Dirty Vegas Nights (The Trifecta 2)

“He didn’t tell me about Harrison. I guessed Felicity was his a long time ago. Hell, that little girl has his nose and his chin.”

My heart’s being disintegrated by stomach acid, which is fine because it seems I won’t be needing it anytime soon, or ever. If Donna has figured out Harrison’s the father, how many other people have figured it out? I need to get out of Vegas, and soon. I have a good nest egg saved from being in the Triplets. I could get my mother and daughter out of Nevada, and restart saving up again for my yoga studio.

I may vomit as I plan my escape.

But, I have no other choice.

“Stop it. I can see you panicking and probably making some stupid plan that will get you into more trouble. You came from Harrison’s club, and you had a daughter that had some of his features. I’ve been in the business a long time. You aren’t the first woman to be tricked by a piece of shit.”

“Yeah, but I’m the only one worrying about that daughter. I’m the only one who can protect her.”

Donna’s eyebrow shoots up. “I don’t believe that and if you pulled your head out of your ass you’d see you’re spouting nonsense. Those three sexy beasts care about you, and Felicity. Axel seems to care especially hard. All they wanted to do was make sure you were safe. I even voiced my guess of Felicity’s father. Axel refused to tell me if I was right or not, but the fear in his face was all I needed to confirm what I already knew.”

My stomach moves, dislodging my heart which no longer allows the acid to eat at it. Unfortunately, my heart’s now lodged in my throat. Donna takes my silence as consent to keep talking, which is fine by me because at the moment I’m mute.

“Sindy and Lacey called me last night crying because you were thinking about quitting the Triplets. That’s my business, the three of you girls together have been making me a lot of money, and you know I like money. I was going to talk to you today when you came in if you hadn’t changed your mind about being with the Triplets. When Axel and those other sexy men walked in I got my answer as to what was happening. Now it was my turn to protect you and my money.”

“I didn’t want anyone to know about Harrison. I also don’t want to be a problem. Donna, you’ve been nothing but nice to me. When I needed to get away from Harrison you opened your club to me without any questions, and I appreciate that. You also said you don’t tolerate drama, and here I am bringing you all sorts of it.”

Donna lifts her perfectly painted-matte lips into a smile. “You also brought in three perfect specimens of men, so I forgive you. Don’t worry about Harrison, he's not getting anywhere near you while you’re here. And from the intensity on Axel’s face, Harrison’s not getting anywhere near you while you’re at home. I’ve got this taken care of. You just keep on dancing and bringing in the money. I have a feeling you’re not going to be with me that much longer.” Donna pats my shoulder, motioning for Markus to come back to walk me to my car.

The whole drive home I go over what Donna said to me. My phone beeps with a message. I pull it out of my purse at a stop light, there’s a text from Axel. I quickly scan it before the light turns green.

“I’m thinking about you,” the text reads.

I smile when another text comes through right after, “And if you’re mad about me coming to your work then you can get creative with my punishment later.”

I laugh as a horn honks behind me and I drop my phone back into my purse. I can’t help but smile the rest of the way home. When I get into the driveway, I glance over at Axel’s house. I know he’s not home, but a small part of me wishes he was. Instead of getting out of the car, I grab my phone and call Axel.

“Hey.”

My smile gets bigger just hearing his voice. “Hey.”

When we are both silent Axel finally talks. “Don’t be mad at me.”

“I can’t believe you went to my club.”

“Emma, like I told you this morning, you’re mine. I take care of what’s mine. With our club getting ready to open I’m not going to be able to be with you as much as I want. I was just making sure you were safe when I’m not around.”

“I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time without you.”

“But now you don’t have to.” His voice has an edge to it giving me a hint that I need to let him off the hook.