Enemy Mine

Chapter 25

Thursday arrived and departed much like the day before. Vincent commanded his kingdom from his laptop, which included all the prep for our trip to Italy, while I handled business on my end. This meant telling Charles I would be out of town from Sunday to Tuesday. Not the best opening line on your second day of work, but I would only miss one day's progress. Charles kept his questions to a minimum, although he did predict that Vincent would propose. I humored him with a smile and a 'We'll see', but as far as I was concerned, Vincent was already mine.

When Friday dawned, I felt the siren call of the club, and just before lunch, Sylvie texted me that one of our favorite DJ's would be at Mojo's. Like the self-respecting girlfriends that we were, we set to work recruiting our boyfriends as escorts. Vincent indulged me with very little coaxing, although we both knew it would be a shit show with both of us landing in the news recently. Still, the drama would be worth it for a night of dancing.

I texted Monica and Jen with our ETA, knowing my usual posse would be interested in joining, and when eleven o'clock rolled around, we were inside the club enjoying a refreshing beverage. Sylvie and I wasted no time getting onto the dance floor, leaving the brothers to guard our booth. Although I preferred to have Vincent bumping and grinding on me, I enjoyed reading his facial expressions as he watched me and Sylvie grind on each other. About five songs in, Vincent and Colin waved us back to the booth, and I noticed a scowl on Vincent's face when I scooted in next to him.

"What gives, Vincent? You look pissed."

"Assholes at two o'clock," he said, pointing through the crowd to the other side of the dance floor.

Right away I recognized CW and his melting chin slinking along the perimeter of the club. An older guy, about half the size, led the way. Both were dressed to impress, which made them conspicuous as hell at a place like Mojo's.

"I recognize the taller guy," I said to Vincent. "He's the one who ambushed me at the law office."

"The short guy is his boss," Vincent informed me as he spun his bottle of Perrier between his fingers. The other hand had my thigh on lockdown. "He's known as MC. Milt to the enemies who want to piss him off."

"MC? As in the MC who's after the amulet? This could be problematic."

"Humans," Colin said at the end of a snort. "Cocky bastards."

"They would rather go out in a blaze of glory than surrender to the status quo," Vincent said. "Got to admire them for that."

When the acronym brothers finally reached our table, MC addressed us, resting his weight on the table with one hand, like he was there to take our order. "Pleasant evening, gents... ladies. How fortuitous it is that we meet at the same establishment on the same night. I trust everyone has been accommodated. The owner does what he can, but I like to make sure my investment is being handled properly."

"If you came here to brag about your investments, I can get that from my shareholders," Vincent, said, triggering a narrow-eyed gaze from MC.

"How thoughtless of me to forget your position of wealth and power, Mr. Valentino. Clearly, I misjudged the dollar amount of my initial offer, the one CW made to your lovely date. Or, should I call her your mate? There has been talk..." He grinned at me, making sure I knew it wasn't a kindly gesture, and I felt the vibration of Vincent's growl as it resonated through his body. Did this guy know Vincent's big secret?

"We are not interested in doing business with you, Milt," Vincent said. "So, tell your buyers they can get their kicks some other way."

MC looked annoyed, but he seemed to be holding back any obvious sign of aggression. At least the cocky bastard had enough smarts to avoid a fight with a guy twice his size. "I will tell them you refused their offer, but they are not used to hearing the word no, so I can't be held responsible for the outcome."