Not Just Friends (Hot in the City #3) - T. Gephart Page 0,2

looking at me the entire time too. Her eyebrow arched as she smirked, waiting to see how I’d answer. And not that I’d ever admit that to Mack, but it had been kind of hot. Presley, I mean, not Melinda who was clearly a tragedy I wanted no part of.

“Chief, I told her I wasn’t interested. And I’d never—like ever—go there. But before she left, she told me to give you a message. And either you call her back and give her what she wanted, or she was going to make your life a living hell.”

He shook his head, giving us not much else other than, “I’ll take care of it.”

“So, what does she want?” I pressed him a little more, curiosity getting the better of me.

“Nothing she can get from me.”

Mack wasn’t talkative at the best of times and made it clear the topic of Melinda was closed. And considering I had a subject of my own I didn’t want to discuss, I had to respect the guy.

Jesus.

What the hell was with Presley anyway? Telling me to take my apology and good intentions and shove them up my ass. And that fucking crack about my mother? I was both angry as hell and irrationally turned on.

I’d been so lost in my crazy internal tug-of-war, I hadn’t even noticed when we’d pulled up to the apartment I shared with Tibbs in Hell’s Kitchen. Because in addition to him being my best friend, he was also my roommate. Which would make it easier for him to kill me in my sleep when he found out what I’d done with his sister.

Yep.

That would be fun.

Deciding texting her wouldn’t be enough, I grunted goodbye to Mack, getting out of his truck and fisting my keys.

“Where are you going?” Mack eyed me suspiciously.

Shit.

“I’m not looking for him, I swear, Chief. Just want to go kill some time or something.” I shrugged nonchalantly, not wanting to complicate things. Easier to omit the truth than to out-and-out lie, and I wasn’t saying shit until I’d spoken to Presley.

“You going too?” he asked Tibbs, the excuse he couldn’t come, ready in my throat

Wasn’t the kind of thing I wanted to do with an audience, least of all her brother.

“Nah, I’m going to call it an early night. That six a.m. alarm sucks balls.” Tibbs waved goodbye, the sigh of relief coming out fast. “And if you bring anyone home tonight, try and keep it down.”

Yeah, there was no danger of that.

I nodded, waving them both goodbye as I got into my car. The Mustang roared to life as I tossed my phone on the passenger seat—the offending message still fucking displayed on the screen—and pulled away.

Presley didn’t get off work until two, sometimes three, which meant I knew exactly where to find her. And while she could totally blow me off, I wasn’t going to let it slide like I had those choice words she’d texted me.

I’d been a decent guy for fuck’s sake, why the hell was she fighting me on this?

Diablo was in Midtown, so it would have been faster to walk there than take my car. But other than the questions it would have raised had I gone for an evening stroll, I liked the idea of having my wheels so I could drive her home. Sure, she’d told her brother she was going to be hitching a ride with someone else, but I had a hunch our conversation wasn’t going to be a three-minute chat at the bar. Probably best we had it in private, even if that meant I was going to be tired as fuck for my shift tomorrow. Still, sometimes that shit couldn’t be helped.

The employee parking lot was around the back, my Mustang pulling in alongside the cars of Presley’s various staff. She didn’t own the club, but she might as well have. The owner was some big high roller from Hong Kong who pretty much gave her the keys and told her to have at it. Not that the dude hadn’t made back his investment and then some, Diablo turning into one of the hottest clubs in the city under Presley’s control. And regardless of how beautiful she was, there wasn’t a person alive who could deny she was one hell of a businesswoman.

The noise spilling out into the parking lot was minimal, the thick walls containing both the music and whatever else was going on inside the club. And had I not been fairly familiar with Diablo