Dare To Run (The Sons of Steel Row #1)(75)

The carnal needs of the flesh.

But even after that familiar need took over, there was still that warm, sinking feeling that after I finished making love to her I’d never be the same again.

And strangely enough?

I was okay with that.





CHAPTER 24





HEIDI




Friday night, I stood outside a huge brick mansion, wearing the fanciest dress I owned, clutching a purse that was so tiny, it was ridiculous to even bother carrying it. I knew that this was a big mistake. A colossal, life-ending, game-changing type of mistake . . . and yet I was going to go ahead and do it anyway.

It was time for me to protect him.

Tate wanted to see me, so he would. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about Lucas being attacked from three corners instead of just two.

Wringing the absurdly small purse in my hands, I walked up to the front door. I could hear what sounded like a small orchestra playing Mozart. Freaking Mozart. It sounded as if the party was a hell of a lot like I’d guessed last night, but I’d been joking. I hadn’t really expected ball gowns and caviar, despite Lucas’s alluding to a high-class affair when we’d talked about it last night.

After taking a calming breath that did nothing at all for my nerves, I knocked. The door swung open immediately, and two large men in designer suits stood there.

They looked me up and down, the appreciation in their eyes all too clear.

The one on the left raised his brows. “Are you one of Suzy’s girls? I haven’t seen you around here before.”

“N-no.” So. The prostitutes were already here. Lovely. I forced a smile and stopped strangling my poor purse to death. “I’m with Lucas. Lucas Donahue. I’m his—”

“Girlfriend.” Chris came up behind the two men, looking hotter than ever in his suit. His brown hair was gelled and styled to perfection, and I swore he had the whole five-o’clock shadow thing down to a science. “And he wouldn’t appreciate your insinuation.”

The man on the left flushed and stepped back. “Of course. I apologize.”

“Come in, miss.” The one on the right scowled at the other man. “Ignore Frank here. He’s always been an idiot who doesn’t know how to treat a lady.”

Chris stepped forward, his whole body tense and ready to pounce. “Maybe he needs to be reminded to think before he f*cking speaks.”

“It’s fine, really.” I glanced at Chris, then at the pale man to my left. “It was obviously just an honest misunderstanding.”

Chris walked up to me and placed a hand on my lower back. “Make sure it doesn’t happen again. Take her coat and go back to your posts.”

The man who wasn’t Frank helped me slip off my wrap, and they both gave Chris respectful nods before walking away. I returned to strangling my purse. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, I did.” He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “I thought you weren’t coming. Does Lucas know?”

I shook my head. “Nope. As a matter of fact, he made it very clear I wasn’t welcome.”

“Damn, girl.” He whistled through his teeth. “You’ve got balls.”

“Not the last time I checked,” I said dryly.

He snorted and gave me a gentle shove toward the room where the majority of the crowd was gathered. “Come on. I’ll escort you inside and keep you safe when he starts breathing fire.”

My heart thumped loudly in my ears, and I let him guide me to the room’s entryway. As soon as I caught sight of it all, I froze. Stunning jewelry adorned the most beautiful of women, all clad in evening gowns of the latest fashions. All around me in the marble-floored room, men conversed in small groups, most of them with a woman or two on their arms. It all looked so very civil. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think this was a party for the Boston Brahmins.

There was even a cop there. A freaking cop. I recognized him from evening news reports, and he’d recently won an award for cleaning up the streets of Steel Row. I felt like I’d fallen straight down the rabbit hole and landed in Wonderland. Eyes wide, I stared at everyone. I knew all the men were armed with at least one weapon beneath those Gucci suits, and all of them could likely kill a person without batting an eye. Including Lucas. Speaking of which . . .

It didn’t take me long to find him.

He stood in the corner, facing slightly away from us. A gorgeous woman in a silky red dress ran her hand over his arm, but he shrugged her off, ignoring her completely. As he chatted to her escort, he glanced over at Chris, a cocky grin on his face. At least until he saw me.

Then he looked ready to kill. Or breathe fire, like Chris had said earlier. I sucked in a deep breath and stepped back, my heart speeding so fast it hurt. “Oh God.”

Chris chuckled. “Too late to back down now. Tate saw you, too, and is coming this way. If you leave, it’ll look bad, and all of this will be for nothing. Lift that chin, doll. It’s time for a show.”

Forcing my attention off the furious man stalking my way, I scanned the room for signs of this “Tate.” A young, way too hot man walked toward me. But that couldn’t be Tate . . . could it? I’d thought he’d be, you know, older. “That’s not him, is it?”

“Hm?” Chris glanced over at the guy I couldn’t stop staring at. Not because I was attracted to him or anything, but because he was the opposite of what I’d expected him to be. “Yeah. That’s him. Why?”