She didn’t have to work today, so I wasn’t surprised when she opened the door in her favorite pair of sweats and an old hoodie. A warm smile crossed her face as she said, “Hey. I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”
“I can’t stay.” I held up the bag of food and said, “I thought I’d stop by and bring you some lunch.”
“Well, that was very sweet of you.” She lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek. “Thank you. I’m starving.”
“Did you sleep okay?”
“Better than I have in days.” She walked over and sat down at the kitchen table. After taking a sip of her coffee, she asked, “What about you? You were up and out of here pretty early. Did you get any sleep at all?”
“I got enough.”
When she started to open the bag, I moved in front of her, blocking Stark’s view as she looked inside. Her eyes widened with surprise as she reached in and pulled out the note. After quickly scanning it, she looked up at me and nodded before slipping it into the pocket of her hoodie. As she took out one of the burgers, she smiled and said, “This was really thoughtful of you.”
“Just doin’ what I can to make my girl happy.”
“Well, you’re doing a great job of that.”
“Good to know.”
She reached into the bag and took out the second burger, then motioned for me to sit. “Come on. No girl likes to eat alone.”
“I wish I could, but I’ve gotta get back over to the clubhouse.”
I walked over and kissed her on the forehead. As I started towards the door, she asked, “Will I see you later?”
“You couldn’t keep me away if you wanted to.”
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I don’t want to.” She stood and followed me out the door. As I got on my bike, she waved and said, “Be careful.”
“Right back at ya.”
As much as I hated leaving her, I didn’t have a choice. The brothers were waiting for me to get back, and she had a job to do—one that could make or break our plans to take down Stark once and for all.
Chapter 20
Marlowe
As soon as Rafe was gone, I pushed my burger to the side and went to the bathroom. I didn’t want Eric to see me read Rafe’s note, so I closed the door and turned on the shower as an added safety measure. I lowered the toilet seat and sat down as I read:
We need you to go over to Stilettos. There is a brown ledger in Menace’s office. You can find it in the bottom drawer. Our guy will be watching, so be sure to snoop around a bit. Make it look like you’re really trying to find something on us. Once you have the ledger in hand, get in contact with Eric and let him know what you’ve found. Tell him you will leave it for him at the front desk of his hotel. Do not meet with him face to face. Leave it at the front desk and get the hell out of there.
I had no idea why he wanted me to hand over their ledger to Eric, but I knew he wouldn’t have asked unless it was something important for me to do. I shredded the note, then flushed it down the toilet. Not wanting Eric to think I was up to something, I quickly undressed and got in the shower. Once I’d bathed, I dried off and wrapped the towel around me—being careful to cover myself as I headed into my room for some clean clothes. After I’d grabbed something to wear, I returned to the bathroom and got dressed. Since I would be going to the hotel, I fixed my hair and put on a little makeup. The entire time I was getting ready, my hands were trembling with nerves.
I wasn’t worried I wouldn’t be able to do what Rafe had asked. It was a simple task, but I was nervous about having to contact Eric. Just the thought of talking to him brought bile to the back of my throat. I couldn’t imagine what Kate saw in the guy. I couldn’t get over how wrapped up in him she was. She wouldn’t even listen to me when I tried to convince her to leave him. I shouldn’t have been surprised. The guy had money, and that was the one thing Kate wanted more than anything. I just hoped her decision to stay with him wouldn’t end up costing her more than she bargained for.
Once I’d gathered my purse and keys, I went out to my car and drove over to the club. I used the key Menace had given me to unlock the back door. As I entered the building, adrenaline flooded my system. It pumped through me hard and fast, making it difficult to think. My eyes were wide and I feared my heart might explode as I made my way over to the bar. My body was pleading with me to run, to get the hell out of there before something terrible happened, but I knew I couldn’t. I had to do what Rafe had asked me to do.