The VIP Room(20)

When I’d run from the back patio of my apartment and snuck to where I’d parked my car on the street, I’d considered going to Sam. But I’d thought he’d said he’d be out tonight. And I didn’t want to tell him what was going on until I had a chance to think it through myself. Too late for that now.

My tears gradually faded, and I forced myself to pull away from the heat of Sam’s arms. He smelled like spice and citrus. Masculine and strong. Sexy. I wiped at my face and told myself to focus. Yes, Sam is hot. I know that. I see him every day, and every day he’s hot. It was not the time to get distracted by how good he looked. And smelled.

Trying to get a little distance, I stood and moved to sit in the arm chair facing the couch. Sam scowled at me again.

“Tell me what’s going on Chloe. Now,” he said, clearly out of patience.

“Nolan is missing,” I admitted. “He didn’t come home Saturday night, and he’s not answering his phone. I thought maybe he was just-”

“Being typically irresponsible?” Sam said in a dry tone.

Sam wasn’t a big fan of my brother. He thought Nolan needed to grow up and stop leaning on me. Sam was probably right. But he didn’t understand our relationship. I ignored Sam’s comment and went on.

“I got home after work tonight a little later than usual and I had to park a few spots away. I was going in the back because it was closer and I had groceries when I saw people in my apartment. I almost went right in because I thought they might be with Nolan. But then I saw one of them holding a gun.”

It had been dizzying, the sway between relief that Nolan was home and shock that there were strangers with weapons in my little apartment.

“I listened to them for a few minutes. They were looking for Nolan. But then they said they wanted to take me in, too.”

“Take you in where?” Sam demanded, sitting up straight on the couch.

“I don’t know. They had accents, and it was hard to understand what they were saying.”

“Did you get a good look at him? At any of them?”

“Not really, I was outside on the patio, trying to stay out of sight behind the blinds. There were three of them. Tall. Dark hair. The one with the gun talked the most.”

“What kind of accent?”

“I’m not sure. European. Not French or Spanish. Maybe Russian. Something Eastern European, I think.”

“Fuck. Are you sure?”

“No,” I said, suddenly annoyed.

I’d done the best I could, but I’d been confused and then scared shitless when they’d said they’d settle for taking me if they couldn’t get Nolan. It hadn’t occurred to me to stick around and see what else I could find out. I’d turned and run back to my car as quietly as I could, glad I’d left my purse and briefcase in the back seat.

“Sorry, Chloe. I’m just worried. This doesn’t sound like one of Nolan’s usual f*ck-ups.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

Normally I’d bristle at Sam referring to Nolan’s occasional issues as ‘f*ck-ups’. Nolan had made a few mistakes. In the two years he’d been living with me in Vegas, he’d had a DUI and almost lost his license for reckless driving. Helping him with that one had taken a chunk out of my savings. He’d also been fired from two jobs before he’d landed one at the tech start-up where he was currently working. Or had been until a few weeks ago. I’d called Monday morning to find out if he was there, only to hear that he’d been let go almost a month before.

My brother was smart. He was also impulsive and restless. I loved him, but even I could admit it was past time for him to grow up. Before that could happen, I had to find him. Sam pulled his phone back out of his pocket and started to dial. Alarmed, I said,

“Stop, who are you calling?”

“Axel,” he said, looking at me as if I was a little slow. Of course he’d be calling Axel.

“You can’t call Axel.”

“Why not?” Sam asked, starting to look exasperated.





Chapter 2





Chloe





Why not? I knew Axel, at least professionally. Axel was scary. He was very good at his job, the mix-up at the Delecta the month before not withstanding. If I wanted to find Nolan, he’d be the first person to call. But I had a bad feeling about what Nolan might be mixed up in. And if Axel got involved I’d lose control over what was going on. I wanted to protect my brother, even from himself. Axel might not have the same priorities.

“Fine,” Sam said, agreeing a little too quickly for me to think he was going to let it go. I worked side by side with the man. I knew that one of his tactics when he wasn’t getting his way was to pretend to give up, then come back at the problem from another direction. But I’d play along for now.

“I just need to figure out where he is,” I said.

“Forget about your brother for a second,” Sam said. “I want to talk more about the part where they wanted to take you even if they couldn’t find him.”

“That’s all I know,” I said. “I pretty much ran right after that.”

“That’s probably the only smart thing you’ve done tonight.”

“Hey!” I said. I knew I hadn’t thought things through as well as I could have, but that was just rude.