Page 31 of Surrender
The girls downstairs were just dancers. They weren’t a part of the private club or privy to information about what happened upstairs. Roxie was the only one who occasionally moved between the two, and whether some jealousy had developed or whatever, Estelle was right. It needed to be dealt with before things got out of hand.
The dancers hurried out of the apartment building that Estelle paid for, climbing into the large black van we had parked at the curb.
Rafe, Scoop, and I were about to run them to the club to start their shifts, but while the other girls were chatty and upbeat, Roxie appeared moments later, trudging out of the building with her hood up and her head down, not looking happy at all.
“I got you,” I told Estelle, knowing instantly she was right on the fucking money. “Let me see if I can figure out what’s up.”
I tucked my cell into my pocket just as Roxie was about to climb into the van. “Roxie!” I called, her body visibly jerking and her hand gripping tightly to the car doorframe.
She slowly turned her head toward me, swallowing hard. “Yeah?”
“A word?”
“We’re already running late,” she argued, being the last of the girls to come down. “Shouldn’t we—”
“It’ll only take a second,” I said, a little sterner.
She stepped back from the van with a sigh and walked over, the dark expression on her face instantly morphing into something lighter as she stepped up in front of me. Her eyes brightened, and she flashed me that sinister smile I knew so fucking well.
“Let me guess,” she started, even the tone of her voice switching up, the pitch becoming a little higher. “You’ve decided it’s time to confess your undying love for me, and we’re about to ride away together into the sunset like the ending of a Hallmark movie.”
She played a good game, but I also took my job seriously. I leaned back against my ride and kicked one of my feet over the other, folding my arms across my chest. “You good, Rox?”
There was a flicker.
A crack in the bravado.
She was expecting me to throw back some banter about wanting to ride directly into the sunset if she was holding on behind me.
That was the game we played.
Our schtick.
But genuine concern was something she had no witty retort for.
“What do you…” she stumbled, laughing off the moment of uncomfortable silence. “Of course. I’m fine. Just another day where I have to flash someone my vagina. Nothing new really.”
“Don’t bullshit me.”
Her smile faltered just a fraction before she plastered it back on, bigger and better than before. “You know, if you worry too much, you’ll get frown lines,” she teased, reaching out to tug at my cut. “You should probably save that worry for times when itreally matters.”
“I don’t mind frown lines,” I answered simply, leaning in just a little and lowering my voice. “I do mind if there’s somethinggoing on that you aren’t telling me. Because I can’t do my job and solve problems if I don’t know they exist.”
She glanced out the corner of her eye toward the van full of girls before returning to meet my hard stare. “There isn’t a problem…” she answered with a flirty smile, but before I could lose my ever-loving shit, she added quietly, “… yet.”
It wasn’t the answer I wanted.
But it was better than nothing.
“And you’ll let me know if it becomes one?”
She stepped in a little closer, reaching out and drawing her finger along the length of my jaw with a genuine smirk on her face for once. “For that to happen, you’re gonna have to actually give me your number.”
The schtick was back, and she was counting this as a win.
“Fuck,” I cursed, shaking my head. “Fine, get in the van. I’ll give it to you when we get there.”
She stepped back with a triumphant grin on her face, but before she could skip off in glee, a white SUV pulled onto the quiet street, cruising real slow. It was sleek, brand new, and had tinted windows dark enough to be illegal in most states.
