Page 19

Chapter Nineteen

Henley

M y bunny’s deep breaths across my chest have my heart settling in my chest. Something about this encounter with her was different, which spurred another, more hidden part of me to reawaken. Not only that, but she took it in stride.

Every part of my being wants to care for her, make sure she is okay, make sure she is fed and healthy. When I saw her that first day at Drenched in Sin, I was immediately drawn to her. I knew from that moment on, I couldn’t let her go. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always work out in my favor, but now that I have her in my arms, I don’t have any plans to let her go. Scrubbing my free hand over my face, I gently extract myself from her body. I don’t want to do it, but when I was scrolling on my phone earlier, Hael asked for me to meet with him after I had given her a “piece of my mind”.

Just as I sit on the edge of the bed, she stirs and starts patting around my now empty space. In a slight panic, I shove my pillow toward her, which she takes happily and squeezes against her body.

Fuck Hael for making me leave her right now, especially when I just got her back.

My clothes are on in a few minutes, my boots in my hand so I can make a silent exit. Once the door is securely locked behind me, I quickly slip them on and updo the laces before heading toward his office.

I don’t even bother to knock, barging right in and making myself at home on his chairs. He doesn’t even acknowledge me, his nose buried deep in a file folder. With an irritated huff, he slams it shut and flicks it across the desk. He starts talking before I can ask.

“A female applied to the club,” he snaps, his normally happy-ish disposition now tainted red.

“Okay?” I draw out, unsure where he is going with this. I’m not against women joining, and from what I thought, neither is he. Shit, we even have a female mechanic, Tala, that kicks ass and takes names. “What does that have to do with her joining?”

“She is a club worker from Drenched in Sin.”

“Again, I’m not following.” Rolling his eyes up at me, he looks as if I should be getting it, I definitely don’t. “Has she flashed you, and you were offended?”

“Her profile has her working at Drenched in Sin, but you know what else? She has hacked into our fucking servers!” His face goes from red to maroon in seconds. I’m not kidding when I say that smoke comes billowing from his ears. “Apparently she applied to another fucking club somewhere else, they denied her because they don’t believe she had the skills, so she took it upon herself to prove that she is fucking worth it.”

I take the file and glimpse it over, noting how she made small changes here and there. Nothing crazy, not enough for our Head of IT to take note, but enough to break down three-level firewalls that Ruel put into place. With a low whistle, I brief over the entire report she provided in her application.

Apparently, she and Tala are friends and have known each other for a while. Looking at her photo, I briefly remember meeting her once a year or so ago, and if my memory serves me right, she mentioned applying to another club.

“She means business,” I laugh, shutting the file and shoving it back to him. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to make her prospecting absolute hell. Just because she is friends with one of us doesn’t mean we are going to give her a get-out-of-jail card. She wants to fuck around and find out? I’m the fucking president.”

“No need to flaunt your testes to me,” I announce, raising my hands in mock surrender. “You know that women struggle to get into clubs. She has to earn it, and looking at that report, I would say you’ve got yourself a new hacking recruit.”

“Think Ruel is going to be pissed that she did this?” He relents, leaning back in his chair and taking a swig of his drink.

“Oh, yeah,” I chuckle, knowing damn well that Ruel worked a couple weeks in getting that firewall to the strength it is. I don’t know jack shit about tech, but he was so damn proud of himself and Rune when they made it impenetrable. Well, it’s not now. “Better get her started on bitch duty soon or else Ruel is going to start swinging because she knocked it down without putting it back up. I admit that I won’t be your guard if he comes for you. His punches kind of hurt.”

He scowls into his glass again.

“What’s really bothering you?” I ask, the look on his face making me uneasy.

“Nothing, man. Thanks for being here to let me vent. Go back to your girl.”

As I go to exit the office, Ruel comes in and stops dead in his tracks. “Just the two guys I was looking for,” he announces while shutting the door behind him. His laptop sits perched on his arm and elbow, Hael clears off a spot on his desk for Ruel to place it.

“Did you get it?” Hael asks, and I swear he’s fucking giddy.

“Not fully, but I did start working on it like you asked,” he opens several tabs, clicking and moving screens around so fast I can’t keep up. “Scotty DuClaire is a multi-million dollar partner with several organizations. Out of ten, eight of them are illegitimate, simply a front for him to move money.”

I’m not shocked. Men in our world don’t run clean. Either it’s dirty or bloody money, and that’s just how it is.

“What’s going on?” I question, sitting next to Ruel.

“Elodie was able to give me some information on her father, and I asked Ruel to take a peek.”

“When did you talk to Elodie?” Another question that is answered with a raised brow from him. “You know what, nevermind.”

“It looks like money from his accounts is draining a lot faster than they are being deposited from offshore accounts. There’s no explanation and the amounts vary. It’s concerning because he’s sinking his businesses. Fast.”

“Also, fun fact,” Hael announces as he pulls out a thin folder. “His attorney quit this morning.” The hollow smack barely echoes out as it lands on the desk. Snatching it up, I read over the document, also noting that said attorney is now dead.

“Why?” I ask the question hanging around all of us.

“That’s an expensive question.” I give the folder back, and he places it back in the drawer. “Fuck, I have news for you,” Hael gripes as he looks at Ruel. I laugh, deciding that’s my moment to leave.