Page 14 of Devious Truth

“Ivan. It’s nothing. I have to get back.” She said the same thing the other night.

It’s nothing,she had said. An hour later something spooked her even further, and she ran from the club.

She spins away from me and rushes through the door, slamming it behind her. I pump my fists a few times until the urge to chase her down and force her to spill her secrets becomes more manageable.

“Something wrong?” Kaz asks when I step back to Alexander’s desk.

“I don’t know, but something’s definitely not right.” I glance once more at the closed door.

“I’m sure she’s got it handled,” Kaz says checking his watch.

Sometimes I’d like to smash my younger brother’s face through a window. This is one of those times.

It’s not that she can’t handle herself; it’s that someone has put their fucking hands on her. And it wasn’t just a touch. Someone grabbed her, hurt her, left a fucking mark on her.

“I have to go.” I leave them discussing issues that are nowhere near my radar at the moment.

Right now, I have one target.

I shouldn’t care about this. She’s a waitress in my club. Getting involved in her personal life isn’t part of the employee package we offer.

And yet.

And yet, I find myself stalking down the hall to the winding stone staircase that will lead me downstairs to the club. To her.

“Ivan, shit. Sorry, man, didn’t see you coming.” Darren nearly walks into me as I burst through the door.

“It’s fine.” I survey the immediate surroundings. She’s nowhere to be seen.

“Did Vee bring up the bottle of Whiskey for you?” There’s an edge to his tone, like he’s trying to hint at something.

“Yes. But I was confused why you sent it; there were two other bottles still unopened.”

He bobs his head. “Yeah, but I thought Vee should bring another.”

Realization hits. “The bruise.”

“Oh, you saw that?” He’s failing at a casual tone.

“I did. What do you know about it?”

“Nothing. But she wasn’t herself when she came in today.” He chances a look over his shoulder, probably to be sure she isn’t stomping over to us.

“How so?”

“She was preoccupied.”

“The other night when she left suddenly, did she say anything to you? Did something happen with one of the members?”

Darren sees everything down here. In some ways he’s better than my security team when it comes to the waitresses.

“I don’t know. I mean, she was taking those trays to the gaming room. Some guy stopped her to talk, and she dropped them. It seemed like she just got startled. It wasn’t a long conversation. It looked like maybe he was just apologizing for bumping into her? I couldn’t really tell. But then she bolted.”

“Where is she now?” I survey the room again, and still no Vee.

His expression falls, like he doesn’t want to say.

“Darren. Where is she now?”

---