Cavalier (Crimson Elite 1)

“You scared her off?” He chuckles. I don’t reply.

“I think it’s best I leave.” I push the chair back and stand. He looks around again.

“You did scare her off, didn’t you?” He shakes his head. “This is why you don’t ever get lucky or have a woman at your beck and call. You should think about changing how you act.”

I shake my head. “I don’t have to pay for sex, Nathan, or forcibly hurt a woman to get what I need.”

His mouth opens and closes, then I walk away before he can say another word and before I end up killing him. Which in this public setting wouldn’t be the best idea.

She’s standing at the side of the building, a smoke to her lips. She smiles when she sees me walk up to her. “Hilary.” She offers me her hand, and I shake it as she drops her smoke, tapping it out with her heel. “Figured you should know my name.”

“I don’t need to know.”

Hilary nods then follows me to the car. “Thank you, by the way. I was stressing about going back with him tonight.”

“It’s fine.”

“You don’t talk much, do you. Your answers are to the point.” She gets in my opened car door while thanking me. “I like it, the silent but deadly type,” she says as I slide in. Making small talk, Hilary attempts to get me talking.

We make our way back to the club. When she sees it she goes silent. Unsure. Hesitant. I don’t blame her, from the outside it’s deceiving but that’s exactly the look we’re going for. We never wanted the outside to appear as anything other than a warehouse, but on the inside, that’s where everything changes. That’s where everything becomes so much more than expected.

“Bethany will help you with the paperwork and show you around.” She nods her head. As I open the club door, the music is playing and she stays close to me as we walk inside.

Mid-step I stop.

She’s here.

She hasn’t been for a week now.

No calls or anything.

Hilary slams into my back and her hands touch my sides. I notice Elicea look up, her eyes going straight to Hilary’s hands before she looks away. If I didn’t know better I’d say hurt is in her eyes.

“Sorry, I’m so clumsy.” Hilary removes her hands and comes to stand beside me. “Oh, wow! She’s beautiful.” I look to Hilary to track her eyes and notice they are firmly on Elicea at the bar. “Does she work on the floor, too?”

I don’t answer her as Bethany walks over with the paperwork. She gives it to me, pushing it on my chest before she smiles at Hilary then walks off saying, “You’ll have to do it, client B is moody.”

If clients get out of place, Bethany’s usually the one to settle them down. We assign clients in alphabetical order where they are located throughout the night. First booth is client A and so on—no names are used.

“So you’ll show me around then?”

I didn’t plan to, I was hoping not to. Walking over to the bar, she sits down as Johnny walks over asking her if she’d like a drink. Placing all the paperwork down, I read the few things she has to agree to. The working girls’ contracts aren’t as heavy as the clients, but all in all, they still need one with everything discussed in fine print. Even the security guards are required to have an agreement in place.

“And who is this?” Falcon sits next to Hilary.

She looks up at him and offers her hand. He takes it, kissing the top before she looks back to me. “He’s like your talkative twin, I can tell.”

Falcon laughs at her words as she pulls her hand back.

“You haven’t said hello yet, have you?” Falcon nods to where Elicea’s serving a customer. My eyes follow his line of sight and stay there as he continues to talk. “That was a shitty thing you did. You better make that shit right and fast. Before someone else swoops in, who won’t wait for your ass.” Falcon nods once again to Hilary who’s listening to everything he’s said. She looks up at me as he leaves but my focus is on Elicea—not once has she looked over here to see me. Her eyes are darting everywhere but at me.

“You’ve made her mad, she won’t even look this way.” Hilary points out the obvious. I don’t confirm or deny her assumption as I stare down at her paperwork, pointing out where she needs to sign. “From experience—” She pauses, looking at me, “all you have to do is apologize. Words go a long way.”

I wonder what happened to her to make her choose this life. She isn’t like some of the girls, she seems like she’s floating through this life. I nod my head and know not to ask because when you ask you get attached. That’s not something I can afford or want to do in this life. One woman fucking with my head is enough, and at the current moment, she won’t even look my way.