Chapter 10

A weight had been lifted off my shoulders. My stomach no longer rolled and clenched every time I looked around the casino floor. The girls didn't have that sense of desperation about them that they used to. They were happy. Which made me happy.

Which made me think about the one thing that made me even happier.

Carina was a distraction. My obsession. She always had been, but now that I'd tasted how good she was, I couldn't get her out of my mind.

Seeing her work, flirting with the customers and getting them to place higher and higher bets, keeping them in their chairs, keeping them coming back… It filled me with as much pride as dread.

She was mine. The best of the best and the woman I wanted in my bed every day for the rest of my life. But the thought of something happening to her made me lose my mind.

She was right. I would kill anyone who touched her.

Which was a problem, considering this was her job.

I finished my rounds, touching base with the high rollers and checking in with the bouncers and the girls posted at the rowdier tables. It was a slower night, and I had reports to get ready before I met with Mr. Leonetti next week. Hand on the staff-only door, I cast one last glance around the room, and I nearly jumped in my place when the door flew open in front of me.

Carina barged through the opening, crashing into me before she could stop herself. I grabbed hold of her, my first instinct to wrap my arms around her and make sure she was okay.

"Carina, darling, what's going on?"

"Oh, King." She clung to me, her hands tight on the sleeves of my jacket as she looked up at my face. "We need to talk."

Without taking my hands from her body, I ushered her down the hall to my office. "What is it?" I asked when I opened my door.

Carina broke away from me, leaving my hands aching for her as she paced the floor. "Something's happened to Nevaeh."

The hairs rose at the back of my neck. "Where is she?"

"That's the thing, I don't know!" She pulled to a stop in front of me. "I haven't seen her in days. She called me four days ago to tell me she was sick and wouldn't be coming in. I got a text the next night saying she still didn't feel good, and I haven't heard from her since. She's not answering my calls or texts, and when I went to her apartment, she wasn't there."

"What do you mean, she wasn't there?"

"I mean," she said, lowering her voice, "when I didn't get an answer, I took the liberty of breaking in, and she isn't fucking there!"

I spun on my heel and yanked at my hair, my heart racing in my chest. "What about family? A boyfriend? Do the girls know where she is?"

She was already shaking her head before I could finish. "They haven't talked to her. She hasn't been overly close to them for most of this year. We don't know about a boyfriend, and she has no family around here."

"Fuck!" I paced the floor in front of Carina, trying to figure out what to do. "The cops won't fucking care. She's an adult. If there's—" I stopped and spun back to face her. "Were there any signs of foul play? Was her apartment trashed? Anything broken?"

She shook her head. "Nevaeh's a mess, but her apartment wasn't any worse than how she leaves her space here."

I cringed. Her lack of order drove me crazy, but the police wouldn't use a messy apartment as proof that something bad happened to her.

"What if…" Carina put her hand on my arm, tugging my fingers away from my hair. "What if we called Vinny? Or Lee Bridgewater?"

"You want to call your exes?" My blood boiled in my veins.

She pursed her lips. "They can help. When that woman, Kelly O'Connor, went missing and the police wouldn't do anything, Lee did. He saved a boatload of women from being sold, certainly he could help find Nevaeh."

"You want to call your exes?" I said even louder, because I was seeing red.

Carina crossed her arms. "This isn't about my exes, Kingston, it's about Nevaeh."

I gripped the outside of her arms, and her smooth skin soothed an ache inside of me. My blood cooled with her in my grasp, my breathing slowed. My chin tucked to my chest, I told her, "I know, darling, I know. It's just…"

When she wrapped her arms around me, I held on to her as tight as I could.

"I can't lose you, Carina," I whispered against her forehead, chest going tight. "I know we've only been together for such a short time, but it kills me to think of life without you by my side."

She peered up at me, and it felt like her eyes were scraping my skin with every sweep of her gaze across my face. My heart squeezed as she loosened her grip, my throat closed in on itself as she leaned back.

But then she stole the breath right from my chest when she grabbed me by the tie and yanked, slamming her perfect red lips to mine. There was possession in her kiss, in the slide of her tongue against mine. In the way she cupped her delicate hands around my face and held on like she shared my fears.

Our kiss slowed, and she brushed her thumbs over the short hairs on my face. I pressed my forehead to hers.

"I don't want to lose you either, King." She nudged my nose with hers. Tightened her hold on my cheeks. "Do this for me. Something's not right, and I don't think either of us could sleep if we didn't act and Nevaeh was hurt."

Sucking in a deep breath, I wet my lips, then let it out. "You're right. Let's see what they can do."

* * *

It turned out that Vinny and Lee were all too happy to get involved. Carina had barely said the words we need help, and the two dropped everything and told us to meet them at Bridgewater Security. By the time we pulled up out front, Lee was waiting at the door. He led us through the building to a room that looked like a small auditorium, where Vinny was already scouring the internet for information on Nevaeh Vega.

"What do you know?" Lee asked after directing Carina and I to have a seat.

She crossed one leg over the other, the short skirt of her dress rising up her thigh, and my entire body became alert, watching for any signs of a threat from either of the men. "Nevaeh has been with us for almost two years now. She's always been a great worker, gets along well with the clientele and our staff. It's just recently that things seem… different."

"How do you mean?" Lee asked, and it turned my stomach to have Carina's attention on the big man.

"Well." Her face pulled into a grimace, and she glanced over her shoulder at me. "There's been a change in policy lately." She turned back to the front of the room when Vinny spoke up.

"My father told me about that."

"'Bout what?" Lee asked, his loud voice putting me on edge.

Vinny glanced up from his computer, his attention falling on me. He spoke slowly, as if he were worried he'd offend someone. "In light of what happened with Jen and Kelly, he's been convinced?—"

"There's no more fucking or blow jobs," Carina interrupted, spitting it out faster than Vinny could. "As you can imagine, it put us in a bit of a tight spot."

"The raises are in place?" Vinny asked me.

"They are. For over a week now."

He nodded, and Lee scratched at his beard. "What's been different?"

Carina sat a little straighter, keeping her head facing forward. "She's been more distant this year. Not talking with the girls as much. She and Ruby had been real close, but they stopped hanging out just after Christmas. She wasn't as upset as the others about the changes, but she also didn't react as much when I told them about the raises. She was… I don't know. It's like she wasn't there."

"How's that?"

"While the others were smiling and talking and hugging me, Nevaeh was frowning at her phone. She called the raise lovely, the way you thank your grandmother after you're gifted a piece of shit." Carina glanced at me again, and something in me warmed at her need to include me, to be reassured by me.

I took her hand, scooted a little closer. Her body was stiff, and I squeezed her shoulder, trying to get her to relax.

"It's possible," she started, then glanced at me again. "She may not have been taking the new mandate seriously."

"What do you mean?" My voice was hard, too hard judging by the way she jumped.

"She did a better job of hiding it," she said, voice tentative as she looked down at her lap, "but most of the girls have told me they've seen her sneaking in and out of the back room looking ruffled."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm telling you now!" she bit out. "And this is exactly why I didn't say anything. I knew you'd act like this!"

"Of course, I'd act like this! She knows this is a direct violation?—"

"I don't want to lose her just because she's doing what she's always done! I understand the rules changed, Kingston, but throwing her out on her ass isn't going to keep her safe!"

"Ahem." Lee's deep voice stopped me from letting anything else fall from my open mouth. "Don't suppose we can focus on the missing lady instead of fighting?"

"Sorry," the two of us murmured, each of us tucking our chins.

"You think she coulda been taken from the club?" Lee asked after a beat, and Carina shook her head before explaining Nevaeh's absence prior to her disappearance. He nodded, then glanced over at Vinny. "You got any questions?"

"Not at the moment," he responded, looking up at the two of us. "But I might once my guys get logged on to help. They might want more details about her behavior the past couple weeks, who she might have been dealing with at the club. Is there any way you can stay?"

"Of course," Carina said before glancing at me. "That's okay, isn't it?"

Squeezing her hand, I gave her a tight smile. "You can stay, but I should get back."

She nodded, then surprised me when she leaned in and pressed a kiss to my lips. "I'll call you after a bit."

I pressed my forehead to hers and let out a heavy breath. "Be safe." After shaking hands with Lee and Vinny, I walked out the door, then rushed to my car and raced back to the club.