Chapter 5
Five
MATEO
“Wake the fuck up.”
Surfacing out of sleep is like trying to swim to the top of the ocean in the middle of seaweed. Hard as hell.
My head is pounding as I pry one eye open and see that it’s Julian, my brother from another mother, scowling down at me.
“Go away.”
“You need to wake your ass up,” he repeats. “Trust me, I don’t want to be here.”
I manage to sit up and scowl. My mouth feels like it’s filled with cotton, and Christ, I have to piss.
“Bathroom,” I mutter, not bothering to hide my nudity as I make my way toward the door.
After washing my hands and splashing cold water on my face, I pull on a pair of sweats and a tank and walk down to the kitchen, where Julian’s pouring me a cup of black coffee. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Although we don’t share DNA, Julian, along with Rome and Carson, are my brothers in every way that counts.
We have the passcodes to each other’s homes.
We have weekly meals together. I adore Rome’s and Julian’s wives, and the fact that Rome’s wife, Lulu, is pregnant makes me giddy as fuck. I’m going to be the favorite uncle.
But I don’t want Julian’s face to be the first thing I see in the morning.
“I was alerted that your electronics were compromised last night.”
I scowl over the rim of my mug. “Huh?”
“Exactly. Your phone and computer, here in your penthouse. Someone tried to hack into them and got the passwords wrong a shitload of times.”
Julian is our hacker. Our electronics expert. He keeps our tech safe, which in our line of work, is a big fucking deal.
“Who?” he asks, staring at me.
And then I remember her. All fiery hair, tattoos, and the prettiest fucking moans I’ve ever heard.
“Violet,” I reply, and take another sip of coffee. “She was the only one in here.”
Julian tilts his head to the side, watching me. “You brought a woman here?”
I never have before. Ever. I fuck at Rapture, occasionally in my office at the club, but never in my home.
And yet last night, I didn’t hesitate to bring her here.
“What’s her last name?” he asks.
“No clue.” I can’t help but smile. My savage girl tried to get into my tech. Did she slip me something to make me sleep too? “But she’ll be on the CCTV feeds, and you can do a facial rec.”
He nods and surprises me by pulling a laptop out of a bag that I didn’t even register was sitting on my island.
“Don’t you need my passwords?” I ask him.
Julian huffs out a laugh. “Don’t fucking insult me.”
We’re both quiet as his fingers fly over the keyboard, and then he turns the screen so I can see it.
“Here you are arriving with her.” We’re in the elevator, and then he hits a key and I see us go through the front door. “Can’t see her face very well. How long was she here?”
I simply blink at him, and he hits fast-forward on the footage.
“Ah, just over two hours later, she comes out again.” He freezes the frame, and I stare at her.
Her hair’s all messed up from my hands, her lips are a little swollen from mine, and she looks good and well fucked.
And so fucking beautiful, I have to rub my hand over my chest.
“Violet Walker, twenty-seven, a tattoo artist”—makes total sense—“at Strip Ink. Been there for two years. No marriage on file.”
Good. One less man I have to kill.
“Her credit score is good. Lives well within her means. You’ll want to look around to see if she robbed you blind, but she only has her handbag with her when she leaves.”
“She can have whatever she wants,” I reply with a shrug, and Julian turns his attention to me, narrowing his eyes. “What else is there?”
Finally, he looks down at the screen. “That’s really about it. Has a sister that died about seven years ago, but otherwise, no family.”
Ah, baby.
“So, why was she going through your shit?”
“I don’t have the first fucking clue.” I finish my coffee and stand to pour another cup. “I have a feeling she also roofied me.”
“What the fuck, Mateo?”
“She’s so fucking cool.” I shake my head, thinking about how good she felt wrapped around my cock.
“You’re certifiable if you’re crushing over the girl who drugged you and then went through your shit.”
“Call the authorities.” I lean back against the counter and sip my joe. “What’s her address?”
He glances down. “Looks like an apartment on West Rochelle.”
Not far from the Strip. Must be close to her job.
“Send me everything you just found.”
“Mateo, who is this girl?”
“You know as much as I do.” I stop and scowl. “Actually, strike that. I know way more, but you know as much about what can be found on paper as I do. But I’m about to find out everything there is to know about her.”
I turn to walk away, but Julian curses behind me.
“Stop. Fuck, someone’s searching your name online right now.”
I lift an eyebrow and turn back to him.
“You have this shit monitored too?”
“Of course I do. I’m tracing the IP address.” He’s quiet for a heartbeat and then says, “Looks like it’s coming from Rochelle. Your girl is curious about you.”
With a satisfied grin, I cross my arms over my chest. “What’s she asking it?”
“So far, it’s just your name and scrolling through those results. She just asked it if you’re married.”
Not yet, baby, but we’ll get there.
“Put in there that I own the High Roller Café.”
Julian sighs. “You don’t own that café.”
“No, but I’m hungry, and I have a feeling she’ll try stalking me over there. So I can look at her and eat at the same time.”
“You’re so fucking weird.”
“But you love me. I think I need a new tattoo as well.”
“So you’re just going to stalk each other, then?”
“Sounds like a damn good time to me. Go home to your wife, and I’ll see you at family dinner tomorrow.”
Lulu loves to cook for all of us, and we have a standing dinner night at their place every Sunday. I wouldn’t miss it for the world, not just because of the excellent food.
Pissing Lulu off is never on my Bingo card.
I climb the stairs and walk into my bedroom, still catching a whiff of Violet on the air. She smells like vanilla. Sweet and perfect.
I’m also a little pissed off. I don’t like being drugged. All she had to do was ask me questions, and I would have told her anything she wanted to know, within reason. So, I’ll be making her ass glow for that the next time I have her naked.
After pulling on the black jeans from last night, I grab a black T-shirt from the closet and my boots.
Rome and Julian wear suits pretty much every day.
If we have official business to see to, I’ll wear the monkey suit, but it’s not my usual uniform.
I prefer casual. Of course, I also grab my favorite Patek Philippe watch and fasten it on.
I may be casual, but that doesn’t mean I’m not bougie as fuck.
Once I’m dressed, I push my hands through my hair and head downstairs, where Julian still sits at my island.
“Looks like she took the bait,” he says. “She’s looking up the address to the café.”
I grin and shrug into my leather jacket. “Excellent.”
“Let us know if you need anything.”
“I’ve got this.” And since it doesn’t look like he’s in a hurry to leave, I add, “Lock up on your way out.”
I ride the bike over to the café, and once I’m seated at a table in the back, facing the entrance, I call Diego.
“Heard you won last night,” my number two says. “Against fucking Sampson.”
“What, like it’s hard?” I smirk, my eyes never leaving the door. “Did you get Fabian to the graveyard?”
“It’s all taken care of. I also have a replacement for him already.”
“Good. I’ll be busy most of the day, but I’ll see you later tonight. We have a meeting.”
“I’ll be there.”
I end the call and see my girl walk in. She doesn’t see me because I’m sitting behind a row of plants, and she’s shown to a table across the room, facing me.
You should always face the entrance, Savage. I need to work on her situational awareness.
Her eyes flit over the area, and then she looks down at her phone.
Violet is fucking beautiful. Her auburn hair is up in a high ponytail, and she’s wearing a simple black tank top and ripped jeans. Purple Chucks today.
I tap my phone and it starts to ring on the other side.
Violet answers.
“This is Violet.”
Fuck, her voice alone is making me hard.
“I’d like to make an appointment for a tattoo,” I say, making my voice just a little deeper than normal.
“Sure, do you have artwork picked out?”
“Yes. It shouldn’t take longer than a couple of hours. Do you happen to have time today?”
Her brows pinch together like she’s irritated, and I want to kiss her there.
“Hold on while I check my calendar.” She pulls the phone away from her ear and taps the screen, then says, “I have two hours at noon.”
“I’ll be there.”
“What’s your name?”
Thinking fast, I say, “Max. I’ll see you at noon.”
I end the call, and she taps on her screen again, likely adding me to her schedule.
I can’t wait for noon to get here.