Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 122550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
There was a pensive look on his face and her stomach dropped. What was he going to tell her?
“What is it?”
“I picked up some of your clothes to clean them last night.”
Okay. She still didn’t understand what was wrong.
“The clothes you wore the night you came home ill.”
Right . . . she’d forgotten about that . . . wait, shit.
She hadn’t gotten changed that night before leaving the club. Which meant that he’d seen what she was wearing under the hoodie.
“You saw the outfit I was wearing,” she said weakly.
“I did.” His face was stern. “And I also found the note in your pocket.”
There was a note in her pocket?
Suddenly, it came to her.
Oh. Shit.
The note in her pocket . . . how had she forgotten about that?
“Right.” She rubbed her head. “I forgot about that.”
“You forgot about a note that threatened to expose you? Nyx.”
Holy. Crap.
Yep. She really was in trouble.
33
“You know what . . . I think I might take that nap now.” She sank down on the bed, pulling the covers up and over her head.
Perhaps if she pretended to be invisible, it might actually come true.
Unfortunately for her, that did not happen.
Regent drew the covers down. “Nice try. Not happening. Now that we’ve started this conversation, we’re going to finish it.”
Grasping her under the arms, he hauled her up.
Damn. She hated that she got turned on by that show of strength.
He frowned. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Jilly pointed at her mouth, then down at her throat.
“You haven’t tried to rest your voice once,” he told her. “Not even when you were supposed to. Tell me what is going on, Jilly. I’m not letting this go. I know that you’re Nyx and that you strip at Sexy Sin.”
“How do you know I dance at Sexy Sin?” she asked. Even though she knew how he knew.
But she wasn’t ready to tell him that she’d seen him enter a private room.
Maybe there’s a perfectly good reason.
And maybe it’s none of your business. You weren’t together then.
Stupid voice of reason.
“Because I saw you there one night. The owner asked me to meet him there. He wants to open more clubs and needs a backer.”
Wow. She was shocked that he was telling her all of this.
“Are you going to back him?”
“No. But I said I could put him in contact with some people who might. I want to watch him for a while. Make sure he’s treating his staff well. And not trying to get close to me only to betray me.”
It must be hard not to be able to trust people at face value. She guessed she’d have to work on being more guarded.
“Why were you stripping? Is that the secret the note is threatening to reveal? Why would they think you’d pay them to keep that quiet? And don’t you know how dangerous that club is? Anyone could have grabbed you and hurt you. Not to mention traveling to and from the club at night. Did you ever do private dances?”
Okay. Whoa.
She just gaped at him. She wasn’t certain she’d ever heard him say so much before.
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Start with why.”
Jilly twisted her fingers together. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Someone is threatening you, Jilly,” he said sternly. “It is a very big deal. I am responsible for your health and safety. Both of which you’ve put at risk. No wonder you’re ill if you’ve been working two jobs. Now I want to know why.”
And from the look on his face, he wasn’t going to bend on this.
She sighed. “I had this boyfriend, Lowell. I met him not long after I moved back here. Things progressed quickly and we got an apartment together. I thought he was an insurance broker. When I first met him, he was funny and generous. Anyway, it turns out that Lowell, the insurance guy, was actually Lowell, the scummy scammer.”
“What did he do?”
“Over the eight months I lived with him, he racked up thousands and thousands of debt in my name. I had no idea what he was doing until I came home one day to find our apartment empty of all his stuff and an eviction notice. The landlord hadn’t received rent in two months, even though I gave Lowell my share of the rent. He was paying it directly into the landlord’s bank account. Or so I thought. God, I was so stupid believing everything he said.”
“I want you to write down everything you know about him. Name. Date of birth. Where he grew up. Everything.”
She stared at him, startled. “Um, why?”
“I think you know why. That bastard isn’t allowed to treat you like that. You didn’t report him?”
“No,” she said. “My mother spent years instilling in me a fear of the police. I couldn’t go to them. So I decided to take care of it myself.”