Better (The Change Series Book 2)

by Melanie Jayne

  “Mr. Ulloa, Mr. Rodriguez.” I heard Rick’s greeting at the door.

  Vador’s second entered before him. Raul Rodriguez gave the impression that he was as tall as he was wide. He’d been with Vador for years. He was an expert with his knife and known to kill anyone who became a problem on Vador’s order. His gaze took in my position at the table as I stood with my hands open at my sides. “Forde.”

  “Raul. How’s the family?’ I knew he had seven children; six were grown and his youngest was to start college next year.

  “Doing very well, thank you.” He moved to the wall.

  Vador entered followed by Rick, who closed the door behind him.

  The crime boss looked like a corporate businessman, dressed in an expensive navy suit, a pristine white shirt with no tie. “Ah, Mr. Forde, how nice to see you again.” He smiled in my direction.

  I motioned for him to take a seat.

  “What? No drinks, gentlemen? What if we become thirsty? Where is the server?” Vador looked around the room.

  “I’m going to make this short. Then you can place your order,” I told the leader of the Cancerberos.

  Vador shook his head. “You need to learn to enjoy life’s simple pleasures, Mr. Forde. Like a good scotch or a cold beer.”

  “I plan on doing that once we finish here.” I rested my hands on the edge of the table. Rick had taken his position just inside the door, across from Rodriguez. I knew one of my men would be covering the door from the outside.

  “I understand congratulations are in order. You have a woman friend. I understand Mrs. Shepherd is very attractive.” Vador paused. When I didn’t respond, he continued. “You should dress better for her. You look like a commando in one of those movies where everything is blown up.”

  One side of my mouth turned upward. “So far there’ve been no complaints.” He was correct, I was wearing a tight black thermal and black cargos. Rick was in a black sweatshirt and jeans. We both could afford to dress like Vador, but I dressed for comfort while I was working.

  He made a hmph sound.

  By my estimation, we’d wasted enough time on the preliminaries. “Mrs. Shepherd, she is out of play. Do I make myself clear?”

  Vador gave a polite smile.

  It didn’t fool me.

  “I believe that your wishes were communicated to Raul earlier.”

  “And yet…” I didn’t need to finish; they knew damn well what had happened.

  Vador raised his hand then let it fall gracefully to the table. “I fear I have a few overexcited people. They hope to catch my eye by doing these little things.”

  “Leash them.” Rick growled.

  I saw Rodriguez shift his weight in response.

  “I have made it clear there will be no more activities involving Mrs. Shepherd and her possessions.” He gave a nod to signify that The King had spoken.

  I leaned back in my chair, crossed my foot over my ankle, and said nothing.

  “You must agree her car needed to be put out of its misery.” Vador leaned in. “You should buy her a nice Mercedes or perhaps a Tesla? I understand they are exciting to drive.”

  “Perhaps you should compensate her for the car, and her other troubles?” I smiled at my audacity. Layla’s going to freak when I tell her.

  Vador sighed as if he was inconvenienced. “Give the information to Raul, and it will be taken care of.”

  I dropped my leg and sat forward slowly. Moving too fast could get a bullet through my brain or a blade in my chest. “So to make sure we have an understanding, Mrs. Shepherd is to be left alone. I don’t want to hear or see one of your people anywhere near her. No problems for her in the bathroom during the trial and your boy can take his lumps.” I leaned a little farther into the table. “One more unfortunate act by one of your overeager people will cause you some unpleasantness.”

  Vador met my stare. His dark eyes missed nothing. He shrugged his shoulders. “I will pass on the message, along with one of my own, but you know these pups, sometimes they must try to break the chain.”

  I stood. “Then put them down.” I nodded once at Vador and then at Rodriguez. I turned on my heel and walked out of the room with Rick tight on my back.

  I drove back to Rick’s SUV and parked. The others soon joined us. I got out and felt the anger pumping through my veins. “Thanks for interrupting your night to help out. I’ll have Lay wire your money tomorrow.”

  All but Rick and Osi left.

  Rick had dropped his hood and he was pacing, “That fucker admitted he doesn’t have control.”

  “Is he gonna use that as an out?” Osi followed Rick’s movements with his eyes.

  I ground my back teeth together as I considered what had gone down. “We continue with the escorts and increase patrols around Limited and my place. You guys watch your backs.”

  Rick nodded.

  “And if it happens?” I swear that I could feel Osi’s adrenaline surge.

  Through gritted teeth, I responded, “War.”

  “Prepare.” Rick stopped pacing.

  I rolled my shoulders and walked back to the driver’s side door. “Yeah.” I gave my men a nod and got into the SUV and headed to the Alessi’s.

  Vador would do what he could, but he wasn’t in control of all of his people. The fact he’d admitted it meant he would be doing some housecleaning soon, but in the interim, Layla was not safe.

  I’d failed her.

  I wanted to stop off at some bar and trade some punches with a random guy. I needed to hurt someone. It couldn’t be Lay.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I tried not to sigh out loud. I was having trouble staying still. The movie Tony had put in the DVD player didn’t hold my attention and I had checked my emails on my phone. I was antsy and felt like I should be doing something instead of sitting and waiting.

  Tony sat at the table with his laptop open.

  “I hope you aren’t trying to work on anything too challenging,” I said as I shot a glance over the back of the sofa.

  “I was updating our schedules and making some lists.” He gave me a smile.

  “Do you want anything to eat or drink?” I had already put everything away from dinner and scoured the kitchen, until Tony had come in and told me I’d done enough.

  “I know it’s hard, the waiting. I’d feel like I was going to jump out of my skin—back when I was working.” He closed his computer and moved to the sofa.

  “Forde’s good at what he does.” I felt like I had to defend myself. “I know that.”

  “I know you believe in him.” Tony put his bare feet up on the coffee table.

  I smiled to myself. That must be one of the first lessons in badasssness, that it was acceptable to put their feet up on furniture. “Still, so many things could go sideways.”

  “He and his boys have gone over the contingencies,” Tony assured me.

  I nodded, grabbing onto that assertion.

  “My last job, I was a part of a gang.” He didn’t look at me.

  I waited. I knew very little about Tony’s past. The bits and pieces I’d picked up were that he’d worked undercover, the job had turned ugly, and he’d changed career paths.

  “I was in deep cover. The gang moved guns, women, and drugs. They ran efficiently and were just as well managed as any Fortune 500 business. Vador’s not that big, but he doesn’t want any problems from your man. There might be posturing and some threats, but in the end it doesn’t serve the big picture for there to be a war.”

  I nodded. Listening to his point of view was comforting in a scary way.

  “Vador’s boy is going down for murder. The minute he left a witness he was done.” He gave me an apologetic look.

  I understood his implication that Juan Moreno should have taken care of me too.

  “This vendetta against you, it’s sloppy and I don’t see Vador as being sloppy. I think he has a problem within his ranks and these events are bringin
g that to light.”

  I squashed the giggle before it escaped. I found his term hilarious in a twisted way. I guess in his experience, getting shot at and fire-bombed were only events.

  “He won’t appreciate Forde calling him out about not being in control of his people, but ultimately Vador will put a stop to it or he won’t be with us anymore.” Tony ended his summation with a nod.

  “Thanks for talking with me.” I waited a moment then changed to a happier subject. “Now, tell me what’s left to do in the nursery and how can I help?”

  We talked and looked at websites for about two hours. It seemed they needed the most work to be done at their cabin. Tony had purchased the one room cabin before he’d gone undercover, and when Zoe came into the picture she fell in love with the location. They’d added on to the existing structure and considered it to be their true home.

  I wanted to see that place. I could hear in Tony’s voice that it was special. I volunteered to do the painting and anything else they needed. Although they planned to stay in this house while Tony was in school, the other was their home. He showed me photos of their home and the property. It was beautiful.

  Tony’s phone chirped. He grabbed it. “Alessi,” his voice harsh.

  I watched Tony with my heart in my throat.

  He gave me a nod as he listened.

  Did it mean something that Tony got the call instead of me? I watched Tony listen to whatever was being said.

  “See you in five.” Tony disconnected. “Get ready to move, I’ll walk you out.”

  I used the bathroom and washed my hands thoroughly as I looked at myself in the mirror. It felt like the danger wasn’t done. “Just handle it,” I told my reflection.

  Tony watched Forde’s SUV pull up in front of the house. He motioned for me to follow him. He held my arm with his left hand, in his right was a gun that he rested against his thigh.

  I heard the locks disengage as Tony reached for the door. He opened it, and I climbed in.

  Forde reached across my body for the seat belt, and I heard it click.

  “Later,” Tony told us.

  “Thanks man.” The SUV moved forward before Tony slammed the door.

  I watched him jog back to his door as we pulled away.

  I could feel Forde’s mood and it wasn’t good, so I kept quiet. I tried to check out his body without being too obvious as we travelled to the condo.

  I swear my heart was going to crash through my chest by the time we parked the atmosphere was so tense. I undid my seatbelt and grabbed my purse. I remembered to wait for Forde to open my door.

  We rode in the elevator in silence. I’d had enough of the quiet treatment, but I was afraid to talk.

  We walked into our space, and I dropped my purse on the table by the coat closet. Forde moved to the kitchen counter and removed his weaponry. This was our regular coming home routine, but something about his actions looked off, like they were sharper than usual.

  I moved closer to him. “Do you want something to eat?” I hoped that some food might soothe him.

  He didn’t say anything.

  I put my hand on his arm; I wanted to feel his skin.

  He moved so fast. The next thing I knew, my back was against the counter, and he was standing over me. His hold on my biceps wasn’t gentle and neither were his eyes. “Don’t,” he bit out right in my face.

  “Forde?” I started to ask what was wrong.

  “I don’t want you touching me tonight.”

  That killed me. He loosened his hold on my arms, walked to the windows in the living room and stood there staring at the downtown lights with his back to me.

  What the fuck just happened? I wanted to scream. I didn’t know what was going on. I turned on my heel and headed to the bedroom. I slammed the bathroom door behind me and started washing my face. After brushing my teeth, I changed into my yoga pants and one of my T-shirts. I jerked a pillow free of the covers on the bed, then went to the linen closet and grabbed a blanket.

  I was racing out of the bedroom without looking and ran into Forde so hard he had to take a step back to steady himself. “Where the fuck are you going?” He roared.

  “You don’t want me to touch you. Well, don’t worry. I won’t.” I shouldered by him and headed to the sectional in the man cave. He didn’t argue or try to follow me.

  I made my bed and curled up on my side. I wanted to cry, but more so, I wanted to punch him. How dare he treat me like this? And to make matters more upsetting, I still didn’t know what had happened at the meeting.

  Somehow I fell asleep. I guess all the stress had taken its toll. I was in that place where I wasn’t fully under, but I was relaxed and floating. Then I felt a hand on my arm and I freaked.

  ***

  “Jesus, Layla,” I yelled as she jumped to her feet and took a swing at my face. “Fuck.”

  She moved fast. I hadn’t expected that reaction.

  Luckily, she connected with my ear and not my nose. I held onto her arm as she struggled.

  “Let me go,” she snarled.

  I did and moved to hit the lights. Now that the room was illuminated I saw she was sitting on the back of the sectional, rubbing her upper arm.

  “What the fuck?” she asked as I moved closer.

  “I was coming to check on you.” I didn’t like that she was still rubbing her arm.

  “You didn’t need to.” She shot me an angry glare. “Christ, you scared me.” The look she gave me was still a little fearful.

  “You took a swing at me,” I said, frowning

  “I was asleep. You snuck up on me.” Her eyes turned angry, which was an improvement from scared. I’d take the lightning flashes over the haunted shadows anytime.

  I dropped my ass to the coffee table facing her. “Look, I’m sorry about how I sounded earlier. I wanted to apologize.”

  She looked at me, like she was trying to see into my brain. “Fine, now can I go back to sleep?”

  Apology not accepted.

  “I thought you’d want to come back to bed,” I said, not liking it one bit that she would prefer to sleep alone.

  “No, I’m fine out here.” She slid down to the seat.

  “Look, I apologized.” I said through gritted teeth. My fuse was short tonight. That was the reason I’d wanted to hold her off earlier. I’d felt like it would only take a tiny spark for me to blow and lose control.

  “You did, and now you can go to sleep.” She shook out the blanket, ignoring me.

  “You aren’t going to make this easy are you?”

  She let out a loud sigh. “Look, Forde—”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. I had a feeling about where she was going to go, so I cut her off. “Just come to bed, Lay.”

  “No, I will not come to bed with you, Lucien Forde. I’m not going to be with a man who shuts me out.” She got to her feet and moved away from the sectional. “Never again.”

  I followed her down the hall and back into our room. Now this I could work with. Location, location, location—and she was nearing the bed.

  She started stuffing clothes into a tote bag. She then headed to the front door.

  This wasn’t a game anymore. “Where the fuck are you going?”

  “I’ll call Tony to come get me. They’ll let me use the sofa until I can make other arrangements.” She pulled her phone from her purse.

  I smacked the phone from her hand.

  “Hey,” she sputtered as it went airborne.

  I yanked the bag from her hand and pushed her against the wall. “You aren’t going anywhere,” I growled.

  “Wrong. I’m not going to stick around when you don’t want me here.” Her eyes were slitted in anger.

  “I didn’t say I didn’t want you here,” I shouted in her face. Fuck. I was losing my shit.

  “Oh, the whole ‘don’t touch me’ thing was an invitation to stay? To crawl into bed with you?” she asked sarcastically.
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  I moved in closer and dropped my voice as I spoke directly into her ear. “Tonight, the meeting was tense. I came home on edge, feeling dark, like I wanted to do some damage, inflict some pain. I didn’t want that to spill over onto you.”

  She jerked her ear away from my mouth and turned her head so that we were face to face. Her brow was furrowed, and her mouth has partially open.

  I watched her process my explanation. She was breathing hard as she opened and then closed her mouth a couple of times—like she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.

  “My rough edges might come out if we fucked. I don’t have a lot of control tonight as you just witnessed. I don’t want to scare you, or worse, hurt you.” I didn’t want her to ever see that side of me.

  God, her eyes were so expressive. I watched them change from angry, to confused, and then finally, they flared with heat. What the fuck?

  “Who says I wouldn’t be into that?”

  Her voice had gone low and raspy. I felt her body relax against mine, and it sent a thrill through me. I didn’t know what to say.

  “I need to know what’s going on, Forde. When I don’t, I start thinking, and then I get upset.”

  I nodded. That made sense.

  “Brian kept so much from me. A good relationship works only if there’s transparency. All of his secrets, I sensed them, but I never asked. I can’t be like that again. I won’t be.” Her gaze searched mine. “You have to talk to me. The good and the bad, even the dark. Just tell me. I promise I won’t run. It’s when I’m stuck in my head that I panic and feel the need to rabbit.” She dropped her eyes for a few beats. I knew it was difficult for her to give that much away.

  “I don’t like the thought that I hurt you, that I could hurt you.” Not when she was being open and giving herself to me, like every time we had sex.

  She met my eyes. “Lucien.” Her voice caressed my name. “The physical stuff, I think I’d like.”