Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
MATEO
“Damien hasn’t claimed that this mess is his,” Julian says. “And there’s been no fucking chatter on this asshole. He goes so deep underground that he’s untouchable, and it pisses me the fuck off.”
“Then who the hell killed my men and let my prisoners go?” I counter. “We took Damien’s girls last night. It makes sense there would be retribution.”
My phone rings, and my eyebrow climbs when I see the name on the screen.
“Javier,” I say in greeting. My cousin, the head of the cartel in Mexico, and I have a cordial relationship, but I don’t hear from him often.
“Cousin,” he says. “Word on the street is that the Albanians are pissed at you and your friends. You stole their girls.”
I have him on speaker, so everyone in the room hears him.
“No, we stole Adam Damien’s girls.”
“I’m afraid you’re wrong. Damien’s men were going there to buy those girls. Not sell them.”
Fuck.
“How do you know this?” I ask him.
“I have eyes and ears everywhere, especially where my family is. If you need men, I’ll send some up.”
“We have manpower covered, but I appreciate the offer, and the tip. What do you want in exchange for it.”
Javier laughs. “You’re family, amigo. I’ve got your back.”
“Thanks.”
I hang up and let out a deep sigh.
“Damien will kill the Albanians for not delivering the girls as promised,” Rome says. “That’s why they’re out for blood.”
“They don’t worry me,” I reply. “They’re a nuisance.”
“Ones we have to take care of,” Carson says. “I have to go to Italy on a job, but I’ll put it off to stay here and help clean this up.”
“Go,” Julian tells him. “We’ve got this covered. Who are you killing?”
Carson just grins. Being an assassin for hire is his favorite side hustle, and he’s alarmingly good at it.
“I’ll see you in a few days,” is all he says as he walks out of the office. His second, Spider, stays with us.
Carson kills alone. Always has.
“Okay, let’s put together a plan.”
It’s late when we return to Rome’s penthouse. The girls are all sitting in the living room, drinking out of mugs and talking softly.
When Violet sees me, her smile is immediate and genuine, and it makes me feel . . . good.
“Hey, Savage,” I say as I lean over and kiss her forehead. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired. Sore. But happy.”
She cups my cheek and brushes her nose against mine, and I immediately want her alone.
“Let’s go home.”
She smiles, and I simply lift her in my arms.
“I can walk,” she says.
“Your ankle is hurt,” I remind her and turn her so we can say goodbye, only to find everyone in this room grinning at us. “What?”
“Come back soon, Violet,” Lulu says. “And we’ll talk about tattoo designs.”
That catches Rome’s attention. “I’m intrigued.”
The man is covered in ink from his neck to his waist. Of course he’s intrigued.
“I’ll be making my appointment too,” Natasha says.
“You drummed up business today, baby.”
Violet lays her head on my shoulder and sighs happily. “I’m going to fall asleep. I’ll text you all later.”
She feels perfect as I carry her to the elevator, and when she wraps her arms around my neck and presses her face to my skin, I finally relax a little.
Not completely, because anything could happen between here and our place, but having her safely with me is fucking amazing.
“I’m glad you had fun.”
“I like them all a lot. The guys and the girls. They make me feel welcome.”
Good. That’s the way it should be.
Once we’re in my SUV and headed to my building, I brush my hand down her soft hair.
“I hear you used to have a lot of threesomes at the club,” she says right before she yawns, and I scowl. “Lots of crazy stuff.”
I mean, I might have done that a few times, but—
Before I can reply, Violet laughs.
“I’m teasing you. We did talk about the club, but Scarlett won’t divulge any of your secrets. I like her. I like all of them.”
“I’m glad.”
“You’re glad that I like them or that I don’t know any of your secrets?”
I huff out a laugh. “I’m glad you like them. If you want to know what my kinks are, you can ask me, sweetheart. As of the moment I met you, you’re my kink, and anything you might be into.”
She snorts, but I take her face in my hand and keep her gaze pinned to mine.
“I’m not lying. No lies, remember?”
“I remember.” She swallows hard. “Okay, before me, what were you into?”
“Mostly restraints, but that’s a hard limit for you, so it doesn’t matter.”
Her brows pull together. “I said that mostly because I didn’t know you, and if you tied me up I wouldn’t be able to escape.”
My gut tightens. “And now?”
“I’m not saying ‘salmon.’”
I can’t help but laugh. “Baby, I’m not fucking you tonight, and I’m definitely not restraining you the way I’d want to because you’re hurt. But in a week from now, all bets are off.”
“I have to wait a whole week for sex? Oh hell no. Take me back to Rapture.”
Calmly, deliberately, a smile spreads over my face as I watch the woman of my dreams smile smugly back at me.
“I love your sassy fucking mouth, and as soon as it’s healed, I’m going to fuck it.”
“Yay for me.”
We’ve just parked, and I chuckle as I help her out of the vehicle and carry her to the elevator.
When we’re alone, I continue the conversation.
“For the record, I didn’t say anything about waiting a week for sex. I said I wouldn’t restrain you. But no, baby, sex is off the table tonight.”
“I know.” She yawns hugely and pushes her fingers in my hair. “I’m too fucking tired. I called the tattoo shop and told them I quit. I’ll go in tomorrow and pack up my stuff.”
“You quit?”
“Yeah. I like the idea of working for myself, and I talked it over with the girls. I might specialize in working just with women. Pro bono. Especially women who have been hurt.”
She watches me with cautious blue eyes.
“As long as you meant it when you said we don’t need my income.”
This is massive. She’s thinking about us for the long haul. She’s trusting me. She believes that she’s mine and that I’ll take care of her.
“Is it bad that I’m happy as fuck that you’re not going to have your hands all over other men?”
She smirks. “Well, I might work on your guys if they ask.”
“They won’t.”
“Mateo—”
“There are hundreds of artists in this city. My men don’t need your hands all over them to get inked, Violet, and that’s the end of the conversation.”
I stride into the penthouse and sit on the couch with her in my lap.
“So possessive.” She smiles and leans in to kiss my jaw. “But I don’t hate it.”
“Good. Because this is who I am and what you’re stuck with.”
“I can live with that.”