“Have a nice life, Orion.” My voice comes out even despite the turmoil raging inside me, and with that, I turn on my heel and head out of the suite, leaving my key on the table by the door.
The last thing I hear before the door swings shut is the sound of the headboard cracking.
Imeet Max and Darius in the lobby, and a bellhop immediately takes my bag to the car parked on the curb.
“Did you have a good night, babe?” Max asks, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
“Please don’t tell me you gave my ex a key to my room,” I groan.
“She guessed that quick.” Darius chuckles and wraps an arm around my shoulder. He’s only a few inches taller than me, and I find myself leaning against him without conscious thought. Some days it feels like I’ve known the two of them all my life, and even when they’re meddling, I’m grateful as hell to have them by my side.
I peer up at Darius and note the dark smudges under his soft green eyes. His curly brown hair is messier than normal, and I pin him with a look. “Do you two ever sleep?”
Max’s laugh fills the quiet lobby, and I’m immediately all too aware of all the eyes on us. “We’ll sleep when we’re dead, babe. But we got shit to do while we’re living.”
“I think you mean each other,” I mutter and glance around us, making sure Orion hasn’t escaped from where I left him.
“You’re looking a little skittish this morning, love,” Darius says, steering me toward the door.
“And minus a tall, dark, and handsome billionaire-slash-drug kingpin,” Max adds.
“He’s a little tied up right now.” I shrug.
Max’s eyes widen comically, and a chuckle booms from his throat. “Fuck, I love you, Em.”
I smirk and allow Darius to open the back door to the limo for me.
“If it isn’t my little runaway thief.” A familiar voice comes from behind Max, and my throat tightens as Lucas and Cain flank my best friend.
“Oh goody, another asshole to deal with.” Max chuckles, unaffected by the men surrounding him.
“Watch your mouth,” Lucas snaps. “You won’t be laughing if Cain teaches you some manners.”
“This has nothing to do with them,” I say evenly.
“You’re right, it doesn’t, but they are the ones that have been hiding you from me.” His eyes slowly trail down my body, and instead of filling with heat, like when Orion did it, it’s dread in its place.
“What do you want, Lucas? I’ll pay you the rest of your money, but I’m not working for you again.”
He laughs and steps forward. The urge to retreat slams into me, but I steel myself in place, leaning into Darius’s hold on me. I used to feel confident when dealing with Lucas and his intimidation tactics, but that was before I found out this asshole actually thought I’d ever marry him. Now, being within a few feet of him makes my skin crawl.
“I don’t give a fuck about the money, Ember. I want what was promised to me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say evenly.
He chuckles. “For a thief, you’re not a very good liar.”
I glare at him, allowing my eyes to quickly flick around us to make sure we’re not drawing a crowd. Being out of Vegas means Max and Darius are less likely to get recognized, but it’s not out of the question, and the last thing we need is this little interaction being on the front of tomorrow’s paper.
“Travis is dead, no thanks to you, and therefore, any deal he made with you is long gone. Perhaps you should have thought about that before you put him on the Hunter’s radar.”
Lucas moves so quickly, I barely catch myself as his tattooed fingers wrap around my throat, constricting my airway, shoving me back against the open door.
I’m vaguely aware of Cain holding Max back and Darius trying to shove Lucas off, but I’m too focused on not panicking to process any of it.
“Watch your fucking mouth when you speak to me, whore,” Lucas growls. “You’re coming with me now, or I’ll kill both of these motherfuckers in front of you. How does that sound?”
“Please don’t hurt them,” I choke out.
