Chapter 14
There was a dead man on the floor of Mari’s club, and it was all my fault.
The entire staff of Gilded, myself included, stood over the dead man. Ivy, our youngest server, practically vibrated in fear, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of me or the fact that I’d killed him in front of her. She reminded me a little of a Chihuahua, all small and shaky. “You killed him.”
Yeah, I did.
“He was robbing us.” It wasn’t an excuse, just facts, but Ivy didn’t seem to understand me. She just stared at me and blinked.
Blink. Blink.
“You killed him,” she repeated. I could sense the panic brewing as her blinking got faster and faster, her breaths coming quicker than I expected. Not wanting to touch her in case she freaked out, I turned to Petra with wide Help me eyes.
“Okay, sweetie. Let’s go take a break in the office.” She took Ivy’s arm, patting my shoulder on her way past. The whole way, Ivy just kept repeating it.
He killed him. He killed him. He killed him.
I hoped she had a good therapist because she was definitely traumatized.
With Ivy gone and everyone else relatively calm, I squatted down, rummaging through the would-be-robber’s clothes. No phone, no wallet, no keys. Had he come with someone else or walked to the club? Who the hell walked to a robbery alone?
No one. Which meant more of them were probably nearby.
“Arnam, take someone with you to check on security. When you find them, lock it down. No one else in or out.”
He nodded, taking Reagan and Sancho with him. Despite being manager for the night while Shara was off, Arnam hadn’t done jack shit during or after the robbery. Just stood there with his mouth agape like he’d watched me swallow fire. I didn’t blame him, though. Not many people knew how to react in that type of situation. I was part of an unlucky few.
Carefully, I pulled the handgun from the robber’s hand and checked it. One in the chamber, seven in the magazine, no extra bullets on him. Did he seriously think he’d get through a robbery with just that? He’d certainly waved the gun around like he’d had more than enough rounds to take us all out, and there were over a dozen employees working the closing shift.
This doesn’t feel right.
“If this guy’s affiliated, you’re fucked,” Roscoe said quietly, nudging the guy’s leg with his boot.
Grunting, I lifted his shirt and pulled down the hip of his jeans, and yep, a playing card. After opening night, we’d been briefed to remove Aces on sight. I didn’t think death by broken liquor bottle was quite what the bosses had in mind, though.
There was a low thread of anxiety that came with killing an Ace. It wasn’t my first time, and I doubted it would be my last. Not with the way things were happening in the city. Still, I had a feeling the consequences would be more severe this time than the other.
The urge to leave, to flee and start a new life somewhere else made my pulse race. I didn’t want to stay in the city with a gang of assholes coming after me or the family who ran it. I wanted a simple life somewhere with no affiliations, no territory wars. No wondering how long I had until my luck ran out. That wasn’t my life, though. People were counting on me, and the past was catching up more and more every day. I had to stay—and stay alive. There was no other choice.
Like clockwork, my mind drifted toward Mari. Was this the life she’d dreamed of as a little girl? Bullets and blood and funerals? Playing politics with the other families? I wondered if there was a part of her that wanted what I did or if she was so resigned to her life that dreaming was out of the picture.
I wondered if she knew just how dangerous her life had become.
There were rumbles in the city. The Aces were getting bolder, and whispers said their leader cared less and less about rules of engagement. He didn’t care about collateral damage as long as he got the prize—all of Seattle at his feet. Even knowing we had to keep some distance between us for both our sakes, I worried about her.
“Security’s out upstairs,” Arnam said when he returned.
“Dead or unconscious?”
“Unconscious.”
That was good news. Likely, they’d been drugged or hit so the robber could get in. “Did you bring them inside?”
“Yep. Locked the door, too. We need to call the boss.” He wiped his palms along his pants, cringing, but he didn’t head for the phone. Likely because he didn’t want to deal with a pissed-off Greyson Andrews. I didn’t blame him.
Greyson’s face when he got out of the car to find Mari and me surrounded by bodies was burned in my mind. To him, I was a liability. An enemy to his boss and a danger to his friend—if that was all they were.
Worst part was, he was right.
Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I held out a hand for the phone and dialed. When the phone clicked over to voice mail, I tried again. Somehow, I didn’t think this was the type of thing that could wait.
“Andrews.” The second he picked up, I wanted to end the call. That ever-present bite in his voice was still there, but the cadence of his breathing spoke of an interruption to something…intimate. Remembering how he’d looked at Mari, like the stars hung by her will alone, I assumed he was with her, and the thought sent my stomach rolling.
Focus. “Mr. Andrews. There’s been an incident at Gilded.”
Sticking to the facts, I explained the would-be robbery. After I got confirmation that they were close, I tossed the phone back to Arnam and tried desperately to figure a way not to see Mari. It didn’t take long before I realized I had no way out of it. I’d killed a man in her club. I had to own up to that, but I didn’t have to like it.
My rejection had hurt her. I hadn’t wanted to do it. There was a piece of me that craved her more than I’d ever wanted anyone. But I couldn’t have her. We were leagues apart and with too many obstacles in our way. She didn’t realize I was trying to protect us both, but how could I not? Warrior queen or not, Mari wasn’t invincible, and I had a history that was dead set on destroying everything I touched.
Better to be without her now than to watch her fall later.
* * *
By the time the bosses arrived, we’d brought the two unconscious guards down to the bar so we could keep an eye on them. I’d expected Mari and Greyson, but with Dominic close behind them, the trio looked like a mix between avenging angels and sin incarnate. The dark colors, the fierce looks, the air of power that seemed to grow with every step they took.
They looked like three pieces of a puzzle, and a part of me mourned that there was no room for a fourth.
Mari was stunning in a black dress that skimmed luscious curves I was dying to touch, but what drew my eyes was the rosy flush to her cheeks and the looseness of her limbs. She had the look of someone a few orgasms deep, and jealousy reared its head again. Especially when she smiled at the brush of Greyson’s hand against hers or the way Dominic caught her eye.
They’d both touched her. Motherfuckers.
Despite the news, Mari looked more carefree than I’d ever seen her. Happy, though still stressed by the evening’s turn of events. It was those peeks of her, of the woman behind the queen, that drew me in. The kindness she offered when no one was looking, the strength she gave until it took her to her knees, the fortitude to keep going when she’d lost a piece of herself.
She was inspiring and so damn addictive to watch.
Yet another reason I had to stay away. If I dug too deep into who Marianna Marcosa really was outside of her responsibilities to the city and her family, I was sure I’d drown in her. And I didn’t have that luxury. Not with so much on the line.
As if my thoughts conjured it, Mari’s attention flashed to me as she dragged her eyes over my body. It wasn’t sexual, though part of me wished it were. Even after I’d hurt her, she was making sure I was all right, and that made my chest ache.
“Are you okay, Nate?” Underneath the breathiness of her voice was a thread of concern and a boatload of steel. She switched from fun-time to boss-mode in two seconds flat, and I was as in awe of her as I was turned on.
Rein it in. There was no future where we ended up together. Either her past or mine would make sure of it.
“I’m fine,” I promised. Greyson and Dominic circled the room, though they each kept an eye on Mari. The latter looked loose and relaxed, but I could see how attuned he was to her every move. Each deep breath and minute adjustment of her body was catalogued, even as he smiled and flirted with the other servers. Greyson was another matter entirely. He just flat-out stared.
When everyone was accounted for and the security guards checked out, Greyson turned to me. “What happened?”
I shoved a hand through my hair, pulling slightly. “We were closed and getting ready to lock up when this guy walked in flashing a gun.”
“Why not just give him the money?” Dominic asked. “This place is insured, and I’m sure Mari would rather have you all alive more than she’d want the cash.”
Mari nodded, and it was another point in her favor that I couldn’t afford.
Arnam cautiously spoke up. “He didn’t threaten Nate. He threatened Ivy.”
“Hero complex,” Dominic muttered, and I fought the urge to flip him off.
“Who’s Ivy?” Mari asked, nose scrunched as she struggled to remember.
“Server,” Greyson offered. “Pretty young. Innocent, too.”
“How the hell did she end up here, then?” Greyson shrugged, and Mari’s lips tipped down.
“Maybe Shara hired her to be eye candy?” Dominic knelt next to the dead man, poking through his pockets like I had. “He have anything on him?”
“Just the gun.” I told him. “Ivy’s quiet. Unassuming. Doesn’t make waves. The customers love her.”
Mari nodded like that made all the sense in the world. Maybe for her, it did. “So, the robber threatened Ivy, and you killed him?”
“I went for the gun first, but that didn’t end well.”
“Never does.” Greyson peered over Dominic’s shoulder, taking pictures as the other man slowly started searching for tattoos.
“Right. He pointed it at me, and…” A wave at the dead man gave what I hoped was a vague enough answer. There was more, but I didn’t want the rest of the crew to know. Greyson watched me, reading me like an open book.
“Let’s go into the office. You’re going to need a plan to get through this alive.” He turned and raised his voice. “Everybody needs to go. Take tomorrow off. You need a mental health day? My phone’s on. We’ll have counselors standing by just in case you want to talk about what happened with professionals. Any questions?”
“What’s going to happen to Nate?” Ivy asked, coming back into the room with a large hoodie wrapped around her shoulders. She still looked as frightened as a little bird.
“Hopefully nothing, Ivy,” Mari said.
It took no time to rouse the guards and send everyone home or to the local clinic to get checked out. Ivy went home with Petra, too scared to be alone. I didn’t blame her.
Only when the bar was cleared and locked up again did we get back on topic.
“Was it just Ivy that he threatened, or did he want something else?” Mari asked.
Popping my knuckles uncomfortably, I laid my elbows on my knees. “He wanted you.”
The relief in telling someone what the dead man had whispered in my ear as he’d held me at gunpoint was profound. But only for a moment.
Dominic’s head whipped toward me. “Mari? He said that?”
His usually calm demeanor vanished, and suddenly, I could see how he’d become underboss. He was dark and devilish. The type of foe to come at you from the front and take your head as a trophy. Outright sinister. He was fire and brimstone.
Everything about Greyson screamed the opposite. He seemed like the type to wait until he could dismantle you piece by piece, destroying everything you held dear, before coming for your life. He was nothing but ice and frost.
They suited each other, two sides of the same coin. Two guards for Mari’s back. I envied them a little.
“Yeah. He told me to call you. Said he wanted to see you in person, but the way he was asking…I knew it wasn’t going to end well.”
A hand settled on mine, and I tried to ignore how every part of me reacted to it. I looked up, getting caught in eyes I had no business looking at. Christ, she was beautiful. “Thank you.”
Her voice was back to that soft, breathy thing it had been when she’d walked in, and I shifted in the seat, trying to hide how much it affected me. I wasn’t going to send her mixed signals, so my dick needed to calm down.
“If Mari was their target, your killing their man is going to sting even more. You’ll need to be out of sight for a while.”
I took a breath, ready to defend myself, when Mari’s grip on me tightened. “Grey’s right. You’ll need to go underground for a while. We’ve got plenty of rooms at?—”
“Thanks, but no. I’ll be fine at my place.” I truly doubted it, but I had no other option.
She huffed. “Look, I know you aren’t interested in pursuing anything with me, but be smart. This is the safest thing for you, and I feel guilty. You wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for me.”
That wasn’t strictly true, but I couldn’t tell her that.
“You don’t have to come, but if you do, I’ll stay away. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, but I’d rather have you under my roof where I can keep an eye on you.”
And protect me.
For a second, I didn’t know how to respond. She was inviting me into her home. Me, a relative stranger, because she wanted me to be safe. At a time when no shortage of people were aching to see her dead, it was a risky move. One I hadn’t earned.
“I know how much the offer means right now and I appreciate it, but I’ll be fine on my own.”
I could tell she wanted to disagree with my decision, but eventually, she nodded.
Turning back to Greyson, she tapped an unstable beat on her leg as she thought. “If he isn’t staying with us, he needs a guard on him at all times.”
Wait, what? “I don’t need?—”
“We can spare a few,” Greyson said, talking over me. His eyes slid between Mari and me pointedly, and I realized he was placating her. The stress was rolling off her now, and putting a guard on me, setting up a plan so I was safe despite not wanting it, grounded her. Kept her level.
Mari nodded over and over, her mind a million miles away. “If I could, I’d put you in a safe house, but we won’t do that until we have to. For now, you’ll take a week or two off. Fully paid, of course. Stay home and relax. When the threat’s clear again, we’ll let you come back.”
“And when people ask where I’ve been for weeks? I’ve got a life, you know.” I didn’t really, but I was curious about the answer.
Dominic shrugged. “Tell them you were sick or your goldfish died. Who cares?”
No one. The reminder that I was relatively alone sat uncomfortably in my chest. “Fine.”
Mari leaned forward, fierce gaze locked on mine. “Let me be clear. You stay at your place or at ours. There’s no other option. Refuse to listen, and lose the right to choose which. Understood?”
My mouth went dry. I liked it when she bossed me around. Not all the time, but something about that firm, take-no-shit voice got me going. “Understood.”
It was clear that Mari hated everything about the situation, but with nothing to do about it, she had to let it go. “Grab whatever you need from your locker. We’ll walk you to your car.”
I had nothing to grab, so we walked straight out once Mari’s guards confirmed it was safe to leave.
“Text Shara any updates. Suspicious people hanging around, any attempts on your life, et cetera. Don’t be stingy, tell us everything. We can’t keep you breathing if you don’t.”
Mari was so put out about needing to gather information that I had to laugh. “How about you worry about your own breaths instead of mine?”
Her grin was crooked and far too endearing to look at for long. “I’ve got an entire empire focused on keeping me alive. Who do you have?”
We stepped into the night air, enjoying the relative chill of early spring. Mari’s driver got out and waited to open the door.
“Be safe, Nate.”
“You too.”
She turned, smiling over her shoulder at me as she moved for her SUV, when an explosion rocked us.
Heat and force pulsed around me, and I reached for Mari instinctively, pulling her into my chest. Twisting so she was shielded from the debris, I felt her draw her gun. Dominic and Greyson took her other sides with guns drawn too. Mari’s bodyguards were nearby, shouting orders into their phones.
My ears were ringing, and my eyes stung from the smoke, but I didn’t care. Just like I didn’t care that memories were pressing themselves close, reminding me of other bombs in other places.
Focus, Nate.
“Are you okay?” I skimmed my hands up her arms to check her face and neck for injuries. Shrapnel could do serious damage, especially if it wasn’t found right away. I reminded myself to step back, but I couldn’t. She could’ve gotten hurt, she could’ve died, and that panic rode me hard. Thankfully, she didn’t seem injured. Dirty and pissed off, but fine.
Like she needed to reiterate it, she pulled away from me. “I’m fine, Nate.”
“What the fuck was that?” Dominic snapped, eyes darting everywhere, like he’d be able to catch the bomber. I let him do it, looking toward the flaming wreckage to find what was once…
“My car.” Son of a bitch.
Dominic whistled. “Bombing seems extreme. You got enemies we need to know about?”
“Not that I know of.” Not a lie. I wasn’t exactly sure who was still after me.
“My guess is retaliation,” Greyson said. “They know what you did for us. For Mari. You’re not safe on your own anymore.”
Mari grabbed my arm, turning me to face her. “Nate, I know you said you wanted to go it alone, but…”
But if I did, I’d be dead before sunrise.
“We can get you a new car,” she continued, rushing through like she knew I’d object. “Get you out of the city. New identity and everything. Or we could help you hole up somewhere until it’s over.”
She kept going, rambling this plan and that, until I couldn’t take anymore. It wasn’t like I really had that many options. It was either leave and hide or stay and hide. That was it.
Motherfucking shitballs. No matter what I do or where I go, I can’t catch a fucking break.I was being hunted one way or another and getting shoved at this woman whether I wanted it or not. Might as well appreciate the time I had with her.
“Mari.” The rambling was so cute, I almost hated to interrupt. “Still got that spare room?”