Chapter 51

Michael

Sitting in Frederick’s office, there were so many things I wanted to do with the decor. The walls were painted a dark red, too dark for a room with no windows. There were no pictures on the wall either. Granted, Frederick didn’t spend much time at his desk the night’s he was in his office, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t make it presentable. Especially for Demetri.

Our old friend sat in one of the plush leather chairs opposite the desk. I bounced lightly in the rolling chair that sat behind the oak desk I’d bought for Frederick as a present when the club first opened. I wished he would have picked a more appropriate office chair.

“You seem distracted,” Demetri said, his eyes narrowed only slightly. It wasn’t a threatening gesture, just one of curiosity.

I decided to open up about Rainey, at least in a professional sense. If Demetri knew she no longer worked for me, then she wouldn’t be a target anymore. It was the least I could do for her.

“My assistant left this week,” I said. “It’s been a little busy. And to be honest, I didn’t expect to come to the club tonight. I did it as a favor to Frederick.”

“And where is your brother?” Demetri asked. “He was quite vague on the phone.”

I feigned innocence. “Fredrick said he needed a little personal time. But the club is in the hands of his manager and myself, so it will continue to run smoothly.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Demetri said.

Deep down, I wanted Demetri to go. Coming to Kadia tonight was mentally draining, and the thumping music was adding to that headache I’d experienced earlier in the day.

The door opened, and a woman in a red dress entered the room. I was about to tell her she had the wrong VIP room when I saw her face.

“Rainey,” I said, standing up from the chair. Terror filled her expression. Was I that horrible of a person to her? As I neared her, I glanced at her trembling hands. “What do I owe the pleasure?” Something was wrong, and it wasn’t my presence.

She licked her lips. “Michael, I think you’re in danger.”

That wasn’t at all what I expected her to say. “You need to explain yourself. Come, sit down and talk to me.”

She glanced at Demetri, and he was just as curious about her. How was I going to keep both of my lives separate when they insisted on constantly colliding?

“Rainey, this is Demetri, a friend of mine,” I said, helping her into the empty leather chair. It was strange to see her in the office, especially after our cold goodbye earlier. She looked sexy as hell in that dress, and her hair was a little askew, but it reminded me of when we fucked. It had that same ruffled look, and I was easily affected by it.

“Hi,” she said.

Demetri leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “What is the problem, Rainey?”

She glanced from Demetri to me. “I was downstairs. My friend Tessa met this guy so she was dancing and I was at a table.” As she spoke, her eyes focused on the space between Demetri and me. She still could barely look me in the eye. “These guys were talking about you and your brother. They said some pretty nasty things about you and what they were going to do when they saw you next. I wanted to warn you. Because of um—” when her eyes finally met mine they were filled with meaning.

Her coming to warn me stirred something inside of me. Even with her bravado, she still cared for me. That idea gave me the opening I needed to make her come back.

“Can you tell us what the men look like?” Demetri asked.

“Yes,” she said. “There were three of them. One is huge, probably as tall as you, Michael. The other two are shorter. The one talking about the terrible things he wanted to do to you and Frederick has a buzz cut with a beard. His midsection borders on six months pregnant. They were outside just now, which is why I came in here. They’re after me, knowing I’m up here to warn you.”

A small smile touched her lips. I loved that I made her feel safe. The fear in her eyes was completely gone now.

Demetri looked at me. “Those three men sound familiar.”

“Indeed,” I said.

And then we couldn’t hold in our laughter anymore.

Rainey looked at us as if we’d sprouted two more heads between us. “What’s so funny?”

My cheeks warmed. I hadn’t laughed that hard in some time.

“Rainey, you have nothing to worry about from those guys,” I said.

“Why? Do you know them?” she asked.

Demetri gave me a significant look. “They made a bad bet, and Frederick came to collect. I bet Chuck is still bitter.”

I laughed. “It’s been over three months.” That’s what happened when you loaned money from a mob-run establishment. I wasn’t going to tell Rainey that much and neither would Demetri. Apparently, he had no idea how much she knew.

“Oh,” she said.

“Rainey has been involved in numerous confrontations lately,” I said, wanting to show Demetri that Rainey was loyal. Even though she didn’t work for me anymore, that didn’t mean she’d run her mouth. I had to set up the situation before Demetri jumped to conclusions. “Between the interrogation and that other incident the night of the charity ball. She’s a little on edge.”

Rainey looked at me, and I gave her a “keep your mouth shut” look. Thankfully, she understood.

Demetri did as well. “Rainey, I want to compliment you on your loyalty to Michael. Even though he’s not in immediate danger, it's nice to know there is someone in Michael’s life that cares for him outside of his family.”

She nodded. “I’m glad there’s no actual danger. I feel a little foolish for bursting in on your meeting. I should go.”

“No,” Demetri said. “We’re almost done here. I want the both of you to enjoy your night.”

“My friend—” Rainey said.

“Your friend is invited to come up here too,” I said, finishing Demetri’s thought. “We have Frederick’s room for the night.”

“But let’s make sure she’s talking about the same people,” Demetri said, standing up. “I’d hate to leave you in any real danger.”

I knew exactly what he wanted to do. We couldn’t have Chuck and his friends spouting off their disdain for Frederick and me in front of listening ears, especially not now when we needed to protect ourselves with the investigation into our family.

Demetri crossed the room and flung open the door.

Rainey stood up next to me.

“Are those them?” I asked. Chuck and his friends were leaning over the railing, looking down on the dance floor. We were lucky that their VIP room was closer to the office. That’s why Rainey thought they were following her.

“Yes,” she said, crossing her arms. The fire in her eyes returned, and I smirked.

Demetri adjusted his jacket and let out a sharp whistle through his teeth.

Chuck and his friends glanced over at us. He saw me first, and his face fell, then he glanced at Rainey at my side.

Demetri crooked his finger for them to come to us.

Chuck bumped his arm into the taller of his two friends. His name wasn’t worth knowing when our real problem was with Chuck and his loose mouth.

Demetri invited them into the office and Rainey, and I moved out of the way to allow them inside. Now they were surrounded, and Chuck looked terrified.

Not such a tough guy now, huh, Chuck?

“We heard something interesting tonight,” Demetri said to Chuck. “Do you want to explain yourself?”

Chuck let out an uncomfortable laugh, and he glanced at Rainey. I fisted my hands at my sides. He had no right to be in her presence never mind look at her.

“We were just messing around,” he said.

“Remember what I told you about your mouth,” Demetri said in a low voice.

“Yeah,” Chuck said. “Sorry.”

“We’re not the ones who came into bad debt,” I said. “You came to us, remember?”

Chuck scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, yeah.”

“You shouldn’t put your hands on people like that,” Rainey said to him.

My jaw tightened as I bored my eyes into Chuck. “He touched you?”

“I thought she was flirting with me. I had no idea she was a friend of yours.” He cleared his throat. “I had a few already.”

“That’s no excuse,” I said. “Now, apologize to this woman before I show you how handsy I can be.”

“I’m sorry,” Chuck said. And he meant it. Chuck was an innocent dope, but even if he didn’t mean the things he said, he needed a reminder of what we did for him in a bad spot. Sure we charged him interest, but that was part of the deal. He needed to get over it.

“No harm, no foul,” Demetri said. “You can go now.” He ushered the men out of the room, and they couldn’t leave fast enough. Demetri closed the door behind them, and the lack of music made my ears ring.

After they left, Rainey let out a long exhale. Relief touched every part of her face. “I’m sorry, I overreacted.”

“Don’t be,” I said.

“I’ll handle them later,” Demetri said. “There’s one more piece of business.” He reached into the bag he’d brought with him. “Frederick told me you’d be able to get this to him right away?”

“Yeah,” I said, glancing at Rainey. She pretended not to be interested, but I knew it was impossible for her curiosity not to spike at that moment.

Demetri clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Until next time, Michael.”

He went over to Rainey and took her hand, kissing the top of it. “It was a pleasure to meet you. Take care of my boy, here.”

And with that, Demetri swept out of the room.

I placed the envelope on the leather chair that Demetri had occupied for the duration of our meeting.

“I’m sorry, again,” she said, rubbing her forehead. “I feel like an ass.”

“Don’t,” I said, taking a tentative step forward. Rainey had been acting skittish around me lately. Being in her presence outside of work made all of my feelings for her rush to the surface. I wasn’t going to let her go as easily as I did earlier. If she wasn’t going to work for me, then I wanted her in my life somehow. And without being in a professional environment, I could say anything to her that wouldn’t cross any working relationship boundary. “Why did you come up here?”

“To warn you,” she said. “Well not you, specifically. I thought Frederick might be up here. I had to tell someone. Especially after those guys came to your apartment. I was worried.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why were you worried?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“You quit, Rainey. You wanted to be out of my life. Why are you here?”

The corners of her eyes tightened. There wasn’t any excuse that would please me. She was here because she cared. And I wasn’t sure she realized it yet either.

“Why are you so concerned about me? Why would you risk being in danger to warn Frederick?”

“Michael, I—”

I stopped the next words from coming out of her mouth with my own. I held her against me as I crushed her lips. And I wasn’t at all surprised when she kissed me back.