“Don’t hurt her, man. She’s a good woman,” he says.
I feel a growl start to vibrate my chest. I know there’s never been anything between them, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t piss me right the fuck off that he feels like he can look out for her.
“Don’t,” I say, hoping he gets it.
“There’s a lot you don’t know.”
“I know she has a sadness inside her that she tries to fight, but it’s so deep that she gets lost in it and has a hard time finding her way out. I know she freaks when she’s tickled and has a hard time letting people in. I know she has a boy she lost, and the loss still haunts her. But I also know that she smells like flowers, loves to be held even if she denies it, is cute as fuck when she’s angry, and is funny as hell when she lets down her walls. I may not know everything, but I know enough that I want to know more,” I tell him, hoping he gets that this isn’t some passing fuck to me.
I also hope that he understands that, yes, he may know more than I do, but she is mine to worry about now. I don’t like explaining myself to people, but I want him to comprehend that she is not a conquest; she is mine, and I take looking out for her very seriously.
“When she’s ready for me to know everything, she will open up to me.”
“Right,” he replies, no sarcasm to be found in his tone.
“Tell me about Sid.” I know that Autumn worked for him, but I don’t know what kind of man he is or if he keeps his business on the up-and-up.
“He’s a good dude. I’ve known him for the last five years. He’s good to the girls at the club, always willing to help them out.” He pauses and takes a breath. “He has a soft spot for Autumn.”
“Have they had a relationship?” I grit out.
“Autumn doesn’t date. Sid’s been tryin’ to get in there for years, but she hasn’t ever clued in or returned any of his feelings.”
That makes me feel somewhat better about meeting him, but it doesn’t mean I want to sit back and have a beer with the guy. “Do you think he was in on what went down?”
“Nah. He wouldn’t put anyone in that kind of danger. He knew three of the men who came into the club for the meeting, but the fourth was not someone he planned for. From what I understand, the fourth man was a guy by the name of Terry Waters. He was the owner of two of the largest strip clubs in Vegas. The police had been working on building a case against him for sex trafficking and prostitution.”
“Jesus.” I shake my head, wondering what the fuck to do with this information.
“They think he was the target,” Link explains, and I see that his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel.
“So the rest were just casualties?”
“Basically.” He shrugs.
My phone beeps and I click my messages, seeing that it’s from Autumn. I smile before I even read her message. I know she’s pissed about Justin being there, but I want to make sure she’s safe while I’m out of town and don’t want her at home alone. I don’t think the shooter has any clue where she is, but I know that Cassie is still on a rampage. The good news is that, as soon as Cassie gets my message from Finn, she will no longer be an issue, but until things get sorted, I don’t want her fucking with Autumn while I’m gone, especially after I found out that she’s the one who posted the video of Autumn on YouTube after they’d been at the same club.
Am I pissed that Autumn was letting some guy do body shots off her? Hell yes, but I know she was completely smashed when it happened. I also acknowledge that she never had a chance to experience that kind of thing before. Do I wish it had been me licking salt off her tight, little body? Fuck yes, I do, but I know only me and my mouth will be allowed to touch her from now on.
I look at the message from her and laugh before quickly replying. We pull up to Link’s apartment and I realize that I’m fucking beat from the last few days. Autumn’s schedule has mine all fucked up.
A few minutes later, I’m already toeing off my boots, ready to collapse on his guest bed, when he tells me from the doorway, “I have some shit to take care of, but I’ll be back later, and we can head to the club then.”
“Sure, man. Thanks,” I tell him. Then I listen as he walks down the hallway and shuts the front door. I pull out my phone, see that she replied with one word—Ditto—and smile and close my eyes.
“Sid, this is Kenton. Kenton, this is Sid,” Link introduces us later that night.
I look Sid over, and the first thing I notice is how put together he is. I imagine that he spends more time getting ready than most women do. His suit is tailored, his hair is combed over to the side, each piece styled just right, and his fingernails even look manicured.
“Nice to meet you.” He sticks out his hand and I grasp it with one of mine, giving him a firm shake.
“You too.” I nod, looking around inside the club, understanding from the decor where it got the name The Lion’s Den.
“Kenton needs to see the tapes from the night of the shooting,” Link says, bringing me back to the conversation.
“You working with the police?” Sid asks, looking me over.
“Kenton’s the friend I was tellin’ you about,” Link informs him, and Sid’s eyes come back to me.
“You think you can find the shooter?”
“I’ll do what I can.” My main concern is Autumn and keeping her safe. I don’t care about any of the other shit.
“Follow me.”
We walk down a long hall and into a dark office, where there is a large desk in the center of the room and large computer monitors lining one wall.
“We didn’t get the guy on tape. He avoided all the cameras in the building and the two outside.” He starts up the tapes from the night of the shooting.
There are no shots of the man in question, but there are images of Autumn running through the club, and even through the grainy images, I can see the terror on her face. “Where were the bouncers?”