CHAPTER FOUR
Theo
“Francesca,” I call out for my sister as I enter her apartment. She lives one floor above mine, where it’s easier for me to check in on her. My sister doesn’t respond at first, but I don’t panic. She’s probably in her gym and has her earbuds in.
I place the cat carrier on her couch and dial Deacon.
“Lo,” he picks up on the first ring.
“Location?”
“In your sister’s spare room getting everything set up.”
“Good.” I end the call and grab the carrier.
I find him in the guest bedroom putting together a cat tower while my sister observes.
She shoots me a look that is sharp enough to cut glass.
“You said you didn’t want a dog, and these guys were in need of a home.”
“I see. You could have asked.”
“You would’ve said no and I know you could use the company and the distraction.”
“They better be cute and cuddly.”
“I think you’ll like them. Can I close the door?”
She glances over at Deacon as he ignores us, humming to himself as he completes the next level of the tower. “Okay.”
Since she was kidnapped, she doesn’t do well in enclosed spaces with more than a few people. I’ve had Deacon guarding her for about a year now, and she still doesn’t trust him. No one can blame her, though, after what she’s endured.
She’s still scarred physically and mentally. She refuses therapy. Refuses to leave the apartment for extended periods of time. Hell, she rarely opens a window.
I close the door and give her a minute to relax. “Meet your new best friends. Hercules and Hades. They’re twins.”
“Like us,” she muses, waiting for the cats to leave the carrier.
“Hello my darling boys.” She smiles big, making the scar on the left side of her mouth disappear into her dimple.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen any emotion out of her but sadness.
The sight of her smile nearly splits my heart in two, it feels so fucking full. “Thank you, dear brother.”
“Don’t mention it.”
I leave her to make friends with her cats.
I have more spying to do. More intel to gather on my sweetheart. I smile to myself, thinking how irritated the pet name made her and how I wish to see her blush again.
She’s got attitude. A spine. I like a woman who speaks her mind.
I want to know more about her.
But mostly I want her vow of silence.
I park and wait for my little sweetheart to leave work. Now I’m following her on foot, shadowing her every move, her none the wiser. Every so often she glances around as though she’s expecting me to pop out at any second like some sort of boogeyman.
That’s not my style. I don’t hurt women. I don’t go around randomly killing strangers who piss me off. Scratch that. I don’t kill every stranger who pisses me off.
Mitch had it coming. He put his hands on one of my girls from the club. I don’t tolerate that kind of disrespect. I make fish food out of anyone who crosses that line.
The women I employ are loyal because I take damn good care of them. I don’t let their Johns beat on them and I split everything down the middle. They get protection and I get paid.
The sex trade is the oldest profession.
There’s always a demand for pussy. I run a high-class establishment.
A gentleman’s club. The girls have a right to say who, when, and how much.
How I treat them and put fuckers in their place is why I am successful.
It’s one of many streams of income. My neighborhood––my community counts on me and I fucking provide.
Jobs, money, food, clothes…when there’s a need, the family takes care of it.
Everyone who serves me eats at my table, and we leave no scraps.
I have a lot riding on me. Too many depending on me. I can’t allow some cutesy bitch to ruin what my father built. What I’ve been working my ass off to hold on to, and yet I can’t bring myself to hurt her. Doesn’t mean I can’t scare her a little. A healthy dose of fear never hurt anyone.
My cell buzzes from my back pocket. My instinct is to ignore it, but I don’t have the luxury of ignoring texts and calls.
Cassie: Hey, baby. I know you’ve missed me. I’m back and can’t wait to see you.
I snort. This fucking cunt. I should have blocked her number.
She can go fuck herself or fifty other dudes for all care.
Bitch is dead to me. Not only did she fuck around on me, she was jealous of Francessca.
Said I was too concerned with her. Implied that I’d never marry because no one would measure up.
She’s sick in the head. I love my sister.
We share a bond that will never be broken, but that doesn’t mean when I do take a wife that I won’t put my wife first. If I ever take one. My life isn’t for the weak-minded.
Cassie isn’t marriage material. She’s a party girl. The kind of slut you never fuck without a rubber. A good time. But she’ll never be the type of woman you take home to meet your mother.
I want to send her the fuck you emoji. She has some real tits to think I want anything to do with her after the bullshit she spewed out of that cum dumpster of a mouth she’s got on her. She doesn’t know I know about her fucking Mitch among others. I told her I needed space.
What I need is to break the contract my father negotiated with Claymore.
That’s tomorrow’s problem.
Theo: Talk soon.
Shoving my phone back into my pocket, I follow my sweetheart into one of the last places I want to enter. Finnigan’s Sub Shop. Too many pigs hang out here. I hang back and observe from across the street. She’s meeting with that fucker she was talking to earlier.
Fuck. I need to go in there and hear what she’s telling him. If she’s running her mouth about last night, then scaring her might not be enough. I wait until they’ve moved to the register to pay to enter.
This place is crawling with cops. I keep some on my payroll, but we don’t acknowledge each other in public. Unfortunately, this douche she’s here with isn’t one of them.
I order a sub and sit in the booth behind them. My back to hers, where I can hear every word.
“I’m really glad we’re doing this,” the asshat says.
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” her voice comes out small and not confident like earlier.
“Me too.”
“I didn’t come here to talk about us. I need a favor.”
“You know I’ll do anything for you, Ruby. Name it.”
So her name is Ruby. Is she going to ask him to run a background check on me?
“There’s this dog.”
“There’s always a dog or a cat. A hamster. You can’t save the world.”
“He’s a senior named Petey. He’s a German Shepherd and the sweetest good boy. I thought maybe one of the guys on the force could give him a good home. What about your uncle?”
“I’ll call him if you agree to give us another shot.”
“I should have known this would come with strings. You cheated on me. Not once. Not twice. Multiple times.”
The more I hear, the more my blood boils.
“I’ve changed.”
I roll my eyes. What a lying piece of shit. People don’t change. They get better at hiding who they are.
“I didn’t come here to get back together. I want to find Petey a home. His owner passed away, and you know how hard it is to find senior dogs a home.”
“Come on, babe. You know you miss me. We’re good together. One shot. That’s all I’m asking. I worry about you living in that neighborhood. You know what happened last night. If anything happened to you…I’d never forgive myself.”
“Alex,” she sighs, sounding deflated. She’s going to give into this asshole and then she’s going to blab her mouth about the alley.
I’ve got to do something. Before I realize what the fuck is coming out of my mouth, I’m on my feet and tugging her out of the booth. “Come on, sweetheart. I’ve heard enough.”
Her wide eyes meet mine, swirling with confusion, while a hint of relief curls at the corners of her mouth.
“Who the fuck is this guy?”
“None of your business, Alex,” she huffs as I drag her toward the exit.
I don’t look back to see if he’s following us. I don’t need him to get a good look at my face and recognize me. Keeping a steady pace, I yank on Ruby’s hand, forcing her to keep up.
“Where are we going?”
Fuck if I know.
I lead her down a side alley and into a doorway out of sight, pushing her up against the door. I brace my palms on either side of her, above her shoulders. The two of us stare at each other, searching for answers to questions neither of us have uttered aloud.
I should push her around a little. Not enough to hurt her, just enough to scare her. And yet, as we stand here with heavy breaths passing between us and the floral scent of her perfume invading my senses, I can’t bring myself to do it.
“What have you told him about me?”
“N-nothing. I swear.”
“You better not be lying.”
“What would I tell him?” she challenges showing me a glimpse of her fire.
Under other circumstances I’d be trying to fuck her.
Something tells me she’d be worth every ounce of trouble she’d bring. I don’t fuck around with anyone who has ties to the police. It goes against everything I know. “You really dated that asshole?”
She glances down, not meeting my eyes. Pink stains her cheeks. “You don’t scare me.” She looks up at me through her lashes. Her pouty cupid’s bow lips perfect for kissing.
No, they beg to be kissed.
I lick my lips as both of our heads gravitate closer.
Too damn close.
“I should,” I tell her and walk away before I do something stupid like kiss her.