Page 37 of A Dirty Business
That’d been it?
Damn.
I’d have to come back and talk to my mom when she was sober and not wanting to hate me.
I reached up, fixing my hair before I sighed, needing to let it go. I couldn’t do anything about it right now. “You staying?”
He was quiet before a long, “Yeah. I’ll stay.”
I stood, grabbing my coat.
“That’s it? You’re leaving?”
I turned back in the doorway and shrugged. “We both know how this goes. I don’t know why you’re choosing to stick around, but if you are, then I’m leaving. I have to work tonight anyways.”
His whole face flinched, and he took a drag from his beer. “You shouldn’t be working at that place. You need extra money, there’s other places.”
“Whatdoyou know about where I work?”
He’d brought this up before, but I never pushed. I always assumed it was because it was a nightclub and thought he wanted me to work at the local pub where he spent time, where others in our industry hung out. Now knowing what I knew, did he know too?
“Nothing, just ... there’s rumors about that place.”
“About Tristian West?”
His face slackened, and I swear he paled just a little bit. “What do you know about that name?”
“Just that he grew up not far from here, and he owns Katya.”
He was studying me. “He’s some local hotshot, isn’t he?”
I shrugged. “I guess, but he never crossed paths with me when we were kids. Don’t feel it matters now.”
Or did it?
But Leo shut down. I could tell in the resolved expression on his face. He wasn’t going to say anything anymore, and I did have a shift to get to.
“Okay.” I started for the door. “See you, old man. Get some sleep. Don’t let my mom take advantage of you too much.”
He chuckled. We both got the joke. He took care of her for my dad, and the few times he stayed, like tonight, when I came by the next morning, I found him passed out on the couch.
“Be safe out there, kiddo.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
TRACE
She looked tired.
I was watching her from one of the private boxes, one that had a view of the nightclub. I first came to work, thinking Katya would help clear out my mind, but eventually found myself migrating to where I could see her and she couldn’t see me.
This wasn’t going away, the pull to have her, to claim her, and my uncle’s favor wouldn’t stop either. There had to be a compromise, but there wasn’t.
Tonight would be the final straw. If she didn’t know who I was, she would, and she’d hate me. But family was family.
I’d do what I’d have to do.
A door opened behind me. The sounds of the club sounded clear and then muted.
