Except, I didn’t know that I was lying.
As soon as I move out into the kitchen to grab a leftover slice of pizza to feed my growling stomach, I see my phone on the counter. The screen is lit up with notifications. Texts and calls. All from employees at the club.
Well, fuck.
I take a bite and call Grice, because he’s the most likely to give me an unbiased rundown of whatever the hell is going on to precipitate this many calls.
Visions of flames licking up the building dance in my head until he picks up.
“What’s going on? Is everyone okay?”
“Thank fuck, you finally called. What do you want me to do with her?” His question makes no sense because I have absolutely no context at all.
“Who? What happened?” I ask, then choke down the bite of pizza.
“Teal. Stefano posted the schedule for next month, and when she saw she wasn’t on it, she flipped the fuck out. I thought she knew she was done. Didn’t you tell her, Boss?” Grice’s frantic tone tells me what I’ve long suspected—that his soft spot for Teal runs deep.
“Fuck.” I bite out the curse. “Tanya was supposed to tell her. We agreed it was easier to take coming from her sister. But apparently that didn’t fucking happen. What did she do?”
“She screamed at Stefano, scared half the guests, and then grabbed a bottle of Belvedere and ran into the break room where she’s shitfaced and crying. I chased her down and made her take one of her Xanax before she could start chugging the vodka.”
“Jesus Christ, Teal,” I murmur, hating the idea that she’s so unstable that we can’t make a move without her chugging vodka and popping pills.How the hell did we get to this point?The next thought through my brain is how the hell members are going to take it. “Where is she now?”
“Still in the break room. Every time either Tanya or I try to touch her, she screams and threatens to call the cops and tell them everything she’s seen.” In the background, muted voices go silent as Grice must step into an empty room.
“Jesus Christ,” I whisper, opening the trash and tossing the half-eaten slice of pizza into it. “Teal’s going to get herself killed that way. Fucking hell. I’m on my way. We have to get her out of there before Dom finds out what’s happening.”
“That’s why I’ve been calling you. She’s a nice girl, but she got caught off guard. You know she’s delicate in a way that no one else is.”
“I’ll be right there. Keep her as quiet as you can. You just might save her life.”
“I’ll do whatever I can, Boss. Count on me.”
I hang up and curse Tanya and Teal for ruining this night for me, but it doesn’t do any good. I still have to leave Drew sleeping in my bed.
I tiptoe through the bedroom where her head is now tilted toward the opposite wall, and grab clothes out of my walk-in closet without turning on a light. Putting a suit back on is the last thing I want to do, but business always comes first.
Business shouldn’t always come first.I can practically hear my mother’s voice in my head, but regardless of whether that sentiment is right or not, I have no choice. Not if I don’t want Teal to turn up missing, because then Tanya would go on the warpath, and I have no doubt it wouldn’t end well.
I leave a note for Drew on the counter and slip out of the apartment, locking the door behind me.
39
Drew
Iwake and sit up with a start, my eyes blinking rapidly as I try to focus on my surroundings.
Where the hell am I?
The smooth green sheets I’m lying on are imbued with a spicy, masculine cologne, and a tinge of musk that only comes from sex hangs in the air and on my skin. I know exactly where I am.
Cannon’s place.
It’s completely silent but for the sounds of the city drifting up from the street outside. Horns. A shout here or there. Doors slamming.
“Cannon?” I mouth his name silently at first, as if I’m scared to voice it. Or my throat is just dry as hell from screaming out in passion. Either one.
I listen harder for sounds of another person in his space, but it’s eerily quiet.