Sugar Coated (A Bitter Pill #2)

Chapter Two – Mike

Working for the Lucianos and the Bloody Queen of the city meant there were always cleanup crews available. As much as I didn’t want to stick around, I had to, just to make sure everything went without a hitch—and as it turned out, it was a good thing I stayed.

One of them was still alive.

Didn’t know his name. He had no form of ID on him, but that didn’t matter. He was a part of the crew that had taken Laina, and so he’d pay the price… after he told us everything he knew. It was truly his unlucky day, or night, whatever, because I knew a woman who loved to torture.

The cleanup crew’s job was to simply clean up. Get rid of the bodies and the blood; any sign that a fight took place. If someone was still alive, they’d make sure he ended up dead, and I couldn’t have that, so I tied up the man, put a piece of tape on his mouth, and threw him in the trunk of my car.

He’d wait there. He’d wait as long as it took.

I didn’t know how long it took, but at least a few hours passed before I left that house to go to Fang’s place, where Laina and Fang would be waiting. On the way, I called Lola. It might be an ungodly hour in the morning, but the moment she saw it was me, she’d answer.

Three rings, and then Lola’s groggy voice spoke, “Big Mike? What’s up?”

I gave her the rundown—that Laina was kidnapped again, that I took care of it with Fang, and that Laina was safe with the latter at his place, where I was currently driving to. Only when I was finished did Lola ask, “How’d she get taken again? I thought you were with her all the time?”

My jaw ground. It was not easy for me to say, “She snuck out of the house. I didn’t think—”

“She’s rebelling, obviously. If you thought that cute little girl would stay tucked in her bed all night every night, you’re pretty dumb, all offense.” Now that she was more awake, her typical attitude sunk into everything she said.

I guessed, maybe, Lola was right—I was stupid for thinking Laina would behave.

“Was no one else there?” Lola asked.

“No. No other victims, if that’s what you’re asking. I did manage to keep one of them alive, though.” I didn’t have to suggest it; Lola came up with it on her own immediately.

“Ooh, time for a little torture! My favorite. You said you’re going to Fang’s place? I’ll send Harvey over to pick him up. The kidnapper, I mean, not Fang.” I swore in the background I heard a deep voice sleepily ask her when she was coming back to bed. Maddox, Sylvester, or my brother; I couldn’t tell. The voice wasn’t clear enough.

“I could come to you, drop him off—”

“No, no, no. I’ll send Harvey. You go be with Laina, make sure she’s all right.”

I didn’t know what possessed me to say it, but I muttered, “I’m sure Fang is taking care of her just fine without me.” Damn it. I sounded… well, I came across envious, and even though Lola couldn’t see my face, I was sure she could hear it in my voice.

“Is he, now?” Lola hummed, and I imagined the devilish smirk she wore when she said this next part: “Seems like you have a bit of competition, then. Who knew? She is cute as a button, I’ll give you that.”

Not something I wanted to talk about, so before ending the call, I muttered, “Just tell Harvey to let me know when he’s there.” I ended the call without saying goodbye; a part of me feared that Lola would go on and on about Laina and my so-called competition.

I wasn’t in a goddamn competition for Laina. I was…

Shit. I didn’t know what I was.

I tried not to think about it too much as I drove to Fang’s. I also tried not to think about how badly tonight could’ve gone for Laina. In reality, she got lucky. So fucking lucky Fang and I got there so fast. There was no telling what could’ve happened to her if we hadn’t shown up when we did.

Would they have killed her? Beaten her? Raped her? The possibilities were enough to make me step on the gas pedal a little harder, my goal to get to Fang’s place a little earlier.

Laina was lucky indeed.

Lola was right, of course. I should’ve known she would try to sneak out sooner or later. She was nineteen. She missed a good chunk of her teenage years locked away in that room, where bad decisions came way more easily than good ones.

When she’d called, I was half asleep, and then when I’d seen it was her, I thought she was playing a game with me. If there was one thing about Laina I’d learned, it’s that she liked to play games. She liked to act tough and pretend, but at the end of the day, she was just a girl in way over her head.

So, I’d left the call alone. I’d refused to answer it. Then, after a bit, I’d grown to regret it, so I got out of bed and wandered to her room, where I’d knocked and hesitantly entered—just to make sure she was okay. Imagine my surprise when I’d opened the door and found nothing but pillows on her bed, mounded in the shape of a body. It’d fool most people, if they didn’t look too closely.

Me? It had immediately pissed me off.

I’d raced to my room, grabbed my phone off the charger, and called her back with an urgency I hadn’t felt in a long time. Stupid me had thought she’d answer instantly, but the call only went to voicemail, and the sinking feeling in my chest wasn’t something I’d ever felt before—dread, anxiety, worry mixed with just a touch of fury—and that was saying something, because I was a man who often stared death in the face.

I wanted to say I felt all those things because I was given a job I didn’t want to fail, that I had felt all those negative emotions swelling inside of me simply because I didn’t want to let Lola or Sylvester down.

But I couldn’t say that. If I did, it’d make me a liar.

Those emotions had taken me in a chokehold because I didn’t want Laina to get hurt. I didn’t want to think about what the horrible assholes in this city would do to her if they got their greasy, grubby paws on her. She might act tough, but she barely cracked five feet tall. She’d be easy prey for most in this city.

I’d left that house so fast I didn’t even stop to talk to Vance. My car was off to the side on the driveway, so I didn’t think I woke anyone up as I left. I supposed I should give him a call now, but he was still asleep with his wife; I’d call him in the morning, once I was sure he’d be awake. From what I’d seen so far of their family dynamic, he didn’t ever pop his head into Laina’s room just to check on her—and that would give us a period of grace. Some time where I could take Laina by the shoulders and shake some sense into her, then demand answers.

Why did she sneak out? Why didn’t she tell me she wanted to go out? I would’ve gone with her. I would’ve given her space while making sure she stayed safe. Going out after she was nearly shot was more than stupid.

The girl had no idea how lucky she was. If I hadn’t gotten that text…

No. I wouldn’t think about all the possibilities that could’ve happened if I didn’t reach her in time. The thoughts were moot. Fang and I had teamed up and gotten her out safely. That’s all that mattered.

I had to keep reminding myself of that as I drove to Fang’s.

I also had to keep telling myself that it didn’t matter that she’d been alone with Fang for the last few hours. She was just a job. Just someone I needed to keep safe.

Just a girl who knew what buttons to press on me to rile me up. To tease me. To tempt me.

That last one especially.

Finally, after what felt like the longest drive of my life, I pulled into the alleyway near Fang’s building, and I got out, slamming my car door perhaps a bit too hard. I texted Fang that I was outside, and while I waited for him to come unlock the door and let me in, I checked the asshole in my trunk.

Still passed out, thankfully. I’d hog-tied him, so his wrists and his ankles were fastened together behind his back. Should he awaken while I was up in Fang’s loft, he wouldn’t be able to do a single thing.

I shut my trunk the same moment Fang appeared at the door, holding it open for me with an easy smile on his face, his silver fangs flashing in the lone light resting above the door. “Hey, big guy. Was wondering how long it’d take you. Come on in.”

As if I needed to wait for an invitation.

I held back any comments I might’ve had as I pushed past him and immediately turned onto the stairwell. My feet hit the landing between the ground and second floors when Fang added, “Our girl’s asleep.”

Hearing him say that made me stop in my tracks, and I tossed a glare at him over my shoulder, noting he wore dark sweats and nothing else. No shoes, no shirt, and based on how low those sweats hung on his hips, I’d say nothing underneath them, either.

I decided not to address his current clothing situation as I continued up the stairwell, though I did say, “She’s not our girl.”

His reply came swiftly as he walked around me to lead the way, “She’s not? Then what is she?” Whether or not Fang was genuinely curious as to the answer of those questions, I didn’t care. Right now, all I cared about was making sure she was all right.

Fang lived on the top floor of the building; I knew his workshop took up the first floor. I had no idea what took up the middle floors, if he used them for storage or what. Didn’t care enough to ask. I’d never dealt with Fang until recently. Sylvester and Lola were his contacts. I did know he’d helped us out when the Bloody Princess was trying to take over, so he was trustworthy.

That said, being trustworthy didn’t automatically mean I was okay with him spending hours alone with Laina.

After going up the stairs, Fang stopped us before the door that opened up to his place. He gave me a look I couldn’t decipher and said, “If you’re going to wake her up, just do it gently. It took a lot of work to get her tired enough to doze off.” Another smirk at that, or rather, at the implication.

Jealous, furious thoughts surfaced in my head. Was he trying to say they had sex? Was this Fang’s way of rubbing it in my face, or was he really just saying it because he didn’t want me to interrupt Laina’s sleep?

Either way, it shouldn’t matter. Laina was a job and she needed to know she fucked up by sneaking out. I’d gladly wake her ass up to yell at her if I had to.

I narrowed my eyes at Fang. “Why don’t you give us some time alone? Go do… whatever it is you do.”

Fang didn’t seem bothered at all by my firm suggestion. “Sure, sure. I’ll make myself scarce if it’ll make you more comfortable, Mike.”

I had the feeling he was ready to say more, so I didn’t give him the chance to. I pushed past him and walked into his place. Fang must’ve caught the door behind me, because it didn’t slam shut; it closed quietly, hardly making a sound.

A lone light was on in the wide-open space. The top floor of the building was apparently a single room. From where I was, you could see the kitchen area all the way to the left, a living room space in the middle, and his bedroom on the right side—where Laina was currently curled up in his sheets, sleeping soundly.

My legs took me toward the bed, and soon enough I stood beside it, gazing down at her peaceful face. Thanks to the single lamp on in the living room area, there was enough light for me to see a bruise forming on her cheek, and something in me got all knotted up when I imagined someone lifting a hand to her.

However many bullets I put into that asshole, it wasn’t enough.

Slowly, I sat down on the edge of the bed, and though I didn’t say a word, it was enough movement to stir Laina. She rolled over, onto her back, and her eyelids cracked open just a hair. Once she realized it was me, they opened all the way—and were accompanied by a yawn.

“Mike.” The way her half-asleep voice spoke my name filled me with a warmth that took every ounce of restraint in me to ignore.

All I did was stare down at her, my jaw set. My hands were on my lap, palms on my knees. If I didn’t keep them there, I might’ve been tempted to put them on her… and I already knew what a bad idea that was.

That night… honestly, I didn’t know what had gotten into me. It was like something else had taken over, killed my inhibitions, and let me dive deep into Laina—though not quite as deep as I’d wanted.

When I didn’t say a single word back to her, Laina slowly sat up. Though I tried not to notice, it was impossible not to see the way her chest pressed against the fabric of the black t-shirt she wore—Fang’s, it must be—telling me she didn’t wear anything underneath it.

She yawned and wiped her messy pink and blue hair out of her face, and when she brought those unnaturally pink eyes to me, I could tell she knew I was upset with her.

Good. I shouldn’t even have to say it.

“Mike,” she said my name again, softer this time, “I’m sorry I snuck out—”

Okay, I couldn’t hold it back any longer. “Sorry you snuck out? That’s all you’re going to say?” My teeth ground as I glared at her. “Laina, you could’ve been seriously hurt. Or worse. I don’t think sorry cuts it.”

Laina reached for me, and in the next moment her small, slender hand curled around my forearm, the warmth from her palm seeping into my skin with an alarming rate. “Don’t be mad at me—”

I jerked away from her as I got to my feet. If I let her keep touching me… holding myself back would become an impossible feat. I paced along the side of the bed, dividing my time between glaring at her and at the floor.

“Mad?” I echoed with a frown. “You think I’m mad ? You think putting your life in danger makes me mad?” With a shake of my head, I stopped pacing and met her pink stare as my hands flexed into fists at my sides. “No. It makes me so much more than mad . I’m fucking furious.”

Laina didn’t say a word to me, but the way she bit her bottom lip, the way her gaze fell to her lap, how she fiddled with her hands, highlighting the lack of fingers on her left, all told me she knew she was in the wrong.

“You could’ve died tonight,” I told her through gritted teeth.

She scooted to the edge of the bed, saying, “But I didn’t!”

I dropped to my knees beside the bed, bringing myself closer to her level and probably so close to that pouty mouth it might be hazardous for my health. “Only because of sheer dumb luck,” I whispered.

The look Laina gave me after that made me regret the hardness of my tone, cooled the raging fire inside of me, and though it was probably a mistake, I found myself telling her, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if something would’ve happened to you tonight.”

This girl… she pushed me. Pushed and pulled in a constant rhythm, and I couldn’t break myself free regardless of how I tried. This wasn’t the first time I was told to protect someone, to keep an eye on them, but it was the first time failing would’ve killed me.

The corners of her mouth quirk upward in a soft smile. “When you say things like that, it makes me think you care.”

My lower gut hardened, and the words were on my tongue before I could stop them, “I do.” Of course I did. If she really thought I didn’t give a shit about her… she was either blind or I’d spent too long keeping my emotions to myself, too good at masking them.

Laina reached for me, and before I knew what her goal was, she wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged herself to me, scooting to sit on the edge of the bed to get a better angle. Her top half curled against me as she whispered, “Thank you for saving me. I don’t know what I would’ve done if it wasn’t for you and Fang.”

I knew, but I didn’t want to say it aloud: died, probably. No, saying that aloud again only would make things more real. Things were already too damned real.

I should’ve pulled away from her, put some distance between us. I should’ve lifted her arms from around my neck and stood up, told her to go back to sleep; something, anything other than kneel there and lose myself in the way her body curled against my chest.

My arms had a mind of their own. After a few seconds, I wrapped my arms around her and held onto her tightly, closing my eyes and allowing myself a short respite. The rage in me, the anger over Laina’s choice to sneak out; it all faded just like that. It was impossible to stay upset with her when she clung to me like a spider monkey.

A hard, long breath came from me, and I angled my face in toward hers, burying my nose in her hair and breathing deep. This girl… she’d drive me mad before this whole thing was over. I knew it. I knew it as a fact and yet that knowledge wasn’t enough to make me pull away and stop myself from being so goddamned relieved.

“Laina…” The only thing I could seem to say was her name as one of my hands fell down her back. That hand curled along her backside of its own accord, like it had a mind of its own—and the very second it found the bare curve of her ass, I realized she had no pants on.

No pants. Just panties that covered next to nothing.

My eyelids snapped open, and I yanked my face away from her. As I did so, my eyes noted a dark spot on her neck—something far different than the bruise on her cheek and jaw. Was that a… a hickey ?

Fucking Fang had her in his bed, wearing only panties and a t-shirt, with a goddamned hickey on her neck.

Oh, I was going to kill him. Wring his neck and yank out those fucking teeth.

The new flavor of rage must’ve been written on my face, because Laina set a hand on my cheek and forced me to gaze into her eyes. “Don’t you dare.”

My eyebrows lifted as I wordlessly asked her for more clarification. Don’t I dare… what? Go after Fang and put a bullet in his head for taking advantage of her? Don’t get pissed that Fang was able to spend time with her here, alone, while I had a bloody mess to help clean up?

Laina was as blunt as ever, “You have no right to be jealous.”

“Jealous?” I echoed with a frown. Her hand still rested on my face; it’s the only reason I didn’t pull away from her completely. That, and the fact that my own hand remained on her soft, round ass… her bare fucking ass since her panties were insanely small. “I’m not—”

“Really?” she cut in with an unimpressed look. “You’re really going to try telling me you’re not jealous when you’re giving a face that tells me you want to kill Fang? Try again.”

I closed my eyes for a split-second as I worked on relaxing my facial features. When I opened them, I found Laina was still giving me that know-it-all look. “I’m not jealous.” This time, when I said it, it was almost believable.

Almost, but not quite.

Laina’s hand dropped to my shoulder. “You have no right to be jealous. I’m just a job, right? Why would you get jealous over someone who’s nothing more than a job?” She threw my words back at me, aimed them like daggers at my chest.

I stared deep into those pastel pink eyes as she went on, “Why would you care whose bed I’m in or who gives me hickeys? Why would you get so jealous about me wearing this? If I’m just a job to you, you shouldn’t give a shit.”

Swallowing hard, I whispered, “You’re—” Just a job? More than a job? So complicated you make my head hurt? There were dozens of ways I could’ve finished that sentence, but beyond the first word, no more came out. She had me speechless.

Which, on a normal day, wouldn’t mean anything since I didn’t typically talk much, but this girl made me talk. She made me talk and think and want. God, she made me want things more than I’d ever wanted them in my life.

When was the last time I’d had sex? I couldn’t even remember. The past few years I’d given the Lucianos my all, every waking moment, even my life. They would always have my allegiance, but now… now I wanted to give my all to someone else.

To her.

“I’m… what?” Laina asked. “Don’t stop there. I want to know what I am to you.”

What was she to me? A brat. A bit spoiled. Traumatized. Maybe even a little broken. But, above all that, she was everything.

Instead of answering her, I finally drew my hand away from the curve of her backside—though I didn’t take that hand off her. No, it roamed upward, cupping her ass as it went, stopping only when my fingertips grazed the small of her back beneath her shirt.

Her skin was so warm. I could drown myself in it, in her, with little to no effort on my part. I could close my eyes and lose myself in her before I’d even know it was happening.

But if I did that, I’d step into unfamiliar territory. My brother might’ve gotten used to sharing his girl with Maddox and Sylvester, but could I? Fang made it clear he’d staked his claim on her already, and I couldn’t forget about Kieran; he had a connection with Laina I could only dream of.

If she could have them, why would she want me, too?

In the end, I settled for whispering, “You’re driving me crazy.” And then, because if I didn’t do it now I might never be able to, I pulled away from her completely, leaving her alone on the edge of the bed as I got to my feet.

Laina only stared up at me with wide, vibrant eyes and a pout that made something inside of me twinge with need.

And seeing her bare legs tucked underneath her backside? It did something to me, almost made me bend right back down and crawl onto that bed with her.

“I should get back to the car. I have one of the guys who took you in my trunk.” Even though I said it, I didn’t move a muscle. Walking away from her would be like cutting my soul in half.

Fuck. Could I blame Fang for marking his territory? No. It’s exactly what I wanted to do, too, only I had the willpower to keep myself off her… mostly. Except for that one night when she crawled into my bed and was the test of a lifetime.

A test I failed spectacularly, but that’s beside the point.

Laina perked up at that. “You have one of my kidnappers in your trunk?”

With a nod, I said, “Yeah. One of Lola’s men is coming for him. If he knows anything, Lola will pull it out of him.” If there was one thing besides killing Lola was good at, it was torture. She had a knack for it. I was pretty sure the giggling and the constant grin she wore while doing it unsettled most people. Or the mask, if she chose to wear it. “And I should really call your father—”

“No, don’t.”

The speed with which she said it made me cock my head at her.

Laina explained, “If you have to tell him anything, tell him I went out with you. Don’t tell him I was kidnapped.”

I folded my arms over my chest, and the action made her eyes fall to said arms. “Why not? He should know—”

“Until we figure out who was behind it, I don’t want to let anyone else know. Not my dad, not Tessa, nobody in my life. Only you and Fang need to know… and Lola, I guess.” Laina quieted for a moment before adding, “If my dad is behind it, trying to increase his numbers or something in the polls, I don’t want him to think I’m onto him.”

This girl really didn’t trust anybody. Although, knowing everything I knew, I supposed I couldn’t blame her. Still, I really didn’t think her father was behind this.

“Fine,” I relented only when she started to give me a pleading, pouting look. I crumbled like a fresh chocolate chip cookie straight out of the oven. Pathetic. It was a good thing no one else was around to witness it.

The moment she knew she won, her pout transformed into a grin, and she beamed up at me, acting all sugar and sweet. “Thank you.”

I nodded once before turning away from her. Leaving her alone on that bed was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do in my life. Never before had I wanted to pretend the outside world didn’t exist as badly as I did right now, not even when I nearly died a few years back.

I made it to the door to the stairwell when Laina called out for me, “Wait.” As my legs stopped, she asked me one more question: “How did you know where to find me? How’d you know I was taken?” Okay, so two questions, technically.

Looking back at her over my shoulder, I settled for saying, “I got a text.”

“A text? From who?”

“You tell me.” My reply mustn’t have been what she anticipated, because Laina said nothing more. I turned away from her and walked out into the stairwell, finding Fang leaning on the metal railing, running his tongue over his sharp upper fangs.

Fang turned his shirtless body toward me, acting like he wasn’t half-naked as he asked, “How is our girl doing? I thought you’d be in there for a while longer with her.” The smirk on his face was one of mischievousness.

“I told you already,” I harrumphed, “she’s not our girl.”

“Oh, right. Sorry. Is this where you say she’s your girl?”

My plan was to go down the stairs and wait near my car for Harvey to show up, but that question made me freeze up. Did I want Laina to be my girl—keyword: my ? I was a man. Of course I’d be lying if I said a part of me wouldn’t like that.

But… no, she wasn’t my girl.

I glared at Fang, not saying a word in response.

Fang didn’t take me seriously, not one bit, because his smile only grew as he said, “Such a grump you can be, Mike. I can’t help but wonder if you’re only so grouchy because you’re fighting your feelings.”

“I’m not fighting anything,” I muttered.

His bare shoulders went up and down in a single shrug. “Whatever you say. It’ll be interesting to see how long you can hold yourself back.” He gave me a good slap on the back. “Don’t worry. Laina will be waiting whenever you get over yourself, big guy.”

Now it was my turn to shrug him off. This conversation was going nowhere, so I didn’t say a single word more as I headed down the stairs, not sparing Fang another glance.

Fang thought he knew me, but in reality we were strangers. I didn’t know the guy, and he certainly didn’t know me or my feelings. Acting like he could see right through me… fuck him. Fuck all of this.

God, I really wished I could walk away from this whole thing. Walking away would be easier than staying. At this rate, staying was going to drive me insane, and then where would I be? A man who’d lost his mind while trying to resist the pull of the girl he was supposed to keep safe? How pathetic.

My mood had turned foul by the time I exited the building and reached my car. I checked the trunk just to make sure the man was still in there, that he didn’t miraculously escape. Lifting the trunk, I found the man was still very much there, although he was wide awake now.

The moment he spotted me, he started to writhe, but he couldn’t really go anywhere since he was expertly hog-tied. I’d shot him in the stomach and the shoulder, but the bullet must’ve missed anything important. Lola would have to fix him up a bit before she tried to get any information out of him—to make him last longer. Sometimes it wasn’t the pain you inflicted while torturing someone that got them to finally spill the beans; sometimes it was just time.

I frowned at him before slamming the trunk down and giving him darkness once again. Leaning my back against my car, I folded my arms across my chest and turned my frown to the sky. Nighttime had given away to early dusk. The puffs of clouds in the sky had begun to change colors thanks to the rising sun.

What a long goddamned night.

I closed my eyes and exhaled a long, heavy breath that felt as though it’d been trapped in my lungs ever since I’d discovered the pillows in Laina’s bed. Instantly, knowing she was gone, off God knew wherever by herself, put me on edge in a way nothing else ever had—and that was saying something, given how many batshit crazy situations I’d found myself in in the past.

Things could have ended so much worse. I could never have found her. She could’ve died before I got to her. She could’ve been gang-raped, beaten, tortured; the list was endless when you were a pretty, young girl. Most of the criminals in this city would love to get a piece of her.

And that said nothing about the everyday, ordinary man—men who, when they were certain no one was looking, could be just as bad as the violent criminals.

Laina got so lucky. She really did. That text message… when I’d told her I got a text, and she’d asked from who, the look she’d given me when I’d insinuated she already knew made me think that, perhaps, she had no idea.

Out of everything that happened tonight, coincidences weren’t something I believed in. No, whoever gave me that address must’ve been involved somehow. Once this asshole was out of my trunk, I planned on going back in there and demanding answers from Laina. I wanted a play-by-play of everything that happened before her kidnapping.

She was so lucky. So goddamned lucky. It probably didn’t even dawn on her how fortunate she was tonight.

I knew I should try to think of other things while I waited for Harvey to show up, but my mind wouldn’t listen. The only thing I could think about was Laina and how fucked I would’ve been if I’d lost her.

When I heard a car pulling into the alley, I opened my eyes and pushed off my car, turning to view a familiar black vehicle slowly inching toward mine. I uncrossed my arms as I watched Harvey get out of the car.

“Long time no see,” Harvey spoke with two deep dimples on his cheeks. Wearing a sleek suit, he looked every bit the professional driver he was—although, as time wore on, I was pretty sure he was more than a simple driver to Lola. More like a friend.

As Harvey approached me, he sized me up. “I hear you have a package for me to deliver.” The way he said it made it sound like a joke, and although he was obviously in a good mood, I wasn’t, so I just frowned at him. “Ah, someone’s not happy this morning. Too early for you?”

I had the feeling Harvey wouldn’t shut the fuck up unless I talked to him, so I sighed and said, “It’s been a long night.”

Harvey’s gaze flicked to Fang’s building. “Yeah, but she’s all right, right?” When I didn’t say a word more, he clarified, “The girl, I mean? The one Lola sent you here to protect? That’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

“I guess.”

“You guess? What’s there to guess about? If she’s safe, you did your job.”

Shaking my head once, I muttered, “There are people out there who want to use her. Who don’t care about hurting her. She—” I stopped when I realized I was saying too much; Harvey didn’t need to know these things.

It was too late. Harvey, the man whose job it was to overhear a lot of sensitive information, was intuitive. He could put things together better than most. The smile he gave me after that was different than his first: bigger, wider, with a flash of his white teeth. “Ah, I get it.”

Maybe I was just ticked off, but I growled out, “Get what?”

“The girl, what’s her name? Lainey?”

“Laina.”

“Right. Laina. She means a lot to you. If things wouldn’t have gone well tonight, it wouldn’t have been just a job you failed. You would’ve failed her, too.”

My jaw ground as I flexed my hands in an effort to keep myself calm. Talking about her really riled me up. “She is the job. Nothing else.”

Harvey leaned on my car as he cocked his head at me. “Who are you trying to convince here, you or me? Because I think you know the truth, and I think, maybe, you just don’t want to admit it to anybody yet.”

A sound that was akin to a growl left my chest.

But he didn’t seem to hear it—or if he did, he acted like he didn’t care. He plowed on, “I think, sometimes, a job doesn’t stay a job. Sometimes it becomes more, and there’s nothing wrong with it. The heart wants what the heart wants.” He paused, his gaze shifting away from me as he momentarily stared off into space.

But the moment was over quickly, and soon enough his stare was back on me as he grinned and said, “It’s how your brother ended up with Lola, isn’t it?”

“This isn’t like that.”

“Of course it’s not. It’s always different.”

To get him to shut up, I gave him my back as I opened my trunk and showed him the man hog-tied in it. I put a piece of tape on his face, over his mouth, and so he wouldn’t be able to say a word.

As he moved to stand beside me, Harvey studied the man. “My package. Lola will have some fun with him, I’m sure. She’ll get more information out of him than anyone will know what to do with.” The way he talked about her, his admiration for Lola was evident.

Maybe even more than admiration.

After a few seconds, Harvey added, “Do you want me to grab him or…” His awkwardness knew no bounds, apparently; it was his way of telling me to pick the asshole up.

I grabbed the man and threw him over my shoulder like he was a piece of bedding and not a human being. As far as I was concerned, he was as good as dead, so there was no reason for me to treat him like royalty. Honestly? He deserved more than two bullets in him for kidnapping Laina.

Harvey hurried around me. By the time I walked around his car, he had the trunk open and waiting, and I deposited the man with a thud. Harvey’s trunk was a little more cramped than mine; the man better pray no one rear-ended him while he made the delivery.

Harvey shut his trunk as he gave me another grin. “No one can throw around a human body like you, huh? Seriously, though, for what it’s worth, I don’t think Lola would care if she becomes more than a job to you. The world’s a lonely place, this city especially. Everybody needs somebody.”

That was some Hallmark shit, and I barely stopped myself from grinding my teeth and rolling my eyes at him. I did say, “Get the fuck out of here.” Just to shut him up.

He gave me a nod and a mock-salute, and then he wandered around to the driver’s seat and got inside. I watched him back the car out of the alley and disappear out of sight shortly after.

Getting advice from Harvey wasn’t something I ever thought I’d do. Granted, I never asked for the goddamned advice; it was wholly unwelcome.

And the worst part? The worst part was Harvey probably wasn’t wrong. Lola wouldn’t care if Laina became more than a job to me. Lola would probably be my personal cheerleader, hooting and hollering if she knew I was finally getting some. It’d been so long since I’d been with someone that she’d even joked about letting me have a go at her.

Don’t get me wrong. Lola was gorgeous. It was her main weapon, along with her brand of crazy. Beyond a fun time, though, she couldn’t offer me anything else. With how many times I’d stared death in the face, I wanted more than that.

I wanted more.

I wanted everything—and that was the problem in a nutshell. Someone like Laina, did she really know what she wanted, or was she just having some fun now that she was out in the world after being locked up for two years?

What if I gave her everything and after a while she decided she was done with me? That she could do better? What if it was deathly serious for me and nothing more than a game to her? Call me a pussy, but I didn’t know if I could take that.

That was exactly why I could never let myself have her. Not fully. Not in any way. Not again. If I indulged in what I wanted… there was no way in hell I could ever settle for just a taste.

I’d want Laina’s everything.