He flipped open his cell phone and punched in Micah’s number. The damn club was exclusive, and he couldn’t get in without Micah’s help. Hell, he might not get in anyway. But he’d damn sure see if could.
He tried Micah’s home number and his cell without any luck. Growling in frustration, he stepped on the accelerator and headed toward the apartment complex.
When he whipped into the parking lot a few minutes later, he saw Micah’s truck parked outside his unit. Faith was already gone.
He hopped out of the truck and hurried up to Micah’s door. He knocked loudly and waited. When Micah didn’t immediately come to the door, he pounded harder.
A few seconds later, the door jerked open, and Micah stood in the doorway holding a towel around his waist. He glared at Gray. “This better be damn good, Montgomery.”
Before Gray could respond, he heard a female voice in the background ask Micah who it was. Micah turned and held out a placating hand. “Give me just one minute, babe.”
Gray sighed. Interrupting Micah during sex couldn’t be all that uncommon, considering the guy had a girl over every other day. He didn’t have time for this shit.
Micah turned around to stare at him again, his scowl ferocious. “Now what the f**k do you want?” he demanded.
“I need you to get me into The House or whatever the f**k it is you call it.”
Micah blinked several times. His mouth popped open, and a look of incredulity spread over his features. “You came over here at eleven damn o’clock at night because you’ve got an itch you want to scratch?”
“Not me, dumb-ass. Apparently Faith has an appointment there. As we speak.”
Micah’s expression rapidly changed from annoyance to sharp interest. He held up his hand. “Whoa. Wait a minute. Faith is going to The House?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Gray said impatiently. “Is there any way you can get me in? Pull some strings or something?”
Micah ignored Gray’s question and shook his head in confusion. “What the f**k is she doing going there? That’s no place for a girl like her.”
Gray threw up his hands and growled in frustration.
“Okay, okay, look,” Micah said, holding both hands up in appeasement. “Let me get dressed. I’ll head over there to see what the f**k is going on.”
“No.”
Micah looked up in surprise.
“I’ll go. You just get me in there,” Gray said emphatically. “Besides, you’ve got company to entertain. I’ll take care of Faith.”
Micah gave him a long, assessing look. His eyes narrowed, and he frowned. “What the hell is going on between you and Faith?”
Gray sighed. They were wasting a hell of a lot of time. “Nothing is going on between me and Faith. I was just concerned when I learned where she was going. I don’t think she has a clue what she’s getting into. I don’t want to see her get hurt.”
“On that we agree,” Micah said. “You head over there. Do you know where it is?”
Gray nodded.
“Okay, you go. I’ll call over and arrange for you to get in. I’m good friends with the guy who owns it.”
Gray turned without responding and hurried back out to his truck. He felt a little foolish making such a big deal out of this, and he’d risked looking an even bigger fool by coming over to Micah’s like this, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Faith was in way over her head.
CHAPTER 14
Faith pulled up to the gate guarding the driveway to the large house looming up the hill. When she drew abreast of the small security box, she rolled down her window and leaned out to push the button.
“Can I help you?” a polite voice inquired.
She breathed in nervously. “I have an appointment. My name is Faith Malone.”
“Please proceed, Miss Malone.”
The gate slowly swung open, and she started forward, accelerating up the winding lane. When she pulled up to the house, she saw a secluded parking lot, not visible from the entrance. A large brick wall covered with ivy separated the lot from the sprawling front lawn.
She drove around the partition and eased into a parking spot beside a sleek Mercedes. As she got out and surveyed the array of very expensive cars, she glanced self-consciously back at her Honda Accord.
What kind of people gathered here? Were they all rich, bored types looking for cheap thrills?
“Nothing like making sweeping generalizations,” she muttered as she headed for the double wooden doors ahead.
Before she could raise the heavy knocker, the door swung open, and she found herself staring at a good-looking, well-dressed man. Okay, not just good-looking, but very good-looking.
He smiled broadly at her. “You must be Faith.” He held his hand out to her. “I’m Damon.”
She took his hand, shook it and smiled in return. She felt some of her nervousness dissipate. “I’m so glad to meet you. I feel as though I know you with all the e-mails we’ve exchanged in the last week.”
He chuckled then gestured for her to enter. “Please, come in.”
She walked in ahead of him and paused, waiting for him to go in front of her. The foyer was elegantly decorated, the lighting dim enough to make the interior look warm and inviting but not so dark as to give off a sinister aura.
Damon walked up beside her and placed a hand to her back. “If you’ll come this way, our first stop will be the sitting room where you can relax for a moment and have a drink.”
He ushered her into a smaller room just beyond the foyer. The inside was classy yet comfortable. A large Oriental rug stretched across highly polished wood floors, ending just in front of a dark brown leather couch. To the right sat two overstuffed casual chairs, the kind that would swallow you up whole as soon as you sat down.
“Why don’t you have a seat. Would you care for a glass of wine?”
Faith nodded and started toward one of those comfy-looking chairs.
“By the way, I like what you decided to wear very much.”
She turned around, her cheeks heating as she saw his gaze slide up and down her bare legs. Damon’s lips lifted in a half smile before he walked over to the wall and pressed a button on what looked to be an intercom system.
She glanced down at the form-fitting skirt that clipped her legs about two inches above her knee. The shoes, well, she had to admit, they were purely for show. In a moment of pure weakness, she’d spent a hell of a lot of money on the sex-on-a-sole shoes.