“She’s not here today.” she said.
“She’s not?” I asked and set the bottle back down.
“Nope. She’s off.” Missy shrugged, sending her soft pink sundress straps lower down her shoulders, giving me a teasing view of what lay beneath. I looked away.
“Fifty bucks you say?” I asked, and she perked up and slid closer to me, pressing her breasts against my arm.
“Uh-huh,” she said. “But tips are always appreciated.”
“Why did you set your rate so low?” I asked.
“Hey, I think you just insulted me. But I’m willing to forgive you.” She slid hand off the bar top, slapped it on my thigh, and then walking her fingers up my leg until she cupped my groin.
I grabbed her hand and pulled it away. “Girl, don’t sell yourself so short. You’re worth a hell of a lot more than that, or didn’t your daddy tell you?”
Her lips parted in surprise.
“Go home, Missy, get back into school and find a better place for you. There’s nothing for you here,” I said and pulled out a five dollar bill, and placed it on the bar. It wasn’t for Missy but for the beer.
I left Sasha’s and headed to Kobe’s apartment. I still had no clue why she was living here, I wondered what happened to her grandparents’ house she and Jared had been living in.
I pulled in front of the stairwell that Kobe had led me up the other night and noticed the handrail had been broken and was laying on its side. The whole goddamn building needed to be condemned.
I headed for the steps. I grimaced at the peeling paint. It was miracle that Kobe hadn’t been robbed or worse living in a place like this. I quickly glanced around and saw several men watching me.
My boots landed heavily on the concrete steps that shook beneath me as I made my way to the second floor. I was worried for a moment about the structural integrity. Once she and I had an opportunity to really sit down and talk about us, I was going to push for her to move somewhere safer.
I knocked on her faded white door, stained with oil, grime, and God knew what else. I waited, but no sounds came from the apartment.
Before yelling, I paused and wondered if I could call for Kobe or Allie and then decided on the safest option in case someone was watching. “Allie?” I called as I pounded hard against her door. If it drew the attention of the neighbors, they ignored it, which told me all I need to know about this complex. “Allie, open up. It’s Easy.” I ignored the anxiety that grew in my stomach. She was probably fine. Dante didn’t have her, there was no way. I would have heard about it, right?
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my picks and glanced around real quick before I inserted the two thin rods into the cheap keyset and turned. It was pathetically easy to pick her lock, and I desperately hoped that I was the first man—and the last one—to realize that.
The door swung open and hit the back wall as dust particles floated in the air.
“Allie?” I stepped into the silent apartment. The photographs were gone. All that remained was the coffee table and the sofa where we spent our first night together. The fake wood floors creaked beneath my boots and echoed in the stillness. I prayed to God that I wasn’t going to find a body in the back room and slowly pushed open her bedroom door. The room was empty except for a bare mattress lying haphazardly. I glanced into her closet, but that was empty too. Damn it, I hadn’t looked in here the other day to know whether or not she had bedroom furniture or was sleeping on just a mattress.
“Where did you go?” I whispered, but my voice still reverberated off the stained walls. I pulled out my phone and pounded in the four digit password before scrolled through messages until her familiar smile caught my eye.
Me: Where are you?
Every muscle in my body tensed as I waited for her to reply. I let out an audible sigh when my phone dinged back.
Kobe Brogan: Florida
I smirked at her, smartass reply.
Me: Well, thank God for that. I’m at your place. Did you move?
Kobe: www . Google / map
I clicked the link and directions appeared to an address off Colonial drive, not far from Mills avenue. Okay, that was a normal, blue-collar area. It wasn’t the zero-zone like it was here. We called this area the zero-zone because it was probably zero seconds since the last crime.
I shoved my phone into my pocket and closed her apartment door behind me, not bothering to lock it. A few seconds later, I was headed to the address Kobe had sent me.
When I pulled into the driveway, I marveled at the size but something to my right caught my attention. I got off my bike and move toward the filthy, dark gray car that was parked at the building next door. Sure, there were thousands of dark gray dirty cars, but not many that were an old ford with a Mercedes hood ornament. I knew that car.
What the fuck was Cipher doing here? I walked toward him, my hands clearly visible so he wasn’t put on edge, not sure what he was doing at Kobe’s new address.
The windows were tinted so dark that I thought I saw movement inside, but I wasn’t one hundred percent positive. Approaching on the driver’s side, I waited for him to roll down the window and acknowledge me, but he didn’t, so I knocked.
“What are you doing here?” he asked at the same time I asked, “Ready for a break?”
“What? I thought JB was going to relieve me,” Cipher said.
“He is, I’m just here visiting my girl and was wondering what you were doing here.”
“Dante sent me, we’ve got a tail on Lucy, the other Sasha’s waitress too. Someone ratted us out to the cops and Dante wants their head. Until he is sure it wasn’t your woman then she’s got a tail.” Cipher let out a long yawn. “This is as boring as it gets. I’ve been staring at this house for a couple of hours, and she’s done nothing, no one has visited except for you. Some girl lives there too, she is hot. You gotta have Allie introduce me.”
“Okay, I’ll mention it.” I glanced up in time to see the blinds in the window move. Maybe Kobe knew she was being watched. Good, she needed to be alert. “So, how long you gotta be here?”
“Until JB comes or Dante calls the watch off.” Cipher tilted his head and cracked his neck.
“I can’t imagine why he would be suspicious of Allie. Fuck, she hasn’t been around the clubhouse except for once and that was after the oxy deal went wrong.”
“I know. I get following Lucy, she’s always at Sasha’s or the clubhouse. Even Missy or one of the other props...” I cringed at his word, props, it was what the gang called the women they deemed club property.
A subtle cough had me turning my head.
“Baby, you’re here.” I held out my left arm, and Kobe walked into it. There was something so intoxicating about the way she fit against me. “You know Cipher?”
“Hey.” She gave Cipher a head nod. “Whatcha doing out here?”
“Oh, Cipher just met me here, we had something to talk about.”
Cipher rolled his eyes. “He’s lying. Dante just wants to confirm that you are legit, you ain’t no snitch.”
“Oh. Okay. You get thirsty or something, come knock on the door. I only go to three places, here, Sasha’s, and Steel gym.”
“Thanks.” Cipher leaned back in his seat. “You two go on, I got to get some sleep.”
I laughed, obviously Kobe was doing a good job of not raising any suspicions.
Stepping back from the car, I lowered my hand to the curve of Kobe’s back and escorted her away. We didn’t say a single word until we were safely inside the house.
“Hey,” I said as I slid my hand into my front hoodie pockets. “I’m worried about you.”
“Are you now?” she asked. Kobe folded her arms and leaned back against the doorjamb to what looked to be the kitchen behind her. “Thank God, I’m none of your concern, huh?”
“What makes you say that? You’ve always been my concern.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought people who had a one night stand, returned to normal life afterw
ard with no lingering connections.” Kobe rolled her eyes.
“I guess they do but we weren’t a one night stand?”
“Oh really? You mean having sex and then you sneaking out wasn’t your way of saying that what we had was a one night stand?”
“I had to go meet Dante, I’m sorry.” I shifted my weight uncomfortably. My eyes dropped down to my boots. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there when you woke up.”
“Gee, you say the sweetest things,” she said with a click of her tongue. She wasn’t making this easy for me.
“Nice house, whose is it?”
“Ridley’s, she’s a friend of mine from the gym.”
“Nice flowers.” I gave a chin nod in the direction of a vase full of roses that sat on a narrow long table. “Fancy woodwork.” I leaned forward and rested one hand on the doorframe above Kobe’s head.
“So, you came here to discuss Ridley’s flowers and taste in trim?” she said as her eyes wandered up the doorframe.
“No, I came here to see you. I went by your apartment last night, but you weren’t there and then today I showed up at your apartment and all of your personal shit was gone.”
Kobe let out a laugh. “You broke into my apartment?”
“Uh-huh. I was worried. Then I come here and see Cipher outside.”
“Yeah, he’s been out here since before I woke up this morning.”
“How do you know that?”
“Umm let’s see, when I woke up he was here that meant he got here before I woke.”
“Stop with the sarcasm. Why don’t you seem more shocked that Cipher was here? I mean, how did he know where to find you when I had no clue?”
“Sasha called me, she said she needed my new address for Dante. Obviously, he had sent someone to my old apartment, so I gave it to her. I figured they were doing their check up on me.”
“Check up on you?”
“Yeah, right after I started working for Sasha, I started seeing DT Coyotes outside my apartment and saw them occasionally on my way into work. I figured they were checking me out.”
I wanted to smile at the fact that Kobe had caught on and knew she was being watched but in all truthfulness, this was no smiling matter. Dante was dangerous, a killer, and I wanted Kobe far from him.
Kobe’s lips pursed. “So now, care to tell me why you’re here?”
“Things were fucking crazy last night,” I said after a pause and ran my fingers through my hair. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. When I didn’t hear anything and you weren’t home, well, I started to fear the worst.”
“What was the worst?” she asked straightening her white tank top that fit snugly around her small waist. “You mean that I was forced to play Russian roulette?”
“Something like that,” I said. She frowned and searched my face as if looking for sincerity.
“Nope, I’m fine as you can see.” She stared down at her bare feet and tapped her painted toenails on the cherry wood floor.
I peered to my right and into the brightly lit living room with the blue sectional couch, tons of bookshelves, and a large flat screen TV. “That TV has to be at least seventy inches.”
“No clue.” I hated that she was being like this, her answers curt, but in my mind, I knew that I deserved it for leaving her the other morning. “Did you need anything else?”
“Is your friend here?”
“Nope. She’s a tattoo artist and had an appointment this morning,” she added, with a casual shrug before stepping aside and gesturing for me to follow her to the living room.
“Thanks,” I said as I debated whether I should take my shoes off or not. “I’m gonna...” I gestured to my dusty black boots and bent over to slide them off my feet.
“Head on into the living room, and I’ll grab us some tea.” She strode into the kitchen, her long legs barely covered by a scanty pair of denim shorts.
I stripped off my boots before I twisted the lock on the door. It was more out of habit, since I wasn’t exactly leading the safest lifestyle.
I had just taken a seat on the couch when Kobe walked through the doorway to the living room, lights reflecting from behind her giving a soft glow to her features and creating a halo effect that made me smile. Halo, oh my God, that girl was anything but an angel.
“What are you smiling at?” she asked as she handed me a glass of tea.
“Just smiling at how beautiful you are.”
“Just drink your tea, Easton.” She plopped down next to me on the sofa and curled her legs up so she could sit cross legged. “What happened last night after you didn’t have your brains blown out?”
I cringed. “Everyone had to play.”
“Did Dante just keep reloading with blanks?”
“No, which is why I’m glad you left. He did blanks a few times and then did a live shell.”
“Oh my God, did the cops show up? What about the guy? What did you all do?”
“Spider and Crow handled it. It was horrid. I guess they’ve seen this before because they moved right into action.”
“Who was it?”
“Pope.” It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a dead body or brain matter, gruesomeness never got easier to see.
“The thought of senseless death, it just...you know.”
“Yeah, I know.” I reached over and placed a hand on her bare thigh. The feel of Kobe’s skin beneath me only intensified my emotions. I wanted her…no, I needed her. I wanted to protect her and keep her with me. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing, with the Coyotes? I’m scared to death for you.”
“No, I’m not sure that I know what I’m doing, but it doesn’t matter, I’ve got to do this. I need to move on with my life, but I can’t until I see justice for Jared. You don’t get it.”
“You’re wrong, I totally get it.” She had no clue how much I totally got her. “After you uncover the truth, what are you going to do?”
“Ridley and I were talking about that last night. I didn’t go to college, so other than my skills in martial arts, I don’t have any other talents.” What she was able to do with her body had me thinking exactly about her talents. “Be a tattoo artist.”
Whoa, wait, I think I missed something while I was lost in my memories. “You? A tattoo artist?”
“Yep, Ridley is going to teach me. We’re going to buy that building next door and open up a tattoo shop.” Kobe looked so young, fresh, and full of hope.
“How long have you known Ridley?”
“Not long, but she and I, we’re alike.”
God, I didn’t want to rain on her parade, so instead, I said, “I’m happy for you. I like seeing you like this.”
“You’re just used to seeing me either as a teenager or playing this ridiculous role for the guys. I’m really not all morbid. It just comes over me when I’m around the Coyotes.”
She had a point there. I looked around the living room and admired the potted orchid and the floral paintings that lined the hallway and disappeared from view.
“I’m lucky to have found Ridley, I really needed her in my life. It’s sad, but she is my only friend.”
I jerked my hand away from Kobe. “What do you mean?” I asked. “She’s not your only friend, I think you know that. You and I, we’ve always had a bond.” I moved my hand to hers and rubbed my finger over her smooth knuckles. “I’m here for you. Whatever you need, whatever you want. Just tell me and I’ll be there. I’ll do it.” I swallowed hard, surprised at the sincerity of my own words.
“Anything I want?” she asked as she lowered her eyes to rest on my mouth.
“Anything.” I sighed breathlessly.
Kobe leaned forward and pressed her full lips to mine, and my tensed muscles seemed to relax. I needed her, even if I wasn’t ready to admit that I needed her forever, I was at least owning the fact that I needed her at this moment.
Her lips parted, and she climbed into my lap. I was overwhelmed by the sense of her, the smell of the lavender in her hair, and the intox
icating flavor of her left me dizzy.
“Don’t you have a room somewhere in this house?” I asked her, she pulled away and wrapped her legs around my waist
“It’s upstairs, think you can carry me?” she teased.
I rose from the couch, and she tightened her long legs around my waist. Holding her ass in my hands, I moved toward the stairs, and she lowered her lips to my ear.
“Keep going He-man.”
I took two steps, and she nibbled my ear, and I felt it straight in my crotch. “God, woman.”
“Hurry. Turn left at the top of the stairs.”
I took the rest of the flight two at a time and turned left. “Where? Which door?”
“Very end of hall.”
My feet sounded like a herd of elephants as I trampled down to her room. Pushing the door open and then kicked the door closed behind us. Bounding to the bed, I dropped her in the center. She bounced on impact and smiled up at me, her foot outstretched and teasing along the leg of my jeans.
I fell forward covering her body with mine before I slid one hand up and under her tank top to cup her firm breast, relishing the way it filled my palm.
I flicked her nipple and felt the bud get harder under my touch.
“Your roommate, will she be home soon, will she hear us?”
“No,” Kobe said breathlessly. “She won’t be home for hours.”
“Hours?” I nibbled her lower lip.
“Hours.” She cupped my hard cock through my jeans and gave a slight squeeze.
“I guess we can take our time then.” I rose above her as my fingers skimmed her legs and then grabbed the hem of her shorts. “Take them off.”
I leaned back on my haunches and slowly tugged my black T-shirt off before dropping it to the ground. As the sunlight from her window played shadows across my half naked body, I ran my hands along her calves, enjoying the soft smooth texture of them, loving the way her body trembled as she shimmied out of her shorts. I toyed with the soft line of her panties and then dragged them down and off her as well.
“You know I used to think about this a lot.”
Kobe, Bad Blood (Blood Roses Book 1) Page 8
