I was fine going on my own, even knowing that these secret society crazies are, well, that, but…
The passenger door opens.
I don’t jump.
But my head whips to the side and I release a breath as Maxim slides into the passenger seat.
I gape at him. “How did you get in? The doors were locked.”
“I can’t tell you all my secrets.” He tsks, automatically lowers the music, then commands, “Drive.”
The tremor in my fingers is annoying as I drop my cell in the compartment to charge. When I set my hands on the wheel, I clench down so that he can’t see what he does to me.
He remains silent as I set off again, and only when we’re on the freeway does he muse, “Intending to beat a man to death?” When I shoot him a confused look, he continues, “Shitkickers. Not exactly black tie.”
That’s when I take in what he’s wearing.
Black tie to the nth degree.
He’s wearing a vest!
“Is that a pocket watch?”
“Eyes on the road.”
The order makes my toes curl again. “Why are you here?”
“My name is known to some of the members.”
“How do you know who the members are?”
“Because they get drunk in my brothels and boast about it,” he deadpans.
“That defeats the purpose of a secret society.” Irritated, I sniff. “You know what? Never mind. Men are idiots.”
“I agree.”
I scrunch my nose up. “I hate prostitution.”
“I’ve listened to enough of your rants on the subject to understand your feelings,” he says silkily.
“You listened to them?” Okay, so I have a habit of sending him voice notes. He never replies, though, so I figured he ignored them.
“Of course. A happy hooker is a wealthy hooker is a satisfied client.”
“Ew!”
“It’s strange that you don’t mind the other aspects of our business.”
I shrug. “Drugs ruin lives but it’s consensual. As is gambling.”
“That’s a novel way of looking at it.”
“I never claimed to be a saint.”
“Just a philosopher.”
“Hardly. Trust me, I’m studying it. If anything, my professor would disagree with me. How can addiction be consensual?” More at ease now that the shock of his presence has settled, I sink back into the seat. “Do you want to take over?”
