Page 131 of Connor's Claim
“I’m not with anyone else,” I forced out.
She hitched her breath, her voice softer still. “Someone told me they saw you go into a bedroom with one of the women here. I don’t mind. I’m happy for you, but I don’t have anyone else to turn to. You know the gang my cousin was in? The Four Milers?”
Of course I fucking did. I gave her a short chin lift, tracking two men who entered the space and went straight into the arms of waiting women. Regulars. Nothing off about them.
She continued, “The leader, Red, came to my flat. He told me he wants me. He offered me money but he scared me, too. I think he made a threat. Someone warned me that his second-in-command, Bronson, uses drugs to knock women out, and Red said he’d send Bronson next time. What do I do?”
Fuck. Finally, I regarded her properly. The skeleton crew had been poised to raid the Four Milers’ new strip club before the eyes of the world fell on Deadwater and they’d had to go to ground. The longer they, orwe, had to delay, the longer the women who worked for Red suffered. I fucking hated that. It made sense that Red would target someone like Moniqua. A woman alone in the world and unprotected.
I didn’t like her, but I hated that fate for her. She was harmless. A victim in the making. Despite myself, I considered options.
Soft fingers curled around my arm. “That scared you as much as it scared me. I can see it. I was thinking, if you give me your keys, I could go back to your place and cook you dinner. It’ll be waiting for you when you finish work, along with me.” She gave a funny little curtsey.
For fuck’s sake.
I inhaled through my nose, regretting it after receiving another dose of that cloying perfume. “Best thing I can think is for you to take a job here. That way, you’re off the table for Red.He’s lured women away but not directly taken them from the skeleton crew. You’ll be safe.”
She pouted. “I don’t know how to do the kind of jobs they have here.”
Across the room, the object of my dreams left the office behind the bar to talk to one of the staff. Cassie. I’d tried to avoid her, but couldn’t help seeing her around. She’d taken on some of Alisha’s duties and appeared to be a core part of the team.
Over Moniqua’s head, she locked her gaze on to mine.
Heat sank through me.
“Who’s that?” Moniqua asked. “She’s familiar. She looks like the girl who tried to steal your bike.”
“None of your business,” I answered, though I was stuck on taking Cassie in.
She had an endless wardrobe of pretty dresses, some sexy as fuck, others more playful. Tonight’s black sequined number was of the former variety. It clung to her curves, yet at the same time marked her out as here for business and not for sale. Those wild black curls were normally left down, but she’d pulled back a section with a comb above her ear, the sparkling pink crystals on it matching her nails.
I’d been staring at her for far too long.
She cocked her head in cute enquiry. It wasn’t like the way she talked to any other man. Then her gaze ran over Moniqua, and her lip curled. Jealousy flashed in her pretty eyes.
Fuck. Cassie liked me, too? I’d assumed it was mostly one-sided. That any lust was all on my behalf and at best, she’d been flirting.
Her expression told me I’d been mistaken.
It meant I should back the fuck away.
If my life went the way I expected, I’d be in even more danger than I was by signing up to this crew. From talking to Everly,who was the sweetest woman, I knew our father to be vicious and ruthless. When I took him on, he’d retaliate.
Maybe in that, I’d taken after him, because I needed to white fang Cassie. Hurting myself was no big deal. Hurting her would be unacceptable.
A sense of total wrongness tightened inside me, but I rejected the emotion and dragged my focus to Moniqua. “If you want me, get on your knees.”
Her lips parted. Eagerly, she knelt. “I didn’t expect you to like it so public. Sure you don’t want to go into one of these rooms? You can have me however you want me.”
Cassie squinted at Moniqua. The expression I’d considered adorable morphed to confusion. It flattened when eager fingers undid my belt.
I tracked Cassie’s flight from the room then dropped my head back to the wall, hating myself for what I’d done. Moniqua’s fingers slid under my waistband.
I grabbed her wrist. “Changed my mind. Go downstairs and talk to Clem at the bar in the strip club. She’ll hook you up with a job, if safety is what you really want.”
She rocked back on her heels. “I…I don’t understand.”
I didn’t either. I’d played the asshole, and it’d left me feeling worse rather than better.