Semua Bab DIRTY ANGELS: Bab 41 - Bab 50

Chad stood at the doorway, watching until Ethan's car disappeared around the bend. Only then did he ease the front door shut with a soft click. Turning, he let a slow, hungry smile spread across his face as his gaze landed on the bikini-clad woman. She lounged against the hallway wall in nothing but a tiny emerald bikini, one hip cocked, skin still kissed golden from her months in Europe.“What was that old creep doing sniffing around for Marisol?” she asked, voice light but edged with curiosity.Chad shrugged.“Says he hasn’t been able to reach her for days.”The woman's lips curved. “Weird, she hasn't been answering my calls either.”“She’ll turn up. Probably tailing someone or digging into something she shouldn’t. You know Mari.”He crossed the distance between them in three strides, taking her in his arms.“Where’s Elizabeth?” She questioned.“Still overseas. Some high-fashion shoot. It’s just us, cupcake.”He drew her against him, arms wrapping possessively around her waist. He d

Isla stood in the center of the living room with her phone pressed to her ear, pacing slowly across the polished floor while the call rang out again.She lowered the phone and stared at the screen.“Where the fuck is she?” Isla snapped. “She’s my best friend, Chad. People are looking for her. It’s not like her to just disappear like this. Something’s not right.”Chad leaned against the kitchen counter, watching her, arms folded across his chest.“I agree,” he said finally. “Mari vanishing without telling anyone doesn’t feel right.”Isla ran a hand through her hair, frustration growing.“She hasn’t answered a single call. Not from me, not from anyone. Even when she’s pissed off at somebody, she at least sends a text.”Chad pushed himself upright and walked over to her.“Maybe she ended up at Dirty Angels,” he suggested. “If she wanted to disappear for a bit, that would be the easiest place.”Isla considered it.“You think?”“I think it’s worth checking.”She nodded slowly.“Okay. I’ll

Chad and Isla didn’t speak until they were halfway across the parking lot.The fresh air was a relief after the stale alcohol and sweat smells that clung to Ethan’s office.Isla exhaled.“That man is an absolute creep.”Chad laughed under his breath as he unlocked the car.“You’re only just realizing that now?”“I’m serious,” she said, sliding into the passenger seat. “Something about him makes my skin crawl. No wonder Marisol can’t stand him.”Chad started the engine and pulled out onto the street.“Well, he does run a nightclub.”“That’s not what I mean,” Isla said, staring out the window. “He’s… I don’t know. Slimy.”Chad shrugged.“He’s probably the least slimy character in that place.”They drove towards home.“How about dinner?” Chad asked eventually. “We can go somewhere nice.”Isla groaned and leaned her head back against the seat.“Honestly? I’ve been travelling for weeks. I finally get back, and it’s nothing but drama. I’d just rather go home.”“Home works for me,” Chad sai

Marvin’s voice cut through the night like a whip crack.“What the fuck is happening here?”Nobody answered him.Nobody even tried.The pool lights threw cold blue over everything: Isla’s pale face, Chad’s bare shoulders, the wet shine on both their bodies as they scrambled apart. I just stood there beside Marvin, still in the dress I had thrown on after we landed back in the city. It felt like I had walked straight from one disaster into another.Isla snatched the towel hanging off the lounger and wrapped it around herself with shaking hands. Chad moved more slowly, not because he wasn’t rattled, but because pride had kicked in before common sense, and even half-naked with pool water running down him, he still managed to look defiant.Marvin, on the other hand, looked lethal.I had seen him angry before. I had seen him cold. I had seen him controlling enough to make a room go still with a single look.This was something else.This was personal.“What,” Marvin said again, his voice low

I didn’t realize I was about to fall apart until it was already happening.One minute I was standing there in Ethan’s office, staring at the photograph of Lila wearing that mask; the next, my chest felt like it was collapsing in on itself, and the room blurred around the edges.All the anger I had carried for years suddenly cracked open, and something much heavier poured out behind it.“Hey,” Ethan said quietly.His voice sounded different now. He wasn’t being defensive or sarcastic, just concerned.I shook my head and tried to breathe, but the sob broke free before I could stop it. The sound surprised both of us.“Jesus,” I whispered. “I didn’t think… I thought I had dealt with all of this already.”Ethan stepped closer, and before I had time to object, his arms wrapped around me.For a moment, my walls went up, then I softened, and the dam broke completely.I buried my face against his chest and cried as the last few years had finally caught up with me all at once.Ethan didn’t say