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“It’s illegal for you to run a background check on me unless it’s within the scope of your duties,” I growled at him. I was so irritated it didn’t occur to me that I’d used too much LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) jargon to be coincidental or that he really didn’t have enough information on me to run a successful background check. He had me that flustered. The way his eyebrows shot up told me I’d made a mistake.
“I didn’t. I asked Chet.” He folded those muscular arms over his chest and cocked his head at me.
“Who the fuck is Chet?”
“Our superintendent.” He was still staring at me, trying to puzzle me out. “What do you know about background checks?”
“Nothing,” I said shortly, wondering what the hell was keeping the stupid elevator. We’d been standing here for too long and the way he was staring at me was beginning to unnerve me. It was almost as if he could see right through me and knew I was up to no good. I reached forward and jammed my finger on the button about fifty times. I huffed out an irritated breath when I saw Dante watching me with an amused expression.
“I get it now.”
I focused on him. He sounded triumphant and that made me more nervous. “Get what?”
“Why you don’t like me.” I cocked a brow but didn’t correct him. I didn’t necessarily dislike him as a person. I didn’t even know him. But I wasn’t about to tell him that because it would only encourage him. “You’ve dated a cop before and have a problem with us.” He said it with this boyish grin that almost made me laugh. He really could be adorable when he was trying. It was annoyingly cute.
I swallowed the laugh and kept my face blank. “I’ve never dated a cop,” I said stoically, cutting his triumph off at the knees.
“Well, damn.” He pouted, that full lower lip stuck out comically far.
This guy was something else.
I glared at the elevator. It wasn’t moving. I’d had enough. I started to step around Dante to head for the stairwell. His arm shot out in front of my nose and his palm landed on the wall in front of me, effectively stopping me dead in my tracks. I stared at the swirls of ink on his arm and followed the tattoo up to his shoulder before my eyes settled on his face. He wasn’t smiling anymore. Instead, he looked as serious as I’d seen him so far. In my heels, we were eye level with each other. He stepped in closer toward me, caging me in against the wall.
“Tell me then, Havoc.” His voice was low, guttural, for my ears alone. “What are you playing at?”
My temper sparked, but a slight fizzle of fear tingled down my spine. This guy had been lighthearted and messing around most of the time that I’d seen him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be dangerous. I could see it lurking there within him. I swallowed hard and summoned my courage. “I’m not playing at anything, Dante,” I replied calmly.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end when he’d boxed me in. Standing so close to a predatory animal was thrilling, scary, invigorating, even when you didn’t want it to be. It reminded most of their mortality. For those who felt like they were dead women walking, it reminded us that we may not be completely dead after all. I wasn’t interested in this man, though. There was too much for me to do to pay any attention to physical attraction.
I shoved Dante’s chest and he obliged by moving backward. My shove might not have moved him back a step if he hadn’t wanted to go, but he moved further back in order to give me space. I hurried to the stairwell and tossed a look over my shoulder. Our eyes locked for a moment before I quickly left him there watching me.
Once I got down to the first floor, I slowed when I saw what had happened to the elevator. My eyes narrowed and Ciro quickly straightened up, once he spotted me, letting the elevator doors finally slide closed from where his wide shoulders had been propping them open. He gave me a guilty grin before he let his eyes peruse my outfit.
“Evening ma’am,” he said, gallantly, as though he hadn’t been the one responsible for holding me up so his friend would have extra time to talk with me. Shaking my head, I continued on outside and ordered an Uber to take me to The Lion’s Den.
Chapter 8
Havoc
Getting into the party had been easy. Sure, they’d searched everyone, but no one had been willing to look where I was storing my goods and they weren’t opening the presents. After I’d been searched, they set aside my jacket near the door. I’d been given a new gift bag, a present from the birthday girl, and I’d quickly switched the contents of the bags and put my gift on the table while carrying around the tools I brought with me.
I’d been sitting here for a few hours but the longer I remained, pretending to drink and watching Pérez interact with his family, the more I doubted why I was here. He was dancing with his wife, with his daughters. They looked so happy, and I made a decision. I was going to use the restroom and then go home. Tomorrow I would track down the Weasel and have him double check that this almost gentle looking man was in fact involved in the heinous crimes that had been committed against my family.
I followed the dim hallway back toward the bathroom and saw a metal door at the end with one single glass pane in the middle. Glancing behind me and seeing no one, I approached it and looked through. Leading down into the dark was a set of stairs.It must lead to a basement.I tried the handle, but the door was locked. Shrugging, I returned to the restroom door and went inside.
Entering the stall, I heard someone else come in behind me. I quickly finished up and went to wash my hands. I stared at my reflection for a few moments. I hardly recognized the woman in the mirror. The same features stared back at me, but something had changed, something that looked back at me from within.
The stall next to the one I’d used opened, and I stared in amusement as the birthday girl rustled her way toward me. I’d seen her across the dance floor, but this was my first time seeing the dress up close. The pink monstrosity was layer upon layer of ruffles and sequins. The girl looked over at me with envy.
“That’s a beautiful dress,” she said wistfully. I looked down at my simple, but sexy black cocktail dress in surprise. It wasn’t fancy, but it was classic for a reason.
“Thank you. Yours is…” I trailed off trying to figure out how to compliment her nicely.
“My papá made me wear it.” She rolled her eyes. “He wanted me to look like a princesa.” Now she smiled in resignation. Kids were in too much of a hurry to grow up these days. She should take the time to be the princess. We said goodbye as she left the room. I sat with my thoughts, listening to the loud music thump through the walls.
Finally, I decided it was time to go. I shoved through the door right as the song change happened and a thump off to my right had my head snapping in the direction of the basement.What was that?A fast paced, rowdy beat began, but sweat trickled down my spine as people from the party let out loud hoots and yells that mingled with a muffled scream that only I heard.
Quickly kicking off my shoes, I carried them in my left hand along with the bag that had all my stuff in it, as I approached the metal door and tried the handle. This time the door easily swung open with a low creak. I set my shoes on the top stair and quietly closed the door behind me, before I carefully descended the stairs down into the belly of the club.
