the lift and backing in, all of us holding back the three men advancing on us. We don’t lower our weapons until the doors are closed, bullets bouncing off the metal beyond.
“In motherfucking daylight in the middle of fucking Vegas.” Brad falls against the wall and looks at me, his shock clear. “Who the fuck is that bold?”
I glance at Rose, wondering if she’s thinking what I’m thinking. “Black’s a dead man,” I murmur, getting no acknowledgment from my repeat of Perry Adams’s words. But would he risk Rose’s life? No, I don’t think he would. Which means whoever Adams is in bed with now knows for certain he was in bed with me first. And that makes them serious players. I’m fucking astounded by their boldness.
I say no more, pulling Rose from the elevator when it opens. The chopper blades whirl loudly, and she looks up at me, eyes wide. “I’m never spontaneous,” I remind her, jogging us to the door and lifting her in.
“You k-knew . . . you knew something would happen?” she asks as I belt her up and Brad gets comfortable up front.
I check that she’s secure before taking a seat next to her. I can feel her eyes on my profile as we take off. “I’m always prepared for something to happen.”
That’s a lie.
I wasn’t prepared for her to happen.
Chapter 10
ROSE
* * *
I could have run. Amid the chaos, I could have bolted, and Black would never have noticed until it was too late. Yet, I didn’t. I also should have wished the gunman aiming at Danny Black’s forehead had pulled the trigger before Brad got to him. But I didn’t. In that moment I was truly terrified, and it’s utterly shocked me. Nox is in Vegas. Was that his attempt to get me back? Because if it was, it was a mega fail. That man doesn’t fail. Would he be so careless with my life?
I don’t know, but Danny Black winding up dead would surely be the best thing to happen. But in that moment, it felt like the worst thing that could happen. I heard him threatening to kill his man if he called me a whore again. The whole scene played out just beyond the car door where I’d found myself while men fired guns left and right. That’s why I didn’t run. Because I was stunned by the words he roared at his man. And then when he found me, and then found a gun aimed square between his eyes, he pulled me back, covering my body with his.
No one has ever protected me before. I don’t want to like it. Liking something makes it more painful when you no longer have it, and protection isn’t something I can keep.
The entire flight, I sat there playing the whole scene on repeat in my head, searching for another logical explanation for Danny’s behavior. Of course, there is one. Maybe I’m that valuable to him. Maybe he really does need me. But I keep coming back to the words he yelled at his friend.
Call her a whore again, I’ll put a fucking bullet in your skull myself.
Does he see . . . me?
When we were guided from the helicopter to a private jet, the questions circled as Danny gathered his men in the next galley, most splattered with blood, one sporting a bullet wound to the shoulder. It was carnage, but nothing like what they left behind. I didn’t recognize any of the men that laid dead, but that wouldn’t be unusual. Nox has men everywhere. I heard Brad ask who would do this. And I’m afraid I know exactly who. He saw me with Black in the restaurant last night. I know he watched the whole dinner act play out. Nox knows me well enough. I may have fooled Perry that I find Black abhorrent, but I would never have fooled Nox.
When we land, we’re whisked away in a limo back to a mansion on the outskirts of Miami. Hidden behind a ten-foot wall that has guards stationed regularly, the building is like nothing I’ve seen before. We’re greeted by a woman. Esther. She’s an attractive lady, but completely stoic, giving me nothing as she takes me away from Danny the moment he barks the order at her. She shows me to a huge suite, and the whole way through the colossal mansion I remain dazed, confused, and worried.
Sitting on the edge of the bed twiddling my thumbs, I glance around,