Kevin smiles. “I don’t think that’s your choice to make,” he says, and tightens his grip, and I remember Liam’s words from earlier.
“I couldn’t disagree more,” I say as I look at Jules watching our exchange with a faraway look in her eyes—she was even more wasted than I thought. “Listen, asshole,” I say evenly. “I’ve just told you my friend is married. It’s time for you to get lost. Because, honestly, the only reason she’s even sitting here right now flirting with you is because of the half dozen drinks she’s had tonight.” I pause, daring him to challenge me, hoping I’m right. Praying that she wouldn’t be acting this way if she were sober. But Kevin only winks at me. “I’m not leaving here without her,” I demand, putting my hand on Jules’.
“Well, why don’t you stay then?” he says, letting his eyes drop to my chest. “I’ve always wanted to have a threesome.” He grabs my arm, digging his hand in as I attempt to pull away, the loud music pulsating in my brain as I try to wriggle from his grasp, his other arm still enveloping Jules’ waist.
Kevin’s grip loosens only when he’s lifted off the couch a moment later, Liam’s fist connecting with his nose swiftly, hurling him into a ball on the floor as he holds his face, screaming.
“Let’s go,” Liam orders, scooping Jules off the couch and leading us toward the exit as security quickly moves in. “Don’t look back,” he warns when I start to turn my head, Liam grabbing my hand as he holds Jules up like a puppet, placing her gently in the backseat of a waiting taxi as soon as we step out of the casino doors, the cab line miraculously empty. We crawl in behind her and sit in silence as the driver navigates the traffic, still heavy at 1 a.m., the honking and buzz from the streets drowning out the booming from the music in the club still pulsating in my ears. Jules passes out almost immediately, her breath heavy.
I finally break the silence. “Where’s Nikki?”
He looks out the window, the Eiffel Tower in front of the Paris casino lighting up the otherwise black desert sky. “She said she’d be waiting for me in her suite.”
I glance at Liam’s profile in the darkness of the cab. “I’m sure it makes ours look like a studio apartment.” I laugh, hoping to break through the tension still lingering between us.
“There was mention of a basketball court and a lap pool.”
“Because that’s normal,” I snicker, then sigh when Liam doesn’t join me.
But then, a few seconds later, his chest starts to heave as he releases a hearty laugh, tears spilling from his eyes, and suddenly we’re both howling so hard I wonder if we’ll wake Jules. “How the hell did we get here?” he manages to say in between our roars.
Our laughter subsides as I stare up at the lights of the Aria as we pull into the circular driveway. “I was just thinking the same thing.” I watch him rub his right hand. “Nice right hook, by the way. I thought you were a lover, not a fighter.”
“Sometimes you have to be a little of both,” he says as he throws the driver a twenty and delicately prods Jules awake. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s get you to the room.”
We lift Jules out of the cab, each of us holding on to an arm tightly as we make our way to the elevator. “Where’s Kevin?” she slurs.
“Last time I saw him, he was in a pile on the floor,” I say, smiling sideways at Liam as we step inside. “He was a jerk. Besides, you have Ben, remember? The love of your life?”
“Whatever,” Jules says after a few minutes of silence, the only sound the soles of Liam’s shoes scuffling against the carpet as we trudge down the hall. “He doesn’t look at me that way anymore.”
“What way?” Liam asks as he slides the key card into the door, then watches Jules closely as she makes her way to the bed and falls into it.
“The way Kevin did. Like he wants to devour me,” she says as she sprawls out. “The room is spinning.”
I walk over to the bed and prop her up on the pillows. “Try to keep sitting up,” I say as Liam hands me a Sprite from the minibar that I hold to her mouth. “Take a sip.”
Liam sits on the edge of the bed. “Kevin looked at you like an object. He didn’t give a shit that you were almost incoherent—he just wanted to fuck you.”
“Exactly,” she says. “At least someone wants to.”
I think about how much Ben travels and wonder again if he is having an affair, if it is more than him just being exhausted. “Jules, did something happen? Did Ben—”
“You’re not getting any other info out of her tonight, Detective,” Liam interrupts, and wraps a blanket around Jules, her eyes sealed shut, her mouth hanging open.