6. Frankie
Chapter 6
Frankie
T roy Godwin’s office was just as pompous as the asshole himself.
I had never been here, and after this meeting, I would never come back. It felt like I was in a glass prison, all steel beams, sharp furniture, and shiny awards he’d probably bought with his company’s money. Rich assholes like him always got what they wanted. Based on the shit-eating grin on his tight face, he felt the same now. I bet he’d looked the same since Lotto called to ask for a meeting. Like he knew we’d walked straight into a viper pit.
And the King Viper was hungry.
Troy took a seat on the front edge of his desk, moving his silver name plate so it was clearly visible next to him.
“And you expect me to spot you the cash to fix your gym?”
Ari straightened up in the dark leather chair. She looked absolutely divine. Tight dress that showed off her tattoos, curled hair like starlight, and heels that could stab a man to death. I could barely keep my hands off of her the entire drive here. All I wanted to do was drag her out of this office and get those red lips around my cock. It would be much more fun than selling my soul to the likes of Troy Godwin.
“Obviously, we’d strike a deal with you. We wouldn’t use your hospitality without offering something in return,” Ari answered politely. She always knew how to butter up even the worst of assholes when it came down to it, and that made her even hotter. “Maybe we could strike up a deal?”
“Become partners?” Troy asked.
“Make a deal.” I sat forward in my equally uncomfortable chair. “You give us the money we need to fix our gym, we’ll make you money in return.”
“What are you offering?” He tapped his oak desk with his knuckles. “You made me a pretty penny at Heathens Hollow, so I’ll hear you out. Make it good.”
Ari shifted slightly and glanced at me. We’d discussed what we could offer on the way here—more fights, Bones as a personal fighter for Troy, another Heathens Hollow victory—but we could only settle on one concrete plan.
When I nodded, she lifted her chin and turned back to Troy. “We’ll be your headliners. As you know, after the fight, Bones has a target on his back.”
“I wouldn’t just say it was Bones,” Troy answered. The fuck did that cryptic answer mean? I frowned but couldn’t get a word in before he gestured to Ari. “Go on.”
“You can have another big fight at Heathens Hollow and have Bones be the star of the show. Like a fight ladder. Have people bet on how many matches he’ll go, and have the competition grow stronger every new fighter. With how many people want to take on Bones right now, you’d have sign-ups in no time.”
Troy hummed and checked the thick silver watch on his wrist. Did he think we were wasting his time or something? Like he had better places to be? I gritted my teeth to keep from ruining our best chance of saving Smiley’s.
“An interesting idea,” he said, “but not my favorite.”
“Look, all the weaklings coming after Bones right now don’t mean shit,” I responded. “He can lay them out flat in a few minutes. Bring some real competition, and people will come crawling. Especially, if it’s a big name.”
“Like you?” Troy looked at me with an amused grin and fixed the front of his gray suit jacket. “If Freakshow joined the docket, I wonder how many people would show up to bet against you.”
“That won’t be happening,” Ari immediately answered. I was glad because I knew if I opened my mouth, I’d be joining Nero wherever the fuck he was. “Name your price, Troy.”
“I have a soft spot for your gym, you know.” Troy stood from his desk and straightened out the bottom of his coat. “I don’t know how you got Bones to join your team, but you have him to thank for my generous offer.”
I tried not to roll my eyes. Of course, this douche would consider a business exchange to be “generous.”
“And?” I questioned.
“All you have to do is agree to whatever fight I choose.”
Ari raised her eyebrows. “That’s it?” Clearly she was as skeptical as me. It was far too good to be true for the likes of Troy Godwin. Too easy. He must already have something in mind.
“We won’t agree until we know what the fight entails,” I snapped. “You don’t walk into a fight without knowing your opponent. It’s suicide.”
Troy glanced at his watch. “Then you have two minutes to decide if you’d like to commit suicide or not. I have another meeting.”
“Take your offer and shove it?—”
Ari set a hand on my upper arm and squeezed so hard, I thought she might pop my muscle. Her entire body was straining with how tightly she gripped me. I winced. When had she gotten so strong? Or had Freakshow grown weak? To be fair, I was always weak when it came to Ari. It came with the territory of having such a badass beauty to call mine.
“We’ll agree once you give us the terms. I feel like that’s a fair trade. You make the deal, and we’ll see if it’s worth our time.” Ari smiled, all poise and grace now that she’d shut me up. “You’re a businessman, Mr. Godwin. You know good and bad deals when you see them. You wouldn’t walk into a blind contract either, would you?”
“Heathens Hollow is a different kind of business,” he countered with a greasy smile. “One I’m sure you know quite well by now.”
“And we all want that business to thrive. Don’t we, Frankie?” Her glare at me told me to keep my actual thoughts to myself, so I nodded once. Her grip on me loosened, and she drew a deep breath. “The terms, Troy.”
“You’ll have them within a week. Anything else?”
“The money?” I asked. If we were agreeing to this bullshit, we were going to need the money to fix up Smiley’s and be prepared.
“If the terms are agreeable.” Troy didn’t even look at me, his eyes focused solely on Ari. “And I’m sure they’ll be just as agreeable as you look today, Ari.”
Heat boiled my blood. I was standing up when Troy snapped his fingers, and two guards standing by the front door approached us. Troy’s bodyguards were mean-looking motherfuckers. As much as I wanted to knock in Troy’s teeth, I would be dead before the ambulance got me to the hospital, and Troy would have some alibi to get him off scot-free.
The only thing I could do was grab Ari’s arm and stomp from the fucker’s office.
The car was dead silent as I pulled out of the parking lot and hopped back on the highway. I gripped the steering wheel so hard, I could probably yank it from the column with a simple tug. We weaved in and out of traffic as I sped back to Smiley’s, Troy’s smug-ass laugh ringing in my ears.
“Frankie, would you calm the hell down?” Ari yelled. When I glanced over, she was gripping the handle like a lifeline. “I don’t want to fucking die today!”
Shit. I looked down at the speedometer and saw I was pushing 100. That rat bastard had turned me into a street racer with one flirtatious line. I slowed down, but a hot anger still pumped through my veins, so I pulled off at the next exit and into an empty bank parking lot. I left the car running but sank back into my seat with a frown.
“I fucking hate this, Ari.”
“I noticed, asshole.” She let go of the handle, and her hand was warm when she set it on my shoulder, even through the fabric of my polo, but the bite of her nails was anything but caring. “Joyride on your own time. I don’t have time to plan my own funeral.”
“You can’t plan your own funeral if you’re dead.”
“I’d come back to life long enough to kick your ass for killing me.” The look she shot me proved she wasn’t joking. She really would haunt my ass if I ever dared to hurt her. “So don’t even think about it. Take it out on the bags and not me.”
“Troy is a fucking dick.” I slammed the wheel once, and the horn blared through the empty parking lot. “I don’t want to mess around with his shitty deal. You’re not getting involved with him.”
“I’m not. We are.” Ari let go of me and turned in the passenger’s seat to face me. “We’re in this together. You, me, Bones, and Lotto. All of Smiley’s. Troy’s a dick, but he’s a rich dick. We can play his game if it means bringing us back to where we started before a tree decided to fuck up our lives.”
“And when does the game stop, Ari?” I asked. At my question, she went silent and chewed on her lip. “Troy plays games with people like us because it’s a form of entertainment for him. He doesn’t give a shit about Smiley’s.”
“I don’t expect him to. He’s using us for money and we’re using him for money.” I opened my mouth to retort, and she held up a hand to stop me. “Let’s at least talk to the guys. See what they say.”
“I liked it better when it was just us.” I ran a hand through my hair out of frustration. “Less shit to worry about.”
“And if it was just us, we’d be living in this car after closing Smiley’s for good.” Ari smiled, the little tug of her lips more pensive than happy. “We need them. Not just for Smiley’s… but for us.” She set a hand on my shoulder, this squeeze gentle. “They make us better.”
As much as I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t. Having Bones and Lotto around made things easier. They balanced out my temper and Ari’s spitfire perfectly.
I grunted my answer. That was good enough.
Ari’s smile turned sly. She sat up on her knees and leaned over the cup holders. “Come on, Frankie, you can admit it.”
“Admit what?” I watched how her blouse dipped down, giving me a perfect shot of her cleavage. “How sexy you look in my passenger’s seat?” I smirked. “I’ll gladly admit to that.”
“Admit you love them,” she teased, dragging a finger down my chest. My cock throbbed when she circled a nipple through my dress shirt. “You’ll feel better if you do.”
“Gimme a break.”
“It must suck to be so emotionally constipated all the time.” Ari flicked my nipple and giggled when it hardened. “Not everything can be taken out on the bags, Frankie.”
“Sure. Some can be taken out on your pussy.”
“Is that what you want?” She moved her hand down to my cock, squeezing through my black dress pants.
I gripped her arm and pulled her toward me in the seat with a smirk. “I want you to shut up and get on top of me.”
“Men and their road rage.” Ari laughed as she climbed over the rest of the way to straddle my waist.
I smashed our lips together and let the warmth of her body steal my anger. She was quick to undo the button and zipper of my pants, but before she could tug them down, I lowered my seat and dragged her down with me. She moaned into my mouth as our tongues moved against each other’s. When she pulled away, I lifted her hips enough so she could shimmy out of her panties. With quick fingers, she tugged down my pants and boxers until my half-hard cock bobbed against my stomach.
Ari grabbed my cock, pumping me to hardness. When she was satisfied, she lifted her long skirt and gave me a perfect view of her pussy as she swallowed my dick. Fuck, I’d never get tired of how well she took me. I bucked my hips into hers, squeezing at her tits through her blouse. Ari didn’t bother with taking it slow; she bounced on my cock like she was the one trying to take out her anger in another way.
Her eyes slipped closed when she moaned, and I shot my hand out to grip her throat. Ari gasped, eyes popping open to stare at me as she moved.
“Keep your eyes on me,” I demanded gruffly.
She nodded, a small moan slipping past her lips. I kept my hand on her throat, light enough so she could breathe and whine, but tight enough to keep her eyes on me. Every time her eyes started to slip closed with pleasure, I squeezed again, making them pop open. She rode my cock even faster, her tight walls squeezing around me with each bounce. Her nails tightened into my chest as she moved, eyes glazed over with lust and passion.
I slipped my hand down between our bodies, pushing underneath the fabric of her skirt to find her clit. As soon as I did, she groaned, her head falling back. I reminded her of my demand with a jerk of her chin. Ari was a gorgeous woman, but she looked absolutely divine so lust-drunk on my cock.
“I do love them,” I admitted with a smirk, rubbing her clit in quick circles, “but don’t forget who had this pussy first, Ari.”
“You did, Frankie,” she answered breathlessly. I could barely hear it between her pants and groans of pleasure.
“Louder, Ari,” I demanded, giving her a sharp jerk of my hips. “Who owns this pussy?”
“Frankie!” She whined, and her walls throbbed and squeezed me so hard, I almost came immediately. I moved harder and faster against her clit until she trembled and cried out, “Frankie! Fuck, fuck!”
Ari came so violently she shuddered and fell into my chest, her cries muffled in my shirt. I kept moving against her clit, fucking into her to help her ride it out. My release exploded just as quickly, and I shot white hot into her pulsing cunt. Even as my thrusts became shallow and slower, her pussy milked me until we were both a sweaty mess.
It took a moment to catch our breaths. Ari eventually looked up with a smile. I loved that blissed-out look she had after getting fucked. It painted her cheeks a flushed pink and made her even more beautiful.
“Do you have to be so possessive?” she joked, swatting at my chest.
“Trust me. I’m not possessive enough.” I moved her sweaty hair away from her forehead and pressed a light kiss there. “We didn’t even get to what that asshole Troy said to you earlier.”
“What, about me being agreeable?” She shifted her hips a few times. Our combined juices leaked down my dick as she moved. “Clearly, you agree.”
“You’re trying to piss me off, aren’t you?” My cock throbbed when her walls squeezed around me. The shit-eating grin that lit up her face told me it was on purpose.
“I like you pissed off.” Ari leaned forward, her hot breath ghosting against my lips. “And there’s a whole back seat just waiting to be used to prove it.”