Chapter 4
Ratty jeans, a few band T-shirts, and a couple of boxers. There were a few silver rings and cheap necklaces; all it told me, he was poor as shit. So was he here in New York to screw his old man out of money? For some reason, that didn't sit right either. I'd go through his phone or his wallet but he conveniently didn't have either.
I put all his shit back and walked over to the bed, staring down at my newest ward. What the fuck was he doing here? One night of being in his company wasn't going to give me any answers. And I had a suspicion Blake wasn't going to open up to me anytime soon. He moved, and the cuff around his wrist scraped against the bed. I could see it a mile away. The guy was a runner, and as fun as it would be to chase him and laugh at his attempts to escape, I wasn't in the mood.
Blake was sound asleep, all that talking and tossing finally fell away. If only he was half as peaceful awake as he was asleep, we'd probably get along a lot better. With his bag giving me nothing, I checked on Blake, making sure I didn't miss anything. My hands skimmed over his hip where his shirt had rode up. His skin was hot to the touch.
A soft groan slipped past his pink lips. He had really pretty thick lashes, soft cheekbones, a sharp jawline, and barely there was a light dusting of freckles and gorgeous black hair that framed his face. There were tattoos all over him. It didn't take a genius to know he had more on his torso. His neck sported a line of roses that reminded me of a choker, a spider and neatly designed butterfly. It would probably take longer than a day to map out every single one of his tattoos. The sticker sleeve look wasn't appealing on most, but Blake could oddly pull it off. Everything looked random but matched his energy as well.
Too bad he’s a Vitale. I'd rather dip my nuts in boiling water than get involved with them.
I pushed my fingers through his soft hair that smelled distinctly like my mango shampoo. The scent matched him perfectly. Blake's breathing hitched just slightly, and his body stiffened under my touch. I kept moving, seeing what he'd do. When my hands wrapped around his slender throat and there was no reaction, I had to applaud him. It must be nice to sleep that soundly.
I leaned forward until my lips nearly touched his ear. I blew, finally getting a reaction. His entire body flinched, and I laughed.
"Morning, baby girl."
Blake jerked away from me the best he could while still chained to the bed. Being the good guy I am, I let go of his throat, but not before squeezing just because I could. The slight widening of Blake’s eyes was comical.
"What the fuck is your problem?"
I tsked at him. "Not even my therapist asks me such rude questions."
Blake's brows nearly kissed his hairline, and he looked me up and down slowly as if he couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth. "You go to therapy?"
No way in fuck would I see a shrink. There was nothing wrong with me. "Don't look so shocked."
"I'm shocked because you should be locked away in a psych ward."
"Who says I never was?"
Blake squinted at me before shaking his head. "Can you uncuff me?"
"Why should I do that?"
He gritted his teeth, anger wafting off him in waves. He really was too easy to tease. "Because I asked."
"But not nicely."
A physical change came over Blake. His shoulders dropped and the anger was wiped off his face in a matter of seconds. His acting skills were better than my favorite porn star. I had to hand it to him.
"Pretty please, Quincy, uncuff me." He pulled off the innocent look.
But no one was innocent. I smiled. "What's the password?"
"I said pretty please."
"Eh! Wrong answer, you only have two more tries."
Blake's left eye twitched, but still he kept the soft smile on his face. He screamed bad boy but gave off princess vibes right now. "I really have to go to the bathroom."
I scrunched up my nose. "Gross, but no. Wrong again." It was like he wasn’t trying at all. "Man peaches, you're really bad at this, aren't you?"
"Who the fuck—" Blake took a measured breath before blowing it out slowly. "I don't know, open sesame."
"Eh!"
"Fuck! Come on, Quincy, stop playing."
"Who says I'm playing?"
Blake yanked on the cuff making it rattle more. "I have to piss."
"Not my problem."
"I can make it yours," he threatened.
As we’d talked, I had made my way to the door and leaned on it. Honestly, it was the best view of him. Now, however, I pushed off the doorjamb and waltzed back to the bed. My hand rested behind me where I pulled out a knife and twisted it around in the air. I got in Blake’s face until our noses nearly touched and the blade of my knife kissed the creamy white flesh of his thigh.
"Make a mess, and I'll be forced to remove the appendage."
Blake glared at me, his gaze flickering down to the blade for a brief second before meeting mine head-on once more.
"I hate you."
My lips stretched into a huge smile. "Aww, really? I'll be sure to make this a core memory. Blake Vitale, a nobody, hates me." I put the knife away just as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I headed for the door, checking to see just who was calling me. "Try and be a good pet."
"Quincy!"
I shut the door, cutting off his screams. My apartment wasn't fancy in the least bit, nowhere near what I used to live in. But the rooms had thick as fuck walls which was why I paid forty-five hundred in rent every goddamn month.
"Mr. Hayashi," I said, answering the phone.
"Is it done?"
"Yes, sir. The package you requested should be on your desk."
There was a moment of silence over the line that filled the muscles between my shoulder blades with tension. I was never sure how the boss would react or what he'd say to me. Since I joined the yakuza at twelve, I'd been seen as the boss's bastard son's friend. A shitty title but one I stuck with for years. It still hung over my head no matter how often I showed myself capable.
"Good," was all Mr. Hayashi said.
"If there is?—"
"Quincy, you have worked under Harlow for years and you've proven yourself with Kei."
My heart pounded hearing what I'd been working toward for years. "Yes, the?—"
"I'm not finished," Mr. Hayashi said, cutting me off.
I promptly shut my mouth.
"You are an asset. Moving forward, I am placing you under Daiki, my oldest. He will be running…"
Wait, what? Anything else that came out of Mr. Hayashi’s mouth was lost in the sea of disappointment and confusion. I worked my ass off, showed how capable I was, and he wanted to put me under another son? And last I checked, Daiki was working on running the hotel enterprise here in America.
"Sir, that's not?—"
"Quincy, you weren't expecting for me to put you in a leadership position, were you?"
"I've been nothing but loyal."
"Yes, to Harlow."
"No, not just him," I tried to argue. I'd given my all to the organization. Yes, I had loyalty to Harlow, and that would never not be the case, but I'd proven myself time and time again.
"偉大になることを目的としたものもあれば、他の人への足がかりとなることを目的としたものもあります." Some are meant for greatness and some are meant to be the stepping stone for others.
A part of me always knew I wouldn't be able to move past a certain level within the organization. Being half-black was a point against me. It was never meant for me, but it still stung.
"I understand."
"Daiki will give you orders from now on." The phone call ended without another word.
I was left standing in the middle of the living room, twiddling my fucking thumbs like the lackey I was bound to stay. And out of all the people to put me under, he had to choose Harlow's oldest brother. The one man who hated me just as much as he hated Harlow.
Life wasn't a picnic, but it was about to get a hell of lot worse.
My bedroom door opened and Blake waltzed out, wearing one of the three pairs of jeans he had from his bag, and a faded black band tee. His duffle was tossed over his shoulder and his hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. His wrist and hand were a little red, but free off the cuff.
"Naughty."
He flipped me off. "I'm leaving."
"We've been over this."
"I stayed with you a whole night, and I'd rather get arre—never meet my old man than deal with you for another night."
I blew him a kiss. "Oh well, you really don't have much of a choice. You're stuck with me, even if you don't want to be."
Blake stepped toward me with a grin on his face. It was all teeth like he wanted to do more than just leave.
"Hit me," I taunted.
He stopped in his tracks.
"Come on, don't be a pussy, hit me. I can see it all over your face."
"If I hit you, I won't stop."
I visibly shivered. "Yeah? What else do you want to do? Kill me?"
Blake's face paled. "I would never do something like that."
"See right there, that's the difference between us. You have a stopping point." I sighed. "Then again, you're a Vitale, so you never know."
"I'm a Moreno."
I raised a brow at his claim. "But you share their DNA."
"He didn't raise me, so as far as I'm concerned, I share nothing in common with any of them."
I whistled. That there was a whole lot of baggage. "You might need a therapist too." I pulled my wallet out of my pocket, grabbed a card, and handed it to him.
"Silver Dreams? What is this place?"
"The best therapy the city can offer. Oh, and since your big bro is the owner, you'll get the family discount. Lucky you."
Blake tossed the card onto the pile of pizza boxes on the couch. "No, thanks. If you're the poster child for their services, I'm better off not going."
I shrugged. "Suit yourself, but you can't say I never tried to help you."
"Don't want or need it."
I shrugged and headed for the small kitchen off the living room. No more than one person could fit in there at a time, not that I used it often. I could cook decently enough, but more often than not, I ordered in. I watched Blake from the corner of my eye as he inched toward the door.
"You don't want to do that," I warned.
"Good thing you don't know shit about me." Blake jumped over the couch and instead of going for the door like I thought he would, he had the living room window open and was on the fire escape before I knew it.
I tripped over a few pizza boxes and caught myself before I hit the ground. "Damn it." I was already at the door and swung it open. I was out of it in a matter of seconds, not caring if the door was unlocked. The entire building knew who I was, and no one would dare fuck with my shit. I stepped outside and groaned as I was slammed by ice cold air and snow falling from the sky.
The moment it hit the ground, it turned to water. There was already slush in small piles lining the streets. I didn't go back inside. Twisting around, I headed down the block. I spotted Blake up ahead and doubled my effort. My breathing was erratic, air sawing in and out of my lungs as I pounced on him. We went down, hitting the pavement with a smack.
"Fuck, get off!”
I held the back of his head, pressing his face down as I sat on his back. "Not a chance in hell."
People walked around us, no doubt imagining all the drugs we were on. Unfortunately, I was too fucking sober for the day.
"We haven't even had breakfast and you want to go on a run."
"I want you to get the fuck off me." Blake attempted to buck me, but I wasn't budging.
It wasn't my first rodeo.
"All I'm missing is a cowboy hat and I could ride you like a bull," I joked. My phone buzzed and I pulled it back out. "Fingers crossed it's Benito."
It wasn't. An unknown number appeared on the screen. My insides twisted as I answered it. “Quincy, the best lay around town."
"Yeah, in your fucking dreams. You look like you last less than five minutes," Blake shouted.
I smacked the back of his head just as Daiki spoke.
"Are you done playing around?" Daiki's voice was sharp.
Great, my new boss.
"Depends on the time of day."
"I don't know why you're still alive."
"Results. I get them consistently."
Daiki swore in Japanese, and I chose to ignore it. As much as I liked to play around, I wasn't stupid. He could make my life a living hell now that there was no one looking out for me but me.
"How many languages do you speak?" Daiki asked.
"Seven, last I checked." Why in the hell did he want to know in the first place?
"Get off me," Blake whined. I glanced down at him but he placed his hands under his chin as if he'd given up on his runaway adventure.
"Be at the address I'm sending you within an hour."
I pulled the phone away from my face to check the address. "It's almost two hours away."
"Don't be late, Quincy. My father said you're useful. I think you're nothing more than the idiot Harlow kept around to make himself look somewhat successful." Daiki hung up without another word.
Blake twisted around, and I slipped down his body. His foot connected with the middle of my chest and he shoved me back. It was like a hollow thump that resonated throughout my body. The scar there dulled any sensation, only buzzing slightly. My back hit the ground and pain flared shortly after.
"クソ." Shit.
Blake was up and running within seconds. I scrambled to my feet, and took one look at my favorite orange crewneck that now had a fucking footprint in the middle of the purple design. “This motherfucker.” I grunted as I took chase again. He hit a corner and took a hard right. I tried to cut him off, but Blake scaled the wall like a fucking spider and was over it before I could even fathom what he was doing.
Another phone call had me pausing in my pursuit. Benito's name was on the screen with Emica's picture on the background. Breathing heavily, I answered the phone. I was really fucking popular all of sudden.
Benito's rough voice came over the line. "Quincy, is everything okay?"
"No. You could have warned me your brother was fucking Spider-Man."
"What?"
"He climbed up a wall and ran."
Benito groaned. "I don't know anything about him, which is why we asked you to watch him."
"Yeah, yeah. I hear you. I'll find him. You need something else?"
"Cesare is coming back early. His flight gets in tonight, and I need Blake here to meet him."
"Tonight, got it. While I'm at it, want me to pick up your dry cleaning too?"
"Harlow said you could handle this."
"And I will."
I patted my pockets down for a joint only to freeze. Benito's words were nothing more than muffled noise as I searched every single pocket.
"Yeah, I hear you. See you and Harlow tonight." I hung up, searching again, but I knew for certain my wallet was gone.
"Motherfucker. 俺は彼のケツを捕まえたら殺す。" I'm going to kill him when I catch his ass.