CHAPTER 36
THEN
NICKY – Age 23
“Penny for your thoughts?” Rico comes to stand beside me, his arms resting atop the balcony railing as his fingers clutch a glass of tequila.
I shake my head, raising the glass of bourbon to my lips for a sip. “My thoughts aren’t worth that much.”
“I doubt that, fearless leader.”
Our conversation dies down for a moment as we stare out at the club, taking in the sea of bodies swaying to the music below us.
“I hate when you do that.”
“What?” Rico’s head snaps to attention, seemingly confused by my statement.
“Try to blow smoke up my ass like I’m a bigger deal than I am. Fearless leader?” I scoff at the notion. “I’m just as lost as you are in this shit show. I’m just trying to survive.”
“You’re the one who keeps us all alive, Nick. You keep this family afloat.”
Tell that to the nineteen-year-old kid we had to bury today.
Ryan just moved here less than a month ago to live with his cousin who’s one of my dealers. He begged me to give him a shot. The boys were out on a run today to pick up an incoming shipment and decided to take him along. He was helping load up the product when his grip slipped, and he dropped a crate onto the foot of one of Yuri’s guys.
It was Andrei.
JP said the bullet was in Ryan’s brain before half the guys even realized what happened.
Yuri called me offering apologies for his lieutenant’s trigger-happy nature. He laughed off the entire thing as a misunderstanding, then wired me ten grand for “my troubles.”
I gave the money to Ryan’s cousin, along with an additional hundred grand to distribute to his family as he saw fit, with the requirement that at least fifty would go directly to Ryan’s mother. As if that would somehow lessen the blow that her baby was coming home in a fucking box.
“I’m the reason we’re in this mess in the first place.” My gaze drifts down into the bottom of my rocks glass, hoping it’s deep enough to drown my demons. “I led us straight into the fiery pits of Hell.”
“And I will follow you through all nine circles as you lead us right the fuck back out.” He leans into me, bumping his shoulder against mine. “We may have bad days, but this city is ultimately a safer place because of the Dukes. I don’t mind standing next to you in Hell, Nick. Somebody has to guard the gates to keep the evil at bay.”
“What if I’m tired of making sacrifices in the name of the greater good?” A face takes shape in my mind, her smile igniting that deep-rooted ache in the center of my chest. “What if I’m ready for life beyond this?”
“I’ve got nothing but faith in you. I’m confident you’ll pull us out when it’s time.”
“I thank the universe every day that out of all the neighborhoods in this state, your parents chose to move into mine.”
“Same, brother.” He reaches over, clinking his glass with mine. “How else would I have learned to read?”
I bark out a laugh, glancing over to find him chuckling into his drink as well. “You would’ve been fucked, dude.”
“Eh.” He shrugs. “I’m pretty, I woulda been okay.”
“You ain’t that pretty.” We playfully shove at one another, our laughter filling the immediate space before being swallowed up by the bass of the music below.
F**kin” Problems (feat. Drake, 2 Chainz Kendrick Lamar) by A$AP Rocky (Spotify)
F**kin’ Problems (feat. Drake, 2 Chainz Kendrick Lamar) by A$AP Rocky (Apple Music)
A series of screams and catcalls erupt from the far side of the club, pulling our attention to the opposite wall where a woman’s climbed atop the bar. Her back’s to us, providing a generous view of the way she’s shaking and swaying her assets in sync with the beat.
She drops low, the round globes of her ass practically bouncing off the top of the bar before popping back up, sending an enthusiastic roar rippling throughout the club. Bending forward, the little seductress folds her body in half at the waist as she shimmies her hips rapidly back and forth.
She’s got a body that most men would kill for a night with—a thought I’m somewhat shocked to have, given my attention is pretty much locked down these days by one siren in particular. My mind drifts back several days to the sounds of Daph’s screams while she sat on my face, and I suddenly find myself incredibly eager to ditch this entire scene in favor of seeing what my little demon is up to.
The woman on the bar pops back up, a flash of auburn red hair whipping about her head, as Rico simultaneously tenses beside me. I squint, wondering if perhaps my eyes are playing tricks on me, though I know I’m not that lucky.
Daph spins, flipping the chaotic curls up and out of her face, while each and every seductive roll of her hips has my blood pressure climbing higher and higher.
“Get her the fuck down,” I seethe. Now.”
“Nick,” Rico cautions. “She’s an adult.”
I’m just about to tell him I don’t give a fuck if she’s the damn president, when I notice her body tense all the way from up here. She glances down, her dancing stalling as though she’s become distracted by something. The tightly packed cluster of bodies momentarily shifts, revealing a man standing before her, his hand sliding up the length of her thigh. My eyes zero in on where his filthy fucking fingers are trailing along her skin—the same place I gripped her not even forty-eight hours ago as I fucked her senseless against her dorm room wall.
Daph makes several efforts to swat him away, red coloring my vision when he doesn’t seem to be deterred.
“On second thought, stay here. I got her.” I down the last of my bourbon, slamming the empty glass so hard on a nearby table, it shatters.
***
THEN
DAPHNE – Age 21
This asshole needs to remove his hand from my thigh immediately before I kick him in the face. From my current position atop the bar, it certainly wouldn’t be hard. I attempt to back away, though accomplish little other than almost toppling backward into the bartenders.
Shifting to the side, I manage to place what I perceive to be a decent amount of space between us when the creeper suddenly lurches forward, seizing hold of my ankle. It knocks me off balance, causing me to teeter side to side. My body stumbles forward, my hands jutting out to brace for the inevitable impact, only to unexpectedly collide with a pair of strong shoulders.
Glancing down, I’m met with the top of a head I know all too well from the countless times he’s spent between my legs. His left arm is raised, palm splayed across my stomach to support my weight, while his right hand clutches the creep by the back of the neck, pinning him face down to the bar.
The man squirms against Nicky’s hold, the expletives he’s shouting rising to a level which can almost be heard even over the volume of the music. Nicky takes a moment to ensure I’m stable, glancing up at me for confirmation before retracting his hand.
The second our eyes connect, I know I’m in trouble. I shouldn’t be. Nicky and I never made plans for tonight. So, when one of the girls in my cohort invited me out for her birthday, of course I said yes. It’s not like I’m at the bar every night living it up. Hell, I’m not even Nicky’s girl—though you’d think I thought otherwise considering I haven’t been with another man in years.
None of that’s going to matter, though, because King Shit is pissed, and therefore a punishment will be delivered.
That probably shouldn’t excite me the way it does.
Nicky bends down beside his hostage, whispering something into his ear. The man jerks in response, his face contorting into a scowl as he shrieks something I’m unable to make out. Whatever it is irritates Nick, who initially begins to back away, only to charge the man once he’s righted himself.
Nicky’s fist collides with the man’s face, the impact sending him spinning before collapsing against the bar. Gripping the back of his neck once more, Nick pulls him upward before bashing his face repeatedly into the bar top beside my feet. The man’s body goes limp on the third hit, though Nicky gives him two more for good measure before allowing him to collapse to the floor in a bloodied heap. The crowd’s gone quiet, creating a small semi-circle of space around us as they all look on, though it’s over just as quickly as it arose.
“Show’s over, demon.” He offers me his hand, encouraging me to come down from the bar. “Time to go home.”
I should get down. But the sight of the blood smeared across his hands from the destruction he just unleashed stirs a darkness inside of me so potent, I crave more of his wrath. Doing what I do best, I provoke him.
“You’re not my father, Nick. I don’t have to listen to you.”
“Hmmm.” Nicky withdraws his hand, brow furrowing as though he’s genuinely confused. “That’s funny. Must’ve been someone else calling me Daddy the other night.”
Arrogant prick. I’m just about to open my mouth to tell him as such, only to be cut off when his arms swoop around my knees, tossing me over his shoulder and carrying me through the crowd.
“Put me down!” I demand, swatting at his back.
His palm cracks across my ass cheek without warning, causing my body to buck against him in response. “Nicky!”
“You wanna act like a brat?” He spanks me again on the same side, the stinging intensifying. “I’ll treat you like a brat.”
He continues to carry me through the club, refusing to release me until we reach the sidewalk where he deposits me into the passenger seat of his waiting car.
“You’re completely unhinged.” I snicker, pulling him toward me.
“When it comes to you?” He bites at my lower lip before pressing his mouth to mine. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”
Nicky slams my door, rounding the front and tipping the valet before hopping in and speeding us away.
“Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in when we get home?”
I smirk, leaning over the center console to reach for the zipper of his jeans. “Well, then I guess I better see if I can rack up any credit for good behavior along the way.”
Pulling him free of his boxers, I lick up the length of his shaft as Nicky lets out an appreciative moan. I continue to suck him off the rest of the way home while he spares no detail about all the ways I’m going to pay for my little stunt.
And I can’t wait to experience each and every one of them.