Chapter 17
Riot
This time I go straight to the source.
“You want to work together… fine. You want to sing a duet… I’m in. But it will not be 'Chokehold'.”
“Why not?” She looks up from the piece of paper she’s holding. It’s beautiful, Riot. Powerful. It speaks to me. This new version—”
“Pick any other song and I will sing it with you. But not 'Chokehold'." It’s not for you.” I snatch the paper out of her hands. Taking out my lighter I start a flame and set it to the corner of the paper. Smoke curls as it catches. The paper turns red and black as it burns to ash.
She stiffens.
“I see.” Her mask of exaggerated sweetness slips. “That’s going to be tough when Daddy wants us to record it when we get back to L.A.”
All my anger turns to ice. I should have seen it coming.
“What I want… I get.” She sways into my space and extends her arm until her fingers can trace my jaw.
The urge to flinch is almost overwhelming, but I won’t give her the satisfaction. “You want 'Chokehold'.”
“Don’t be silly.” She finds my nape with her hand. Leaning into me, she crushes her lips to mine. When I don’t respond she pulls back an inch. “I want 'Chokehold'.” And I want you.”
I pick her up and put her at arm’s length when she tries to kiss me again.
It’s not far enough, but it will have to do since we still have to work together.
“And I told you I’m with Kelsey. She is my world.
Don’t try to come between us. It won’t happen.
Now pick a different song so we can practice. Adira asked us to perform tonight.”
“Fine.” She pouts as she goes to a table where she’s dumped her things. She shuffles through a bunch of papers and holds one up to me. “I wrote this one this morning. It’s so peaceful and beautiful here. Getting to be part of a wedding that is so full of love… I was inspired.”
She hands me the sheet, and I read over the words on it. “What’s the tune?”
She picks up her guitar and starts to play.
“Any love won’t do. It had to be you.” I start to sing. My voice is raspy and not as strong as it is when I sing my songs, but the roughness works with the emotion and when she joins in something magical happens.
“And when the hours fade away, the memories we made will stay.” I look up at her, but she has her back to me. Probably embarrassed by my turning her down still. But at least she’s professional when it comes to the music. That’s going to make recording together easier.
We run through the song a couple more times before it feels like putting on a worn leather jacket.
“I think we’re solid.” I drop the paper back on the pile.
“Are you sure?” She asks, looking disappointed. “We could practice for a bit longer. We have time.”
I won’t spend a minute longer than I have to in her company. “I’m going to spend it with Kelsey.”
“But, Riot—”
I walk out of the barn, leaving the pop princess without looking back. There’s only one woman I want to make happy, and there’s a good chance she’s furious with me.
I find Kelsey in the ensuite of our room, dressed in a towel while she blows out her hair. Her gaze catches on mine in the mirror. “You rewrote 'Chokehold'.”
It’s an accusation. Cold and unimpressed.
“I was playing around with the idea.” I cross the room to stand in front of her when she puts the hairdryer down.
“You sent it to Carmine.”
“I sent it to Bronx and Golden. I’m not sure how Carmine got a hold of it.”
“You didn’t tell me.” She sounds hurt.
“I didn’t think you’d find out.”
Her eyes widen.
I bunch my jaw. “That wasn’t what I meant. It wasn’t ready yet. I wanted to wait until it was perfect.”
She softens. She knows me well enough to know that’s all true. “I believe you. I… trust you.”
I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear that. My whole nervous system relaxes. “I never want to hurt you.”
“I love you.” She puts her hand to my cheek. “You would tell me if there were anything I needed to know.”
“I would.” Sonatina brushing her lips over mine less than an hour ago flits through my mind.
I set my lighter to the memory and let the flame burn it away to nothing as I claim Kelsey’s mouth for my own. Scooping her up, I plant her ass on the edge of the sink and untuck the towel from her breasts.
Her knees part. I step between them. She reaches for the button on my pants with nimble fingers while I cup the back of her head to give me a better angle from which to feast on her mouth.
She has me hot and hard in her hand, her fingers and palm working the length and drawing me to her entrance. Fucking hell, I can’t get enough of this woman. My woman.
I lift her ass as I thrust inside her, forcing her to take me all the way to the base. Reveling in the way her pussy embraces me. She whimpers into my mouth the sweetest sound.
“You and me, we’re perfect together. We’re always going to be fire.” That’s a promise and the truth.
We fall into a rhythm of hard and fast. Of needing to be so deeply joined the niceties fall away. Our emotions are raw and bared to each other. I need her, and she wants me. Nothing else matters.
Her inner walls start to pulse. Her nails sink into the flesh in my bicep as I chase the start of her orgasm with my own. All the while kissing her like I’ve been deprived my entire life. Who knew falling in love with my best friend would be the best thing I’d ever do?
She clenches around me, her cry sweet and low.
I don’t want to move when we’re done. I hold her close and kiss her more. Her lips, her forehead, the top of her head. “I want to stay right here. Forever. Just you and me, naked and with my cock inside you.”
“That sounds so good,” she says blissfully.
My phone ruins the moment by chiming in.
“Fucking hell.” I shake my head.
She laughs. “You better get it. Could be important.”
I slip out of her and pull up my pants. My phone is in my pocket, so I take it out and check the screen. “It’s Agent Lane.”
“You definitely better take that.” She wiggles off the edge of the sink and picks up her towel to hang it.
I put the device on speaker. “Hey.”
“I got some results back on the fingerprint analysis,” he says. “You should know there was a match.”
“So you know who killed the goat?” I watch Kelsey’s expression slacken, her eyes round. Finally, we might have some answers.
“Unless you can think of another reason Lily Hawthorne’s prints would be on it.”
“Who?” I don’t know who that is. Actually, that’s not true. It’s Dizzy, isn’t it? She killed the goat? That… kind of makes sense.
“She may be under an alias,” he says. “She’s wanted by the agency. This woman is very dangerous.”
“But why would she kill the goat?” I ask Kelsey more than Agent Lane.
“Considering her usual victims…” he pauses like he’s searching for the right thing to say. “I don’t have an answer yet, I’m sending her image to your phone.”
My phone vibrates as the message comes through.
I open it and a younger, much blonder Dizzy fills my screen.
Her eyes are full of fear unlike the confident whirlwind we know.
If I didn’t know they were one and the same I would be hard pressed to see Dizzy in the photo at all.
And her eyes, how come I’ve never noticed they’re that blue?
“If you see her do not confront her,” he orders.
Does he know that she’s already confronted him? Dizzy has always seemed unhinged, but she seemed more so last night. This is why… “What should we do? Should I warn—”
“No. Absolutely not. We don’t want to alert her,” he says. “If you do see her, keep your distance. Don’t approach her. Don’t let on that you suspect her. I’m organizing back up. Once they’re in place we’ll deal with Lily.”
“Okay.” I share a worried glance with Kelsey.
Should I warn him she isn’t here? That she’s currently with Rogue and Ivy.
Or should I tell West? He’d have to be aware that she’s a fugitive.
It would make sense of a lot of his behavior.
I need to speak to my brothers before I say anything more. “Can I ask… why is she wanted?”
“She’s been tied to a half dozen violent crimes,” he says. “The goat is actually a step back from her usual violence.”
Christ. What the hell are we dealing with?