Chapter 47

Wolfe’s POV.

“No mister,” the lady said as she blocked my path. “Kenna's not going anywhere with you. Unless of course, I come with you. And could you please release her arm, you brute?” She glared at me. “What is wrong with men these days? Thinking they can tell a woman what to do? Who are you anyway?”

I watched her, a bit taken aback. She seemed like she knew Kenna a lot. Wait. This had to be her best friend, Yasmine. What a firecracker.

“Yas, this is Wolfe.” Makenna started as she smiled faintly at Yas, who mouthed an “Oh.” Then she turned to me and curtly said, “Wolfe, meet Yas.”

Rude.

“Fine.” I grunted as I reluctantly released her hand. I was only listening to her because Makenna cared about her. “Come along if you want.”

“Wait a minute, you don't get to interrupt my fun and not tell me why,” Ashton started. I gave him a look, an eyebrow raised.

“Oh…the writer lady,” he finally said knowingly.

“Writer lady.” Makenna scoffed. “What an ass.” she muttered under her breath.

I glanced at her surprised. She had to be really drunk.

“What on earth got you running like that?” Stephan asked while slightly breathing hard.

“Come on. We'll talk upstairs.” I walked past him as he groaned.

The five of us made our way back to the VVIP section. The tension between Makenna and I was palpable, but I pushed it aside for now. There would be time to address it later, once we were alone.

As we settled into the plush seating, I ordered for more drinks and extra glasses.

Since we were the last ones to climb up, Makenna ended up sitting next to me, and I noticed she was avoiding my eyes. Yas, on the other hand, was stuck between Stephan and Ash, looking ready for a showdown with Ash, who smirked lazily at her.

I vaguely remembered Ash telling me he had a one night stand with Yas, but it seemed like a lot more happened between them.

Stephan, ever the peacemaker, poured drinks for everyone. "Let's try to keep this civil, shall we?"

Yas rolled her eyes, her lips curling into a sneer. “Civil? With this jerk around?” She jabbed a finger in Ash’s direction.

He chuckled at this, then winked at her.

“Nice to meet you, Yas,” I said, attempting civility. “Hope you’re enjoying the club.”

“Enjoying it until some brute dragged my friend away,” she retorted, shooting me a glare. “And then there’s this one, who thinks he’s God’s gift to women.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, love,” Ash quipped, leaning back with a smug grin. “One night stand doesn’t mean I’m interested.”

“One night stand?” Yas echoed, her eyes narrowing. “Interested or not, you could have at least been a gentleman and waited for me to wake up.”

Stephan chuckled, shaking his head. “That’s a new one, Ash. Didn’t know you had it in you to disappoint a lady.”

Ash shrugged, unfazed. “We had fun. No strings attached. Right, Yas?”

Yas’s cheeks flushed with anger. “Fun, my ass. You were a disappointment in more ways than one.”

I cleared my throat, trying to steer the conversation. “Everyone, this is Makenna. Makenna, Yas, these are my brothers, Stephan and Ashton.”

Stephan raised his glass in a toast. “To new acquaintances and hopefully no more drama.”

“I highly doubt that,” Yas huffed, her eyes narrowing at Ash. “but I'll drink to that anyway.”

I watched the exchange with mild amusement, but Makenna’s silence drew my attention. She was nursing her drink, her jaw tight. I leaned in slightly, my voice low. “You okay?”

She glanced at me, her eyes cold. “Fine. Just fine.”

“Come on, Makenna,” I pressed gently. “You’re obviously not okay. Talk to me.”

She took a sip of her drink, her eyes meeting mine with a challenging glint. “And why should I? Huh? Why do you get to have all the fun you want but I don't?” she whispered , trying to keep her voice low. “You think you can just pull me away from a guy and expect me to be grateful?”

“I was just trying to—”

“To what?” she cut me off, her voice rising. “Protect me? Control me? I don’t need you to play the hero, Wolfe.”

“Hero?” I scoffed, frustration bubbling up. “I was looking out for you. My brother is a popular playboy.”

“And you're not? You don't need to look out for me,” she snapped. “I can handle myself.”

Ash, sensing the tension, leaned forward with a grin. “Makenna, you should see Wolfe when he's working the floor. It's like he's a different person.”

Makenna's lips twitched into a smile that didn't reach her eyes. “I bet. He probably likes to keep his secrets close.”

I tensed, unsure where this was going. “Let's just enjoy the night, alright?”

“Sure, why not?” Makenna said, her voice tight. “It's not every day you get to see your client in his element.”

Stephan, ever the diplomat, tried to change the subject. “So, Makenna, what do you do for fun?”

She shrugged, her eyes never leaving mine. “I write. And I try to avoid drama, but it seems to follow me.”

“Amen to that.” Yas laughed, the tension breaking slightly.

“So, what did Ash do to piss you off, Yasmine?” Stephan asked, glancing at Yas.

Yas's eyes flashed with anger. “We hit it off at the club, and I thought, oh, he's one of the good ones. He took me home, we had sex, then he disappeared the next morning before I woke up after leaving me a note saying it was fun while it lasted.” Then she turned to Ash, disgust written all over her face. “Basically, he gave me the impression that we had some sort of connection, then acted like an asshole once he got what he wanted from me.”

Ashton raised his hands in defense. “Hey, it’s not my fault you were looking for love in a club.”

“You’re such an asshole. I have no idea why I even gave you the time of day,” Yas snapped.

Makenna shifted in her seat, her eyes flicking to me. “Sounds familiar.”

What was she talking about?

Yas glanced at me, her anger momentarily forgotten. “Are you like a VVIP guest or something? How come there’s no one else here but us? I didn’t even know this place existed.”

I looked at Makenna, who had downed her glass of vodka and was pouring herself another. I didn’t like the way she was drinking. “Actually, I own the club.”

I noticed a flicker of surprise in Makenna’s eyes before she masked it with another sip of her drink.

“Nice. Color me impressed.” Yas smiled as she swirled the contents of her glass. “Well, that explains a lot. You just waltzed in and stopped this idiot,” she paused, gesturing to Ash. “from working another innocent lady. And the bouncers made no move to stop you.”

Makenna almost choked on her drink at that. “I’m not innocent.”

“You’re not innocent either, love.” he winked at Yas before downing his vodka, earning a glare from Yas.

“You know, Ashton,” Yas began, her tone deceptively sweet, “no one asked for your opinion. Be a good boy and keep it to yourself from now on, would you?.”

“A good boy?” Ash scoffed, as he rolled his eyes.

Stephan laughed, shaking his head. “Looks like you’ve met your match, brother.”

Ash smirked, unfazed. “I enjoy a challenge.”

“Is that what you call it?” Yas shot back. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks more like you’re avoiding one.”

I glanced at Makenna, her face still flushed with anger. The sight of her in that red dress, looking so fierce and beautiful, only made it harder to think clearly. She looked really pissed at me and it seemed like it was beyond what happened tonight. But now wasn’t the time. I’d let her have her jabs for now, knowing we’d have to face each other eventually.

“Drink up,” Stephan said, raising his glass. “Here’s to an interesting night.”

I clinked my glass with his, my eyes never leaving Makenna.

Interesting didn’t even begin to cover it. But before anything, I needed to know why Makenna was so pissed at me. “Kenna, we need to talk,” I insisted, my voice firm.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” she retorted, her tone icy.

I growled, my patience wearing thin. “We’re going to talk. Now. Or I will carry you to my room if I have to. I don't care what anyone in this room thinks. ”

Makenna glared at me, her eyes blazing with anger. “Fine,” she snapped, rising from her seat. “you want to talk? We’ll talk.” She turned to Yas, her voice softening slightly. “I'll be back soon.”

Yas nodded, her gaze shifting between us with concern. “Just give me a call if you need me, Kenna.”

I led Makenna out of the club. If we were going to talk about anything, we’d need privacy. I wanted to get to the bottom of whatever was bothering her.

And I was definitely not going to wait around for her to decide when to tell me.