Kellan sucked in an involuntary breath. But he’d promised to follow her lead to the letter and they had to get over the threshold somehow, so he nodded and said, “I’m sure that’s not an unusual request for a party like this, is it, Danny? No big deal for a boyfriend to watch.”
The point seemed to hit its mark. Thank fuck. “Oh. Well, there aren’t usually a lot of women at these parties other than the ones working for DuPree, but yeah. Most of the clients do like to watch,” Marcus agreed, his shoulders loosening from around the collar of his dress shirt. “I guess it won’t be any different to sell it with two of you. But I can still, uh, go, though, right? As soon as you two get past the door, Danny Marcus is done?”
“Like I said. Everything else stands.” Isabella shifted back on one glossy black high heel, gesturing toward the bank of mirror-paneled elevators behind them. “Now what do you say we get to work?”
Marcus nodded, his black curls springing up and down. “Alright, yeah. Let’s get this over with.”
Leading the way to the elevators, Marcus pulled an electronic key card from his back pocket and inserted it into the slot above the elevator control buttons. At Isabella’s raised brows, he said, “The code to get up to the penthouse level changes every week, and there’s a new key for each party. They’re couriered to people who have been approved for the guest list to keep things exclusive.”
Now it was Kellan’s turn to send his brows on a one-way trip up. “Nice security.”
“Yeah. Just wait.”
A soft ding signaled the elevator’s arrival seconds later, and the three of them stepped onto the empty car. The space was lined with black lacquered paneling from the waist down and mirrors the rest of the way up, and didn’t that just offer about a thousand opportunities for security cameras. From here on in, they were going to have to assume they were being watched.
A fact that wasn’t lost on Isabella, apparently. Tightening her grasp on his arm, she leaned in toward him. The curve of her breast brushed over the outside of his biceps, sending a bolt of want deep between his legs, and hell, this was going to take all the restraint on the goddamn planet.
But Kellan steeled himself against her touch. The whole thing was for show, and there was no denying the anger-fueled tension still thrumming through her body. He’d promised Moreno he could stay on the level and do whatever it took to help her.
There was no turning back now. No room for error or impulse or emotion of any kind.
Focus. Thirty-eighth floor. Thirty-nine. Forty. Breathe.
On another muted chime, the elevator doors slid open to reveal a small alcove leading to a set of intricately carved double doors. The stark white walls were offset by the glow spilling down from regularly spaced sleek gold light fixtures that Kellan recognized as more places for cameras to hide, but being watched seemed the least of their worries since the path to the doors was being blocked by the biggest man he’d ever seen.
And between the three years he’d spent with the fire department and the seven he’d clocked in the Army, that was fucking saying something. But as daunting as the roadblock was, this had to be their wrestler guy, which meant they were on the right track. Provided they could get past him, anyway.
Marcus took point, probably in an effort to rip off the Band-Aid of getting everybody over the threshold as promised to save his skinny ass. “Hey, Rampage! How you been?”
The guy didn’t move a millimeter from his post in front of the doors leading into the penthouse as he gave Marcus a slow, flat stare. “Missed you last week, Danny Boy. Mr. DuPree’s parties starting to bore you?”
“Oh. Ah, of course not.” He stiffened, and Kellan’s gut slid south. At least the dirtbag was quick on the upswing. “Sorry I missed out,” Marcus said, his smile turning appropriately sleazy as he turned toward Moreno. “I was spending a little time with my girl Isabella, here. She and her boyfriend like to party, and they’re looking for a pretty young thing to keep them company. Thought I’d bring them along tonight. Show ’em a good time.”
Thankfully, the human boulder didn’t seem to notice Marcus’s hiccup. “Hmm.” Rampage’s beady stare slithered over Isabella, making Kellan grind his molars hard enough to test their integrity. “We don’t get a lot of chicks looking to join in. Girl on girl is pretty fucking hot.” He didn’t even bother with subtlety as his gaze lingered on Moreno’s breasts. “But she and her boyfriend aren’t on the list.”
Marcus’s eyes flared, although only for a second. “They’re cool, man. Looking for Mr. DuPree’s kind of fun, you know what I mean? Would Danny Marcus steer you wrong?” he asked with a smile, but Rampage’s bulldog status remained unchanged.