Six Guns: Volume Two

by Sara V. Zook

  “I hope so.” He again pinned me in place with his stunning eyes before moving aside to let me get past.

  As soon as I got back outside, I turned around and punched Stan in the side of his arm as hard as I could.

  “What was that for?” he asked, surprised by my sudden violence.

  “You’re an asshole,” I mumbled and walked furiously away.

  NINE

  CAIN

  I woke up in a cold sweat—again. It was happening more and more frequently and driving me absolutely out of my mind. I would get to sleep, then wake up only a few hours later without being able to get back to sleep. There was only so much a man could take as far as functioning goes throughout the day when he didn’t feel rested from the night before.

  Insomnia had never been an issue before—before I had more than one murder on my conscience as well as the paranoia that someone close by was attempting to make sure I ended up in a body bag soon. If only Carmine was still alive so I could ask him advice on how to manage these internal problems. Feeling weary and jumpy at the same time was horrible. I was sure I’d have to get on meds soon. The liquor wasn’t doing its job anymore. And if I got completely wasted, I’d feel sick and that would exhaust me even more. Treading water. That’s what I was doing. I had to keep my head above the water for just a little while longer…

  It didn’t help matters that I was supposedly in a secure place, Carmine’s mansion, where he was hunted down like an animal in his own home. I had tried to beef up everything, changed everything around, installed more cameras—the works. Didn’t matter though, because the fact still remained—I didn’t know who killed my father. I didn’t have a clue who the enemy was in this situation.

  The police had done their investigation. All of my men had alibis. It didn’t make any sense. Then I had put a lid on their investigation, because I was sick and tired of them sniffing around here. Yeah, they were on our payroll, but that didn’t mean that someone wouldn’t discover something and try to become greedy. Money could be useful and could also be used against us. There was always that one person that thought they deserved a little bit more and could really screw things up before we got a chance to get rid of that said person. This business was a game—one big giant mind fuck that gave me life and yet sucked it from my very soul in the next instant.

  I needed to know the truth of who it was that killed him. I needed to end that person, and then—then maybe I’d be able to sleep at night. None of the guys seemed to want to point the fingers at each other. They all claimed the other was innocent. Well, no, that couldn’t be the case. It just wasn’t possible. Tomorrow I’d more than likely have to look that traitor in the eye and not even know it. That absolutely killed me, gnawed on the edges of my skin and drove me to the brink of insanity.

  Ugh!

  I stood up and raked my fingers through my hair.

  Lilah mumbled a little in her sleep and turned over onto her stomach. Her long hair was sprawled out all over the pillow like an angel. A fucking angel sleeping next to a demon. I reached over and pulled the comforter up over her naked back and watched her for a moment.

  So serene.

  So perfect.

  I pulled a black T-shirt down over my head and put on some boots. There was probably a party downstairs. There was always a party going on downstairs.

  As the elevator opened to the ground level, the music was still thumping. I entered my password to open the doors that led into the giant room. I was in awe every time I came in here. Carmine had built it to perfection. Everything was shiny and black, modern and meant to impress from the floor to the ceiling.

  My cousin, Stan, was passed out in the corner of the room on a couch. One half undressed girl was asleep on top of his stomach, her arms dangling to the floor where her fingers rested on yet another sleeping girl. Smirking, I just shook my head. Stan was definitely having fun with his new lifestyle. He deserved it too. Kid couldn’t catch a break back in Lazerne. Hagan and Seton were also sleeping on pieces of furniture. Must’ve been one hell of a party I’d missed. I kicked around a few empty beer bottles rolling on the floor as I took a seat on one of the barstools. I stared at Hagan. I had been so sure it had to be him because of his mouth and attitude, but now? Hell, I didn’t know. The side of his jaw was still messed up from Seton’s fierce knuckles, although the two of them seemed to be getting along now. Hagan had just needed put in his place.

  I sat there and thought about each guy. I thought about the ones not there and motives. It all seemed to go back to motives, but there were so many from each man, I had no idea where to start. It all depended on who was a greedier bastard. Money was a powerful thing. Carmine had given all of his men a taste, yet they knew Carmine had more than them. Sometimes men crave more than just that little bite. Money was definitely a motive to kill someone, especially if you thought you could take over. Or maybe Carmine had really pissed someone off.

  I really needed to stop thinking about this or I was going to drive myself insane. Though the second I would let the thoughts slip from my mind, the paranoia would set in that a gun barrel would be pointed at my head someday as I turned a corner. No. I had to figure this out one way or another. I leaned my elbows against the bar and let my head slide backward. I let my eyes close. I was about to find a bottle of Jim Beam and drown my miseries.

  I felt a hand slither up my shoulder and rest on the back of my neck. Jerking upright, I was on the verge of pulling my gun out until I saw who it was that was staring back at me—Lola.

  “Jesus Christ,” I mumbled, jumping off the barstool, my own hand now going to the back of my neck. “Don’t do that to me.”

  A light giggle escaped Lola’s mouth. She was swaying back and forth. She was hammered. “Jumpy are we, Nicky?”

  That was a fucking understatement. Nothing like trying to relax and getting touched by someone. I almost jumped out of my skin there, and Remmy almost became a widower. “What are you doing here, Lola?”

  Her eyebrows raised, which drew my attention to them. They looked plucked to almost extinction. And she was wearing too much blush, or maybe she was just that red-faced. Her skin was glistening—and not in a good way. She looked drunk, sweaty, and gross.

  “Oh, you know my name now?” She ran her long sparkly fingernails along the collar of my T-shirt.

  I reached up and grabbed her wrist with force. “Stop,” I told her firmly. “I’m not in the mood.” She struggled against my grasp, so I released her. She then began to prance around me as if trying to be seductive, but she wasn’t. She was the opposite. She was repulsive.

  “When are you ever in the mood? Huh?” Lola smacked her red lips together. A little bit of spittle appeared at the corner of her mouth. She wiped it with the back of her hand, smearing some of her lipstick down the side of her face. Wow. I was so envious of Remmy. Lola was hot—a hot mess that is. “I just want a little attention.” And now she was whining. Looking at Lola, hearing Lola—it was like someone using my last nerve as a trampoline, and I was about ready to snap.

  “You always want attention. You scream for attention with the way you dress, the way you flirt. You have a fucking husband just in case you forgot,” I snapped at her as I eyed up a bottle of whiskey behind the counter.

  Lola smiled then. Some of the red lipstick was on her top teeth. It took a lot to refrain from rolling my eyes.

  “Remmy is…” Lola sighed. “Remmy. He’s so boring.” She ran her hands down the sides of her tight black dress that revealed one too many rolls. “A woman like me needs some excitement in her life, you know?” She proceeded to take two steps closer to me as she still was having trouble keeping her balance. “I need a man who knows how to take control. Do you want to control me, Nicky? Do you want to show me what you got?”

  She was breathing down my fucking neck. She had invaded my space. I just wanted to be left alone. She’d ruined that for me. I had to get out of here before I did something rash—like rearrange her face, which might actually be
an improvement. “Let me make this very clear for you, Lola. Are you listening to me?”

  Her head bobbed forward.

  “Look at me, Lola,” I commanded her.

  Her glossy eyes seemed to find mine.

  I waited until her face was near mine again and she leaned in close as if I were telling her a deep, dark secret. “I am not interested in you. I will never be interested in you in any way, shape or form. Understand?”

  Lola’s mouth gaped open in shock as if that was the very first time she’d been rejected. Yeah right.

  I purposefully pushed into her shoulder a little bit as I moved past her to retrieve the liquor bottle I’d been eyeing up earlier. Then I turned back around to face her one more time. “Go to bed, Lola. Go back to Remmy. I don’t want to see you hanging all over the guys doing this shit again. I mean it.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me, her fists clenching at her sides before darting away and out the door.

  I shrugged. Well, that was fucking easy. After twisting off the cap of the bottle, I took a deep sip of the fiery liquid before settling down on one of the leather chairs, allowing myself to fall victim to the despair that now had become the very essence of my existence.

  TEN

  CROSS

  “We need to talk.”

  I was sick of this bodyguard shit. It wasn’t working out for me, and I had to stand up and voice my opinion to Nicky. He had been so busy lately, it took me a few days to get him totally alone where he wasn’t exhausted and ready to pass out. He’d just gotten out of the shower, the towel wrapped snugly against his abs, which were really becoming prominent since he’d started working out in the gym downstairs, so I figured this would be an opportune time. He was wide awake and had had his coffee.

  “What’s up?” he asked, ruffling his wet hair with both hands as he looked in the mirror.

  My eyes lingered on top of the towel which kept creeping lower and lower as he continued to mess with his hair. “I tried, Nicky, I really did.”

  He turned around to look at me then, one of his hands resting against the dresser.

  I threw my hands up in the air and sighed. “I gave Stan a chance. It’s just not working out with him.”

  “Lilah…”

  “I know what you’re going to say before you say it, so you don’t have to even waste your breath.”

  He put his hands on his hips. Damn, he looked sexy.

  I forced my eyes back up to meet his. “This whole bodyguard thing…well, Stan doesn’t know what that means. He’s obnoxious, Nicky. It’s starting to affect business with Cain Designs.”

  “How?”

  Just thinking about Stan made me furious. “He’s rude to customers. He butts into my conversations with important people. He’s disgusting with the way he eats and burps loudly. He’s a slob, and I can’t stand him being around me for another moment.”

  “Tell me how you really feel.” The corner of Nicky’s mouth tugged upward into a smirk.

  Damn that smirk. He was sucking me in. No. No. I wanted to stay furious.

  He lifted up his finger. “Come here.”

  “No.” I pressed my lips together tightly. I wanted an answer. I wanted him to tell me I was right, that he’d make Stan go away. “I won’t.”

  “What’s it going to take to make you come here, right now?” he asked, his dark eyes smoldering as he did so.

  He was so frustrating, making me melt like putty in between his fingers. I wasn’t going to fall for it this time. Nicky Cain always got what he wanted. Now it was my turn to make a decision. “I know it’s for my safety, but what about my sanity? Don’t you need to take that into consideration also?”

  “Lilah…” he said again in a low, deep tone.

  “I’m not coming over there.”

  “Until?”

  I tapped the front of my shoe against the hardwood floor. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Until you tell me that Stan’s been fired as my bodyguard.”

  The other side of his mouth curled up into a broad grin. “You’re so fucking cute when you’re pissed off.”

  “I’m being serious, Nicky!” I yelled out.

  He tried to hide his amusement then as he raised his finger again and motioned for me to come over.

  “No.” I refused.

  “Okay,” he said.

  “Okay what?”

  “Stan’s no longer your bodyguard.”

  “Effective immediately?”

  “Effective immediately.”

  “Thank you.”

  He raised his eyebrows then. “Come. Here.”

  And just like that, I walked over to him and into his extended arms as he wrapped them tightly around me. He skin smelled like the pine soap he’d just showered with. There were tiny beads of water still lingering on his back as I pressed my hands against his warm skin. He just held me. I felt safe, secure, protected. I sucked in a deep breath. I wanted to savor him. He was mine for just this moment, knowing he’d go off with whatever he did during his day and return home a rattled mess.

  Finally, Nicky spoke as he pulled me gently away from him to take a look at me. “Let me teach you how to defend yourself.” His large hands brushed back some stray strands of hair on the sides of my head. “I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you, Lilah. It’s my job to protect you always.”

  I could literally feel myself melting at the sound of his words. They were smooth like honey. I could feel it in my core. This was Nicky Cain telling me he cared for me, that he took time out of his crazy day to think about my wellbeing. They were sweet words, ones I’d lock away for safekeeping in the depths of my heart.

  “Let me show you how to shoot a gun.”

  I studied his eyes. This was important to him. “Okay,” I whispered in response. I watched as Nicky let the towel drop to the floor and bent over to retrieve a pair of black gym shorts from his dresser drawer. He put them on and went into the closet. I knew he kept weapons in there. He had weapons everywhere. He soon came back with a handgun.

  “Stop drooling over my gun,” he said, watching my face.

  “It’s not that gun I’m drooling over,” I mumbled, thinking of him naked moments ago.

  He cocked his head to the side for a moment before turning all serious on me. “Okay. Put it in your right hand. Feel the weight of it.”

  “It’s not too heavy.”

  “No. It’s actually pretty light. It’s like that one you took from your father.”

  I remembered that well. I’d lied to my father and made him believe that Mark was going to hurt me, that I was afraid of him. In reality, I had plans to use that to kill Mark. Instead, Nicky ended up being the one completing the task for me.

  Nicky moved behind me and moved my arms in position so that they were up in the air. He placed his hands over mine, his mouth beside my ear. “It’s easy, baby. Aim at your target. See?”

  “Uh-huh.” I was aiming, but all I could concentrate on was his warm breath tickling my earlobe.

  “Here’s the safety. Click it off.” His finger slipped over top of mine. “Like that. And of course pull the trigger. Make sure the fucker’s dead, then get out of there. You try.”

  I held it up and did as he said. “I got it, Nicky.”

  “Hit the guy in the head. I don’t want you just injuring him and having him try to come back after you.”

  I lowered the gun and turned to him. “Don’t worry.”

  “I am worried. This whole lifestyle is one big mind fuck. I’m worried about everything. I’m worried about you.” Nicky slid his fingertip down the side of my face.

  I put the gun down on the nightstand and turned to face Nicky. He brought his entire palm up to my face. I leaned into his hand, relishing in the warmth and comfort of his touch.

  “You know, you can leave if you want to,” he whispered.

  My heart began hammering inside of me. I didn’t dare move as a single tear slid down my cheek and brushed against the skin of his hand.

 
“This life…I didn’t mean to drag you into it.”

  I closed my eyes shut tight. Just hearing him utter those words caused burning pain in my chest. “Nicky…no.”

  “Listen to me, Lilah. Open your eyes.”

  I opened them. I stared at his face. Beautiful Nicky with his cut jaw line and intense dark eyes. He had this power over me. Didn’t he know that? Of course he knew that. He had to.

  “Nothing will happen to me,” I whispered to him, more tears streaming down my cheeks, and I didn’t even know why. This life is what was tearing us apart at times. It was also what brought us together. Everything confused me, including the way I felt. Sometimes Nicky was so cold toward me. But when he did want me—god it was so hot. He could be full of passion and make me feel alive in ways I’d never experienced before.

  He continued to stare at me as if he were struggling with his thoughts—what to do, what to say. My mouth felt suddenly dry. I was nervous with what he could be thinking. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything about Stan. Maybe I should’ve tried to tolerate him.

  Nicky wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up, making my legs straddle his waist. He carried me into another room—one I had only been in briefly and stood in front of the window with Nicky—Carmine’s meeting room. The large table sat empty in the middle of the room.

  He threw me down roughly, the hard surface digging into my back as he pushed me down. He stood back up then and lowered his black gym shorts before he climbed on top of me on the table. Nicky’s dark eyes were smoldering again. I was beginning to become very accustomed to that look and the way it made me feel inside.

  “I’m going to use you now, Lilah,” he admitted. “You help me be able to feel again. You take away all the pain.”

  I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t even move as I processed what he was saying. He was using me—again. I knew I was Nicky’s escape from the horrors of his reality. And strangely, I was okay with it.