He’s relaxed once again. There’s only sweetness there for me to see, making me question how much of that darkness lies beneath the surface.
13
Devlin
“More?” Malone holds out the coffee pot as I flip through some of the earnings statements from the club.
“Yes.” I let him fill my cup. We stayed late at the club last night. It took Diamond almost an hour to slip in and out of all the clothes I’d bought for her—and there was plenty of steamy interludes mixed in. I can’t keep my hands off her. I’m like a fucking animal when it comes to her. I lick my lips, still pleased to have her taste faintly along my mouth.
“Where’s the girl?” Malone asks.
“Sleeping upstairs, and her name is Diamond.” I don’t put any edge into my tone, but he gives me a terse nod.
“Okay, Diamond. Not Carter, by the way.”
“I know. She started to tell me her real name, then flipped it over to Carter, like I said. So at least I know it starts with C-A. That’s all I have to go on.”
“I went to the shelter like you asked, almost got my face busted in by an old lady with a bat.”
I smirk. “Loretta.”
“Yeah. She didn’t want to give me any information on the gi—Diamond,” he corrects himself. “But when I told her I work for you, she loosened up just a little.”
“Money does that.”
“Right.” He pours himself a cup, then plops down on the couch in front of my desk. “She said she showed up just a few weeks ago. Came in with a Gucci bag and some fancy clothes but not a penny to her name. Loretta even said Diamond didn’t seem to have any clue about how pricey her clothes were or what things cost.”
“Interesting.”
“Very,” he agrees. “Loretta thinks she comes from some rich family that was keeping her under wraps for some unknown reason. And …” He pauses and sips his coffee. “She didn’t outright say this, because I guess she didn’t want to breach any trust with Diamond, but she implied that Diamond had been like hurt.” He points to his head. “Up here. Emotionally or what have you.”
My jaw tightens, my hands fisting. “How?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know, boss. She wouldn’t say anything else except that Diamond is a beautiful girl, but she can be somewhat—” He looks down. “There was a word she used. Body something. Body dyslexic?”
“Dysmorphic.” Fuck. No wonder she seemed so devastated when that prick Alonzo said shit to her.
I don’t know why, but I sort of just assumed she knew he was talking trash to get a rise out of me. He would’ve said the same thing to any girl who walked onto that stage.
“Anyway, she said Diamond is sensitive, and that her past has made her extra sensitive about her body dys—” He looks at me questioningly.
“Dysmorphia.”
“Right. That. What is that?”
“It’s when someone’s been told they look a certain way, but it’s a lie.”
He gives me a wry look. “So when that waitress I’ve been trying to spit roast told me I looked like a cartoon coyote, she was just trying to give me the dysmorphia?”
“No, she was trying to give you a hint.” I shake my head at him.
“I’m a good-looking guy. Don’t worry. My head’s on straight.” He nods to himself and drinks more of his coffee.
I love Malone like a brother, but that doesn’t mean I never want to grab him and shake the ever-loving fuck out of him sometimes. Like right now. But I put that aside and try to continue this conversation without violence. “Anything else from the shelter?”
“Nope. Loretta isn’t the chatty type. What with the bat and all. The only other info she gave me was that she confirmed Diamond said she came from Chicago. But that’s it.”
“So we’re no closer to figuring out who she really is.” I try to think of reasons why she wouldn’t tell me the truth. She must be running, hiding—Loretta’s first instinct wasn’t wrong. That woman knows people, especially if she already figured out that someone in Diamond’s past had been hurting her with cruel words and outright lies.
“Maybe you can try asking her next you two are, uh, indisposed? Is that how you say it?”
“I’m going to try. But she’s scared. I don’t blame her. She’s clearly been locked away from the world.” I run a hand through my dark hair. “It’s a miracle I haven’t scared her off already.”
Malone shrugs, careful not to agree or disagree with my assessment. He may not be great with words, but he knows me and my temper.
“Let’s move on to something with a little more danger to it, eh?” He finishes his coffee. “Alonzo has been talking shit about you around town ever since we threw down at the club the other night.”