by B L Mute
“Making a drop if I had to guess. He was coming out of the deposit room with Snyder.”
I stop in front of Lucas. “Was anything missing from our room?”
His face scrunches as he rubs the back of his neck. “I don’t know. Charlie was so worked up over the envelope, and I was pissed about the cop kissing her, I don’t think either of us paid attention.”
My blood boils with his words. “He kissed her?”
Lucas backs away. “I handled it.”
I bite the inside of my cheek and try to bring my anger to a simmer. Needing to change the subject before I explode, I ask another question. “What envelope?”
His eyes go wide. “You didn’t put that in the bag?” He looks around the room to make sure we are still alone before he talks again. “I assumed it had something to do with what’s happening. I told her it was expense reports.”
A knock on the door rings out. I suck my teeth and whisper. “We need to find out what was in that fucking envelope.”
I push past Lucas and go to the door. Opening it, I see Snyder standing on the other side. All of the anger I’ve tried to suppress comes rushing back, and it takes everything in me not to break his nose and curb stomp his face. “Can I help you?”
He looks over my shoulder and up the stairs. I follow his movements and see Charlie staring down on us. I hope like hell she didn’t hear everything Lucas and I said.
I shake out my shoulders and step in front of him, blocking his view.
“I just have a few questions about something that happened about two weeks ago. Your guard had no problem letting me in when I flashed the badge” He grins at me and tries to push his way through the door.
I don’t budge. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He tips his head to the side. “You sure? Guy was missing a few fingers. I know that used to be Cedric’s signature.”
I smile at his comment. Cedric did teach me a lot, a lot I still carry with me to this day. Cutting off a few fingers never gets old.
“Look, you’re welcome to come in with a warrant. If you have any more questions, you can talk to my lawyer.” I close the door in his face, then turn back to Charlie.
I know there is no investigation on Hugo because he doesn’t talk. I’m sure that’s one of the only reasons the cartel keeps him around, but with everything else about to happen, and the comment Omar made, I need to put things in motion.
“What’s going on, Teddy?” Her eyes plead with me, but I do my best to not let them crack me.
“He kissed you?” I brush off her comment even though I so desperately want to tell her my plan, but it’s too risky. The twins and Carl already know, and I’m hoping like hell they don’t have any slip ups. If Charlie knew, it’d be impossible to stay away.
She laughs and walks slowly down the stairs. “Is that really all you care about? He just came here questioning you about what you did to Hugo, but you’re more worried about a stupid peck on the cheek?”
I meet her at the bottom of the stairs. With her feet planted on the last step, she stands even with my height. I look directly in her eyes. “I don’t like people touching what’s mine.”
She brings her face close to mine, her lips lingering a hair away from my own. “Oh yeah?”
Her hot breath tickles my lips as she speaks, stirring my dick to life. “Yes” is all I manage to get out.
“Well, I don’t like being lied to.” Her voice raises a pitch as she backs away and sidesteps around me.
I bend my knees and bite my knuckles. This woman seriously knows how to get to me. She reels me in and makes my body ache for her touch, then just as soon as it all starts, it’s over.
“Charlotte!” I yell behind her as she walks down the hall with a bounce in her step, but she doesn’t stop or turn around.
I lean my head back and let out a deep breath as she disappears into her room. Once her door clicks closed, I shout for the twins and go upstairs to my office and wait.
As I sit down in the chair behind my desk, the twins come in. I motion for them to close the door behind them. Both sit across from me with callous expressions.
“It’s happening tonight.”
They look to each other, then back to me. “We have a week, boss.”
I shake my head. “Not anymore. Snyder knows she’s with us now. He won’t stop trying to find ways to see her. We need to handle this and handle it soon.”
“He doesn’t have anything on us.”
“I know that, but his infatuation with Charlie will keep him snooping around. I have a feeling he knows more than us, and I want to make sure we are the first to strike.”
Lucas shakes his head and leans back in his chair. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
I lift my chin and try to appear more confident than I am. “Nothing is going to feel right until we bring him down, Luke. It happens tonight.”
He nods and doesn’t question further. I stand from my desk and walk to the window. A blanket of night is slowly creeping over the sky. If I want to do this, now is the time. “I’m going to tell my girl goodbye.”
I leave the room and walk down the stairs and to the hallway. Before I open Charlie’s door, I take another deep breath, praying she’s fallen asleep. It seems that it was just morning, but the day has passed so quickly. Between Charlie and Lucas being gone for a few hours on the run, and Snyder coming to question me, so many hours have passed, and I didn’t even realize it. If I knew this would be my last day, I would have done shit differently.
I try and push the thoughts that have been running through my head all week out of my mind and look to Charlie’s sleeping body in the bed.
I pad quietly over the carpet and lean down over her. I push the hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear. This is the calm before the storm, and she doesn’t even know it. I kiss her temple and inhale her scent one last time, filing it away in my mind. If this is the last time I’m going to see her, I don’t want to forget a single thing.
“Goodbye, my beautiful Monkshood,” I whisper, knowing she won’t hear me.
I straighten back, taking one last look at her before I walk to the door and step out quietly.
Julius and Lucas wait on the other side. Before they can speak, or Lucas more like it, I lift a finger to my mouth. They nod and follow me into the foyer.
“Neither of you will cave. Stay strong, break knees, and take care of my girl.”
Julius nods and pulls me into a hug, clapping me on my back hard. When he releases me, Lucas does the same.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he questions again.
“I’m sure.”
He nods and pulls my keys from his pocket, handing them to me. I take them and start to walk out the door.
“Boss?”
I turn and look back to Lucas. He opens his mouth, then closes it, shaking his head. I don’t waste any more time waiting. I hurry out the door and down the steps, then slip into my car, telling them all goodbye in my head one last time. As I go down the drive, I look in my rearview mirror and see the twins piling into the SUV alone. Tonight is the night.
I wake in a sleepy haze and touch the bed next to me. My hand is met with coldness, and realization hits me as dread sinks to the pit of my stomach. Cold sweat coats my body as my heart thrashes in my chest. My heartbeat hums in my ears, too loud to even think. I shoot up and scan the room with my hand over my heart, trying to calm its erratic beating. I take in a deep breath when I see everything is in its place, then look to the other side of my bed. Teddy never came to bed, or he’s been gone a while. All of the emotions I’ve tried to lull come rushing back.
I leap from the bed and throw on my robe, then go to my door. Stepping into the hallway, I look to the clock on the wall. Three forty-seven. It’s too early for anyone to be up, but I hear shuffling in the kitchen.
I tiptoe toward the doorway, relief flooding me when I see it’s Carl. “What are you doing?”
He pours boiling
water into a french press and glances at me. “I couldn’t sleep. Did I wake you?”
I rub my hand over my head and grip the opening of my robe, trying to think if maybe I did hear him and that’s what woke me up. “I don’t think so. Where is everyone?”
I look around the kitchen as I take a seat on one of the barstools.
“Warehouse run. Something about bringing some of our supply here.” He pulls two mugs from the cabinet above him and pours coffee into them before spooning three sugars into each. The sharp ding of metal against the ceramic makes me cringe as he stirs them.
“Are you okay, Charlotte?”
I hadn’t realized I closed my eyes and curled my body. I’m so on edge and don’t even know why. I uncurl my shoulders and shake my head. “Something doesn’t feel right, Carl.”
He sets a cup in front of me before taking a sip from his own. “What do you mean?”
I grab the mug and cup it in my hands, letting the warmth seep into me, hoping it will calm the small shakes racking through me. “I don’t know. I just feel—” I cut myself off and release a breath. “I feel something in my gut telling me something bad is going to happen.”
His eyes droop with sadness or sleepiness, I can’t quite tell which. “I’m sure all is well. Drink your coffee and maybe get a nice shower. Maybe you had a nightmare you aren’t remembering.”
I nod with a sad smile and chuckle. “Yeah, maybe.” I want to try and explain more, but I don’t have the energy. The only other time I’ve felt this way was the night my dad died. I woke up covered in sweat, heart threatening to beat out of my chest, then got the news not even ten minutes later.
I slip off the stool, leaving my coffee behind, and walk toward the gym. I find it empty, which isn’t surprising. I pass back into the hallway and linger by Lucas’s door. I want to knock and see if he knows where Teddy is, but I think better of it. Lucas is so hot and cold. One minute he likes me, and the next he hates me. If I wake him up at almost 4:00 a.m., I’m sure his distaste would only grow.
Going to the stairs, I let my hand linger on the banister. There is nothing for me up there, but I know Teddy’s office is there. I shake away the uncertainty and take the steps one after the other. The theater room and sitting room are empty, which means they have to be in his office or guest room.
His office door is open with the light off, same as the guest room. Fucking bust. I wander around trying to think if he mentioned having something to do, but I swear he didn’t, or did he? I know Carl said they were bringing supply here, but that’s too close to the same excuse I’ve been fed for weeks to be real. I chew on my nail and pace more and more, probably burning a trail in the marble flooring with all the friction I’m causing. Finally, I hear the front door open. Rushing down the stairs I see Lucas and Julius walking in. “Thank fuck! I thought something was wrong.” I make it to the bottom of the stairs and look at their faces.
Each one of them mirror the other. Their faces show no emotion. Their hands fall limply to their sides, and their eyes stare blankly ahead… I try to make eye contact, but as soon as I do, their chin goes to their chest, not wanting to look at me.
Slowly I walk in front of them and stop. “Where is Teddy?”
Neither answer. I grab Lucas by the chin and raise his eyes to mine. “Where. Is. Teddy?” I ask again.
“Charlotte…” His face fades to a paler shade as he trails off, giving me the same blank stare.
I look behind him out the open door and there is nothing. Everything is draped in darkness, and still.
I move to Julius. “Fucking say something,” I beg.
I place my hands on his shoulders and shake him, but he doesn’t budge. His lips remain sealed while he looks down to his feet.
“Tell me—” I clear my throat. “Tell me he is on the way.”
Lucas shakes his head.
“Where is he?” My lip quivers as tears prick the back of my eyes.
It’s like déjà vu. The cops who worked my dad’s case, men I grew up with, wore the same expressions. My heart felt the same pain, and my body reacted the same way. I don’t need to hear them say it to know what’s going on, but I want to hear it.
“He’s gone,” Lucas says with a voice full of pain.
“Gone how?” I already know the answer, but I don’t want to believe it.
Lucas runs his hands through his hair and darts his eyes everywhere but to me. “There was an accident. We were only supposed to move some things around, and out of nowhere, someone came and ran him off the road. We were right there.” His voice cracks with anger as he grips his hair again, tugging it with force, and his face contorts into something wicked.
My mouth falls open on a silent scream as vomit snakes its way up the back of my throat. My knees go weak as I collapse onto the floor, and my body shakes. Hiccups rack my body as tears flow like a river down my cheeks.
This isn’t real. This isn’t real.
Teddy was just here hours ago. I refuse to believe he’s gone. That his hands will never touch me again, his lips will never kiss me again.
“Charlie—” Before he can say anything more, I rise from my knees and slap him. My hand heats as the feel of small needles poke my skin over and over, but I brush the pain away. I raise my hand to do it again, but Julius steps in front of me, catching my wrist.
Tears spill from my eyes as I claw at him the best I can with him holding me. “You were supposed to protect him!” I scream.
He wraps his arms around me tightly and pushes my head into his chest. My body sags against him as I cry and scream until my throat is sore and my eyes are too blurry to see.
One month later…
I would like to think I’ve fallen into a comfortable rhythm since Teddy’s death, but I’d be lying to myself. I knew Teddy was grooming me to take his place, but I never thought it would come so soon. At first, I didn’t want to believe it. My head was a wreck, and I never saw his body. I twisted it in my mind that because of that, none of this was real. That Teddy would walk in the door one day and prove I wasn’t crazy, but it’s been a month and he still hasn’t shown.
Lucas insisted my last memory of him shouldn’t be one of him carved up and bloody, and in a way I’m grateful, but I hold more resentment than anything. If I could have seen him one last time, told him I loved him, maybe it would prove this was reality and I could find peace. But there is no peace to be found, just a new normal.
If I’ve learned anything in my short time with the Mafia, it’s that nothing is consistent, and things are always changing. More monsters come out in the dark every night, and life is considered as nothing more than disposable.
I pin a stray strand of hair behind my ear and smooth down my dress while looking into the mirror. In my room, I’m a mess. I cry and scream and let out the pain I feel every day from losing Teddy, but when I step out those doors, I’m composed, cool. I’m the queen they never expected.
I open my door and start down the hall, letting my heels clap against the marble floor. “Luke, Jules!” I yell.
Both twins rush to my side. I don’t know if it’s the fact that Teddy is gone, or they actually respect and fear me, but ever since that night, they don’t question me. When I call, they come.
“Emil called. Are you ready?” I bounce my eyes between the both of them, and they nod. “Good, get me my bag.”
Julius disappears, then reappears with my Prada bag. I’m sure they get tired of my demands, but resentment is a bitch. Although Lucas was the one to insist I didn’t see Teddy, I know Julius agreed, and for that, he gets my wrath too. It could be worse for them. I could have thrown them out on their ass, but I know Teddy wouldn’t want that. Hell, I don’t want it either. They’re the one thing that makes me feel close to him. Even if we don’t speak about Teddy much, I know they feel the same way I do. We’re all connected, more than ever before, by the fucked-up tragedy.
I reach inside and grab my gun. It’s a silver Kimber LW pistol, with mother of pearl grips
with an H carved into its side with a crown behind it. The one last thing Teddy gave me before he died. He said I would know when to open the bag, but the truth is, I didn’t. Maybe he intended it for when he died, or maybe an anniversary. Who knows?
Lifting my dress, I position it in my holster. “Let’s go.”
We pull up to Red Eye and step from the car. The same bouncer who works every night greets us at the door, then sweeps his arm to the side, inviting us in. I go straight to the stairs and start taking them one by one.
Before I open the door at the top, Lucas places his hand on the small of my back. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
I look into his eyes and see the same pained expression I do every day. “I’m more than sure.” I step out of his hold and push open the door.
Whatever Emil found out about the key will be a good distraction. I can’t spend my days thinking and trying to analyze what happened to Teddy. I know it isn’t healthy. Focusing on a puzzle I’ve been trying to pick apart for months is exactly what I need. I need to find my dad’s murderer. I need to handle it, and once I’m done, I’ll get to the bottom of Teddy’s death whether the twins help me or not.
They’ve tried to say it was an accident, a mere coincidence of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I know there is more to it than that. The twins know more—they’re hiding something from me, and I’ll get to the bottom of it in time. One thing I don’t do is give up on the people I love. Lucas said it himself: “If you fight just to fight, you’ll get your ass kicked. Fight for what you love, and you’ll never lose.” And two things I know for sure: I loved Teddy, and I don’t like to lose.
Emil is stretched on the couch, waiting alone for us. “Charlie! Boys!” he calls out, hurrying to close the gap between us.
“Emil.” I dip my head.
He grabs my shoulders and pulls me close, wrapping his arms around me. “It’s good to see you. At the funeral you were…” He trails off.
