Take Me Again (The Knight Brothers 1)

“Come on,” she said eagerly. “Let’s go meet the man.”

She obviously didn’t have any qualms about who they were dealing with.

Drawing a deep breath, he pulled her behind him, keeping her close as he started toward the small crowd of people congregating together.

He reached the group and cleared his throat.

“You want something?” a beefy-looking man asked.

“I’m looking for Jasper Nichols.”

“Who wants to know?” the man asked, folding his arms across his chest.

“He was friends with someone I know. She told me to look him up when I got to town.”

“What’s the friend’s name?” the man grunted at him.

Ashley stood beside him, letting him handle things.

“Amanda Knight,” he said. “Mandy to her friends.”

Awareness swept across the man’s expression and he pushed through the crowd, the parting of people revealing Jasper Nichols, who sat at a table, white powder in front of him. With his long, shaggy hair and lean face, he looked exactly like his photograph.

The bigger man whispered something in his ear, and he looked Sebastian and Ashley’s way.

Nichols rose from his seat. Unlike Sebastian, who wore a pair of black pants and a button-down black shirt, Jasper Nichols dressed in a pair of jeans, a tee shirt, and a shiny jacket. His hair was slicked back off his face. “I heard you’re a friend of Mandy’s,” he said, glancing at Sebastian.

“You could say that,” he said.

His gaze then raked over Ashley, his eyes taking in her body, darkening at the sight. “You a friend of Mandy’s, too?” He licked his lips and Sebastian drew a steadying breath.

“Yes,” she murmured.

“Well, you’re as fucking hot as she is.”

Pissed now, Sebastian wrapped an arm around Ashley’s waist and pulled her against him. She’s with me, asshole, he thought to himself.

Getting the hint, Nichols raised his hands, as if to say, I didn’t mean any harm. “Where’s Mandy been?” he asked, changing the subject. “She said she was going to New York and she’d be back. Instead she’s gone radio silent.” Nichols met Sebastian’s gaze.

“Mandy died,” Sebastian said bluntly, and beside him, Ashley leaned into him, offering support.

“Come on.” The other man nudged Sebastian’s free side with his elbow. “That’s a bad joke, man.”

“No joke. She OD’d,” he said, remaining deadly serious.

Nichols’ eyes opened wide. “No shit.” He took in Sebastian’s intent expression. “What do you want from me?” he asked, finally realizing Sebastian wasn’t here to shoot the breeze.

“I want information. I want to know why Mandy was doing business with a company as new as yours. And why she paid you way above market price for parts we could have gotten at a more reasonable rate from better-known places.” And that was just for starters, Sebastian thought.

“Whoa. All I know was Mandy asked me to get her cheap parts and I did.” The man’s face flushed red.

He’d done a hell of a lot more than that and he knew it. “Did she ask you to write up bids for higher prices, too? So we’d pay more for piece-of-shit components?” Sebastian asked, curling a hand into a fist.

Ashley grabbed on to his arm but he shook her off.

“What did you two do with the extra money?” he asked, continuing to push for answers.

Nichols looked panicked, as if he wanted to run, so Sebastian grabbed him by the collar. “Talk,” he said. “Or I’m calling the cops and they can deal with the cocaine on the table behind me,” he said into the other man’s ear.

“The bitch wasn’t worth it,” Nichols muttered. “She wasn’t even that good of a lay. Fine. We split the profit,” he spat.

“Did you split the blow, too?” Sebastian asked in disgust before releasing the man.

Nichols fixed his shirt, smoothing his hands down his chest and straightening the collar. “She promised me more business after this contract. Then she disappeared. Now I find out the bitch is dead. Fucking waste of time.”

Before Sebastian could take a swing at him, Ashley wrapped herself around him, locking his arms in place. “We got our answers. Now we’re going home,” she said, meeting his gaze in an obvious attempt to calm him down.

He nodded and let her lead him out of the club, knowing there would have been nothing good that could come of him taking a swing at the bastard. Mandy had made her decisions and ruined her marriage. Unfortunately he was the one who had to break the truth to his brother.

* * *

Ashley let them into the suite and shut the door behind them. Sebastian hadn’t said a word since they left the club, and she gave him the space he needed, obviously understanding he was processing all they’d learned.

“Can I get you a drink?” she asked, walking into the dimly lit joint area.

He shook his head. “No. Thanks.” He strode over to the window and looked out into the dark night.