The elevator swallowed her up as she left the office and I didn’t exhale until she was out of sight. She was going to torture me. She was going to taunt me. She was going to try to break me. I should’ve warned her that I was forged in fire and that the flames of torment felt like nothing more than rays of sunshine to me. I was going to let her burn herself out and then scoop up the ashes.

Then she would be mine.

Chapter 5

Keelyn

I wasn’t sure what to do with myself after I walked out of Nassir’s office. I was shaking, both from being so close to him and from the gauntlet I’d boldly thrown down. Every single time I thought I had the upper hand with him, he twisted things in a different direction that left me reeling. Business partners, my ass. I was going to make him regret even suggesting he could keep his hands off of me after all this time. There wasn’t much I excelled at in this life, but making men stupid and weak with lust was sure as shit at the top of the list.

I don’t know what kind of insanity had prompted me to ask him to let me stay at his place until I was settled. Walking into the devil’s lair willingly wasn’t the brightest plan I had ever concocted and I loathed that everything inside of me went molten and liquid when I saw the regret and anger in his eyes as his gaze landed on the healing cut on my forehead. He should feel bad—it was his fault—but there was something about the way remorse looked on such a powerful and commanding man that tugged at places deep down inside of me. And good Lord, the healing bruises high and dark on both his chiseled cheekbones made me want to grab his face in my hands and kiss each injury better. I hadn’t even been back home for a day and already the man was making my mind and body go crazy.

I went where I always went when I was lost in the Point. Back to the place that had been my home and my sanctuary for so long. Plus, it was within walking distance from Nassir’s new club, so I didn’t have to call a cab or ask Chuck for a ride. I pushed open the doors to the newly remodeled Spanky’s, the club newly christened as the Empire, and almost stumbled over my own feet.

The place looked completely different from the inside out. There was no longer eye-burning pink splashed across every surface. The dingy carpet on the floor was no longer stained with blood, and God only knew what else, on it. All the chairs had been replaced by sleek, black leather booths, and the garish neon lighting had been pulled out and replaced with a soft, vintage glow that made both the girls onstage and the customers look better. It was still very much a strip club. There was no escaping the multitude of boobs and scantily clad women that filled the place wall to wall. There was no mistaking the familiar lustful ambience and overly eager throb of the crowd who were avidly watching the talent. However, now it was a classy strip club and it looked and felt expensive. A pang of regret shot through me that I had left before I was able to see the place that had been my home for so long rise from the ashes into something so beautiful. If I’d had my way and had been able to put my money into something in the Point, it would be a place just like this. A place where girls could take their clothes off, make a living, and be proud of it.

A few regulars called out to me and I was stopped by two different cocktail servers that had been here just as long as I had. They both hugged me and told me they loved my new hairdo. I hugged them back and made chitchat as I tried to locate where Reeve might be. I had so much spinning around in my head I needed a safe place to try to lay it all out, and Reeve was the only person that was even kind of my friend.

I caught sight of her dark hair by the bar. She was leaning on the edge of it talking to a huge man that had a wicked-looking scar that bisected one half of his face. He was dressed in a dark gray suit that fit him to a T but he had on heavy and serious-looking boots. When he caught sight of me staring in their direction, he straightened, and there was no missing the black gun tucked into his side. He might look like a businessman, but I would bet anything the business he was in involved a whole lot of blood and broken bones. He inclined his head in my direction and muttered something to Reeve, which had her head jerking up so that she saw me.

The big man scowled when she nudged him out of her way so she could come around the bar. I wondered what his story was as Reeve barreled into me for a hug. She’d changed a lot since hooking up with the hot cop. She wasn’t much of a hugger before, and as she pressed into me and I hugged her back I noticed what was probably the biggest change that had occurred since I had been gone. Her normally lithe and toned figure was a little bit softer and a whole lot fuller.

I pulled back and looked at her with huge eyes. “The cop knocked you up!”

She pulled back and gave me a little squeeze. Her eyes were an odd shade of dark blue that hovered on the edge of navy, and right now they were shiny with the kind of pure happiness I didn’t think existed in the Point.

“He did.”

I pointed at her barely-there belly and narrowed my eyes at her. “Why didn’t you mention something?”

She put a protective hand over her stomach and shrugged. “I haven’t really said much to anyone.” She snorted and shoved some of her long, black hair behind her shoulder. “I see Nassir every single day and he hasn’t even noticed. Aside from Bax, Dovie, Race, and Brysen, no one really knows. It’s kind of just been in the family.” She hooked a thumb toward the big guy that was still watching us with narrowed eyes from the bar. “Killer over there was actually the first person to guess, but I think that’s because my hormones are all over the place and one minute I’m crying all over him and the next I’m threatening to cut his balls off if he doesn’t get out of my way.”

My eyebrows shot up and I snickered. “I’m surprised Nassir let a stranger watch over his club for him.”

Reeve shook her head and sighed. “Booker isn’t a stranger, and believe me, he’s paid his dues and then some. He deserves his place at the table with the rest of the shady and sinister.”

It was my turn to sigh. I shifted on my tall shoes and looked toward the back of the club, where Nassir’s office, now Reeve’s office, was located. “Can we go back there and talk? I really don’t need the entire city to know how ridiculous I am.”

She nodded and cupped her hands around her mouth to shout to the guy she called Booker that she would be back in a few. He just did that head-tilt thing guys did and turned his attention to his phone. I didn’t know who he was talking to, but I bet by the time I left the club, word of my sudden reappearance would be all over the city.