I smile, happy with the answer I’ve been given. “Thank you.”
It’s just starting to get dark when I walk into the abandoned warehouse. The place is so packed I can barely squeeze through. The DJ is set up on a stage with an ocean of swaying bodies lining the front. My phone vibrates in my back pocket, and I pull it out.
To your right.
I look to my right, and my eyes land on Ranger. I smile as I slide the phone back into my pocket and head in his direction.
“Hello, beautiful.” He takes my hand and pulls me against his chest where his lips find mine.
I don’t know what this is between us, but I like it. I’ve only ever tried this relationship thing once, and it didn’t work out. Since then, I’ve simply messed around with whoever I wanted. But Ranger… he’s a different story. There’s something about him that I can’t walk away from — even though I know it can, and probably will, end badly.
He’s sexy. He’s sweet. The way he talks to me… The way he fucks me… The way he claims me… Sigh…
“Hi,” I say against his lips with a smile I can’t control.
His hands are on either side of my face with his long fingers wrapping around and tangling in my hair. “Are you ready to have some fun?”
I nod, placing my hands over his.
“Let’s go.” He takes my hand and leads me through the crowd.
“So, I went to Big about Enzo… I asked for his help in getting rid of him once and for all.”
He stops walking and turns to me. Surprise covers his face. His eyes narrow. “You put a hit out on him?”
I press my lips together. “I didn’t know what else to do. I need to get him away from my family, and he won’t walk away without a fight.”
He places his finger under my chin and tilts my head back until my eyes meet his. “I’m not judging you, Harper.” His lips land on mine softly. “I want to kill that fucker for ever treating you the way he did.”
Several hours later, I’m drunk and wrapped around Ranger on the dance floor.
“My dad knows about us,” I whisper in his ear.
He pulls away, studying my face. “What did he say?”
“That he’d kill you.”
“We’ll see about that.” He grins and spins me around to continue dancing.
My phone vibrates again alerting me to a new message. Quickly, I pull it out.
I’m in. Meet me at my place and we’ll talk specifics.
I show Ranger the phone, so he’ll know things are in motion. “I have to go.” I turn to leave, but he catches my hand.
“Wait. You want me to go with you?”
He tugs me back against his chest, and his hands cup my face. “No. Big doesn’t like surprises.” Digging in my pocket, I extract my keys. “I’ll get an uber to take me over there. And I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Give me your phone.” He takes it from my hand, taps around, and hands it back. “If anything happens, call me, and I’ll be there.”
I smile. “Thank you.”
He nods and kisses me deeply before turning and walking away, leaving me staring after him.
“Hey, Ranger,” I call. He spins around and I toss my keys to him. As he snatches them out of the air, I say, “Take care of my sexy ride.” I blow him a kiss as he chuckles at me. With a wink, he heads back in the direction he was going.
I walk into Big’s apartment and find him sitting in the same chair as earlier. When I step further into the room, my eyes land on Enzo.
“What’s going on?” I ask, looking between them.
Big smiles. “Well… I was going to take your offer. I really was. But then I thought, what could be better than killing Enzo?” His brows raise, and his eyes widen with the question. Fuck. “Having an insider on my side.” He stands, and Enzo steps up to his side. “Enzo here knows every bit of your daddy’s dirty little secrets. He knows the ins and outs of his company. He knows his suppliers. He knows his customers. He knows it all.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re teaming up to take my dad down?”
He smiles. “Exactly. Your family is going to fall from the top of that big ass empire you’ve been sitting on for too many years now. With KingPin out of the way, your dad is it. We take him out, then it’s all mine.”
“Then why call me here? Why make me leave my party? Wouldn’t it have been better to just plan all this in secret and strike undetected?”
“Because I wanted you to know that all that’s happened so far, and all that’s about to happen is your fault. I want you worrying about when your father will fall. I want to watch as your family loses everything. I want to see the princess on her knees sucking dick for rent money. Your family has caused me nothing but trouble. It’s time I get rid of you once and for all. Every minute that passes is one minute closer to the moment you lose everything.”
My fingers clench tightly into fists, the nails pressing painfully into my palms. “Fuck you,” I tell Big, the words trembling with the rage I struggle to suppress. I turn and look at Enzo. My lip tips up into a snarl. “I can’t believe I ever liked you. You’re nothing but a fucking parasite. My dad should’ve killed you when he had the chance.” I turn to leave. The storm of emotions swirling inside of me quickly sap my energy.
“Princess Harper,” Big calls out from behind me.
I stop and turn on my heel with a scowl.
“Tick… Tock…”
The End of Part Three
Episode Four
Season Finale
1
“Just come home, Amelia!” I yell into the phone, pounding my fist on my desk for emphasis. “I didn’t kill the son of a bitch!”
“I just need some time to think, Mad. Can’t you give me that?”
It’s been over three days since I’ve seen or touched my wife. I’m beyond ready to have her back here with me.
“No, not when everything is going down the drain.” I pace back and forth behind my desk. “You need to be here. I don’t know what the hell is going on with Harper, but she’s out of control. She fucked Enzo! Did you know that? And now, she’s carrying on some kind of relationship with my new dealer.”
“She had sex with Enzo?” She lets out a long breath. “That bastard,” she whispers. Even with the murmur, her tone is deadly.
“What? Did you think he had some moral standards or something? He fucked you, and you’re married. You didn’t think he’d go after our daughter to get back at us?”
“At us? I didn’t do anything to him! I’m the reason he’s still alive right now.”
I let out a chuckle. “You also strung him along. He actually thought you might leave me for him.”
“I never strung him along. I’ve always been upfront and honest. He knew I had no plans of ever leaving you. He was nothing more than a random fuck. Don’t you try putting the blame on me. If you hadn’t been fucking everything that walked, we wouldn’t even be in this mess!” Though I can’t see her face, I can picture it. I recognize the tone. The muscles in her neck are probably tense, and her face is likely red with the evidence of her anger.
“Okay, okay. Just calm down. What’s done is done. We can’t change it.” I huff out a sigh. As much as I hate to suggest it, I know she needs my blessing, no deserves my blessing, to take some time to figure things out. In her shoes, I’d need a break from me. “Take a few days. Take a break. When you’re ready, come home so we can take care of business.”
“Does that mean you’re not mad at me anymore?” she asks, voice full of nerves and hope.
“Fuck no. I’m still mad as hell, but we need to move forward.” I run my fingers through my hair. Determinedly, I continue, “You’re not leaving me, and I’m not leaving you. It’s time to accept our mistakes and put them behind us. Our daughter needs us. There’s no fucking way I’m letting her shack up with a worthless drug dealer.”
“I love you, Madden,” she said peacefully. Her words and tone were so familiar. Those four words were a balm to my wor
ried heart.
My eyes close with her words as I picture all the times we’ve held one another and kissed. All the times we’ve said we love each other and shown each other the depths of our love. “I love you too, Amelia. Come home soon. Please.” I hang up the phone and fall into my leather desk chair. Resting my elbow on the arm rest, I prop my head up on my fist.
How the hell did everything get so far out of hand? I had it all: a loving wife who would die for me, a beautiful daughter who honored my wishes, and an empire where I sat on top of all creation. Now, my wife has fucked my secretary and run off because she needs time to think. My daughter is confused and fucking any dick she can get her hands on. And my empire is starting to crumble: drugs are missing and my assistant stabs me in the back. Who knows what’s next!
“Daddy!” Harper yells, slamming the front door.
My head perks up just as she runs into my office with tears in her eyes.
I bolt upright. “What is it? What’s the matter?”
“I fucked up, Daddy. So bad.” She walks deeper into my office and falls down in the chair across from my desk.
Walking around, I take the seat next to her, put my arm around her shoulders, and pull her head to rest on my shoulder. “I’m sure everything will be alright. Just tell me what it is, and I’ll fix it. Just like I always do.”
She lifts her head and looks at me with her bloodshot eyes. “I… I was with Ranger last night.”
“Damn it, Harper.” I hang my head.
“He told me Enzo had everything planned all along. That he sought me out with the intention of taking advantage of me. Ranger told me Enzo was mad that you found out and fired him. And he was mad because Mom wouldn’t walk out with him. So, he decided to get back at you by using me.”
“I figured as much. Enzo isn’t stupid. He knew what he was doing all along.”
“That’s not all.”
My heart is about to jump from my chest already, but I motion with my hand for her to continue.
“I was mad when I found out the truth. I was mad at Enzo for planning the whole thing. I was mad at you for letting him just leave here. I wanted to get rid of him. And if you wouldn’t do it, I was going to find someone who would.”
I look up, my eyes locking her hers. “Harper, no.”
She nods. “I’m so sorry, Daddy…I went to see Big.”
I bolt up out of my chair. “Fuck, Harper. I told you a year ago to stay away from him. He may be nice to you, but all he’s looking for is something to use against us. We’re enemies for a reason. He’s looking for a weakness.” My pacing begins again.
“He found it. Instead of getting rid of Enzo like I asked, he hired him,” she whispers.
I freeze with that sentence, thinking over all the ways this could possibly fuck me.
“Enzo knows your whole business, Daddy. He knows your suppliers. He knows your clients. He knows it all. And now he’s teaming up with Big to take you down. He told me so himself.”
I hate that my daughter is close enough to Big that she even knows this information. Big is nothing more than a giant kid. He’s my age but he still acts like he’s twenty. He hits up all the popular clubs, all the exclusive parties, and the raves. My daughter’s only eighteen. I’m not surprised she goes to these places. But Big… he’s too old to be acting like a damn teenager.
And he sure as hell has no business fucking with my family. It’s time I take him down once and for all.
“Okay, Harper. It’s okay. Nothing’s going to happen. I’ll work it all out.”
She stands and walks up to me sniffling. “I’m really sorry, Daddy.” She gives me a hug.
I squeeze her tightly. “Go on up to bed.”
When she leaves my office, I walk back around my desk and pick up the phone. With a heavy sigh, I dial.
“Amelia, I need you to do some recon.”
2
“What do you mean, recon? I thought I was getting a break?”
I fill her in on what Harper told me. “I need you to make Enzo believe that you’ve thought things over. Tell him you’re leaving me, and you want to be with him. But only if you two can run away together. Because you need to get away from all this.”
“What? No! He’ll never believe that! I’ve told him time and time again that it would never happen.”
“But he loves you. If you tell him what he wants to hear, he’ll have no choice but to believe you.”
She doesn’t say anything for a long time. The silence is unnerving. “If I do this, it wipes the slate clean. Understand? We’re even. No more cheating on each other. No more holding it over one another’s head. It’s in the past.”
“Deal,” I agree. “Get home.”
I have no idea where Amelia’s been hiding. I checked all the local hotels, and none of her aliases were used. She must have picked a new one. But I know she’s been close because it takes her less than an hour to get home. She walks into my office, dropping her purse in the center of the floor.
Immediately, I rush over to her and pull her against me, pressing my lips to hers. My tongue forces its way into her mouth. At first, she’s stiff and doesn’t want to open for me. But then, she gives in. Her hands wrap around my neck, grasping me tightly to her, and she welcomes my kiss. This is the longest I’ve ever been without her, and I’ve hated every fucking minute of it. I need my queen by my side — no matter how much we’ve wronged each other. She belongs next to me. She’s always been my right-hand man.
I pick her up and set her on my desk. Her hands push away my jacket. I work her skirt up her thighs until I can grab her panties and jerk them from her body. She’s already freed me from my pants, so it doesn’t take long before I’m sliding deep inside her where I belong. Here is where we both belong. Here is home.
Fisting my tie, she drags it in her direction, almost choking me. My airflow is limited, but I fucking love how desperately she needs me. The fear of losing her and never connecting with her like this ever again makes me just as frantic for her. So, I pound into her as deeply and as forcefully as I can. I want her sore tomorrow. I want her to remember who she fucking belongs to. She tightens around me, calling out my name and devouring my mouth with hers.
Finally, I can’t take it anymore. It’s all too intense and has been too long. I explode and fill her with a jerk.
She hangs on to me for dear life as our breathing and heartrates return to normal. “I fucking missed you,” I say, pressing a soft kiss to her neck as I pull out of her and take a step back.
She smiles weakly. “I missed you too.”
With a sigh, I tell her, “I want you to do whatever you need to do in order to make him believe what you’re telling him.”
She hops off the desk and fixes her skirt. “What if he wants to have sex?”
I hold up my hand and shake my head. “I don’t want to know what goes on.” I can’t know. I turn and look at her. “Just do whatever you feel like you need to do. You’ve never let me down before.”
She nods. “I’ll go see him in the morning.”
“No. You’ll go now.”
“Now?” she squeaks in surprise. She looks at her watch as her eyebrows shoot up. “It’s 2:00 A.M.”
I nod. “The perfect time to finally give in to what you’ve been longing for. You need to show up and be a mess. Make him think you’re falling apart without him.”
She nods. “Okay. Then what?”
I loosen my tie. “Bring him here. Tell him I’m out of town and before you two can leave, you need to get your stuff.”
She swallows hard. “And then what will happen?”
“You leave that to me.”
3
I never should’ve started messing around with Enzo. Internally I berate myself. This whole mess is because of me. He’s ruining my husband’s business. He took advantage of my daughter. She’s only eighteen, so she doesn’t know how the world works yet. Her whole life, she’s been sheltered, thinking Daddy’s money can buy her way out o
f anything. She doesn’t know there are bad people out there who’ll use her to get whatever they want. I hate myself for ever inviting Enzo into our home life. He should’ve been kept at the office and far away from our family.
As I drive over to his penthouse apartment, I think back to the first time I ever laid eyes on him.
I’m blown out of my mind as I sway back and forth on the dance floor of the private club Mad rented. The alcohol and coke swims through my system, creating a high that has me seeing stars. Everything feels good. The oxygen coming into my lungs is refreshing. The hot air of the club clings to my skin, making me feel sticky, yet sexy. My red dress clings tightly to my body, showcasing all my best assets and making me look like a fucking runway model. My husband is surrounded by all his men, making me just as important as he is.
Someone steps up from behind me. I assume it’s Mad and wiggle my ass against his groin. Immediately, he stiffens, and his hands grab ahold of my hips, keeping me against him.
“What’s the matter, darling? Can’t wait until we get home to fuck the life out of me?” I look over my shoulder with a seductive smile.
It’s not Mad behind me but a man I don’t know.
His hooded eyes meet mine, and he offers up a cocky grin.
I stand upright and spin around with embarrassment flushing my cheeks. “I’m sorry. I thought you were my husband.”
He holds out his hand. “I’m Lorenzo. I go by Enzo for short.”
I shake the hand he offered. “I’m Amelia Novelli. Madden’s wife.”
His face pales, and he jerks his hand away just as Mad comes to a stop before us.
“I see you’ve met my beautiful wife.” He motions toward me.
Enzo clears his throat and nods. “I have.”
I step up to Mad’s side, resting my hand over his tie. “This is the new assistant you hired?”
Dirty Chicago_Season One Page 9
