Page 44 of Dealing Dirty
The ballcapped woman has made her way to the far-right wall holding the soda fountain and coffee machine, and I strum my fingers against my thigh as my panic builds.
In a last-ditch effort, I lean back to check the aisles closest to me, making sure no one is watching. Stomping several steps away, I take a deep breath and throw my weight forward, tripping and flopping onto the ground.
I hit the stain-covered carpet with palms extended to brace myself. The force of my fall vibrates all the way up my forearms, and I release a pained grunt.
“Dammit it, Juliana,” I wheeze. That hurtwaymore than I had anticipated.
Air rushes in and out of my lungs, drawing curious stares, but from where I’ve landed, Derrick’s eyes lock on to mine. I nearly shout my victory.
“Go!” I mouth, pointing to where I last saw Sasha.
Wearing a mask of composure, he pulls his gaze from the crazy lady on the floor and wastes no time cashing out to head after his sister.
Be safe,his tender eyes warn when they flick to mine before slipping away.
From the ground, there’s no way for me to see if she’s still there, but I hope Derrick reaches her in time. I rise to my forearms, planting my palms against the ground to lift myself up.
I’m frozen with fear when two brown-scaled dress shoes step directly in front of my nose. They’re close enough that my eyes cross, and I can smell the expensive leather mixing with the carpet’s sickly-sweet aroma.
I scurry to stand, eyes sliding along the man’s pressed suit pants and up toward his chest. The suit he’s wearing is a gray-blue color with a crisp white button-down beneath it, and the scent of his Armani cologne is as recognizable as the man before me.
Mayor Williams.
Chapter Thirteen
Juliana
Amachine shrills across the room, and from all the shouting, it appears to have awarded someone a hefty amount of cash. I move to dust myself off, lingering over my curves and drawing his eager gaze.
Lashes fluttering, I extend my hand to greet him. “Hey there, good-lookin’.”
Jackie, the spokesperson of Bruce’s empire, wraps a hand around mine, bringing it to his lips and placing a gentle kiss to my knuckles. Jackie’s been the mayor for the last twenty-some-odd years, and the faint lines and wrinkles that splinter from the corners of his eyes speak volumes to the amount of stress he must be under daily.
A slow twitch tugs his lips, catching me off guard. His hair is still mostly sandy brown, with just a sprinkling of gray, and his eyes are as sharp as steel as he regards me. I never realized how handsome he is.
“That was quite the fall, young lady.”
I swallow thickly. From my periphery, Derrick stands a couple of feet from the woman I had pegged for Sasha, and panic has my mind buzzing wildly. This is the exact type of situation we were hoping to avoid, and suddenly I’m the mouse between the cat’s claws.
Come on, Jules. You can do this.
The mayor follows my shifted gaze, but I reach out and wrap my hand around his bicep. Drawing his attention away from Derrick and Sasha is the only thing I care about, and I’m pleased when his eyebrows raise.
I give his arm a friendly squeeze. “Young at heart, maybe, but I’m no little girl.”
I’m impressed by my even tone.
“Which one of these lucky bastards coerced a beauty like you into coming here?”
I trail a finger down the sleeve of his suit. “There’s not a man in this building who can coercemeinto anything.”
His eyes ignite when I brush the tips of my fingers over the back of his hand. It doesn’t take much more than a couple of smiles and a wink to persuade him to keep his focus on me.
As predicted, he trails after me like a lost dog when I pivot toward an area that’s more populated. I make it all of three steps before I stagger, almost giving myself away. Two of the guards I saw earlier flanking the secret curtained room make a beeline in our direction.
Jackie positions himself in front of me, leading me away from the main floor. The muscles in my shoulders become unbearably tight as I force air in and out of my nostrils.
I wasn’t able to spare us even ten minutes before I single-handedly blew our cover. The urge to scream for Ben is incessant, but I bite my tongue until I taste the tang of blood.
