A Dirty Business (Kings of New York #1)(85)

“Don’t know anything about that or why you would refer to your boss as Trace.”

Right.

“Okay!” Kelly was back, falling into Justin’s emptied seat. “Guess who I ran into at the concessions? Molly. Can you believe it? She came for the game.”

“What?”

“Yeah!” Her smile was so wide. She was beaming. “She’s sitting on the other side, but Molly’s cousin is filling in at Easter Lanes for her.”

“Who’s she with?”

“She came alone. Said she got the ticket as a gift last minute and couldn’t miss this. Molly never gets out, so I was thinking we could go dancing after. Maybe at Octavia? Right, Jess?”

Dancing at Octavia? I was in. That sounded like fun.



Octavia was one of the “in” nightclubs to go to, but it was in a shitty neighborhood. I was pretty sure we’d gone past two groups of guys trying to jack cars when we parked, and as we had to walk past them to get to the nightclub, I took out my badge and made sure it was in plain view.

Two of the guys started toward us, saw my badge, and backtracked. They were gone from sight by the time we walked past, and once we got to the club, I called to see if a squad could swing through here.

“Okay. That was kinda cool.” Justin had a sheepish look on his face, his head ducking a little.

I tucked my badge back under my shirt once we were going past the bouncers. They gave us both a nod. One said, “Worthing.”

Justin started at that, his eyes narrowing, before he touched my back and urged me ahead of him.

What was that about?

But then we were inside, into the same darkness as always, and he showed me his phone’s screen.

Molly: Grabbed a booth table in the far east corner.

I nodded back. The music was louder than normal. The place was jam packed. Justin maneuvered us through the crowd. A few times a hand tried to grab both of us, but he either blocked them or I did.

When we neared the booth, he stopped dead in his tracks.

I hit into him, but he didn’t notice. His back was completely rigid, and moving around him, I saw that Kelly and Molly weren’t alone. Two other guys were with them.

I moved closer to get a better look.

Kelly was talking to them, her hands in the air, big bright smiles. She was acting like she’d known them forever. Molly had edged away from both, giving them space. The one guy was tuned in to Kelly while the second one was listening but giving Molly some looks.

They were good looking. Built. Big. Wide shoulders. All muscles. Tight white shirts, so they were really standing out when the neon lights flashed around the dance floor. Square jawlines. They were either personal trainers or criminals. As I moved ahead, the main guy spotted me, and his eyes narrowed.

His gaze was pinned to me, and I reached up, touching the chain where my badge was hanging from. A hardened look flashed in his gaze.

I didn’t know his name, but he was a criminal.

Justin moved around me, and I looked up, catching a glimpse of his face. His face was in stone. I’d never seen such fury on Justin’s face. I caught his arm. “Who are those guys?”

He spotted my chain and grabbed it, then tucked it under my shirt before realizing he’d touched me. “Sorry. Just—I need a favor from you tonight?”

“What is it?”

“I kept quiet about you and Tristian West. I need you to do the same about your bosses and about what you do for a living.”

So my gut was right. “Who are those guys to you?”

“Family, and not the family I want you to meet.”

He started to go forward, but I stepped in front once more. “Who are they in connection to Kelly?”

“She met them at that party you left. They came later, and since she moved in, they’ve come around a few times. They’re . . . she doesn’t know they’re not good guys, okay? I haven’t gotten around to telling her everything.”

“You need to.”

His eyes flashed. “Right. As soon as you do.”

I didn’t answer.

He scoffed, moving around me. “That’s what I thought. Listen, it’s not permanent. Okay? Either Kelly and I are going to move or . . . I don’t know. I haven’t figured it out yet.”

I felt my phone buzzing and pulled it out. The screen was lit up.

Trace calling.

I hit the button to send a text in response.

Me: At Octavia with friends. I can’t hear you if I answered Trace: Get somewhere you can hear me. Now. I mean it, Jess.

I frowned, but seeing that no one was looking my way, I slipped out until I found a back hallway. The music was a little more muted; then I found an unlocked door, and even better. It was a maintenance closet, but I’d be able to hear him.

I called him back.

“Why are you at Octavia?”

I frowned. “It’s a thing called ‘night out with friends.’ You ever heard of it?”

He growled from across the phone, “Who are you there with?”

“Kelly. Justin. A friend from bowling.” I kept frowning because I’d been to Octavia before. Trace knew this, and as far as I knew, there was no beef between him and the owner. “What’s going on? Why are you being like this?”

“I’m getting reports that you’re there with others.”