Page 30 of Beguiled

The bouncer behind her came closer, saying something only the two of them could hear. With that, she walked quickly through the parted crowd toward the back rooms.

But not before offering one last highly salacious look.

I yanked off the tape, the only safety garb I gave a shit about, tossing it aside. The crowd was still chanting. Soon they’d be drunk and released to New York. I pitied whoever they went home to. I didn’t know any of the men allowed in the club. They weren’t my business associates.

If any of them would ever recognize me outside the ring, they wouldn’t be inclined to acknowledge it. These weren’t first timers. They’d been a part of the brutal death fight scene for long enough to realize they could be held as accomplices to a half dozen murders that I’d committed alone.

I didn’t talk about my extracurricular activities. What I did after hours was nobody’s business but mine. What had started out as a favor done for our new Irish… partners had also allowed an in with the Irish mob, able to keep an eye on their activities. Betrayal was expected, but if they were that stupid, they’d learn a valuable lesson.

Any treachery against the Bratva would never have decent results.

After that, I’d been hooked on the rush of adrenaline followed by a period of calm the fights allowed. Plus, I was damn good at what I did.

As I climbed from the ring, I noticed Sean McCarthy had graced the club with his presence. Unusual unless the man facing punishment was someone of importance. Normally I couldn’t care less who was on the receiving end of my controlled brutality, but with my cousin’s earlier concerns, I was curious if the two were connected.

I was handed a towel and a bottle of water almost immediately, which were the only two requirements I’d ever requested. This wasn’t a bar I’d waste either my money or time in. And they didn’t serve the type of liquor I demanded.

Power.

There wasn’t a man or woman alive who didn’t covet supremacy or dominance in at least one aspect of their life. If they told you otherwise, they were lying. I included myself in the same category, which I compartmentalized along with every other aspect of my life.

Whether the hotel business or our weapons trade, both had a separate class in my mind and on paper. Violence did as well, the fights only one aspect of how betrayal was handled. Then there was sex. Handled with an entirely different set of rules and responsibilities.

Which was why I never allowed myself to get involved.

My selfish ways precluded allowing anyone into my life.

My bed was a different story.

As I headed toward where Sean had taken up his usual roost, my thoughts drifted to the raven-haired beauty. Another category formed. Someone who I could fuck without second guessing, which was what I’d done with the only other woman who’d sparked my interest.

How ironic that two women in one day had my balls heavy and anguished.

“Another brilliant fight,” Sean said with his glass lifted as a toast.

“Far too easy. I’d prefer a challenge for a change.”

His laugh reminded me of my birth father’s, who I’d barely gotten to know before his murder. “I’ll talk to Patrick. We’ll see if we can secure some fresh meat more to your liking.”

“Is there a reason you’re in the audience tonight?”

“Always to the point. There is a possible war brewing. Walk with me.”

I did, falling in beside him. Whatever was on his mind troubled him greatly.

Much like I’d seen in my cousin.

“You’re the second person who’s been worried about that very subject.” I wiped my face while scanning the crowd. They were even more agitated than normal.

“Your cousin being the first?”

“So it is true. There’s an issue with the Armenians.”

He nodded while doing the same thing I was doing, searching the guests just before we disappeared into the corridor, his men falling in behind us. Now that we were out of the main room and the fights were over, the impenetrable steel door was closed and locked.

No one was getting through that door.

We headed down the stairs, the location as secure as a bomb shelter.