Distraction: An underground kings novel (13 page)

“I can take care of myself,” she growls, and I drop a kiss to her pouty lips then lean back and grin.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t take care of yourself, Maggie. I know you’re a fighter.” I smile then shake my head. “I don’t want you to have to fight, and I don’t want something to happen to you that I can prevent. Last night, you were drugged. I know we’re good now, but this situation could have been completely different had I not shown up at the club when I did.” My gut twists and I pull in a breath. “I fucking hate thinking about it like this, baby, but I took you when you didn’t know what you were doing.”

“Sven,” she whispers, bringing her hand up running her fingers along my jaw.

Turning my head, I press a kiss to her palm. “It’s true, baby. Fucked up, but true.”

“Okay, I’ll stay home,” she agrees, and I can tell she doesn’t want to, but is doing it for me.

“Good, now kiss me. I gotta shower,” I tell her, watching her eyes heat in a way that makes me groan and my cock grow hard once more. Pulling her toward me, I wrap a fist in her hair and force her head to the side, kissing her until she’s breathing heavy and clawing at my chest. Slowing down, I pull away with once last nibble to her lips. “While I’m gone, I want you thinking about what I’m going to do to you when I get home,” I growl, pulling her breast into my mouth, leaving another hickey before reluctantly leaving her in bed.

*

As soon as
I walk through the door of the club, all eyes come to me. Seeing the concern on the faces of my employees, I walk toward their small huddle around the bar.

“Where’s Maggie?” Eva asks, looking toward the door.

“Home, she won’t be in today,” I tell her, and her hands wring together in front of her as her eyes fill with worry when they lift to meet mine.

“I called, but she didn’t answer,” she whispers.

“She was getting in the shower when I left. I’m sure she’ll call you back when she checks her phone,” I assure, not positive if I’m lying. I know Maggie wants to believe Eva is her friend, but after last night, she has doubts about who she can trust. And as fucked up as it is, that works for me. Between what happened with Maggie and things coming to a head with Paulie and his crew, the list of people I know I can trust is small, and growing smaller by the second.

“If she doesn’t, will you tell her I’m worried about her?” she asks, straightening her shoulders.

“I’ll let her know,” I mutter then look at Zack, Teo, and Lane. “We need to talk,” I tell them, leaving the bar, knowing they’re following without looking. Getting to my office, I slip off my jacket and toss it on the couch then wait for all of them to enter. As soon as the door is closed, the vibe in the room changes.

“Is Maggie okay?” Lane asks first, breaking the silence. Studying him, I notice his eyes are full of worry, a worry that matches Zack’s and Teo’s. My woman has made an impression with these guys, and I know the concern I see is out of care for her, but the jealousy in the pit of my stomach still bubbles to the surface.

“She’s home in our bed, resting,” I tell him, letting the words speak for themselves.

“Fucking told you,” Teo mutters, looking at Lane and Zack.

“Told them what?” I question, crossing my arms over my chest and raising a brow.

“You said
our
bed, meaning a bed you share. I told these fucks that you and her were together. I knew.” He grins then mutters, “You fucks owe me a hundred each.”

Pressing my fingers to the bridge of my nose, I let out a breath then lift my eyes to Teo and narrow them. “As entertaining as it is to know you’re betting on my relationship, we need to talk about Maggie and what happened,” I growl, and the energy in the room instantly shifts once more. “I looked over the tapes and didn’t come across anything out of the ordinary. I know from the timestamp that Maggie got to the bar a little after one, and she didn’t move from her seat until I came in.”

“She was at the bar the whole time. Lane and I made sure no one approached her while she was sitting there,” Zack says, and I nod my thanks to him.

“No one even got close,” Lane agrees, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

“Eva got close,” I say, looking between the three of them.

“Why would she drug her?” Teo asks as his brows draw together in confusion.

“I don’t know,” I finally mutter, running my fingers through my hair.

“She’s the only one who would’ve had a chance. I watched the tapes a hundred times. Marco was down at the opposite end of the bar the whole night. He didn’t even acknowledge Maggie, except to give her a chin lift when she first sat down. No one else had an opportunity.”

“I agree Eva is the only one who had the opportunity, but what would be her motive?” Teo asks the million-dollar question, the question that has been plaguing me since I saw the tapes.

“I’m not sure. That’s what I need to find out.”

“So what are we going to do until we find out?” Zack asks as I walk to the window that looks down over the club floor.

“Maggie isn’t going to sit at home while I figure this shit out,” I mutter to myself, hearing them chuckle behind me, and I can’t help but smile, even though I’m annoyed. Regardless of her understanding this morning, there is no way she will be willing to sit at home until it’s safe for her to come back here.

Turning around to face them once more, I study each of them. A friend of mine, Nico Mayson, knew Zack, Lane, and Teo from his bounty hunting days. He handpicked each of them to work for me after he found out my previously hired security was helping filter drugs into the club for Paulie, taking a cut from the sale of product and the recruitment of girls. Luckily, I caught that shit in the early stages before my club was overran and I was forced out, or worse—shut down. Being in Vegas means you’re constantly watching your back; people are always trying to make money any way they can, and that includes using you when you don’t even know your being used.

“I’m gonna put a call in to a friend of mine to see if he can dig up anything on Eva. In the meantime, I want you guys to keep an eye on her when she’s here, and tell me if you notice anything out of the ordinary with her.”

“No problem,” they all agree as I take a seat in my chair, and they head for the door.

“And guys, if Maggie’s here, make sure she doesn’t get into any kind of trouble,” I add, hearing them laugh as the door closes behind them.

Pulling my cell out of my pocket, I press send on Justin’s number and wait for him to pick up. Justin is not only a friend of mine, but he’s a computer guru who is somehow able to find shit out that I’m sure would scare our biggest government agencies. He not only works for Kenton, doing intel and searches; he also runs an online group called the Winds of the North, a group of online hackers and activists who help to shut down terrorists and extremists through their websites.

“Seven-Eleven,” he greets after the second ring, making me chuckle, but his next words make me see red and cause my blood to boil. “You sent my gift away from your house without a word. What the fuck, man? She was paid for and everything.”

“You motherfucker,” I roar, feeling the pulse in my neck beat against the collar of my shirt.

“What?” he asks casually.

“How the fuck did she get into my house, Justin?”

“I let her in,” he mutters like
duh
, which only serves to piss me off even more.

“Maggie is the one who opened the door and found her there,” I whisper, because otherwise I’m going to blow the window out of my office. I swear if he was in front of me, I would kill him.

“Did you and Maggie sort your shit out?” he asks, and I pull the phone away from my ear and look at it, wondering how the fuck this guy is able to do the shit he does when he’s obviously stupid as fuck.

“Me and Maggie are none of your fucking concern.”

“I’m taking that as a yes. So you can just tell me thank you.”

“Why the fuck would I tell you thank you, motherfucker?”

“I helped you guys get past your stupid issues, and now you’re together,” he says, the smile evident in his voice.

“Maggie was roofied. I didn’t know that shit, and we got together while she was drugged. The next morning, she took off on me and went to her old apartment. I waited outside her place and must have fallen asleep for a second, because when I opened my eyes, her car was gone. She got home before I did, and when she walked in, there was a random piece in our house. So please forgive me for not fucking telling you thanks for your fuck-up.”

“What?” he whispers in distress.

“Yeah, now you’re getting it,” I growl, standing from my desk so I can pace the floor of my office.

“Fuck, man, is she okay? I saw her on the feed for her apartment, but I just thought you guys had a fight. I wanted to help, man. I swear I never would have done that shit otherwise.” Hearing the genuine concern in his tone does a little to alleviate the anger I’m feeling, but just a little.

“She’s fine now. Yesterday, fuck no she wasn’t okay, and thank fuck she believed me when I said I didn’t know who the chick was in the house or how she got there.”

“I’ll tell her it was me.”

“What the fuck is that going to do?” I roll my eyes and rub my forehead.

“Okay, good point,” he mutters under his breath.

“From now on, keep to your profession, ‘cause your matchmaking skills are lacking severely.”

“Got it,” he agrees.

“You owe me, man, and I expect you to pay up,” I tell him. Normally, I pay Justin for his services, but this one is going to be on him.

“Anything, just tell me what you need.”

“I need you to find me whatever you can on Eva Locklear. She works the bar here at the club and—”

“You think she has something to do with your girl getting drugged?” he asks, cutting me off, and I hear him typing through the phone.

“They’re friends, but she’s the only one who would have had a chance to do it. I watched the tapes, and no one else had an opportunity.”

“Got it,” he mutters, distracted.

“Have you found out anything new on Maggie’s sister?” I question, sitting back down.

After the men broke into Maggie’s apartment, looking for her sister, I put in a call to Justin to see if he could find out anything on her whereabouts. His search came up empty-handed; she didn’t have any cards in her name and wasn’t working, and her friend she hung out with was a dead end as well.

I couldn’t honestly give a fuck about the woman, but until she turns up and cleans up her mess, Maggie is in danger. Plus, I know it’s hurting my woman that her sister is in danger, and that’s enough for me to put my own personal feelings aside to look for her.

“Nada, she’s still ghost, and it’s been two weeks since I’ve seen her on the camera I put up at the apartment.”

“Fuck.” I run a hand through my hair.

“I’m in Vegas, and I’ll be here for a few days, so I’ll see if I can find out anything on the street about her.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

“No problem, and I’m sorry about your girl.”

“Thanks, man,” I grumble. If Justin was anyone else, I would hunt his ass down, but I know him and know that in his fucked up way, he really thought he was helping.

“I’ll message you what I find.”

“Sounds good.” I hang up and look at the clock. “It’s gonna be a long fucking night.”

Walking into the
house, the light in the foyer is on, and I smile, knowing Maggie left it that way so it wouldn’t be pitch black when I walked inside.

Walking toward the kitchen, I stop in my tracks when I find her asleep on the couch with a book held loosely in her grasp. Taking the book from her, I set it on the coffee table then sit on the edge of the couch and run my finger down her cheek. Her eyes open slowly, and she looks confused for a moment then smiles softly.

“Hey,” she whispers, bringing her hand up to my jaw.

“Hey,” I whisper back, taking her hand, kissing her fingers, which curl around mine.

“I fell asleep,” she tells me and I grin.

“I see that. Did you eat?”

Rolling her eyes, she sits up and mutters, “Yes,” and I lean forward, kissing her before pulling back and searching her face, loving the way her eyes soften every time my mouth leaves hers.

“I didn’t eat. Do you want to hang in the kitchen with me while I find something?” I ask.

“I made dinner. It’s in the oven on warm.” She smiles, pushing my hands away as they make their way under the edge of her shirt.

“You made dinner?”

“I did, but it’s vegetarian.”

“Is it tofu?”

“No.” She smiles, standing from the couch. “It’s eggplant parmesan.”

“I’ve never had it,” I admit as she takes my hand and leads me toward the kitchen. Turning on the light, she leads me to the table then pushes me to take a seat, running away quickly when I try to pull her down on my lap.

“You need to eat. No funny business, mister.”

“I missed you,” I tell her as she goes to the stove and opens it. Her eyes come to me and go soft once more.

“I missed you, too,” she grumbles like she shouldn’t have missed me, which only makes me grin. Pulling a plate out of the oven, she then goes to the fridge and grabs a bowl, pulling a piece of saran wrap off of it before grabbing the plate and bringing both to me. “What would you like to drink?” she asks, going to step away after setting the plate and bowl in front of me.