relieved that she didn’t try to talk to me, even though her eyes held anger and enough hurt that I felt like a first-class jerk. That irritated me, so I huffed out a breath and filled her in. “If you don’t know, Vanetti owns The Comet Club. I take care of security for him, so I’m there a lot. This errand shouldn’t take long, so we’ll be back soon.”

“Oh… sure.” Her gaze narrowed. “Hey… maybe your stalker is linked to the club? We didn’t include that possibility. What do you think?”

I shook my head. “I have no idea. I wouldn’t think so, but I guess it’s possible.”

“That’s good enough for me.” Her eyes glinted with determination, and she licked her lips. Warmth spread over me. Damn! I did not need this right now.

The doors opened and we stepped through the garage to my bike. She grabbed her helmet like she was ready to beat it up, and I tried not to smile. She held it over her head and pushed down, but struggled to get it on. I couldn’t help smirking. “Need some help?”

“No. I’ve got this.” She finally popped it on and reached for the straps. With her lips pursed, she felt for the snaps and managed to get them clasped together, for a change.

I had to admit I liked helping her, so it disappointed me a little. But, at the same time, I liked seeing her learn so quickly, almost like she really wanted to ride the bike with me.

She also looked insanely sexy in her black pants and ankle boots. The only thing missing was a black leather jacket. Instead, she wore a dark blazer that made her look like a cop. I’d have to tell her to wear something else before our meeting tonight, or she’d scare the boys off. But maybe that wasn’t a bad thing, since I didn’t really want her around them.

She waited while I settled onto the leather seat. Riding the bike calmed me in a way that nothing else could. On the Triumph, I was in control, and the familiarity comforted me.

Serenity stepped onto the peg and grabbed my shoulders for balance while she slung her leg over the seat. She was getting better at it, and I appreciated how quickly she was stepping into my world, even after our argument. Yes, I was still kind of upset, but that didn’t stop me from savoring the moment she put her arms around me. I was in so much trouble.

I needed to shift my focus, so I kicked the stand up, pulled in the clutch and pressed the starter. The bike rumbled to life, and I gave it a few satisfying revs before taking off. Coming to the exit, I sped up the hill just enough to feel her arms tighten around my stomach. It was pure torture… but oh, so sweet.

The ride to The Comet Club went by much too quickly. I pulled around to the back and parked in front of the rear entrance. It was too early for most of the workers, which suited me just fine. But if Serenity was right, which I wasn’t going to admit, then we might need to come back at some point.

After we took off our helmets, I opened my mouth to tell her to wait out here, but, at her raised brows, I changed my mind. We stepped to the door and I pulled it open. After ushering her inside, I led the way to Wes’s office.

His door was shut, so I knocked before pushing it open. “Hey, Wes.”

“Stone.” He nodded my way, then his brows rose as he glanced behind me.

“This is Serenity. Vanetti hired her. She’s… helping us out for a few days.”

Wes jumped to his feet and held out a hand. “Hey, Serenity. I’m Wes. Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” She smiled and shook his hand with her glove on.

I pulled the pouch from my inner pocket and handed it to him. “That should see you through the next couple of shipments.”

“I’m sure it will.” Wes opened the safe on the floor behind his desk and tucked the packet away. He took a thumb-drive from the safe and handed it over. “That’s for you. Vanetti told me about your problem, so I downloaded all the surveillance from the last week. Maybe you’ll see something there that will help.”

“Thanks, Wes. I’ll take a look.”

“Sure.”

We stepped back into the hall, and I hesitated. We were already here, so it wouldn’t hurt to ask. I glanced her way. “Do you want to go inside the club and see if you pick up anything?”

Her eyes widened. “You mean you trust me to do that, now?”

My jaw tightened. “It’s not about trust.” My gut twisted. “But we’re here. So do you want to or not?”

She shook her head. “You know… one of these days, I’m going to save your life, and you’ll have to admit you were wrong. I can’t wait.”

I snorted. “Yeah, right. More like I’ll save your life, and you’ll be sorry you didn’t take my offer to stay out of it.”

“Ha! You’re on. And… for the record, if you saw some of the things I’ve seen, you’d never take your gloves off again. Th ere are some things you do not want to know.” Shaking her head, she muttered, “I’m definitely never using a public bathroom again.”

I barked out a laugh. “Yeah, okay, maybe. I didn’t think about that , but it would be worth it to know everyone’s secrets.”

Her brows dipped, and her perfect lips twisted into a soft pucker, making it hard to keep from kissing that disdain right off her face. “Yeah, right. Well, if you’re finally ready to give me a chance, then let’s start here, in the offices.”

“Okay.” I stepped down the hall and opened a door to show her the desk filled with monitors and computer equipment. There were six monitors all together, each covering a different part of the club. “This is the surveillance center where I spend a lot of my time.”

Her eyes widened. “Wow. Do people know you’re watching them?”

“I would think so.”

“But isn’t that illegal?”

I huffed out a laugh. “It’s Vanetti’s club. He can do whatever he wants.” She frowned, and it occurred to me that she might not know that Vanetti was a mob boss. “It’s not illegal. This is an exclusive club. People know what they’re getting into when they come here.”

“Oh… right.”

My brows rose. “Have you ever been here before?” I studied her, suddenly wanting to show her around, and not for the investigation, but just to show off a little.

“Me? Uh… no. I’m not into that sort of thing…” She raised her gloved hands and wiggled her fingers. “…mostly because of this.”

“I see. Well, come on. I’ll show you the rest.” I almost reached for her hand, but resisted the urge at the last minute. We continued down the hall toward a door that opened off the side of the bar inside the club. A worker was re-stocking the bottles of booze, while another guy mopped the floor.

Serenity followed me past the bar to where booths and tables were set up along the outer edges of the hall, with a big wooden dance floor in the middle. Without any people, the space looked big and cavernous.

Special lighting was mounted all along the vaulted ceiling, ready to shine down on the dance floor in strobes of color. But, for now, the place was pretty tame, with golden light pouring from above the wainscoting lining the walls. The club oozed wealth and privilege without being stuffy.

“I thought clubs were supposed to feel sleazy during the day, without all the fancy lights and music, but it’s nice here, especially without any people.” Serenity glanced around the room before sending me a shrug. “But I guess that’s not the point.”

Her phone rang, and she quickly pulled it from her purse. Her brows dipped, and she caught my gaze. “Is it okay if I take this?”

I shrugged. “Sure.” I knew it wasn’t polite to listen, but who said I was polite?

“Hi, Ethan. What’s up?” Listening, she paused and her mouth twisted. “Are you kidding me?” Closing her eyes, she huffed out a breath. “I can’t believe it. He’s suing me? For what?” Rubbing her forehead, her lips pinched together. “Seriously?” She let out another frustrated huff. “He has to know I can’t give him what he wants. I don’t have it. Is there anything else we can do?” Her brows rose. “What? Go to trial? This is unbelievable.”

Someone was suing Serenity? It sounded serious, and an unexpected anger flooded my gut. My fists clenched, and I had to consciously relax them. Who would do that to someone like her?

She turned to pace a few steps away, but I could still hear her. “I know… you’re right. I’ll stay the course. Just let me know when you find out the details, okay? Sure. Thanks.”

With her head lowered and her back to me, the pain I’d heard in her voice was etched into every rigid muscle of her body. Anger stirred my stomach. Even though I thought we were wasting time, it wasn’t because I thought she was a fake, but because—

She took a deep breath and straightened her spine before turning to face me.

“Is everything okay?” I really wanted to ask who I needed to beat up.

Clearing the gloom from her face, she nodded and tried to smile. “Of course. Just a little bad news, but it’s nothing new. I can handle it.”

I raised a brow, knowing a lie when I heard it. I was dying to pry, but now didn’t seem like the best time, so I let it go. “You want to touch anything while we’re here?”

She swallowed. “I don’t think it’ll help. Let’s go back to your office. I’m interested to see what’s on the surveillance videos. Maybe I’ll see the guy who ran you off the road? That would be good, right?”

“I can’t argue with that.” Especially since it was what I wanted to do, anyway.

She nodded and took off toward the doors behind the bar. She pulled the door open and nearly collided with one of the workers carrying a box of full of bottles. Luckily, I was close enough to catch the box and avert a disaster.

Serenity’s face turned a bright shade of red. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know anyone was there.”

I couldn’t help razzing her. “Maybe if you took off your gloves, you’d see things like that coming. ”

She sent me a glare that could have melted the flesh off my bones, and opened her mouth to retort before closing it with a snap. Turning, she strode through the door and down the hall. Dang, I’d really gotten to her. I was only teasing, but she’d taken it wrong, and I’d totally upset her. Talk about bad timing. Shit. Now I felt bad.

I hurried after her, taking long strides to catch up, but even then I only barely made it in time to keep the outer door from smacking me in the face. “Hey, I wasn’t trying to be a jerk. I was just—messing with you.”

“It’s fine.” Her mouth twisted.

I raised an eyebrow, but she didn’t say anything else, only picked up the helmet and shoved it down over her head, snapping the strap into place with finality.

My breath whooshed out of me, and I shook my head. The sooner we figured out who was after me and she was out of my life, the better. I didn’t date women like her, anyway. They usually wanted things like a family, a long-term commitment, a relationship, and I wasn’t going to give them that. Trying to be with someone like Serenity would only end badly. She was off limits, period.

Still… deep down inside, I couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to give in to this electric charge between us. She’d probably hate me in the end, but it just might be worth it.

Who was I kidding? Even if it was worth it, I wasn’t sure one night would be enough. What was it about her that intrigued me so much? She was gorgeous, sure, but I’d had plenty of women like that in my life. Serenity was different. She was trying to prove herself, and her vulnerability brought out the protective side of me, which was a huge red flag.

Most women took one look at me and liked what they saw, but I wasn’t the type they’d take home to meet their parents. Part of me didn’t mind that, but being with Serenity made me wonder what I was missing.