Page 92 of Masked

She came strutting in on five-inch stilettos and wearing a skin-tight red dress that might have called to him in another life and had him taking her back to his room to peel it off of her. But tonight it just annoyed him that she thought she could win him over with her body.

“Noah, it’s so good to see you again. I must admit I was surprised to get your call after that awful video. The press can be so vile sometimes.”

Noah gripped his glass of scotch harder than he should have and motioned for her to sit.

“Cut the shit, Monica. We both know you’re the one who leaked that video. Hell, you probably put it all together given your background.” She worked for a production company and had film editing experience. The girl was talented and didn’t need to resort to her manipulative ways to get by. But Noah suspected she couldn’t help herself.

Anger flashed in her dark brown eyes.” Fuck you, Noah.” She raised her hand as if to slap him, but he caught her wrist and gripped it hard.

“You stay the fuck away from Reva. If you want to sleep with Parker, be my guest. But you will not come near her again.”

He dropped her wrist and she rubbed it as she glared at him. “So she’s your latest little concubine, huh? Or do you call her something else?”

He called Reva a lot of things but she was his siren call. He just had to figure out how to convince her of that.

“She is ten times the woman you ever thought about being. Dating you was a moment of weakness.”

It was harsh and he knew it, but he was done with people who wanted to fuck with Reva.

“If you just invited me here to insult me I’m leaving.”

He nodded toward the door. “Be my guest. I already said what I needed to say. Stay away from her or I will make your life a living hell. Hope that dress wasn’t for me.”

He waited for her to leave, but she stayed where she was glaring at him.

“What do you see in her? She doesn’t even have money.”

“She has everything she needs. I see an intelligent woman who as beat the odds and built a life for herself. I see a woman who gives me everything and never asks for anything in return. And for that alone, I’ll give her the fucking world.”

Monica wrinkled her nose. “At least Elise was pretty. I was able to see why you moved her in with you. Reva doesn’t even know how to dress. She won’t know how to act at events.”

Now it was his turn to resist the urge to slap her. He leaned in close and met her glare with his own.

“Enough. I will not sit her and let you insult her that way. And you’ll keep Elise’s name out of your mouth if you know what’s good for you. This meeting was pointless.” He waved the bartender down and signed the check, then breezed past her and headed for his car.

His senses were on high alert as he headed for the metered parking space. A van that looked familiar was parked across the street.

He reached under his jacket pocket for the gun he wore.

“Don’t even think about it,” he said as he turned and grabbed the wrist of a man who was following him.

Sure enough, the stranger had a taser. Noah held him at gun point until he dropped it and then marched him to the car where his driver was waiting.

The man hopped out with his own weapon unholstered and helped secure him with some zip ties.

He was tempted to take the man to a deep dark hole somewhere, and if he really wanted to, he could make it happen. Instead, he pulled out his phone and dialed Michael Silas.

“This is Chief Silas.”

“Michael it’s Noah. I have a present for you in my back seat but I don’t want to hand him over to just any officer because I don’t know who to trust.”

“I’m with Adara at a fundraiser and she will kill me if I leave before she speaks. Can you… keep things under wraps until I can get away? That or I can call an officer I trust to come and take custody.”

“I’ll take him to my house.”

“Your house is outside my jurisdiction. The apartment is not.”

“I’m not taking him there. He tried to kidnap her.”

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