“Are you okay?” he asks. “You look upset.”
“No, I’m, I… I can’t really, um… can I just pace until Killian gets back?” I ask.
Guy tilts his head to the side a little, regarding me.
“Do you want me to distract you from whatever has you pacing?”
I shake my head. “No. I just wanna pace. Thank you anyway.”
“I’ll leave you to it, unless you want company.”
“No, that’s okay. Thanks. Um…thanks.”
I’m barely aware of him slipping out as I pace. I pace and pace, drinking my water, not touching the food, finding the smell of the olives a bit nauseating, in fact. From the wall of glass, I look down at the place for signs of anything or anyone until I feel half dizzy from scanning the view.
My anxiety over all this isn’t dissipating. With every moment that passes, it gets more acute.
There are lots of people in the club, obviously having a great time. People are snapping photos, selfies, playing games, talking in groups with drinks and food, and having a laugh. The place has music playing and I can hear it up here.
A gun?
Is he gone crazy?
What the heck, Ray? 9:05 passes without incident.
9:07 I get a text. Shakily, I bring the screen closer to my face.
Killian: All’s good. Don’t worry. Be up soon.
***
It’s 9:19 before the door opens and that’s when I’m faced with Killian, Ray, and three other men.
I breathe out a sigh of relief and sag against the desk behind me, balancing on it. No one’s bleeding. Nobody’s looking hurt.
The private eye from yesterday, Killian’s friend Jagger, and the huge security guy who I’ve seen at Genesis come in as well.
Ray looks sheet-white as he takes me in. I’m sitting on the edge of the desk. I stand up.
“Vi,” he whispers, voice laced with pain.
He’s wearing a suit, a suit I’ve never seen, though he’s wearing the dress shoes that I bought him for my cousin’s wedding that he never attended. He’s clean-shaven. He looks more together than he has in eons. Except for the look on his face. The paleness. The fear in his eyes.
“What’s going on?” I ask Killian, ignoring Ray.
“Everyone, excuse us,” Killian says, then he moves to the security screens and hits buttons on a keyboard and the noise from the club cuts off instantly. “Tony, wait outside the door,” Killian adds.
And the silence feels deafening. All my own thoughts and fears and the confusion amid panic I’m feeling is no longer being drowned out by music and background noise.
Wesley Traynor nods, giving me a chin jerk before he exits.
Tony steps outside directly after him.
“Sure?” Jagger asks, eyeballing Ray with distaste.
Killian rolls his eyes while gesturing for the door.
It’s now Killian, Ray, and me.
Killian’s eyes are on me and then they bounce to Ray.
“Why are you here, Raymond?”
Ray takes a deep breath and then opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.
“Why’d you bring a gun to my club?” Killian’s voice has dropped an octave.
Ray blows out a stuttered breath.
“Why the fuck did you send a text to Violet?” Killian’s voice is almost guttural now.
My eyes are locked on Killian as he glares at Ray with lasers practically firing out of his eyes. His lip is curled. It’s as if sending me the text was the worst of what he did. I sit back down on the corner of the desk, legs feeling wobbly.
Ray flops down to sit in a chair in front of the desk, thrusting his hand through his hair.
“I came to try to talk to my… Violet and then –”
“Your Violet?” Killian inquires, his voice lethal.
Ray clenches his jaw, but his eyes still look filled with worry.
“Whose Violet is she right now?”
Ray swallows.
“The gun?” Killian says. “Explain. Right now.”
“I was armed in case. Just in case.”
“Armed. What were you gonna do? Shoot me? Rob me? Steal Violet from me?” Killian’s eyebrows shoot up.
My heart is beating so fast it’s not even funny. My eyes bounce between Ray and Killian and the vibe Killian is giving off feels dangerous.
I feel like I can’t breathe in here suddenly.
“Of course not. Just making sure you’re not gonna shoot me.” Ray thumps his chest. “I needed to talk to her, make sure she’s okay. Let her know I’m workin’ my best to get this figured out.”
“What was with the text then? Frightening her with the threat of danger? You desperate enough to do something extreme, Raymond?”
Ray somehow goes paler and his eyes shoot to me with accusation. I’m still sitting on the edge of Killian’s desk.
“I wanted to put her mind at ease, but figured sh-she wouldn’t come out so I…”
“Said shit to get her to come out?”
“Yeah. I had no intention of using that gun, man. Just a prop.”
“I’m supposed to believe that? It was loaded, Raymond.”
My grip on the sides of the desk tightens to hold me up. Holy shit.
“Did I pull it on your security guard?” Ray asks, then answers himself. “No, I didn’t, man. I approached the building and was hoping to meet Violet outside just to talk to her.”
“Maybe you want Violet to think you’re not as stupid as you look, man, but I happen to know my team came up behind you so we’ll never know if you planned to pull it or not, will we? Your text to her shows intent, though.”
“Fuck.” Ray covers his face. “You take my girl, man, you expect me to do nothing? What would you do if someone did that to you? I know what you’d do, you’d –”
“Never be in a position to lose my girl for money. Not for anything.” Killian looks at me as he says that last part. “A woman is mine, she’s safe and she’s my fucking priority above all else.”
I swallow.
Ray thrusts his hands through his hair again.
“I expect,” Killian leans back in his chair. I’m against the corner of his desk, only now I’m sort of twisted so I can see both him and Ray, “That giving you a chance to right a wrong would mean you’ll work your tail off to get my money together so that you can honor your end of the agreement. I told you she’s off-limits until the debt is paid and now you’ve broken the agreement, not once, twice. What am I supposed to do with that?”
“Maybe, I dunno, try to understand where I’m comin’ from?”
“Understand how you fucked me over for thousands of dollars? How you missed your flight, which I also paid for, then dodged me for days? How you left Violet worrying about what’d happened to you? How you came back and tried to talk her into running with you and lying to me?”
Ray shakes his head, staring at the floor. “Fuck, Violet. You told him that?” Ray looks like he’s about to cry.
I say nothing, but my body is shaking, my mouth is dry, and I feel puky.
“You have an installment for me?” Killian asks, sitting up straight.
“An installment?” Ray’s eyes bounce to him.
“Some of the money?”