Paid In Full (Vitale Brothers Book 2)

Chapter 14

Ash kept squirmingaround in his seat like someone had dropped cockroaches in his pants. Yes, exactly like that. I’d done it to a guy once. He kept shifting around like he would piss himself. I glanced at Ash again before he looked at me and quickly averted his gaze.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

I stopped at a red light before I leaned over. “That’s bullshit.”

“Shit!” he shouted, jumping as he shot away from me. I laughed as he glared daggers my way. “That’s not funny. You scared the hell out of me!”

“Why?” I asked. “What are you thinking about so hard that you forgot I exist? I’m starting to feel a little offended.”

Ash shook his head hard. “I didn’t forget you existed!” he argued before he pushed himself back into his seat. “I was just daydreaming.”

“About?”

“Nothing,” he answered.

My stomach clenched. Yeah, hate that. I wasn’t exactly entitled to every thought that passed through his brain, but on some level, wasn’t I? I was housing and taking care of Ash, so why the hell couldn’t I know what he was thinking about?

“Tell me.”

Ash crossed his arms over his chest. “No.”

I blinked at him. “Wow, you’re telling me no?”

“Y-you act like you want me to say what I want, so don’t take it back now,” he muttered.

I looked him over. He was right about that. Something about really quiet people made me want to shake them up and get them talking. For some reason, that was amplified when I looked at Ash. He was so meek, reserved, but there was a fire in his eyes every once in a while that he quickly smothered when I noticed it.

I wanted to see more of that fire. I wanted to be licked by his flames.

“What?”Ash asked. “The light’s green.”

“Nothing.”

“Now who’s not talking?” he poked.

I grinned as I steered Baby through the light, shaking my head the whole time. Ash was getting under my skin. It made the distinct itch to put distance between us return with a vengeance. The memory of his sad eyes and hurried motions as he tried to please when I returned home made me change my mind just as swiftly. I couldn’t leave him alone. Ash was a chronic people pleaser, and he was like me, lonely as hell.

We stepped out of the car together at Weston’s office. “Stay close.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ash immediately became glued to my side. I walked through the double doors, nodded at reception, and strolled onto the elevators. By now, they knew who I was. No one would stop me because Weston wasn’t crazy enough to tell them to stop me.

I smashed the button for his floor and watched the doors close. As we ascended to one of the top floors, I gazed down at Ash. He was staring up at me, his head tilted. I could imagine short, floppy ears on top of his head. Seriously, he’s a puppy.

“This is all you do for work?” Ash asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. Why?”

“I thought… I don’t know,” he muttered, trailing off.

“You thought what?”

“I thought you would be doing more exciting stuff. More dangerous stuff.”

I raised a brow at him. “What? Do you want to see me engaged in shootouts in the hallways?”

“No, of course not!” he said, his face taking on a panicked look. “But, uh, it’s just different than what I thought.”

“That’s what you get for thinking, kid.”

“Does Benito do all the hard, dangerous stuff then?”

I wheeled around to find a smirk on his lips. When our eyes met, he erased it and cleared his throat, staring straight ahead. In awe, I watched as he stepped out of the elevator, going gods knew where.

Oh, you’re going to keep pushing me until I have to show you who’s dangerous, aren’t you?

Yep, he definitely knew how to get underneath my skin. I followed behind Ash until I whistled and nodded toward a hallway.

“Follow me, smart ass.”

“Yes, sir.”

The words were said seriously, but his big eyes were filled with mischief. “Why are you in such a good mood?”

He shrugged. “Maybe because I got to come out with you.”

“Are you sure it’s not because of the killer asshole I have?”

Ash choked on air. “Do you ever stop?” he groaned.

“Nope.”

I smacked him on the back, grinning as we walked to Weston’s door. The receptionist was up quickly, dusting off her skirt. A little rain of crumbs was sprinkled on the floor. She cleared her throat.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m here to see Mr. Weston. I have a three o’clock.”

She turned her datebook around and nodded. “Yes, you must be Mr. Vitale. Come right this way.”

I followed behind her as we walked down to the office. She knocked lightly, let herself in, and then reappeared a few moments later.

“Mr. Weston will see you now.”

“Wait right here for me.” I pointed to the spot. “This guy is kind of an asshole.”

“No,” Ash said quickly, grabbing the sleeve of my shirt. “I want to go with you.”

I searched his face. He couldn’t be without me for more than five minutes. That level of clinging should have turned me off and made me want to lose him, but with Ash, it didn’t. I simply shrugged.

“Fine, but he’ll bitch about it.”

“I don’t care.”

I grinned. “Me either. Come on.”

We stepped into Weston’s office. He was behind his desk, fingers laced together as he glared over his hands at me. My grin widened, and his eyes narrowed.

“Weston!” I called, moving over before I sat down in a chair. “How the hell are you?”

He tossed a folder toward me. “These are the plans. Sign off on them and get your guys assembled so they can start.”

I held up a finger. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not so fast.” I opened the folder and poured over the first page. “There’s a lot of information here. I can’t just sign it.”

“The contract is the same as what you fought so hard to win. Nothing has changed.”

I stopped his meaty claw from taking the papers back. “How irresponsible would I be if I simply listened to someone’s words instead of inspecting everything myself?” I closed the folder. “I’ll take these home, review them, and send you signed copies. You’ll have to transfer the money before we start, of course.”

Weston’s expression clouded with anger. “After what you did the other night—”

“I’m sure we don’t need to talk about that,” I said pointedly.

His eyes flickered over my shoulder to Ash before they returned to mine. “Why? Don’t want him to hear what you’ve done? Is this another brother?”

My back stiffened. “It doesn’t matter who he is. That’s not what we’re here to focus on.”

“You had no problem focusing on threatening my wife.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He shot out of his seat. “You know exactly what you said!” he shouted. “You’d stomp her head in, remember that?”

I stared at him calmly, but the truth was that my blood was starting to boil. What happened between us should stay between us. That was how men handled their business. Weston was not a man, though. He was a cowardly little rat that would end up getting his brains bashed in by Silvy if he wasn’t careful.

I stood up, gathering the file folder. “I would prefer to keep things professional in the office.”

“I would prefer you get the hell out of my office. Once this contract is over, we won’t be seeing each other again.”

Laughing, I shook my head at him. “You think you have a choice? You don’t. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other, Weston.”

His red face was quickly being covered in a fine sheen of sweat. I could see him trying to restrain his actions, but it looked like he would lose it at any moment. I was more than ready for that. My fists never tired of a good fight or the feeling of blood.

Weston took a step back. Whatever he’d seen in my eyes must have made him reconsider losing his temper. A hand wrapped around my arm, and I was brought out of my visions of torturing Weston in some dark, dank basement. I glanced down at Ash.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I grinned at him, feeling better instantly. “Yeah, of course. Ready to go?”

He nodded, his eyes darting over to Weston before he looked at me again. “Yes, sir.”

“Let’s get some breakfast and go home. I’ll look over these,” I said, shaking the file folder at Weston. “Tomorrow, you’ll have signed copies. I want that money in two hours, though. For the inconvenience of me having to deal with your attitude.”

He blustered. “I-I can’t get that kind of money so quickly!”

“You can and you will,” I said calmly. “I’m sure if you really try, you can do it. Maybe dig into those deep pockets of yours. This is for a good cause, after all.”

Weston stared at me, his eyes wide. I turned on my heels, wrapped an arm around Ash’s waist, and escorted him out of the office. Once we were back at the elevators, Ash frowned up at me.

“What was he talking about?”

“Hmm?” I pressed the button before opening the folder to examine the paperwork again.

“That man. He said you would… stomp his wife’s head in,” Ash said, appalled. “You wouldn’t do that. Right?”

I glanced down at him. “Weren’t you just critiquing me for not being more bloodthirsty?”

“Yeah, but not like that,” he muttered. “I mean, what did his wife do? That seems unfair.”

“What did you do?” I asked right back, neither confirming nor denying what I’d said. “Your father sold you, and you did nothing. Didn’t get the money, didn’t spend it, didn’t dodge the collectors. Life isn’t fair.”

Ash’s frown deepened. “I know that.”

He stepped into the elevator. I stole a peek at him as we descended to the floor below. The look on his face was a mix between contemplation and irritation. My heart did flip-flops. I tried to ignore it.

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

Ash shook his head. “No.”

I stopped him when he tried to step out of the elevator into the lobby. He bumped into my arm and stared up at me.

“Is there a problem?” I asked again.

“Hey, I’m trying to use the elevator,” a man complained.

I turned on him so quickly he shot back. He held up both his hands as if to ward me off. I immediately forgot about him and turned back to Ash.

“I said no,” he answered. “I just thought… you wouldn’t be like the rest of them.”

“The rest of who?”

“Every man I’ve ever met in my life.”

My chest caved. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Ash wouldn’t look at me, his eyes downcast as he toyed with the sleeve of his shirt. I leaned in, closing the space between us.

“I’ve got news for you, kid. I’m no different than any monster you’ve ever met.” I pressed my lips against his ear. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because you fuck me, I need your permission to exist. If you don’t like who I am, find a different way to pay your debt and leave. I could always drop you off at the brothel and let you work it off there.”

When I pulled back, Ash’s eyes were wide. I watched a flicker of emotion pass over his face before he turned on his heels and rushed out of the elevator. He practically ran to the car as I stared after him, my fist clenched at my side.

Fuck! Shouldn’t have said that, huh?

“About time.”

I grabbed the stranger as he tried to walk past me and slammed his face into the elevator wall. He cried out, holding his nose as blood dripped from it. I pinned him, my hand around his throat.

“Some people really need to learn some fucking manners, you know?” I fixed his collar as I pulled my hand away. “Next time you decide to rush someone, remember some of us are—” I twirled a finger near my ear. “Fucking cuckoo. Okay? Okay, good chat!”

I slammed my hand against his chest. The man dropped, choking as he tried to cower away from me. I stepped past him, let the elevator doors slide closed, and went after Ash. Of course, by the time I stepped outside, he was right by the car, his arms wrapped around himself. I stared at him.

What do I say?

“Ash.”

Nothing. He wouldn’t so much as look at me as he shuffled back and forth, staring anywhere but in my direction. My chest squeezed so tightly I could barely breathe.

“Fine then, pout,” I snapped. I yanked the car door open. “Are you coming or not?”