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His reply was immediate.
It warmed her heart to know he’d been waiting for her text.
She smiled and closed her eyes.
Dream of me, sweet girl.
I love you.
One more night.
One more night behind the red door. One more night until his sweet girl was back in his arms where she belonged. While Brendan knew he was going to miss Katelyn, it came as a surprise to him just how much he’d missed her. How empty the house felt without her. He wanted to wake up beside her every morning. Fall asleep holding her every night. He knew some things were going to have to change for that to happen, but he was more than ready for it.
Brendan waved at Kelly and Leo through the window as he walked past the coffee bar on his way to Charley’s. He was meeting Kyan and Dillon for a beer and a burger before he had to be at the club. Marcus, who managed the restaurant, rushed to greet him when he came in the door.
“They’re waiting for you. Usual table.”
“Thanks, Marcus.” Brendan patted him on the shoulder as he walked past and headed toward the side of the restaurant where the bar was.
His cousins, along with Kodiak, were seated in a private booth near the fire that burned in a hearth of exposed brick. A welcome respite from the bitter cold outside. Brendan slid in next to Kyan. Dillon and Kodiak had their noses buried in menus, which made him laugh. They damn well knew what was on it and ordered the same thing every time they were here anyway.
Dillon looked up. “What?”
“Menu hasn’t changed since we opened the place, Dill.” Brendan shook his head, still chuckling. “You’re just gonna get a cheeseburger and wings. Kodiak will order the ribs. So why in the hell do you even bother looking?”
The server took that opportune moment to appear. Dillon grinned. “Ribeye, medium rare. Loaded baked potato and the asparagus.” He paused briefly. “Oh, and give me an order of hot wings too.”
Brendan snickered, pouring himself a beer from the pitcher on the table. “Change is good, Dill.”
After the server left with their order, Kyan got their attention and spoke in a hushed tone. “Get this. Looks like Salena is keeping exclusive company with…” He elbowed Brendan in the ribs. “…Eric Brantley.”
“Uh, I think I already knew that.”
“How? Kodiak just told me…”
“Katelyn and I ran into her at the Music Box. She was with Eric and his son.” Brendan shrugged and took a pull of his beer. “I didn’t know they were exclusive, though.”
“They seem to be,” Kodiak added. He started scrolling through his phone. “When was that, Bren?”
“November. Before Thanksgiving.”
“Wish you’d have told me.” Kodiak cocked his head. “I’d have started digging into this dude sooner.” Then he grinned. “Know of any reason Senator Rollins might be depositing ten grand into Salena’s bank account every month?”
The fuck?
Brendan could think of several. A friend of Salena’s, and he used that term loosely, State Senator Mitch Rollins was one of the club’s original members. The press would have a field day, and his political career would be over, if that alone ever became public knowledge. But Rollins belonged to several private clubs, not just the Red Door. He was into pain and degradation. His preferences bordered on the extreme.
He nodded. “Blackmail comes to mind.”
“She has a few other hefty monthly deposits coming in, but I haven’t figured out the sources of those yet.” Kodiak cocked his head to the opposite side, still grinning. “Rollins isn’t very smart. The funds went directly from his personal account into hers.”
“Is that right?”
“He’s been paying her off for years, from what I can tell, but I only went back five.”
Interesting.
“That’s before the club even opened,” Dillon interjected. “She’s been playing at this gig a long time. What the fuck?”
