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“Who’s the dude texting you?” I held up her cell with the text messages on display.
Fury flashed in Moira’s eyes. She stormed into the room like a category five hurricane until she stood beside me. Her electric energy was so damn potent.
She tried snatching the phone from my hand, but I rose and held it up high. “What gives you the goddamn right to look at my phone messages?”
“Just answer the damn question,” I demanded through clenched teeth, holding her phone just out of reach. Every single one of those messages was a threat. There was nothing remotely normal about them.
I watched her debate whether she could reach the phone before I passed it off to one of the other guys. “Ben, give me my phone.”
“Nope. Not until you tell us who the hell this is and what’s going on. If I have to, I will tie you to the fucking chair until you concede.” I’d do it too. I stared her down, waiting for her to cave.
Moira finally sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know.”
I leveled her with a hard glare that had made men piss themselves. “You can do better than that.”
She lowered herself onto her chair with a defeated expression. “No. Really, I can’t. I don’t know who it is because I don’t know who the fuck it is. Most likely it’s one of the customers at Madame X’s.”
“How long has this been going on, Moira?” Wyatt asked, regarding her with that thoughtful expression that was deceptive. It made him seem harmless when he was anything but. I’d seen him calmly talk with a spy that way before disabling the guy in under a minute flat when he drew a knife.
She glanced at us. And for the first time since meeting her, I spied the exhaustion tinged with fear. “A few months.”
She was being stalked. “You’ve got someone harassing you, stalking you, for fuck’s sake. Please tell me you’ve spoken with the police?”
Moira tossed her hands up in frustration. “And tell them what, Ben? That some dude at the strip club I own somehow got my number and keeps sending me text messages? I’ve blocked every number that’s been used, and that hasn’t stopped them. Oh, and this number doesn’t appear because they’re blocking it. Believe me when I say if I tried that route, nothing would get done. Worst case scenario, I’ve got a dog and a gun.”
“I just—”
She held up a hand, cutting me off. “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I got this. Why don’t we—”
“We’re not done talking about this, Moira. You’ve got a stalker,” I shouted.
She slammed her hands on the table. “And I say we are. Why won’t you just leave it alone? We can play poker, have a few drinks, and I can win all your money.”
Wyatt nudged me in the arm, and I shot him an arched look. He shook his head. I got the drift. He wanted to speak privately about this when Moira wasn’t present. Moira’s eyes flicked in my direction. The moment they landed on me, my skin sizzled.
I begrudgingly conceded. “Fine. Let’s play some poker.”
But I wasn’t letting this go. She might think we were through talking about this, but we weren’t even close to being done.
At my concession, the starch deflated from her shoulders. “Good. Now, who’s ready to lose their shirt?” She poured herself another shot of tequila and tossed it back like a pro. Then broke open the deck of cards and started shuffling cards.
“Now this is the kind of hospitality I could get used to.” James winked at Moira as he took another shot.
“Same.” Aiden toasted her.
“And why aren’t you married? You’re gorgeous, own your own home, play poker, can knock back a shot of tequila like a pro, and have no trouble saying what you want.”
She smiled sweetly as she shuffled the cards. “And let’s not forget that I occasionally take my clothes off for a living.”
Lucas choked on his beer. Aiden and James laughed until there were tears in their eyes. Even our stoic leader cracked a smile at her candor. The woman had some balls on her, I’d give her that. I understood why Evan had loved her.
I teetered between conflicting emotions. A part of me hated her for hurting my best friend. She’d broken Evan’s heart. But on the other hand, I felt myself soften toward her and cursed myself for doing so. Mainly because I didn’t know if it was because of my attraction to her or if it was because it was what Evan would want.
She glanced my way with a dare in her eyes. “Are you playing?”
It was a pissing match between us to see who balked first. But I wasn’t backing down. I never gave up or surrendered. I didn’t have that in me. “What the hell. Deal me in.”
“All right then, we’re playing some five-card stud. Queens are wild.”
