“When she’s ready to go back to yoga, I want a fucking female instructor,” he snaps at me. I shrug, making a note of it.
“Trust a sociopath not to take advantage of being in a fucking women’s yoga class and not stare at their arses,” Connor drawls from across the table, earning himself a glare from Seamus.
“I’m not a sociopath.” I flip the bastard off. He rolls his eyes at me.
“Sure,and you’re not.”
My eyes narrow at his tone, which I take fucking offense to. Connor gamely meets my gaze.
“That sounds likeexactlysomething a sociopath would say.”
“That’s enough, Connor,” Seamus snaps, ready to move the conversation on. I stare at Connor, nonplussed.
“It’s what someone who’s not a sociopath would also say.”
“Yeah, but how do youknowyou’re not a sociopath?” Connor quirks a brow at me. I’ve copped on to the fact that he’s trying to lighten the tension in the room and take Seamus’s mind off his pissy mood, so I play along.
“My mammy was a sociopath.” I shrug, and Connor blinks at me in surprise. “So I figured out pretty early on that I wasn’t.”
“Fair enough.”
“Enough fucking chatter about sociopaths,” Seamus glares at Connor and me. At least he’s not pissy that I might have designs on his little wife. She does nothing for me. “Tiggy’s on her way back downstairs. Niall, you can drive us to the club.”
I shove out of my chair, ready to go. Mellie will be at the club. I can’t think of a better fucking place to be. I’m getting fucking sick of only seeing her through the CCTV. Today is looking like a good day.
Chapter Eleven
NIALL
When we pull into the staff parking lot at Oracle, Seamus, who hasn’t spoken a word to his wife the entire journey, taps her on the arm, pointing to the nondescript sedan parked across the road.
“See those men?” he asks. Tiggy cranes her neck, eyeballing them and nodding. “You don’t talk to them, look at them, or acknowledge that you’ve seen them. Understood?”
Tiggy nods quickly, still trying to see them properly. “Okay. Who are they?”
“Vice cops,” Seamus growls. Tiggy drops back into her seat, her eyes forward.
I’m not sure if she doesn’t want the cops to see her face or because of Seamus’s tone. She’s a funny little thing. She acts annoyed by Seamus’s existence, but she subconsciously bounces off his moods.
“Because of the strip club?” she asks at last. Seamus pauses, his hand on the SUV door, turning back to her and smirking.
“No. Because of what is upstairs.”
Tiggy grimaces. I can see where her mind has gone. So can Seamus, who snorts and laughs.
“Our girls fuck whoever they want, but they don’t take payment for it. Connor runs a gambling operation from up there. High-stakes poker. The tables attract some interesting figures.That’swhy they’re here.”
Tiggy nods again, sliding out of the SUV, falling into step beside Seamus, who places a hand protectively on her back. I fall into step behind and to their left, my eyes darting over the Vice cops. I give them a menacing grin, and they avert their eyes quickly.
Seamus and Tiggy disappear into his office, probably to fuck. For two people who seem to resent each other, they sure do that a lot. I think Seamus is enjoying the hell out of his little wife, but he plays his cards close to his chest. He probably doesn’t want Paddy to figure it out. The lad is on edge enough with this Romanian shite. He doesn’t need a reason to be tipped over it.
The VIP room is empty, so I stride into the back area, peeking through the open doorways. Mellie is in the kitchenette, moving trays of glasses through the industrial dishwasher.
“Sleeping better?”
The lass jumps, glancing around like I scared her. Christ. That’s the last thing I want to do. I freeze in the doorway. Her wild eyes land on me, and she relaxes, throwing me a glorious smile. Jesus fuck, I’ve missed that look. Warmth shoots through me as I bask in her light.
“Holy crap, you scared me! We need to get you a cat bell.” Laughing, she tips her head to the side. “Then again, maybe it wouldn’t be beneficial for you to have people knowing when you’re sneaking up on them.”