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This makes no sense at all. Why is Baby sure that Luis and Martin know each other?
Mia quirks a brow, placing her hands on her hips, looking at Martin like he’s not who she thought him to be. “I know you two work together. He already told me the night that… Well, the last… Fuck! He told me, so why are you being weird about it?”
We all know what night that was and what she’s trying so hard not to say. That was the night Neil killed Mark and the night Mia—or Amanda—gave Luis a happy ending.
It’s not until CJ asks, “Who’s Luis?” That I remember he doesn’t know. I mean, he does, and he doesn’t. All CJ knows is that Luis was one of Baby’s regulars, one that she technically cheated on us with—but that’s it, I think.
Honestly, I can’t remember if we ever talked about the weird arrangement Luis had with Neil or that Mark had to step in when Neil took advantage of Luis’ absence. Although I’m not sure any of it matters, I answer my brother. “Luis was Mia’s Wednesday regular. He lives in Germany but does business here in America—”
“Business with Martin, apparently.” Mia interrupts me, clearly not happy.
“Mia, I don’t know why Luis said that, but I can assure you we don’t work together.” The pleading quality of Martin’s tone makes me curious. Sure, everybody hates being accused of something incorrect, but that doesn’t mean you need to plead.
“Lila told me she never liked Luis because he’d scared some girls working at the club,” Kas says with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
“That’s not true,” Mia vehemently protests. “Luis booked no one else, and he even paid for me when he couldn’t show up for his appointment. Neil used to make me work the floor or VIP room when that was the case, but Mark called Luis, who then threatened to have Serendipity shut down.”
I absentmindedly run my hand across my stubbled jaw, thinking of everything I’m hearing right now.
“Why would Lila lie about her dislike for Luis?” When Mia looks at CJ with annoyance, he hurries to amend that, “If she told Kas during his amnesia phase, it could be to make a good impression… To make it sound like she cared about the girls working there.”
Kas looks nervously at our girlfriend before saying, “It was before my accident. During one of our first planning meetings, he called to complain about Carmen.”
Shaking her head, Mia clenches her hands into fists. “No, I think I’d know if he had appointments with anyone else. His arrangement was so uncommon. It would have been a lot less noticeable if he had come in to see others.”
That’s true… It would make a lot more sense than paying for time with her every Wednesday, even if he wasn’t there. What would be the point of paying the astronomical fee for someone if he was on another continent?
“Did Luis get umm… Like, store credit or something if he didn’t show up?” CJ asks.
“No. The time and money were just lost if he couldn’t be there. However, it stopped her from dancing for anyone else that night,” I clarify.
Fuck!
No!
How can I have been so blind?
I questioned it at first, of course, I did. However, when Mark seemed fine with it, I never gave it a second thought.
Fuck!
“So you mean to tell me that no one ever questioned the large sum of money he spent weekly on actively keeping Mia away from other clients?” Mia opens her mouth, but CJ doesn’t let her interrupt him. “If Luis couldn’t show up but still paid for the exclusivity, why would anyone else do that unless they don’t want that person around others? Alec, why did you buy your old apartment? You haven’t restored it, so is it safe to assume that it’s at least partially because you don’t want anyone else to have the place?”
“Fuck!” Kas growls.
I watch as the words penetrate Mia’s defense, and the exact moment she comes to the same realization as I did is easy to see because she sways on her feet, her face paling. “But… No, it can’t… I think I’m going to be sick,” she mumbles before darting out of Martin’s… Whatever kind of room this is, presumably to find the bathroom.
“Shit, it did sound weird when Mark told me about it, but I just thought… Fuck, I don’t know what I thought. I brushed it off and never thought twice about it,” I lamely state.
“Guys, this would explain why Neil has acted like he was untouchable and how he bugged our fucking house. Look at all the help we’ve gotten from Martin,” Kas gestures at the man, currently looking beyond pissed. “If Luis is the German version of you, there’s very little he can’t do.” Kas looks apologetic at the last part, but he shouldn’t. Though the comparison isn’t flattering, it drives his point home.
“What do you mean Neil wasn’t alone?” Martin asks harshly.
My brothers and I look sheepishly between each other before Kas turns to Martin and says, “He said he wasn’t in it alone, even begged us to kill him. He wouldn’t give us a name.”
“And you never thought to tell me?” Martin thunders. “After all the help I have given you, you never considered me or my family could be in danger as well?”
Well, fuck… That’s probably something we should have considered, yet we never did.
