To Die For - Davidson King Page 0,19

there with that guy alone didn’t sit right with me.

“You again?” Nolan asked as the door shut behind me.

“Yeah, my meeting with Spa…Lane was cut off, so I thought he’d have time to speak with me now?”

Nolan narrowed his eyes and smirked. “Convenient how you arrive mere seconds after his last appointment. One might think you were outside waiting.”

I had no time for this with Nolan. “Is Lane in or not?” I couldn’t see him, so I figured he was in the back or had left and somehow I’d missed it.

“You are an unhinged man,” Nolan said as he shook his head. “Are you a stalker or something?”

“If I was a stalker do you think I’d admit it?”

Nolan shrugged. “So, then, you are a stalker?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, hoping it would relieve some of the pressure forming behind my eyes. “I need to talk with Lane, please?”

He huffed. “Wait here. I’ll see if he’s free—he went to his office.”

I sat down in one of the chairs, my leg shaking anxiously. After a few minutes, Nolan returned and said Lane would be out in a minute. I heard a crash and decided not to wait.

“Hey!” Nolan shouted, but I ignored it. I raced across the studio floor, my mind playing a bunch of scenarios in my mind. Does that asshole still have one of his guys here? Is Sparkles hurt?

I rounded the corner at the same time the office door opened, and a startled Sparkles yelped.

“Jesus!” he yelled. Nolan—who was apparently racing after me—slammed into me, making me push into Sparkles. “What the hell is going on?”

“Sorry, Lane, this nutjob wouldn’t wait for you.” Nolan took a step away and brushed invisible whatever from his clothes.

“Max not following the rules doesn’t shock me.” Sparkles rolled his eyes. “But it’s fine, Nolan, thanks.”

“Should I call the cops?” Nolan assessed me like I was going to accost Sparkles the second he was out of sight.

“No, really, believe it or not, Max is harmless…Well, maybe sanitize yourself if you made physical contact.”

Nolan’s nose scrunched in disgust, and I really had to ask myself why I gave a shit about Sparkles at all. Honestly, he was an asshole. A hot asshole, though. And when I looked into his eyes, sure, there was that twinkle of sarcasm, but there was fear too. Something was up, and I was going to push aside all his snarky bullshit and figure it out.

“Are you done being a twat?” I asked Sparkles, who hummed and looked at his watch.

“Yeah, I’m good for a while. Come on into my office.”

Right before Sparkles shut the door, I caught one more glimpse of Nolan and made sure to flip him the bird, finding joy when I heard him gasp.

“Do you like pissing people off?” Sparkles asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Mostly just you.” I smiled because I was stupid when it came to him. But for a moment his face lit up, and I’d take being stupid for a moment just for that.

“Why’d you come back? I thought I said I’d contact Atlas about the show, and I’d stop by the club tomorrow?”

Sparkles’s office wasn’t huge and standing this close, I towered over him. Even though I felt I wasn’t threatening him, I also didn’t want to intimidate him. Especially when I said what I came here to say. There was a small plush white love seat against the wall, so I opted to sit there.

“You’re acting weird, Max…Well, weirder than normal. Are you taking up residence here or something?”

“No, just…I never left. I was outside on my bike, waiting.” When I said it out loud, I realized Nolan was right, I sounded like a stalker.

Sparkles rolled his eyes but didn’t move. He stood in the center of his office. “Yeah, I figured, judging by your timely entry. The question is why, and what do you want?”

“Seriously? That guy made you uncomfortable. I may not know you, but I could tell you didn’t want to talk to him.”

“You know nothing, actually.” Sparkles took a step toward where I sat. “You watch me at the bar, and I know it’s not because you want to figure out the inner workings of my mind; you want a fuck. You drove me home once, and I showed you where I work. You figured out my name, and now you think with all that, you understand me?”

“What?” I stood. Sparkles had inched closer during his speech. “You’ve got who I am