A Dirty Business (Kings of New York #1)(44)

Lovely. I was being sarcastic. “How long have they been in there?”

The two shared another look.

I didn’t wait for them to figure out which would respond to me. I jerked a thumb behind me. “I don’t have time for this. You see what’s happening out there? Let me in there to talk to Anthony, or this place is going to get an official visit. It’s out of control out there.”

They did another look thing, and I was out of patience.

I shoved between them, opened the door, and pushed inside.

I didn’t give a look at who else was in the office before twisting and locking it. Not that the two guys were going to try and fight me. They knew me. The charade was more for them so Anthony wouldn’t be too pissed at how easy they let me in.

I looked around, and Anthony had an eyebrow raised; he was sitting behind his desk. “Really? I bet they just let you walk right past them.”

Okay. So the show had been for nothing. I shrugged. “I have that kind of demeanor.” I’d been preparing myself to see Trace in Anthony’s office and was trying to avoid the pull to look at him, but it wasn’t Trace. It was the other one, Ashton Walden, and he was eerily studying me.

I frowned. “What?”

Ashton’s eyes narrowed. He pointed at me. “You got something on your face.”

I started to reach up, thinking it was a bug or glitter, but realized he was referring to my bruise. “It’s nothing.”

His eyes cooled. “Right.”

His head swung toward Anthony, who was watching our exchange with both of his eyebrows raised, and he was leaning as far back in his seat as he could get.

Ashton said, “You do what you feel is fit.”

Then he started past me for the door.

I shifted aside, but when Ashton didn’t open the door, I looked back at him.

He was staring smack at me, his eyes flat, his mouth in a line. “He’s going to want to see that for himself.”

The door opened, and he was gone after that.

I closed my eyes, just a second, and let the curse word slip in my mind. Shit.

“Okay.” Anthony’s chair squeaked as he stood up, and he held his hands in front of him in surrender. “I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know about whatever the fuck that was between you two, or why you obviously have a black eye. You’re tough and threatening, and it’s not my job to worry about you, so all that said, what are you doing in here?”

“To threaten you.” I pointed outside. “You know how full it is out there? Your guys at the door aren’t sticking with the capacity limit.”

“We got a temporary permit for tonight. The DJ’s a celebrity.”

“Your temporary permit is bullshit. Scale the people back, or you don’t want to know the consequences.” I began reaching for the door.

“Or what? You’re going to call us in?”

I stopped, my arms folding over my chest. I gave him a cool look. “You kidding me? I’d be shocked if there haven’t already been one or two people who’ve already been trampled or near trampled. I’ve had to pull girls over the bar. It’s too crowded out there. If the fire guys come here and see that I wasn’t the one who called them, you bet your ass this will affect my other job. Get your shit together. I’m not playing.”

I yanked open the door.

The two bouncers scattered, and I marched right back. No one got in my way, so I was guessing my irritation was clearing the way.

There was no change in the next fifteen minutes, but the fifteen after that, the bouncers were wading through the crowd and pulling people out. It was thinning, enough where I didn’t need to be tense about seeing some of the fire guys I knew.

I went back to work, even spotting Kelly a few times.

Justin came over at one point. “I have no idea what you did, but I noted the timing. Thank you.”

I grunted, jerking my chin up.

He flashed me a smile, with two thumbs up in a cheesy grin.

I almost missed our manly normal greeting, but it was easier to work now, so I was relaxed enough to give him a half grin back.

Anthony showed up not long after that, one of his eyebrows still raised. “Happy?”

I lost my half grin. “Yes.”

He rolled his eyes but kept moving through the club.

I watched him go. He was checking everything over, and Justin shared a look with me after he moved past his section too. I was thinking it was the first time he’d seen Anthony actually walk through the club. My threat of people trampled must’ve rattled him.

Either way, the DJ was good, and the people weren’t going to get crushed. I was content for the rest of the night. It was an hour later when I was getting low on vodka. The people who were supposed to help us keep stocked up must’ve fallen behind. I grabbed one of the bottles and raised it in the air to get Justin’s attention. He looked and I shook it, showing that it was empty.

He gave me a nod, raising one thumb up this time.

I slipped out and headed for the back where we kept the extra stock. It was a bit of weaving through a hallway because I rarely came back here. The sounds of the club faded, and I came to the room and went inside.

It was dark.

Finding the light, I switched it on, and at that time, the door opened.

Trace shoved in.

“Wha—”