Darcy stared at his retreating back in disbelief, tempted to run after him and demand he finish that cryptic sentence.
It’s the only way for me to…
To what, damn it?
She watched as his long strides briskly ate up the sidewalk, and once he’d fully disappeared from view, she just stared at the empty street, unable to control the pounding of her heart.
What had just happened? If Reed were anyone else, she might think he’d almost admitted to having a thing for her, except the man had never shown even a smidgen of interest in her in the past.
The logical part of her insisted that she’d misinterpreted this whole night from start to finish, but Reed’s enigmatic behavior lingered in her mind and followed her all the way up to her apartment.
And haunted her for the rest of the night.
…
Reed showed up at the club earlier than usual the next evening. Sin opened at seven o’clock, but he was in his office by six, hoping that the mountain of paperwork on his desk would distract him from thoughts of Darcy.
Christ, he’d come so close last night to telling her how he felt about her. Standing outside her building, with those big blue eyes focused earnestly on his face, he’d nearly spilled his guts. Blurted out just how badly he wanted to kiss her. Confessed to all those nights he’d lain awake thinking about her. Admitted that seeing her with AJ triggered a burst of crushing jealousy he’d never experienced before.
But at the last second, he’d swallowed the confession, knowing it was one he could never, ever voice.
A man didn’t hit on his friend’s girl—or his friend’s ex. Period.
And AJ’s friendship meant way too much to Reed to risk throwing away.
“Hey, you’re here early.” Gage Holt appeared in the doorway, his eyes flickering in surprise to find Reed at his desk.
Reed cocked a brow. “So are you.”
“Yeah, I called a staff meeting for all the bouncers,” Gage answered as he entered the office and headed for the sole armchair across from the desk.
“How’s Jeff working out, by the way?” Reed asked, referring to the bouncer he’d sent Gage’s way a few months back. Jeff was an old buddy of his from the fighting circuit, tough enough to handle the security duties required of him, but not a loose cannon like some of the other MMA folks Reed had crossed paths with in the past.
Gage lowered into the chair, leaning his head back. “He’s doing great, actually. One of the best guys we have.” His expression clouded over. “I want Jeff and the other boys to watch everyone on the floor tonight like hawks.”
“Are we any closer to finding the asshole who’s dealing in the club?”
Gage was usually hard to read, but tonight his expression clearly broadcast his feelings on the matter. Anger and annoyance shone there, his mouth set in a tight line as he shook his head in response.
“Oh, and I ran into Vinnie this morning,” Gage said flatly. “He told me that the cops are starting to crack down on the club district. They want to stop the flow of drugs in the city, and they’re planning on using a heavier hand with all the club owners.”
“Vinnie knows we’re not dealers,” Reed grumbled. “We grew up with the guy, for fuck’s sake.” In fact, Vinnie was the reason Sin didn’t receive a lot of attention from local law enforcement. He’d vouched for Reed and the guys, assuring his superiors that everything the three men did was aboveboard.
“There’s only so much he can do for us.” Gage made a frustrated noise. “Shit. We’ve really gotta find this dealer before Sin gets a reputation for being a place that pushes drugs.”
“I’m working the bar tonight, so I’ll keep an eye out too.” Reed hesitated. “Have you heard from AJ?”
“No, but Skyler got a call from Darcy earlier today. Did you know AJ and Darcy broke up?”
He shifted in his chair. “Yeah. I ran into Darcy last night at the Krib, and she told me all about it. I tried calling AJ twice today, but he’s not picking up his phone.”
“I don’t blame him. Dude’s probably heartbroken.”
“You think? Darcy told me the breakup was mutual.”
Gage rolled his eyes. “Breakups are never mutual.”
“That’s what I said, but she insisted it was.” Reed didn’t offer any more details, afraid that the conversation would veer into dangerous territory if he did.
The last thing he wanted was for Gage to ask questions about his encounter with Darcy. So far, he’d successfully managed to mask his attraction for the woman, but he wasn’t sure he could keep up the I-Hate-Darcy charade at the moment. Not when his almost-confession to her last night had left him feeling so raw and exposed.
So he swiftly changed the subject to one he knew Gage wouldn’t be able to resist. “How’s Skyler doing?”
As expected, Gage’s expression softened at the mention of his girlfriend. “She’s great.”
Reed had to grin. “Still rocking your world every night?”
“Hey,” his friend chided, “show some respect. That’s the mother of my future children you’re talking about.”
Gage’s staunch certainty brought an ache of longing to Reed’s heart. Jeez, he was turning into such a pathetic sap. It wasn’t too long ago that he’d been perfectly content playing the field and racking up notches on his sex belt, reveling in the excitement of the chase and all the fun it resulted in.
But seeing Gage happy with Skyler, and AJ seemingly happy with Darcy, had stirred up the most fucked up need for something more meaningful than casual sex.
Except the only woman he was remotely interested in was the one woman he couldn’t have.
And even if Darcy was on the table, he knew she wouldn’t date him, anyway. Why would she? She thought he was a player, an opinion he’d helped shape by hooking up with a revolving door of women in the five months Darcy had been with AJ. And besides, he’d never even been in a real relationship before—what could a guy like him offer someone like Darcy?
Reed pushed aside the bleak thoughts and raised his eyebrows at Gage. “You’ve only been dating Skyler a couple months. Isn’t it a little too early to call her your forever love?”
The other man’s voice rang with conviction. “Oh, it’s forever.”
“Someone’s mighty confident of that.”
“Trust me, when you know, you know.”
Damn it. Now he needed to change the subject again. His attempt to get his friend talking about light-hearted dirty stuff had been foiled by Gage tossing back the F-word.
The other F-word—forever.
Fortunately, Reed’s cell phone rang before his buddy could drop more F-bombs, but the wave of relief that washed over him dried up the second he glimpsed AJ’s number on the display.
“AJ,” he told Gage, his muscles tightening right back up again.
“You can take it. I need to go round up the guys, anyway,” Gage replied. “I’ll catch you later.”
As his partner wandered out of the room, Reed raised the phone to his ear and greeted his other partner. “Hey, man, what’s up?”
“Nothing really,” came the gruff reply. “I just wanted to make sure you restocked the bar after yesterday’s rush.”
Reed searched for any false or unhappy note in AJ’s voice, but heard none. “Yes, Mom, I restocked the bar,” he grumbled.
“Good. I figured you’d forget.”
A frown surfaced. “I’m not sure if I should be insulted by how little faith you have in me.”
There was a beat, and then AJ spoke up guiltily. “Sorry, force of habit. I’m so used to staying on top of you that I keep forgetting you’ve finally got your shit together.”
This time, the remark didn’t offend him. Truth was, he hadn’t been very responsible in the past. He’d spent his younger days drinking too much, blowing off work, and thinking himself a big-time hero because he happened to fight pro. But he’d cleaned up his act three years ago, after he and his friends had pooled their winnings together to buy the
club. Reed had quickly discovered that once you had a real stake in something—and a bank loan to pay back—you grew up real fast.
Nowadays, he spent most of his nights doing inventory and signing other people’s paychecks, and he genuinely appreciated that AJ recognized he was no longer the irresponsible, self-absorbed jerk he’d once been.
“Don’t worry, Gage and I are handling things on this end.” Reed hesitated. “You still taking the weekend off? Or are you coming in now that you and…” He trailed off, uncertain about how to proceed.
But AJ had always been able to read his mind. “Now that me and Darcy broke up, you mean?” There was a pause, followed by a tired laugh. “Let me guess—she told Skyler, and Skyler didn’t waste any time telling you and Gage.”
“Actually, ah, Darcy told me herself.” Reed battled a rush of discomfort. “I stopped by the Krib last night and ran into her there.”
He was greeted by silence.
A very long silence.
“You still there, man?”
“Yeah, I’m here.” Another pause. “Was she with another guy?”
His fingers tightened around the phone. Crap. Should he tell AJ the truth? Lying to his friends wasn’t something Reed did often—if ever—but AJ had sounded so unhappy just now that he didn’t want to make him feel worse.
And ha—he’d known the break-up wasn’t mutual. If it had been, there definitely wouldn’t be this much tension rippling over the line.
“Naah,” Reed finally said. “She was only there to dance.”
The lie burned his throat as it exited his mouth, sparking a pang of guilt.
But…was it really a lie? In the end, Darcy hadn’t gone home with another man, so why upset AJ when Reed had successfully managed to thwart disaster?
“That girl loves to dance,” AJ said ruefully. “I always felt like such a tool when she dragged me to all those dance clubs.”
“Are you…how are you handling it?” Reed injected a hefty dose of sympathy into his tone. “You’re not crying into your pillow and listening to Celine Dion or anything, right?”
A snort sounded in his ear. “Hardly. I’m doing fine, man. Honest. It wasn’t working, and we both knew it.”
Reed shifted in his chair, his chest tightening uneasily again. He wasn’t sure what to say next. He’d never been great at talking about his feelings, or helping others work through theirs. There weren’t many people he felt comfortable confiding in, and when he was the one serving as confidant, he couldn’t seem to vocalize all those nice, encouraging words they needed to hear.
“Well…” Reed cleared his throat. “If you ever want to talk about it…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll go to Gage.” AJ snickered. “Not that he’s a sparkling conversationalist either, but at least he doesn’t run out screaming when people start talking about their mushy feelings.”
Reed couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I kinda suck at it. But seriously, bro, I mean it. If you need to talk, I’m here.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Hey, you wanna go out for beers soon? After the weekend rush?”
“Sure. Sounds good.”
After they’d hung up, Reed leaned back in his chair, feeling like a load had been lifted off his chest. And now he was even more sure of what he needed to do.
This attraction to Darcy?
It needed to be squashed. ASAP. Sleeping with her wasn’t an option. Same went for dating. And since neither of those options was available to him, he was simply torturing himself by continuing to obsess over her. The only available course of action was to forget about her. Pretend she’d never walked into their lives.
Of course, that was easier said than done.
And, as he discovered two hours later, the plan was a thousand times more difficult to execute when the person he’d decided to avoid didn’t seem interested in doing the same.
“Reed.” The woman he’d just vowed to forget strolled right up to the bar, her expression awkward as she shouted his name over the blaring music.
He froze, his hand poised on the bottle of Jack Daniels he was about to pour. “Hey,” he called out. “What are you doing here?”
Darcy moved closer, resting both elbows on the shiny black counter. She wore skinny blue jeans and a yellow tank top that complemented both her reddish-gold hair and her vivid blue eyes, and as usual, his groin stirred at the mere sight of her.
“I wanted to talk to you,” she called back. She sounded as unenthused as he felt. “Do you have a minute?”
He glanced at the crowd of people milling at the counter, which he was working alone at the moment because Henry and Sue, two of the other bartenders, weren’t scheduled to come in for another hour. Sin wasn’t usually so busy this early in the evening, but he welcomed the aberration, since it allowed him to put off what was bound to be an uncomfortable exchange.
He didn’t know why Darcy had showed up out of the blue, but the sudden flare of determination in her eyes told him he wouldn’t like—or maybe like too much—what she’d come here to say.
“Not right now,” he said lightly. “I’ve gotta serve these folks.”
“That’s okay. I can wait.”
With a brisk nod, Darcy headed to the far end of the counter and plopped down on the last unoccupied stool.
Reed stifled a groan. Shit. Evidently she wasn’t going anywhere until she said her piece.
Swallowing hard, he tore his eyes away from her and tried to concentrate on pouring a stream of alcohol into the row of shot glasses lined up on the smooth counter. Then he pasted on a smile and turned to serve the waiting customers.
Feeling Darcy’s gaze on him the entire time.
Chapter Three
She shouldn’t have come here tonight. Nope, she should have stayed home like the smart, careful woman she was, and spent the evening finalizing her class’s reading list for the upcoming school year.
But curiosity, along with her tireless obsession with solving mysteries, just happened to be Darcy’s kryptonite.
I have to act the way I do, okay? It’s the only way for me to…
The only way to what, damn it? Reed’s mysterious words had kept her up half the night, even though a part of her wasn’t sure she wanted to know the rest of that sentence. She wished she could talk about it with Skyler or one of her other friends, but that would mean admitting that she’d put way too much thought into the idea that Reed Miller might be interested in her.
As she sat on her stool and fiddled with the straw poking out of her Coke, her gaze kept wandering in his direction. He was way too handsome, possessing those Black Irish good looks that formed a criminally sexy combination. Jet black hair and magnetic blue eyes, and once you threw that rock-hard body into the mix, you got one delicious looking male.
Tonight he was wearing all black again, snug pants that hugged the curve of his ass and a T-shirt that couldn’t hide the rippled muscles of his chest if it tried. His roped forearms flexed enticingly as he slid a couple of strawberry daiquiris in front of two female customers, and the crooked grin he flashed them sent a spiral of heat through Darcy’s body.
Damn it. Like the dumbass she apparently was, she’d gone and opened Pandora’s sex box, and now she couldn’t close the stupid thing. X-rated images sizzled through her mind, all of them involving Reed’s muscular body in various states of undress, which only caused a dose of guilt to join the desire coursing in her veins.
He was AJ’s best friend, for Pete’s sake. She wasn’t allowed to harbor such wicked thoughts about him.
In an attempt to distract herself, Darcy sipped her Coke and eavesdropped on the conversation of the two women beside her. They were in their early twenties, both decked out in skintight dresses and impossibly high heels. Their heads were huddled together as they spoke in raised voices over the pounding music.
Initially, Darcy thought they were discussing a phone call with a guy that one of the girls was crushing on, but after a couple of minutes, it became ev
ident they were talking about something entirely different. The person whose call they were waiting for wasn’t a boyfriend or a crush—it was a drug dealer.
“No,” the blonde was saying, “we don’t have to go anywhere. He sells it right here at Sin.”
Darcy froze, the hairs at the back of her neck standing on edge. AJ had mentioned that a drug dealer was using the club as his headquarters, but they hadn’t figured out who it was yet.
“How did you even get his number?” the other girl asked.
“Mac gave it to me. But he warned me that this guy is totally on the down low. Everything is super hush-hush, but his stuff is good and he sells it cheap.” The young woman glanced at her phone display, then squealed. “Ooh, he just got back to me. Come on, let’s go. You have cash on you, right?”
As both girls hopped off their stools, Darcy sprang to action, lightly touching the blonde’s arm. “Excuse me.”
“Yeah?” The girl eyed her warily.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop—I swear, I don’t usually do that—but…Do you think I could get that phone number from you?” Darcy put on her most innocent, unassuming face.
Suspicious brown eyes peered back at her. “Why?”
She offered a sheepish smile. “I’ve been trying to score some—” she leaned in to whisper into the woman’s ear “—Ecstasy for weeks now, but my usual guy is dry.”
“Really? You don’t look like the type who, uh, uses that stuff.”
Darcy laughed. “I don’t do it often, but every now and then I feel like getting a little…happy, if you know what I mean.”
The two women giggled. “Oh, we definitely know what you mean,” the brunette answered.
The blonde quickly clicked a couple of buttons on her BlackBerry, then turned it around so Darcy could view the screen. “Here. Hope this helps you feel happy tonight.” She shot her a warning look. “But you’re only allowed to text him. He won’t pick up the phone if you call.”
Darcy wasted no time pulling her own phone out of her purse and punching in the phone number. Once she was done, she winked at the two girls, thanked them, and then watched them scurry off and get swallowed by the crowd.