Watch Me (Phoenix #1) - Stacey Kennedy Page 0,20

in her head reminded her that when Rhys was there, she seemed to let go easily. That maybe this wasn’t so scary after all. And without a doubt, he’d stood up for her, protected her.

Elise lifted her glass to her mouth. Before she took a sip, she said, “Honey, life isn’t fun if it isn’t scary sometimes.”

Zoey snorted. “Yeah, that’s why I’ve lived very comfortably on the boring side of life lately.”

Hazel grinned, smacking the table with her hand. “Well, now it’s time to live on a different side, like Rhys Harrington’s sexy-as-hell backside.”

“It is a pretty spectacular backside,” Zoey agreed with a laugh.

“So,” Elise drawled, eyes dancing. “Does that mean you’ll be seeing more of him?”

Zoey pointed to her wine and smiled. “I need at least two more of these before making that decision.”

Elise reached for the bottle and filled up her glass. “There, now you can make the best decision of your life.”

Chapter 6

“Late night?” Rhys mused the next morning as Archer strode into the office on the main floor with dark circles under his eyes. After Rhys dropped off Zoey, he’d returned to the cigar club, where Archer waited for answers. Over a drink, Rhys gave them. He didn’t need to come down hard on Archer’s failure to keep the club safe. The guilt and frustration were etched into every line on Archer’s exhausted face. Whatever weakness was in the system would get fixed and any threat handled. Of that, Rhys was certain.

“Very late night,” Archer muttered, dropping down into his usual spot on the leather couch beneath the window, a file folder in his hand.

Rhys got up from behind his desk and took the wing-back chair across from Archer. The sun was trying to break through the clouds after the rain early this morning. This was the only time of the day when the club was quiet. The cigar bar didn’t open until eleven o’clock, but morning meetings with Archer were part of Rhys’ day-to-day.

“What’s in the file?”

“It’s—”

“Who pissed you off?” Hunt asked, gaze set on Archer, as he entered the office followed by Kieran, with coffees in hand.

Rhys grinned at his friends. Neither Hunt nor Kieran worked for him, but they were both there for one specific reason. To find out if they would be partaking in the show tonight. They were as much a part of the Phoenix family as Rhys and Archer. Rhys knew part of the success of his club was not just the stars, but the regulars who partook in the shows and knew how to fuck and give his members something glorious to look at. That passion made others want to watch. It was addictive, even to Rhys.

“Elise Fanning pissed me off,” Archer said to Kieran.

Kieran offered Archer a coffee before taking a seat. “Should we know that name?”

“Maybe not, but I suspect you won’t forget her.”

“Consider me intrigued,” said Kieran, leaning back in his seat and crossing his ankle over his knee. “Who is this mysterious Elise?”

“She’s Zoey’s roommate,” Archer explained, taking the lid off his paper cup and sending steam rising. “She’s also the private investigator who got past my security and hacked into Phoenix’s system.”

Hunt took a seat in the other wing-back chair and whistled. “I’m guessing that explains your mood.”

Archer set his coffee down on the table in front of him and scrubbed his face. “I don’t know how she fucking did that. All night, I’ve been on with my best hacker, and he can’t see how she got in. She didn’t leave a single fucking trace.”

Rhys nodded his thanks to Kieran for the coffee and opened the lid to take a small sip, tasting the rich hazelnuts in the brew. He didn’t want to suggest that perhaps Elise had a better hacker in her pocket, or she was that hacker, but… “You should talk to her. If there is someone better out there, getting into places you thought were impenetrable, let’s get them on our payroll.”

Archer agreed with a nod. “I’d like to dig a bit deeper here to see what comes up. If that doesn’t bring anything more to light, I’ll get in contact with her.”

“Good,” said Rhys, trusting Archer to handle that. A security breach was inexcusable, but Archer would get to the bottom of it; Rhys didn’t doubt that. “What have you found out so far?”

“That she’s better at my job than I am,” Archer mused.

Hunt chuckled. “Ah, so that’s what is getting under your skin.”

Archer’s jaw set, and his eyebrow lifted