Hierarchy Read Free Page A

tattooed the twining vine around it and added the head of the unicorn. She said it was a family symbol from way back when the family had a coat of arms.”
    He frowned. Almost as if he wasn’t aware of it, he traced the pattern in the center of the twining vines with the tip of his index finger. “You were born with this?” he murmured, his voice sounding strange.
    Bronwyn shrugged uncomfortably. “Yeah—weird, huh? It almost looks like a sun and crescent moon, doesn’t it?”
    He swallowed audibly, flicked a quick glance at her and finally stamped the back of her hand. She noticed the hand that held hers was shaking ever so faintly. “Yeah. It almost does.” He turned from her and jerked his head at the other bouncer. “Marco—

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    why don’t you show our guest around, huh? And tell Clyde and David to get out here. I need to talk to the boss.”
    “Oh! I wouldn’t want to put anyone out!” Bronwyn exclaimed in dismay, glancing around uneasily at the line behind her and noting with faint alarm that the crowd had grown steadily longer since she’d been holding up the line and that most of the people in line were glaring at her.
    He released her hand. “Marco would love to show you around. Wouldn’t you, Marco?”
    Marco, a handsome blond who looked to be in his early twenties, grinned at her.
    “Hell yeah!”
    Bronwyn couldn’t help but chuckle when he winked at her audaciously, but she still wasn’t comfortable about anything that had transpired. Since she was even more discomfited to find herself the center of so much unwelcome attention, though, she allowed him to draw her inside and out of view of the crowd that had begun to grumble loudly about the hold up at the front of the line.
    She found herself in a huge foyer that looked more like the entrance to a grand hotel than a nightclub. She sank into the thick, dark red carpet on the floor with her first step and felt like she was walking through cushy quicksand as she crossed the floor. A huge chandelier and wall sconces lit the room with a soft golden glow. Thick, wine red velvet curtains covered the double doors that obviously led into the main area of the club and explained why the music was muted enough that very little spilled outside the club.
    Settling a hand lightly on the back of her waist, Marco directed her toward the two men standing on either side of the double doors. “Stephen wants you two outside,”
    he said to the men when they reached them, jerking his thumb in that direction.
    They glanced at each other, making it clear that the order came as a surprise, but strode away without question. All the sounds of a wild party—muted by the thick carpet and drapes of the foyer—hit her as Marco opened one of the doors and ushered her inside. She noticed that even the backs of the doors were covered in velvet—upholstered actually to create a sound barrier.
    The familiar hand Marco had placed at her back slipped upward to her shoulders as they entered. “A drink first. What would you like?” Marco asked, his lips so close to her ear that his warm breath sent a shiver through her.
    Bronwyn was tempted to decline. She’d already had two glasses of wine and that was more alcohol that she usually drank. With a mental shrug, she dismissed her qualms.
    There was no getting around the fact that she had a buzz already, but, by her calculations, she’d been walking and waiting in line at least an hour. It wouldn’t hurt, she decided, to have a mixed drink as long as she nursed it.
    She tipped her head up. “Suggest something,” she said, smiling mischievously at her own daring.
    The look Marco gave her made her little heart go pitter-patter. His blue eyes seemed to glow with an inner heat. A slow grin curled his lips. He chuckled. “Don’t tempt me,” he muttered, ushering her toward the other side of the room where she discovered there was a long bar.
    * * * *
    Constantine was lounging on the long couch in his office when Stephen