Chapter 33
The boys forced me out of the club earlier than I would have liked, leaving Asher in charge and staying to look after the night shift.
Reluctantly, they dragged me back to the safe apartment on the docks.
Reef was already here when we got in, after a day working at the station.
He was quiet, not his playful self, and I wonder what he had to deal with today.
His job must be so intense at times.
After finishing dinner, Romeo offered to clean up, and Onyx joined him in the kitchen.
I got the impression they were disappearing to discuss something they didn’t want me to be privy to, probably more orders from my brother.
I was okay with it, the space from them giving me the chance to find out what’s going on with Reef.
“Busy day at the office?” I ask, taking a slow sip of my rich, red wine.
I have to hand it to him; Romeo has exceptional taste in wine, and food for that matter.
Apparently, he was the one who prepared our meal last night, and tonight he did the same, whipping up a creamy mushroom risotto while I was in the shower.
Reef’s hand laces into mine, his attention moving to me even though I can see he’s still deep in thought.
“Interesting day. What about you? I hear Romeo showed you his latest idea.” His lips twitch up at the sides in amusement, and I know he’s now here with me.
This is the Reef I have been getting to know.
He’s playful and sexy as hell when he’s not all business .
“Did you now. Romeo has a big mouth.”
He tugs me from my chair and onto his lap with him.
Something about the gesture feels so normal, I let him.
His fingers thread through my hair, pulling me close as he inhales my scent.
“I missed you today,” he says softly.
I can’t help the laugh that rumbles through me.
“You hardly even know me, Reef.” But as our eyes meet and his gaze holds mine, I know that doesn’t matter to him for a second.
“I know everything about you, wildcat. I spent six months watching you, and you’ve become so deeply ingrained in my life that the thought of a day without you is unbearable.”
I raise my brow and stare him down, our bodies still crazy close to each other.
“You know how creepy that is, don’t you.”
I feel him shrug it off as he draws me closer, his lips placing delicate kisses down my neck.
“I watch people for a living, it just feels normal to me,” he mutters, distracted.
He brushes my hair over my shoulder, his lips lightly kissing my exposed neck.
His other hand dusts up my thigh.
My hand runs up his side, brushing over his crisp shirt as I lean into him, enjoying the way he kisses me.
He’s so different to the other two.
When we’re together, I don’t feel the push and pull.
I’m all-consumed by him and can’t help but be drawn to him like a magnet.
“I can’t believe I didn’t see you,” I mutter into the room, hardly even paying attention to our conversation anymore.
All I can feel is his hands on me, slowly stroking up my leg, toying with the hem on my skirt and his lips pressing feather-light kisses from my shoulder to my ear.
“If someone doesn’t want to be seen, you won’t see them.”
Goosebumps skate up my arms. “Like the asshole stalking me.”
“Exactly. ”
I pull back from him slightly, throwing one leg over his lap so I’m straddling him and I can see him eye to eye.
“Do you think he knows where I’m staying now and that the three of you are all here with me?”
His head drops.
“Probably,” he mutters, and I know he hates that he hasn’t found him yet.
“Fuck, you could have lied to me.” I half laugh, trying to lighten the mood that’s gotten way too serious too quickly.
He chuckles softly. His warm hands grasp my arms, his intense stare boring into my soul, and I feel something change in him, a seriousness wash over him.
“Sloane, they found another body today. My station is calling him the working-girl serial killer. They think he’s targeting prostitutes. Screwing them, then killing them and ripping out their hearts.”
My pulse quickens.
This is what he was thinking about at dinner.
“What did she look like?” I whisper, not really wanting to know.
“You already know the answer to that question.”
My back straightens, and I stare back at him, not sure what to do.
One girl was a tragedy, two is so awful I can’t even process the reality.
“Your station hasn’t worked out this asshole is after me?”
“After today’s find, they think it’s unrelated.”
My hand rests on his chest. I can feel the way his heart beats erratically.
This is messing him up just as much as it is me.
“But you don’t agree.”
“There was another note pinned on her. Same as the other one.”
Fuck.
This is a nightmare.
“Where was she found?”
“In the lobby of your apartment complex,” he responds, his voice heavy.
I close my eyes, pain radiating through my chest for the poor girl.
This motherfucker is as good as dead.
I stand in a rush. “We have to do something. I’m not having another girl die because of me. ”
My phone dances across the table from where Onyx left it, and I collect it up.
Seeing it’s an unknown number, my heart leaps into my throat, knowing it’s him.
With a shaky finger, I answer the call and flick it to speaker so Reef can hear as well.
The other two move back into the living room from the kitchen, their faces impassive as they watch me.
“I’m getting closer, my girl. Not long until you’re mine,” his cruel voice comes down the line, sending a shiver over my whole body.
My heart leaps into my throat.
This fucker thinks he can mess with me, but I’m not giving him the satisfaction.
“I will never be yours,” I seethe back, my gaze locking onto the men who have already claimed me.
“Did you like my latest gift? Another girl off the streets. See, I’m helping clean up this town, just like you.”
My eyes go wide as I look at Reef, not sure what to say back to him.
He’s crazy. I’m not killing people to clean up the town.
I’m giving girls jobs in a safe place.
Reef motions for me to stay on the line, and I know it’s because the longer I do, the more likely they can track down a location for him.
“What you’re doing is sick and repulsive. I don’t want your gifts, I want you to leave the poor woman of this town alone.” The words spill out of me, laced with anger and frustration.
“I can’t do that, my girl. They died because of you, and they will continue to pay for your sins, until I have you in my hands.” His voice is so calm and cool that it makes me feel sick to my stomach.
My sins, what the fuck is he talking about?
What did I do to this fucker?
“Your days are numbered, and when I get my hands on you, I will personally make sure you pay with your life for all the pain and suffering you have caused. ”
His laughter vibrates down the line, psychotic and unnerving, a sound that I know will stay with me long after I disconnect the call.
“So tough, aren’t you, Ava. That’s how your brothers taught you to be. Lucky you didn’t grow up with the sheltered life your daddy dearest wanted for you. You can stop pretending you care. Years ago, you stole something from me, and now the time has finally come for me to take it back. What’s happened to those girls is just the beginning. Enjoy your freedom while you can.” More laughter then the line goes dead.
With my heart racing like crazy, I glance back at Reef.
“Please tell me you got a trace on him.”
He shakes his head sadly.
“He must be on to us, he hung up just too soon.”
With a sickening thud, Onyx’s fist slams into the drywall, the impact echoing in the silent room, a fine layer of dust raining down.
“Shit,” he curses, his body radiating with anger.
Romeo comes toward me, but I push him off, needing space, and move toward the window.
“On to us, like watching us right now?” I look out through the large window, a shiver slithering down my spine as I glance over the running water and shipping containers.
Apartments line the other side of the docks.
This area is highly populated; he could be anywhere watching us.
Reef stands, coming behind me.
“I hope not. It would be hard for him to see anything with the angle of the building, unless he has some massive telescopic lens and was across the other side of the docks in one of those buildings there.”
“You’re safe here with us, doll face. He’s not going to get his hands on you.”
“Maybe we close these just in case.” Reef presses a panel on the wall and large blackout blinds roll down from the ceiling to cover the windows .
I watch them slide all the way down, blocking out the night and the moon and everything else.
The room blurs and my head spins, and I take hold of Romeo’s arm to stop myself from hitting the ground.
“Are you alright?” he asks, his voice low and filled with concern.
“I’m fine.” I straighten my shoulders and regain my composure.
“Big day tomorrow. I’m going to bed,” I say, then move slowly back through the living room so I don’t go over like my body is telling me to.
“Go with her, she’s not okay,” I hear Onyx tell one of them, but right now, I’m feeling too strange to fight them on it or even look over my shoulder to see who he was talking to.
As I make it to the hallway, I take hold of the wall for support before I feel large arms assisting me.
“I got you, wildcat,” Reef’s voice washes over me like a warm blanket.
He helps me to my bed, and I collapse down onto the comforter.
With gentle hands, he helps me pull the soft, downy blankets up and over my body, the fabric light against my skin.
When I’m covered up, I feel him staring down at me, and I know he’s not sure what to do.
Hell, I’m not sure what to do.
I stare up at him, the spinning starting to ease as I focus on his pretty face.
“Stay with me, I don’t want to be alone,” I whisper, knowing it’s probably a mistake, but right now I don’t care.
Without missing a moment, he quickly removes his pants and shirt before joining me in bed.
He wraps his arms around me, his touch warm and comforting, holding me close.
“We will get this asshole. I have a team working on it. Your brothers are all hunting him down as well. He will slip up, and when he does, he’s a dead man.”
“He called me Ava. You were right, he’s after her. What the hell was my real father involved in twenty-one years ago? Something so dangerous that someone is still after me now?”
“The investigation at the time showed he made a mistake. Got involved with the wrong people, and from what the boys and I have been able to piece together, we can see it had to do with you. Apparently, years ago, when he was a rising politician, he wanted to win an election, but he didn’t have the influence or the money to make it happen, so he signed a deal with the devil, Romeo’s papa. It was a blood oath. At the time he didn’t even have a daughter, he didn’t think it would come back to bite him in the ass. When your father was elected as the vice president, Emilio Moretti came to visit and make his presence known, but your father wouldn’t let him in the mansion he was now living in with you and your mother. He didn’t want to be associated with a known mafia family now that he was so high-profile. That was the first part of his undoing. It’s also why years later Emilio came for you and forced Syd to sign that damn marriage contract with Orlando. We think Emilio worked out Syd and Katrina had you and he was using his business relationship with Syd to manipulate him into giving you up to him like you should have always been.”
“And now someone in the Moretti family is after me because they want revenge on my dead father and Syd because of what happened that night?”
“They want what they are owed, the daughter of the vice president. You have pure bloodlines and would make the perfect wife.”
My body stiffens.
“I’m never going to be anybody’s wife.”
“We will make sure of it.”
“You guys know the Moretti family. Surely Romeo knows who is after me. Does he have other brothers who would have been next in line after Orlando died, or an uncle or something? This should be easy to work out through process of elimination.”
“He has a younger brother, one his papa is grooming to take over the empire because Romeo refuses, but he’s never stepped foot in America. He’s also already married. His papa is the type to be out for revenge for a broken contract if he thought he could get it. But he wouldn’t mess with you, playing games like this. He would have killed you already if that’s what he wanted.”
“That fills me with so much assurance.”
“I’m sorry, Sloane, I’m trying to tell it to you straight. If we knew more, he would already be dead.” His hand dusts up my arm, his touch everything.
“Distract me. If you’re allowed to.”
He wraps his arm back around me but doesn’t say anything.
“I can’t think about this anymore tonight, it’s making me feel sick. Take me someplace else, please, Reef,” I ask, when he doesn’t respond.
He brushes my hair over my shoulder so my neck is bare, his lips pressing into my skin softly.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.” He rolls us so he’s on top of me, staring down at me.
The way he looks at me makes my heart backflip.
Then his lips are on mine, and he kisses me with so much passion I feel it all the way through my body.
His hands cup my cheeks as he devours me.
Our connection is so different to the others.
I feel so close to him already.
Tenderly he removes my camisole, sliding it up and over my head.
Then his hands are everywhere, feeling over my tits, my stomach, then all the way down to my sleep shorts.
He tugs them off quickly, desperate to get his hands on me.
My hand slips inside his briefs, finding his cock.
I run my finger over the tip, feeling the cold metal of the piercing.
The only thing that surprised me more than walking in on him and Romeo last night was seeing that his cock was pierced.
Breaking our kiss, he moves down to gently take a nipple into his warm mouth.
“Is this the kind of distraction you were after? ”
I can’t help the moan that leaves my lips.
“Yes. This is perfect.” My hips rock off the bed to meet him, wanting more, wanting whatever he’s willing to give me.
With a playful laugh, he toys with my nipples, grazing his teeth along them in the most delicious way, but then his lips are gone, and I feel him moving south.
Placing kisses down over my stomach, each deliberate movement melts me more.
My legs fall out to the sides, so frantic to have him touch me there.
Right where I’m throbbing for him.
With a quick glance up, his eyes meet mine, silently asking me if this is okay.
I nod, and he doesn’t disappoint, dipping his face closer to my pussy, his tongue flicking out and licking right through my folds.
My hands lace into his long hair.
“Yes, Reef,” I encourage him because this is just what I need.
He is just what I need.
He’s not rough like the other two, but he’s skilled, his tongue doing something wicked that has me tingling all over.
He pushes a finger inside of me and twists, the pressure firm and constant as he pumps in and out of me.
Then he adds a second, doing the same.
My hips rise off the bed, waves of euphoria washing over me as my pussy tightens and I cum in a rush, screaming his name.
I hear heavy footsteps in the hallway and glance over to the door, expecting to see one or both of the others, but the space is empty.
There is still no door handle, so we couldn’t lock them out even if we wanted to.
But to my surprise, they’re leaving us alone to make our own fun.
Reef keeps on eating me, lapping me up until he’s fully satisfied and my body has stopped quivering.
With a lingering touch, he moves back up my body, his eyes fixed on me.
His lips crash back onto mine, a fierce, hungry kiss that steals my breath away.
Our bodies move together, desperate for closeness, skin on skin, craving contact.
He shifts our position, rolling me on top of him, and I quickly pull back to move down his legs and remove his briefs.
I shove them out of the way and climb back over him, so needy I’m shaking.
In one move, I’m impaled with his cock.
I rock over him, enjoying what little power I have.
His hands palm my tits, twisting my nipples ever so slightly in a way that sends jolts of pleasure and pain rocking through me.
“Yes, don’t stop,” I tell him, my head spinning and the room blurring.
I can’t see straight, but I don’t care.
He moves his hips in a way that hits right on my clit.
I cry out again and don’t miss the massive grin twisting his lips as he hears his name slip from them.
My lips are back on his as I cry out my second orgasm.
I fall back onto the comforter, exhausted, my pussy throbbing in the most delicious way.
His hands quickly find me, directing me and smoothly rolling me onto my stomach.
He moves in behind me, and I press my ass back toward him, so keen to be filled up again.
His lips come to my ear as he kisses the side of my neck.
“I’m not done yet, wildcat. I’m not letting you sleep until your body is so wasted you can’t think anymore.”
“Yes,” I murmur, needing exactly that.
With a laugh he thrusts back inside of me, deeper and faster this time, giving me everything he has, and man, I’m here for it.
All of it. I could roll around in the sheets with him until the sun comes up.