Smitten

by Lacey Weatherford

  Roberta stumbled as I yanked her forward, clamoring to regain her balance and gripping my arm tighter. I didn’t slow down—even when I heard her let out a very unladylike curse, but I didn’t care about her at the moment. All I could think of was the need to plant my fist squarely in Ripper’s face.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I shouted, when I reached his side. I shoved his shoulder, and he fell back against the bar before standing to face me.

  “Back it off, man,” he yelled loudly above the music. His body was tense, ready to strike.

  “I told you my sister was off limits! What part of that did you not understand?” I was struggling to keep myself in control, but losing the battle fast.

  “Are you saying I’m not good enough for her? The street goes both ways, Hunter. You’re dating my sister. That makes yours fair game.”

  I felt like I was going to grind my teeth into dust, I was clenching them so hard. He had a point, and I didn’t know how to respond. I needed to get a grip.

  “Did you buy her that dress?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest. Cami stood stock still, unspeaking, eyes darting back and forth between us, and I could tell she was scared by my reaction.

  Ripper grinned and glanced at Cami, letting his gaze travel hotly over her. “I did. Doesn’t she look fabulous?”

  She looked incredible, but I wasn’t about to admit it. Thankfully, Roberta stepped forward, picking her own fight.

  “You made me cover up when I wore something this revealing to the club! You’re always telling me to dress different—unless it suits your purpose!” She shoved her finger accusingly into his chest. “Then you go and buy something like this? Isn’t that a bit of a double standard?” She wasn’t faking. She was really angry.

  “You’re my sister,” he replied with a shrug as if that explained everything.

  “Yeah, well, she’s mine,” I replied, grabbing Cami by the arm. “Now if you don’t mind, my sister and I need to have a private conversation.” I pulled her away from the bar, but Ripper reached out and stopped me.

  “Don’t be upset with her, dude. I bought it for her. She was only trying to please me.” He glanced between Cami and me.

  “I’ll be fine,” Cami finally spoke up. “Let Hunter talk to me. If he doesn’t let it out now, he’ll be ranting about it all night. I’d rather get it over with.”

  Ripper slowly released me and sat back down, giving a slight nod. Roberta slipped up to the bar, and I heard her calling for a bartender as I led Cami away toward the hall that led to the restrooms. I was still fuming.

  I threw open the door to the ladies room. “Everybody out!” I shouted at the women who were reapplying makeup at the counters. I must have sounded angry enough because no one even questioned me. They quickly grabbed their things and rushed out the door. I checked to make sure the few stalls were empty before I flipped the lock and turned to face Cami.

  She was glowing, her eyes bright, clearly happy to see me, and the anger towards Ripper drained away when she smiled.

  My eyes traveled over her and my hands naturally reached out to follow them, tracing her wickedly defined curves. “You look—”

  “Like a tramp?” she asked with a laugh, blushing.

  I shook my head. “No. You look rather amazing actually. It’s kind of killing me. I can’t hardly even see straight, let alone think coherently.” My hands slid past the hem of her dress. “I’m dying to know what you’re wearing underneath this thing.”

  She grinned; stepping forward to close what little space was between us and wrapped her arms around my neck. I noticed she had a small purse dangling from a strap on her wrist. I’d missed that before.

  “I bet you are.” She grinned and bit her plump bottom lip, not volunteering any more information. It didn’t matter—I still groaned. I was strung tighter than a kite, and seeing her dressed like this had kicked my imagination well into overdrive.

  I took a deep breath, attempting to think coherently. “Ripper’s not going to leave you alone.”

  “I kind of figured that out. What should I do now?”

  “If he wants to date you, then we need to try and stay together. Visit him at places and times where you know I’ll be. He’s dangerous, Cami. And he’s not buying you gifts for his own health. He wants to peel you out of this dress as badly as I do. I have no idea how you’ll be able to keep fending him off.”

  “I’ll tell him the truth—that I’m a virgin, and I’m not ready to take that step. Maybe he’ll lose interest then.”

  I shook my head. “I doubt it. He’ll most likely see it as a challenge and try to wear down your defenses. And if he touches you, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

  “You’re going to have to let him touch me, Hunter, at least in some capacity. Otherwise he’ll be suspicious of why you’re so overprotective of me.”

  I growled in frustration. “I can’t do this! I’m ready to throw this whole dang case right now. It’s not worth it. I just want to come home and be with the girl I love.”

  “Have you found out anything else?” she asked, lifting a hand to my cheek and stroking it softly. “I mean do you have anything on him?”

  I nodded, nuzzling against her palm. I missed her caresses. “I’ve got him for grand theft auto. I helped him steal a car the other night. He has a whole garage hidden away in that massive warehouse of his. Some stuff they chop and sell for parts, but a lot are left intact and resold, mostly the more expensive models. They drive those to Las Vegas and sell them for cash on the black market. He has quite the setup going.”

  “Who is ‘they’?”

  “He has a couple of buddies that help him out, Seth and Nick. I’m sure you’ll meet them soon enough. They’re almost always with him.”

  “I hope not,” she responded, pulling my head down toward hers. “I might fall apart if you don’t kiss me right now.”

  There was no way I was going to deny her request. I held her tightly as my lips descended, kissing her swift and hard. Her body relaxed, softening against me, and I could feel every part of her beautiful shape. It felt like the warmth of her was burning into my skin, branding me with her very essence, and I loved it.

  I broke away long enough to pick her up and set her on the counter, bending to kiss the space right behind her ear. “This dress and those heels make your legs look like they’re miles long,” I muttered against her neck.

  “You like that?” she whispered running her hands along my back.

  “Too much, I’m afraid.” My breathing was increasing rapidly, right along with hers.

  “Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you.”

  I laughed in spite of everything, letting my hands continue to run around her body. “But who’s going to protect you, Goody?”

  “I don’t need protection from you.” Her hands traveled to my chest.

  I snorted. “I beg to differ.”

  There was a loud banging on the door, and we instantly broke apart from each other.

  “Cami? You okay?” Ripper’s voice came through the door.

  “I’m fine,” Cami replied, her voice sounding agitated. “Just trying to get my boneheaded brother to see things my way.”

  “It’s not going to happen,” I replied loudly as I helped Cami slide off the counter.

  “Hunter, lay off her why don’t ya? She’s a big girl now. You need to loosen up.”

  Cami quickly opened the tiny bag strapped to her wrist and pulled out her lip-gloss, applying a fresh coat.

  “She’ll always be my little sister, so back off and let me handle this.”

  “Cami, let me in,” Ripper said.

  She gave me a quick glance and gestured to my mouth. I wiped it with my hand, removing some of her shiny lip-gloss that had transferred to me. She nodded and went to the door and opened it.

  “Welcome to the lecture hall,” she said, moving out of the way so he could step inside.

  Ripper glanced between us. “You may want to tak
e this outside or something. There’s quite the line forming out there.”

  “No worries. We’re finished,” Cami said and she stormed out the door.

  “Stay away from her,” I warned Ripper. “She’s too young for you.”

  “The age difference between her and me is barely wider than you and Roberta. Chill, okay? I promise I’ll take good care of her.”

  I stepped toward him. “She’s not used to guys like you. You’re a fast player . . . she’s . . . not experienced.”

  “Geez, Hunter. It’s not like I’m gonna rape her or something. That’s not my style.”

  I recognized my opening immediately and took it. “That’s exactly my point. She was almost raped, and it was a very traumatic experience for her. She’s very nervous about things that have to do with physical contact now.”

  He went completely quiet. “Shit, man. I had no idea. Did they catch the bastard?” Ripper asked seriously, clearly pondering this new information.

  “He got his due punishment.” I could feel my anger at Clay resurfacing as the mental images of him on top of her that night flashed through my mind.

  “Which was what?”

  “He was shot and killed.”

  Ripper’s eyes widened. “By who?”

  “By me,” I said, lying about that part of the story.

  “You killed him?” He was obviously shocked. “How’d you manage to get away with it?”

  I shook my head and grabbed my shirt, pulling the neck over until he could plainly see the scar on my chest. “The guy shot me first. It was clearly a case of self-defense. We wrestled for the gun. I was the lucky one who got it in the end.”

  Ripper shook his head, and I could see the admiration in his eyes. “I had no idea, bro. That’s crazy.”

  “Now you know—I’ll do anything to protect Cami. Anything. I won’t let anyone hurt her again.”

  He held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. “Dude, I get it. I won’t harm her. She can control the ride.”

  Relief coursed through me, and I hoped he was sincere. If he was, then I’d successfully bought Cami some time and given her a plausible excuse for why she wouldn’t get too close to him.

  “I’m trusting you, man. Don’t break it. My family means everything to me.”

  He nodded and clapped me on the shoulder. “I’ll be careful with her.”

  I left the room, not bothering to see if he was following. There were several curious stares from the line of women waiting outside, but I didn’t care what they were thinking. I was happy that, for the time being at least, things would be a little safer for Cami.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Hunter-

  This one was going to be a piece of cake. I had the truck to myself this time, Ripper trusting me to go out on my own this go around. I did as he’d taught, driving through some of the classier parts of town looking for vehicles parked in illegal loading zones. Ripper explained that rich people were lazy. Either they don’t care about parking tickets, or they think they’re entitled to closer parking. No one would think anything of a tow truck picking up a car parked there.

  We’d stolen several that weren’t parked illegally too. It appeared the general public turned a blind eye to vehicles being towed. He had quite the racket going on here. Seth and Nick worked for different garages too, so the trucks were rotated. It seemed no one had a clue about what he was doing, either. No one but me, that was.

  Now I was in on the action, growing closer to the guys all the time. They were still pretty tight-lipped about anything to do with Manny, though. That made me a bit suspicious, like they were trying to hide something, which only made me more determined to wheedle it out of them. It was time to finish this and bust these guys. I was beyond tired of watching someone else manhandle my girl, and lately Roberta seemed to be really into kissing me whenever Cami was around. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was jealous of her.

  I pulled in front of the bright-yellow Porsche resting halfway in the red fire zone and backed up to it. I dropped the yoke and slid it under the vehicle, clamping before lifting the hydraulic arm and driving away. I hadn’t even stepped a foot out of the truck, and I’d stolen the car in less than a minute. It was almost too easy. Someone was going to walk out to the sidewalk and get a big shock when they found their car missing.

  I drove back to Ripper’s warehouse, being sure to take the streets that would have the least amount of traffic on them. I called him on the phone right before I got there, so they’d know to open the doors. Ripper was waiting, lifting the garage doors on the backside of the building as soon as I flashed my headlights in the prearranged signal. I drove into the lit space, and they closed the door to the well-camouflaged building behind me.

  I noticed Cami immediately. She was sitting at an old desk with her schoolbooks spread out on the top, a pen stuck into her hair, busy typing away at the computer. She’d become a fairly permanent figure around here, something I was both happy and upset about. I loved being able to see her, but constantly worried about her safety. Ripper had kept his distance from her like he’d promised—not pushing her to do anything she didn’t want to. It didn’t stop him from kissing her, though, and I often had to watch the two of them snuggling together. He practically doted on her, always super attentive to anything she needed.

  This past week of observing them had left me feeling murderous most of the time. I often had to leave the room when he kissed her, teasing and playing with her until she kissed him back. He was determined to bring her out of her shell, and it drove me insane. I knew she was only acting her role and doing it to protect me, but I suddenly understood how she felt about watching me with Roberta. This lie wasn’t easy for either of us to live, and I often caught her staring at me longingly before she’d quickly glance away.

  “Looks like you got a beauty,” Ripper said approaching the vehicle as I got out, tearing my gaze away from Cami.

  “Yeah, another sucker parked in a loading zone. When will people learn?” I shook my head, and Ripper laughed, coming to drape an arm around my neck.

  “I knew you’d make a great addition to the team. Congrats on your first solo run.”

  I chuckled. “Thanks. It was almost anticlimactic, though.”

  “Why’s that?” Ripper questioned.

  “I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “I guess I always imagined stealing cars as being much more of an undertaking.”

  “You’ve been watching too many old TV shows, dude.” He laughed again. “We’re high-tech around here with all the latest technology.”

  “Well, I hope the garage owners never catch on to what we’re doing with their trucks. We’d be in a lot of hot water.”

  “Don’t worry about it. If they haven’t caught on by now, they aren’t gonna. We’ve been at this for quite a while. It’s down to a science by this point.” He waved his hand. “Follow me. I have some cash for you. We made a bundle off those cars we stole last week. The parts we chopped also brought in more than I’d expected.”

  “Seth, Nick, and Roberta are back from Vegas?” I asked, as I followed him to the safe by the desk.

  “Yeah, they got back about an hour ago. They made some good deals.” He stopped to twirl out the combination. “They’re in the kitchen now, grabbing something to eat.”

  “How you doing, Sis?” I asked, casually leaning against the top and crossing my arms.

  She smiled and let out a deep sigh. “I’m overwhelmed. I can hardly keep up with all these class assignments. I think maybe I bit off more than I can chew.”

  I shook my head. “Not possible. Everyone knows you’re the brains of the family.”

  She gave a little snort as she stared back at the computer. “Hardly.”

  “You know it’s true. Is there anything I can help you with?”

  “No. Thanks, though. I’ll get through it eventually.” She continued typing, and it annoyed me that we had to pretend we weren’t thrilled to see each other.

  R
ipper stepped toward me holding a wad of cash. “Here you go. This is your cut.”

  My eyes widened in surprise. “Wow, that’s a lot of money. I didn’t think it’d be so much.”

  He smiled widely. “The guys we deal with are big money with mob connections. Plus, sometimes we throw in an extra incentive. We get some pretty good bonuses off that.”

  “Incentives?” My attention was immediately perked. Was Ripper dealing in other goods I needed to know about? “Like what?”

  He chuckled. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  “Dude, tell me now if you’re into the drug scene. I can’t be a part of that. My brother is messed up bad because of that shit.” I stared him down seriously.

  He kept smiling and shook his head. “There’s no drugs, bro. I promise. The incentives we give don’t affect you or your part in all this.”

  “You know, you all could go to school and get an education like normal people.” Cami gave us both a disapproving look. “Then you wouldn’t have to be tied to this risky business.”

  Ripper slipped his arms around Cami’s shoulders and kissed her cheek. I felt my insides crawl as I forced myself to remain still. “What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Ripper teased. “Are you worried we’re gonna get hurt?”

  Cami locked eyes with me. “Of course I am. No girl wants to hear her brother and . . . the guy she’s dating are messing around with the mob. It’s too dangerous. There’s got to be better ways to make money.”

  “You won’t think so when I give you things like this.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sparkling diamond tennis bracelet, laying it on the desk in front of her.

  Cami sat unmoving for several seconds as she stared at it. It was amazing how little Ripper actually knew about her. She’d never been a girl whose head was turned by shows of wealth. She slowly reached out and traced her finger across the length of it. “Is it real?” Her voice was soft and she didn’t look up.