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I slowly leaned on the front of my desk again, crossing my arms over my chest. She was shorter than Ronnie, which had to make her around five feet four. Her hair was a mess on one side, her clothes practical and dark. She hadn’t dressed for the occasion of being in this club. She looked like she meant business, too bad for her that she didn’t have a place here.
“You can explain all you want, but it won’t make a bit of difference.” Her light eyes flashed in annoyance, and I wondered what color they were. No. I don’t care what color they are. I shook my head. “But by all means, say your piece.” I had no idea what I was doing. If this was anyone else, I would have dragged them out of my office and ordered her to be taken out of my club. But there was something that intrigued me, something about the way her defiance of not leaving when I’d told them to that had me wondering what she’d say.
Her chest heaved as she pulled in a deep breath, her gaze flitting from Ronnie and then back to me. “I asked Ronnie for help.” I raised a brow, my patience wearing thin. “He said I could help on the job. I didn’t expect it to go down the way it did.”
Blinking, I took her in again, really took her in, and realized her hair hadn’t gotten like that out of nowhere. “What happened?” I demanded, my tone deeper now.
Ronnie stepped forward. “One of the guys—”
“No.” I held my hand in the air, not looking away from her. “She can tell me.”
She swiped some hair out of her face as she shuffled on the spot. “One of them grabbed my arm.” my nostrils flared at her words. “They wanted to know my name.” She raised her brows, as if she was silently telling me that them asking her that wasn’t okay. “I told him it was none of his business but he didn’t like that.”
I tilted my head to the side, fascinated by the way she was acting. The more she spoke, the more comfortable she became. Her shoulders relaxed, her shuffling now turning into pacing a few steps back and forth.
“He grabbed my hair.” She pointed up at it, rolling her eyes. “So I pushed us on to the floor and jabbed him in the face.”
“Jabbed him?” I asked, trying not to show my amusement as she punched the air to show me.
“It was Eric,” Ronnie added.
The woman opened her mouth, about to add more to the story, but I’d heard enough. “So,” I started, pushing up off my desk and taking two steps toward her. “What is your name?”
“Lena,” she answered automatically.
I stared down at her, realizing that her eyes were a light-green, then murmured, “I’ve heard enough.” I needed to think on this. I never made snap decisions. I always thought everything through. One thing I knew though, this woman should have never been there or here. Ronnie would be reprimanded for that.
“What happens now?” she asked, blinking up at me.
Scraping my hand down my face, I huffed out a breath. I had no intention of telling her what would happen. “Now you can go and get a drink from the bar then go home. Ronnie will supply you with the money for the job you’ve done tonight.” She nodded, taking a step toward the door. “I expect you not to say a word of this to anyone.” She turned as she got to the door and I clicked it open, watching as she and Ronnie walked through it. “And I don’t want to see your face after tonight, Lena.” With those parting words, I clicked the door closed, walked around my desk, then dropped into my chair, wondering what the hell just happened.
Chapter Three
LENA
The soft hum of the music coming over the radio did little to calm my racing thoughts. I’d considered downing a shot before leaving the club, but I knew it wouldn’t help calm my nerves. And besides, I’d needed to keep my wits about me as I left the building.
But now that I was driving back to my apartment, I was repeating what happened in his office over and over in my head. He said that he didn’t want to see my face again, but that just…I couldn’t let that happen. I needed to get close to him. I needed to be there to find the evidence so we could take him down.
Him and his crew had a big job planned, that much was obvious with the exchange that happened tonight. Too bad that I hadn’t managed to get a sneak peak in one of the boxes. If only that guy hadn’t grabbed me…
I slapped my palm on my steering wheel in frustration as I pulled into my apartment complex and into my spot. Too much had happened over the past twenty-four hours. I needed to process it all, make my next plan of action, but also, get a good night's sleep.
The moment I thought about sleep, I pushed open my car door, yawning in the process. Bed was all I was thinking about as I entered the main door to the building then walked up one flight of stairs to the second floor.
I didn’t bother turning the main light on as I opened the door to my small apartment and stepped into my compact living room and kitchen. Instead, I headed straight to the one door in here and into my bedroom.
My bed sat in the middle of the room with bedside tables on either side. The left one was tidy—clearly unused—but the right one was a mess. Books stacked up high next to the light with a couple of notebooks and a collection of pens.
I walked over to it, switched the light on, then went into the bathroom. I didn’t bother looking in the mirror as I brushed my teeth and my hair, wincing as my brush passed over a sensitive part of my scalp. Once I was done, I undid my pants, dropping them to the floor along with my bra, then dove straight into bed, needing sleep to take me as quickly as it could.
Too bad for me that my brain refused to switch off. All I could think about was Theo telling me that he didn’t want to see my face again. I wondered what would happen to Ronnie. He’d put his head on the chopping block and his position in the crew to help me get an in with Theo, but now I was afraid that he was at risk.
But then…he was laughing and drinking when I’d left the club, so maybe he wasn’t in that much trouble? Maybe I was just making it all out to be bigger than it actually was.
I rolled over, staring at my phone, and wondered whether I should call the Chief. He’d have answers for me, right.
But…I couldn’t.
