The Lion and the Lamb

“Honey.” She placed her hand on top of Kiki’s. “What makes you think he’s cheating?” Tatum honestly couldn’t see Beau doing anything like that. He loved Kiki, doted on her like she was precious crystal. For five years, Tatum had watched their nauseating PDA.

“I don’t know. He’s just been acting very secretive the past few weeks. He’s getting these phone calls and leaving right in the middle of dinner to answer them. I’ve tried to overhear what he says, but all I can make out are urgent whispers.” Kiki sniffed loudly.

“Did you ask him about it?”

Kiki nodded. “Yeah, and let me tell you that didn’t end well. He was all nonchalant about it, like I imagined everything. That pissed me off even more.”

Lord, Tatum could just imagine how that ended. Kiki wasn’t known for keeping her anger in. More times than not, she set her inner wild child free, and the destruction tended to be cringe-worthy.

“I think he’s seeing someone at the club.” Kiki let her head fall back on the couch and sighed. “I’m happy for you and Leo. I truly am. But I need this girls’ night out, Tatum. I need to get good and wasted, dance my ass off, and not think about who Beau is fucking behind my back.” Kiki pouted in an attempt at humor, but Tatum could see the pain behind her friend’s eyes.

There was no way she planned on not being there for her. Kiki had always been there when Tatum needed her. Grabbing her phone, Tatum typed out a quick text to Leo.

Tatum: Sorry. Can’t make it tonight. Need to have a girls’ night out with Kiki.

A second later, her phone buzzed.

Leo: Everything ok?

Tatum: Yeah, just guy problems. Can we reschedule for tomorrow?

Leo: Of course, baby.

“Kiki?” Her friend’s eyes were closed.

“What?” She sounded so forlorn that it pulled at Tatum’s heart.

“Where do you want to get drunk?”

Kiki squealed right before she jumped off the couch. After she told Tatum where she wanted to go, she sent a text to Leo, and then headed into her bedroom to get ready for a night of trying to help her friend forget her problems.20Leo sat at his desk, his gaze on the papers strewn across the top. His mind was on other things than work, more important things. He couldn’t help but think about Tatum and everything she had told him.

Since they spoke a week ago, things had been going better than he could have ever imagined. The fact that she had accepted his lineage astounded him beyond comprehension. He had expected her to run away from him, to see him as the animal he truly was. She had opened her arms to him, and he had eagerly fallen into them. He was putty in her hands, whether she realized that or not.

A knock on his door had him lifting his head and putting the thought of Tatum in the farthest part of his mind. Whoever was coming to him would not taint the image or thought of her.

“Yeah?” He unlocked the door by a simple press of a button under his desk. The lock unlatched, and Tryck, one of his bouncers, stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

“Slade’s here. Peaches took him to the champagne room. He’s got three girls in there now and two of his men hanging back.”

Shit.

Leo didn’t know what was going on with Slade, but the shifter had been sniffing around his house, and Leo wasn’t feeling it. Whatever the hell Slade had up his sleeve couldn’t be good. He had known the asshole since he first moved to Vegas. Ever since their altercation five years back, they had kept their distance from each other. The town was big enough for both of them, but Slade didn’t see it that way. The lion wanted full reign of the land, but there was no way Leo would back down.

After a lot of bloodshed, Slade had walked away, but Leo wasn’t fool enough to think the psychotic shifter would let it be. It might have taken five years, but Slade kept coming back to his club for a reason, and Leo had a feeling it wasn’t for anything good.

He stood and made his way to the champagne room. The steady, low bump of music surrounded him, and the closer he got to the closed door of the VIP room, the more the bass intensified. Without knocking, because really, it was his fucking club, Leo pushed the door open. Slade sat on the black leather couch situated in the center of the room. Two girls in nothing but a G-string and their tits hanging out danced seductively to music.

Slade looked the relaxed part as his arms were thrown over the back of the couch and his legs were parted. One of the girls moved between his legs and turned around, showing her ass. She did a little shake before popping her ass out in Slade’s face.