Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
“Who is Benedict Cole?”
“Only the hottest man to exist on planet Earth.”
I laugh a little because I couldn’t imagine anyone hotter than the man standing next to me. “Sounds dreamy,” is all I can say.
“And remember, we don’t talk to him,” Devereaux says, crossing his arms.
“Why can’t we talk to him?” I ask, trying to seem nonchalant as I grab a cloth and spray bottle off the shelf to clean another table of mine.
“He’s a VIP member. Like the cream of the crop or something. He sits in the room upstairs all by himself all night long,” Luna answers.
I glance up at the upper level, seeing the room she’s talking about. “What’s in there?”
Luna laughs. “Who knows?” She glances at Devereaux. “What’s in there, boss?”
“None of your business.” He steps out of the alcove, looking over his shoulder before he leaves. “Try not to make a scene when he shows up, please.”
Luna rolls her eyes at him after he’s gone. “It was only one time. Ginger and I fangirled all over Benedict one night. We just couldn’t help it. He’s that yummy.”
My ears perk at the mention of one of the victims. “Did he and Ginger ever…” I let my insinuation hang in the air.
Luna shakes her head. “No, Benedict doesn’t touch any of the girls here. He never does much of anything. He just goes up in that room and does who knows what.”
“Strange.”
“We’ve all made-up stories,” Luna says with a laugh. “None of them are true, I’m guessing. But we think he has women from all over the world shipped into the room and has his wicked way with them.”
My mind immediately goes into cop mode, trying to think if we’ve had any open cases of illegal human trafficking. Nothing comes to mind.
“Or there could be cameras with a view of the entire club and he spends all night watching.”
Ding. Ding. Ding.
I bet that’s exactly what he’s doing, and if that’s the case, getting into that room is top priority, along with finding out if he saw anything.
Luck is on my side as I step out of the alcove to return to work. A man dressed all in black walks into the club and all eyes are on him. This must be Benedict, judging by the way the servers stop what they’re doing to gawk at him. Luna confirms it.
“God, my ovaries can’t handle Benedict Cole’s hotness.” She brushes past me with an extra sway in her hips.
He’s definitely otherworldly gorgeous, but shame on me, I still find Devereaux a million times hotter. Benedict’s blue eyes crash into mine for a second before he moves through the crowd. He heads for the staircase and takes the steps two at a time until he’s reached the landing on the top.
Devereaux’s waiting for him there and they shake hands. After a few words to each other, Devereaux walks left to his office, and Benedict Cole walks into the room across the hall.
I need to find out more about this man. And that room.
I pull out my phone and send a quick text to Finn, asking him to run a check on Benedict Cole.
Chapter 6
Chloe
* * *
“One more front kick, and good,” I say to the class of women standing on blue mats. “Next week, we’ll work on our rear naked choke holds.” I dismiss the class, and snag my water bottle from the floor for a quick drink as the ladies file out of the room.
“Naked as in naked?” my sister, Ashley, asks with a wiggle of her hips.
I laugh a little. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”
I’ve been teaching self-defense classes here at the YMCA since I started at the police academy a few years ago. The rest of the class gather their belongings, chatting with each other as they make their way out the doors.
“I heard this is your last class for a while,” Ashley says. “Why is that?” Ashley isn’t just my older sister, she’s my best friend. She looks a lot like me, but her hair’s a shade darker than mine, and her hazel eyes make me envious I wasn’t born with the fascinating color too.
“I told you I passed my detective’s exam.”
Ashley rubs a small towel across her forehead. “I know. I saw your text. So, you can’t teach this class and be a detective?”
I gather the punching pads we used for class and place them into a pile near the far wall. “I got an assignment,” I tell her, hoping she won’t ask me for any more information because I can’t tell her anything.
“And?” she asks, waiting for me to keep going.
I let out a deep breath. “I can’t really tell you much, but I got put on an important case that will take up a lot of my time.”
Her eyes grow bigger and she gathers her gym bag, lifting the strap over her shoulder. “This has something to do with Club Greed, doesn’t it?”