Page 10 of Play With Me
Fury floods my veins, and before anyone can say anything, I snap, “I won’t be bullied into closing Désirer. The opinions of people likeyoudon’t mean shit to me.”
“People likeme? I’m sorry, you mean people with morals?” His lips turn up in a smirk that drives my rage. I want to reach across the table and slap it off his face.
Even worse, I want to make a comment about the lack of morals he had last night when he took me back to his hotel and fucked me after knowing me for all of five minutes. “I mean arrogant jackasses who think they’re better than everyone else. You’re telling me that you’ve never taken a woman you didn’t know to your bed, Detective Brooks? Do you do a full background check on every woman you fuck?”
He noticeably bristles. “I’m not usually in the business of taking home random women, Miss Lane.”
You little fucking liar.
“But thank you for the suggestion. When I do, from now on, I’ll make sure to be a little moreselectiveabout my options.”
“With that stick up your ass, good luck.”
“At least I’m not a walking STD.”
The absolute fucking audacity of this asshole. “Put your fucking chihuahua on a leash, Westin, before I muzzle him.”
Anders smirks, looking like he’s enjoying our banter as much as it’s pissing me off. “I’m more of a Doberman.”
Letting out a harsh laugh, I stand from the table. “No, you’re a fucking yappy ankle-biter who's about to get a Louboutin to the face.”
“Calm down, Mellie,” Mick says gently, pulling me back down by my sleeve. The endearment wipes the smirk off Anders’ face as he hones in on how Mick doesn’t let me go once I’m seated again. “Clearly, we made a mistake in hiring you. I’ll arrange for you to return to California on the next flight from JFK. Thanks for your time.”
“More like a fucking waste of time,” I mumble.
“Mick, I’ll get a list of guys together for you to review tomorrow. In the meantime, Miss Lane, maybe hiring a bodyguard isn’t such a bad idea,” Larry offers.
“That’s what Luca is for,” I respond to Mick.
“Luca Morroni has every reason to want yougone. Frankly, I’m surprised you’re still employing him and his men,” Larry responds, even though I clearly wasn’t talking to him.
“That’s the second time you’ve said Morroni. What’s he got to do with this?” Anders inquires, like he didn’t just turn down the job.
Paul sighs. “Vinny Morroni is one of the heads of the Italian Mafia. He was a partner with Mick and Miss Lane until he wasn’t. Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past him to be the one behind all this. Luca’s his son. He knows all the ins and outs of the club.”
“I trust Luca.” And I do. He’s worked security for me for years. If anyone is really trying to hurt me, it sure as hell isn’t him.
“You’re blind when it comes to him, Mellie. Maybe we should let him and his men go for now, just until this all settles down,” Mick murmurs.
Of course Mick doesn’t like Luca. He knows I’ve slept with him on more than one occasion. My voice is firm as I tell him, “No.”
Speaking for the first time since we walked into the room, Martin and Nikolai look at each other before raising their hands. “We’re actually here to help protect Miss Lane. We planned on going to the club tonight to check the place out. Our job is to remain hidden at all times, but keep our eyes on you,” Nikolai explains.
“You’re babies. How are you going to keep hersafe?” It’s Anders who asks, surprising me that the question didn’t come from Mick.
“We’re older than we look.” Martin grins at Nikolai. They're like yin and yang. Where Martin’s skin is dark as night, Nikolai’s is white as snow. Martin has hair shorn close to his head, bleached a shocking shade of silver, and Nikolai’s long raven locks are pulled up in a bun on top of his head. They share a look, something passing between them that I recognize immediately as an intimacy that comes with love and trust. I decide right then that I’m going to like these guys.
“We aren’t traditional bodyguards. You can think of us as silent assassins. If we see someone target you, they’ll never see us coming,” Nikolai states as he looks at me with a slight bow of his head.
“Who do you work for?” Anders demands.
Martin’s voice carries a deadly lilt as he turns to look at him. “Ourselves. You seem pretty interested for someone who just insulted a woman and spat her job in her face. Trust me, you won’t do it again.”
He shifts, and Anders’ eyes fall to Martin’s lap. I can only imagine what he sees, the table blocks my view, but he raises a brow and nods his head. All eyes are on him as he looks at Paul and then Mick. “I’ll do it.”
I don’t know what makes him change his mind, but it fuels my anger to know that this complete and utter jackass is going to be in my personal space now.Last night, I was eager for another encounter with him as soon as I stepped out of his hotel room. Now, I’d rather take my chances with the murderer.
“Don’t worry about it, we’ll find someone else,” I snap.