A Lovely Obsession: The Complete Debt of Passion Duet

by Coralee June

  Adrenaline and satisfaction made me smile as I watched through my scope. The first car had all its doors open, the men flooding from the seats like ants to help their friends. I aimed at one of the taller men. He was a large, broad target.

  Down.

  I scanned the night for another. “Got you,” I whispered when I found a clear view of another suit-wearing ill-trained idiot.

  I aimed.

  I let thrill spike through me.

  I breathed in the smell of burning rubber and death.

  “Not so fast,” a low growl said. I gasped, then twisted my neck to face the man that had found me. But the moment I looked, I was greeted with the bottom of a boot.

  And the world went black.

  ROE

  Mack was half dead by the time we found each other. He couldn’t even tell me what had happened. He drove until he couldn’t drive anymore, parked, and called me.

  I answered the phone, expecting to hear Hunter’s honey voice. I’d been pacing the floors of my motel room, anxiously waiting for his call. I was thankful that Mack was alive, but that relief was short-lived.

  Hunter stayed behind.

  I wanted to have a moment of panic, but time was of the essence. I took a cab to where he was parked at three in the morning. The mediocre first aid kit I’d grabbed at a local pharmacy wasn’t nearly enough to help Mack. His face was so swollen he couldn’t really make facial expressions. His nose was crooked and broken. His eyes so swollen I was shocked he could see the road. He moaned and argued as I drove him to the hospital. “Don’t take me to a damn hospital. I need Advil.” I knew I was breaking some gang rules by taking him there, but we didn’t have much of a choice. He was feverish and bloodied. I was surprised he managed to drive away.

  “You need antibiotics. Maybe even surgery. You’re wheezing.”

  “Fuck,” he groaned as I sped down the road. I was thankful it was the middle of the night. At least I didn’t have to fight New York traffic.

  “You have to run,” Mack said. We were parked outside the hospital. I’d run inside to get help, and we both had to wait a couple of minutes for a few nurses to help me lift him out of the truck. “You have to get out of here.”

  Hunter’s promise stood out in my mind as Mack was pulled onto a stretcher. Run. If shit goes south, don’t stick around.

  I wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Mack. You’re going to be okay, right?” I asked while following the team of nurses walking into the hospital. They were barking orders to one another, assessing his damage in rapid-fire procession. I could barely keep up.

  “I’ll be fine,” he grumbled. “I fucking hate hospitals.”

  I realized quickly that his aversion to this place had nothing to do with outing his gang and everything to do with his daughter. I wished we had more time for me to reassure him, but Mack wasn’t the type to talk about his feelings. I honestly just hoped they pumped him with enough painkillers that he forgot where he was. I softened and followed the team toward a set of doors. “Only family past this point,” one of the nurses that was holding a clipboard said.

  I snapped my gaze to them and rolled my shoulders back. “He’s my dad,” I explained quickly. I glanced at Mack, and his battered face twisted into a half smile.

  We barreled through the door, and they started hooking Mack up to IVs. I waited by the curtain, watching with fear. “That’s my daughter,” Mack said, pride seeping through his tone. “She’s my daughter, guys,” he then slurred again. Tears filled my eyes. Mack really was my father. He protected me. Loved me. He was the only constant in my life.

  “He’s delirious,” one of the doctors said. “We need to get his fever down.”

  “I want a cath and blood sample now,” another said.

  At the mention of the catheter, I immediately slipped out. I absolutely refused to see that.

  I stood in the waiting room for a minute, glancing at the door leading to where Mack was, then back at my feet. I wanted to be here for him, but Hunter needed me too. I couldn’t take on Bloomington by myself. I wasn’t stupid enough to get myself trapped and killed, too.

  But I knew someone with the resources to save him. I knew someone strong enough to stop all of this.

  “Ma’am,” someone said, drawing me out of my thoughts. “Is that your truck parked out front? You need to move it.”

  I took a deep breath. Mack would understand. I had to do this.

  “Yeah,” I replied. “I’m leaving. Can you give this number to the charge nurse? Tell him to call it with updates on Mack McCrey.”

  “Ma’am, there are forms to fill out…” he called at my back. I ignored him and strode out of the waiting room before getting in Hunter’s truck. After turning it on, I took a deep breath.

  It was time to find Gavriel Moretti.

  I didn’t have to knock on the door of Gavriel’s building. I just stood outside and waited. Gavriel saw everything. He knew everything. Three minutes in the autumn chill was all it took before two guards were walking toward me. “I’m here for Gavriel,” I said to them while cautiously raising my arms up for them to pat me down.

  “If I were you, I’d leave,” one of them replied before running his hands over my back and down my thighs. They led me inside, and my heart raced. Last time I came here, things were different. Hunter said Gavriel didn’t want to be involved, but this was his kill. This was his mission. I wasn’t about to let Hunter die because of stupid gang shit. It wasn’t fair. Hunter wanted out, and even though I knew Gavriel would have brought him back regardless, it still made me feel like shit that we were in this position because I couldn’t let him go. There were no regrets, and I wouldn’t trade my new understanding of Hunter for the world, but that didn’t mean I was going to let this ruin everything.

  The posh building was dark, the shades drawn, blocking the early morning light. Despite this, everywhere was stirring with life. I could hear a shower running down the hall, and I smelled bacon cooking. “He’s in the kitchen,” one of the guards said.

  “Lead the way.” My voice was rough. Feet trudging across the carpeted hallways, I kept my eyes and ears open. I didn’t exactly know what I was going to say to Gavriel. I was desperate for help and had nothing to bargain with. Gavriel seemed to care a lot about family and loyalty, but that didn’t mean shit. He was in the business of looking out for himself.

  A hint of sausage joined the smell of bacon, both the savory scents filling my nose when I entered the kitchen. Gavriel was wearing a thick burgundy robe and was flipping eggs on the stovetop. “You shouldn’t have come,” he said, his back facing me.

  “You and I both know I had to.”

  Gavriel reached to his right and grabbed a handful of onion and bell pepper to add to his breakfast concoction. “You don’t know the rules, but you’ll learn soon enough.” I swallowed as Gavriel glanced over his shoulder at the men flanking me. “Leave,” he ordered calmly.

  I waited patiently as the two men shuffled out of the kitchen. Even though I knew they worked for Gavriel, I felt even more afraid when they left. Being alone with the infamous Bullet leader was like walking into a lion’s den. It was like standing out in an open Oklahoma field and waiting for the tornado to touchdown. He was deadly. It was just the vibe he gave off.

  “Hunter was captured last night,” Gavriel began. He still hadn’t turned to look at me, which for some reason made me even more scared.

  “He went to save Mack,” I explained.

  “He should have waited. Bloomington was the target.” Gavriel’s voice was cold and calm. His shoulders rolled back with confidence as he cooked.

  I shook my head. “Mack would’ve been dead by then. He’s barely alive now.”

  Gavriel meticulously grabbed a nearby navy blue porcelain plate and put his breakfast on it. I watched him fold a cloth napkin into the shape of a triangle and slip a silver fork inside of the crease. “There are always casualties in war, Roe Palmer.”

  “But this isn’t even our
war!” I wasn’t planning on raising my voice to Gavriel Moretti, but it was infuriating how calm he was. “None of this is Hunter’s fault, and now he’s been captured.” Tears started to slowly stream down my face. I hated looking so weak, but the emotions of the last few days had finally caught up to me.

  “You’re right,” a soft voice from behind me said. “It’s not your war. It’s mine.” I spun around to look at Sunshine. She was wearing a black silk robe that hit midthigh. Her hair was wild and full-bodied, like she’d been rolling around in bed all night. I didn’t know this woman from Adam, but a spike of anger surged through me at her words.

  “I was going to bring you breakfast in bed,” Gavriel said. I was still very confused about all of their dynamics.

  “I wanted to come downstairs,” she replied. “Let’s all have a seat, hmm?” At her request, the three of us found chairs at the breakfast table and awkwardly sat down. I didn’t know what to say, but I was restless. I didn’t have time for any of this. We needed to get to Hunter now.

  “My father was a very bad man,” Sunshine said while picking up her fork. She daintily put the cloth napkin in her lap before looking at me. “I’ve made it my mission to tell the world about the sins of my father. It’s been several years since he died, but more and more information is still coming out. I’m still finding victims. We’re still discovering his associates.”

  I briefly wondered what it was her father had done, but it didn’t feel right to ask. What did this have to do with Bloomington? Sunshine seemed almost fragile as she spoke. She paused for a moment to run her thumb over the edge of her fork, as if counting each point. “I came upon some evidence linking my father to Bloomington. There’s a network of men in political positions who use their power to get away with very bad things.”

  Her father must’ve had to be pretty damn bad. She was determined to bring him down even after death. And yet…she married a mob boss. It almost felt hypocritical, but I wasn’t one to judge.

  “So you have evidence on Bloomington?” I was trying to understand what she was saying without pushing too far. “Why don’t you just go to the police?”

  “For starters, it’s not enough evidence to incriminate him,” Gavriel replied. “Besides, men like him have too many people on the inside. He’s too powerful. Two influential. Hell, he parades his mistress right under his wife’s nose and yet is portrayed as this huge family man. We even tried submitting the tapes to someone in the news just to put doubt in the public’s eye, and our contact ended up dead.”

  “But you have the leverage,” I replied in confusion.

  “Not strong enough leverage. It’s not enough to get him in jail.”

  “If he’s so powerful, then why not just let it go? Forget the blackmail and leave it be. Revenge on a dead man isn’t worth all of this,” I spat out. Gavriel immediately slammed his fist on the table. I jumped, but Sunshine stayed completely still. Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.

  “I can’t let it go,” Sunshine said while gripping her fork. I felt bad for Sunshine. She was obviously tortured by whatever her father did. She seemed lost in revenge. Just because I didn’t understand the details, didn’t mean I didn’t feel empathy for the woman. But at the end of the day, I was here for me and mine. I was here for Hunter.

  Gavriel spoke up as she stared off at the wall. “We had hoped Hunter would get the job done quietly so we could get our revenge and move on. Then Mack tried to be the hero, and Bloomington found out who was trying to tarnish his image.”

  “So what now? He has Hunter,” I said.

  “He does,” Gavriel agreed. I tried to stay patient. He sounded far too fucking calm for all of this.

  “I’m still confused. If your evidence isn’t enough to do anything, why does he even care?” I asked.

  At that, Sunshine let out a dark laugh. “He knows someone has tried repeatedly leaking a video of him and Paul Bright to the press. But up until Mack went Rambo on Gracie Mansion, he didn’t know who had the video. And right now, our only leverage is that he doesn’t know what the video is. He just knows it exists.”

  “He’s spinning plates,” Gavriel added. “Hundreds of them. One is bound to drop.”

  Paul Bright? Why did that name sound so familiar? Was that Sunshine’s father?

  “What is on the tape you have?”

  “It’s a video of Bloomington meeting my father at a park. The camera is shaky, but you can hear him shouting at my father to delete some tape. He’s saying it was just one time. He didn’t want to do it again.”

  Clarity hit me. “Bloomington thinks you have your father’s tape.”

  “And whatever is on it is incriminating enough that it won’t matter what connections he has.”

  “But you don’t have it?”

  “No.”

  I stewed over all of this information. Sunshine had blackmail but not enough blackmail. Bloomington was searching for who had the original tape. I smiled.

  “You don’t have to have the actual tape. You just have to convince him you do,” I replied, an idea forming in my mind. “It’s your father’s tape, right? If you showed up threatening to out him, he’d have to believe you.”

  “What are you saying?” Sunshine asked.

  “I’m saying. You go there with a wire. You get him talking. Convince him you have the tape, then get him to admit what’s on it. A confession is far more valuable anyway. There’s nothing that can cover that. And we can bargain for Hunter. Trade fake blackmail in exchange for him and a confession.”

  “I don’t like that plan for obvious reasons. We could just storm Gracie Mansion and kill them all. Assassins are cleaner, but I’m not afraid of war,” Gavriel replied dryly.

  I rolled my eyes. “You seemed pretty afraid of it when you sent Hunter in to do the job for you,” I retorted.

  “I sent Hunter to do the job I pay him to do. Don’t question my ability to get something done, Roe. You need my help, remember?”

  “You can’t just kill the mayor and have widespread casualties, then expect no one to notice or come knocking down your door.”

  Sunshine pinched the bridge of her nose while gnawing on her lip. “We should arrange a meeting,” she whispered.

  “Absolutely not. Blackmail trades never work. The trust is never there. Who’s to say I didn’t copy the video? Shit like that never ends well, and if I make a grand show of caring for Hunter, Bloomington will feel like he has leverage. He’ll threaten his life like he did Mack. Acting like I’m indifferent about his life is the only thing keeping him alive.”

  “Then don’t bargain for Hunter. Bargain for cash, or whatever else it is you think you could squeeze out of him,” I offered.

  “Once again,” he continued in an annoyed tone, “trades like this never work.” He spoke to me like I was a naive child.

  “Make it work,” Sunshine interrupted. She stood up and placed her plate in the sink. Gavriel and I waited for her to continue. “I’m not going to let another person die because of Paul Bright. Call Bloomington. Tell him to meet us, and we’ll exchange the evidence for Hunter. We’ll meet him with gunfire. I don’t care about the odds against us.”

  “He’ll fight back,” Gavriel argued.

  Sunshine sauntered over to Gavriel and bent over to kiss him on the cheek before speaking sternly to him. “Then I suggest we fight harder. I want to be done with this. Let’s kill the bastard so we can move on.”

  My brows shot up in surprise.

  Gavriel wrapped his hand around Sunshine’s wrist, squeezing gently. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Yes, sir,” she replied with a tight smile. “You just better not die, or I’ll make sure to find you in hell and drag you back to me.”

  He shook his head, then looked at me. “I’ll arrange it.”

  We sat there for a moment, and then I shamefully remembered something I should have been thinking about all along. “Wait. Nicole is here. Can I see her?” I asked while shooting up out of my seat. I was
seriously the worst friend in the world, but I hadn’t had much time to worry.

  “She’s in the guest room down the hall,” Sunshine said with a smile. The heaviness of our previous conversation was starting to wear off. “I really like her. She reminds me of an old friend of mine, Phoenix. I think I’ve convinced her to move to New York and run our club!”

  What the fuck had happened these last few days? “I’ll go see her,” I stammered while exiting the kitchen.

  “Third door on your right,” Sunshine said. “We’ll come get you once things are ready.”

  I nodded while jogging down the hallway. Counting doors, I made my way to the guest room Sunshine had indicated and threw open the door. Sure enough, my best friend was sleeping butt ass naked on satin sheets with her tits out. The shades were drawn, and her light snores filled the room.

  I sighed in relief at the sight of her, then felt the weight of this week and my worry for Mack and Hunter hit me like a train. Part of me wanted to go back to the hospital. Part of me felt drawn to Hunter. And the other part of me just wanted to crawl into bed with my best friend and have a good cry.

  The latter part of me won. Slipping out of my shoes, I crept closer to Nicole, smiling at her cat-like snores and sprawled body. I lifted the sheets and curled next to her as tears streamed down my cheeks. She woke up almost instantly. “Roe?” she asked. “Is that you?”

  “I missed you so much. I’m so sorry,” I sobbed.

  Nicole wrapped her arms around me and held me tightly. She didn’t yell at me for running away or getting her into this mess—though by the sound of it, she and Sunshine hit it off. Something told me anyone Sunshine liked was off limits to Gavriel. He might wear the pants in their relationship, but she controlled the zipper.

  “Honey, don’t cry!” Nicole’s sleepy voice said. She scratched my back with her long fingernails as I hugged her.

  Nicole did what friends do. She held me as I cried. She didn’t ask questions. And when the sobs had stopped and exhaustion took over, she cradled me as I started to fall asleep, brushing my hair with her fingers and murmuring words of encouragement. Though I felt guilty for giving in to my tiredness, my body felt heavy and lethargic. I hadn’t rested in days, and it was all piling up on me.