Storm owned the strip club, Indigo, and from what I knew, it was one of their more profitable businesses. The Brisbane chapter kept its nose clean so relied on various business ventures for income. “You got an address?”
J handed me a piece of paper with the information. “He’s an out-of-towner, staying at that hotel.”
I shoved it in my pocket. “No problem, I’ll deal with him tomorrow. I’ve got some family shit to take care of this afternoon.”
J raised an eyebrow. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I didn’t want to get into it, but he continued to stare at me, his gaze demanding further information. “Dad’s not well so I’m in town for him.”
J nodded slowly. “Let us know if you need anything, yeah?”
Calling on anyone for help was not something I planned on doing, but I agreed so he wouldn’t push the point. “Will do.”
“Right, I’m out of here. Got a hot date, and if I’m late, she’ll withhold sex,” Nash said a
s he made to leave.
“What the fuck?” I asked, stunned that Nash had a date. As far as I knew, he never dated.
“I’m a changed man, brother. It’s about time you found a pussy to stick with,” he threw over his shoulder.
“Keep fuckin’ walking, Nash. Me and pussy don’t play so nice these days. Unless of course, it’s new pussy, and then I’m all over that shit.”
He shook his head and kept walking. J said his goodbyes too and left me alone to contemplate the afternoon ahead. Yvette, my sister, had texted me about half an hour earlier to let me know Dad had been taken to hospital, so that was where I was headed. He’d had a heart attack about three weeks earlier, which was why I was back in Brisbane, and it seemed he’d had another one. Fuck, if it wasn’t one thing messing with my family, it was another.
I started heading outside when a familiar laugh slammed into me, jolting my senses. The woman it belonged to was a woman I did not want to see, but her voice rang out as she caught sight of me. “Havoc,” she called out, and I heard the tap of her heels across the floor as she came closer.
For fuck’s sake, why can’t I have some peace and fucking quiet in my life?
Her hand landed on my shoulder, and I spun around and shrugged it off. My hard glare landed on her. “Don’t fuckin’ touch me, bitch,” I snarled.
She flinched, but quickly recovered. “Baby, I didn’t know you were back,” she said in that breathy voice of hers. That voice used to make my dick jump to attention but not anymore. All it wanted to do now was shrivel up and pretend she didn’t exist.
“Let’s get one fuckin’ thing straight, Kelly. I’m not your fuckin’ baby, so cut that shit right now.”
“There’s no need to be such a bastard,” she complained, still trying to move closer.
I reached out and gripped her shoulder, halting her progress. “Stop whatever the fuck it is you’re doing, and leave me the fuck alone. We haven’t been together for two years, and if you think I’d ever go there with you again, you’re seriously mistaken. You fucked me over, remember?”
Her eyes widened, and she took a step back. She hadn’t expected that reaction from me. Probably because for the five years we’d been together, she’d had me wrapped around her little fucking finger. Her voice was soft when she spoke. “I made a mistake, Havoc, and I know that now. Let me show you how sorry I am.”
I raked my fingers through my hair as tension punched through my body. She was a piece of fucking work. “Letting you show me anything is the furthest thing from my mind. I’m leaving now, and I’m telling you for the first and the last time, don’t fuckin’ come near me again. You’ve no fuckin’ idea how close I am to losing it with you, and I can promise you, that is something neither of us want to happen.”
I turned to leave the club, relieved she didn’t follow. She’d managed to drag me closer to the edge that threatened to rip every last piece of sanity from me if I stumbled over it. I lived precariously on that verge, but after seeing her, I needed to get my shit under control so I could find my way back from it.
Fuck.
3
Carla
I stared at my teacher in alarm. He’d just given me the choice between sleeping with him or failing my subject. And I had to decide right that moment, because he had to report my grade for the semester tomorrow. “You’re fucking kidding me, right?” I demanded to know as my mind flicked through options. Surely he couldn’t get away with this.
He leant back against his table, and gave me a creepy smile. “I never kid, Carla,” he answered me smoothly. In that instant, I knew he’d done this before, probably many times and gotten away with it. There was just something about his demeanour and the confidence with which he spoke.
Shit.
I was far from a prude, but I wasn’t the type of woman to sleep my way to anything. And I knew there was no way in hell I would ever give my body to this prick. I made my decision. “Fail me if you must. I’m not fucking you, asshole,” I snapped. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I made him a promise. “If you do fail me though, just know that I won’t let it rest. I will find a way to fuck you over.”