“I wasn’t going to do anything with it,” he huffed.
Ash merely shrugged. “You have exceeded your allotted number of warnings and are no longer welcome in my club.”
Roger reached for the knife in his pocket, but Simon had his razor drawn first. He gripped the man’s hair and pressed the sharp blade to his throat.
“Whoa.” Ash’s voice was commanding, even though it was quiet. “Don’t kill him yet.”
The man grabbed at his wrist. “I wasn’t going to use it. Please don’t kill me!”
Simon rolled his eyes. “Why do they always start bawling?”
Ash spoke calmly, but no one would question his seriousness. “I’ll let you walk out of here one last time, Roger. The next time you set foot in my club, if you do make it out alive, part of your body will either be broken or severed. Is that clear?”
“Yes!”
Simon made eye contact with Ash and with the raise of his brow asked if he could leave the man with a permanent reminder. Ash gave a subtle nod. Simon let go of the man’s hair, grabbing his earlobe. Ash clamped a hand over Roger’s mouth to muffle his scream as Simon cut a vertical slit through the flesh.
Together, they shoved him through the backdoor.
“Never again,” Ash warned him.
Roger stumbled into the alleyway. “You’re mad!” Holding his bloody ear, he began running.
“If you see him around here again,” Ash said to the security guard at the door, “make sure he’s taken care of.”
“Yes, boss.” The man gave a confident nod.
“Is it always this exciting around here?” Simon asked as they climbed the stairs again.
“Rarely. But when it is, I’ll be glad to have you on my team.” When they reached the balcony, he sent O’Connell back downstairs.
“I think that’s probably enough for your first night, Allister. Why don’t you go home and spend some time with your new bride?”
“Did I go too far?” he asked.
“No.” Ash clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s not a punishment. It’s a reward.”
He pulled a stack of bank notes out of his pocket and peeled off a few, holding them out for Simon. “Get some black suits. That brown makes you stand out like a sore thumb around here.”
“You don’t need to buy my clothes, Ash.”
“My requirement, my responsibility.” Simon still didn’t take the money and Ash raised his brow. “Are you going to argue with me on your first night?”
With a sigh, Simon took the money. “Thank you, Ash.”
“I know you’ve just wed, Allister, but make sure you get some sleep too. I want you at your best for a full night tomorrow.”
He still wasn’t sure how he was lucky enough to have Madelene for his wife. How he was lucky to have any of this life, come to that.
He locked the door behind him and wrapped his arms around her, breathing in her wonderful aroma. She made his townhouse feel like a home. “I love you,” he whispered into her ear.
“You were wrong about something, you know.”
“I’ve been wrong about a lot of things. Which time are you referring to?”
“The time you said I’d get tired of hearing those words.”
“Well, I will certainly never tire of saying them.” After a brief kiss he took hold of her hands. “Why don’t we go upstairs and change into our nightclothes?”
