“They handpick the girls they want. Girls they can threaten and blackmail into being part of their games. Some of the shit they do to these women is sick, Riggs.”
“I know, brother. I can imagine. But if we took down every criminal gang operating in London, we’d be part of the metropolitan police. We’re not cops, brother, and in case you forgot, we’re hardly running things clean around here.”
“They have Eva on their radar,” I say bluntly. Riggs sits back down, his mouth falling open. “I know she’s not part of this club, but neither was Anna. You said we help people who live in our city so . . . ”
“What the fuck are you talking about? Eva is Anna’s best friend. She’s part of this club and she’s in your bed, so we sort this.”
“She’s not in my bed anymore,” I mutter. “What do we do next?”
“She’s not in your bed?” he repeats.
“I don’t wanna talk about it. Tell me what we do next.”
He stares at me for a few seconds before sighing. He knows I won’t tell him anything. “I think we should get her back at the club. She’s safer here.”
I let that sink in. Having her here when I’m so pissed won’t be easy, but he’s right, she’ll be safer here. “I’ll watch her for the next few hours. She needs to go to work tomorrow. Michelle is firing her. Once she’s done that, I’ll bring her in.”
“They won’t take her off the street, will they?” asks Riggs.
I shrug my shoulders and head for the door. “I don’t think that’s their style. They’ll have something on her, try to blackmail her to sign a non-disclosure and contract.”
“What could they have on her? Maybe bring her mum, too, to be on the safe side?”
I agree and leave. I head back to Eva’s house and watch from the end of the road. I can’t believe she lied to me. And now, she’s put herself in danger because that ass thinks she’s considering his offer. His next move will be to secure the deal by making threats.
Chapter Eleven
Eva
I woke up late this morning and I only just make it through the office door as Michelle arrives. She glares at me with so much hate that it chills me. “Office. Now,” she mutters and breezes past me. Kyle raises his eyebrows and I shrug my shoulders before following her.
She takes a seat behind her desk and bridges her fingers. “Eva, I have to let you go,” she says.
My eyes widen. Those are definitely not the words I was expecting today. “What? Why?”
“You’re unreliable, you arrive late, you’re incompetent,” she says, counting each finger as she reels off the short, inaccurate list. “Should I go on?”
“I was late today,” I argue. “By three minutes,” I add. “I am not unreliable or incompetent. You didn’t ask me to do something and then insisted you did.”
“Let’s not make this difficult, Eva. You went to my husband’s club. I know all about it.” I press my lips together. How the fuck does everyone know about that? “How can we work together when you want to be my husband’s mistress?”
I nod my head. “You know, you’re right, but before I go, let me explain a few things.” I square my shoulders. “Firstly, your husband came on to me. I kneed him in his saggy, old balls and told him to fuck off. Yes, I went to the club, because I was curious. I didn’t sign anything and I won’t be returning anytime soon because it isn’t what I thought. And finally, how dare you lecture me on going after your husband when you’ve been having sex with someone else behind his back for months? You don’t care about your marriage.” I pull the door open. “Oh, I forgot to mention, Cree’s spoken for, so stay the hell away from him.” I slam the door behind me.
“Are you okay?” Kyle asks, glancing at Michelle through her office window.
I fight back the tears. I didn’t want to stay in this job anyway, so why am I so upset? I grab my bag and check my drawers to make sure I have nothing personal in them. “She fired me.”
“She what!” He almost screeches. “Did she say why?”
“She thinks I want Callum,” I mutter, screwing my face up.
“Oh, Eva.”
“It’s fine. I’m glad. She saved me a job. I’ll call you later.” I kiss him on the cheek and head for the door. When I break out into the fresh air, tears roll down my cheeks freely. I’m mad at myself for being upset, but I’ve never been fired in my life, and it feels horrible.
“Let’s go,” growls a voice behind me. I turn and Cree is glaring at me. He still looks angry and disappointed and that causes the tears to flow faster.
“Go where?” I sniffle.
“The club. Riggs wants you there,” he says coldly. His eyes dart around, looking at anything but me.
“Riggs wants me there,” I repeat. Not him.
“I don’t have time to play twenty fuckin’ questions, Eva. Let’s go.”
“I got fired today,” I say. He heads towards his bike.
“I know,” he says, throwing his leg over. “Get on.”
“How did you know?” His cold stare reminds me of the way he used to be towards me. I’ve not seen that look in weeks, and seeing it now makes me realise how much I hate it. My heart aches in my chest.
“Michelle told me,” he mutters.
I scoff. “I forgot, you and her share secrets. Well, I hope I haven’t blown it for you. I just told her we were a thing.”
He narrows his eyes. “You did what?”
“I’m sure she knew already. Everyone seems to know more about my life than me.” I turn and walk in the direction of my house. I’m not going anywhere I’m not wanted. I’ll call Anna when I get home and ask her what Riggs wants with me.
I’m no more than a few
