Martin must’ve caught his second wind. He was MIA. Victoria refused the invite, but made me promise to meet her and her girlfriends later.
Ellis and Lacey had worked up an appetite, thank fuck, and joined us on our trek to In-N-Out Burger, which did not, unfortunately, serve drinks. Lucky for me, I’d made sure the car was stocked with a wide variety of libations.
I was currently on my fourth? Fifth? Aw fuck, what did it matter? Ellis and I enjoyed a killer bottle of bourbon with a bag of burgers between us while we sat on the trunk of the town car. Lacey and Natalie sat on a blanket they’d spread in the grass and shared fries while they whispered and laughed, staring at the view.
Jeremy, our driver, had taken us to a “top-secret” location, a closed park that boasted the best view of the city skyline. That man had earned himself one killer tip because he had been right—the view was unreal.
The burgers were the bomb. The company was perfect. And I enjoyed a mind-numbing buzz. I only accidentally ogled Natalie twice.
Alcohol was to blame. Not the dress. Not her laugh or her smile.
We finished our meal. We joined Victoria and her girls at the club. I drank. I watched Victoria dance, joining her twice. I only accidentally, from the corner of my eye, caught a drunk asshole grinding against Natalie. I might have smiled when she pushed him away.
Victoria was surrounded by her friends, and she was happy. She laughed more than I’d seen her laugh in months.
Martin finally showed. He joined the girls on the dance floor. He danced too close to Natalie.
She allowed him to touch her for one song, then joined Ellis, Lacey, and me at the table, sweaty, breathless, and…playing with her breast? She dug around behind the fabric covering her left boob, then pulled out her cell and read the screen.
Her smile faded. “Seriously?” she mumbled, searching the room, eyes wide, panicked.
Before considering ramifications, I snatched the cell from her hand and read the screen.
I see you
Slut
Ugly whore
U should b working the streets, not the clubs
I should kill u now, save the planet
Turning my back to Ellis and his bride, shielding Natalie, I asked, “Who sent this?”
“I don’t know.” She gnawed her lip. “Don’t say anything to Lacey, please? It’ll ruin her night.” She reclaimed her phone. Tucked it back into the hidden compartment in her dress. “I haven’t gotten one of these since I ended things with Martin.”
“You think Holden followed you to Vegas?”
She looked over my shoulder, then made a quick assessment of our surroundings and said, “I need to go.”
“Jeremy will drive you,” I ordered, leaving no room for argument.
She replied, “Thank you. I appreciate the offer.”
Natalie made an excuse to her best friend and said her goodbyes. I walked her to the car and waited while Jeremy merged into traffic and disappeared. Then, I dialed a longtime acquaintance who happened to head a personal security crew in town and made sure someone had an eye on Natalie for the rest of her time in Vegas.
Then, I called my buddy back home, Detective Waters.
When I returned to my friends, Martin came my way with a wicked grin on his face and lipstick smeared on his chin.
“Can’t keep it in your pants for a minute, can you?”
“Not surrounded by all this eager beauty.” He clapped my shoulder. “Where’s Nats?”
“Called it a night.”
His grin faltered but only for a blink. I let the details rest. He’d been stupid enough to let Natalie slip through his fingers. Her concerns were none of his business.
My only concern should have been my bride-to-be. “Anyone seen Victoria?”
Ellis pointed toward the back. “She headed for the restroom. Said she needed a touch-up.”
I ordered another drink. Victoria came back, fresh as a fucking daisy, tits on display, silver shiny dress covering only the required parts, legs begging to be parted in a pair of silver, glittery, fuck-me heels.
Her lips met mine, her breath a hefty dose of minty menthol. Her tits pressed against my chest.
“You having fun?” I growled in her ear, dragging my fingers up the length of her bare thigh.
“A blast.” She curled into me. “Where’s Natalie?”
I dared explore higher, breaching the hem of her dress. “She left.” I pulled her earlobe between my lips. “Think it’s time for us to go, too.” I stretched my fingers, dusting the curve of her ass. Fuck, it’d been so long since I’d touched her. I couldn’t remember the last time we’d made love.
She curled her face into mine, but she shifted her hips, pulling away from my touch. “Baby, I want you so bad right now, but I started my goddamn period.”
“You know I don’t care about that shit.”
Cupping her jaw, I pulled her in for a kiss. Her entire body stiffened.
“Vic,” came Martin’s voice over my shoulder, “one of your girls is getting sick in the bathroom. She’s asking for you.”
Victoria cussed into my mouth. Pulled away. She brushed soft fingers through my hair and promised, “Let me go take care of this. Be back in a sec.”
Victoria didn’t return. Forty minutes later, she sent a text to tell me she’d taken her friends back to their hotel and would call for the car when she was ready.
Martin disappeared into the sea of women.
I ordered more drinks.
Jeremy drove Lacey, Ellis, and I back to our hotel.
I opened another bottle of Jack and waited. Alone.
Natalie
“Natalie.” Bang. Bang. Bang. “Natalie, open up!”
I stood at the door, eye to the peephole, and debated whether or not to proceed.
The man outside was clearly inebriated. He swayed where he stood, his eyes unfocused, his hair rumpled. He had no business being at my hotel room. I should’ve called security.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
A man yelled from a few doors down. “Shut the fuck up!”
Oh, jeez. I couldn’t leave him out there to get arrested, or possibly beaten to a
