by Chloe Morgan
“Says the boy who was handed the silver spoon!”
“We were both given a good start in life. You’re the one that squandered your trust fund when Dad gifted it to you at twenty-one! Your gambling and drinking started well before that, Drew. Don’t even start with me tonight,” I said.
Drew shrugged. “Well, you wanted my input. So, there it is.”
I scoffed. “Well, we can’t actually do that. It’s about damn time you grew up and took responsibility for your actions.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do. That’s why I’m getting sober.”
“Yeah, well. Not before you fucked and left some mob boss’s daughter, asshat.”
Silence fell between us as I raked my hand through my hair.
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it on my own. But after this, I’m done bailing you out. If you piss someone else off and your body floats down the river, it’s all on you,” I said.
“Yeah. Thanks,” Drew said flatly.
I walked out of the living room, knowing I’d murder him myself if I didn’t. And as I walked away, my mind drifted back to Layla. Was she okay? Were they still watching her?
I slipped my cell phone out of my pocket and called her, even though I knew she might not pick up.
“Danny?” she asked.
I closed my eyes and held back a sigh of relief.
“Hey there,” I said.
“Why aren’t you in your office today? There are some discrepancies with something I looked into at the company. I was going to talk with you about it, but you haven’t been around all day.”
“What kind of discrepancy?”
“Well, since I finished the audits early, I figured I’d balance some accounts. One of them is down almost one and a half million dollars. I ran the numbers seven times. It’s officially missing,” she said.
“Well, I’m not at the office because I’ve got things to attend to. But don’t worry about that. We’ll get it resolved,” I said.
“What things, Danny?” she asked.
“It’s nothing for you to worry over.”
“Then why did you call me?”
“To see how things were going at the office.”
“No, you didn’t. I know when you’re lying to me. I’ve been around you long enough.”
I heard the frustration in her voice, and it made me upset. I didn’t want to anger her. I didn’t want to push her away. I looked down the hallway at my brother, watching as he stared blankly at a wall.
Fucking Drew.
“Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight at my place and we can talk? Yeah?” Layla asked.
I bit down onto my fist. Oh, how I wanted to. How I wanted to join her for another dinner and dessert session. I wanted to tell her everything. I wanted to spew my guts as to what was going on. She was the only person I felt I could trust. Rely on. Enjoy.
My heart slammed against my chest, begging me to go see her.
Shit. My feelings were growing for Layla. And she had been threatened by an organization that would stop at nothing to get what they wanted.
I had to keep her at arm’s length if I had any chance of protecting her.
“I could help take your mind off everything,” Layla said softly.
I groaned into the phone as my mind switched into overdrive. One more time. One last moment to hold her and enjoy her before I had to let her go.
Before I had to release her in order to protect her.
“See you in an hour?” I asked.
“I’ll still be at work in an hour,” she said, giggling.
“The boss is giving you the time off. Be at your place in an hour.”
“What do you want to eat?”
I walked into my room and grabbed a few things, stuffing them into my pocket. I propped my cell phone onto my shoulder as I grabbed my coat out of my closet. I heard her gathering up her things as well. Eager. Wanton. Ready for me, like I was for her.
Then, I walked out to my front door, leaving my dazed brother alone to think about what the fuck he had done to our lives.
“You, Layla,” I said.
I heard her gasp on the phone as I ripped the front door open.
“I want you for dinner tonight,” I said.
14
Layla
A fervent knock on my apartment door sounded through the living room. I finished setting up the takeout Chinese I had picked up and pulled a couple of sodas out of the refrigerator. I took one last look at myself in the reflection of the fridge’s surface before I slipped my hands down my robe, a silky little number with absolutely nothing on underneath. The rapid knocking sounded again, and this time it was more frantic.
“Coming!” I exclaimed.
I heard the doorknob jiggling, and it made me grin.
“So impatient,” I murmured.
I rushed down the hallway and unlocked my door. I opened it up and found Daniel standing there, his eyes staring me down. That dark glare had already overcome his beautiful eyes. He pushed into my apartment, his hand slamming the door closed before he turned around and locked it.
“I picked up some Chinese,” I said.
“You heard me on the phone,” he growled.
In an instant, he whipped around. And when he did, he came for me like an animal in heat. His hands fisted my hips. His lips crashed against mine. I wasted no time stripping him down to nothing, and he wasted no time in tearing my robe from my naked body. We collided, like stars in the night. He panted through his nose as he kissed me. He shoved his tongue down the back of my throat, drinking every single part of me he could. His hands pressed me back until my ass cheeks hit the back of my couch, and then the two of us tumbled over it.
I squealed as Daniel’s lips came down onto my neck.
He kissed down my pulse point, raked his teeth down my breasts. He lapped his tongue roughly at my nipples as my eyes rolled back. Juices gathered for him as he traveled down. Slowly. Painfully. Sucking at patches of skin that made me roll and buck against his body.
“Danny.” I groaned.
He grunted. “Say it again.”
“Danny, please.”
“Please, what?”
I fisted his hair and shoved him between my legs, locking my thighs around him. His tongue pressed between my folds. He lapped at my clit, and it shook my body. My heels dug into the pebbled muscles of his back. His hands pressed my hips into the couch, stilling my movements as he devoured me, lapped me up, drank me down with a hunger I’d never felt in his movements before. I writhed underneath him. I felt my body releasing and contracting. Juices dripped down my ass crack as he ate me out, leaving no drop untouched.
“Danny!”
I cried out for him as my body crested the peak. My legs clenched. My thighs molded to his face. He growled into my lips, prolonging my pleasure. His hands massaged my hips as he released me, allowing me to buck against him, to use his face, to coat his cheeks with my essence.
And when I collapsed, he got up and scooped me into his arms.
My back fell against my bed and his lips touched mine. I tasted myself on his skin, shivering at the way it melted in my mouth. He grabbed his thick meat and pressed it against my entrance. He buried himself into me in one thrust, leaving no room for me to adjust.
“Danny. Shit,” I breathed.
“Cling to me, Layla. Please.”
I furrowed my brow as he pounded into me. And as quickly as the moment popped up, it faded. I’d never heard him use that word before. He was always so commanding. So in control. So full of himself. And I loved it. I loved the confidence he had in bed. The way he tossed my body around as if he had known about it for ages. As if he had perfected his skills with me. But in that moment, there was something else in his voice that made me shiver.
Something that made my heart bloom for him.
I raked my nails down his back. I wrapped my legs around him, holding on as he pounded wildly into me. He grunted into my neck. I whimpered into his ears. My body sw
allowed his offering down as my walls fluttered around his girth. Juices sprayed everywhere—the sheets, my thighs, his balls. They smacked against my wet ass cheeks as my entire bed rocked, while my headboard bashed against the wall, leaving holes I’d never know how to patch back up.
“Layla. Fuck. Layla. Yes. Shit. Fucking hell, Layla. Layla!”
“Come with me, Danny. Do it. Fill me up like you always do.”
He bit down into my shoulder, and my head fell back. My jaw unhinged in silent pleasure as my walls pulled him in deeper. His movements stilled. His entire body shook. He fisted the sheets above my head as every single muscle in his body tensed against mine. I dug my nails into his back. I marked him as he filled me to the brim, until his release spilled over with mine and wet the bed below my back.
He collapsed on top of me before quickly rolling over, taking me with him so I wouldn’t get soaked in the mess we left behind.
My head fell to his chest. His dick slowly slipped from me. I let myself leak onto him and the mattress, as I rested against him. He trembled below me. I shook on top of him. The room spun as I slowed the beating of my heart.
“Are you okay?” I whispered.
Then, I felt his body tense.
“I’m fine,” Daniel said.
“I don’t think you are, and I don’t know why you won’t open up to me.”
“Like I said, family business.”
“Since when has that ever stopped you from talking to me?”
I pressed into his chest and leaned up before his cell phone rang out. He grabbed me and slipped me off to the side, then got out of bed. He left my side, like it was nothing to him. I pulled the covers over my naked front as I watched him walk away, his lean, chiseled body rippling underneath taut sun-kissed skin.
He picked up his phone and grunted into it before his face turned white.
“Daniel?” I asked.
He held his hand out to silence me as his eyes grew wide.
“Danny, I’m serious. What’s wrong?” I asked.
He cut the phone call quickly before he looked at me. He began pulling his clothes on as I slipped from the bed. I’d never seen him get dressed so quickly. I’d never seen him so panicked. I pulled the comforter off my bed and dragged it with me, making my way for him.
“Daniel Levingston, what the hell is going on?” I asked.
But all he did was look at me with an apology in his eyes.
“I have to go,” he said.
Then, he left like the wind. Without a sound, and without a trace, except for the carnage blown around left in his wake.
15
Daniel
I stood in the middle of my penthouse suite, surveying the damage. Everything was torn to shreds. The glass coffee table was broken, the couch turned over, the leather armchair slashed. Everywhere I looked, something was broken, tipped over, or thrown across the room. Everywhere I looked, there was evidence of the torture that had taken place. A small trail of blood led to the elevator before disappearing. There were scuff marks along my hardwood floors. I walked into the middle of my living room and raked my hands through my hair, trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do.
Then, a knock came at my door.
“Daniel! Open this fucking door!”
My brow furrowed at the sound of Layla’s voice.
I whipped around and charged for the door, then pulled it open. There she stood, with her hair a disheveled mess and clothes haphazardly thrown on her body. She peeked around my body before pushing me to the side, storming into my place. Her eyes surveyed the broken glass, the ripped cushions, the overturned vases and the pictures on the wall that had come crashing down. Her eyes dragged along the scuff marks that led right for my front door, along with the trail of blood that had dried against the freshly waxed hardwood.
Then, her eyes slowly raked up my body.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“What the hell happened to your place, Danny?” she asked.
“It’s just… I’ve been…”
Her eyes narrowed at me as she waited for an answer. She looked haggard. Worn. Done with my shit. And quite honestly, I was done with my own shit as well. I sighed heavily before I cleared my throat, then closed and locked my front door.
Not that it would do any of us any good.
“Are you in some sort of trouble?” Layla asked.
“No, but Drew is,” I said.
“When is he not?” she asked.
“It’s serious this time, Layla. They have him.”
“At least you didn’t call me ‘Miss Hale.’”
“I’m sorry about that,” I said.
I looked over my shoulder before I turned around, gazing into her eyes. I watched her anger dissipate as my back fell against my door. The door those assholes had dragged my brother out. I watched Layla’s fury turn to curiosity before falling into comfort. She strode for me, her hands falling to my chest as she looked up into my eyes.
“It’s time for you to talk, Daniel. Where is your brother?” Layla asked.
“He owes some money to some really nasty guys. Some bets he placed before he stopped drinking. And to top it all off, the girl he took around town before taking to his bed on the money he thought he’d win from those bets is the daughter of the man hunting him down,” I said.
Layla’s hands massaged my chest. “Your brother’s been taken, hasn’t he?”
I nodded. “I set up a wire transfer for a few hours ago. One point three million dollars.”
“The money I found missing earlier.”
“Yeah. They wanted that money as penance for the money he was supposed to pay them along with interest. And the head of his shady organization wanted my brother as penance for what he did to his daughter.”
“Holy fuck, Drew,” she whispered.
“They’ve taken him, Layla. That was the phone call I got. Drew was screaming in the background, and there was this man talking to me. I tried to negotiate him out of it. I tried to meet up with a man named Mr. Rivas—”
“Slow down, Daniel. Slow down. Take a breath.”
I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes.
I groaned. “They threatened you.”
Layla’s hands stilled. “They did what?”
“Yeah. That night we spent in the hotel. They called me and taunted me. Said they knew I had the money and that they knew I had my brother. They made mention of the cute little brunette I was always sneaking away with, and that you seemed like decent interest accrued if I didn’t want to hand Drew over. I wanted to protect you, Layla. That’s why I didn’t tell you about any of this. I wanted you safe. You mean—”
I dropped my hands and gazed down into her eyes.
I sighed. “You mean way too much to me for something to happen to you.”
I watched shock roll over her face. A bit of happiness. A great deal of curiosity. And then finally, her brow settled into that determined look she got whenever she was at work. Whenever I passed by her office and she was head-deep in paperwork and calculations. Her eyes set themselves in stone, and the cogs behind them churned.
She took a step away from me before she cracked her knuckles.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” Layla said.
“Wait a second, you have a plan?” I asked.
“Yes, and if you hush, I’ll fill you in on it. But you won’t like it.”
“Why won’t I like it?”
“Because it uses me in a disguise as bait,” she said.
“You’re right. It’s a shitty plan,” I said flatly.
“If you want Drew back, it’s our only hope. Unless you want to involve the police. Which I assume you don’t at this point, if you haven’t already.”
She was right. Damn it, Layla was always right.
“Okay, then. What’s this baited plan of yours?” I asked.
16
Layla
It took an emergency phone call to the private investigator
Daniel had hired and a lot of money for his time, but the PI finally tracked down where they could have been keeping Drew. There was a little speakeasy across town owned by a man with the last name of Rivas. And when the PI showed the picture to Daniel, he confirmed that it was the man that had met up with him. The PI told us there was a good chance this Mr. Rivas was in charge of collecting Drew’s debt. So, if he didn’t collect, it would be his head on a platter. We didn’t have time to run tests on the DNA in Daniel’s apartment. We didn’t have time to dust for fingerprints or whatever the hell else the PI wanted to do.
All we had was the element of surprise in our favor.
After finding public record schematics of the speakeasy, I started getting my costume ready. I had a blonde wig from a Halloween costume a few years back sitting in my closet, and a last-minute trip to a hair salon made me a tried-and-true blonde in under an hour. I didn’t wear a lot of makeup, but I was great with it. Some contouring and some bright colors that matched the outfit I’d wear would be enough to distract from my familiarity.
Hopefully.
Then, Daniel and I got into his car and set off for the speakeasy. We had the private investigator following us, ready to call in the police if things got rough. The PI didn’t like our plan one bit. In fact, he protested about it the entire way. He also gave us free reign of his hardware, like earpieces and a wire taped to my chest underneath my outfit.
One that concealed my curves and made me look a little plumper than normal.
“Testing, one, two,” Daniel said.
“Got it,” the PI said.
“Me too,” I said.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Daniel asked.
“No, she doesn’t. Which is why I’m on this radio frequency as well,” the PI said.
I looked over at Daniel. I didn’t know what I was doing. All I knew was that I was head over heels in love with Daniel, and he needed help. Immediate help. And I wanted to assist in any way I could. It scared me, the idea of falling for him. Even though he had admitted to caring about me, caring wasn’t the same as loving.
