Tipping Point

by Ali Parker

  “Hey, now,” I said, “I don’t think it would be an unmatched fight.”

  Cat lifted an eyebrow and gave me a deadpan look. “You’ve seen the size of him, right? You know how no nonsense he is? He’d break you over his knee like you were a drumstick.”

  “Come on, it wouldn’t be that unfair of a fight.”

  “I’m fucking with you, D.” Cat smiled and put her coffee cup down. “He might be big and mean, but I don’t think he’d be a match for you. That’s why I’m glad you’re my brother. You keep us all safe.”

  “Yeah. Right. Thanks for the reminder. No pressure at all.”

  “Not a drop.” She smiled, and I chuckled.

  “Bitch.”

  “Like Momma?” We shared one more laugh.

  14

  Marcus

  “Time to take out the trash,” I grumbled, still a little pissy over having to kill my new toy. Slutty or not, used up or not, I had decided since pulling the trigger that I kind of enjoyed playing with the girl.

  Zak stood beside me as we climbed back up the rocky riverbank to the plateau where the truck was parked. We turned back, hands in our pockets, and watched as the black bag released air and began sinking beneath the surface, pushing up bubbles as it went.

  I was glad I had a friend like him to help me move Audrey’s body out of my apartment, fit her in the duffel bag like a game of Tetris, and pile the bag full with river stones to ensure she sank to the bottom. This job could be real fucking dirty sometimes, and the only way to keep your head was to have a friend by your side, reminding you that you were still, in fact, sane.

  “I hate this fucking part,” Zak said as he rubbed absently at his chest. “So messy but necessary. You know?”

  I nodded as the bag finally slipped beneath the surface, taking the fiery blonde cop down with it. “It is what it is, brother.”

  I knew Zak was staring at me. “Did you like her?”

  I laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “No. Yes. I don’t fucking know. She was good, not great, but I didn’t love her, nor would I ever have. My heart belongs to Kate Jarrett. You know that.” I glanced over at Zak. “But you? Sometimes I think I’ll love again when I look at you.”

  “Don’t flatter me.” Zak chuckled. “I was just asking, dickhead. You had to work alongside her. I know the two of you got intimate a couple times.”

  “Got intimate?” I laughed again. “What the fuck is this, daytime television? We fucked, Zak. And she fucked like a champ. I’ll give her that. But that’s all it was. The girl was a rat, and she should have known where she’d end up.”

  “At the bottom of the river?”

  “Yeah. She fucked with the wrong family.”

  My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I answered it as soon as I saw it was Demetri calling. “Yes?”

  “Marcus, I’ve got to ask you to do something for me.”

  “Name it.”

  “I have to fly you out to New York City tonight.”

  I felt my forehead furrow. “All right.”

  “Do you trust Zak to hold down the fort while you’re gone?”

  I glanced at my friend, who was looking up at me, his hands still in his pockets. “Absolutely.”

  “Good. I’ve already filled Cat in. She and Zak will handle the office and the drug running together. Get a hold of him and fill him in.”

  “Consider it done,” I said. “What’s in New York?”

  “An old friend of mine is in over his head. His daughter is missing. By the sounds of things, it might be a kidnapping. He’s expecting you late tonight and will send a car to get you from the airport. I’d rather you not discuss this with anyone else. It stays between you and me. Got it?”

  “Got it. The name of this friend?” I appreciated that Zak wasn’t staring me down for info. The guy was the best companion I’d ever had, outside of Kate. He knew I’d fill him in on the call if he needed to be filled in.

  “Fredrick Carrington. He owns—”

  “Kadia in New York. I’m aware. I went up there to visit him with Kate and Jon to check out Zandra. Remember, I’ve owned clubs too.”

  “Fuck yeah. I’d forgotten for a minute.” D sounded contemplative, and I worried for a minute that I’d just signed myself up for another job.

  “Whatever it is, I’m on it. By the way, the FBI agent is no longer with us.”

  “Excellent news. Call me with updates, and let me know when you’ve found Fredrick’s daughter. I’m sure he’ll fill you in on the details. I don’t want you running headlong into this shit. It’s complicated.”

  “Will do, boss.”

  D hung up the phone, and Zak lifted his eyebrows at me with a smile on his face.

  “More work?”

  “Yup. In New York City. You and Cat are going to hold down the fort while I’m away.” I squeezed my friend’s shoulder. “Keep in touch. Let me know if shit around here gets any crazier, all right?”

  Zak nodded. “Absolutely.”

  The drive home was lonely, so I called up Kate as I blew through red lights on my way back to the apartment. She answered, and her euphoric voice filled the speakers of my car.

  “Marcus.” Goddamn her voice sounded good. My cock twitched and started to wake up. She called it “the monster” our whole lives. I bet she missed it from time to time. Me too maybe. “It’s good to hear from you. How is Chicago?”

  It would be better with her riding shotgun, leaned over the console with her pretty lips wrapped around her favorite toy. “It’s better than I expected.”

  Her soft laughter rang in my ears. “Aren’t you going to ask how I’m doing?”

  A smile tugged at my lips. That was my Kate. Smooth and sexy as ever. “Of course. How are you? How’s Johnny-Boy?”

  “Good. Really good. Jon and I are about to head out to dinner. I’ve been craving pasta like no other. We’re pregnant, Marcus.” She paused, and it felt like someone had sucked all the air from the car around me.

  Pregnant?

  Some part of me thought there was a chance Jon would get his ass killed, and I could swoop in and save my girl again, but pregnant? They were starting a goddamn family?

  Finality pulled in around me. Tightly.

  I tried to picture what she must look like right now with a swollen belly. Probably sexy as ever with my damn luck. Too bad the baby was Jon’s and not mine.

  I steadied my voice, not needing her to know how badly I wanted to trade places with Jon. “Lasagna, then?”

  “You always remember my favorites,” she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

  “Hey there, Marcus,” Jon’s voice chimed in. She must have me on speaker phone. I could see the two of them in the master bedroom in his big house. Kate was probably sitting at her vanity, putting in her earrings or painting her lips while Jon tightened his tie behind her. Lucky fucking prick.

  “Jon,” I said in greeting. “What’s up, brother?”

  “Don’t try to hide your excitement, Marcus,” Jon said as he began laughing. Kate chuckled too.

  It was strange listening to the two of them together. She was happy. I could tell. She was really happy. And so was Jon. And they both deserved that.

  Didn’t they?

  Kate was a good woman who wasn’t made for the rough life I lived and breathed. She had done her best to keep up with it and overlook all the blood and gore, but when Jon came around, he was a welcomed change of pace. A cop, of all fucking things. I lost my childhood love to him. She and I built my first club together. We ran it until we were both ready to move on to bigger and better things. I could have never known that “better” would mean a new man for my woman.

  There was a silver lining to it all. Kate had a good clean life now. She lived a safe life. I was still free to fuck around and do the shit I was good at—and enjoyed. And I knew Jon would protect her at all costs. He loved her as I did, and he would never hurt her. I trusted him despite having lost everything to him.

  “What did you
call for, Marcus?” Kate asked.

  “Just to say hello. It’s been a while, and I was thinking about you today.” No. Not you. I was thinking about us today.

  “It has been a while. You’re all right, though? Everything is okay? You’re safe?”

  It was my turn to chuckle. “Define safe.”

  She groaned nervously into the phone. “I don’t like that, Marcus. Don’t you think it’s time you hung up your brass knuckles and settled down?”

  “Do you really think that’s something I want?”

  She paused for a moment. “No. I suppose not, but it’s something I want for you.”

  That time was gone. The woman I’d have done that for was taken.

  “I know.” I crossed three intersections, and we both sat on the line in silence. “I have to go, Kate. Have a good time at dinner. Jon, take care of our girl.”

  I hung up before Jon answered. I didn’t need to hear whatever smartass reply he was sure to come back with.

  My apartment was dark when I returned. I flicked on the lights and walked across the floor that Zak and I had spent two hours meticulously scrubbing to get rid of Audrey’s blood. The place smelled like lemon cleaner, which I didn’t mind. It was a scent I’d gotten used to running the club for so many years in New Orleans.

  In my room, I threw my shit in a suitcase. I wasn’t sure how long I would be gone, as Demetri didn’t give me too much information to go on, so I packed for all occasions. In my line of work, it was always better to be prepared, even if that meant travelling with a large suitcase.

  When everything was packed, including all my toiletries, I dropped down onto my bed and knit my hands behind my head. As I stared up at the ceiling, my mind wandered through memories of Kate. It was easy to get lost in the dark recesses of my memory, especially when she was there.

  Not too long before I came to New York City, I shared Kate with Jon. That was back in the day where she would have us both, and we didn’t mind. There was no contest. We were entirely different men, and we both gave her something different. Little did I know then that what I had to give would not be enough for her.

  My cock twitched in my pants as I remembered the way she took me, and how bad she shook when both of us approached her. She wanted a ménage so bad, but she never let herself give in. I could only imagine how good it would have been if she did. I dropped down as a well-worn fantasy worked its way through the recess of my mind.

  There were nearly a dozen candles lit, and Kate’s perfect body was stunning in the flickering amber light of the flames.

  She lay on her side, and I buried my face in the groove of her shoulder. I inhaled deeply, breathing in the smell of her as I grabbed her under her thigh and lifted her leg up. She arched her back and pressed her ass against my dick as Jon moved to stand in front of her at the edge of the bed. I urged her closer to him, and she leaned on her elbows.

  Her lips parted to take his cock as I slipped my dick into her warm, silky wetness.

  I unclasped my hands from behind my head with a growl and worked to undo my pants. I didn’t bother pulling them down. Instead, I just freed myself and wrapped my fingers around my shaft. I needed a release before I got on that fucking plane to New York City.

  Her pussy felt so fucking good. Jon gathered her hair off her face and fisted it, using his hold on her to pull her deep onto his dick. Her body tensed as she gagged, but he held her there. She moaned around the thickness of him, and I pumped into her hard and fast. I knew what my girl liked. She liked when we decided when she could breathe, and she fucking loved getting pounded when air was withheld from her. She was a sex kitten, that was for damn sure, and Jon and I knew how to treat her.

  Her pussy tightened around my cock as she came hard and fast. The new wetness had me growling her praises, and I lifted her leg higher. She held it up for me as I pressed two fingers down on her clit and rubbed her in slow circles. Kate tensed again, and Jon pulled out of her mouth. She gasped for air, and then opened her mouth for him again.

  “Fuck,” I groaned as my cock twitched in my hand. I’d never fucked a woman as sexy as Kate. And I probably only thought so because I loved her. I worked myself over as I closed my eyes and pictured her taut body, long legs, and perky tits. That night had happened in the middle of summer. She was tanned and smelled like sunscreen. We’d fucked earlier by the pool, I remembered, and I’d eaten her out while she lay spread eagle on one of the patio chairs. But she was insatiable, and later that night had wanted both Jon and me in her holes.

  “Come on Kate,” I said huskily in her ear, “Let it go. Come for me.”

  Kate quivered beneath my touch as I played with her clit and fucked her hard. My hips slapped against her ass, and she moaned, the sound muffled, as her climax sent her into merciless trembling pleasure.

  Jon let her have her air as she cried out with gratitude. I squeezed her ass and rolled onto my back. She came with me, and I held her up with my hands against her shoulder blades. She lifted her hips up and I came out of her. Then she lowered back down, and my cock was pressed to the tight entrance of her ass.

  Jon joined us on the bed and knelt between her legs.

  “I want you both inside me,” she said breathlessly.

  What Kate wanted, she got.

  I grunted as lashes of my own come shot up my stomach and chest.

  We would have fucked her so good together that she couldn’t walk properly the next day. We might have both made fun of her for it, and she punished us by walking around her place stark naked, refusing to let us use her perfect body. She held out for a good three or four hours before I pinned her to the wall and took what was mine.

  She’d always been mine. Period.

  I stared up at the ceiling and sighed. “Should have fucked her together just once while we had the chance.”

  15

  Izabella

  I watched D through the porthole window beside my seat on the private jet until he was nothing but a speck beside a black mass that was his car. When he and the tarmac and all of Chicago disappeared entirely, only to be replaced with fluffy white clouds, I leaned back and clasped my hands in my lap.

  It felt like I had been sitting there for hours when realistically, it had only been forty-five minutes or so.

  My heart ached in my chest. With everything happening and the family falling apart, there was one person I wished was there to tell me everything would be okay.

  My mother.

  I missed her terribly, and I still felt like I hadn’t really had any time to grieve. After her death, things just kept getting worse and worse, and now, they were just an absolute mess. Freddy was dead, and Marco was to blame for his and my mother’s deaths.

  Their messy, brutal, merciless deaths.

  I swallowed and forced myself to keep it together. This was not the time to feel sorry for myself. I had a job to do, and I would fucking do it. Daddy was counting on me. So was D. I was counting on myself. Marco had to pay for what he had done to all of us, and when I finally put him down, I prayed I would have the time and the clarity to grieve the losses I had suffered; the losses of my mother and my two brothers.

  I waved the flight attendant over and asked for a glass of cold soda water. I needed something to calm my stomach. Thinking about putting a bullet in Marco’s skull made me ill.

  She brought me the glass and offered me a kind smile. “Is there anything else I can get you, Ms. Castaletta?”

  “No, thank you,” I said, sipping the bubbling water.

  The flight attendant went back to her place at the front of the plane, and I found myself left alone again with nothing for company but my dark thoughts.

  “Why did you do this to us, brother?” I whispered, remembering who we used to be before we were assigned roles within the syndicate—before we knew the cruel taste of death and destruction.

  My arms were wrapped around Marco’s waist as he revved his motorcycle engine. He had just received the Ninja as a gift from Daddy, and after mu
ch begging, agreed to let me ride on the back. It was my first time on a motorcycle.

  “You swear you won’t tell Papa?” Marco called over his shoulder.

  I nodded against his back. The helmet I wore jostled around, the chin strap pulling at my throat, much too big for me. “Promise!”

  “Okay, hold on tight!”

  Marco peeled off down the driveway. The engine roared in my ears, and I let out a shrill cry of joy as the wind tugged at my knees and shoulders.

  Marco rode out onto the street but didn’t stay off the estate long. He circled back after only a few minutes and drove us back up the driveway. When he got off the bike, he pulled his helmet off, then helped me down. I leaned back to rest against the bike and yelped as scalding heat kissed my calf.

  “Izzy, don’t touch that!” Marco cried, grabbing my elbow and yanking me to him. He turned me around to peer at the mark on my calf. “The exhaust is really hot on these things. You’ve gone and burned yourself.”

  “It doesn’t hurt,” I lied, tears surfacing in my eyes. “Don’t tell Papa.”

  Marco dropped to a crouch and lifted my ankle so he could look at the burn. “I won’t. But we should get some Neosporin or something for this. Come on.” He stood and offered me his hand.

  I took it, enjoying my big brother’s firm grip and warm hand. He led me into the mansion, and we snuck into my parents’ bathroom, where he rummaged through the cupboards to find the ointment. He applied it gently to the burn and then looked up at me with a sloppy grin. “There. How does that feel?”

  “Better,” I said.

  “Good. It might scar, though. You’ll have to think of something to tell Papa if he asks.”

  Panic fluttered in my chest. “I could tell him I got on your bike after you parked it and went inside.”

  Marco lifted an eyebrow. “You’ll get in trouble if you say that.”

  “But he’ll believe me. He always believes me. And it’s like Daddy always says, the best lies are the ones sprinkled with a bit of truth.”