Page 23 of Wretched Soul
Barrett glances back only long enough to direct a sneer in my direction. His attention turns to Ray, who’s now crouching on the floor. “You can get a cab home. I don’t want blood all over the car seats.”
I’m rubbing my fist on the journey to Calder’s club and wondering how many more punches I’ll land tonight. I’m not in the best frame of mind to see Lily, but if she’s out, so am I.
Hacking into the Heatrush security system, I access the cameras and track Lily’s movements from the point of her arrival. She’s spent almost the entire evening so far on the dance floor, and when she goes to the bar, she’s served straight away. She’s sticking to bottled water, and from the way she keeps wafting her hair away from her neck, she’s getting hot and sweaty.
I’m about to get lost in thoughts of licking the sweat from her body, or better still, finding other ways to get her sweaty, but Calder’s gaze is on me.
“Why haven’t you told Reid about her?” he asks.
“He’d only make more of it than there is. Just like you’re doing,” I say, tearing my gaze from my phone. “Plus, I’d never hear the end of it, which means Ash and Hunter would hear about it, and then I’d have my fucking sister-in-law giving me advice on love and shit.”
Calder stretches out his long legs as he leans back in his seat. “Do you want my advice on love and shit?”
“No,” I reply, knowing he’s going to give it anyway.
“If this one’s distracting you as much as she seems to be, then you can cure it one of two ways,” he says. “Number one. Go fuck someone else.”
My eyes narrow. The idea of touching another woman has never felt so abhorrent as it does right now. And I give away just enough of my revulsion for Calder to notice. Since when did I get so bad at hiding my feelings?
“Or for your second choice, and this is pretty out there as far as suggestions go,” Calder warns. “Ask her out on a damn date, Mace. For once in your life, try pretending you’re a normal fucking dude.”
“Fuck you.”
“Fuck you right back,” he replies as the limo pulls up outside the club.
I check my phone. Great. While Calder insisted on giving me his worldly advice, I’ve lost sight of Lily on the camera feeds.
“Are you getting out?” he asks, leaning back into the car when I don’t immediately follow him.
Shoving my phone in my pocket, I climb out and wipe my clammy hands against my suit pants. While Calder has a quick word with his driver, something more tenacious than the Chicago wind propels me towards the entrance. The doorman lifts the rope before I reach it, and I head towards the steady thrum of music.
I’m halfway down the corridor when Calder catches up to me. We meet Simon as he’s coming down the staircase.
“Anything to update me on?” Calder asks him.
“No problems to report, boss. So far,” he adds, glancing at me. “And if you’re about to ask about Miss Kendrick, she left a few minutes ago. I put her in a limo myself. She was on her own. Her friend’s still here.”
I don’t get to release my sigh of relief because Calder has a smirk on his face. “Now might be a good time for option number one. Her friend is pretty hot too.”
Rather than react, I give Calder a one-fingered gesture. “Can I borrow your limo?”
Calder’s smile broadens. “I told the driver to wait,” he says smugly.
Before I leave, I pull my phone from my pocket and tap the screen until I find what I want. Calder is about to disappear up the stairs when the pulsating music stops and the club falls eerily silent. My friend looks back at me, and tilts his head. He knows that whatever has just happened, I’m responsible.
His lips part, but before he can ask what I’ve done, the music starts up again. Watching his eyes bulge is exceedingly satisfying.
“The fucking Macarena?” he yells at me.
I break the habit of a lifetime and smile broadly. “Have a good night!”
“Mace! Turn that shit off and get out of our systems, right fucking now!” I keep walking. “I mean it!”
I wait until I’m in the limo before I reset the music, and I spend the rest of the journey to Lily’s apartment checking the camera feed from the club. Calder needs to rethink his playlist because the dance floor erupted when the Macarena came on. Not that he’s going to thank me for it. Just like I’m not going to thank him for his sage advice.
When the limo pulls up outside Lily’s apartment, I don’t get out. I’m not going to show up at her door in the middle of the night, nor do I have any plans to ask her out on a date. I won’t pretend to be someone I’m not. Lily needs to see me for the freak I am. And if she has any sense when I next track her down, she’ll tell me to keep the hell away from her. After all, I’m the kind of guy that even his own mother couldn’t love.
Chapter 9
