Page 46 of The Beat of My Heart
“Alright, over the head it is. Arms up,” I tell her and am momentarily distracted by the sway of her breasts.
Thirty minutes later, we are both sweaty and a little annoyed. That freaking dress was a nightmare to get on, and now it’s a fucking nightmare because I have to watch her move around the room in it. Every guy in here has noticed her, and it pisses me off.
We were separated as soon as we entered the ballroom. Angel is rubbing elbows with some very influential people here, and if I’m not careful, my curiosity is going to win out.
“She is a beautiful creature,” a man to my left says, making every hair on my body stand to attention.
Fucking Romero. He isn’t alone, though, and that has me worried. Trying to keep an eye on my girl without him noticing, I position my body slightly, so they have to turn if they want to continue the conversation I want no part of.
“What do you want, Romero?” I ask.
“Do not disrespect me here, son,” Romero threatens.
“Would you prefer I call you a murderer?” I ask, and I see him trying not to lunge for me.
“What is it going to take to get you to fall in line, boy?” says the man to Romero’s right. A man I have come to know works for Jonathan Black.
Motherfucker.
Squaring my shoulders, I seethe, “I am not a boy, and I will not be falling in line with a murderer.”
“Tsk, Tsk, Romero. The boy still thinks his mother’s death was your doing? I thought we spoke of this?” the man says, causing my head to whip around so fast I’m surprised I don’t have whiplash.
“What,” I demand, “the fuck, are you talking about?”
Suddenly, I am surrounded by men in black and know immediately they are not the good guys. I know these men have to be Jonathon’s guys as they flank my father and his friend immediately.
“Trevor, there you are,” I hear my friend, Loki, say, but I don’t take my eyes off of the men in front of me. “I’ve been looking for you,” he starts again. “Hello, Mr. Knight, I didn’t know you would be here,” he addresses my father this time.
“Loki? What are you doing here?” my father asks, looking between his companion and Loki.
“I’m here as Trevor’s council. His software is all people are talking about, so I convinced him to take me on to make sure he has all his ducks in a row on these contracts. You must be so proud of him?” Loki continues. He has known my father most of his life, which means he also knows how to play him.
“Speaking of which, I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s a gentleman over there from the IRS that is very interested in speaking with Trevor here. Do you mind if I snag him for a bit?” Loki asks, already leading me away.
“What the fuck was that?” he commands under his breath.
“What did you hear? My father's comment on Angel or the fact that Antonio Black’s man said I didn’t know who killed my mother?” I bark.
Loki, who is always controlled, missteps. “What are you saying?” he asks.
“I don’t fucking know what I’m saying. All I know is they’ve noticed Angel, and I will not let them get to her like they did my mother,” I tell him.
Taking me by the arm, Loki drags me to a secluded area of the ballroom. It’s much harder to monitor Angel from here, and he notices. “I’ve got eyes on her, Trevor. Focus.”
“I thought you left?” I ask, suddenly realizing not only did he just save my ass, but he was close enough to step in at a moment's notice.
“I told you I had your back, Trevor. That means while you’re here, so am I. It’s just not always helpful to have you aware of my comings and goings,” he tells me.
“You’re lucky my father doesn’t know you never sat for the bar,” I tell him.
“Yeah, except I did, asshole.”
“What?” That’s news to me. Loki went to law school with Dex, but as far as we knew, he’d never taken the bar.
“Listen, you need to make some decisions, and you need to make them fast. It will not be safe for you to stay here in Boston much longer. We’ve intercepted some communications through Mantra. Your program is running like fucking clockwork, but they are moving fast. They are also becoming excessively uncomfortable with the fact that you have not joined ranks,” he tells me.
Glancing over his shoulder, I catch sight of Angel laughing with another man, and my stomach clenches painfully.
