“Nah, babe, you’re early.” Tony held his hands up defensively and shrugged. “You know I’m always thirty minutes late especially since I always get lost in new places. You should have factored that in.”
God, Tony was a piece of work. She should just leave him here, but she just wanted this over with. “Say what you need to say, and then you can go.”
“Aww, don’t be like that, Tempe, baby.” He reached out to touch her, but she evaded his grasp. “C’mon now. You didn’t even give me a hug and kiss when you saw me.”
Was he for real? “That’s because we’re not together anymore. I would think leaving you should have clued you in.”
“Look, you didn’t even give me a chance to explain. What happened back home? It’s not what you think.”
“Oh yeah?” she challenged. “I walked in, and you were naked with her on our bed. What were you doing?”
“Just messin’ around,” he said. “I didn’t even put it in that long—”
“Ugh! Stop.” She put a hand up. “I don’t need to know the details.”
“But—”
“But, nothing. The fact is, you’re a lying, abusive, gaslighting asshole who’s done nothing but made me feel so small that I felt like I wouldn’t be able to do better than you. Well, guess what? I’ve opened my eyes, and I can see what you really are now.”
“Babe, I can change,” he pleaded. “C’mon, I deserve another chance. Come home with me, please. We can drive away tonight.”
“Deserve another … no.” She shook her head. “No second chances. Leave, and never come back.” Her foot stamped down in defiance. “I mean it.”
Tony froze, as if waiting for her to change her mind. When seconds ticked by and she didn’t budge or make a sound, his face suddenly twisted in hate. “I can’t accept that, Temperance,” he said, eyes narrowing. “I won’t.”
An unpleasant feeling crept into her stomach. Tony had always been charming and manipulative, using his good looks and sweet words to get his way. However, this man in front of her seemed … different. Why hadn’t she noticed that the hollows of his cheeks were deeper or his hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in weeks? His clothes hung off his frame, and was that desperation in his eyes? There was something oddly familiar about the way he looked and acted.
“You need to come back with me, Temperance,” he said, advancing toward her. “And you’ll do it, one way or another.”
She swallowed hard. Oh God, what the hell was going on?
Chapter Nine
Gabriel’s phone rang constantly all day as he tried to juggle the bachelor party and Damon’s “surprise.” He couldn’t ignore the calls even though they weren’t from the one person he desperately wanted to hear from.
His lion sat in the corner and pouted, making its displeasure known at being away from their mate. Yeah, buddy, me too. But his best friend was only going to get married once, so he was determined to make this party as successful as possible, even if the guest of honor himself didn’t look like he was having fun at all.
Convincing Damon to come had been like pulling teeth, and Gabriel couldn’t blame him. However, short of knocking Anders out and then storing him in a shed until after the wedding, there was no stopping the tiger shifter from having this party. Gabriel had to beg, plead, and blackmail the chief, promising him that there would be no shenanigans during the trip.
At least he didn’t seem suspicious that Anna Victoria didn’t threaten to leave him when he told her that they were having this party.
“You owe me, Russel,” Damon growled as his eyes narrowed. “You owe me big time.”
He sighed. “I know.”
“He said we were just going to eat and then go to an early show.” The chief’s lips pursed as a murderous look passed over his face. “It’s five o’clock, and we’re at a strip club.”
“Hey, there’s food here,” Gabriel said sheepishly as he nodded at the buffet spread in the corner. “And, uh, there is a stage.” God help him, he really wanted to kill Anders.
Gabriel—or rather, Ginny’s contact—took care of arranging the jet and the private suite at the ARIA on the Strip, while it was Anders who booked their itinerary. It had been innocuous enough since they started that day—breakfast buffet at the hotel, lounging by the pool all morning, but then the tiger shifter announced he had booked an early dinner and a magic show for them and ushered them into their best clothes.
A stretched Humvee picked them up, and soon, they pulled up to the Pink Palace Gentlemen’s Club. Sure, the place looked classy, and Anders—using Gabriel’s black credit card—had sprung for the private party room, but Damon would never choose to come to a place like this.
“And that’s why I didn’t tell ya, because you’re all bigger pussies than my tiger,” Anders had said as he dragged them inside.
But it was a good thing Gabriel had already guessed what Anders was up to and had come up with a plan that incorporated Temperance’s idea.
“Oh yeah, shake it, baby!” a rather enthusiastic voice shouted.
“What the fuck?” Damon’s eyes bugged out as he turned his head to find the source. In the center of the room where the small private stage was set up. One of the three dancers had her legs wrapped around the pole and hung upside down as J.D. whooped and showered her with dollar bills.
“God, of course she’s enjoying herself,” Damon grumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose with this thumb and forefinger, turning his back from the stage once more.
One of the concessions he had made to Damon was for their other best friend to join, since J.D. was technically part of the wedding party, though she was Anna Victoria’s Maid of Honor. Although Anders had initially protested because J.D. was female, the two were now thick as thieves as they ogled and encouraged every single
