31. Nazai
CHAPTER 31
NAZAI
“ S o which one told you?” I asked Dad once I was behind my desk, sitting down. My wounds ached faintly but I ignored it. I wasn’t about to let flesh wounds keep me down.
“Now, son,” he started in Spanish. “Do you think there could be a shooting at your club and I wouldn’t hear word of it? I’m retired. Not dead . ”
I smirked. Of course he would hear about it. Right before they arrived I had been reading the latest blog post from The Shadows of Silver Stone . According to them, my family’s corruption and shady dealings were finally catching up with us. It amazed me how she could be right and wrong at the same time.
“Now explain what’s going on. You haven’t even been over the family for three months and you’re already getting shot and bringing unneeded attention to yourself.”
Stroking my beard, I leaned down and gave Dad a summary of what’d been going on. He didn’t interrupt, his face stayed blank.
“So you mean to tell me the moment you take over things, instead of continuing business like it’s been running, you decide to kill your wife’s ex-fiancé and start a war with his family, leading you to getting shot?”
My shoulders lifted. “My wife’s enemy became my enemy. She had an issue and I did what I needed to do as her husband. You would have done the same thing for Mom. Hell, the whole reason we’re in this line of business is because your granddad was getting justice for his wife who was attacked and never got any.”
One corner of Dad’s mouth lifted. “No need to justify anything, hijo. I never said your actions were wrong. However, you must know that by bringing a war to the family you put targets on everyone’s backs. As the head of the family, it’s up to you to keep the peace and make sure shit runs smoothly.”
“I don’t need to be reminded of what my duties are. When there’s a job worth taking, I will make sure we handle it. This is a minor situation that will be taken care of. Neil isn’t a threat or anything I’m worried about.”
Dad’s jaw clenched. “And the man that shot you?”
My smirk heightened. “My wife took care of him.”
In true Cashlynn’s fashion, she went against what I said and did what she wanted. Since I had grown accustomed to sleeping next to her, I realized she was no longer in bed with me and I knew where she was headed before I even checked the tracker. I was pissed that she’d acted on her own and went against what I said, but her reasoning made sense. Not only was she upset that she was the target, but she wanted revenge for me . The Cashlynn I first married would have never made that the reason, so it was hard to be too upset with her.
He shook his head. “That wife of yours is a problem, but she also seems like someone that’s good to have on the team.”
I couldn’t agree more. Cashlynn fought me ninety percent of the time, but she was loyal. Gaining her trust wasn’t easy, but slowly I was starting to see it happen.
____
“I can’t believe I agreed to this shit,” I mumbled, shifting in my seat.
Cashlynn snickered and crossed her leg at the knee while leaning back in her chair. “Don’t make bets you can’t win.” Her head cocked to the side.
My mouth turned upside down at what was about to happen. The day we made the bet at the range I hadn’t expected to lose. I was confident in my aim and knew I always hit my target, but it seemed my wife was better. The shooting prolonged her winning but she made sure to cash in when things were taken care of.
“I’m still wounded and here I am about to put another hole in my body. My dick at that.” I grimaced.
There was a knock on the door and a girl peeked her head inside. “All ready?” She smiled, stepping inside of the room and closing the door behind her.
“If that’s what you want to call it.” I glanced down. All I had on was my briefs.
“There’s no boy piercers?” Cashlynn asked, giving the girl a deadpan glare.
Me and the girl spoke at the same time.
“No guys touching my dick.”
“I’m the only piercer here today.”
Cashlynn’s eyes narrowed as she watched the girl walk to the sink and wash her hands. She slid her eyes to me, causing me to smirk. Her jealousy was always cute to me. She reminded me of a little lap dog, cute to look at but vicious when poked.
“Okay, we’re piercing the penis, correct?” The girl sat on the stool and faced me.
I cut my eyes in Cashlynn’s direction before giving a stiff nod.
“Perfect. Do you know where? Go ahead and pull down your boxers.”
Cashlynn cleared her throat. “Before we do that, I want to make something perfectly clear. We’re here for you to pierce and that’s it. No fondling or funny shit.” She pulled her knife out and placed it on her lap. “Let me see anything unprofessional and you won’t like the outcome.”
Cashlynn’s words sent a chill down my spine but also caused blood to rush to my dick. She stared at the girl with a look that could freeze the sun. Fright filled the piercer’s eyes as they widened. She looked from me and Cashlynn. I shrugged and pulled my dick out.
The girl swallowed hard and wet her lips. “I-I p-p-promise no funny stuff.” She lowered her eyes to the blade.
I shook my head and reached over, tapping Cashlynn’s hand. “Now, now wife. No need to be jealous. Remember, you made this bet.” I faced the piercer again. “I want to get the frenum.”
Cashlynn glared at me. “Just make sure you two keep it cute.”
Smirking, I sighed and shook my head. Getting my dick pierced wasn’t exactly something I saw for myself, but I was a man of my word. I lost so I was gonna take the punishment like a man. Plus, I had done some research on the different types you could get and the one I chose would be beneficial to the both of us.
____
I was scrolling through my phone when something was tossed on the bed, gaining my attention. My brow raised seeing Cashlynn kneeling in front of me.
“I’m not supposed to have sex or anything until my dick heals more, but if you’re down I’m not gonna turn you down.”
She poked her lips out and rolled her eyes. “That isn’t what I’m doing.” She pushed up the sleeve of my short sleeve shirt.
I watched as she removed the dressing on it then reached for the bag on the bed. “This is a surprise.”
“You took a bullet for me so I figured I can make sure your wounds don’t get infected.” I grinned as I watched her care for the wound. It had only been a couple of days since my shooting and I didn’t plan on her being my personal nurse. She moved like a pro, which, knowing her background, I wasn’t shocked.
“You parents showed you how to do this?” I asked.
She didn’t miss a beat as she redressed the wound. “Yeah. When I was thirteen, I got shot in my leg. My parents put me through some stupid ass training drills and I got too cocky thinking I couldn’t be touched. It was just a flesh wound but my mom showed me how to clean and dress it if I ever found myself in trouble.”
I stared at her in disbelief. “What the fuck! Your parents raised you like you were going to war.”
She snorted. “War probably would have been easier than growing up with them. I wasn’t allowed to be weak in my parents’ house. With the job we did, I never knew when things could go south so I always had to be prepared.”
Her words sounded routine, almost as if they were drilled into her. “That’s fucked up.”
She shrugged and moved to grab the bottom of my shirt. Instead I beat her to it and lifted it. “Help me take it off.”
Her eyes flicked up to me before nodding. I winced at the slight pain that shot through my arm.
“When did you become the Queen of Hearts?”
“I was seventeen when I took my first solo job. I wanted my work to be known, but my identity to stay hidden.”
“So where did the name come from? The whole card thing?”
She paused after removing the dressing from my side. “Believe it or not I loved Alice in Wonderland . I thought the Queen of Hearts was a bad bitch with how she took over Wonderland and had everyone scared of her, so I used that name and the cards. Just became my signature.” She shrugged.
I was astonished, not only at her answer but that she’d chosen to share that information with me as well.
“I would have never guessed that.”
“I didn’t have much of a childhood, but the small moments I was able to experience I cherished.” This time her voice was small.
I stared down at my wife, watching as she expertly cleaned and redressed my wound. It felt like another layer was peeled off the onion sitting here talking to her. It was clear she wasn’t used to opening up and showing any vulnerability because she made sure to keep her eyes on the wound and avoid my gaze.
When she was finished, she went to stand. “There, you’re good now.”
“Hold up.” I stopped her, reaching out to grab her collar. I pulled her forward. “Thank you for that.”
She shrugged. “Don’t mention it.”
I studied her eyes. They seemed a bit lighter than I was used to. The guard around them wasn’t as strong either.
Cashlynn cleared her throat. “I’m about to get in the shower.” Her eyes left mine. She was fine with eye contact when it was a face off, but she struggled to keep it in an intimate situation. I hoped over time she could get past that.
____
“Tell me something good, Ezra.” I stepped into his office at his law firm. He was the family lawyer, so he handled the police when things happened, like the shooting at the club.
“The investigation was closed. There’re no witnesses, no evidence, no shooter, and no proof anything went on.” I nodded, taking a seat.
“So we’re clear to open back up?”
“Yeah whenever you’re ready.”
I nodded. “That’s what I like to hear. And what about the other problem?” I leaned forward. “I saw the post Ziora made after the shooting.”
A wide grin formed on Ezra’s face. “Oh, I’ve been keeping an eye on her. She’s harmless.” He licked his lips.
I saw the predatory look in his eyes. “Ezra. Remember. don’t be on any funny shit with her. You’re supposed to get her to stop tarnishing our family name and that’s it.”
“I’m handling it.” He waved his hand.
My eyes narrowed while his smile grew. “We need to get her off our back. Her blog needs to stay focused on exposing any other family but ours. That’s what you’re supposed to be handling.”
“That’s what I’m doing. You can’t plan an attack without knowing your target, right?” He grinned.
I stroked my beard and sighed. “Regardless, we need to shut her shit down. Emmet’s been working on shutting her page down, but according to him her shit’s as lethal as something he’ll do.”
“Yeah he told me.” He scratched his chin. “I believe she’s harmless though. She does kick boxing twice a week, but I don’t see her as a threat.”
My eyes narrowed and I shook my head.
“Anyway, let’s talk about how your wife is just running around offing muthafuckers. She really snuck out and killed the shooter and Ted.”
I smirked. “She did.”
He shook his head and whistled. “I knew sis was one you had to watch. I saw it in her eyes that night, she wasn’t gonna let it go.”
I didn’t try to stop the grin from forming on my face. “Yeah that’s my Wildfire.”
“Damn, I never thought I would see the day. At least not anytime soon.” Ezra chuckled.
I stared at him confused. “See what?”
“The day you actually fell for your wife. When you first got with her I thought it was more to rebel against Dad since he didn’t care for her family and was forcing you to marry, but you’re falling for her.”
My tongue went across my top teeth. I thought about his words. Over the past few months I did find myself more intrigued with my wife. She kept our marriage interesting with her lively spirit too. She was unpredictable and kept me on my toes, but it was exactly what I was missing with all the other girls I had been with previously.
“Maybe,” I stated, stroking my beard again.
Ezra’s eyes shifted to something on his desk before widening. “Shit,” he exclaimed suddenly. He stood up. “I gotta head down to the courthouse.”
Standing with him, I watched him move around his office. My brother was the most playful out of all of us but he wasn’t the one to sleep on in the courtroom. When it was time for him to get down to business, he never cut corners, and that was why he was so highly sought out.