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Just as I’m about to go over to Josiah and give him a piece of my mind, Ariella rushes over to me and lightly takes me by the hand. “Hey, you want to go get a drink with me? Some more wine like the night before?”
I’m curious about her motives since she seems so hasty to remove me from the situation, but I figure it’s for the better if I don’t embarrass myself in front of everybody here, especially Abram.
Josiah leaves shortly after the incident, and Ariella pours me a glass of wine. “That doesn’t happen here a lot. It was a long time coming with Dean and Isabelle. They both have substance issues, and they get into it all the time. You’d think they were married if you didn’t know better,” she confesses, pouring herself a larger-than-average glass and sighing deeply.
“I wasn’t expecting Abram to step in like that. He seems like...” I trail off, uncertain of how to make my point without being disrespectful. That went brilliantly for me the last time, after all.
“A misogynist? A self-absorbed, money-grubbing asshole?” Ariella interjects. “Yeah, he doesseemlike that. It’s hard not to when you own a strip club. He has to maintain that bravado for his uncle. Otherwise, the business will go to his cousin Anthony, who is an even bigger asshole.”
The idea of Abram being a secret defender of women seems too good to be true to me. That would just betooperfect,tooon-brand for the type of person he is. It would also make me a giant cliché. What, I’m going to fall for the bad boy who is secretly a sweetheart? Gross.
I thought that was beneath me.
Either way, Abram at least shows integrity, unlike Cole. If Cole ever did decide to come running after me, he would have no qualms about using every resource he has and potentially turning me into a piece in his underground body collection. Having someone as ruthless and calculating as Abram on my side is only a benefit to me at this point. It would be stupid of me not to try and keep him around.
I just need to put my revenge aside for a little while.
Just long enough to make sure I’m safe.
When I start considering the safety aspect of my current predicament, I begin formulating potential security modifications for my apartment in my head. I need to be prepared for Cole to try and harm me. Even the idea of him getting into my apartment building and hurting the other women makes me want to throw up. I need to be ten steps ahead of him at all times.
