Billionaire Romance: Club Billionaire (The Complete Series) by Lexi Duval Page A

and no real suspects. Kyle, as with
everything in his life, has covered his tracks far too well.
    Only when Brad is sufficiently recovered to speak to the
police do we all find out what happened. Kyle was smart enough to
give me no details, which I'm glad he spared me. But still, with the
entire investigation all over the TV and papers, and a hot topic of
conversation in the club, it's all hard to avoid.
    When I first hear the story, my heart seizes with a fear
that Brad might somehow name drop Kyle. His absence, being away on
business, also looks fairly suspicious.
    Those worries, however, are quickly put to rest.
    It was a gang beating, by all accounts. Nothing but a
mugging that seemed to get out of hand. There were four of them, all
wearing balaclavas, all dressed in nondescript dark clothing. They
robbed him and beat him to within an inch of his life. That's all
Brad would offer the police, aside from a few sparse details on the
height and shape of the men.
    One, it seems, was about 6'2'' and looked 'in good
shape'. In most cases that would be an extremely vague profile, but
as soon as I read it I knew it was Kyle.
    The gang mugging was nothing more than a ruse. He'd
hired three men through a series of underworld connections who would
be well compensated for their efforts. He joined the gang as the
fourth, clearly not willing to miss out on the action. The minor cuts
on his hands spoke of the blows he inflicted himself. By the time he
returns from his 'business trip', I'm sure those cuts will have
healed.
    Brad could offer nothing more, and while it's possible
he might suspect Kyle, there was not nearly enough bad blood between
them for him to single him out as a possible suspect to investigate.
Without any solid proof, such an accusation against another
billionaire would be too risky, too much negative press for men of
such power and influence to have to deal with.
    Inside, however, I'm sure he knows Kyle had something to
do with it. At least, that's what I hope. That he knows it was a
warning to not mess with someone like Kyle Lawson. That while Brad's
daddy might be more wealthy, Brad himself is nothing but a spec of
dust to him. A irritating insect who can, if he wishes, be swatted
aside and left for dead, just as he was.
    Perhaps now, Bradley Turner will have learned a valuable
lesson: that he isn't infallible, and there are serious consequences
to his actions.
    Over the next two weeks, with the investigation still
ongoing, Club Billionaire begins to quieten down.
    “ It will pick up again,” Alice tells me, although
there's a lack of confidence in her voice. “As soon as everything
settles, we'll be back in business. All this has just been a shock to
these men, and they're paying their respects in their own ways.
Believe me, things will pick up, I'm sure of it.”
    I wonder if her words convince her, because they don't
convince me. With the police probing, and with certain seedy elements
of the club at risk of being exposed, the members are sensibly
keeping a wide berth. Who knows how long that will last...
    The result, however, leaves me back at square one. As a
newer member of staff, I'm lower down the pecking order, and
therefore aren't required to work. Alice, of course, could pull some
strings to get me a shift or two but, with so little work available,
my moral compass suggests that other girls deserve it more.
    So, back to having no job and, worse, no Kyle. Our meets
have been strictly limited to the club, so without that middle
ground, where does that leave us?
    For days I do little but sit and stare at the wall,
trying to make sense of everything, trying to work out where my life
will take me next. But amid all of it, I can't shift this horrible,
dull feeling in my stomach. This feeling that tells me that my time
at Club Billionaire is over.
    And that my joyful experience with Kyle Lawson might
just begin to fizzle and die.

    Chapter Seven

    “ The entire club's under investigation.”
    Alice's words