“What’s going on, Blaire? Are you okay?Are you safe?”He whispers his last question.
My head rockets to Rico when he sneers, “She has never been safer,Colt.”He spits out Colt’s name like venom. “I can’t make the same guarantee about you.”
Spinning on his heels, Rico walks towards the double doors of my apartment building. His rough yank on my arm ensures I fall instep beside him. I briskly shake my head when Colt attempts to follow us out of the lobby. His exchange with Rico has already gained him the devoted attention of two of the men who have been flanking Rico and me the past forty minutes. I don't want the spotlight shone on him any more than it already is.
“I’m fine, Colt. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks. Look after Lacey for me,” I manage to squeak out before Rico’s fast speed has us hitting the sidewalk in under five seconds.
The two women who were roaming their gazes over Rico earlier hover in close the instant we step onto the cracked concrete sidewalk. I run my unclutched hand down the front of my blouse when their malicious words insult my already faltering composure.
“If you ever want a real woman, sugar, look me up.”
"I thought trannie dressing was the latest fad, not grannie dressing."
“Bag it before you shag it, honey. Her head, not your cock.”
Rico opens the back door of the Escalade and gestures for me to enter. When I slide across the cold leather seats, he turns his narrowed gaze to the gentleman manning the driver's door.
"Deal with them," he requests before sliding into the car next to me and slamming the door shut.
My heart rate climbs into dangerous territory when the man in the suit approaches the double doors of my building. I try to force words out of my mouth, but my fear has rendered me speechless. The mad beat of my heart simmers to a slow trot as Rico’s goon stops upon reaching the two women who just insulted me. I suck in a grateful breath. I thought he was going after Colt.
With his hands clenched at his side, the man holds a conversation with the two women. Even though he's only speaking, the more he interacts with them, the more their expressions change from playful to scared.
After a few more silent words, the man in the suit gestures his head to the Escalade. My eyes dart between the two scantily clad women approaching the back-passenger side window Rico is sliding down. With my heart in my throat, I tilt my head to the side and peer out the window.
“We’re sorry if our words caused you any harm. We were only teasing,” the blonde wearing a hot pink sequin top says.
Rico’s furious growl rumbles through my chest.
“But we shouldn’t have teased you. What we said was wrong and disrespectful, and we’re very sorry.” The brunette words fire off her tongue before they have a chance to be fully developed.
Several seconds pass in uncomfortable silence before Rico’s deep voice breaks the quiet. “Do you accept their apology, Kitten? Or should they be served a more severe punishment for their malicious jealousy?”
Two pairs of panicked eyes snap to mine, their expressions spooked and frozen. They sigh loudly in sync when I shakily say, “I accept their apology.”
With a wave of Rico's hand, the women are removed from the side of the Escalade. When the vehicle lurches into the dense flow of traffic that always impedes the streets of Ravenshoe, I glance back to my building. A pair of concerned green eyes reflects back at me.
“I’m fine,” I mouth to Colt.
My words don't seem to reassure him, but they are all I have to offer.
Shocked—not only at the events that just transpired, but the entirety of my day—I keep my eyes planted on the scenery whizzing by my window for the next ten minutes. It feels like I’ve emerged into a parallel universe. Everything looks identical, but somehow, it's all different.
My attention shifts from scenery gazing when Rico’s low-timbre voice jingles through my ears. “Stop here,” he demands to the driver.
I scan my eyes over the building we’ve pulled in front of. It's a nightclub Lacey and I have frequented numerous times the past year called The Dungeon. It's owned by the same gentleman who is the landlord of my apartment building, Mr. Isaac Holt.
After scribbling a saying onto a blank square of cardboard, Rico swings open the back passenger door of the Escalade and walks towards a flashy-looking sedan parked at the side of the club. He twists his neck to the right before cranking it to the left. Happy he hasn't caught the attention of any curious eyes, he slips the card under the windshield of the sedan before walking back to the Escalade and curling inside.
"Who was the note for?" I ask, incapable of harnessing my curiosity.
Rico turns his dark eyes to me before he mutters, “My sister, Isabelle.”
Chapter 8
“Your sister lives in Ravenshoe?”
Rico presses his index finger to my lips before he does a single nod of his head.
