Chapter 7
Oh.
My.
Fuck.
I force my eyes open, everything is blurry and hazy, my fucking head is pounding and that loud, high pitched ringing is not helping.
It takes me a minute or three to come to and realize it’s my phone.
“Ughhhhhh,” is all I can muster.
My mouth is drier than the desert, my heart is racing and my head hurts.
Reaching across to my side table, I see three missed calls from Kaleb, and then I clock the time.
My eyes widen.
“Shit!” I groan.
My phone screams in my hand and I hold it to my ear.
“Where the fuck are you?” my idiotic brother bellows down the phone.
“On my way,” I grunt, cutting the phone off and tossing it on the bed.
I stand a little too quickly, my head spinning, and I steady myself. Hand pressed to my forehead, my chin drops.
What the fuck?
I rush forward to my bathroom and get myself showered. I shouldn’t have drunk on an empty stomach.
Towel wrapped around my waist, I storm into the bedroom and that’s when I see her.
My best friend’s daughter.
Lying in my bed.
Next to where I was just laying.
Beautiful wavy brown hair fanned behind her while lying on her front.
Fuck.
I’m by the bed in three long strides and I delicately lift the duvet to see that she is completely naked.
Double fuck.
It’s fine.
I reason with myself.
When I know deep down this is far from fucking fine.
I grab my phone, watch and rush to the dressing room.
In ten minutes,I am in my car bombing it to my meeting. Fuck the speed limit. I am late.
Nothing happened between me and Ari. We both just drunk too much and passed out.
That’s all.
Too drunk to get into our own beds.
So I offered up mine.
No, I would remember.
Last thing I remember was her showing me how she fit her fist into her mouth.
We must have gone to bed after that.
Yeah, cool, it’s fine.
We just went to bed.
Pulling into a parking space outside the restaurant, I reach for my sunglasses. My eyes are like pissholes in the snow. And I stink of scotch.
Jesus Christ.
Kaleb is going to be so pissed.
Climbing out of my car, I slam the door a little too hard and wince as the noise echoes. Storming towards the entrance of Sarabeth’s, I ignore the hostess and head for the large table in the private area.
Kaleb stands up and claps me at my attendance.
Condescending cunt.
“Give it a rest,” I lift my glasses onto my head.
I look over to see Titus smirking. Wouldn’t be smirking if I were you after what I just left behind.
Nate is Nate, a small shrug of the shoulders and a wave.
Kaleb is fuming. Standard. Totally understandable.
And then there is Xavier.
“The man, the myth, the legend…” I smile at him, strolling towards him and holding my hand out. “Or so I have heard,” he claps his hand into mine and gives it a firm shake. “So, you’re the father-in-law,” I chime, trying to keep my mind busy. “Titus didn’t tell us just how strappingly handsome you are, Xavier.”
“Is he always like this?” Xavier turns to look at Titus completely unimpressed and Titus just nods.
“Unfortunately. But then again, he reminds me a lot of you.”
“I have never been so offended,” Xavier rumbles beside me and I take my seat.
A hot little waitress walks over, hovering for a bit as I browse over the menu.
“Have you fuckers already ordered?”
“No, we were waiting for you,” Nate says deadpan not lifting his eyes from the menu.
“Sorry about this morning, was a bit of a weird one.” I shake my head.
“I’ll have the French toast,” Nate says.
“Scrambled eggs with spinach,” Titus mutters, “black coffee too.”
“I’ll have a grapefruit juice,” Nate interrupts.
“Avocado toast and a black coffee,” Kaleb passes his menu to the waitress.
She eyes Xavier, holding her pen on her pad.
“I’ll have the buttermilk pancakes with a side of bacon. White coffee too please.”
“Never heard the word please leave your mouth before,” Titus is on his phone as he throws a little dig towards his father-in-law.
“Don’t get cocky, Titty.”
Snorting a laugh, I realize the waitress is waiting on me.
“Omelet and a bloody Mary,” I close the menu and hand it to her, “and a black coffee too,” I show her a toothy grin but she is not impressed.
Probably can smell me.
I can smell me.
The alcohol is seeping through my pores.
“Perfect, I’ll get that put in for you,” she smiles at the table then walks off.
“So, what is this all about?” I ask, this hangover is killing me.
“Well,” Kaleb shuffles in his seat, “if you wouldn’t have cut me off last night I would have explained.”
“Touché”
“We think Wolfe is in New York,” and I don’t miss the way Titus stiffens opposite me.
“How come?” I ask just as my drinks are placed in front of me. I am fucking parched.
I down the bloody Mary in one.
Fuck, I needed that.
“I got a ping from his phone.”
“Right?” my eyes move between them all.
“Well, that’s it,” Kaleb snaps and I give a simple ‘huh’.
I stare for a moment, their chatter falling a little quieter around me as I see an image of Ari.
Lips touch, tongues dancing.
“I think we should send someone to his hotel,” I hear Titus say but I ignore it.
Hands clasped and fingers entwined with hers beneath me.
“I think Wolfe is playing a lot smarter than we think, he wouldn’t just show up, he knows where we are,” Nate pipes up.
Breathy moans as my body slips between her legs, lips on her neck and feeling her pulse throb beneath them.
“He is right, Wolfe is far from silly. He is calculated and has eyes everywhere. You would never know who worked for him, he has fingers in many pies,” Xavier’s thick British accent floats around the room.
Exploring mouths and fingers, pulsing and rubbing.
“Why didn’t you just put a bullet between his eyes?” Kaleb asks Titus.
Our bodies moving together, skin shimmering in perspiration.
“Because you didn’t hear the way Amora was crying. It wasn’t a normal situation. He had a doctor trying to rectify her pregnancy, then he was dead on the floor next to her…”
Moans; erotic, heavenly moans. Dimmed lights but enough to see just what we were creating. Pure magic.
“It was her wedding day, I had to do something…”
Back arching, fingernails clawing down my back, my name slipping off her lips as she…
“Fuck, I left Arizona in bed,” my eyes widen, my heart thumping as the realization hits me.
“What the fuck do you mean you left Ari in bed?!” Titus roars across the table.
“No! Oh my god,” I scrub my face, “not like that, no…” I shake my head, “I was meant to wake her for her shift, but I was in such a…”
It was exactly like that.
“Who’s got the pancakes?” a new waitress asks as she holds the food.
“Sucks doesn’t it Titty having a man your age in close proximity to your daughter…”
Might have fucked her after all.
Fuck.
“Can we focus on Wolfe?” Titus snipes.
“Of course,” I nod, swallowing the thickness.
I left her in fucking bed. Like a dirty one-night stand.
But it wasn’t a one-night stand.
“Do we think Wolfe is after you or is it Titus and Amora?” Kaleb asks, but his eyes are zoned in on me and only me.
He knows.
Stupid twin power shit.
“What the plan then?” Not even sure if I have already asked that question, not even sure if I care.
All eyes are on me.
“We put a fucking bullet between his eyes,” Titus groans before the guys agree in unison.
My phone beeps, face up on the table and my eyes glance over at what it reads.
Arizona
Didn’t peg you for…
Titus looks thunderous as I snatch the phone up.
“It’s not what it looks like,” I warn before pushing away from the table and walking out of the restaurant.
Turning the engine on, I sign into my chat app and see that she hasn’t been online in a couple of days. Unlike her.
Tossing my phone into the driver’s seat, I need to get home.