Page 32 of Ruthless Riches
8
Alexis
The following evening,I dolled myself up in a gorgeous dress and heels. Then I spent an hour on my hair and makeup, making myself look shiny and polished. All I needed was a swipe of red lipstick and I’d be ready for a night on the town.
I wasn’t going out to party, though. I was going out to hunt.
Last night, while we were digging through the park, Nate said something that planted a seed of an idea in my head. He said he wished we could draw the Butcher out, and it made me realize that we probably could, as long as we were careful about it.
We already knew the Butcher was tracking my movements and behavior, and we also knew he was done with handing out warnings. He wanted to get me alone somewhere, take me away, and kill me.
So why not pretend to make it easy for him?
Our plan was to give ourselves the appearance of going out together for a night of drinking and dancing. Early in the evening, we’d fake a blowout argument in front of everyone in the bar section of Avalon’s hottest nightclub. Nate would pretend to storm away, and I’d stay behind to sulk.
If the Butcher was actually stalking us as much as we thought he was, he’d probably track our movement to the club and follow us inside to keep an eye on us. Then, after the fight, he’d see me stay behind in the bar, all by myself.
We were hoping that he’d approach me while I was alone. Strike up a conversation and try to lure me away from the club. The whole time, however, Nate would be there, keeping a careful eye on me from behind one of the columns in the club. As soon as he noticed someone trying to convince me to leave with them, he’d swoop back in to rescue me. By the end of the night, I would be safe and sound, and hopefully, we’d know the Butcher’s identity.
We’d chosen the Mayfair Club as our stomping ground for the mission because it had recently become the hottest nightlife spot on Avalon.
After the organ trafficking scandal broke several weeks ago, along with the revelation that the original Mayfair owners—the Ellesmere family— were part of the scheme and had funded the club with dirty money, their business partners moved quickly to save the venue’s reputation along with their own livelihoods. They bought the Ellesmeres out of their share of the club and severed ties with them. Then they completely rebranded the place and fully embraced the old ‘Devil’s Playhouse’ nickname, making it the official name.
The venue now targeted people below the age of thirty-five, rather than older WASP types, and the PR crew had done an excellent job at rebranding the place in such a short time period. They still maintained an air of exclusivity by making people obtain memberships, but it was much easier to get one now. No more sex tapes and extortion—getting in simply required the person to be over the age of eighteen and willing to pay an annual membership fee in exchange for access to the entertainment complex.
The Atrium nightclub on the first floor was by far the hottest club there, frequented by scores of people every weekend. It was dark, but not too dark, and it had a raised bar section off to one side that was slightly quieter than the main dancefloor. That made it the perfect place for Nate and me to reel in the Butcher.
He’d probably feel perfectly safe in the place, because it was very easy to stalk someone there while hiding in plain sight—all he had to do was blend in with everyone else by pretending to drink, dance, or socialize. He’d probably also feel like it was fine to approach me because I’d be sitting up at the bar all night, looking mopey and dejected after my big fight with Nate. That made me the perfect target.
Alone. Vulnerable.Prey.
Depending on who he was, the Butcher might play the part of a charming womanizer and try to seduce me into his bed for the evening, or he might pretend to be a gallant stranger and offer me a shoulder to cry on along with a ride home. If it was someone I actually knew, he might go for the simple ‘let’s ditch this place and hang out somewhere quieter so we can catch up properly’ angle.
In any case, we knew he’d try to get me to leave the busy club with him so he could drag me off to some hidden place and kill me. He’d have no idea he was stepping right into a trap.
I added a second coat of mascara to my lashes. Then I leaned forward to select a lipstick from my collection. Nate appeared behind me, staring at my reflection in the mirror. His eyes were gleaming with wicked desire, and his lips were slightly parted.
“This dress is hot,” he said in a low voice, running a hand over the luxuriant fabric as it clung to the curves of my ass. “Why does it look so familiar?”
“I wore it the first night we saw each other,” I said. “At the party I sneaked into.”
His lips curved into a smirk. “That’s right. Then you changed into your cat burglar outfit and started climbing through windows.”
A warm blush rose in my cheeks as the exhilarating memories flashed in my mind. I turned my head over my shoulder and raised a brow. “Are you still mad at me for that?” I asked in a playful tone.
“I wasn’t even mad when it happened,” he replied, cupping my ass in his hand again. He moved closer, and his hot, minty breath ghosted over the shell of my ear. “Watching you escape through that window was one of the hottest fucking things I’ve ever seen.” He paused and grabbed my hand, bringing it to the front of his pants. There was a distinct bulge there. “See? Even thinking about it turns me on.”
“Sounds like you have a thing for criminals.”
He chuckled. “Only if they’re sexy.”
I laughed softly and turned back to the vanity to pick up a crimson lipstick. As I removed the cap and lifted it to my mouth, Nate swiped it from me and tossed it back onto the vanity. “You don’t need that yet.”
“What do you me—”
Before I could finish my question, Nate answered it with his body. He pulled me around to face him, hands moving like magnets to my hips, and his mouth crashed against mine, kissing me with hunger and fiery need until my knees weakened and little moans bubbled up in my throat.
As his tongue entwined with mine, he slowly moved me away from the vanity and pushed me up against the nearest wall. His hands moved to my wrists and lifted them above my head, pinning me there. A gasp escaped my mouth as he moved his tongue to the crook of my neck, running it over my skin, and then he nipped at me, sending a potent mix of pain and pleasure through my veins.
