"What does that have to do with me?"
"You can still save yourself," he replied with an earnest look on his face.
He was as serious as the day was long, and I almost couldn't believe he was speaking to me in this manner.
"Just shut your eyes. Don't try to stop the takeover," he said, coughing mid-sentence. "Your world is about to burn down, here's your last chance to look away. Don't be Lot's wife."
This guy was fucking insane. "Time's up! Are you gonna tell me how to find Il Fantasma."
I pressed the muzzle of the gun to his eye. "Okay, okay, you win. Just don't say you heard this from me."
Is this guy serious? Does he really think he's making it out of this alive?
"Tell me who he is," I said, cocking the gun.
"He sends me payments from an account. Have your numbers guy check it out. You have a numbers guy, right?"
"Rico, write it down," I said.
Rico took out a pen and paper from a side desk in the living room.
"1-0-0-3-2-0-1-0," he spouted off.
"You got that, Rico?" I asked.
"Yeah, Boss."
I pulled my phone out and called Dominic, my accountant slash hacker extraordinaire. "Dominic, I need you to find out who owns this account," I said, taking the paper from Rico. "It's 1-0-0-3-2-0-1-0."
I could hear the tapping of his keyboard through the phone. A little less than ten seconds later, he said, "You ain't gonna like this, Boss."
My hand fell to my side as Dominic muttered the owner of the account to me. I turned to Rico.
"Who is it, Boss?" he asked with curious eyes.
I lifted my gun and pointed it in Rico's direction. "I need your advice, Rico."
He held his hands up in the air. "Boss, it's not me."
"What do we do with traitors?"
"Put 'em in the ground, Boss, but—" he stopped talking the minute my finger pulled the trigger.
The bullet careened through the air hitting Angelo in the middle of his forehead. The blood spattered onto Rico's face. Without a peep, Angelo fell to the floor like a pile of meat. Slowly, Rico pulled his eyes away from mine, dropping his gaze to Angelo's body.
"Not Angelo, Boss," Rico whispered.
A slight chuckle came from the man still strapped to the chair. My brows furrowed and my eyes narrowed as I turned to him. His chuckle had transformed into a full-blown laugh of a hyena.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I asked, pointing the gun at his head.
"How's it feel to be fucked in the ass?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear.
I cocked the gun.
"What the fuck do you mean?" Rico screamed, clenching his fist right before throwing a punch across the man's, already, battered face.
His head jolted to one side, the force almost causing the chair to tip over.
"You can't trust nobody, and now your men won't trust that you won't turn on 'em," he replied.
"They'll believe that a traitor will be dealt with," I yelled, pointing my gun at Angelo's body.
"Was he really a rat, or is that what The Ghost wanted you to think?" he asked with tight lips. "He's everywhere and everyone."
Angelo wasn't a traitor?
I aimed my gun at the man's head tired of hearing his aggravating voice. My finger squeezed the trigger, firing one round straight into his eye. The second the bullet made contact his head snapped back, and the rickety old chair fell to the ground breaking in two.
Rico turned to me with tears streaming down his face. "That was Angelo, Boss."
"Don't you think I know that, Rico!" I yelled, slipping the gun in the waistband of my pants.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he yelled, clasping his hands on top of his head.
"Calm the fuck down. We can't change it. Take care of it, and make sure his wife is taken care of," I said, walking to the door. "Oh, and find this fuckin' ghost before I lose more than a few blocks and one man."
"Yeah, Boss," he replied, pulling his phone out.
I left him to clean up the mess I had made. There was nothing left to do but let him do his job. A job he was damn good at. He'd never failed me before, and he'd better not start now.
THEN GO
LEXI
"Celia, I'm coming over," I said over the speakerphone as I drove on to the street from my driveway.
"Do you have the fifty G's?"
"No, I don’t have no fifty thousand. You really think Christian is just gonna let me touch that kind of money without a reason?"
"Then what the fuck is you gonna do?"
"We need to figure out who it could be. Who did we tell we were going to Chicago?"
"Fuckin' everybody!"
My other line beeped. "Shit."
"What is it now?"
"It's Liam again."
"Ask him if he saw anyone acting suspiciously. Maybe he can describe someone we know."
"You think?"
"Well, I wouldn't have said it if I didn’t believe it. C'mon!"
"Shit, you act like you are in trouble."
"And who the fuck did you go with? Me. Christian knows that, and he's gonna blame me right along with you," she sassed.
The last thing I wanted to do was talk to Liam about that night, but it had to be done. This being a dire situation and all.
I clicked over. "Hello."
"I couldn't stop thinking about you," Liam said sweetly.
"Someone is trying to blackmail me with a picture of us in Chicago," I replied with a strain in my voice, trying to best I could to hold back my fear and the tears that accompanied them.
"Come to my office. I'll take care of this. No one, and I mean no one is going to put you in danger. Not on my watch."
A sense of relief washed over me, the lump in my throat giving way to his reassuring confidence. "How do you know you can take care of this."
"I know you think Christian is the only man in the world who has connections, but let me tell you, sweet girl—he isn't. Come see me now," he said with dominance in his tone.
A dominance I couldn’t refuse. A dominance that would make any woman wet. Plus, what did I have to lose? After all, Christian was out with his tramp. Why should I continue to push away the only man who actually wants all of me?
I made my way downtown to my usual up-front parking spot. I began to wonder if Liam had been saving it for me on purpose. There was no way this spot just stayed open—no way in hell. I stepped out of the car and realized I was wearing the same red dress from the other day.
Fuck, I look like I don’t have any clothes.
Hopefully, he doesn't remember what I was wearing that day. I closed my door and started for the main entrance of the building, unable to fully contain my excitement. I made it to the elevator fully expecting Liam to be standing there, but he wasn't. I had to admit I was a little disappointed as I pushed the square button engraved with the number twenty-three. It lit up, and a few seconds later the door closed, and the car began to rumble past floor after floor.
Fifteen, sixteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, shit.
I wiped the sweat from hands right before the doors dinged opened to Liam's blue eyes staring right at me. A smile fell across his face the moment he laid eyes on me. It was the kind of look that couldn't be rehearsed; the kind of look I wished Christian had given me all these years. But Christian was out with another woman, and I was here. Alone. With Liam.
His black three-piece-suit, perfectly tailored to his tight body, made every part of me want every part of him. I could feel myself getting wet, the throbbing between my legs apparent. He stretched out his hand for mine, and I accepted his invitation. Leading me toward his office, he twined his fingers with mine, telling me a thousand things without saying a single world.
I walked through the door to see a dozen red roses sitting on his desk. "Wow, you have an admirer," I said with a hint of jealousy in my voice.
"No, those are for you," he said, pressing his hand to the small of my back.
"But
you didn’t know I was coming."
He leaned in. "Or did I?" he whispered in my ear, his breath flowed down my neck sending shivers down my spine.
Fuck, I want him.
"So let's talk about this picture." He motioned for me to sit.
I had almost forgotten why I was there. "The picture—right," I stuttered.
"Who has it?"
"Celia. It was delivered to Celia."
He stood in front of me and leaned back, clutching onto the edge of his desk. "Do you trust Celia?"
"With my life," I quickly replied. "Why do you ask?"
"Who else knew you were gonna be in Chicago?"
"Everyone. Celia said she told everyone we were going."
"So Celia said that?"
"It's not Celia!"
"Who knew you were going to that club?" he asked, pushing himself off the desk to pace around me.
"What? Are you interrogating me now?"
"I am trying to figure out who's doing this to you, sweet girl."
"Don't call me that," I demanded, annoyed that I was being treated like a suspect.
"Just answer the question. Who picked the club?"
"Celia—but—"
"Does Celia have any financial issues?"
"Well, yeah, but—"
He picked up his phone and began to type a mile a minute.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"I have a guy. He'll check out Celia, and anyone who was at that club that night."
"Celia is not someone who needs to be checked out. She's my fuckin' cousin!" I yelled, standing to my feet, ready to walk out of his office and out of his life.
He stepped toward me, resting his hand on the small of my back, confining my body to his. I pressed my hands against his chest and pushed him away. "Stop. You can't tell me my cousin is blackmailing me one second then wanna fuck me the next."
"I told you I'd take care of it, and this is how things get taken care of," he said, setting his phone on the edge of the desk as he slid his hands into his pockets.
I pored over the earnest look on his face, realizing he was just trying to help, but I was being a whiny child getting ready to stomp out of his office. It probably wasn’t sexy of me, and God knows I didn’t want to turn him off.
Why am I trying to still have sex?
I shook the thought out of my head, focusing on the elephant in the room. There were bigger things to worry about than the throbbing ache between my legs which I couldn't for the life of me set aside.
I moved toward him. "Okay, tell me how you're gonna find this asshole."
"It's already in motion. I'll let you know as soon as I am aware, but for right now I don’t want you worrying that pretty little face of yours," he said with a smile.
"Why aren't you worried? You're in the picture too. Christian will kill you," I said adamantly.
"He isn't gonna find out."
I inched closer to him, studying his body language, in awe of the confidence he exuded. I took one last step and found myself standing face to face with him. He pulled his hand from his pocket, then snaked his arm around my waist, giving me a quick tug. My body smashed against his, causing a short breath to escape from my lips as he restrained me.
"There now, isn't that better?" he whispered, his lips grazing mine as he spoke.
I didn't reply. I couldn't. I was too enthralled by his presence. His hand ran up the length of my back, finding rest on the nape of my neck. I closed my eyes and readied myself to be swept away from everything that was going wrong in my life.
The ring of his phone pulled me back to reality.
I looked down at the screen. "Christian."
Still holding on to my neck tightly, Liam picked up the phone, and said, "Hello."
His eyes smiled back at me while his hand guided me toward his lips. "You're on your way here?" he asked, tracing the edge of my bottom lip with his.
My heart sank. Christian was on his way. This was it—I was going to get caught. Silently, I pushed myself off of Liam, my eyes darting around the room wildly, wondering how much time I had left before Christian walked in and shot me in the head.
Liam held his finger to his lips.
Really? Be quiet. Right now?
"Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes," Liam said, laying the phone back on the desk.
"What the fuck are we gonna do?" I asked, wiping away any trace of Liam off my lips.
He chuckled. "There's nothing you can do but hide at this point. I have a closet right there," he said pointing at a small door on the opposite end of his office. "If you leave now you run the risk of him seeing you downstairs. Unless you wanna try to explain why you are in the same building as his new lawyer?"
"Fuck me," I said as I picked up my purse and hurried to the closet, closing it behind me the minute I walked through.
"I wish I could," he replied from behind me.
The closet was small, just big enough for me and few coats. It was a good thing I wasn't claustrophobic or the hiding place would have been a real issue. I pressed my forehead against the door, unable to believe the predicament I had gotten myself into. A minute or two later, a loud knock blew through the office.
It was him, and the only thing keeping me from a certain death was the thin wooden door.
CHRISTIAN
Liam opened the door and motioned for me to come in. "Christian, to what do I owe this honor?"
I walked straight to his desk and sat in his soft leather chair. "I fuckin' killed Angelo. That fuckin' Il Fantasma."
I wiped my lips as I reclined, spinning the chair toward the massive window which looked out into the city sky. My head pounded from the images, which ran through my head, of Angelo's last moments.
"What the hell happened? Angelo was Il Fantasma?" he asked, sitting in the chair across from me.
"We caught a guy who might have known about The Ghost. There was an account and Dominic tracked it to Angelo. So I fuckin' killed Angelo!" I yelled, banging my palm on the desk.
"So you got him? You got Il Fantasma?"
"No, aren't you listening? No," I said through gritted teeth.
"Then what are you talking about, Christian, 'cause I'm lost."
"Il Fantasma dummied an account to make me think Angelo was a rat traitor, but it was all a ruse," I said, leaning back in the chair.
"What else did the guy say?"
"Nothing. Nothing else. Kinda hard to talk with a bullet in your brain," I said, proud that I had avenged Angelo's death.
"Well damn—"
I interjected before he could finish his sentence. "Rico's gonna call you to set something up with Angelo's wife. She needs to be taken care of for the rest of her life or 'til she meets the next guy and gets married. I ain't paying for some asshole. Make sure she knows the money stops if she gets married again."
"Got it," he said, standing to his feet. "You really should have just called. I could have taken care of this over the phone."
"Eh, I didn't wanna go home yet."
"Why not?" he asked, sliding his hands into his pockets.
"I fucked up with Lexi. We were on a romantic getaway when Rico called. That's when I had to leave to go take care of this shit at the lake house."
"Well, I'm sure she'll understand. You just have to explain—"
"Explain?" I interrupted, my brows furrowing as I leaned into him. "You're not married, so you don't know how vengeful a wife can be when you piss her off."
He took a moment then sat back down. "I was married—once upon a time."
"Oh yeah? And what happened? You canceled plans, too?"
"I wasn't enough for her," he replied solemnly.
I could still see the hurt in his eyes as he sat, looking at the floor. "I'm sorry to bring up—"
"No, don't be sorry. She left a while ago."
His lips pursed, and his knuckles turned white as they gripped onto his perfectly pressed slacks. He was uncomfortable with talk of his ex, and I wasn't in the mood to have a man cr
y on my shoulder, so I changed the subject.
"Are you coming to the barbecue tomorrow?" I asked, pulling out my phone to see if Lexi had texted me.
"You're still gonna have that; even after Angelo?"
"I don't cancel," I said while typing I love you into my keypad.
"Well then, yeah, I'll be there," he said as I pressed send.
LEXI
My phone began to vibrate next to my keys inside my purse. My stomach jumped into my throat, and I could hardly breathe as I rifled through the purse, hoping to find the before it went off again. The screen flashed, and I knew the sound of the vibration against the keys would not be far behind.
I grasped onto the phone just in time, moving it away from the keys. It was a text message from Christian.
Christian: I love you
I thought about what text I should send back, weighing out the possible outcomes in split-second increments. If I texted back, he might leave, and if I didn’t he might get more upset and stay, leaving me in the closet forever.
I tapped on the reply bar.
Me: I love you, too.
I pressed send and hoped he would rush home. Pressing my ear against the door, I hoped to hear what his response would be to the message.
I heard Christian's deep voice first. "Okay, we'll see you Saturday then. I have to go and see Lexi."
"Oh, really? What's she doing?" Liam asked with a convincing innocence in his voice.
"I don't know. Didn't ask, but I'm gonna find out," Christian replied, his voice louder and much more clear.
He must have been walking toward the door to leave.
Thank, God!
I breathed a sigh of relief, but the relief was short-lived when I realized Christian was probably going home. As soon as I heard the door shut, I burst from the closet, wild-eyed, and frantic.
"I have to go," I said, heading for the door.
He clutched onto my hand and yanked me from my escape route, spinning me around, causing my breasts to come to rest on his hard chest.
"Wait a minute now, sweet girl," he whispered, running his fingers through my hair.
The subtle aroma of the cologne wafting from his neck tantalized me, and I was bound by nature to breathe him in.
Wrath: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Deadly Sin Series Book 1) Page 8
