8. Simon
Simon
Ishould be nervous because I’m breaking the rules, but instead, I’m anxious for an entirely different reason. I pace outside her bedroom door, waiting for her to finish getting ready.
I try to think about all the ways tonight could play out, coming up with backup and escape plans, excuses and cover-ups. The guys can't find out where we went or they'll murder both of us for sure.
But they can’t continue to keep June under a rock, tucked away in some massive tower where she’s withering away from stress and neglect. It’s not in my job description to notice these things, but there’s no way I could ignore the truth of the situation.
And the longer they ignore her wants and desires, the worse things are going to get. For her, for them, for all of us.
Someone has to be the man she needs, and if they won’t do it, I will.
June steps into view—tight black pants, a matching fitted tee, her obsidian hair straight and cascading down her back. She glances over at me, and I try to pick my jaw up off of the floor.
“I couldn’t find a hat,” she tells me as she approaches. June stops in front of me, her feet on one side of the doorway, mine firmly planted on the other, that invisible barrier keeping us apart.
That rule forbids me from entering her space. What a stupid fucking rule.
“Why do I need one, anyway?”
“Here.” I pull the cap out of my back pocket and unfold its bunched condition. I place the thing on her head and move her hair out from her eyes. I tug the hat down and step back to look at her. “Perfect.”
“That didn’t answer my question.” She makes her own adjustments before stepping across that forbidden barrier.
“Do you trust me?” I ask her, but the second it’s out of my mouth, I’m afraid to know the answer.
She rolls her eyes. “With my life.”
I let out a relieved breath. It’s not with her heart, but her life is just as important.
June strolls down the expansive hallway, and I follow her closely, savoring the scent of her shampoo wafting back at me. It’s such a small thing, but knowing this is all I get from her is enough for now.
“Can I drink?” She walks over to the selection of booze between the sitting room and kitchen on their first floor.
“One.”
“Do you want a drink?”
I shake my head. “I’m driving, love.”
“We aren’t taking Alec?”
“No.” I study her features, watching as she tries to put the pieces of this evening together.
“Well, I won’t either then.” June sets the bottle of bourbon onto the tray and heads straight for the door. “Are we leaving through the garage?”
“Yes,” I catch her arm on the way. “But you’re allowed to have something if you want it.”
She stares up at me. “It’s my decision, not yours.”
That feisty girl I adore is rising to the surface.
I grin and let her go. “As you wish.”
We step into the garage, walking by all of the guys’ various luxurious vehicles. We pass an Audi, a Land Rover, a Maserati, and then finally arrive at my car.
“You drive a Volvo? How did I not know this?” June turns back to me.
I reach for the handle and open the door for her. "It's practical." Although, the blacked-out bulletproof windows and steel-reinforced doors were an addition I don't mention. One can never be too careful in this line of business.
The ride across town is quiet, my nerves getting the best of me the entire time.
Is she going to like my surprise? Is it going to be what she wanted?
Is she going to regret coming along and think this entire night was stupid?
I chuckle at the fact that of all the concerns I could have, what she thinks is a priority over the guys finding out and having my head for taking her to a place like this.
June finally speaks up. “Magnus just text me, what do I say?”
Guilt hits me like a ton of bricks. I don’t want to ask her to lie, but I can’t allow her to tell the truth.
Not that she even knows where we’re going yet.
Magnus might be the only one of the three that would understand or even accept what we’re doing, but I can’t risk him freaking out or letting the other guys know.
“Be as vague as possible. Tell him we’re going to get something to eat and we’ll be home later.”
“Okay…” She thumbs a response and hits send. A second later, her phone buzzes. “He said to have fun, and to tell you to keep your hands to yourself.”
My fingers twitch, the single order going against everything my body wants to do.
If she were mine, I’d have my palm resting against her thigh.
I’d kiss her at every traffic light, hell, I wouldn’t even wait for the red to give me permission.
I’d smother her with so much fucking love that she’d never question my intentions the way she does with them.
I’d put her above my career, above my fucking life.
I’d never take her for granted, and I’d spend every day making sure she knew just how much she meant to me.
Three God damn men, and none of them make her feel secure in their relationship. Not a single one notices the post-traumatic stress that plagues her dreams and haunts her waking hours. They don’t see the weight she’s lost, the way her light has dimmed since they came into her world.
She loves them, but at what cost?
Instead of being what she needs, they push her away, keep their secrets, and make her question whether they want her around at all. It’s not fair. To her, or to me, when I’d so willingly be the man she deserves.
I'd nurture that light instead of letting it burn out. I'd listen to all the things she doesn't say and give before she can even ask for what she wants. I would anticipate her every desire and fulfill her fantasies.
I might not be responsible for her heart just yet, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do what I can to make sure she knows she’s seen, that she’s heard.
And maybe tonight is the first overstep of the boundary put in place, but someone has to give in to her darker side before it consumes her completely.
I pull my car down a dark alley and park it under a flickering light. Reaching into the middle console, I pull out a pair of sunglasses. “Put these on.”
She eyes me suspiciously but decides to comply. “Any chance you’re going to tell me where we are?”
"That would ruin the surprise. You'll find out soon enough.
" I nod toward her door. "Wait for me to come around.
Don't talk to anyone inside the building.
The fewer people who know we're here, the better.
If the guys find out I brought you here, they'll murder us both.
Stay close to me, and whatever you do, you do not leave my side. Understand?"
June nods sharply. “Okay.”
“And at any time, if you want to leave, all you have to do is tell me.”
“Okay,” she repeats.
I take a deep breath in and exit the car, slamming my door shut and walking over to hers.
I reason with myself on the way, allowing for a small window of opportunity where I change my mind, where I drive her away from here and go back to complying with the guys’ rules.
I guess this isn’t directly disobeying them—they didn’t exactly tell me I couldn’t bring her here, just that I had to keep her safe at all times, and away from mafia business.
As long as she does everything I asked of her, her safety remains intact.
Plus, this isn't mafia business per se—more like a side hustle.
I reach her door, opening it and sealing our fate. I extend my hand, reveling in the softness of her skin when she places hers in mine. “This way, love.” I guide her through the dampness of the alley and through a back door.
The noise of a bustling crowd fills the space and grows louder as we approach.
I tug her down a narrow corridor where people are gathered, some chatting in small groups, some waiting in an excessively long line.
“Stay close to me,” I remind her.
She tightens her grip on my hand and steps closer, her body only inches from mine as we weave our way through the throng of people.
I pretend for a moment that this is what it would be like, us against the world.
Me and her, together, at fucking last. But then I’m quickly reminded that this is a fever dream, a night that will exist only in my memories once it’s over.
Either way, I’ll gladly take whatever I can get with her.
“Move,” I tell a middle-aged man standing in my way.
He hesitates and for a second I’m unsure whether he’s going to actually comply. But like a sense of realization hits him, he steps back and gives me the space I demanded.
I shove my key into the door he was in front of and turn the handle, pulling June in with me and shutting out the chaos of that crowd. It takes my eyes a second to adjust to the darkness of the room, and then again when I flip the light switch on.
“What is this place?” June pulls the glasses off of her beautiful face and looks around.
I pull back the curtain on the large one-way window, revealing a room filled to the brim with people.
June approaches and glances over at me. “Can they see us?”
I shake my head and walk over to the refrigerator in the corner. “No.” I pull out two bottles of water and give her one of them. “It won’t be too long.”
“I don’t understand.”
I press a button on the wall, a speaker in our room crackling to life.
A man's voice comes through the end. "Settle down everyone." He clears his throat. "The boys are making their final rounds on bets. If you'd like to place a wager, you have…." The announcer from across the way checks the clock near him. "Sixty-two seconds."
“What are they betting on?” June asks me.
The man continues. “Our first fighter of the evening is three-time champ Bradshaw Cleary.”
Cheers call out for the welterweight-looking kid that appears from the back corner.
The crowd parts and allows him to walk to the center of the room where the mass of them automatically create an open square about the size of a boxing ring without the ropes and pads.
Instead, it's just a bare area with remnants of old blood staining the concrete floor.
“Is this a fight?” June perks up her brow.