Chapter 15
15
LUCA
“ P ink is for sure being distributed out of a sex club in Palm Springs,” Lex says, looking slightly smug. He grabs a donut from the tray sitting on the desk and stuffs it in his mouth. Diablo is missing from the iPad screen, his chair swiveling slightly as if he rushed off. Who knows where he went, the little demon.
“A sex club?” I ask.
“Yep. Palm fucking Springs. Can you believe it? I’m going to see if William wants to go check it out. He’s on his way over. You get to meet my snack of a man.”
“How did you find out so fast? Just minutes ago, you had nothing,” I say, grabbing a donut and taking a bite before offering the rest to Viktor. I feel his lips brush my finger as I feed it to him, and I can’t help it when my dick swells in my pants. Outside was something more, the promise of splitting him wide open tonight making my entire body grow warm with desire.
And the fact he admitted he’s mine .
Well, that’s just the icing on the cake.
“Oh god, don’t even ask that.” Lex’s face screws up and he sighs. “Martha and Vikki told me when they called to check in.”
I peer over at Viktor, and he shrugs. He has a crumb on his bottom lip, so I reach over and swipe it off.
“Who the fuck is that?” I finally ask.
“They’re little old ladies who have far too much arthritis to be going to sex clubs or knowing about the sale of illicit drugs! Apparently, they found a way to elude me and went last weekend. She called to catch up and when I told her what I was doing, she gave me all this info.”
Just as he says that, his phone rings, and he swipes at the screen, putting it on speaker.
“Martha, hello again. Are you going to give me another heart attack? What have you done now?”
“Oh, love, don’t worry. I’m not doing anything naughty. I just thought of something else.” She cackles, and Lex pinches the bridge of his nose in exacerbation.
“Oh, lord have mercy.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not bad. In the grand scheme of things, that is.”
“That is not helpful, Martha. Tell me before I get a stomachache.”
Anthony grins from behind his desk as Martha cackles loudly once more. And I can’t help but smile at the ridiculousness of it. I think I’d rather like this old lady if I ever met her. She’s a wild card.
“Well, Vikki reminded me of this. When we were at the club, there was this guy there who was selling the drugs. He was quite the talker and he told me a few things. Not that I can remember what he said. My memory isn’t like it used to be. But we took a picture with him. Would you like me to send it to you?”
“Yes.”
“Shoot, how do I send a picture again? Vikki! Where are my glasses?” she shouts and then the phone clatters as if someone dropped it.
“Jesus,” Lex murmurs as he closes his eyes. “I can’t cope. ”
We hear the commotion over the phone, and Tatum giggles as he waits for the big reveal. It takes far longer than we expected. Lex has to slowly go over how to send the picture and has to do this multiple times until we finally hear a ping , and Lex pulls the image up.
“Did it send? I think I deleted something on my phone and now all the apps are gone.”
“Good fuck,” Lex murmurs as he holds the phone up, showing two old ladies with blue and pink hair in a seedy club with a man between them.
A guy with a pierced ear and a smug smile.
“Henry,” I growl, and Lex stares down at the phone, shooting the picture off to me and Anthony before he pinches the bridge of his nose again.
“Thanks, Martha. And please promise me you’ll stay away from Palm Springs. And sex clubs, and for god’s sake, tell me you had the guy use a condom.”
“Who said it was a guy!” Martha shouts, and Lex rolls his eyes.
He takes the call off of speaker and stands up, moving out of Anthony’s office as he chastises her gently for being so irresponsible. When he’s gone, we turn to one another and the seriousness of the situation looms.
“Who’s going to tell Bane?” I ask.
“Not it,” Tatum chimes in as he leans back against Anthony’s chest. “He will lose his mind.”
Anthony takes the glass of bourbon from his desk and takes a sip, thinking this through.
“Viktor and Luca, I want you to take a few men and go to this club. Lex has the address. I want to see if we can catch Henry in the act. I want Bane to have a chance with him as well. I’d love to know what the fuck he thinks he’s doing messing with us like this. And I’ll send that picture to Declan and see if he recognizes him. Fuck. That little shit. He’s messed with the wrong family.”
“Is he the one dumping the bodies?” Vik asks, and Anthony shakes his head .
“No fucking clue. But I wouldn’t put it past him. Seems he has a grudge against us and wants to take us down.”
I run my tongue across my front teeth and then reply, “He won’t be able to.”
But Anthony seems unsure. “We can’t get complacent. He’s more dangerous than we realize.”
“Especially if he’s behind the body dumps,” Tatum adds, and Anthony pulls him closer.
“Exactly. We don’t know his motive, which makes him a liability.” Then he whispers quietly to Tatum, “You okay, Little Light?”
Tatum turns slightly, blinking at him over his shoulder.
“Yeah. I am. I’m safe with you.”
Anthony pulls his hand up, the one with the missing finger, and brushes his lips across it.
“Good. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”
“I know.”
The trust they have, the love, it makes me realize that something inside of me is broken. I think it died that day my family died. My aunt and uncle rebuilt some of it during the years I lived with them, but I was too broken by the time I arrived. I still am. I can’t ever give anyone what they need, what they want. I peer over at Viktor, who is texting on his phone, probably gathering some more guards to go with us to Palm Springs, and I feel my chest expand.
I don’t know if I can ever love someone the way they need, ever fully give someone what they want. I’m too fucked up. But Viktor, perhaps he’s different. He’s just as broken as me.
I think together we can make something work.
Or at least we can try.
“What?” he asks when he catches me staring.
“Nothing, just wanted to remind you to bring lube for the trip.”
He scowls at me, but I can see the way his cheeks redden.
“I won’t fucking forget that,” he grumbles and then nudges me. I pull him into me slightly, grabbing onto the back of his neck and massaging him gently. “Anyway, I have Jax, Quincy, and Rafe on call. They’re ready to head out with us.”
“Good. Keep me updated,” Anthony says and then presses his face into Tatum’s neck. “I want to be kept in the loop for all of it.”
“Will do,” I say and then move to the office door. I’m ready for this trip, to put an end to whatever this little shit has planned for us. And more importantly, ready for tonight when I can get Viktor all to myself.
I’m going to make him scream.
The drive to Palm Springs takes over two hours due to traffic and by the time we check into our hotel, Viktor is grumbling about how hungry he is.
“You get hangry, don’t you?” I say with a smirk as I touch his lips gently.
“I’m fine. It was just a long drive.”
“Let’s grab something to eat and then we can ask some of the staff questions about what’s been happening locally. We have plenty of time to get to the club.”
“Fine. I could eat.”
I touch his stomach and feel the muscles flex under my palm.
“Good boy,” I murmur and then lead Viktor and the three guards to the café in the hotel. As we grab a seat, we see Bane appear through the front doors, his gaze drifting over the lobby as if looking for someone. When he sees us, he grins and waves.
“Fucking hell,” Viktor murmurs as I narrow my eyes at him.
“Hello!” he shouts as he bounds over to us. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“How did you get here, Bane?” I ask and then look around the table, trying to figure out who snuck him into the trunk. No one looks guilty though, so I turn my gaze to Bane, who is pulling a chair up next to Jax .
“Oh, this is just a happy happenstance. I don’t know how I got here.”
I arch an eyebrow, and Bane leans his head against Jax’s shoulder.
“Did you sneak him into the cars?” I ask the bodyguard.
His cheeks flush and he shakes his head. “No, Boss. I just put the suitcases in. And a large duffle.”
“And what was in the duffle?”
“I assumed the weapons.”
I huff and then shake my head. “No, those were already secured in the SUV. I wouldn’t put them in a duffle bag. Shit. You put Bane in the trunk.”
Bane wiggles in his seat and then leans forward, unable to sit still.
“Don’t be mad. I tricked them all. I meant to let you know once we were far enough away, but I fell asleep.”
“Jesus, Bane. Anthony didn’t want you here for a reason.”
Bane’s lips wobble. “I know, but I must have my revenge. You can’t ask me to stay back and just wait.”
“You would have had your turn eventually. But we don’t want you showing up and ruining it.”
“But it’s a sex club. I love sex! And clubs. I even brought my chest harness and butt plug.”
“Jesus,” Viktor murmurs and then peers over at me. He’s hiding his smile behind his hands, and honestly, I can’t even be upset right now. Viktor’s thigh is pressed against my leg, his ankle hooked around mine. Bane’s random appearance can’t take away from the way I’m feeling right now. Content. Happy even.
“You can come to the club, Bane, but you will behave. Jax, you’ll watch him, understand? He’s your responsibility.”
Jax nods solemnly. “Will do, Boss.”
“Good. We aren’t fucking this up. No matter how much we want to murder him on sight, we won’t. We keep it under wraps until Anthony tells us what to do. I think this goes beyond Henry. I can’t imagine that little shit could manage an enterprise this large.”
“You think it’s large?” Vik asks.
“Don’t you? It’s obvious that this is being distributed outside of L.A. and into the high desert. And who knows if it’s traveled to Nevada or Arizona.”
“Hopefully Declan knows something we don’t,” Jax says just as the waiter shows up. We haven’t even had a chance to look at the menus. Apparently, Bane knows what he wants, though, because he pipes up.
“Oh, hello! I’d like a Silly Goose Martini, a hamburger rare, a side of bacon and oh, oh, you have cheese fries. I’d like those with jalapenos on them. Oooh, and can I have a glass of water as well with a lemon? Oh, and a slice of pie.”
We stare at him as he rattles this off, the waiter quickly punching in the items on his screen. When Bane’s done, he lets out a loud exhale.
“Alright, I think I’m done.” He glances down at the menu and then adds, “Oh, and some onion rings. The ones with the good sauce.”
“You done?” I ask, and Viktor muffles a laugh. I like that sound a little too much. I want to make him do it again.
“I think so,” Bane says and then smiles, patting his stomach. “I have an insatiable hunger.”
He waggles his eyebrows, and Jax snorts, ruffling his hair.
“You’re fucking weird, Bane.”
“I know, but you adore me and want to fuck me, so I can’t be that bad.”
Jax’s cheeks darken and he stammers. “No, I don’t. I’m not gay.”
Viktor snorts so loudly at that he almost chokes. I side-eye him and then lean over.
“Do I need to murder him, Vik?”
His eyes meet mine and he shifts closer to me. “Why would you need to murder him? ”
“Have you fucked him?”
My voice lowers, possession pulsing through me. I don’t want Viktor to fuck anyone but me. I don’t even want to know about other men having him. It makes something ugly shift inside of me. “Tell me.”
Vik’s eyes flick across the table at everyone watching us. Jax looks slightly nervous, but I pay him no mind. My focus is solely on the man next to me, the one who has wormed his way into my body and has set up a home.
I can’t evict him now. Squatters rights and all that.
“I can tell you later, if you promise not to overreact.”
“So that means yes.”
My hand lands on his thigh, and I squeeze it roughly.
“Was it as good as me?” I whisper in his ear, not even caring that we have an audience.
His cheeks flame and his eyes meet mine.
“No. You ruined me for anyone else, Luca.”
My nostrils flare and I feel my chest puff up.
“Good. Now pick something to eat. I don’t want you hungry.”
He peers down at the menu, and I let my gaze swivel around the table. They all avert their gazes, but I can see the smirks on their lips.
Assholes. They know what they just witnessed.
The fall of Luca Rossi.
“Now, let’s order dinner. We need to be well-fed before we get to the club. No drinking. No drugs, and no fucking.” I peer over at Viktor and squeeze his leg before meeting Bane’s gaze.
“No fucking, Bane.”
He pouts, his eyelashes batting. “Are you sure? We drove all this way.”
“You snuck in. You didn’t drive. You napped.”
Bane’s pouty lip disappears and he wiggles in his seat. “I just need you to lower your expectations, Boss. I can’t promise no sex. I just can’t do that. I may get swept up in all the hormones and do something I don’t mean to do. ”
“That’s not a thing,” Viktor says, and I arch an eyebrow at him. “What? I have perfect control over my body. I don’t just go around fucking people.”
Bane giggles and then leans into Jax once more. “It’s fine. I just need you to really lower that bar when it comes to me.”
Pursing my lips, I give a subtle nod. It was a Hail Mary. I didn’t actually think he’d listen to me. He never does.
“Fine, but be aware of your surroundings, and for fuck’s sake, don’t let Henry’s dick anywhere near you.”
Bane gasps, holding a hand up to his chest. “I would never! He’s dead to me! I can’t wait to get my hands on him and take him apart. I’m going to start with his nose and move down his body. Slowly.”
Bane shivers as the waiter appears once more, taking all our orders. When the food arrives, we eat slowly, conversing and going over the plans we have for tonight. They’re loose and malleable, but they’ll do. We have no idea what we’ll find when we arrive.
Bane moans around his food as we discuss all of this and manages to consume his plates in a matter of minutes, which is truly impressive. You’d think he hadn’t eaten all week with how much he just put down. He sits back and lets out a small burp, looking content.
“Do you feel better now?” I ask.
“Oh yes, that nap really made me famished, but I’m feeling revived now. I’m ready to find that bitch and murder him.”
“There’s a chance he’s moved on from this place. The old ladies saw him last week,” Viktor says, trying to temper Bane’s expectations.
“I know, but we’re on the scent. I will find him. Justice will be mine!” He raises his fist, a fork still in his hand. Patrons glance over, and I reach across the table and pull his arm down.
“Enough, Bane. Save that for when you actually find him.”
He huffs and then reaches his fork over to Viktor’s plate and snags a bite of eggs .
“Have a little more room,” he murmurs, and I move Vik’s plate out of reach from his grabby hands.
“Find another plate to eat off of.”
“Fine, bossy bitch,” Bane says, and Viktor hides his smile behind his hand once more.
“Eat up, pretty boy,” I whisper in his ear, and his eyes sparkle. “You’re going to need it when I finally get you alone.”