Chapter 1
Thief in the Night
Oni
Have you ever known you shouldn’t be doing something, but you do it anyway? That’s me. It’s how I always get my butt into trouble.
Brooklyn, New York, is no longer a safe place for me. I’m not able to call it home anymore.
Twenty-seven hours on a bus. A whole day and three hours. A one-way trip to get me away from all the drama and keep me out of a jail cell.
Twenty-seven long, boring, stinking hours that I will never forget. That’s how long it took to get me to where I know no one and no one knows me. Because of my uncle, I can now live with a little less fear.
Or at least that was the plan. I’m sticky, I’m hungry, and I want to go to sleep, but my one weakness is staring me in the face. The reason I’m on the run in the first place.
Incredible. This has to be a sickness. I have to be insane.
I’m running for my life, and I still don’t know how to say no. If I had walked away in New York, I would still be there. Why am I like this?
Jail time is the least of my worries back in New York. I’m not stupid in the slightest, which is why my mom is so angry with me. I have the potential to do so much more with my life, but I haven’t been able to let this vice go.
Fuck, all I need is for them to find me because I’m too stupid to walk away. I can’t do it. My mother has risked so much to help me. I have to walk away this time.
I chew on my lip as I circle the sleek black Lamborghini.
“I should just walk away, but I can’t. This baby is too sweet. She’s taunting me to take her,” I mumble to myself.
They’re still out there, I know that. They always will be. That’s why I’m going to walk away.
“Who am I kidding?” I huff.
I’ll never be the good one who puts common sense first. I have to scratch this itch. It’s my own daddy’s doing.
Sure, we seemed like a really nice, well-off family on the outside, but how does everyone think we got that way?
The police just always looked the other way.
My uncle and my dad used to run shit back in New York, then my dad was taken away from me and everything changed.
My uncle moved here to Miami, and my mother and I were alone.
She was happy to get me away from that life, thinking I would never steal another car. That was a pipe dream. It’s ingrained in me.
I’ve been stealing cars since I was nine. That’s right, nine, with pigtails and Chucks on. Daddy was always so proud when I could pop a lock and hot-wire a car in record time.
I was faster than any of his boys. I was thirteen when I graduated to the high-end stuff. That’s when things got out of control. I love a piece of expensive heavy metal between my legs.
Too bad the last piece of metal I stole was worth more than just the sticker price with its inconspicuous cargo and lethal owner.
“Fuck it,” I mutter.
I look around and get ready to get to work. I’ll just spin the block and park it somewhere once I’m done. I don’t know anyone here to take it to a chop shop.
I pop the door open and go to climb in, but someone pushes the door closed from behind me. I go to turn to fight, but freeze when I come face to face with the last person I thought I would see here in Miami.
“They said you wouldn’t be able to resist. I had hoped they were wrong. Hello, Oni. Do you know who I am?”
“Y … yes,” I stutter. “You’re Rico Gallo.”
“Do you know how stupid I would look if you stole another of my cars filled with product? In fact, I’m starting to feel like a target. Are you targeting me, Oni?”
“No,” I say and swallow hard.
Shit, I didn’t even know he was in Miami. How was I supposed to know this was his car? I didn’t know the first time.
“Your uncle knows my father. He was trying to smooth things over for you. My interest was piqued when I found out who you were. I watched the surveillance tape of you stealing my truck a million times.
“You’re good. Really good. However, I don’t think you use this much,” he says and taps his fingers to my temple.
I close my eyes and groan. This was stupid and too good to be true. I should’ve known it was a test.
I open my eyes as he pushes my hoodie back from my head. He takes a sharp inhale of air as he looks down into my face. He stands quietly watching me for a few beats. I fidget with my sleeves, wondering if he plans to kill me.
“You’re … wow … not what I expected.”
“Were you expecting a boy?” I find my confidence and snarl.
“No, I knew you were a sixteen-year-old girl. That’s why you’re still breathing, sweetheart. I had no idea you were a gorgeous sixteen-year-old girl. That’s all.”
“What now?” I breathe.
“I have a proposition for you. Since I got the car and most of the product back in New York, I don’t see why I have to punish you. Your uncle also agreed to compensate me for my troubles as long as I don’t hurt you.”
“Proposition?”
“Yes, Oni. I want you to come work for my family for the summer. Your uncle has agreed. I will keep you out of jail and alive as long as you’re working for me. You will stay at my estate and do as I say, but you have to say yes now.”
“Yes,” I whisper.
“Good, get in. You’re driving.”
Rico
“You can make a left up here and jump on the highway,” I command as she drives.
This girl is fucking gorgeous. I wasn’t expecting her pretty face hidden beneath that hood. Those eyes, her lips, the deep, dark complexion of her skin.
I have to shift in my seat as I grow hard from her scent filling the Lambo. Her uncle knew she wouldn’t be able to resist stealing it. I set her up.
I had been intrigued by her from the moment she dared to steal the first car. The Trackhawk was filled with almost two million in coke. I’ll admit, she caught me slipping.
I had this chick in Brooklyn I’d been trying to take down for a few months. While I was up in my spare apartment pounding her out, this little thing was stealing my truck. She did that shit so fast I was impressed.
I wasn’t lying. I watched the video a million times in awe. She has skills.
“Why are you doing this?” she speaks up as we float down the road.
She’s an excellent driver as well. Not many people impress me, but Oni Raven is doing one hell of a job. I turn to stare at the side of her face.
“I see something in you.” I shrug. “It seemed like a waste to kill you. I have better uses for your talents. You’re smart on top of it all.”
“You sure about that? I have stolen from the mob twice now. I’m feeling all kinds of stupid at the moment.”
“We all make mistakes, sweetheart. What matters is how we learn from them.”
“Uncle Claude is foul for this. He set me up,” she pouts.
“I set you up. Your uncle just gave me a warning and some info on how.”
“Why are you here? I mean, in Miami?”
“I’m spending the summers here. You and I will travel back and forth to New York over the next few months,” I reply.
“When you say I have to do as you say, what does that mean?” she says softly.
“It means you won’t steal anything I don’t tell you to. You will be where I tell you, when I tell you and you will stay out of anything I tell you to stay out of.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah, what were you thinking?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never killed anyone or buried a body. So I’m just asking,” she murmurs.
I laugh and reach to brush her braids from her face. She turns to glance at me. I’m punched in the gut by her beauty as she does.
“Also, I’m still a virgin, so I’m putting my foot down when it comes to you trying to pass me around or something. That’s a no-fly zone.”
I don’t know why her words trigger something possessive in me. I’m nineteen. I shouldn’t be this fucking hard for her. I’m normally focused on business. Sure, I love a good lay, but I don’t allow women to distract me.
“You don’t have to worry about that. If anyone touches you, I’ll kill them. Your virtue will remain intact until you choose to have it otherwise. That’s not my style.”
The car falls silent as I program the GPS to have something to do with my thoughts and hands. My fingers are itching to rest on one of her shapely thighs. However, I won’t break my promise.
No one will touch her if she doesn’t want them to. I’m still deciding if I want her to want me to. I look her over—she’s in a simple hoodie with jeans and a pair of high-top Air Force Ones.
When I’d walked up on her as she tried to steal my car, I noted that she had a cute little ass on her. I can’t help wondering what’s hiding under that hoodie. She’d probably be smoking hot in a dress.
In fact, I know she would. I’ll be sure to find out at some point during this summer. I take a glance at the floor between my legs at her little backpack.
“Is that all you brought down with you?” I say, nodding at the backpack.
She glances in my direction quickly. Then she shrugs. “I didn’t have much time to think about what to take while rushing out of town to keep from getting my head blown off.”
“Fair enough. We’ll go shopping in the morning.”
“How? I don’t have any money.”
“I’ll take care of it. You’re not working for me for free, Oni. I will be sending money to your mother and taking care of you. Anything you need, let me know. I’ll handle it.”
“Forgive me if this all seems a bit unreal. Just a week ago, I was shitting bricks as I found your load in that truck. Now you’re being all nice to me and offering to take care of me and all my needs.
“Be honest, am I driving to my death? You have a cement truck waiting to cover me up, or some hogs ready to eat my body or something?”
I roar with laughter. She’s fucking adorable. One thing is for sure. I’ll be entertained this summer.
“He laughs. At least we’re not in the desert. I’d know for sure he’s planning to off me then,” she mutters under her breath.
“For the last time, I don’t plan to kill you. You’re my employee. Are you hungry?”
“God, I’m starving. I thought you’d never ask,” she breathes.
I chuckle and shake my head. We’ll have to work on her telling me what she needs. She should’ve told me she was hungry sooner.
“Make a U-turn up here. We’ll go get something to eat before we get to the house.”
She busts a U-turn before I finish speaking. I groan and throw my head back as the flashing lights and sirens come on behind us. I can feel her panic before she speaks.
“Fuck … fuck, fuck, fuck,” she says, freaking out.
“I need you to calm down and relax. I’ve got this,” I coach.
I wasn’t joking about having product in this car. I need her to play it cool and allow me to handle this. She looks at me with wide eyes.
“Dude, I don’t have a license. I’m Black and driving a more than two-hundred-thousand-dollar car. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she hisses.
“Just calm your ass down,” I bite out as she pulls over.
“Rico,” she drags out.
“Hush and follow my lead. I’ve got you. I’ve always got you, Oni.”