“My date? What does she have anything to do with this?”

“Everything. I see the way you look at her, the way she was holding on to you. She’s everything to you.”

With my heart beating out of my chest and my blood pumping at an abnormal rate, I tried to even my breathing as I answered my dad. I didn’t want him to make any connection between Goldie and me because he would take no prisoners. I cursed myself as I thought about how I was right at first for not bringing Goldie to these events. I was so fucking right. I knew this was going to happen, that I would run into my dad and he would try to use Goldie against me. I fucking knew it.

Taking a deep breath, I said, “That’s where you’re wrong. She means nothing to me. She’s the one who hit the jackpot tonight and won the honor of escorting me to this event. She is nothing but a cheap whore I found on Bourbon Street.”

Leo nodded his head, with a sly grin. “I’m not buying it. I know she stays with you, shares your bed.”

Trying not to grow agitated, I replied, “Like I said, she’s nothing to me. She is a good fuck that I’m using until I get bored again which frankly I am. She offered herself up to me in the car and I wanted nothing to do with it. She’s washed up.”

Eyeing me like he was trying to see right through me, I held my stance, showing no tells.

Rubbing his chin with his hand, he said, “You surprise me, Jett. Just when I think that you’re nothing like my son, you go and say something like that and I get the sense of pride that you are in fact my kin.” He took another sip of his drink and then eyed me. “Either way, stay out of my business or I will find a way to take you down, even if that means taking care of the girls that you’re…bored with.”

With that, Leo walked away, leaving me with the chance to finally exhale. I ran my hand through my hair and thought about what just happened. Leo was onto me and it was frightening to think about what my dad was capable of when it came to Goldie. He showed no mercy whatsoever and wouldn’t show any when it came to taking me down. If he ever got his hands on Goldie, who knew what he would do.

Swallowing a bit of bile that rose from the thought, I turned to look for Diego and Goldie but when I scanned the room, I didn’t see them together, only Diego who was looking around just like me. We spotted each other and started to converge together in the middle of the room.

When we stood in front of each other, I asked, “Where is she?”

“I have no clue. She said she wanted a quick drink and took off before I could go get one for her. Next thing I know, she disappeared.”

“Fuck,” I muttered as I grabbed the back of my neck and scanned the room again.

Fear pricked my stomach as I thought about where I stood and where the drinks were. Did she hear me talk to my dad?

“Holy shit, I need to find her,” I said, forgetting all my manners. I was usually more eloquent but when I had fear pounding against my chest, I lost all ability to be a gentleman. “Where do you think she went?”

We both looked around the room and then turned back to each other.

“Go check the bathroom, I’m going to run a perimeter around the room and then check outside.”

Diego nodded his head and we parted. I spent the next half hour searching for my little one in the gold dress but came up short. She was nowhere. I sent a text to Diego to let him know that I was headed back to the club to look for her. The short ride back seemed like hours but once we rolled up to the front gate, I blasted through the door and jogged up the sidewalk. I was about to enter through the front door when I saw a movement from the corner of my eye on the porch. I turned to see if it was Goldie and was slammed up against the wall of the club.

“What the fuck?” I shouted as strong hands pressed against my chest.

“I should be asking you the same thing,” Kace’s menacing tone breathed near my ear.

Lifting my knee and driving it into Kace’s stomach, I was able to release myself from his ironclad grip as he buckled over.

“Where is she?” I asked, not willing to be very patient.

“Where do you think? She’s in her room.” Before I could move, Kace grabbed me and said, “Did you mean all that bullshit you said?”

“Are you fucking high? Of course not!”

“Then why say it?”

“I was talking to my dad. He threatened to hurt Goldie because he thought she was getting close to me which he’s fucking right.” Running my hands over my face, I breathed out. “I couldn’t stand the thought of Goldie getting pulled into this fucked up mess so I did what I had to do, I made it seem like she meant nothing to me.”

“But she does…” Kace stated.

“She means everything to me,” I choked out, leaving Kace behind and walking up to her room, praying that she was still wearing her necklace but preparing myself for the worst.

Chapter Nineteen

“Ghost”

Lo

My face was buried in my pillow as I cried uncontrollably. Babs was rubbing my back, trying to comfort me but it was no good, Jett’s words rang through my head on replay. He actually admitted that he turned me away in the car because he wasn’t interested anymore, that I was nothing to him.

I tried to tell myself that he wasn’t telling the truth, that he was putting on a front because he’s Jett Colby and wasn’t used to being attached to someone but still, the words he spat out were so disrespectful, they hurt¸ no matter what context they were in.

The moment I heard Jett’s words, I spun around, ditched Diego and called Kace to come pick me up. He was less than happy to be my personal chauffer because apparently he was in the middle of hooking up with someone but the moment he saw me, his stern face turned soft and he held my hand all the way back to the club, trying to calm my ragged breathing and saying sweet things to me.

When we got back to the club, he walked me up to my room which was where we ran into Babs. They helped me into my bed as I explained to the both of them what happened. Kace’s face grew angrier each second and when I was done, he tore out of the room and never returned. I was nervous of what he was going to do, especially to Jett but I didn’t care that much because my heart was ripping from my chest.

Once again, I was riding on the roller coaster that was Jett Colby and it just seemed like I kept getting burned.

“I’m going to rip his nuts off,” Babs said as she continued to rub my back. I couldn’t reply because my throat was too tight from crying. I wasn’t much of a crier but when you embarrass me like that, when you insult me, it’s hard for me to control my emotions.

“That’s not necessary,” came that deep southern voice from the opening of my room. I heard Babs gasp but I didn’t turn to see who it was. His voice and aura ate up all the air in the room in one fell swoop.

“You have some nerve coming up here,” Babs defended me.

“Save it, Babs. You’re excused.”

“To hell I am. I’m not leaving her with you.”

The irritation in Jett’s voice grew. “Have you failed to remember who makes the decisions around here?”

“Nope, pretty sure I remember it’s a giant dickhead who walks around thinking he’s better than everyone.”

“Babs, I’m not fucking playing around with you. Leave,” he gritted out, sending chills through my bones.

She hesitated before she leaned down to me and said, “I’ll have a machete on hold if you want to use it.” A small smile played at the corner of my mouth as I nodded my head into my pillow. I might just need that machete after I was done with him.

“Shut the door,” Jett said as I felt him come closer.

I coiled up farther, as small as I could go because right now, I didn’t want him near me, touching me. His touch was deadly to me. With one touch, he had the ability to make me forget all his past transgressions and do whatever he wanted.