The Deception (32 page)

Her gaze wandered around the room, searching for Dylan. The place hadn’t yet filled up. She recalled how it had been the last time when she’d danced before the men. They’d stared at her with hungry, desire-filled eyes. Nerves jumped in her belly at the memory.

“You, there!”

The shout came from the direction of the bar and cut through the murmur of the crowd. She tensed. It was the bartender. Turning to face him, she kept her eyes lowered and closed the distance between them.

“Take these drinks over to Vince’s table, would you? The boss is having his usual. The beers are for his friends. Got it?”

Savannah’s heart thumped so loudly, she was surprised he couldn’t hear it. She risked a quick glance at the barman and then jerked her head in a sign of acquiescence.

Maranoa was here.
She’d been asked to serve him a drink. Panic threatened to overwhelm her.

What was she going to do?
She couldn’t risk him recognizing her. Sooner or later he would realize she wasn’t one of his girls and then she’d be in all sorts of trouble.

“Hurry up, girl. I haven’t got all night.”

Fear kept her rooted to the spot. She kept her gaze lowered to the floor and tried to buy time. “Where’s he sitting?”

“He’s over there at the table in the far corner.” She glanced up to see the barman pointing with his chin in the direction of the stage. Her chest tightened until she couldn’t breathe. Her head spun.

She couldn’t do it.

She had to do it.
She had no choice.

Already the barman was looking at her strangely. She couldn’t afford to draw any more attention to herself. She had to hope Maranoa wouldn’t look at her. After all, she was just another one of the girls—or so he thought.

With a steadying breath, she lifted the tray and picked her way through the scattered patrons. Lingering gazes from some of the men she passed pressed in upon her. Her nerves ratcheted up another notch.

She did her best to stay focused on Vince’s table. He sat with his back to her. A couple of men in designer suits were seated opposite him. They huddled together, talking intently over the general thrum of conversation and the quiet background music, oblivious to her presence.

Holding the tray with one hand, Savannah distributed the drinks, doing her best to remain aloof from the men. She felt Maranoa’s gaze on her while she set his drink before him.

Despite her desperate, silent pleas that he ignore her, Maranoa gave her a slow and thorough once-over. Conversation at the table ground to a halt.

“Sally, ain’t it?” His tone was rough and uneducated, in sharp contrast to his five thousand dollar suit.

She nodded and kept her gaze lowered.

“How are you doin’ tonight, Sally?” His hand snaked out and moved slowly up her bare thigh. “Been busy?”

Savannah froze in shock, but she forced her brain into action. “Yes. Busy. I go now.”

Without warning, he grabbed her roughly by the chin and forced her to look at him. She winced and swallowed a cry of alarm. Dark malice lit his coal-black eyes. She fought to suppress a shiver.

He indicated the men across from him who watched the exchange in bemused silence. “Show ’em your tits.”

Savannah gasped. Vince’s smile was pure evil.

“B-but, Vince—”

His narrowed gaze glinted with menace. “I
said,
show my friends your fuckin’ tits.”

Fear like she’d never known paralyzed Savannah’s limbs. She tried to lift her arms, but they refused to move. In panic, she glanced at the men seated with Maranoa, desperately searching for an ally, but was met with half-grins and eyes that were glazed with avid anticipation.

Knowing she couldn’t blow her cover, she forced her hands into action. Grabbing the bottom of her T-shirt, she began to inch it up over her head.

“Vince, it’s good to see you again.”

Savannah froze, the deep, familiar voice halting her actions. Will strode toward them. A tight smile tugged at his lips, but his eyes were chips of jagged blue ice.

“Mind if I join you?” He indicated the empty chair on Maranoa’s left.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the Rutledge pup.” Vince’s face broke into a smile. “I’ve never seen you here before this week and now, you’re here all the time.” His gaze slid slyly over toward Savannah. “I wonder what keeps bringin’ you back?”

“Vince, it’s all you.” Will’s grin was quick and easy. Only Savannah noticed the angry tic at the side of his mouth. “And maybe the girls.” He flicked her a cursory glance.

“I think you’ve already met Sally?” Vince nodded in her direction.

“Yeah.” He gave her another quick once-over. “Sally and I have…met.”

Savannah saw the tension in the hard line of his jaw and knew he was barely containing his fury. She eased away from them and discreetly straightened her T-shirt.

“Going somewhere, Sally?” Will’s mouth twisted into a semblance of a smile. His eyes glinted steel.

She halted, not sure what he wanted of her. She met his gaze bravely, almost wincing at the fury in their depths. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and beg his forgiveness, but both of them were on very dangerous ground. If Maranoa caught even a hint that something was amiss, they’d be in a world of danger.

Pasting a flirtatious smile on her lips, she stepped closer and leaned against Will, rubbing herself against him, while her hand caressed the hard muscles of his chest.

He was casually dressed in a short-sleeved, red polo shirt and a pair of designer jeans. Shiny, black RM Williams boots were on his feet. His dark hair was slightly mussed, as if he’d run his hands through it more than once and he looked for all the world like a man who’d sought out a few hours of relaxation in his club on a Saturday night.

His muscles bunched beneath her fingers. Ignoring his tension, she slid her hand inside the opening of his shirt.

“How about me and you get to know each other again, mister?” Her tone was seductive, as was the look she threw him from underneath her lashes.

Vince watched them, idle curiosity playing over his face. Pressing even closer, she licked the soft lobe of Will’s ear. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

Will’s arm came around her and slapped her on the bottom. She jumped and let out a little yelp, quite sure the amount of force he’d used was no accident.

“Yeah, why not?” His gaze burned into hers a moment or two before he turned back to Maranoa. “Thanks for the freebie last time, Vince. I’m more than happy to pay for it tonight. She wasn’t a bad fuck, after all.”

Vince chuckled, showing vast amounts of perfect, white teeth. “I’m glad I could help you out. We aim to please.”

“That’s why I like to come here, Vince. Your hospitality is second to none.” Leaning in closer, Will lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper and tapped his nose. “Any chance of a bit of nose candy? It’ll really get the party rocking.” He winked.

“I’d love to help you out, but I’m afraid we’re out of that shit. I can probably rustle up a few pills.”

Will answered with a casual shrug. “Nah, I’m good. Pills don’t do it for me. Not like the powder does.”

“Next week, mate. Come back next week and I’ll see to it that you get whatever you need.”

“You’re on.” Will shot him an easy grin. “In the meantime, if you don’t mind, I might take Sally out the back and work up a bit of sweat.”

Vince grinned back at him. “Go your hardest, mate. I’m sure she’ll make it worth your while.”

“Oh, I know she will.” Will’s gaze hardened. He reached for her hand and determinedly dragged her toward the door that led to the bedrooms.

* * *

Will seethed with fury. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so angry. He strode along the dim carpeted corridor, dragging Savannah along behind him. Her sky-high heels and tight leather skirt made it difficult for her to keep up, but right at that moment, he didn’t give a damn. She could twist her ankle, for all he cared. It was probably better than having her neck wrung, which was what he felt like doing.

She’d lied to him.
Rage at her deceit washed over him, fueled by the memory of his terror when he’d seen her with Maranoa and his sense of helplessness that he could do nothing that might blow their cover. The intensity of his anger scared him.

His heart pounded so hard it felt like it was going to thump right out of his chest. He forced air into his constricted lungs and fought to regain control over the emotions that threatened to undo him.

When he’d seen Maranoa manhandle her, he’d moved without conscious thought. One moment he was frozen to the spot and the next he was exchanging pleasantries with the brothel owner with his fists clenched at his sides and doing all he could not to drive them into the asshole’s face.

And it was all
her
fault.

* * *

Savannah’s breath hitched. “Will,
please!
Slow down, or I’ll twist my ankle.”

“Shut up.” He didn’t even spare her a glance, but continued to drag her along the darkened hall, past a flurry of closed doors until they got to one that stood ajar. Taking care to check that the room was empty, he pulled Savannah in quickly behind him. With a flick of his wrist, he locked the door.

Savannah’s heart pounded. It was déjà vu. Her palms went damp. Will strode to the bed and switched on a lamp. Spinning around, his gaze pinned her where she stood.

“Will, let me explain—”

“
Explain
?” His voice was a fierce whisper. His cobalt eyes sparked with fury. “Where would you like to begin, Savannah? At the part where you smiled sweetly and told me you’d be staying home tonight? What about where you told me how supportive you were of my job—how much you
understood
my need to come here tonight, to finish what I’d started. Would that be a better place to start?”

He paced in front of her, his fury rolling off him in almost tangible waves. “I can’t believe I
fell
for that crap!” He came to an abrupt halt and turned to her. He stared at her with hard eyes. “You had absolutely no intention of staying home tonight, did you?”

“Will, please. I didn’t—”

“Didn’t what?” He interrupted her, his voice harsh. “Didn’t lie to me? Didn’t purposefully deceive me into believing you actually
agreed
when I explained why I didn’t want you here? Yes or no, Savannah? Did you purposefully set out to deceive me into thinking you were going to do as I’d asked?”

“It wasn’t like that!” she pleaded. “Will, please, you have to understand—”

“Yes or no, Savannah. It’s that simple.” His voice was deadly calm.

She shivered under his icy facade. She’d had no idea he’d be so upset. After all, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t been to the brothel before. She knew the risks she was taking and so far, she’d been able to take care of herself. She didn’t need him to make the unilateral decision that he was now responsible for her welfare. When had she become incompetent?

Anger smoldered inside her. She could remind him how, as nice as it was to have someone looking out for her, she’d been doing an absolutely fine job on her own, thank you very much. She could tell him she didn’t appreciate him macho-ing in on her life just because they’d shared great sex and she’d agreed to move in with him. It didn’t mean he owned her.

But after taking another look at his face, as impenetrable as granite, she refrained from saying any of those things. Drawing in a deep breath, she met and held his angry gaze.

“I’m not talking about this with you right now. You’re not in the mood to listen to a thing I have to say and I refuse to compete with your anger. I apologize for deceiving you. I feel awful about doing it, but you—you left me with no choice.”

She paused and then forced herself to continue while her courage held out. “When you’ve calmed down a little and you’re ready to talk about this rationally, give me a call.”

With that, she walked across the room, unlocked the door and stepped into the corridor. Pulling the door closed behind her, she walked to the back door as quickly as her tight leather skirt and five-inch heels would allow. Relieved to find it unlocked, she let herself out into the quiet night.

* * *

“Hurry the fuck up, Kid. We ain’t got all night.”

Dylan gritted his teeth and did his best to ignore Vince’s chiding. He glanced at the dark shadows of the security guards who stood above him and cursed under his breath. At least one or two of the fuckers could have given him a hand. He hauled another carton of powder out of the cellar and tossed it up to Vince, who missed the catch. The carton tumbled to the ground and split open on impact.

“For fuck’s sake, Kid. Be careful. That shit’s worth a fortune.”

Dylan drew in a deep breath and set his mind to the task. The quicker he emptied the brothel’s cellar of drugs, the quicker he could take his leave. It couldn’t come a minute too soon. He’d had about enough of Vince and the Black Opal for tonight.

The man had become a veritable ogre of late. His demands were becoming increasingly annoying. It was only because of Vince that Dylan was contemplating killing his sister.

As if the man could read his mind, Vince stared at Dylan with a narrow-eyed gaze and leaned over the hole which led to the cellar. “You found that sister of yours, yet?”

Dylan dropped his gaze and shook his head. “Nope.”

“You can’t tell me you don’t know where she lives. She’s your fuckin’ sister.”

“I know where she lives,” he mumbled. “I’ve been busy.”

Vince laughed without humor. “Busy, my ass. Busy fuckin’
my
girls. Listen to me, Kid and listen well. You’ve got two days.
Two days
, or I find her myself.”

CHAPTER 27

Will watched Savannah depart through the rear door of the brothel. Relief that she’d escaped unharmed warred with his anger and disappointment. Knowing there was nothing more he could do about it now, he made his way back into the main bar.

The crowd had increased tenfold. Men hovered close to the stage where another live show was about to commence. He looked around, but Maranoa had disappeared.

He cursed Savannah again. Thanks to her, he didn’t know whether the asshole had left the building or was somewhere inside it dealing with whatever was purportedly going down. Will suspected a shipment of drugs was being unloaded, but where?