Page 73 of Brutal Sin

“How are you handling the detox from the Vault?” Cassie asked.

“It’s a piece of cake.” It wasn’t a lie. He hadn’t stepped foot inside the sex club in weeks and had no interest in going down there in the near future. Not until he got his head sorted out. His dick, too.

“Speaking of to-do lists.” Leo cleared his throat. “Did you refund everyone’s money for the demonstration night?”

The reminder made him tense. “It’s done.” He ripped open the first envelope and retrieved the folded invoice inside before discarding the rubbish onto the counter. “I’ve refunded everyone involved.”

“Did you explain the cancellation?”

“It’s nobody’s business.”

“Not even ours?” Leo stared him down. “What happened, Brute? We’ve handled you with kid gloves for weeks, but now it’s time for an explanation. I thought you were determined not to let the womenwin.”

“They didn’t win. I needed a break from the Vault.” Not only the setting, the carnality, and the people. He needed a break from the reminder of what had driven him into this mind fuck. “And Ella couldn’t participate either. So, the cancellation worked for both ofus.”

“Did you refund her membership?” T.J. asked. “It would be a nice gesture of goodwill.”

His hand paused in the middle of tearing open the second envelope. “I’m not kicking her out of the club. She can return whenever she wants.”

“She’s not coming back,” Cassie spoke softly.

He continued to open the envelope, his gaze focused on the shredding paper. A tight restriction took place behind his sternum, the pain intensifying with the need for answers to questions he didn’t want to voice. Tighter and tighter his lungs squeezed, until he couldn’t hold it in anymore. “You’ve spoken toher?”

“I called her,” Shay answered.

He emptied the invoice from the envelope, threw the rubbish to the counter, and then started the process all over again. “I didn’t realize the two of you were friends.”

“We’re not. Not really. But I wanted to check onher.”

“How’d you get her number?” He couldn’t hide the pathetic jealousy in his voice.

“I looked in the Vault database.”

His foot to tapped against the polished floorboards, the rampant beat out of his control. “You were on my computer?”

“She was on our computer,” T.J. corrected.

“Right.” He slashed another envelope and turned back to Shay. “And she said she isn’t comingback?”

The nod and accompanying look of pity were enough to send his fingers tearing through the paper.

“Did she say why?” He already knew her original reason—nobody interested her in the Vault. But he’d hoped her mind would change withtime.

“Are you asking because you hope we don’t know the answer?” Cassie rested her elbows on the bar, leaning forward, fully invested. “Or do you truly notknow?”

He shredded another envelope and kept his mouth shut, not wanting to admit he was to blame. He didn’t need to exacerbate his pathetic existence.

Shay sighed.

Leo crossed his arms over his chest.

Cassie glanced at T.J., while her husband pinned him with a sympathetic stare.

He opened three envelopes in quick succession and pulled out the accompanying information. “What’s next on the agenda?”

Uncomfortable silence fell until T.J. had the balls to fill it. “We still haven’t resolved the current topic. Are you able to refund her membership? Maybe write a check and put it in themail?”

Another envelope died in his hands, the front half ripping in two. He didn’t want to think about her any more than he already did. He didn’t want to look up her details on his computer. Or scribble her name on a check. But taking this route and getting his friends off his back was the lesser of two evils. “Yeah. No problem. I’ll sort itout.”

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