16. Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Miguel
Able drives my car and Germo follows in a sedan behind us with two other guards. Instead of taking the front seat next to Able, I slide in the back beside Marcus. He glares as I close the door, telling Able to drive.
"What are you doing?"
"Had to make sure you didn't get too lonely by yourself back here."
"I've ridden in the back seat alone plenty of times."
"Well now you don't have to." I slide my hand over his bouncing knee and his gaze burns a hole into my skin. I caress the inside of his thigh and his breath hitches. He closes his mouth every time he opens it to talk, unable to form words.
"Anxious? Let me help you relax."
He swallows hard and I palm his hard cock over his slacks. His gaze shifts to the front of the car where Able is.
"Don't pay attention to him. Look at me." I grab his chin, pulling his face towards mine while using my other hand to unbutton and unzip his pants. His breaths quicken. "Don't."
"Por que?"
"I don't want my body to expect it every time you're near."
"Stop over thinking everything and let go. Let me give you what you need."
He nods, and his lip slips between his teeth. "Okay, but you're riding in the front on the way back."
I smile, pulling his cock free. I lick the tip and he moans. The saltiness of his precum awakens my taste buds, making me hungry for more. Able drives the car slower and I can tell he's taking a longer way. He doesn't question it and continues to pretend like nothing is happening behind him.
I take Marcus further into my mouth and his legs shake. He bucks his hips, fucking forward. My goal today is to lessen the tension in his body, not to test his patience or control. I lap and suck at his cock as he continues to use my mouth. His breath comes out in pants, and he tugs on my hair, arching his hips. His thrusts slow down as he fills my mouth with his cum. I swallow and lick up every drop, making sure to get him fully clean before tucking him into his pants. I zip and buckle him back up as he comes down from his orgasm.
I press a kiss to his lips, satisfied with the serene look on his face and the lack of tension in his relaxed shoulders. He gets caught up in his head sometimes. It had happened a lot before whenever he was overcome with nerves and worry. He appears to be more on edge these days, his face constantly tense, not smiling as much as he used to. I yearn to bring that light back in his eyes after catching a small glimpse of it last night.
He may be a trained killer, but he's still human and there are times he needs things only his Papi can give him. "Better?"
He rolls his eyes. "Don't seem so smug."
I smile, licking at the corner of my mouth, still tasting him on my lips. "I'm just happy to have helped. We want to make sure we both go in there with a clear head."
Pulling up to the club in the back, Marcus sends a message to one of his men working inside and never gets a response. He doesn't get an answer when he calls the front desk of the club either. We get out of the car at the same time, Germo and Cesar trailing behind us with their guns out. Marcus's hand rests on the inside of his jacket as he unlocks the back exit.
Screaming comes from the front of the building. Germo goes one way with Cesar, and I follow Marcus in a different direction. We cover more ground this way. There's a tall, heavy set man holding the two bartenders behind the bar at gunpoint and another man locking the front door to keep people from coming and going. Remaining quiet, we tuck ourselves behind a wall. The club has quite a few blind spots and I'm thankful for each one that keeps us hidden.
The music still playing drowns out our footsteps, but doesn't silence the begging and pleading coming from the few people trapped inside. "Please," one of the dancers begs. "You don't want to hurt anyone."
One of the guys laughs, shooting above her hand, barely missing her fingers. "I didn't ask any of you to talk, did I?"
"No, but if you were smart you would listen," the bouncer with a knife to his throat threatens.
The bigger guy huffs, snapping his fingers and another man comes from the other side of the club with a bag in his hand. He sets it down on the ground. "Tie them all up and do what we came here to do."
"It's already been done," the other guy says. He pulls a detonator from his pocket. "Just kill them. They won't survive when the bomb goes off anyway."
The first guy sighs, turning to the club's manager. "We want you to give a message to your boss."
"How about you give it to me yourself." Before the man's gaze can shift to Marcus, I shoot him in the chest. The other man lifts his gun and Marcus shoots him in the hand. Cesar comes up from behind him, folding his arms behind his back and shoving him into the table.
Germo searches the rest of the club when one of the customers shouts, "There were three of them inside and one outside."
"Tie that asshole up and take him to the cellar," Marcus orders Alberto.
"I don't work for you."
"Do as he says and call my son when you get to Club Rio," I order, flicking a hard gaze Cesar's way.
Cesar nods, tightening his jaw.
"I'll find the other asshole," Germo says.
The guy I shot shakes on the floor, blood pooling around him. I press my foot on top of his chest, spitting in his face. "Who do you work for?"
"Fuck you," he says with his voice trembling.
My nose flares and I move my foot up, pressing down on his wound. He screams, jerking against the floor.
"I don't think you heard me, so I'll ask again, who sent you?"
"Mario. He's coming for you and your family. He won't be alone either."
"Where is he?"
"You'll know soon…"
He takes a few harsh breaths and goes limp, his eyes lifeless.
Gunshots come from behind me. "The guy outside got away." Germo wipes the sweat from his brow. “Marcus has the other one. He's mostly alive."
I glance at the guy on the floor. "Too bad I can't say the same for his friend. Mario sent them." I search the corpse, pulling out a handful of brass. They made the delivery, just not the way Mario had wanted them to.
"Mario is back in hiding." Marcus walks into the room, setting his gun on the table. He runs his hand through his hair, stomping his foot on the ground. "Not sure how we'll get him now. Carlos lost track of him after he and Angel surprised a few of his friends in a nearby casino."
"He's running like a coward."
"He won't stay gone forever," Germo adds. "We still have one of his men."
"I doubt he'll tell us much. Mario made sure none of them knew where he was going. We'll just have to keep our guards up."
"So that's it then?" Germo stares between us.
Miguel shakes his head. "As far as Mario goes, we have nothing to go on now. He covered his tracks very well. Men like him are good at disappearing. It won't last. It never does. Not as long as we're all still alive."
"What do we do now, boss?" The bouncer picks up the bag from the floor.
"Get this mess cleaned up and open this place back up for business." He glances back at Germo. "Make sure no one here goes speaking to the cops."
Everyone shifts around the room. Two customers are still hiding behind the bar on their hands and knees. The dancers go back to work and the bouncer gets rid of the bomb. Another man comes in from the back and takes care of the body. Marcus sure could rule the world if he wanted to. I follow him to a back office, shutting the door behind me. "What happened to the other guy?"
"Dead in one of the bathroom stalls." He pulls out two cups and pours something from a flask into each one. He hands me a glass. "Looks like you can go back home now."
"Not today." I step closer, setting my drink down behind him, enclosing him in between me and the desk. "Turn around."
"Fuck you." He shoves against me, but my hold is too strong.
I lick my lips feeling his cock harden against my thigh. "It's been a rough day. Let me take care of you."
"I don't need you to do anything."
His eyes don't match his words. I stroke his cheek. "You need to work on your poker face, precious."
"I hate you."
I laugh. "Sweetheart, the sooner you stop lying to yourself, the better off we'll be."
"I'm not your sweetheart."
I scoff. "That's funny, pretty sure you were willing to be my anything when I had my tongue in your ass last night."
His nose flares and his cheeks flush. "I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted, because it won't be happening again."
"Are you sure about that?"
He slides a hand down the side of my cheek, gazing deeply into my eyes and before I know it, the barrel of a gun is being shoved against my cock. "Pretty fucking sure."
When it comes to most people, catching me off guard is an impossible task. Except when it comes to this man, all logical thinking goes out the window and my walls of steel come crashing down every damn time he touches me.
I laugh. "And they say romance is dead. I'll see you tomorrow, Mi conejito."
He takes a step back, sliding his gun back in his pocket. "What for?"
"To come ask you on a date."
He rolls his eyes. "I can tell you the answer now to keep you from wasting your time."
"Better to wait until tomorrow.”
"I won't change my mind."
"I don't know, sometimes a good night's sleep helps."
He walks over to the door and pulls it open. "Unfortunately for you, I haven't slept well in years. Goodbye, Miguel."
I walk toward the door, pulling him by his collar, hovering my mouth over his. "I prefer to see you later."
I breathe him in one last time before walking out of the room, whistling the song we had played the first time we made love. He had tried to end things many times between us in the past and even though I knew it was a good idea, I refused to let him go. He's always been that addiction I couldn't quit, the sweetest drug I refused to share with anyone else. The memories flood back in my mind of the first time he'd tried to walk away from me.
He had come to me the night of mine and Julia's ninth anniversary party, dragging me out to an alleyway behind one of my clubs.
"Hold me," he said with red rimmed eyes.
My eyes widened at his command. He did it with such certainty. His face was so soft and genuine. It was the first time I ever saw him so needy and vulnerable, so I knew it was something he really required from me. Enough to push back his anger and resistance he had the previous night when he said he couldn't see me anymore. I brushed my thumb along his cheek bone. "For as long as you want."
He buried his face into my chest, sobbing gently. A dangerous man like him letting his guard down that way was something special only meant to be shared between the two of us. Only for him could I ever be soft and accommodating. It was those moments when I felt human. Where I could look in the mirror and see someone other than the monster I normally woke up to. He wasn't done making requests. I could tell with the way he clung onto my jacket.
"If you still love me the way you say you do, then I need you to do something for me. More than this."
"Anything." I inhaled the scent of his hair. His sharp cologne mingled with sweat.
"I want to pretend things are the way we always dreamed they would be. Not tainted and broken. You are mine and I am yours. You aren't you and I'm not me. We are merely two people in love without all the complicated bull shit."
I held him tighter, stroking his hair, focusing on his unreachable fantasy, and grasping on tightly to the idea that everything is perfect to keep my heart from breaking. "Okay. You are a baker, and I am a college professor. We met upon chance, running into each other while I was picking up a cake for a coworker. I crashed into you, rushing through the front entrance of a shop and you nearly dropped a tray of lemon bars."
He chuckled against me. "A baker and a college professor, huh?"
"It's the best I got. Take it or leave it."
He swallowed hard. "What happens next?"
"I ask you out after you're done screaming at me for not watching where I'm going. You say no at first, but eventually I talk you into one cup of coffee and offer to buy all your desserts in the display case."
He looked up at me with brighter eyes. "And then?"
"We exchanged numbers first and you gave me the wrong one. So, I came back to your job with two cups of coffee in my hand and a bouquet of white roses. I made you laugh and convinced you to come try the best enchiladas I've ever had. Once you agreed, I knew I had you. Then we kissed. I savored the lemon on your lips and knew you'd always be mine."
He pressed his lips gently against mine, rubbing our noses together. "And then we lived happily ever after?"
"Yes. As happy as two normal people can."
He inhaled and exhaled sharply, closing his eyes and pressed his head to my chest. "Good."
I smile at the memory, getting in the back of the car Marcus has waiting for me outside ready to take me anywhere I want to go. "Take me to the nearest floral shop and then to a bakery that sells lemon bars."
The guy stares back at me in the mirror. "I was told to take you to one place and that was it."
"Fine, to the floral shop it is, and I'll grab a ride from there."
"Are you sure?"
"More than positive."
I jump out the moment the car stops in front of a place called Mimi's Floral Shop. I slam the door shut and glance around me, feeling like I can breathe easier without my usual men in tow. No guards anywhere. I'm alone for once and it's almost freeing. In this moment I am like everyone else, a college professor picking up white roses for his precious baker.