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I don’t know what the fuck he means, but I choose not to fucking ask. He speaks in fucking riddles, and my capacity for his shit is at its max. She’s here even if it’s one hundred feet away and a tunnel away. I let myself relax and start actually fucking playing poker, letting the guys rib me about being an overprotective dad. I make no apologies for being obsessive about where October is. I’ve given her plenty of space, but after the break-in, all of that shit went out the window. If I could, I’d put a tracker on her phone… shit that’s not a bad idea. Not the phone, but a piece of jewelry. My thoughts run rampant, and I know that just a quick call to one of the jewelers that frequents Opal would have the ball in motion.
I lose this hand, but I win the next hand, and I’m gloating when I bow out, “Alright you fucks. Play this one without me. I’m going to go walk the floor and check in with staff. I’ll be back in a bit.” Clapping Linc on the shoulder, he just looks me up and down, damn near undressing me, but I shake my head and he pouts. I really do need to check in and okay, I’m going to go spy on O and see what this fucking dude she’s on a date with looks like. He’s probably fresh off frat life and still thinks that because he buys a woman a drink, he’s owed a blow job in the back of his rusted-out 4Runner.
Christ, I’m spiraling, and I recognize this is fucking unhealthy, but I can admit I won’t stop. It would be hypocritical to lie to myself about it.
Walking out of the poker room, I scan the main floor of Opal before walking up to one of my club managers and checking in. He reassures me everything is satisfactory and running smoothly. Just how I like it. I give him a nod before I duck into the alcove behind the bar that leads to my office here.
I hit the end of the tunnel that connects directly into my office at Onyx and slip out. I turn on my computer and pull up the security program, and within minutes I can switch between any area of the club I have except for the bathrooms. I didn’t want to risk stepping out onto the floor and being spotted. I want to jump immediately to the west side cameras but force myself to check everything else first. Nothing stands out and looks like a typical quiet Tuesday night until I finally click on the bank of cameras covering the west side of the club. My eyes strain until I find the one that holds my daughter. Pulling that camera wide until it fills the whole left side monitor, I can feel the moment recognition sets in. He leans forward from the back of the booth, and I see him clear as day.
Brandon fucking Turner.
A frequent member of Club Opal and collector of women to call him Daddy.
How the entire fuck did these two fucking meet?
Unbridled rage gathers in the base of my spine, traveling up and outward until my hands curl into fists, and I can feel the clench of my jaw is as unrelenting as that of a great white shark. I stand up so fast my office chair slams against the back wall as I storm out of my office and directly into the club from off the side of the bar.
“Hey, boss. You okay?” I ignore Ian, my bartender on duty tonight, and my feet eat up the floor until I’m at their table.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Both of them look up at me, October with semi-confusion on her face mixed with annoyance, and Brandon just looks at me with his head cocked slightly to the left. He glances from me to my daughter and his eyes slightly widen when recognition sets in.
“Maverick. I didn’t know that the lovely October here was your daughter. My sincerest apologies. If I had… well, I would have still gone out with her, but I would have, of course, informed you first. No hard feelings, hmm?” He can’t be fucking serious right now.
“Shut your fucking mouth. You get the fuck up and get out of my club right now. You don’t look at her, don’t speak to her. Ever again. She’s too good for the likes of you. Test my fucking patience and I’ll revoke your access to Opal,” I seethe through clenched teeth and all I want to do is swing on him.
He turns to my daughter and asks her if she wants him to leave her alone, and I snap. I crowd into her side of the table and as gently as I can, touch her arm and guide her out from the booth, leaving her standing next to it.
I cock back and swing, feeling the impact of my knuckles hitting his jaw, and when I look, I notice my rings have left cuts, which is the least of what he deserved. “You disrespect me, in my own business and to my face.”
A madness falls over me like a blanket of darkness. I check out, not hearing anything but the roaring in my ears and the incessant drive to make Brandon Turner bleed even more. Grabbing him by the lapel of the jacket he’s wearing, I haul him over the table and throw him toward the entrance. Out of my peripheral vision, I see my bouncers step forward, but a shake of my head stops them in their tracks.
Brandon scrambles up and he swings on me, but I duck, grabbing his arm and forcibly pushing him further across the floor. He’s fighting me the entire way until I get him once in the kidney, and he doubles over. We keep exchanging hits, mine landing and his missing, but he does manage to land one across my face. I feel my lip split and taste the coppery liquid hitting my tongue.
“Get him the fuck out of here. You’re fucking done, Brandon. Don’t come here, and consider your membership revoked. I’ll refund you for the year, and I’ll blacklist you from every business I have my hands on.” I turn my back on him, letting my crew take out the trash so I can lock eyes again with October.
She’s staring at me slack-jawed with her hands wringing tightly, but the flush spreading across her chest gives her arousal away. Moving swiftly until I’m just in front of her, I scoop her up and she squeals, holding onto me tightly.
My arms are wrapped right under her ass, and I’m hauling both of us toward my office yet again. Different night and a different office, but it’s like déjà vu.
“Put me down. I’m too heavy,” she yells down at the top of my head.
“Shut. Up. I don’t want to hear a word out of you, and especially not about your weight. Does it fucking look like I’m struggling?” I let one arm unwind from around her, and she tips over my shoulder, but my stride does not break until we hit the office, and I deposit her ass down on the edge of my desk.
“Sit here and stay quiet as I fucking talk.” She glowers at me but listens for fucking once.
I pause, trying to gather what it is I’m going to say. Fuck, I got us here and now I need to not fuck it up.
CHAPTER15
OCTOBER
I’m furious and I know there’s fire in my eyes. How dare he come in here, ruin my date, and then haul me out in front of these people I’ve been working with for the last two weeks. I’m afraid to open my mouth right now, afraid of what might spill out between my lips. Things I can’t take back. Things that I might want to say, but know I shouldn’t. We’ve been walking a tightrope, and it’s all coming undone.
“How could you be so… so foolish? You can’t just go on a date with a man like that and not know what you’re getting into. What would have happened if I hadn’t of shown up? Fuck, October. You have to be careful.” His hands are flying this way and that as he rants. I let him spew his shit as if I wasn’t fully aware of the type of man I was on a date with.
“Are you done?” I ask him calmly. Calmer than I’ve ever been, and I know it sets him on edge. I’m not one to speak quietly when enticed.
“Am I done? Am I fucking done? Are you fucking done being careless with your life?” I don’t bother answering that question. He’s lashing out in anger and repressed need.
