Chapter 6
Pip
The metal blade gleamed in my hand. I admired the handiwork, proud of the custom piece and happy I’d been able to get it back to its original state.
I was normally very good about cleaning my weapons. The bodies could fucking rot for all I cared. My tools were a different story.
They needed to be in the best condition possible, which meant cleaning, sharpening, and securing them after a kill. I’d been distracted with thoughts of Henny when I’d used this particular piece. It had slipped my mind to get it back in working order.
But now that it was done, I felt more like myself than I had at the start of the day.
Then again, that could have been due to the events of last night. Having a nightmare wasn’t unheard of. Rare, sure. Not impossible.
Henny stepping in to comfort me hadn’t ever been an option. He’d always kept himself distant. While I’d hoped and wished for his attention, getting it felt like a twisted sort of reality.
If this was me dreaming, keep my ass in a coma.
Speaking of Henny, I looked up to check on him, same as I had all morning. He was easy to spot among the goons Rel kept. His blond hair made him stick out. If it hadn’t been that, then his business suit would have been enough.
Henny favored his buttoned-up look. I understood why. He floated between the legit shit and the illegal stuff. He had to look the part.
The others were all in dark-colored tactical gear. Their type of being prepared was different. More about planning for any type of fight that might pop up. Forever on guard equaled less casualties when things took a turn.
Never ‘if.’ They always go fucked up at some point.
If you added in the tablet my Henny always carried around, you’d get a perfectly put together man with a cold exterior. Now I knew how much of a facade it was.
At my position by the entrance, I could hear both what was going on through the warehouse while also picking up any noise from the connected hallway.
The echo of footsteps and hushed conversation drifted from that way.
Whoever it was didn’t appear to be in a rush or anything.
That boded well for it to not be an outside attack.
With the noise coming from the men sorting the weapons in the crates, I couldn’t tell if I knew the voices or not. I would have to wait until they showed themselves to determine if they were a threat.
As much as I needed to protect Rel and his interests, I also had to keep my Henny safe. He was the focus of my protection for the moment.
I eased the knife down onto the crate I was sitting on and drew out my gun. Considering I’d just spent so much time cleaning the thing, I couldn’t bring myself to get it dirty again.
Guns were sometimes the better choice anyway. Quick. Efficient. Lethal with minimal mess. I didn’t want to make my Henny’s day any harder.
When there were no longer voices coming from the hall, but a single cadence of footsteps continued, I pressed myself back against the wall to wait. The person who stepped into the warehouse seemed to only have eyes for the operation happening before them.
Henny shouted at a few of the men for something they fucked up. It created a strong enough cover for me to slip off the crate and move behind the stranger. Raising my gun, I pressed it into the back of his skull.
He might have matched me for muscle, but few people could get out of this position without specialized training. With how relaxed this guy had been a second ago, I couldn’t see a strong fight on my hands.
“How the fuck did you get in here?” I demanded.
My voice drew the attention of the others. Their gazes were a mix of shock and curiosity.
All except Henny’s. “Pip! Drop the gun. That’s Pharrell’s guest.”
The man in front of me sagged a bit at the declaration. Like maybe that would make me change my mind about blowing his brains.
Yeah, right.
If I felt he was a threat, then it didn’t matter whose guest he was. No one was going to hurt the people I considered mine.
“Is that so? Then where is the boss?”
A disgruntled voice behind me answered. “For fuck’s sake, Pip. Do as he said. That’s Ricardo. He’s mine.”
This Ricardo guy shivered at Rel’s choice of words. Interesting.
I slowly lowered the gun as Rel moved to stand in front of us. He nodded to Ricardo, who walked up beside him and turned to face me.
His eyes took me in from head to toe as I studied him in the same manner. Muscular. Short hair. Tanned skin. Generally handsome, but nowhere close to Henny’s level.
Pharrell must have liked what he’d seen. I decided to press his buttons a bit just to see how he’d take it.
“Oh, you’re cute. I can see it now, Boss.”
Ricardo shook his head as a smirk took over his features. “I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you Pip, but—”
“It would be a lie. Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard it before. Usually right before I put a bullet through someone’s skull or fuck them into a coma. This is anticlimactic.” Waving a hand at him, I tucked my gun away since I obviously wasn’t needed anymore.
Guess I’d have to find some fun later to get this energy out.
“A coma? That’s fucked up,” Ricardo noted.
I grinned then, unable to hide my amusement. I’d been told some variation of that phrase most of my life. It wasn’t an insult anymore.
Truly, I thought of it as more of a compliment than anything.
“None of them complained while stuffed with my dick. The coma was an accident. Both times.”
It was probably more. I didn’t have the energy to care.
“Dammit, Pip. We don’t need to hear about what you do in bed.” Henny stepped up beside me lowering his voice before adding, “Besides, we have an audience. The boss might want to make things clearer rather than rehash your sexual exploits.”
I rolled my eyes at his logic. The coma stories were always a good time. I’d have to remember to tell Ricardo later. His reaction to them would be fun to watch.
Rel straightened at Henny’s words. He spun to face his men, who were already watching us. I could spot the uncertainty in their body language.
“This is Ricardo. He comes from the Romano family. Dante has granted me the right to take him into our fold under temporary reign. You are to treat him as you treat me. Understood?”
It didn’t take many brain cells to pick up the words he wasn’t saying. You’d either get in line or get a visit from me.
“Yes, Boss!” They all shouted like the good puppets they were.
I turned to see how Ricardo was taking it all. Dante was an acquaintance of sorts. We’d crossed paths, so I knew how he ran things. It wasn’t that far off from Rel’s way.
The look on Ricardo’s face made it seem like the difference was much bigger. Or… I had to wonder if it was the possessive way Rel acted about him. I’d have to keep an eye on those two.
“Do you want to say anything, Ricardo?” Rel asked him, voice steady while giving him a chance to assert himself.
Ricardo gazed at the men for a second, then shook his head. “Not much to say yet. I’m ready to get to work. No reason to stand around when it looks like there’s money to be made.”
From there, Rel directed the men to get back to work as he pointed for Henny, Ricardo, and me to follow him to the office.
While I didn’t like the idea of leaving the goons to themselves, I also knew there were times we weren’t around.
If they could be left alone for that, then this would be fine too.
And if not, I’d get to fuck some folks up for fun.
Win, win.
In the office, Henny ran down the list of things that had been accomplished so far. I interrupted a few times to add details he left out or weren’t noticed. Rel took it all in with interest, as I’m sure he always did. Ricardo kept close to his side, silent.
I could tell he wanted to say something, but I guess he didn’t want to do it in front of us. When Henny wrapped up the details, Rel said we could head back out to the floor.
Henny stepped out first, leaving me to close the door. He made it a few steps down the hall before realizing I hadn’t followed. Instead, I had my ear pressed to the door to hear what they were doing.
The strangeness between the two had caught my attention. I needed to know what their first words would be when they thought they had privacy.
Joke’s on them. There was never privacy when I was around.
Ricardo’s muffled voice came through the door. “There are still some men who aren’t loyal to you on the floor.”
I frowned, then heard Rel reply, “What makes you say that?”
Ugh. They were actually talking business.
Leaving them to the boring discussion, I made my way to an impatient Henny, who was waiting on me, hands on his hips and glare in place.
My man was so fucking cute.
“Why were you spying on them? The boss wanted privacy.”
“Yes, well, not all of us follow rules, Henny. I wanted to know what was with the tension between the two. Sue me.”
He grunted, then turned to lead the way back. I followed, my grin wide at how we could still give each other shit after last night.
When we reached the room, I grabbed the knife I’d abandoned and placed it back in its sheath. Henny’s eyes trailed the movement. I’d have killed to know what he was thinking. His face was too blank for me to get a feel for it.
Guess I’d have to keep a better eye on him too. I needed to be able to speak the language that was Henny.
“What now?” I asked.
He held up his tablet. “We’re done here. I need to check on some things in my office. You’re free to do whatever you want.”
“And if I want to stay with you?”
“Then you should pick something else.”
“But Henny,” I said, stepping into his space. “I don’t want to pick anything else. I told you I was going to watch your back. Seems like Ricardo is with the boss. Now you’ve got me.”
He groaned, dropping his head back in a surprising moment of expression. Typically, he’d shake off my teasing. Or maybe throw it back my way.
The view of his throat made my mouth water. I wanted to trail my mouth over his skin. Wanted to nibble at him, leaving marks. I needed to see how he’d react to it all.
At the same time, I wouldn’t do anything without him telling me it was ok. He would have to want it too. He’d have to tell me exactly what to do.
The fantasy fizzled with that dose of reality.
When I came to, Henny stared at me with questions blazing in his eyes. Rather than ask what I was thinking, he turned for the exit. I took up step behind him.
The ride to the casino felt loaded with a thick sort of strained energy. It continued through the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. He’d speak to me when he had to, but the rest of the time I was invisible—the shadow I told him I’d be.
At bedtime, I went back to his room with him, since he suggested the whole gun-to-Ricardo’s-head thing might not have left Pharrell’s mind as easily as it had mine.
Joke was on him because I had no intention of going back just yet.
If the sexual energy between the two men did explode, I wanted to be far enough away to not accidentally walk in on them.
Besides, it wasn’t a hardship to stick to Henny’s side. It was my favorite place to be.
“What are you doing?” he asked me when I pulled my blanket from the bed to move it to the couch.
“I’m going to sleep. That thing people tend to do at the end of the day.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. The stuffy pajamas he wore couldn’t hide the curve of his muscles or the way his cock hung long and thick between his legs. I could have stared all night if I thought it was an option.
“Yes, so then go to bed.”
Henny pointed at the space I’d slept in last night. I grinned at him as I did as he said.
“See, Henny. I can be good for you,” I teased as he flicked the light off.
I would have sworn I saw him shiver in the brief second before the room went dark. Or maybe it was my imagination.