Page 91 of Keep Him Like Secrets

“I’m checking out this new club of yours,” he said, making my blood run cold.

He was always going to find out, of course.

But he was supposed to be behind bars for the next decade. Leaving me free to do whatever the hell I needed to do to keep expanding my business empire.

Not even he could fault me for that.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “We haven’t released the press briefing yet.”

“And yet, here it is. I like the marble floors.”

Oh, fuck.

He was literally checking out the club.

I was rushing out the door before I could talk myself out of it.

There were security cameras at the club, for fuck’s sake. Ones that Saff had installed, so I assumed she had access to. And if she saw some strange guy walking around, she was going to call the cops.

That was the last thing in the world I needed.

“You gonna be there for a bit?” I asked, ignoring Teresa as I flew into the elevator, jabbing the close door button as my heartbeat tripped into overdrive.

“Still got some looking around to do,” he said.

“Want some company?”

He had no choice.

I ran down the block, locating Calvin where he was parked, windows twitching in their frames from his music.

I pressed the phone to my chest to slam my hand into the door, making Calvin jump and turn off the music.

“Brooklyn. And do me a favor and don’t talk for a bit,” I said, getting a nod out of him.

His whole posture changed, tightened, likely picking up on my tension.

“Yeah, I think we have some catching up to do. It’s been a while.”

I didn’t like something I heard in his tone.

But I tamped down the churning sensation in my stomach that I knew as fear and forced my voice to be calm and light.

“Yeah, man. I’m on my way. It’s a bit of a haul from my office. So it’ll be about a half an hour or so.”

“I’ve got nothing but time now,” Alen said.

There was a shuffling sound, followed by a muffled ‘nuh uh uh,’ like he’d pressed the phone to his chest to not be heard.

What was he doing?

Was I walking into some sort of trap?

I wouldn’t put it past Alen to get violent. I mean, he had that reputation. But he’d never laid a hand on me.

Still, there was a first time for everything.

And this current Alen wasn’t the same friend of mine who’d given me a way off the streets, who’d helped me slowly become the man I was today.

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