CHAPTER 56
Theo
It was past eleven o’clock when Winter and her entourage finally came by my room to grab me. I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of getting into a club, so I called Winter to let her know I’d changed my mind. She was already drunk by the time she showed up at my door.
“Glad you decided to join us.” She beamed, her eyes glossed over, as we were escorted from the SUV and through a private entrance at the Venetian.
“Figured it was time to let loose a little.” That was a lie. I was only going because Lex would be there, and I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to see my girl all dressed up.
“Good.” Winter wrapped an arm around mine, tripping a little on her heels. “It’ll be like old times. Maybe I’ll even give you a lap dance later.” She winked and giggled, and my stomach recoiled at the thought of Winter rubbing her ass on me, the show visible to all around us, including Lex.
I let out a good-natured laugh to hide my discomfort. She wasn’t serious. I could feel it. Whatever had once connected Winter and me in a less than platonic way had faded completely over recent weeks. Still, I never knew what Winter would pull when she had some alcohol in her. Suddenly, I was craving my night in with Lex all over again.
Alison shot me a look, and I knew what she was trying to tell me with her eyes. With six various bottles of liquor sitting in front of Winter, it was bound to be “one of those nights.” I sighed, because I agreed with Alison’s warning. This was about to become a shit show.
Winter gestured for me to sit beside her, and I knew I couldn’t say no. I came with her, after all, and someone would need to alert her guards as soon as she needed to be dragged out of there. Shots were already being passed around our table and over to the Ravens’ table beside us. I sucked in a breath when I saw Lex among the crew. She was wearing a sleeveless short red dress with her hair down and flowing freely over her shoulders. Reggie stood beside her with his palm splayed on her back. I tensed.
“Theo, wake up.” Winter was yelling at me and nudging me with her shoulder, knocking the liquid in my glass over the edge and onto my pants. “Oops.” She giggled then turned back to the group. “To the best crew a girl could ask for.”
The table cheered, but my attention was focused on Lex, even when I tipped the glass back and the liquid lit a fire down my throat. Reggie glanced over at me, his eyes narrowing slightly, and something about his look unsettled my insides. His gaze darted between Winter and me, and I could almost catch the confusion in his eyes. Why the fuck did he care?
“Shit,” Winter said before turning to me and leaning in. “I need to tell you something.”
From her tone, I knew whatever she was about to say had sobered her some. “What’s up?” I shouted.
“I wanted to warn you before tonight, but I didn’t think you were coming. Reggie is pretty pissed off. You might want to stay away from him.”
My brows turned in, and I wanted to tell her that I didn’t give a fuck what Reggie was angry about. I wouldn’t be tiptoeing around him. But I knew better than to say it. “Why? What happened?”
She cringed and leaned in again. “The label wants to cut the bonus track from the show.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. Fuck. She didn’t wait for me to chime in before continuing. “They think it’s good enough to be a starter single, so they want to save it for my next album. I called Reggie after rehearsal to tell him, but he wasn’t having it. He even called the label and started yelling at the first person who picked up the phone, the poor receptionist.” She shook her head as if recalling the conversation. “It was awful. I’ve never seen him so enraged.”
A rage-filled Reggie didn’t surprise me, and I wasn’t concerned in the least over his feelings. It was good choreography, but his attitude after the performance had me instantly regretting my compliments. “So, Lex lost her feature?”
Winter narrowed her eyes. “Seriously? Are we back to her? This isn’t about Lex.”
I pressed my lids together, knowing I had to keep myself in check. “I know. Sorry. But Winter, that’s the breaks of the business. You keep trying to protect Reggie’s feelings, but that’s not the way this works. He’ll get his opportunity. That doesn’t mean you have to be the one who gives it to him.”
Winter reached for her glass and sipped from it, as though she couldn’t deal with her own thoughts. I could already see what would come of tonight if I didn’t take her drink from her, but I couldn’t do it. It wasn’t my place, and I was more upset over Lex losing a part I knew she would have killed onstage.
There were many reasons I shouldn’t have hooked up with one of my backup dancers, and this was one of them. Witnessing the rapid changes that happened in the industry, often to career-altering levels, was something I could handle. But watching these changes happen to the woman I loved made me want to step in and fix things for her, and I couldn’t. Not if Lex were truly going to make it in this industry. She had to grow her own wings and experience the rise and fall on her own to truly succeed.
Reggie’s jaw tensed when he saw me talking to Winter. I watched as he tugged Lex closer, jerking her body toward him. She looked up in obvious surprise as he stared down at her with a playful smile. Before I could stand and get her the hell out of his grip, Amie was pulling her away from the table and toward the dance floor. Maybe she’d witnessed what I had. Whatever the reason she was helping Lex escape, I was grateful.
Something crawled under my skin and festered as I watched Reggie pour drink after drink down his throat. All the while, his eyes never left Lex. Lex, Amie, and the other female Ravens were tearing up the dance floor, attracting eyes from all over the room. As much as I wanted to enjoy the show, I couldn’t look away from Reggie. There was something about the way he’d grabbed Lex and the careless way he was tossing liquor back, as if he were trying to drown himself. I didn’t trust him. Not for a second.
I tracked his movements as he stood and cracked his neck before making his way to the dance floor. Amie tried to dance with him, but he moved her to the side to get to Lex. What the fuck? I stood, inching my way to the side of the dance floor. If he tried anything, I’d get to him and break his neck faster than he could try to stop me.
“Theo, what the hell are you doing?” Alison gritted out as I started to take off. She must have been watching me watch Reggie. But she was steaming.
I could feel the heat of her words and the warning that came with them. In that moment, I didn’t give a fuck. “Just going to talk to my friend here.”
“You’re acting like a jealous boyfriend,” she hissed from behind me. “You think no one will pick up on it? Sit back down. Now.”
Reggie didn’t touch Lex when he started to dance. It actually looked pretty innocent to begin with, but I noticed what she didn’t. That when Lex turned to dance with the girls, he moved up behind her and pressed his body into hers. I could see the shock that registered on her face and the way she immediately tried to fight it, but his grip was strong. Her eyes found me, and that was when I snapped.
Anger blew through me as I stalked onto the dance floor, slithering past dancers until Reggie and Lex were in front of me. I reached for her hand, tugged her toward me, then gestured for her to move away.
“Something bothering you, boss?” Reggie’s eyes were filled with amusement and challenge.
“Just making sure you remember to behave yourself.”
“Oh yeah? What’s it to you?” He cocked a brow.
“Don’t make me spell it out for you. If I catch you getting handsy with my dancers again, I will break you.”
Reggie’s eyes moved over his shoulder to Lex. She was watching us, her eyes wide and anxious. “Lex doesn’t seem to mind my hands”—he winked—“if you know what I mean.”
My fists curled at my sides. “Watch yourself, Reg. You never know when karma’s gonna swoop in and fuck with you.” I clapped him on the back and gave his shoulder a squeeze, adding some pressure to drive my point home. “Consider this a warning.”
He threw my hand off with a shake and stepped up to me, so close I could smell the onions he’d eaten at lunch. “You really just float through life on your cloud of ignorance, don’t you, Noska? I don’t believe in karma. When I want something, I’ll do whatever it takes to get it.”
“Yeah?” My chest filled with dynamite, two seconds from lighting up. “How’s that working for you? How’s your bonus track?”
I shouldn’t have antagonized him. I should have gotten Lex the hell away from him and left with her. Fuck the consequences.
His eyes narrowed. “Winter told you?” He looked over my shoulder and curled his lip. “That bitch.”
Explosions went off inside me. I could barely see through the smoke. “It wasn’t Winter’s call. For Christ’s sake, she was trying to throw you a bone and give you the shot you’ve been crying about.” I shook my head. “If you ever wonder why you’re still stuck where you are, maybe you should look back on this moment. The moment you called the one woman who’s been looking out for you a bitch. Maybe then it’ll sink into your brain. It takes more than great choreography to make it in this industry. It takes people skills, which I’m afraid you just don’t have.”
He moved in, so close his toes jammed into mine. “Everyone knows you screwed your way to the top, Noska. You think you’re above the rules? You’re not.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
He puffed his chest and tilted his head as though considering his words, a rarity for Reggie. “Just stay out of my way. Try to stop me and I’ll defend myself the only way I know how, the way of the streets, brother. You remember what that was like?” His top lip curled. “No, you probably don’t. Let me tell you. I’ll burn you, motherfucker. Until you’re as good as a pile of ash, like your dead girlfriend.”
All I saw was red and not the red from Lex’s dress. Everything slowed around me—time, the bass booming from the surrounding speakers, the crew spotting our argument and freezing while they watched us. He knew. I didn’t know how. But he knew the real reason Mallory had died. Because of me.
A gleam appeared in his eyes when he saw my expression. He knew he’d just hit me where it hurt most.
Suddenly, everything around us blurred except for Reggie—my target. I lost sight of the Ravens standing around us with shock and fear in their eyes. I didn’t hear Winter and Alison running up behind us and shrieking for us to calm the fuck down. Nothing was going to stop me from serving Reggie my fist for dinner.
I reeled back with my right hand and clocked him so hard he fell back into a group of dancers. Blood rushed through my veins as I shook off the fog of rage.
Reggie popped up from the floor and ran for me, his elbow cocking back on the way. I didn’t move. I would have let him hit me. And I wouldn’t have fallen down like a pussy, like him. But Winter’s bodyguards were on him and pulling him away before he could throw a single punch.
“You’re gonna be fucking sorry, Noska.” He thrashed his arms in an attempt to free himself from the grips of the men. “Just wait.” He let out a belligerent laugh. “Just wait.”