Wicked Need (The Wicked Horse Series Book 3)(48)

“Move on from here?” I ask her quietly, my throat aching just pushing those words out.

She gives a quick shake of her head. “No. Not from here, here… I mean like move on from Samuel, his family, and everything that was my life.”

I instantly inflate with relief and wonder if subconsciously I hadn’t been pushing the will aside because I was afraid she would leave after it was worked out. But I can’t keep her here against her wishes to move on, whether it be from my apartment or from a bad life, and I swore to myself that I’d help her out as best I could.

“Let me call Bridger really quick and see if he’s got anything to offer before you call, okay?” I ask her as I pull my phone out of my pocket.

She nods and I dial Bridger’s cell, putting it on speakerphone so Cat can hear when he answers, “What’s up?”

“Just checking in to see if you got to look over the copy of that trust agreement I brought you?”

“Sorry man,” he says with true apology in his voice. “I’ve had a bit of an issue going on at The Silo and just haven’t been able to get to it.”

“What’s going on?” I ask, completely feeling a bit guilty I haven’t been there in so long. Bridger hasn’t said a word, and I wasn’t poking the bear on that.

He sighs into the phone. “I don’t even know if issue is the right word or not, but I accepted a new patron into the club upon a recommendation of a few of our more established members. In fact, he bought himself a platinum membership, as well as memberships for his harem… four of them in all.”

My head snaps over to Cat, and she has the same raised eyebrow look that I do.

“Did you say harem?” I ask with a laugh.

“I don’t know what the f*ck you call it, but the man has four women he brings in with him, and they all sort of… belong to him, I guess. It’s f*cking weird, but hey… you know our motto… no judgment.”

“Then what’s the issue?”

“He’s got this girl… woman, really, but young. Twenty years old and supposedly a virgin. Won’t let anyone f*ck her. They can do other things do her, but not f*ck her. Rumor is going around he’s going to auction off her virginity and everyone’s in an uproar, wanting it for themselves. I’ve been at The Silo every night just making sure I keep an eye on things. But seriously, reviewing that document just slipped my mind.”

“It’s cool,” I tell him, but inside, I wish he’d have some better advice.

“Listen,” Bridger says, his voice coming through the speakerphone in that slightly tinny way, “mind if I give it to Jenna to look at? She’s good and it will be a professional eye on it.”

Jenna’s a former college classmate of Woolf and Bridger’s who went on to law school, and she’s also Bridger’s attorney for the business. She plays at The Silo too—quite well I know from personal experience—and if Bridger trusts her to review it, then so do I.

I look at Cat and give a nod, telling Bridger, “Yeah, that’s fine. Cat’s going to go ahead and reach out to Kevin to ask for a signed copy of the will that supposedly cuts her out.”

“Sure that’s a good play?” Bridger asks.

“I have to,” Cat pipes up, and I give her a smile. “I need to move this forward.”

“Hi Cat,” Bridger says, his voice softening. He always had a soft spot for her and I wonder if he’s f*cked her. I’ve never seen him do so and he rarely participates at The Silo. But still, plenty of times Cat and Bridger were there and I wasn’t, so it’s conceivable.

“Hi, Bridger,” she says back, smiling at me. “And thank you for helping.”

“My pleasure, darling. Now I’ve got to get to work.”

We disconnect. Cat pushes off from the counter and moves past me to get out of the bathroom. She does this with a hand coming to my waist where it rests softly for a brief moment, and I like to imagine that she did it for no other reason than she wanted to touch me.

I follow her out, through the living room and to the kitchen where she pulls her phone out of her purse.

“I’m calling Kevin right now.”

I wordlessly come to stand beside her, my hand going automatically to her lower back where I rest it lightly. A sign of support. A way to give her strength.

She taps her finger on the screen, pulls up Kevin’s number and poises her finger above it. “I’ve got both Kevin and Richard’s contact information in case something happened to their father.”

I nod because I can’t imagine any other reason she’d have to call them, but I see her eyes filled with unease. It hits me all of a sudden why she would even bother to tell me that.

My hand covers hers, and I pull it back from the phone slightly. “Cat,” I say, my tone soft but censuring. “I’d never think you’d do that.”

Call up one of those brothers.

Sons to your husband.

Because you wanted to f*ck them.

She gives me somewhat of an apologetic grimace. “I just… you don’t know me, Rand, and I didn’t want you to ever think there was anything—”

“Just stop,” I say roughly as I squeeze her hand in mine. “I do know you, Cat. Now make the damn call.”

She studies me for a moment, and I stare back at her. She finally gives me a nod and pulls her hand free so she can tap on Kevin’s name. She hits the speakerphone button, affording me the same courtesy I just gave her during my call to Bridger.