Three Hard Lessons (Blindfold Club 2)

“I can.”

I gave a bitter laugh. “Okay, stop by and make an offer.”

It was deadly silent on the other end of the line, until his deep voice rumbled. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

chapter

TWENTY-EIGHT

I tried to call him back, but Dominic didn’t answer, not my calls, or my texts. My heart pounded. He was here in the States? What the hell was going on? I fidgeted in my seat, not sure what to do. Was he really coming to the club and planning to make an offer?

“You okay?” Tara asked.

No. Not at all. I was still angry and hurt, but the excitement that Dominic was on the same continent as me trumped that. “Yeah, I’m okay,” I lied.

She gave me a skeptical look, but her focus returned to the monitors. My brain refused to acknowledge what was happening on the screen with the two writhing bodies on it. My attention was painted on the front entry camera.

I’d barely been able to breathe while waiting, but fifteen minutes later when Dominic stepped inside, my lungs quit working altogether. Even on the grainy black and white screen, I could see every detail. He looked exhausted, but it was masked with anger and pain.

“Oh, hell no,” Marquis snapped immediately. “You on the blacklist.”

“Wait!” I all but screamed it into the comm. “Marquis, wait a minute.”

“Payton McCreary,” Dominic said, his voice filtering through the speaker. “I’m going to see her right fucking now.”

Marquis smiled and it was disturbing. Dominic wasn’t small – he was cut and lean, but Marquis was a mountain of muscle and aggression. He liked to fight, and he looked thrilled that this white-boy might challenge him.

“Don’t know no one by that name,” Marquis lied.

Dominic’s hands balled into fists. “Paige.”

“She ain’t seeing clients no more.”

“She’ll see me.”

Marquis turned and looked up at the camera, like he was looking directly at me. “What you want me to do about this?”

My voice was breathy. “Put him in holding room B.”

I glanced at the other monitors. Only Claudia was still on. Rosso wasn’t going to be a safety issue, but Tara was still watching just in case.

“Julius, where are you?” I said, pushing back from the desk and standing.

“Just left the payment room.”

“Meet me at Room Six in one minute.” My focus locked on Tara, and her gaze followed me as I gestured to the screen. “Can you give me updates on this?”

Her eyes went wide as she realized what was happening. “Holy shit, you’re going to take the blacklist walk-in?” She peered closer to the monitor. “Wow, he’s fucking hot. I can do him.”

Like I needed to add jealousy to the list of emotions swirling inside me. “I know he’s hot. That’s my boyfriend.”

I heard her surprised gasp as I hurried across the hall to the changing room, stripping off my clothes. My hands clawed at fabric, flinging my bra and underwear into a heap, and I yanked on one of the silk robes, repositioning the earpiece and comm pack. I thought only about this task, about getting down the stairs and into the room, and not how it was going to play out once that happened.

“What’s going on?” Julius asked me as I rushed to the door of Room Six. His gaze passed over my robe.

“I need your help.” I tugged at his arm, pushed at the door, and turned on the light.

He froze. “Not supposed to go into the rooms.”