what was going to happen. Bitch like that would betray her own mother. Women like her turn my stomach.”
I agree with everything he says, but that doesn’t mean I want her dead. A faint pop, pop, carries to us, and I jump at the sound. So does Kara. We both know its gunshots.
I glance to Kara. Tears stream down her face. I know she’s terrified for her unborn baby. Guilt floods me at the thought that I might be the cause of anything happening to her or her child.
I need to get Nick talking and stall until Rusty can get here. “What did you do with Thomas?”
“Who the fuck is Thomas?” he grunts, motioning us both to sit at the table.
I take a seat, Kara beside me. “The man you killed at the penthouse. Axle Crow’s butler.”
“Oh, him. Don’t worry about him.” He lifts the bottle of wine and fills me a glass.
“Tell me. Did you clean up the mess, and what? Haul him down the freight elevator? Did you throw him in the dumpster?”
He pauses, the bottle over his own glass. “Dumpster? Really, my dear, you make us sound like animals… or amateurs. He’s where they’ll never find him.”
“Not a whole lot of places to stash a body in Vegas. Can’t exactly dig a hole in the hard ground.”
“No, but the funny thing about Sin City, there’s this vast desert all around it. The buzzards probably disposed of him by now.”
“Did you load him in your rental car, then?” Kara asks.
He looks uncomfortable, like she’s on to him. “Shut up.”
That doesn’t stop her. “You know rental companies use GPS trackers. Hell, they can check everywhere you drove. Shouldn’t be too hard for the detectives to find out exactly where you dumped him.”
“You think you’re so smart?”
“Shut up, Kara,” I snap, and then give Nick my attention. “Look, I haven’t gone to the police, and I don’t plan on it. If I had, wouldn’t I have done it by now?”
He shrugs. “Sorry, sweetheart. You’re a loose end. I don’t like loose ends.”
“Maybe I could be of other use to you?” I smile at him, running my eyes over his expensive suit. It turns my stomach, but it might buy us some time.
He leans to me and strokes my cheek, then takes my jaw in his hand, lifting my face to his. “I like you, Ashlynn Fox. I liked you the moment you walked into the room that night… in that pretty silver dress. Where is it now? Do you still have it?”
I lick my lips, thinking, stalling, wondering how long it will take Rusty. “It’s back at the clubhouse.”
“What a shame. I would have liked to see you in it one more time.”
“I have another dress. It’s hanging in the closet here. Maybe you’d like it even better.”
“You think so? What color is it?”
“Gold, like your pinkie ring,” I reply. He smiles, and my stomach turns. Oh, God, can I really do this?
“I do like gold. Yeah, I’d like to see it on you. Go put it on.”
I stand, and so does he; I turn but he jerks me back by the arm, his face inches from mine. “You try anything, I’ll put a bullet in sweet Kara’s head. Understand?”
I nod, and glance to her frightened eyes. Her hand splays over her belly, but I don’t need the reminder. I’m already sure I’ll do whatever I need to protect her. “Yes. I promise.”
He releases me with a shove. “Hurry up. I want to see it before Luca comes back, although it should take him a few minutes to stash the body.”
I move quickly into the bedroom and open the closet, wishing I’d left my gun here. I remove my jeans, shirt, and bra, then shrug the dress over my head. The last time I wore it, I’d felt so beautiful. Now I just feel cheap and demoralized. I slip on the matching shoes, fluff my hair, and look in the dresser mirror. I steel myself for whatever I’m about to do. I long for the sound of a pack of Harleys thundering up, but I know if they do, they could risk the life of Kara. I hope Rusty is smart enough to know to sneak up. I bend and glance out the bedroom window, but see nothing that looks like rescue is on the way.
I’ve got to convince Nick that we could be valuable. I just have to figure out a way to do that.
I walk out to find