Free Corrupting Cinderella by Autumn Jones Lake

can’t have your ol’ lady questioning the club like that, brother.” It’s Wrath. What the fuck is his problem with me now?
    “Simmer down, asshole.” That’s Rock, and I smile at his no-bullshit tone.
    “It’s your fucking fault. Why you always gotta hassle me about Heidi?” Murphy grumbles loud enough for me to catch.
    “Wyatt, look at it this way. Heidi is club family. After meeting her for five seconds, Hope was ready to stand up to your scary ass in defense of her. Sounds like perfect ol’ lady material to me.”
    Why, thank you, Trinity.
    “Thanks, Trin,” Rock says, echoing my thoughts.
    Wrath must be considering their words. I wait, holding my breath. I know how close he and Rock are. I shouldn’t give a shit about his “seal of approval” but I do.
    “I guess. She kept her cool when Cookie got up in her face last night too. And with Inga this morning. I almost pissed myself.”
    “You should probably talk—”
    I choose that moment to walk back into the room, and everyone falls silent for a second.
    Rock stands up.
    “I’ve had enough drama for one night. Wrath, tell Z I’ll talk to him about Axel in the morning. Someone make sure Heidi gets home. She can’t stay here.”
    Murphy stands and squeezes my shoulder on his way out. “Night, Hope.”
    Surprised, I turn my head, watching him walk out the door.
    At least someone here likes me.

CHAPTER SIX
    Even though she’s pissed about it, Hope agreed to take Teller’s case. She’s been spending more time at Adam’s office, which annoys me less than it used to. I offered to set her up in an office near Crystal Ball, but I don’t think she took me seriously, because she laughed in my face.
    All this means is that I end up riding downtown more often to take her out to lunch or bring her dinner when she’s working late. Lately, I sense she has a bit of the guilts for getting involved in Teller’s family drama. With that in mind, I drop by to take her to a late lunch, because I doubt she’s bothered to eat yet.
    The only person I find in the office is Adam.
    “Where’s my girl?”
    Adam’s entire body jerks. “God dammit. Can you make some noise so I know you’re here? You scared the shit out of me.”
    “Christ, I’m not exactly fucking tiny. Maybe you should get your ears checked.”
    His lips quirk into a brief grin before he ducks his head back down to his computer screen. “She’s out. Said she had a client interview.”
    “Where?”
    One shrug later, Hope’s buddy is dangerously close to an ass-kicking. I’ve never liked this idea of her going to her clients’ houses. Seems awfully unsafe to me.
    I snap my fingers in front of Adam. “Where. Is. She?”
    “Dude, chill. I’ll pull up her calendar.” Adam gets busy tapping his way into her calendar. “We have access to each other’s stuff just in case,” he tells me as I wait. I guess he’s worried I’ll think it’s weird. But it makes sense, and right now, I’m thankful for it.
    He points at the screen. “Here. She’s drafting a will and is doing the client intake.”
    I fight the urge to unhinge his jaw with my fist. “I don’t care what she’s doing. Where is she doing it?”
    “749 Mason Ave,” he answers with a frown.
    Fuck me. That’s a bad area of Empire. “Jesus. You let her go down there alone?”
    Adam looks at me as if I’ve got a few screws loose. “Uh, she’s an independent girl, Rock. One does not tell Hope what to do if one wants to live to see the next day.”
    We’ll see about that.
    On my way out, I send her a quick text.
    Dropped by to take you to lunch. Where you at?
    I didn’t plan to wait for a response. Just revved up my bike and pointed it toward Mason Street.
    Mason is one of those narrow, one-way streets downtown Empire has in abundance. I find Hope’s car easily enough. But no sign of her. I park right next to her car, so there’s no way she can leave without me knowing about it.
    I scan the street and spot 749 a few doors