Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 144908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 483(@300wpm)
Rashad nodded with great enthusiasm. “It’s well worth the drive. She could have a restaurant in San Francisco and be at the top if she wanted. Why haven’t we come here before, Adam?”
Adam turned his attention to his sister. “You know all the good restaurants, Amanda. I count on you for these things. Were you keeping this one to yourself?”
Amanda shook her head. “I didn’t know.” Her voice was very low, and she kept her head down, her attention on her plate.
Adam frowned. “Are you all right? Is your food good?”
“Yes, it’s delicious.” She glanced up at him with a forced smile and then looked guiltily at Master, blinking back tears.
“Everything is fine, Amanda,” Master assured her. “We’re all having a good time. Ambrielle’s been telling me about her business and how she can’t do without you. You’re the one who remembers everyone, their families and what their interests are. Like the woman with the interesting piece of jewelry and her brother in the club.”
Amanda’s gaze switched to Ambrielle. Ambrie nodded at her, willing her to cooperate and go along as if nothing were wrong. Amanda had been her friend too long not to read the message. She squared her shoulders, blinked away the tears and composed herself.
“Ambrie is very observant. Don’t let her fool you.”
Ambrielle forced herself to smile at Amanda, although the best she could do was fix her gaze at a spot on Amanda’s forehead. Marcus leaned back in his chair and put his arm around Amanda.
“You’re very good with people, sweetheart,” he said. “I noticed that right away. You greet everyone in the building by name and ask after their families. I don’t think to do that. Just in the last couple of days, I’ve been making an effort to be better and remember the names of the workers around me.”
“I did notice the woman in the club with the strange ring,” Adam said, “but only because you pointed it out, Amanda.”
Marcus frowned and rubbed his cleanly shaven jaw. “The pair of them came into a couple of the clubs downtown I frequented after work before I moved my offices. The man she introduced to everyone as her brother wore platinum ghost cuff links. I noticed them because they were so unusual. He always wore gloves but had them off in the restroom once. His hands were covered in tattoos. His knuckles and fingers. One finger had a snake coiled around it the same way the woman had the ring.”
Ambrielle felt the immediate tension in the room. She glanced up to meet Czar’s piercing silver eyes. It felt as if every member of Torpedo Ink in the room stared at her, willing her to do or say something. She just wasn’t certain what it was she was supposed to be asking. Master’s hand dropped to her thigh and squeezed hard. She didn’t look at him but pushed what was left of the food on her plate around in a little circle.
“That’s weird,” she said. “Don’t you think that’s strange, Seychelle? Why would the sister have a ring with a snake and the brother have a tattoo?”
“I don’t think they were sister and brother, at least I hope not,” Marcus said. “I left the club late one night, and they were in their car, all over each other.”
“Eww.” Amanda gave a little sniff. “You didn’t really see them going at it, did you?”
“They were steaming up the windows,” Marcus confirmed. “She was the aggressor. She practically threw herself into his lap. In all honesty, I was shocked enough to stop and stare for a minute. I’m usually not thrown by much.”
Seychelle’s delicate brows drew together. “Why would they pretend they were siblings?”
Savage took the fork from her. For the last few minutes, she’d been mostly pushing the food around on her plate. “Probably so they could pretend to pick up other men and women in the bar and dance or have conversations with them.” He took a bite from her plate. “This is really good, Seychelle.”
“It’s always good, Savage,” she agreed. “Alena made it. How could it be anything else?”
“You’re not eating.” He took several more bites, clearly enjoying the food.
“I ate.”
There was the smallest note of amusement in Seychelle’s voice, but for some reason, the sound lightened Ambrielle’s mood, just as it had earlier in the bar. She managed to push the feeling of Amanda’s betrayal to a distance as well as the awareness of the bodies being “dealt with” on the patio while they ate and talked and laughed as if nothing at all had happened.
Keys and Maestro left the table to go to the very small area set in the far back of the room where they had a small keyboard and other instruments set up. It wasn’t long before they began to play. Player joined them.