19. Delancy #2
“What if it was my father?”
“If it was Percy, then there’s nothing else to do since he’s dead.”
“I’m not convinced your father will agree to merge with the QBM. It’s unprecedented.”
“I know it’s a long shot, but I have to at least try. That being said, I came back with a promise to destroy the Empire. That hasn’t changed. My anger has always been with my father for letting the underworld kill my mother.”
“Instead of bringing the Empire down, why don’t you steal it from him?” I offer. “Take over and lead it your way.”
“I don’t think I’m strong enough to lead. Not yet. I’m more than happy to let Elias have it. Do you think he’ll help me?”
I take her hand and kiss her knuckles. “I have no doubt.”
Elias has slowly been gaining more control over city officials and law enforcement. The QBM is aiming for the top spot, so if Elias has a chance to take it from Gio, he will.
“And if none of the three mafias were responsible for the murders?”
She meets my eyes. The thought has crossed her mind, and she’s scared that will be the outcome.
“I don’t know,” Noah answers.
Is it possible that whoever tried to kill Noah with the explosion is the one who put out the hit all those years? Are they trying to tie up loose ends? If that’s the case, why didn’t they douse my apartment with gasoline too?
It doesn’t make sense.
We sit in silence for a few minutes, Noah’s head rests against my shoulder. It’s such a normal thing for someone to do. A gesture of love and trust. It makes me feel human—which is still a strange sensation for me.
“Can I ask you what happened after the gun range? You disappeared for a week. Where did you go?”
She looks up at me, fluttering her mesmerizing brown eyes. I tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear, and she closes her eyes at the move.
“I didn’t lie,” I say. “I really did have a job.”
“Oh, right, your private investigator job.” She giggles.
“Technically, I do investigate and research each kill. Don’t you?”
She shrugs. “Not really. I mean, I’ll do a bit of recon to track behavior and lock down their schedule, but I don’t need that much from my targets. I’m also not as concerned with setting the murder scene like the Marionette.”
“I really hate that name.”
She laughs and wraps her arm around my stomach.
Her jasmine and citrus scent envelops me, and my hand falls to her thigh. I rub my palm up and down, desperately wanting to go between her legs to sink my fingers inside her cunt. She already teased me by not wearing underwear with her dress.
“You’re nervous about telling me?” she asks.
I am. Can she hear my heart thundering in my chest? Or maybe it’s because I can’t keep my hands still when I’m anxious. Can she see me sweating?
I’m nervous because I’m still not used to sharing my life, or my feelings, with another person.
I remember after her father shot me. I was delirious with pain, yet I swear I heard Noah tell her father she loved me.
I haven’t asked her about it. I’m scared she might think I’m crazy because we haven’t known each other long.
Or what if she says she never uttered those words?
And if she did say it, was it only to convince her father that the fake engagement is real?
“When you hugged me, I don’t know, it surprised me.
I hadn’t hugged anyone like that since my mother died.
So, I needed to get away from you, clear my head.
I took a job. A sexual predator who was released from prison on some dumb technicality.
The mother of the teenage girl he raped didn’t have a lot of money to pay me, so I took the job pro bono. ”
“You’re a good man, did you know that?”
I laugh. “I kill people for a living.”
“We’re good people who do bad things. But we’re also killing the monsters who are pretending to be humans.”
“And what does that make us?”
“We’re angels disguised as monsters.”
She looks up at me with a smile. I press a finger underneath her chin and tip her head up allowing me to press a kiss to her plump, dark red lips.
I want to ravish her in the back of this car. Kiss her until her lipstick is smeared and lips swollen. But she’s pulling away before I can follow through with my plans.
“We’re here,” she whispers against my mouth.
The car slows to a stop and my door opens. A blond man in a suit and earpiece stands back, waiting for us to get out. He flashes his gun at me, a warning not to try anything.
“Fuck. I told Gio no soldiers,” Noah murmurs to me.
“Like I said, too trusting, Vixen. That’s a bad quality to have for a contract killer,” I tease.
She punches me in the side, a little too hard, making me oomph as we approach the building where another huge man in a suit stands at the entrance. Noah takes my hand, interlocking our fingers as she stares him down.
“Let us by, Vershy,” Noah commands.
“I have to pat him down.”
“This is a peaceful dinner. Del’s not going to be a problem. Trust me.”
“I wouldn’t trust you as far as I can throw you, and, well…”
He waves his hand up and down the length of Noah’s body and it takes everything in me not to snatch it and twist his wrist until it breaks.
“All that tells me,” Noah begins, “is that you’re weak. I bet you’ve got a small cock too. You wouldn’t be able to get it past my cheeks, huh, Vershy?”
A blond guard, who I think is Vershun’s second in command and looks more like he should model for men’s fitness magazines, barks a laugh at Noah’s insult.
Vershun doesn’t find it amusing and takes a step forward. I pull my gun and point the barrel at his forehead.
“Del, don’t—”
Too late. I pulled the trigger. Vershun falls to the ground, blood pouring out of the bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. The rest of the security team surrounds us, guns drawn. If Noah hadn’t been here, and moved in front of me as a shield, I’d be dead, lying next to Vershy.
Or maybe it’s because GQ has his hand up, a silent command not to shoot.
That’s… interesting .
“Dumbass,” Noah mutters out of the corner of her mouth. She has her hands raised so I follow suit.
“He insulted you,” I say. “And he lunged at you.”
“I’m pretty sure I insulted him worse, and he didn’t lunge. He took a step. One step, Laptop.”
Oh, she’s angry. She pulled out the old nickname.
“Let them in,” a booming voice behind us says.
Noah lowers her hands and turns, grabbing my arm to twist me with her until we’re facing her father.
“Babbo.”
He doesn’t look at his daughter. His eyes are on me. I expect anger to greet me. I expect him to raise his gun and fire, launching a bullet between my eyes or through my heart.
Instead, Gio Lenetti stares back at me with respect.
“I heard what Vershun said about my daughter. I commend you for defending her.”
He waves his hand at the men surrounding us. They’ve lowered their guns but are still on edge. They just witnessed their colleague get shot point blank.
“Take the body down to the basement then call the cleaner,” Gio says to his soldiers. He points at the blondie. “Matthew, you’re now head of security. You come with me.”
He doesn’t wait for an answer before turning and walking off down the hallway, Matthew following with a scowl on his face.
Handsome and grumpy. Noah is going to love him.
I already hate him.
I check my pants to make sure I didn’t piss myself.
“You lucky mother fucker,” Noah says, amusement filling her voice.
Yeah. Maybe I do have a guardian angel.
Maybe it really was luck, and I should go buy a lottery ticket. Either way… dinner is going to be interesting.