Better When He's Brave (Welcome to the Point #3)(70)

His gaze skipped over me from my curled-up hair and heavily made up face down to my legs that were bare under the hem of a simple sundress. Before Titus, I would have donned a miniskirt that showed more than it covered, and found the most revealing top I could find, but now I knew the subtlety in sex could be an effective weapon if used correctly.

Race’s mouth kicked up in a grin as I closed the door and started down the hallway with him hot on my heels.

“He’s going to ask you to dance. With those legs you would make a fortune.”

I wrinkled up my nose even though he couldn’t see it. “No way. I already told Titus I wouldn’t do that. He’s begrudgingly rolling with this plan as it is. I’m not going to give him a reason to pull the plug on it before it even begins.”

“Nothing wrong with dancing for a living. Honor made more money than Bax did when he first started working for Novak by taking her clothes off.”

I gave him a look over my shoulder. “Keelyn. She might’ve made a lot of money but she lost herself doing it. Why do you think she left?”

His eyebrows dipped down into a deep vee over his evergreen-tinted eyes. “I thought she left because Nassir wouldn’t let up on her. He’s been circling her forever. I think that’s one of the reasons he doesn’t like me. She and I used to have a thing when we were younger.” He smirked at me as we hit the elevator that led to the underground garage. “Granted I used to have a thing with half the city back in my heyday. But she was always one of my fondest memories.”

I rolled my eyes at him and poked the button to take us down a little more violently than was necessary.

“One of your fondest memories and you don’t even call her by her real name, just her stage name? How do you think that made her feel?” I sniffed a little and tossed my hair over my shoulder. “I’ll tell you how it made her feel. Like she was nothing more than a body, a sex object, like she was only good enough for sex and the fantasy, nothing more.”

His smirk fell away and I could see the gears and motors that worked his powerful mind start to fire. He leaned back against the wall of the elevator and a frown pulled at his handsome features.

“She never said anything to me. Before or after.”

When the doors opened into the garage he grabbed my elbow and held me still so that he could lead the way out. He moved with an alertness and a tenseness I was getting used to in the men that kept this place alive. He was vigilant and moved with purpose, so I let him guide me along.

“Why would she? You had sex with her. You called her by her stage name and then you moved on. When you started making money, started to make a name for yourself when you took over Novak’s action, did you ever think to ask her if she wanted more? Nassir too. He took over the club from Ernie and he just let her keep dancing on that stage. He never offered her anything more. If he had, she would have handed herself over to him without question. All she wants is someone to value her.”

He grunted and popped the locks in a sleek and modern sports car. It was so different from the old-school muscle I had been cruising around in recently that I almost made a face at it. Boys took their toys seriously, though, so I stopped myself just in time. Green eyes locked on me over the top of the car and Race’s voice was contemplative when he asked, “How do you know that’s what she wants? I thought you two didn’t like each other. Nassir said you tried to kick her ass a few weeks ago when Titus took you to the club.”

I blew out a breath that had some of my hair lifting and falling back toward my face.

“I know because I am her. We’re from the same place. We’re made of the same stuff. We’ve had to fight the same battles, and I know all I wanted was someone to value me, all of me.”

“Titus.” It wasn’t a question.

I lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “He doesn’t approve of some of the things I’ve done in the past, but those things give me the ability to see all of him, so we have to accept each other. Plus, where I come from gives me enough fight to try and hold on to him when he wants to break loose.”

I pulled the door open as Race gave a dry laugh. “I always knew big brother had more going on than anyone really knew. Bax was so angry at him when we were younger that he made him out to be a monster. I always trusted Titus with my life, but I knew underneath the surface there lurked something else. None of us that survive here gets the luxury of being one thing. We all have our hands in different cookie jars hoping that at the end of the day we don’t get caught in any of them.”

The car stared with a low purr, far quieter and less angry than the noise the GTO made. Race and I were silent on the rest of the way to the club, and when he parked around back he leaned across from me to pull a gun out of the glove box in front of me. I recoiled a little because I was still jumpy about the one in the purse at my feet. I needed to get rid of it like yesterday.

“I don’t usually carry a gun, but something tells me hanging out with you might make it necessary.” The weapon disappeared behind his back and under his sweater as we climbed out of the car and headed into the overly pink building. It was so much worse in the daytime. It just screamed debauchery and degradation. It was so gaudy and ugly it hurt to look at. I couldn’t believe someone with as much style and class as Nassir hadn’t changed it yet. And I told Race that.

He made a noise of agreement as he punched a security code into a pad and a massive metal door swung open.