Going Down Fast (Billionaire Bad Boys 2)

That instantly cheered Lucas up, because he stopped dragging his feet, and they headed across the room to where Kade was dressed in a red-and-blue one-piece costume with a full headed covering.

“Hi!” Lexie said, her gaze darting from Lucas to Maxie.

“Hi! You look great!” Maxie took in the other woman’s white-blonde wig, black mask, her black bustier, and spandex leggings.

“Isn’t this fun?” she asked.

“I’m out of here in ten minutes,” Kade said, clearly grumpy.

“Can’t say I blame you,” Lucas said, doing his best not to laugh at his friend.

“Screw it.” He pulled the head covering off. “I’m going without this damned thing.”

Lexie didn’t say a word. She obviously knew her husband had had enough.

“Where’s Derek?” Kade asked. “I don’t think we should have to suffer alone.”

“He left a message with Becky that he had a family crisis and he’d be late.”

“Lucky son of a bitch,” Lucas said. He scanned the room. “I see Etienne Roberts. Groucho Marx over there. He’s a major investor. I think Kade and I should go talk to him for a bit. Can you hold your own here?” he asked Maxie.

“I’m good,” she assured him.

He braced a hand on her shoulder, leaned down, and kissed her cheek. “Back in a few minutes.”

Kade planted a kiss on Lexie’s lips before joining Lucas and heading across the room. “I’d say things are going well,” Lexie commented.

“I… I think they are. He’s not pressuring me for things I can’t handle.”

“One day at a time,” Lexie said with a smile.

“That’s been my motto.”

The women stood in silence for a few minutes, then Lexie’s face lit up. “Oh! There’s Kendall. She didn’t want to come early with me to oversee setup. I should go get her. She doesn’t know anyone.”

“I’m going to take a quick trip to the ladies’ room. I can meet up with you later. Can you direct me?”

Lexie pointed across the room. “Over there. In the corner. It’s unisex,” she explained. “I’ll go grab Kendall and get us some punch. Alcohol-free because we wanted to keep things under control.”

“Smart,” Maxie said. “And punch sounds great. I’ll be right back.”

She headed for the back corner, smiling at people she didn’t know along the way. Just as she reached the bathroom, a large male body blocked her way.

“Excuse me,” she said, and tried to step around him, but he cont

inued to prevent her from passing.

“You’re Mrs. Monroe,” the man said in a vaguely familiar voice.

Nobody had referred to her by her married name since she’d left the firm and changed to her maiden name. And nobody here knew her except Lucas’ friends. “Who are you?” she asked.

“You mean you don’t recognize me?” He pulled off the mask, and she immediately identified the man. “Vincent Bernardi,” she said, a tremor rushing through her at the realization.

“Nice to see you too,” he said in a too-pleasant tone.

“What are you doing here?”

He slid the mask back over his eyes before answering. “Well, we both know your husband is a dead end,” he said, a combination of sarcasm and anger in his voice. “I sat in prison, chomping at the bit to get what’s mine. When I got out, I checked out your storage locker and your old apartment—”