5. Lex
LEX
“Good morning, Mr. Hart.” Judy stops me before I walk into my office. “This came in the mail for you.”
That’s odd. Normally my mail is sent to a special P.O. box or a business address.
“Here you go.” She gives me an extra-chipper smile as she hands me a postcard.
Who even sends postcards anymore, but when I look at it, I notice that it’s a picture of one of the theme park I sent Rory to.
A smile crosses my face before I clear it and thank Judy.
She gives me a knowing smirk, and I head to my office.
I don’t read it until I’ve shut the door behind me.
Dear boss,
I want to thank you for this wonderful trip.
It’s been more fun than I could’ve imagined, and it makes me feel a tiny bit more like my old self.
No one told me this trip was from you, but I just know it was.
You seemed to know exactly what I needed to feel better and we’ve only met once.
Hopefully we can meet again sometime soon.
Thanks again.
He didn’t sign it or mention any names, but it’s obviously from Rory.
How did he know it was me? I doubt his brother told him. So the boy is not only sweet but smart.
I need to figure out how to get him back here so I can talk with him again.
Or I need to kidnap him and lock him in my house so he can never leave. Which is a weird thought. I’m not obsessive about people, and Rory’s a man.
But his lips are perfection. Even broken and bruised they were still the most obscenely gorgeous lips I’ve ever seen, and I’ve had enough models suck me off to walk NYC Fashion Week.
Maybe I should look at his pictures again.
Just to make sure he’s having fun and that Brendan is spoiling him like I ordered him to. I had to text him and tell him I wasn’t happy with the amount of money he was spending. I told him to get Rory everything, and I meant it. He needs to be spoiled.
When I open the account that their pictures are linked to, I gasp.
The smile on Rory’s face is radiant as he stands there next to a princess. He looks so soft and ethereal that even the perfectly made-up woman next to him can’t hold a candle to his beauty.
Now I’m getting all poetic and shit. What is it about this guy?
I grab my desk phone.
“Yeah, boss,” Liv answers right away.
“Get me all the footage of Rory and Dr. Byrnes’s visit.”
“Right away, boss.”
And then I hang up.
If she thinks my request is weird, she doesn’t say anything. Smart girl. I don’t like to explain myself.
And I don’t like to wait, so I continue to scroll through Rory’s pictures and smile when I see one of him making faces in front of what looks like a shooting range. I think the direction was “look like an angry gunslinger,” and Rory fails miserably. He’s too sweet even after what he’s been through.
I barely refrain from throwing my current tumbler at the wall but only because Liv sends me a notification.
“Here you go, boss.”
I quickly open the video and turn up the volume.
Rory’s mostly quiet, then they enter the building and ride up the elevator to the top floor. He’s nervous when Brendan leaves him, and somehow, Rory manages to get his whole body into a ball in his oversized hoodie.
He doesn’t notice my approach, but as I watch, my whole body freezes when I see him, and I don’t even hesitate to walk over to him.
Why didn’t I ignore him?
Hell, what was I even doing in lobby?
I usually take the side door to my office and bypass the lobby because I don’t want people to see me and try to talk to me. I’m too fucking busy for their shit, but Rory… He just looked so sad, I couldn’t stop myself.
He looks startled when he sees me, but he relaxes quickly.
Then I reach out and touch his cheek.
Why would I do that?
I don’t touch people unless it’s to beat the hell out of them, or to fuck them from behind.
Rory needed the comfort, and I realized that.
My mind drifts back to Mya. She was sweet like Rory, and delicate. She was far too young and so full of life and love. I wonder what she would think of the angry murderer I am today? She’d probably—
“We’re what?!” Rory screeches, and I turn my attention back to the screen.
He practically jumps into Brendan’s arms, and he laughs as he catches Rory.
“OMG! This is so exciting. We haven’t been there since we were kids!
” He pulls back and grins mischievously at Brendan.
“And you were scared to go on all the rides.”
“I was not!” he gasps.
“Were too,” Rory teases.
“Keep teasing and there will be no ice cream.”
“You promised.” Rory pouts, and god damn those lips of his. I shift in my seat, trying to make sense of all this. I’ve been watching Rory pout on loop. He’s just so god damn… pretty. Pausing the video, I touch Rory’s lips on the screen. Would he smile for me like he does for Brendan?
Would he cuddle with me and let me take care of him?
He needs that.
Would he suckle me?
I need that.
Resuming the video, Brendan quickly caves to Rory’s demands, and I know that I would do the same thing. Anything to make him happy. I’d give him the dicks of the men who hurt him, and while I think that’s a pretty romantic gesture, I bet he’d be horrified, so I’ll buy him an ice cream shop instead.
“Fine, but one scoop or you’ll ruin your dinner.”
“Three?” Rory asks sweetly.
Brendan huffs but smiles. “Two, you sneaky little brat.”
Rory hugs him tightly again, and even though I know it’s his brother, I want to rip Brendan’s arms off for touching what’s mine.
Taking a deep breath, I watch the rest of the feed until they leave the building. A sense of panic fills me as he walks out of my sight.
How can I protect him if I don’t know where he is, what he’s doing?
I send Liv a quick text.
“I want every inch of Dr. Byrnes’s place on surveillance.”
“Got it, boss.”
I sigh and grab the postcard off my desk. He’s so sweet, so thoughtful. It must be why I want to protect him, but I’m not a good man. I’m a killer with an ocean of blood on my hands. I sigh loudly and finish off my drink.
Mal comes over to refill it before I’ve even set the tumbler down. “He’s not too good for you.”
“Who?”
Mal chuckles and pours himself a glass before sitting in the chair across from my desk. “You know who I mean.”
“Rory needs someone nice to look after him, not a hardened criminal.”
“Why can’t you be both? That boy needs a Daddy like you need a Little. You’ve always been a nurturer.”
Does he mean Little like the Daddy article?
Numbers comes in, so I hold my question and grumble, “I don’t have a nurturing side. I’m a badass boss.”
“Mal’s right. You doted on Olivia,” he adds helpfully.
“That’s family, it’s different,” I hiss.
“You think Demara dotes on his family?” Mal raises an eyebrow. Luco Demara is a sick and twisted piece of shit who likes his girls underaged. “Or Kowalski?”
Mark Kowalski is also a piece of shit. His father Thomas was a good leader, and Mark still brags about killing him.
The only reason we’ve let him live is because he’s so fucking stupid that he’s ruining his own organization.
It won’t be long before he’s killed by one of his own men, and then we’ll see if we need to step in.
“We just want you to do whatever you need to do to be happy,” Numbers adds.
“I’d be happier if you two shut the hell up.”
“All we’re saying is it’s been a really long time since you’ve taken something for yourself,” Mal tries again.
“Yeah, between work and caring for Olivia, you’ve only had time for a quick tryst here and there,” Numbers says.
“Tryst, really?” Mal asks.
“It’s a good word.”
“I haven’t wanted anything more.” Until now. I want Rory, but I still don’t understand it myself. I think I need more time to wrap my head around this and decide how I want Rory in my life.
“Until a certain someone—”
“Drop it,” I growl, and they both know I’ve had enough.
“Alright.” Numbers sets a folder on my desk and says good night before leaving.
I’m staring into the distance thinking about pouty pink lips, but suddenly, he’s got them wrapped around my nipple and his pretty green eyes flutter closed.
What would his mouth feel like? Do I really want to know?
That would mean revealing my biggest secret. Mal and old doc know, but that’s it.
“What’s really bothering you?” Mal asks.
“I said drop it.”
“Fine.” Mal holds his hands up, trying to calm me. “But if it’s anything other than your obsession, you better tell me. Secrets get people killed.”
“It’s my new obsession,” I admit and then growl. “And no, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Alright. Alright. Tag’s got a fight tonight. You want to get drunk and watch?” Mal asks, and I nod. Tag’s the biggest draw I’ve had since I retired.
“Why not?” I down my drink and hold it out for more. “I need to change before we go.” Pump is more like it. Thankfully my production has slowed down with this new medication that the Lactin Brotherhood recommended, but I still need to pump at least twice a day, and I can tell it’s almost time.
“Hiya, boss.” Peter holds the rope open for Mal and me.
“Peter.” I pat his shoulder as I walk through. “How’s it been?”
“It’s a good crowd tonight.”
We walk down the quiet cement hallway that leads to the basement of this distillery.
Having an underground fighting ring in an abandoned building would just be asking for the cops to come in and bust us, but put it in a thriving business just outside the city limits and no one really looks twice.
When the doors open to the main floor, we’re hit with the sound of cheering and cursing. The smell of blood and sweat permeate the air.
Even though the smell is awful, my pulse spikes, and my dick chubs at the thought of violence and debauchery.
This was my first business. Not in this location, but underground fighting. I was the fighter while Mal and Numbers were the business.
I remained undefeated for almost ten years, and everyone wanted to challenge me. One night, someone managed to get a knife into the ring with me and he gave me a wicked cut along my abdomen. After I stabbed him in the eye with his own knife, I retired.
I couldn’t leave my daughter without any parents.
Plus, I was getting tired, and I’d already made a shit ton of money. So I focused on my other business, but I was never able to let go of this.
The adrenaline, the excitement, the noise—
“Don’t even think about it,” Mal yells in my ear.
I gently shove him back. “I wasn’t.”
“You have that look.”
“I’m not as young as I used to be.”
“Please. You’re still bigger and more badass than any man in here.”
He’s not wrong.
Mal and I get seated in my box, and a server hurries to bring us our drinks.
There are a few different levels in this space. The nicer boxes are up top, the VIP boxes are in the middle, and the rest all crowd around the ring on the main level.
The voice of Marcus, our MC, booms out of the speakers as they get the stage ready for the next match.
“Soon, my good people, the match you’re all waiting for will take place.
Ghost versus Tag. Tag has quite the reputation for brutality, beating his opponents down quickly, no cat-and-mouse games with him.
” I laugh. He’s the best psycho I’ve ever had.
Give him a man to torture and there’ll be nothing left but answers.
“Can the agile Ghost beat the human wrecking ball Tag? Place your bets now and get ready for the fight of the century!” The crowd goes wild and runs to the betting boxes.
Mal chuckles. “Always the showman.”
I nod and look around the space. There are people everywhere.
Some are cheering the fight, some are talking, and in my boxes, some people are being serviced by my boys and girls.
I watch for a moment as a gorgeous blond named Dirk sucks off the mayor in the full box next to mine. Thomas was always an attention whore.
When he sees me watching, he nods and pushes Dirk down his dick farther. Dirk goes willingly. It’s hot, but I don’t want to see Thomas’s O face.
So I pull up the Lactin Brotherhood website and open the “Are you a Daddy?” article. As I read over the words again, the women I originally pictured in my head all turn into a brunet with bright green eyes and a slim build.
Rory needs someone to take care of him—
I’m a feared and respected mob boss. I’m not a caregiver.
“What did you mean by Little?” I blurt.
“Huh?” Mal’s distracted by the fight in the ring.
“Earlier when you said I needed a Little, what did you mean?”
“Yeah, well, it’s a lifestyle where the dom is the Daddy and the sub is the Little. The Little might like to play with toys, get baths, have bottles, and sometimes even suckle.”
My eyes widen, and Mal just grins. The thought of Rory feeding from me has my dick leaking against my silk briefs.
“And take care of any other needs the Little might have.”
“What kind of needs?” I ask, and Mal just slaps me on the back while he laughs.
“God, you are so vanilla. I’ll send you a link.”
What the fuck is he talking about? I’m not vanilla. I’ve had public sex, played with restraints, and light impact play. I’m just about to remind him about the threesome he walked in on when Marcus’s voice comes back over the system.
“Alright, folks! Get ready for one hell of a fight.” The crowd goes wild, so I focus my attention on the fight, but my mind is elsewhere. Specifically on Rory’s plump lips wrapped around my nipple while his pretty green eyes look up at me.