by Tijan
I gave Roman a frank look. “You called me back because Marco made his move.”
His eyes didn’t shift. Nothing. There was no reaction. He was only listening to me, which told me he was aware of everything I was about to say. He had played it out in his head. He’d probably played out every response I would make and some of those weren’t using words.
I asked, “You want me to execute him?”
I waited. I needed to hear what action he’d want me to take.
Roman lifted his head, inch by inch. “I’m not strong enough to take on Estrada, not yet. We have other adversaries here.”
No, no, no.
That didn’t make sense.
Marco made a move. He killed his father. My mother.
I didn’t think he would’ve killed our sister. She was the only one he showed emotion toward. He was moving to take over the Morales Cartel, if it wasn’t already done. No one would go against him. The Colombians would wait, see who came into power. The same with Bolivia. Belize. All of them would wait, but Marco wouldn’t move their way. He would, if he wanted to take over their product, but knowing Marco, he would want to take over further distribution.
The US was the golden ticket. They paid the most for their product.
No.
I was right.
Marco was coming. He would come for me first.
He had decided to move against Roman, probably hearing how the family had been thinned. Or that was how he thought.
“Why are we in Boston?” I knew what I’d have to do, even if Roman didn’t give me the order. I was going, but I needed to know where my boss’ head was and Boston wasn’t the ‘where’ we had eliminated his brothers for. This wasn’t the targeted location.
“We’re in Boston because it’s open right now.”
I frowned.
“The family that was controlling Boston moved to Chicago. They’ve had their own changes in the past years. That’s why I reached out. There’s been skirmishes, but no one has stepped up here. I want to take over. I already have Philly, DC, and the rest of the East Coast except for New York.”
“You reached out?”
“I can’t fight Estrada, but you’re right. I think he did the hit, and I think he’s planning on moving north. His first order of business will be to send sicarios after you.”
“You’re sending me after him.”
It wasn’t a request. Roman’s nostrils flared and I knew he checked me.
His eyes went flat and his mouth thinned. “I send my best soldier after him, I could lose my best soldier. I need you alive.”
No.
“You have to send me after him.”
“No, Cla—Raize. No, Raize. There’s another player here. I want to send you north, to Canada. Kai Bennett. He controls almost all of Canada. He’s not big enough to take on Marco and neither am I, but together, we could.”
It wouldn’t work.
None of this was going to work.
They needed a lone wolf, or a lone group to go in and assassinate Marco. It was the only way to stop him.
“He has too many men.”
Kai Bennett would not team up with Roman. Roman was too new. He’d just assassinated his two brothers. That was a bold move and it would be perceived as risky. Kai Bennett did not take risk, but Roman was set.
“The Bennetts are a family organization.”
Roman’s head reared back, a small inch, but he was listening.
“You just took out your two brothers. That goes against the grain of who Bennett is. Sending me to him to make a connect for you is a waste of time. It won’t work and you’ll lose that time for a surprise assault against Marco. Send me, just me, and I’ll get it done. I know the area. I know Mexico. I can get in and get it done.”
“I could lose you.”
“It’s worth the risk.”
Roman’s eyes flashed and he leaned forward, his palms going on the desk. He leaned over, his head toward me. “Not to me!”
Downer moved to stand between us, at the side of the desk. He had a hand on his gun, but his eyes were trained on me.
I was the wild card here.
I stepped back. I needed to use reason. That’s what Roman would listen to, only reason. I needed more of it. My mind was trying to think.
“Send me to kidnap my sister.”
The room’s temperature dipped and I knew I had them. Both of them. They shared a look.
I explained, “She’s the only person Marco cares about. I can go down, get her, and bring her back. He’ll be tormented and he’ll want her back. He’ll lose time and energy trying to get her back. Sending me to Kai Bennett is not going to work, not yet. He doesn’t work with others and if you want to recruit him, you need a solid and stellar reputation. Send me to take Marco’s sister and that’ll get back to Bennett. It’s a move he might appreciate. It’s not expected. It’s a mental tactic.”
Roman was regarding me again, his eyes narrowed.
He was thinking about it.
Downer noticed it, too, and he threw his hands up. “Are you kidding me?! You’re actually considering this? This is insane.”
Roman ignored him, asking me, “If you can get in and take your sister, why wouldn’t you be able to kill Estrada then? You’re taking the same risk.”
I shook my head. “I’m not. I can get word to her. She’ll tell me where to go and the best time to take her. My sister begged for my life before. If she’s still alive, she’s not stupid. She’ll know Marco ordered the hit on our mother. I guarantee that my sister will want me to come for her. She’s his blind spot. We need to use that.”
My pitch was done.
Now I had to wait.
Roman needed to think it over. He needed to come to his decision, but I laid it out as best as I could.
“I’ve heard what your woman can do.”
That surprised me. It wasn’t what I expected from him.
I frowned, but didn’t comment back.
Roman pushed up from the desk, going back to the window and he reached for his phone. He turned his back to me. “Go. Get your sister and get back here, alive.”
I wasn’t waiting for him to change his mind.
I started to leave.
He stopped me at the door, saying, “But Raize.”
I turned back.
He was watching me, his phone in his hand. “Your woman. I get that, but you’re my man. Your woman is then therefore one of mine. If there comes a time when I’ll need to use what she can do, I will. You will bring her to me to do that.” His eyes were harsh. His tone was unrelenting. “There is no room for negotiations with this one, not if you continue to be in my employment. Do you understand me?”
I had to give him the answer he wanted.
I said, “Yes,” as I reached for the doorknob and I left.
I didn’t wait to be excused, but I knew as I left, I was on a leash and I would find how far that leash extended one day. As I went back out, my car was brought up for me, and I drove away because that day wasn’t today.
Now, what we had to do was the reason Ash had come into my life.
The irony wasn’t lost on me.
We were about to kidnap my sister.
51
Ash
Something was really wrong.
I sat up in bed, waiting for him until I saw a sweep of headlights pull into the driveway. I was in the middle of the bed, my arms hugging my legs, my knees pulled up against my chest. I was there, and it was a long time before he came in.
That said almost everything to me.
He didn’t want to come in.
Why?
I didn’t wait.
I moved across the bed, standing barefoot and I left.
I was in a tanktop and my underwear, but I hoped Cavers and Jake would be considerate, not come in if they were up? I didn’t know. At this point, I didn’t care.
I found him in the kitchen, a bottle of tequila next to him. The only light was a small nightlight
that was left from the guest bathroom, and that’d been overlooked since we normally kept no lights on anywhere we stayed.
He didn’t turn to me, and my gut clenched.
I went to him, crawling onto his lap, my legs straddling him, and I pressed my hands to his chest.
He didn’t grab my legs. He always grabbed my legs.
“What happened?” I asked softly. I was treading with caution.
I’d never felt this from Raize, whatever this was.
He didn’t answer, staring off into the distance behind me.
“Hey.” I slid my hand around his neck, turning his head to see me. I bent down, eye to eye. And I began rubbing my other hand up and down over his chest, slipping under his shirt. “Tell me.”
Now he moved.
His eyes flashed, and his hands gripped my thighs, pulling me tight over him.
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple moving up and down once before he rasped out, “There was a hit on Morales and his girlfriend.”
I rocked back.
The only girlfriend that would affect Raize was his mother.
“Raize,” I murmured.
He kept on, his eyes going back to staring at something behind me. “She was left intact. They executed her with a shot to the forehead.”
I leaned back, trying to get him to look at me. He needed to see me, not whatever was in his head. “Raize.”
“It was Marco.”
“But if he did that? Took over the Morales Cartel?”
“Then he’d come for me…”
Our earlier conversation flared to memory. My question and his response about Marco Estrada, and a whole new slew of chills were slithering through my body.
I rocked forward against him, only half realizing what I was doing.
I said, “Roman is sending you after Marco?”
His hands gripped my thighs again before moving up to my ass. He cupped me there, and he helped move me with my already rocking motion. His hands were kneading my ass, slipping underneath my underwear. “No.”
I frowned. “But—”
His eyes found mine, tipping up. “Roman’s too new over here. He’s not strong enough to take on Estrada, but we’re going to buy time.”
“How?”
His eyes skimmed the room behind us, the hallway. “He’s sending us to go and take Estrada’s half-sister. It’s a stall tactic.”
How he was talking…
He kept on, “He’ll lose time and energy by looking for her. We’ll let him know she’s alive, but then she’ll need to be hidden from him.” He paused. “If that’s what she wants.”
I tipped my head back, touching his chin so he was looking into me and I asked through my eyes. He didn’t want them to know?
His gaze flared, growing fierce, then burning, and then hardening. His hand kept rocking me against him so I was grinding on him.
I saw my answer. He didn’t.
I gave him a small nod, knowing my own eyes softened, and he closed his, getting what he needed from me. His forehead went to my chest. I caught his head, my hand cradling his neck and I brought my other one around, sifting my fingers through his hair.
His mother was dead. We were going to get his sister.
Everything else could wait.
I moved my lips to his ear and said, so quietly, “I’m sorry about your mother.”
His hand snapped up to the back of my neck, gripping me, but he only moved his head back, staring at me with such fierce yearning and a second later, his mouth was on mine. It was hot, demanding. His hands gripped my thighs, digging in, and I felt he needed more. Just more.
I closed my eyes, giving over, and Raize let out a growl, pushing me back.
He adjusted me, yanking my legs open, so I sank farther down on him. He tipped me back.
He was watching, his head back in the shadows, but I wasn’t.
The moonlight was shining in. I was in its spotlight, and Raize wanted to see me.
He kept kneading my thigh, watching me, and I felt an inferno blazing inside of me.
I wanted him, just him, however he gave me right now.
He tipped me back even farther, I was almost half lying on his legs. Almost. He stopped me halfway there, ran his hand up over my stomach, spanning it, and moving up until he was between my breasts. He swiped them, slow, smooth, with his finger, running it over my nipple and I shuddered. Every touch, caress was a tease from him.
I wanted to grind on him, to make this go faster. I ached for him, but something in the air held me back.
He needed to control me.
His hand moved back, turned, grabbed my top and he ripped it apart.
I gasped, arching my back from surprise.
My shirt fell to the side, down and off my arms. He grabbed it from the back, crumpled it up in a ball and moved it back over my body, moving down.
I was fully displayed for him, until he ran that hand over my stomach, my shirt still in his hold, and I felt him grab the sides of my underwear. I heard a ripping sound, and I couldn’t stop my body from responding.
I almost moaned, biting down on my lip.
Then he was touching me.
I felt the air against my clit, right before his tongue was there. He touched me with my shirt before another growl and the shirt was gone. His other hand came up and he shoved me down, all the way down. The back of my head was on his knees, but he cupped my back, yanking me up. I was arched for him, but he was tasting my clit, his tongue sweeping inside.
I couldn’t hold much longer.
A dark pleasure was building. He was sending it through my whole body. I was for him, to do with what he pleased. My legs were trembling. My whole body was shaking. I kept biting down on my lip, trying not to make a sound, a cry, a scream. I needed the pain to keep me from coming.
Raize needed this dominance over me.
He thrust a finger inside abruptly as he shoved up from the chair.
I cried out from the shock, but my legs wrapped around his waist from reflex.
He was gripping my ass, keeping me in place, and he turned, putting me on the table. He wasn’t gentle. This wasn’t going to be that kind of night.
A second finger moved in, and he thrust deep, long, and he kept going.
He knew what he was doing. He was working me fast, he wanted me to come quick for him.
I opened my eyes, seeing his on mine, a stark hunger reflecting back at me.
He was in pain, it was buried deep down. His mother.
I reached out to touch him, cup the side of his face, but he caught my hand. Almost roughly, but he only caught it. His teeth bared a second, and he adjusted, a third finger shoving up and into me.
I opened my mouth, a guttural groan slipping out. But then Raize leaned over me, pressing my hand down to the table above my head, his hand still there, holding me captive.
He kept thrusting, working me, and I couldn’t hold back.
I tried to squirm, lifting my leg higher around him, but he blocked my leg and kept thrusting. He was relentless, and then he leaned down. I felt his tongue at my clit and I couldn’t hold back anymore. Ripping my hand free, I clasped onto his head with both of my hands, and he kept going.
A muffled scream burst out of me, and my feet found the table, pushing myself up.
I lifted myself even more into Raize’s mouth and his fingers, but the release ripped through me. It was an almost out-of-body experience, and I could only gape, gasping for breath, as another scream tunneled down into my gut, leaving me in shambles from keeping quiet.
I got no time to adjust.
Raize reared back up, staring down at me.
His eyes were dark, hungry, angry. The lust was palpable, and this time we switched.
I was in the shadow. He was in the moonlight.
I saw everything, everything in him.
He rose up, tearing off his shirt, unbuckling his pants. He didn’t push them down, just moved his boxers aside, took out his dick and stroked it. It was alr
eady rock hard, lying up against his stomach, but he ran his hand over it, watching me.
My body was still quaking from my release, but I was panting, my chest heaving up and down and I started to throb all over again.
Goddamn.
Every one of his muscles seemed to be straining as he was holding himself back.
I licked my lips.
I wanted that control, that restraint. I wanted anything dark and dangerous he had in him. I wanted him to unleash it on me.
Rising up, I was watching him back, daring him to take control again.
He didn’t. He watched me come up to him. I was still on the table. He was standing between my legs, his hand moving up and down over himself but then it was my turn.
I replaced his hand, and bent down, my mouth going over his tip.
He sucked in his breath, and held still as I worked him.
Up and down. My hand moving around. Cupping the base. I was on his tip, sucking.
His hands grabbed the sides of my head, and his fingers sank in, tangling with my hair. He flexed, his hips moved closer to me and I sank in, taking him all the way in.
I made a choking sound, a deep grunt.
He started to pull out, I caught him, my hand going around, grabbing his ass. I kept him in place and then I pulled my mouth free.
I looked up, he was watching.
A deep and primal, possessive thrill seared me.
He was mine. Mine. No one else’s.
I don’t know what he saw in my eyes, but his flashed and my hand was knocked off his cock.
He bent, grabbed me, and I was up in the air.
He tipped me over his shoulder, one of his hands shoving up between my legs, his fingers back inside of me as he carried me from the kitchen to our room.
I was slammed against the door.
My legs were kicked apart.
He bent down, pulled me out, and then he slid inside.
I couldn’t stop my groan this time, and he didn’t quiet me.
His hand wrapped around my front, cupping my throat, and he held me in place as he fucked me.
I told him later, when my body was so tired and my brain could barely function. “I love you.”
It was important that he knew, especially tonight.
