Chapter Thirty-Six-Luc
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX-LUC
W ork has been busy as we hunt down that motherfucker.
Sanchez.
Of course, I want the other one. The brother.
Matteo .
But I haven’t told anyone about that yet. Nico has other things to worry about and Angel, well, he’s been preoccupied with his own shit.
Nico is talking and I should be listening, but all my thoughts are on my woman.
Who knew my Maria would turn into such a dirty little girl after I took her virginity?
Truth is, she is as insatiable for me as I am for her, and it makes me hard as fuck just thinking about it.
Remembering the way her mouth felt as she kissed me from my asshole to cockhole, and how her tight cunt strangled my dick when she came, Twice.
I almost pop a boner right there.
Then I see Nico staring at me, and I clear my throat.
“We’ve heard from Callahan. He says fuck O’Doyle, his loyalty is ours,” I tell him.
“That’s because his next shipment is stuck on our fucking docks,” Angel inserts.
He isn’t wrong.
“Good. At least he knows who has the power,” Nico says. “And maybe he’ll spread the news. Let him know, the minute I have Sanchez, the Vipers will reopen everything.”
“You got it, Boss,” I tell Nico.
He’s checking his watch, and I know he wants to get back to the hospital.
Anna delivered their baby boy three weeks early, but he’s healthy as a horse and the little mama is doing good.
In fact, I’m going to follow him there in my car.
I dropped Maria off before coming here so she could visit with Anna while I get some work done.
Angel is saying something about new protocols regarding our security and I’m only half listening as I send a text to Maria.
Me
I’ll be there in forty-five minutes.
Baby Girl
Okay. I miss you.
Me
Already?
Baby Girl
I am always missing you. Always wanting you, Luc. You know that.
Me
Good. I’ll see you soon.
Baby Girl
Can’t wait. I love you.
I grunt and I stare at her last message.
My chest squeezes. There is a tightness there I have never felt before. It isn’t comfortable.
In fact, it kind of hurts.
But I know what it is. It’s like that character from that fucking kid’s movie.
The one with furry green fucker whose heart is shriveled right up until the end of the Christmas story.
But the ending is the thing. That is when his heart grows. It gets bigger. So big, it breaks the fucking thing measuring it.
Maria loves me. I know she does. And knowing it makes me feel ten feet tall.
I should say it back.
I should tell Maria that I love her simply because I do.
So fucking much.
But I don’t. And that has more to do with my hangups than any lack on her part.
Maria doesn’t lack for anything.
She is perfect.
Tell her already.
I will, I tell myself.
I will.
“You ready to finish this fucking meeting?” Nico says, and I glance up at him and Angel.
Shit.
“Yeah. So, this is what we know about O’Doyle’s connection to Sanchez,” I say and give them a rundown on how those two pieces of shit came across one another, running guns and drugs.
The thing is, they both need the Vipers to do it.
But they don’t want to pay. And everyone has to pay.
We live in a world of trolls and tolls. Civilization is pretty much grounded in this one system where a person or organization has control over access routes, information, goods, or what have you.
Gatekeepers.
It is all about the gatekeepers.
And if you want what they have, you must pay. Period.
There is no other way.
In this scenario, the Vipers have control of the port.
If O’Doyle and Sanchez want to play there, they need to pay. But if they want war, well, we can do that as well.
Nico has proven a hundred times he’ll stoop to whatever level of violence our opponents drop to.
“If that’s it,” Nico says, standing, and Angel is already out the door.
“One second,” I tell him.
I feel guilty for believing my own doubts about Maria. It was only a few weeks ago that I told Nico I wasn't sure if Maria was working for Sanchez or not.
“Listen, about Maria,” I begin.
“Yeah, what?”
“She was never working for Sanchez,” I tell him.
“And?” he says.
“And? Well, you know she’s living with me,” I say, not sure how to proceed.
“Yeah? Look, Luc, spit it the fuck out. I wanna go see my woman and kid,” he says.
“I just wanted to tell you and to, shit , I guess I don’t know,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck and feeling kind of foolish.
“You are a grown ass man, Luc. You want Maria?”
I nod.
“She want you?”
After that blow job she gave me when she ate my ass and fingered it, I think it is safe to say fuck yes, she wants me .
I nod again.
“Then take her. I wish you the best. But I gotta go see my Anna now.”
“Thanks, bro. Maria is visiting her and Nico Jr. I’ll be right behind you,” I tell him, and the king of the Vipers tips his head.
After that, I feel lighter .
Everything feels better now.
It was my own weakness that doubted Maria. My own inability to accept that somebody as good, as kind, as open as her could ever love me without ulterior motive.
But she does love me.
I know it in my soul.
I’m going to tell her today.
I feel guilty about doubting her and I'll apologize to her. I have to.
I'll confess it when I get her.
My phone buzzes, but I don’t text and drive. I take shortcuts to the Medical Center, but Jersey City is so fucking overcrowded.
It takes sixteen minutes for me to get there, and I pull up right next to Nico’s SUV.
We take the elevator together. Both of us are too lost in thoughts of our women to talk.
That’s fine with me.
The doors open and I follow the king, nodding at our men guarding the queen of the Vipers’ door.
I wait for his nod, and we both go inside Anna’s room. She looks happy, if tired.
I smile and nod my respects. But something is wrong. It’s off.
“Where’s Maria?” I ask when Nico finally lets his wife up for air.
“Huh? Oh, she went to get me some thread. I thought you were picking her up at the craft store, Luc. She texted you,” Anna says.
Dread fills my stomach as I grab my phone and open my text messages.
Baby Girl
Hey, Anna needs some thread so I’m gonna run to the craft store by the hospital. Pick me up here.
My eyes meet Nico’s and I know he can see my worry.
He frowns, but I am already moving.
I go to the hallway first and I see the driver/bodyguard who should be watching my Maria walking into the hallway with half a sandwich stuffed in his mouth.
“Where is she?” I demand.
“Huh? With Mrs. Fury,” he says, but his eyes are wide, and he knows he fucked up.
“If anything happens to her,” I threaten, but I don’t finish it.
No words come to mind to describe the world of hurt he’s in for should any harm come to her. And I’m too busy running to the elevator to try to think of any.
I frantically push the button. Dialing Maria on my cell as I do.
She doesn’t pick up.
“What’s going on?” Nico asks, and he’s beside me.
“I don’t know. Could be nothing. But Maria is gone. Her driver is here, and she’s not. She’s not answering her phone, Nico.”
“Fuck, okay. Let’s go.”
I am in a state of utter fucking panic. But I shake my head.
“Stay with Anna. I got this. Let Angel know. Have him track my location and send me a team.”
“I’ll do all that, but I am coming with you. You’re my brother,” Nico says, and I nod, giving in.
“Could be nothing,” I repeat as we climb in the elevator, hoping it is.
Nico says nothing and minutes drag by like hours.
Fuck. Shit.
I picture Maria’s smiling face. I can’t wait to see it.
We’ll talk about how important it is for her to always have a bodyguard with her when I get her home, safe and sound.
She has to be safe.
Maria just has to be.
Please be fucking safe.