Distraction: An underground kings novel by Aurora Rose Reynolds Page A

obviously know him, call him over. Waiting a few feet away, I pull out my new phone and power up the screen. I have no idea what the heck I’m going to do with a phone that seems smarter than me and that didn’t even come with an instruction manual.
    “Ready?” Sven asks, making me jump. Looking over my shoulder as he leads me down the sidewalk, I see the group of women all watching us with sneers on their faces.
    “Sven,” someone called, and he places his hand on my lower back.
    “Give me a minute, babe. Just wait here,” he mutters as he walks toward another group of women, who all smile and laugh as he heads toward them.
    Watching him from a distance, I can’t hear what the women are saying, but their body language screams everything loud and clear. Something ugly shifts through me as I watch him smile, and I find myself walking away alone toward the club entrance, not wanting to witness any more than I need to. Smiling at Teo when I reach the front of the line, he grins back and lifts the red rope, allowing me to slide under his arm. Feeling a body press against me and hands wrap around my hips, pulling me back into a hard erection, I look over my shoulder, ready to tell whoever it is not to touch me, when Sven shoves his way between people and pulls the guy off me, tossing him to Teo.
    “Get the fuck out of here,” he roars as Teo shoves the kid toward the sidewalk.
    “I was just fucking around, man,” the kid grumbles, looking nervously between Sven and Teo.
    “Go inside, Maggie, and straight to the office,” Sven demands without taking his eyes off the kid.
    Hating that I’m following orders like a dog, but not really having a choice, I stomp into the club and stop when I see the stage. The DJ spinning tonight is well-known and has thousands of followers who trek to whatever club he’s playing to watch him spin. The crowd on the dance floor is going crazy, and the music is so loud I can feel my bones vibrating with the beat.
    Moving around the dance floor, I push my way through the people gathered around the edge chatting, and head upstairs to Sven’s office. Shutting the door behind me, I move to the couch, set down the bag with the pictures from today, take out my new cell phone, and press the button so the screen lights up. I sent Morgan a message earlier on Facebook, letting her know I got a new phone and to text me from her number so I can store it, but she still hasn’t messaged me back, and that has me worried. Jumping when the door slams, my pulse skitters as Sven storms toward me with a look of fury in his eyes.
    “I told you to give me a minute. I told you to wait for me, but you didn’t listen and you could have gotten yourself hurt.”
    “Um…” I breathe, unsure what to say or why he looks ready to strangle me.
    “ Um ?” he snarls as his face twists with rage. “No, Maggie, not um . Fucking listen to me when I tell you to do something,” he roars, making me flinch, and I hate myself for showing fear to him.
    “Stand back,” I tell him, but then lean forward when he doesn’t budge and yell in his face, “Stand the heck back, Sven, before I punch you in your stupid face!”
    “Those kids down there are all high.” He points to the floor. “Who knows what would have happened if I didn’t see what was happening to you.
    “‘Cause I’m weak, right?” I tilt my head to the side. “I’m just a girl, and I can’t take care of myself?” I ask sweetly in a little girl’s voice, and the muscle in his cheek starts to twitch rapidly. Raising myself a bare inch from the couch, just enough that I have a little bit of leverage, but not enough for him to notice. I ask again, “Do you think I’m weak, Sven?”
    “You’re a woman, Maggie.”
    Yeah, wrong answer.
    I use the leverage I gained moments ago and propel myself forward, shoving my shoulder into his waist while my hands wrap around the back of his thigh. His thud hitting the ground makes the glasses on the shelf near