Trashy (19 page)

Adam

I looked up and smiled as someone stepped into the office, expecting it to be Roxie.

But it was Harlow.

“Hey,” I said, letting my smile slip away.

“Can we talk?” she said, keeping her voice low.

I motioned for her to take a seat. She bypassed it and stood just on the other side of my desk.

“What’s going on with Roxie?”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean she’s jumpy as hell, shaking, and made me promise to stay at Cam’s tonight. She didn’t want us at our place.”

“Where is she?” I asked, grim.

“She’ll be here any minute. We left at the same time.”

I nodded. “I’ll talk to her.”

“She told me Craig threatened her,” Harlow burst out.

I jumped out of my chair. “When?” I growled. I’d had just about enough out of Craig. If I didn’t know a loser like him couldn’t afford that red car following me around today, I would have thought it was him.

“I don’t know,” she answered, stepping back.

“Thanks for telling me,” I said, trying to keep the anger from my tone.

“You won’t leave her alone tonight, right?” Harlow asked.

I couldn’t be mad because she was only looking out for Roxie. “No. She’ll be safe. I promise.”

Harlow looked like a ten-pound weight lifted off her shoulders. “Thanks, Adam.”

Roxie passed Harlow on her way out. “What was that about?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

“Work shit.” I lied. I didn’t even feel bad about it. I’d
lie a million times over if I thought it would protect her.

Roxie nodded and gave me a small smile. “Hi.”

I came around the desk, taking in her tight jeans and heels. Her hair was pulled up on the top of her head, and I could tell she spent some time on her face. But all the makeup in the world couldn’t cover the tension lines beside her eyes.

I reached around and shoved the door shut and pulled her into my arms. She melted against me like ice cream on a hot summer sidewalk. I knew by the way she curled her fingers into my back that something happened.

A sharp knock on the door broke the moment and Roxie jumped. I tightened my arms around her and held her close. “Yeah?” I called over her head.

“Delivery guy’s here. Needs a check and a signature,” Cam yelled.

“I’ll be right there! Hey, so good news,” I told her.

“What is it?” she asked, tilting her head back to peer up at me.

“Stock got delayed and the guys at the club finished their shit early, so I’m staying here tonight, with you.” The stock was delayed, but last I spoke to the foreman over at Hatter II, the crew was still there working.

Like I said; I’d
lie if I thought it would protect her.

“You are?” she asked. The relief in her violet eyes tempted me to drag her out of this place and home with me that instant.

“Yep. Think you can handle an entire night of training?”

She smiled. It was a welcome sight. “Sure.”

“Sweet.” I kissed her quickly and then pulled away. “I gotta go out front.”

I decided not to mention the fact that someone was following me around today, any of the things Harlow said, or the fact that it was clear something was off.

We had work to do, and this wasn’t the place to get into it. I’d ask her later at my place.

But until then, I was sticking close.

It was just a normal night at the club. Drinks, men, music, and half-naked women. We were busy, but that wasn’t really anything out of the ordinary. Myrtle Beach did have a slow season, and I guess the club felt it a little, but it didn’t come until much later in the year. Usually business was steady even in the fall because the locals came and people drove in.

I made sure to go around and talk to everyone, a lot of the regulars and even some of the newer faces. I didn’t do it often, but I did it enough so people knew my face and that I owned the club. It wasn’t a secret Mad Hatter II was opening soon, and I was looking for another manager. I’d had a couple guys ask for the job.

Thing was I thought a woman would be better at running the place.

Not all men were like me; not all the club owners around here treated his dancers the way he should. At least if I hired a woman, I would know the girls in this club would be treated the way they should.

‘Course, not all women were cut out for the job either.

But Roxy was.

She was a natural.

I walked around, introducing her as the new manager of the place, and I made it clear she was the one who would be calling the shots. I’d known Roxie was popular. Hell, she was the best dancer I had. But I hadn’t realized just how liked she was.

She had a smile for everyone. A laugh. An inside joke.

It made me wish I were introducing her as my girlfriend and not my employee.

I thought about just slipping it into a conversation and waiting to see how she’d react, but I wasn’t going to manipulate her that way. When I introduced her as mine, I was going to make sure it was exactly what she wanted.

Some of the men were skeptical; they made some comments about taking orders from a woman. I went back to those tables once Roxie had moved on and let them know what I thought of their disrespect. I also made sure Ty, the head bouncer, knew their faces because these guys had one shot or they were out.

Once you got thrown out of my club, you didn’t get back in. Period.

After all the socializing was done, I retreated to my office to make some calls and check in with the foreman at Hatter II. I left Roxie to run the floor and take care of the place. After I cleared off all the paperwork I had waiting, I remembered a couple forms I wanted to go over with her, so I went to the corner of the office and crouched down to the bottom drawer of the file cabinet.

Seconds later, Roxie pulled open the door and strode in. The door shut definitively behind her and she leaned against it and took a deep breath.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, straightening up and stepping out of the corner.

She jerked in surprise and put a hand up to her chest. “Crap!” she said. “I didn’t see you there. You scared the shit out of me.”

“Why do you look like you came in here to hide?” I pressed.

“I guess I just need a break from the crowd.”

“Try again,” I told her.

She sighed. “There’s a guy out there who gives me the creeps.”

“Show me,” I said, moving toward the door, but she blocked me from opening it.

“It’s probably nothing.”

“If it was nothing, you wouldn’t be hiding.”

“I’m just jumpy lately,” she mumbled.

“Yeah. We’ll talk about that later,” I intoned. She eyed me out of the corner of her eye but didn’t say anything. “So what’s with the guy? He say something to you?”

She shook her head. “No. It’s just this… feeling I get. You know?”

I nodded.

“I’ve seen him in here before, in the past couple of weeks. I just… I don’t like the way he looks at me.”

I lifted her and moved her away. She made a frustrated sound as I pulled open the door. “Show me,” I said.

She edged herself in front of me to peak around the door and then popped back inside. “Against the wall. He has a hat on. Sitting alone with a beer and his cell in his hand.”

I picked him out in two seconds flat. Our eyes connected. I got a bad feeling.

I didn’t like him either.

“He’s been in here before?” I asked.

She nodded.

“And you never said anything?”

She shrugged.

“You know the way I do things,” I scolded her. Any of the girls that worked here could come to me at any time if there was a guy in here bothering her or making her uncomfortable. I didn’t tolerate it. And it wasn’t just because this was Roxie. It was
all
the girls in here.

If they got a bad feeling, it was usually because the dude was up to no good, and I had no problem telling them to leave. I’d done it on more than one occasion. I’d never had to do it on Roxie’s request, though.

And yeah, maybe since it was her, I felt a little more violent toward this guy, but it still didn’t change how I ran my business.

“I feel stupid,” Roxie said.

“Listening to your gut is never stupid,” I said and motioned for Ty with my chin. I left her in the doorway and stalked over to the guy’s table. Ty joined me, standing at my side.

The guy wearing a hat looked up.

“What’s up, man?” I said, giving him a gesture with my chin.

“
Chillin’,” he said, laying down his phone. Face down.

“Time to go,” I told him.

“You can’t kick me outta here,” he said, picking up his beer like he was just getting comfortable.

I plucked the brew right out of his hand. “I just did,” I growled.

A muscle in his jaw ticked. I stared him down calmly.

“On what grounds?” he said, sitting up.

“On the grounds that I don’t like you.” I crossed my arms over my chest and stepped back for him to leave.

“This is bullshit.” He picked up his phone and stood, knocking the chair over in the process.

“There’s plenty of other clubs,” I said.

“Yeah, well, maybe I like the view in this one.” His eyes flicked across the room. I followed his gaze to Roxie, who was standing at the bar, loading drinks onto a tray for Harlow.

The urge to knock out all of his teeth was so strong I actually flinched. Ty laid a hand on my shoulder. “I got this, boss,” he said and grabbed the asshole by the arm. “Let’s go.”

Ty led him to the door, and he strolled like he was at the fucking park.

When Ty shoved him out, the guy turned and looked at Roxie one last time.

He winked as the door swung closed.

I gave Ty the signal he wasn’t allowed back in this place. It didn’t make me feel any better, and I considered rushing out in the parking lot and kicking his ass.

I glanced at Roxie. She’d gone pale.

All the piss and vinegar I felt drained away.

I stalked over and waited until she finished what she was doing. Then I took her hand and led her into the office and shut the door.

“I wanna show you something,” I said.

“Okay.” She followed me farther into the room.

I led her behind the desk and pulled open the bottom drawer on the left. I lifted up a pile of folders and revealed a black pistol. “I always keep this in here. It’s loaded. The safety is off. And yeah, I have a permit.”

I glanced up at her. She was staring at the gun with wide eyes.

Fuck. Maybe putting a woman in charge of this kind of place was a shitty idea. I’d rather have some pig running the place than worrying about her every night here alone.

But she wouldn’t be alone. There was an entire staff of bouncers, and now she knew where the gun was.

“Rox,” I said, making sure she was listening.

“Hmm?” she said, still staring at the gun.

“All you gotta do is point and pull the trigger.”

“Okay.”

“Have you ever shot a gun before, sweetheart?”

Her eyes pulled away from the weapon to me. “No.”

I was booking us time at the range ASAP. She needed to learn. I couldn’t always be with her and at least this way I knew she had some protection.

“Just point and shoot,” I repeated.

“I think I can handle that,” she said, giving me a smile.

I found myself praying I hoped we never had to find out.

Roxie

Time at the club passed slowly. It seemed like the night dragged on forever. It didn’t help that I analyzed every new and unfamiliar face I saw. I’d become so suspicious of everyone.

The more I thought about it, the more I knew Craig was the one who sent someone after Adam. It was sheer luck that I was in that car instead. Craig didn’t respect me, he didn’t value me, but I knew he wouldn’t kill me.

At least not until I did the stupid porn and made him the money he wanted.

But since it wasn’t Craig in that car with the gun, that meant I didn’t know who it had been. Craig knew a lot of people, and he only brought a handful of them around. The rest of the people he saw when he was out, which was practically all the time.

So every person in this place was a potential harbinger of doom.

Harbinger of doom = someone who wanted to hurt Adam (or worse).

And yeah, the man I’d been seeing in here every so often, he wasn’t exactly an unfamiliar face, but he truly
creeped me out. I just couldn’t take it tonight. I was relieved when Adam threw him out, but the way he looked at me as the door was swinging closed…

I shuddered.

“Hey,” Adam said, coming up behind me. “You cold?”

“Uh, yeah.” I lied. I wasn’t cold; I was scared.

He chuckled, the warm, rich sound sliding over me like silk. “There you go claiming more of my clothes.” Adam slipped a jacket over my shoulders, a navy blue one. I pulled it around me and inhaled his scent.

“Let me just lock up the back and then we can go,” he said, jingling a set of keys in his palm.

“Shouldn’t I do that?” I asked. “Technically, it’s my job.”

“Don’t tell the boss what a slacker you are.” He winked and went to lock up.

I smiled, but it soon faded. What if something happened to him?

I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. I wouldn’t be able to live without him.

Okay. Yes. I could technically live without him, but my life sure as hell wouldn’t be any good. My stomach tightened and I felt a tingling sensation in the back of my throat, like I was going to vomit. I went around the bar and grabbed a bottled water out of the cooler.

The wet, textured hard plastic top did not want to unseal. I tried and then tried again. My palm and fingers turned red from the cap digging into my skin, yet the water was still unopened.

I set it down on the bar top with a thud and dropped my head in my hand.

Adam showed me his gun earlier. How the hell was I supposed to use a gun when I couldn’t even open a water?

A laugh bubbled out of me, but it sounded more like a sob.

I heard the crack of the seal on the water and looked up. Adam set the bottle in front of me with no cap. I didn’t say anything as I picked up the drink and let the cool water flow down my throat. It felt good going down, almost like it froze some of the emotion going haywire inside of me.

“C’mon, let’s go.” Adam waited until I came around and he took my hand. On the way out, he set the alarm code and locked the door behind us.

We walked silently across the parking lot toward the BMW. My footsteps stalled. “Where’s my car?” I asked, searching everywhere for it.

“I dropped it off to get fixed.”

I swung around with wide eyes. “You did?”

“Of course.” He said it like it was a given.

I suppose I should have thought it was after what he said to me earlier when he gave me the Roadster to drive. But hearing it and living it were two different things.

“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “I’ll cover the bill—” I began, but he cut me off.

“There is no bill.”

My mouth formed a little O.

“Those jackasses are fixing what they screwed up and you aren’t paying for shit. They are.”

I didn’t know what to say. I was impressed and beyond touched he did this.

“I’ll drive,” he said and held his hand out for the keys.

I handed them over, and he opened the passenger-side door for me to get in. He didn’t just close the door, though. Instead, he leaned inside, his large frame taking up a lot of the space, and pulled the seatbelt around me. It clicked into place, but his fingers lingered, caressing me.

“Long night, huh?”

“You have no idea,” I murmured, intoxicated by him.

The entire drive to his place, I kept my eye on the rearview mirror for anyone who might be following us. I peered at the drivers in the cars beside us, and I gripped my hands together in my lap
because I was nervous. When the security gates of his community closed behind the car, I sighed with relief.

He carried my bag up to the condo, and I tried to force out all the anxiety in my chest and listened instead to the sound of the nearby crashing waves.

Inside, the condo was dark, but the minute we entered, Adam flipped on several lights and dropped my stuff by the door. I kicked off my heels and padded directly across the open-concept room toward the large windows with the sweeping view. The moon was high above the water, and the inky sky glittered with stars.

I couldn’t see much of the ocean other than the constant white-capped waves crashing against the sand.

Adam’s arms encircled me from behind and he balanced his chin on my shoulder. “I think we need to talk.”

God, I dreaded those words.

As if everything I told him last night about my past wasn’t bad enough, now I had to tell him about the man with the gun, the porn, and all of Craig’s threats. I wish I didn’t have to, but he was involved now. He needed to know to be extra cautious.

Hell, what if being cautious wasn’t enough?

“We should go away.” My voice was wistful. “Just get out of here for a while.”

Adam nuzzled the side of my neck and I tilted my head to the side to give him greater access. “Spending time holed up in a hotel room or a nice resort with you sounds amazing, but I can’t help but think you have an ulterior motive besides just wanting to be alone with me.”

I covered his forearm with my hand, gripping his solid muscular arm.

“Harlow’s worried about you,” he murmured.

“On my way home earlier today, I was followed by a strange car. When I pulled off the road, it sped up and the driver pulled out a gun.” The words rushed out of me in one great whoosh.

The silence that followed was deafening.

“Someone shot at you today?” Adam finally said. His words were bone-chillingly calm and quiet.

“No. They had the gun out. They pointed at me, but then they drove away.”

Adam pulled away and paced around behind me. I didn’t need to turn and look to know he was agitated and pissed.

“Did you get plate numbers? A description of the driver?” he demanded.

My shoulders slumped. “No. It happened so fast and then he sped away.”

“It was a man?” His voice sharpened.

“I’m pretty sure,” I said. Then because I knew he would ask, I added, “It wasn’t Craig.”

“What kind of car does he drive?” Adam asked, surprising me.

“Some red sports car-looking thing,” I replied.

“Son of a bitch,” Adam growled. “How the fuck does he pay for that car?”

I turned and faced him. “What?”

“He was following me around today. He drove off when I got out to confront him.”

I wasn’t surprised and I nodded grimly. “He’s been doing that a lot.”

“Harlow said he threatened you.”

Gee, thanks, Harlow,
I thought. But I guess I understood because if I were worried about her, I’d go straight to Cam.

“He owes money to some people. It’s how he paid for that car and who knows what else?” I explained. “He wants me to help him repay his debt.”

“You’re not a fucking ATM!” Adam roared and punched the air.

Without thinking about it, I shrank back against the glass. I hated myself for doing that. I knew,
knew
Adam wouldn’t hurt me. But I couldn’t stop the almost reflex of reacting that way when a man started yelling and throwing his arm around.

Unfortunately, even in his anger, Adam noted my reaction.

It made me feel ashamed.

“
Aww, Rox.” All the anger drained away and his voice quieted to almost a whisper. “I didn’t mean to yell, sweetheart.”

“I know,” I said, still watching him through wary eyes.

“I swear to God I would cut off my arm before I ever hurt you.”

“I know,” I said again.

He cursed beneath his breath.

He took a tentative step toward me. When I didn’t try to stop him, he took another. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, reaching out. I put my hand in his.

Gently, he tugged me away from the window and into the solid wall of his chest. His palm came up to cup the back of my head, and I closed my eyes.

“I hate that guy,” he said, making my chest tighten. “I can’t stand the things he’s done to you.”

That made two of us.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

“What good would it have done?” I replied. “I thought he would get tired of following me around and stop.”

“But he hasn’t.”

“No,” I said, my voice cracking. “And now I’ve dragged you into this mess.
My
mess.”

“You can’t drag a man who was already running in your direction,” he drawled.

I squeezed my eyes closed. “That man wasn’t after me today, Adam. I was in your car. Once he saw it was me behind the wheel, he left.”

“Some lowlife with a gun doesn’t scare me.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were bulletproof,” I said, pulling back to look at him. This wasn’t a joke. I needed to make him understand that.

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” he vowed.

Emotion rose up within me, causing tears to form in my eyes. “If I had stayed with him, you wouldn’t be in danger.”

Adam gripped me by the shoulders. “Don’t ever say that again. I’d take ten bullets. Hell, I’d die before I let you go back to him.”

“I don’t want you to die,” I whispered.

“I’m not going anywhere. I have too much to live for.” He stroked my cheek.

“Make love to me.” I was tired of talking. Tired of being scared. I wanted to feel something more. I wanted to feel him.

Adam swept me up into his arms and carried me into the dark bedroom. He didn’t bother with the lights, but it was okay because we didn’t need to see. Everything we did was done by touch.

And for a little while, I forgot everything outside of this room.

But I knew, deep down, when the sun came up, there would be no forgetting.