Page 89 of Connor's Claim
She stared at my phone, her lips working. “Was that Roscoe?”
Just like no one ever used my real name, aside from Everly, I rarely heard Convict’s given name.
“The man himself.”
She took a shaky breath. “Does he want to come back?”
For the sake of keeping Convict as safe as possible, we’d told almost nobody about his undercover role, including Alisha. Had she been in the room when we made the decision, itwould have been different, but she’d opted out of those kinds of conversations time and time again.
“He does,” I gave up.
Her eyes beseeched mine. “Will you let him?”
There wasn’t time for this conversation. I had a dozen things I needed to do to get the game underway, but more, I wanted to get upstairs to find Everly. I had plans for us this evening. I’d tell Alisha the truth, but not right now.
More the point, Alisha and I were overdue a long chat. I’d judged her harshly, and regret dogged my steps, giving me pause every time I saw her. On more than one occasion, I’d cut our conversations short, and we were friends. I owed her more than a cold shoulder if I was pissed off with her.
Alisha was a key part of the warehouse running smoothly. We couldn’t cope without her, and I didn’t want her to feel less engaged than she already did.
I heaved a deep breath. “Okay to take a rain check? I’ll tell ye everything later.”
Slowly, she nodded. “That’s fair. I miss our chats. And our games of cards.”
“I do, too.”
“I’m happy that you’ve got Everly. She seems sweet, though I was surprised when you brought her here.” Her lips formed a pretence of a smile. “I once wondered if we might be a good match.”
I tried to hide my recoil. “We’re friends.”
Alisha twisted her lips. “Can men and women ever really be friends? We’re built to attract the other. Something’s bound to go wrong on one side.”
She’d been attracted to me and I’d been walking around ignoring her. What an arsehole. I’d always seen Alisha as the lone-wolf type. Content to manage the women at the club and never stick her head above the parapet, never wanting to rockthe boat, let alone settle down. Not that I’d have been an option, but I could’ve been a better friend.
“I had no idea ye felt like that.”
“No, you’re misunderstanding me. I’m…I’m just shit talking, it’s not important.” She clapped her knees and stood. “I needed to tell you we’ve had a couple of women quit. Bonnie and Maeve both left us. One of the bar staff, too.”
Fuck. Three guesses to whether the other two had followed the first. It helped to set free Alisha’s statement about us so I could focus back on the Four Milers’ theory that was brewing in my mind. Later, I’d fill both Arran and Alisha in on it, but right now, it was game time, and I had a woman to share the experience with.
With a quiet thanks for the information, I left Alisha to lock up the office then ran through my final checks around the warehouse.
The whole building hummed with a dangerous level of excitement and energy.
The security team had the right men and women locked in the basement—an advanced level of checking in place since Genevieve’s unfortunate experience. Our tech team were ready with the live stream. Every available room in the building was occupied with paying customers with a woman or man of their choice ready to bounce on their dick while people fucked on the basement’s concrete floor.
With ten minutes to go, I stormed up the stairs to my apartment. My work was done, and I only needed Everly. We were going to watch the show together.
I needed her out of her comfort zone and feeling everything she wanted to feel.
She had no idea what was coming.
Chapter 29
Everly
Shouts from outside the club made it up to the arched window in Connor’s apartment, and I stood with a hand to the brick, watching the crowd gathered below. Genevieve had told me how a festival atmosphere surrounded the game, with people waiting outside for the contestants to emerge. The victorious men would carry their claimed woman out to a waiting car, both naked, often bloodied.
Sometimes, they’d still be having sex.