Page 84 of Brutal Sin

A curvy figure came to stand in the doorway to the newbie lounge, the familiarity setting his vision to flame.

Fuck. Me.

He stumbled back to the counter and gripped the scotch like a lifeline. His throat threatened to close. His lungs demanded moreair.

Cassie swiveled on the stool, the name she spoke slicing through him like a sword through silk. “Pamela.”

“Hey.” The response was the sweetest form of torture. A punishment he couldn’t keep his gazefrom.

“What are you doing here?” The question was born from habit. He already knew the answer. He just needed to fill the void of restricting silence. “I thought you weren’t comingback.”

“I heard you had a bad day.” She held up the envelope in her hand. “I read about it, too. But don’t worry, I overheard you say you didn’t want company. I promise I won’t stay long.” She was fragile—her eyes, her lips. Even her skin seemed like porcelain. Her attention gently raked over him, tearing through skin, ripping through flesh. “Can wetalk?”

He couldn’t deny her. He couldn’t watch her walk away again. Not yet, anyway. “Give us a minute, Cass.”

“Okay.” She gave a hollow nod and slid from the stool. “Please make sure you don’t run out of here without saying goodbye.”

He couldn’t make any promises. Not that it would matter. By the time he was ready to flee, Cassie would have Shay, T.J., and Leo positioned at the exits, ensuring he couldn’t escape unnoticed. “We’ll catch up later.”

“Thank you.” She strode for Ella, giving the other woman’s shoulder a squeeze as she passed before disappearing into the newbie lounge.

The room closed in around him, those eyes reading him and finding the truth.

He couldn’t do this. Not today.

He cracked the cap of the scotch and took a long pull. The burn lessened the emotional carnage staring him in the face, but one taste wasn’t enough. He feared the whole bottle wouldn’t dint the surface of the shit-storm about to descend.

“Did you tell them?” Slowly, she approached the bar, her work pants stained with coffee, her white button-down wrinkled at the ends. He loved that she wasn’t picture-perfect. Mascara smudged her eyelids. If she’d worn lipstick today, it was nowhere to be seen. Not that she needed it. Her lips had always been her most endearing feature. Hypnotic and too damn influential.

“What’s there totell?”

“You’ve kept the information to yourself this whole time?” She rounded the bar, stopping a few feetaway.

“This whole time?” He gave a harsh laugh and downed another gulp of awaiting solace. “I guess I enjoy my privacy toomuch.”

“Then I assume you didn’t want me to have this.” She placed the envelope on the counter, her hand lingering against the name written on the front.

“Cassie had no business going to seeyou.”

She winced, the slightest furrow marring her brow. Her pain was more torturous than the threat of Cassie’s tears. Ella’s discomfort tore at him, demanding apology, which he beat back with another quick pull from the bottle.

“You should slow down with the alcohol.” She eyed the sloshing liquid. “You’re going to feel crappy tomorrow. There’s no point making it worse.”

“There are only two things I need at the moment, and one of them is booze.” Lucidity was no longer an option with her here. She was still fuckable. Still irresistible.

“And the other?”

“Sex.”

It was a taunt. He couldn’t help it. Making the conversation interesting saved his mind from the dark and dreary cave of reality. And, truth be told, even though they were discussing his mother, he wasn’t even thinking of her. There was onlyElla.

“Well, you’ve got a bar full of booze.” She glanced around the room, probably searching for a diversion. “And you’ve already made it clear I can’t help with the other matter. So, I guess you want me to leave.”

He couldn’t tell if she was itching for a fight or an excuse to run. He could never tell with her. “I’m not going to kick you out. Feel free to pull up a stool and take a front row seat to my impending alcoholism.” He swung the bottle to his lips, watching her as he took another long pull. “You’ll probably enjoy the show after all the shit I’ve put you through.”

“Whatshit?”

He released a breath of a laugh. “I don’t need to paint you a picture. We were both there.”

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