“I’M NOT DATING EITHER of them,” Katie yelled across the table over the music. The crowd was loud, but not that loud.
“You don’t have to scream at us about it.” Brey eyed Katie as if signaling her to take it down a notch. The two were probably having some private, telepathic conversation. They had been best friends since high school and inseparable ever since.
I understood their bond in the sense that Katie was a sort of fierce protector of Brey’s when they were growing up. They both came from rough backgrounds, but Katie wore her warrior loud and proud. Her hair was chopped at her shoulders with electric-blue streaks through the black. She wore a cut up shirt and even though she was small, her tattoos made her look badass.
Even without all that, her gray eyes could stare down the biggest man in the room and make him wither.
Brey was the complete opposite. She had dark, natural hair, dressed conservatively most of the time and always tried to make everyone comfortable by being polite. People would call her well-bred but her new husband made sure to shake her out of that breeding every chance he got. He loved to see her let loose, and I envied their connection every time I saw them together.
“I’m not screaming about anything.” Katie looked at me for support. “Vick, you know what screaming is. Tell her I’m not screaming.”
“She’s not screaming, Brey.” I sighed and put my chin in my hand.
Brey stared at me longer than I wanted her to. “What’s wrong, Vick? I wouldn’t ask except that … well, something is bothering you, isn’t it?”
“I shouldn’t have e-mailed your business account,” I admitted. I still felt bad about our conversation. She had run to the bathroom immediately after leaving Jett’s office to warn me that he’d hacked her email.
“Water under the bridge.” Brey waved me off. “Jax said Jett won’t hold that e-mail against me.”
Katie blew a raspberry. “Jax is lying.”
Brey sighed. “I know he is. But I decided I don’t really care. Jett shouldn’t have done that.”
I smiled. Brey held everyone to her own standards, and I was happy to see her stand up for herself when they didn’t meet those standards. “Your boss is something else.”
“Is he now?” Katie asked and raised an eyebrow.
“Why are you asking me like that?”
“You still haven’t disclosed what you two were doing half the time in Kauai.”
“And you still haven’t disclosed what you are doing with the two Armanelli brothers,” I quipped.
Katie narrowed her eyes. “I said I’m not dating either of them.”
“That doesn’t give us any information. You never admit to dating anyone. Ever.”
“Brey knows I’m not dating either of them.” Katie nudged Brey.
She sipped her drink before she agreed. “She isn’t, but I think Bastian wouldn’t mind …”
“Bastian wouldn’t mind with anyone.”
I whispered what was bothering me. “Aren’t they in the mob?”
Brey rolled her lips between her teeth, and I knew the answer immediately.
“You can’t date someone in the mob, Katie.” I grabbed her drink as she reached for it to buy time. “No. You date questionable guys all the time, but I think we need to put our foot down with the freaking mob, you guys.”
Katie leaned in and widened her gray eyes at me. “Keep your voice down. Jesus. It isn’t the mob, per se.”
“‘Per se’?” I threw my hands up. “What does that even mean? Brey, you tell her.”
Brey winced. “I can’t tell her anything. I love those boys.”
“You love them? You can’t love people in the mafia. They … wait. Do they do business with the Stonewoods?”
Brey looked toward the ceiling of the club. “This isn’t something we should talk about.”
“Well, Katie is dating one of them!” I yelled and stood up from my stool. “And you just married Jax. If his business is associated with—”
“Stonewood Enterprises is associated with every business in the city, Vick,” Brey stated matter-of-factly.
I pictured guns, violence, murder. The Godfather reel started playing in my head, and I blurted, “You guys need to figure your shit out. We could be killed.”
Katie—who never seemed to worry about anything—eyed me like I was a lunatic. “You do realize that we aren’t in a movie, right? Organized crime isn’t what it once was.”
“I don’t know if you’re downplaying the situation or being honest.” No one ever really did with her. “And, anyway, you don’t think anything is a big deal.”
She rolled her eyes. Brey jumped in. “No one needs to worry.”
I pursed my lips. “Does Rome know you’re dating someone in the mob?”
This time, Katie’s eyes bugged out and she stood up. “He doesn’t get a say in who I date.”
Her words were measured. She narrowed her eyes at me like she was telepathically communicating to keep my mouth shut.
She didn’t want me blurting out that I had found Rome and her tangled in the sheets a while back. Rome and Brey used to sleep together too but never had feelings for each other. I had a pretty good suspicion that Katie and Rome’s story went deeper and Katie didn’t want anyone finding out.
I shrugged my shoulders and crossed my arms. “Then he won’t mind if I tell him you’re dating one of the Armanelli brothers.”
“Don’t be a bitch, Vick,” Katie spit out.
Brey rubbed her forehead. “You guys, come on. This is a girls’ night out. Let’s not fight.”
“Fight about what?” A deep voice rumbled behind me, and I felt the Stonewood presence before I turned and saw them.
Jax and Jett approached with a few enormous men in suits.
Security.
The club was packed tonight, and they didn’t need problems with Jax being here. Jax slid his arm around Baby’s waist.
“This is a girls’ night,” she glared at him.
He smiled. “Peaches, we’re newlyweds. I get you every night.”
Envy shot through my veins. I wanted a man to want me like Jax wanted Brey. Love me like he loved her. Always. Even at her worst.
I glanced at Jett. The man who would never ever want or love like his brother. He stood there staring back at me with nothing in his blue eyes. He didn’t feel a sliver of emotion for any woman, not even me, who he had slept with multiple times. Still, even with that coldness, or maybe because of it, he looked lethally gorgeous. Muscles stretched his collared shirt, his rolled cuffs revealed impressive forearms, and his dark jeans screamed casual but expensive.
He didn’t smile or nod as we eyed one another. His eyes held that look of control, but I knew what was beyond that wall. He covered up how he eyed the crowd, how he was constantly scoping out the weaknesses of a situation.
Jett wanted to keep everyone safe, everyone in his circle protected.
A club was not the place to protect and still his nature to do so made him seem even more appealing to me. Yet, I knew from just the way he broke our stare, he was completely unavailable.
“So, guess the party’s over,” Katie mumbled and downed her drink. “I have to meet someone anyway.”
I glared at her. She glared back because we all knew who she was going to meet.
“We’ll talk more about this later,” I enunciated every word, making it clear I meant what I said.
She singsonged in a ridiculous Disney princess voice that didn’t suit her, “Sure we will.” Then, her tone dropped. “Bye, bitches.”
With that, she sashayed away.
I wanted to scream at her for leaving me and Jett as third wheels to Brey and Jax, but she knew exactly what she was doing.
I glanced at Jax and Brey who were already in a deep conversation, whispering to one another. I gave in and looked at Jett again. “I guess we’re the odd men out.”
He tilted his head a little. “Are we now, Victory?”
“Can you not call me that?”
“Why not? It’s your name.”
“Yeah, but no one calls me that. Everyone calls me Vick.”
“I’m not everyone.”
“Oh, please. Don’t act like you’re someone to me or I’m someone to you.” I downed the rest of my drink and realized I needed to take a note from Katie and leave. “I should get going, Brey.”
She looked away from Jax like it physically pained her to tear her eyes away. “I’m sorry, Vick. My husband is rude.”
“That’s right. Husband.” He emphasized the word and Brey smiled. She couldn’t help herself, and seeing her that happy made me smile too.
“It isn’t a big deal. I should catch up with work anyway. Steven has a big meeting next week.”
Brey eyed Jett. “Yes. One I hope goes well for every single person in the room.”
Jax glared at Jett. “Don’t be a dick next week, man.”
Jett didn’t respond to either of them. He kept looking at me. “You drive here?”
I grabbed my purse. “No. I didn’t move to Chicago and bring a car. The street is one of the most amazing places in the world.”
His face scrunched up like he was smelling garbage. I rolled my eyes and hugged Brey goodbye, then Jax, who offered his driver to me. I shook my head no, telling them I would get an Uber.
I glanced at Jett and mumbled, “Have a good night.”
With that, I wove through the crowd. No one readily moved for a girl trying to leave, but I swayed in and out of the dancing masses and patted a few backs while I smiled on. I didn’t jostle anyone out of their partying. This was someone’s night to remember and another’s night to forget. I didn’t want to take them away from that.
I made it outside about twenty minutes later after stopping a few times to dance with a stranger or cheer on a few shots being emptied.
I pulled up the Uber app on my phone, but someone grabbed my elbow.
“I’ll take you home,” Jett grumbled behind me, and when I looked up to see his jaw ticking up and down, I tried my best not to be turned on.
“Are you following me?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” he ground out as he steered me toward a black SUV.
I attempted to jerk my elbow away from him, but he just tightened his hold and kept pulling me toward the vehicle. “I don’t want a ride.”
“Well, I would have considered that before.”
“Before what?”
“Before I made my guy wait twenty minutes for you to lollygag and mingle with every person in the club.”
“Excuse me?” I shook him off when we reached the SUV. “For your information, I didn’t need nor did I ask for need a ride. I am perfectly capable of getting myself home safely.”
“No woman looking like you and dressed like you at midnight on a Saturday is capable of doing that.” He opened the back door. “Get in.”
I didn’t move one muscle toward that SUV.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I was capable of a lot more than he would ever know. “Don’t be an asshole. If you think women can’t—”
“Victory, I don’t have time for this shit.”
“Good.” I looked down at my phone and pulled up the Uber app again. “Then leave and let me call an Uber. You would be surprised at how amazing some of these drivers are. They always have the most unique life stories.”
I heard him stalk toward me but didn’t look up. I knew he was irritated, I just didn’t care.
Until he swept me up off the sidewalk and practically shoved me into the back of the SUV.
I should have screamed bloody murder or kidnapping or something.
“Are you kidding me?” I yelled instead.
He got in behind me. “Give it a rest. I told you no one has time for this bullshit.”
“You are seriously the most infuriating human being on the planet.”
“Don’t count yourself out. Where do you live?”
I eyed his driver, who’d pulled away from the curb. I wanted to withhold my address just to spite Jett, but that would force us to be together in the SUV longer.
I rattled off the street name. “Just a few blocks from the park.”
Jett narrowed his eyes. “That’s the area you live in?”
I shrugged. “Yup.”
He didn’t explain why he asked and it made me uncomfortable. I hated that feeling. I sat there as we drove in silence, wondering if he thought it was a good neighborhood or a bad one. Did he think I was below the poverty line or spoiled wealthy?
Or did he think nothing at all as he sat there without any emotion on his face whatsoever.
When we turned onto my street, I finally caved. “Why did you ask if this is the area I live in?”
“I wanted to know.”
I waited, watching the city lights dance over his face.
I rolled my eyes as we pulled to a stop in front of my apartment building. “You wanted to know? You aren’t going to elaborate?”
When his gaze cut to me, I stifled a gasp. The emotion was there. His steely blue eyes drilled into me when he replied, “Do not take an Uber from that club all the way here ever again.”
I didn’t know whether to be turned on by his command or offended. With our history, I chose the latter, knowing I wanted more than a romp in the sheets. “Jett, my neighborhood isn’t unsafe.”
“Do you know how many side streets there are on the way here? Do you know how many bad neighborhoods we passed?”
“I’m capable of taking care of myself.”
“You’re a tiny, naive girl who looks like a bad man’s wet dream every time you dress up. You are a Dateline case waiting to happen.”
I swung my door open as I scoffed at him. “I’m not naive.” I paused and widened my eyes as he followed me out of the SUV. “What are you doing?”
“Walking you to your apartment,” he ground out like it was the last thing he wanted to be doing at that moment.
“I don’t need you to walk me to my apartment. This is a decent part of town.” I crossed my arms and glared at him. He somehow looked masculine even getting out of a vehicle, and then he straightened to his full height. Every time he stood in front of me, I wondered if I’d only ever be a booty call to him or if we could have something more.
“I didn’t say this wasn’t a decent part of town. Stop being so damn defensive.”
I turned on my heel and walked to my apartment’s lobby. I didn’t need to humor him or anyone else.
Except the driver. Shit! I spun around and raced to the driver’s side. I knocked on his window and an older man lowered it. “Yes, ma’am?”
“Thank you so much for the ride tonight. Next time, if there is a next time, we should have a bit more fun, right? What’s your favorite type of music?”
He beamed. “Johnny Cash is close to my heart.”
“Johnny Cash is getting played the whole way.”
We smiled at each other and then I waved goodbye.
I skipped all the way to my lobby, leaving Jett in the street.
I didn’t slow down because I didn’t want to lose the feeling of joy that flowed through me from making someone a little happier that evening.
