After shooting one more glare at Joel, Wedge focused back on her. “Nah. Came in alone. I let him skip the line because he told me you were his sister.”
“How did you know he was even telling the truth?” Joel wanted to know.
“Because I’d seen him once or twice before, back when Chloe used to be so tight with King.” He smirked at Joel. “Or do you not know about those days?”
“Wedge…” A warning note entered Chloe’s voice.
He shrugged. “Sorry, Chloe. He just pisses me off.”
“The feeling is mutual,” Joel assured him.
Wedge flipped him off.
“What about when Reese left?” Chloe tapped her chin. “Did you see him then?”
Wedge scratched his rather broad chin. “Don’t think I saw him. My shift ended at midnight, so he must have left after that.”
Or he just hadn’t come out the front door.
“Do me a favor, Wedge?” Chloe asked.
“Anything.”
Well, that response had certainly been fast.
“Pass the word. I want to know if anyone saw my brother talking to…friends.”
“Friends?” Wedge’s face scrunched. “Something wrong here, Chloe?”
“Yeah, something is very wrong,” Joel answered. “Some prick roofied her brother while he was here.”
Alarm flashed on Wedge’s face. “Lower your voice!” He cast an anxious glance toward the line, then added, “King will lose his mind over this. You know he runs this place with a tight fist.”
“Not tight enough,” Joel murmured. Obviously. Or people wouldn’t be getting roofied in his club.
“He’s not here tonight,” Wedge added quickly. “Haven’t seen him all day.”
Oh, sure. That wasn’t suspicious. At all.
Wedge waved them inside. Probably because he didn’t want Joel talking about roofies while other people were close enough to overhear.
After they were in the club, Chloe peered up at Joel. “Why don’t you like him?”
Let me count the reasons. He’d just start with reason number one. “Because the last time we were here, he tried to attack me?”
“No, I think you attacked him.”
Fine. Semantics. Whatever. “He was coming at you—”
“I told you before that Wedge would never hurt a woman. He has a rule about that.”
“Forgive me if I don’t buy that the guy is a major rule follower.” They were inside. And he could smell money. He didn’t need to see the diamonds winking at the ears of the women or the pearls adorning their throats to know that big money was at play. He could feel it.
“Why do you do that?” Chloe was staring at him, not the crowd. “You were a successful surgeon, and I know you have a very large amount of money in the bank. It’s just sitting there, collecting dust and interest. You have money to burn, yet you tense when you see people like these individuals.”
Yes, he had been a surgeon. And before that, he’d been a poor kid with no family. “I just feel like it’s all for show. No one is real in here.”
“Maybe people put on shows because they’re afraid. Not arrogant or cocky. Maybe they’re afraid if they show who they really are, no one will like them.”
He didn’t get a big fear vibe in that place. Champagne was spilling out of glasses and laughter rang in the air. The laughter mixed with the soft classical music that filled the club. The music came from the black-dressed symphony performers on the stage.
“There should be security footage,” Chloe decided. “King is a control freak. You might not see the cameras, but they are here.” She pointed upstairs. “And I know where the security room is hidden.”
Of course, she knew.
“Follow me,” Chloe said.
Sure. Why the hell not? They cut a path through the crowd and headed toward the stairs. The VIP area was upstairs, and two bouncers were waiting at the bottom to stop people from heading up. One of those jerks was the guard Joel had punched earlier that day. He sported a dark bruise along his jaw. When he saw Joel and Chloe, he immediately tensed.
“Oh, hell, no—” he began.
But he didn’t get to say more because an explosion rocked the Serpent. The boom was deafening. The whole building seemed to shake, and even as Joel was trying to make sense of what in the hell was happening, the windows on the second level—the windows that let the VIPs spy down on the people dancing—were shattering outward. A burst of fire rolled through the broken windows even as alarms began blaring.
Screams. Shouts. Thundering feet.
Chaos.
The guard who’d been blocking their path hurtled to the floor when a second explosion blasted through the club.
Chloe staggered, but Joel caught her in a fierce grip. Smoke was quickly thickening the air around them, and the crackle of flames could be heard even over the screams. “Baby? You okay?” Frantic, his hands raced over her body.
She coughed and glanced up at him. She looked dazed. Uncertain. So not his usual Chloe.
People were stampeding down from the top floor and mixing with the folks who’d been on the lower level. They were running for the exit, and he saw people falling down. Getting trampled. Screaming.
He scooped Chloe into his arms. “I’m getting you out of here.”
The guards hadn’t waited to help anyone. They’d picked themselves up and hauled ass out of there.
“Help!” A terrified shout from the second floor.
More screams. Pleas.
The glass had cut people. He could see the blood pouring down arms and necks and staining the expensive clothes that the club goers had worn. And the fire—it was spreading. The sprinklers hadn’t kicked on. They should have been spraying down on them, but nothing was happening.
“Let me go, Joel.” Chloe struggled against him.
He tightened his hold on her. “The hell I will.” He ducked and weaved through the crowd. Saw more blood. A woman with a broken arm.
“We have to help them!” Chloe cried. “You know we do!”
He knew that Chloe had to get to safety. He almost had her at the door. He almost—
Wedge. That big, hulking sonofabitch had burst into the club. “Get out this way!” Wedge bellowed. It looked as if he’d ripped the doors straight from the frames to keep them open.
Then Wedge ran forward and picked up a sobbing woman from the floor. He carried her out—
“You’re going outside,” Joel snarled to Chloe as he followed Wedge. “You’re staying out there. I’ll go back in.”
She shook her head. “Once it gets too hot, it’s too dangerous to go back in. If the air temperature increases too much, you can take one breath and die and—Joel, let me go!” She shoved her elbow into his ribs—hard—but he just tightened his grip and rushed for the door. There was no way he was letting her go. He knew Chloe—she’d run up toward the bombs. And it had to be bombs. No mistaking those impact blasts. There could be another set to blow at any time. Chunks of the second floor and ceiling were raining down. The whole building was unstable.
Getting Chloe out was priority one. He had to know she was safe, then Joel would go back.
“Take her!” Joel yelled just as Wedge rushed back in again. Blood trickled down the side of Wedge’s face, but the other man’s eyes were sharp and focused. “Do not let her back in!” Joel shoved Chloe into Wedge’s arms. Then didn’t hesitate as he turned around and headed back toward the chaos.