Carter Reed

of his nightclubs. They played techno music, mixed with the pop hits, and the crowd didn’t make me envision BDSM occurring in any shadowed corner of the club. With this club, however, there was a reason why so many wanted to get inside—it ensured confidentiality. A lot of celebrities would sweep through and were ushered to their private boxes, floors above the actual dance floor. But there was also another crowd, the criminal crowd, which made it so secretive and exclusive at the same time.
    Anyone could go to Octave with the assurance that whatever happened in Octave stayed in Octave. There must’ve been security that swept the club on a regular schedule. Carter wasn’t stupid. He was far from stupid. While some of the rougher customers might feel they could get away with anything, there was a limit.
    Even though I’d only been inside Octave once, I couldn’t be completely sure about my suspicions. I knew Carter. He had never sanctioned that stuff when we were kids. Still, a lot had happened from then till now. As I swallowed over a dry throat, I was fully reminded. I had killed a man and now I was hoping Carter would help me.
    “Miss,” the cabdriver honked his horn at me. “You gotta pay, lady. This ain’t a charity ride.”
    “Oh.” Fumbling through my purse, I found the money and handed it over. As he started to leave, a laughing couple stumbled from the club and climbed through the door. I still hadn’t closed it. His on-service light was switched off as I heard the guy mumble an address before he started sucking on the girl’s neck. Then the cab drove off, and I was left on the curb.
    Great.
    Again. What the hell was I doing?
    I eyed the line waiting to get inside. Most of them were dressed with next-to-nothing while I wore a long-sleeve shirt over jeans. Granted, Amanda had to lend me her jeans, so they stuck like glue to me, but I was covered. There was no way I was going to get into that club, not like this. So I took a deep breath and saw how long that line was. It’d be hours before I even got to the door. As I bit my lip, I considered going around the line and approaching the four large hulks in front of me. As one glanced at me, I saw the flat look in his gaze. My gut told me that others had tried and been rejected. I sucked in my breath—they might even ban me from the place. Then all hope would be gone.
    As a large black Sedan drove past the club and turned into the back alley, I started to follow. Could I get in through there? But no. The car slid to a stop and four more men rushed the back door as it was opened. A man and a woman hurried out and through a side door. She’d been giggling, wearing a flashy red dress, and the guy had a business suit on. The door shut with a resounding finality as the bouncer pounded twice on the roof. The car took off and those four guys resumed their stances before the door.
    Just then, the door opened again and another big guy walked down the alley towards me. I gulped. This was it. This was my chance. As he started past me, I reached out for his arm, but my wrist was grabbed before I made contact.
    I froze. My eyes bulged out as I saw that he had a vise-like grip on my arm. His eyes were hard, almost too cold.
    “Yeah?” he growled.
    I gulped again. I tried to keep my knees from buckling. “I-I—”
    “Spill it, honey. You have five seconds.”
    Oh god.
    I swallowed over a basketball in my throat. “I—I know Carter Reed. Could I—I mean—is he-?”
    He smirked, the harshness of that look slithered down my back. “You and everyone else, honey. You wanna talk to him? Go to the end of that line and wait your turn. But,” his eyes slid down my body and up. “You’ll be wasting your time. You ain’t getting inside dressed like that. You’ve got a damn fine body, but you gotta show skin. You ain’t showing any, honey.”
    My stomach fell to the ground. This wasn’t how I thought it would be, but who had I been kidding? Carter Reed probably didn’t remember me anymore, much less give a damn about helping me. But I didn’t know what else to do so I wandered down the block and then turned the corner. I sighed. The line went past another block. There would be no way I would get inside, much less even close to the door.
    My phone buzzed at that moment, and I checked it. It was Ben. Where the f are you? Mals going crazy. Crying and stuff. Might go to the hospital.
    I quickly thumbed a response back. DON’T! Can’t. B smart. Will kill her