“You’re not one of his men,” she said to him.
Joseph laughed. “No. I’m not.”
“I won’t deal with you.” She rolled her shoulders back. I didn’t reholster my gun, but I lowered my hands. She’d take the lead here, but I wasn’t letting her go solo on it.
Joseph studied her for a long moment with narrowed eyes. “I have a good operation here.”
“You mean my uncle’s operation. You have a good crop coming from here,” she countered. Strong girl. Good girl.
“True.” Joseph nodded and swung his gaze to me. “His men are out back waiting for my word.”
“You have control?” I asked.
He gave a small nod. “Randy has been stealing from me. Fucked with my scales and thought I wouldn’t find out.” He shook a finger at Cherise. “You solved a messy problem for me.”
“You were going to kill him anyway?” she asked, and I heard the tinge of guilt, the little bite of her conscience starting to get into her mind.
“Eventually, but we needed this farm turned over away from him,” he said to her then turned back to me. “I never would have let him hurt her.”
“You need her to hold the property.”
“I need someone outside my family to hold the property. But it doesn’t have to be her.” He looked back at Carlos briefly. “Get the money.”
“Money?” Cherise asked, her eyes wandering to her dead uncle.
“I’m buying the land from you,” Joseph said plainly. “Christian, come in here,” he called, and the back-porch door opened.
“Chris?” Cherise obviously recognized the lumberjack walking into the kitchen.
“Hey, Cherise,” he said with a tight jaw then took in the sight of his boss huddled on the floor.
“Christian will be the owner.”
Carlos came back into the kitchen with a bag and a folder, handing them both to Joseph. He placed the folder down on the table and presented her with a pen.
“Wait.” I injected myself into the mix and pulled the papers from the table. Scanning them, I satisfied myself with the contents. Sales papers. The house and land were owned outright. She needed only to make a cash sale and turn over the property.
“I’ll be done with this?” Cherise asked me. The droplets of blood dried on her cheek.
“You’ll be done. The entire property will belong to him.”
“But if Joseph is paying—”
“That’s not our business, darlin’. Just take care of this one thing then we’re gone. It’s over.” I kept her gaze focused on me and plucked the pen from Joseph and handed it to her.
“And Uncle…”
“Taken care of,” Joseph assured her.
Her fingers brushed mine as she took the pen. I stepped to the side and shielded her from the other men in the room as she read over the document and scribbled her name in all the right places. I doubted she understood what she read with the adrenaline starting to wear off and the exhaustion from the events creeping in, but I didn’t comment.
She didn’t ask about the amount of money in the bag, and I didn’t offer the question, either. The official sale price was much less than whatever was in that bag, but no comments were made about it.
Carlos handed the bag to me, and I pulled Cherise to my side. She’d switched her gun to her left hand but still clung to it like a safety blanket. I wouldn’t take it away from her just yet.
“There. Done.” Joseph smiled. I’d met plenty of scheming, slimy assholes in my work, but Joseph didn’t give off that vibe. I’m not saying he was a good guy, fuck no, far from it, but he would honor the sale and he’d leave Cherise alone.
“I need to also thank you, Dustan.” He raised his eyes to meet mine. “Antonio was my uncle. Another problem needed to be resolved. You have my gratitude.”
I nodded. Not engaging in conversation would get us in my car and out of there much sooner.
“We can go?” Cherise asked. I could sense her pulling away and retreating into herself. I needed to get her away and alone before it happened. If she was going to roll away into a panic attack, we needed to be away from here.
“By all means.” Joseph gestured.
I eyeballed the room one more time and peeked down the hallway, assuring myself we’d have no trouble. But Joseph was a man of his word, and we walked out of the house and drove away without incident.
Cherise
“I killed him,” I whispered.
Dustan nodded. “Yeah, darlin’, you did.” He dipped a washcloth into the bathtub and brought it back up to my face.
I was naked and sitting in a warm bath full of bubbles. I’d killed my uncle, and Dustan was giving me a bath.
“He deserved killing,” I said, not stopping him from wiping the coarse cloth across my cheek.
“That he did,” he agreed.
I grabbed his wrist when he started to clean my other cheek and pulled his gaze to mine. “I don’t regret it. I’m not sorry.”
He studied me for a long minute. Those dark eyes of his burrowed into mine before his lips gentled and curved. “Nothing to be sorry for.”
I nodded and closed my eyes. The longer I waited for the sinister wave of remorse to roll in, the less I felt about the situation. Maybe I was in shock.
“You didn’t want me to shoot him. I heard it in your voice when I was in the pantry.” I opened my eyes.
“I didn’t want you to carry the weight of it,” he said and dropped the cloth into the water. The bubbles had eased into small patches floating on the top surface of the water, which had taken a pink tint.
“I was bad, then?” I asked.
He laughed. “No, darlin’, you were good. Real good. Perfect.” He cupped my chin and dragged my face up to meet his lips. Warm and soothing.
“I’m really sleepy,” I said a moment before a yawn escaped me.
“You’ll have to sleep in the car. We need to get on the road,” he said gently. I didn’t like the soft hands treatment.
“I’m okay, Dustan.” I tried to reassure him, but all I got back was a smile. “I’m telling you the truth. I’m fine.”
He reached behind me and unplugged the tub. “I know.”
“Does that piss you off? That I’m not falling apart?” I asked, feeling annoyance starting to overtake the exhaustion.
He moved to his feet and settled a glare on me. “I’m not pissed off. I’m wanting to get on the road.” He reached down and hoisted me to my feet, holding onto my arms as I stepped out of the tub.
I snatched the towel from his hand. “I’ll get dressed, then. I need my bag.”
He walked out of the bathroom and tossed the bag on the counter. Without another glance, he pulled the door shut and left me alone. I hugged the towel to my body and closed my eyes. His wall was back up, isolating himself from me.
I dried off and dressed quickly, wanting to put this place as far behind me as possible. I dug through the bag and noticed he’d removed the Glock.
When I flung open the bathroom door, Dustan stood at the door with his arms crossed over his chest. “Ready?”
“Can I get my shoes on first?” I snapped.
“Temper, temper, darlin’,” he said softly, but the words were empty.
“Fuck that.” I snagged my shoes and stomped to the little table and chairs at the back of the room. Plopping down in the chair, I dropped the shoes to the floor. “You know, maybe it’s better if you just go.”
“Go?” His tone lowered with his question.
“Yeah.” I looked up from wiggling my foot into the shoe. “Just go. I can get a cab to the airport and fly back to Chicago.” Each word stabbed at my insides.
“You think we’re done?” He closed in, reminding me of how hulking his presence could be.
“I think you’re mad because of what I did, and I don’t need that right now. Right now, I need to get home, to my own fucking bed, try to get my job back if possible, and forget today even happened.” All of those things on my list wer
e nothing more than a daydream, but I was grabbing at straws. Not sure where I stood, or how I got where I was because I didn’t want him to drop me at an airport. I didn’t want him to walk out of that motel room without me.
“You think I’m mad because you pulled the trigger?” He kicked the second shoe away from me and hauled me to my feet. His fingers dug into my shoulders, and he gave me a small shake.
“You’re pissed about something.”
“I am,” he agreed. “I’m pissed because I let my guard down for a minute and your uncle got you. I’m pissed because I didn’t stop him from taking you in the first fucking place. I’m pissed because you didn’t need me to save you at all. But, most of all, I’m pissed because it all could have gone sideways in a snap of a finger, and I could have lost you.”
He yanked me to him, his lips crushing down over mine. I pushed against him at first, but he wouldn’t relent. Slowly, I eased into his hold, melted beneath the warmth of his kiss.
He would always be a force to deal with; he’d pull me along and, no matter how much I pushed him away—he’d charge back in. I could sense it now. When he marked me the night before, when he claimed me as his, he wasn’t talking about the moment. He meant permanency.
I gasped when he broke the kiss and his dark eyes stared down me. My lip trembled, the emotions of the day finally crashing into me with the furiousness of a hurricane.
“You didn’t lose me.”
“No.” He pressed a kiss to my lips. “I didn’t.”
“But if I stay with you—”
“It’s not easy, being with me,” he said, pressing his forehead against mine.
“Maybe I could help,” I whispered. He was unguarded for the moment, and I didn’t want to give him reason to throw that wall back up.
He chuckled. “If I never see you holding a gun again, it will be too fucking soon, darlin’.”
“You can’t lock me away.”
“No.” He pulled back, sucking in a long breath. “You’re not meant for a cage.” He brushed his fingers along my temple, pushing my hair from my face.
“Then what happens here, Dustan?” I sank back into my seat.
“We take the next step, and then the next, we just keep moving until we find the pace that works for us.”
“That doesn’t sound like much of an answer.” I frowned.
He shook his head and tapped two fingers beneath my chin. “It’s the best one we have right now. The only thing that’s sure is you aren’t leaving me, and I’m not leaving you.”
“And if I change my mind?” I bit down on my bottom lip, feeling sarcasm tingling on my tongue. He was ramped up from the energy of the day. Testing his patience probably wouldn’t go well for me.
“I’ll change it back.” He flicked my chin with his fingers and stepped back. “Get that shoe on so we can get on the road. I’m not stopping till we’re home and I can get you naked in my bed.”
I pointed to the bed beside him. “There’s one right here.”
“Yes. And there’s a drug cartel boss five miles away. I’d prefer more than that between us.” He walked away from me, but the telltale sign of his hard cock jutting against the zipper of his slacks gave me some satisfaction.
Things weren’t going to be normal with us. We probably wouldn’t be having dinner at TGI Fridays anytime in the near future and catching a double feature at the movies.
I’d walked into that bar weeks ago trying to get myself out of my shell. Turned out Dustan had better ways. He showed me the strength I didn’t know I had, taught me the power I held inside, and gave me the freedom to unleash it.
I didn’t need a self-help book.
I just needed Dustan.
Epilogue
Dustan
“There he is.” I watched the black Corvette ease into the covered garage and head toward us.
“I know, I know…stay in the car.” Cherise rolled her eyes at me and pulled the visor down to look in the mirror.
“I mean it, darlin’. Don’t be bad tonight.”
She snapped the visor back up in place and gifted me with one of her sarcastic grins. “I wouldn’t dream of it. It’s the first night you actually took me out of that apartment.”
We’d been back in Chicago for a week, but I didn’t want her gallivanting around the city yet. Not until the last loose end was taken care of.
I eyed her. “I love that fucking dress.” She’d grumbled when I handed it to her that afternoon, but I’d been right. Her curves were killing me in it. “Maybe going out was a bad idea,” I mumbled.
“You promised,” she reminded me in her sweet singsong voice. She was trying to be good, but if I pushed her anymore, she’d unleash the snark. And the snark would get her more riled up, and I’d have a full-blown bad girl on my hands.
“Stay here.” I pointed my finger at her and popped open my door. I heard her huff and smiled to myself.
My boots sounded as I made my way over to Bobby’s car. He rolled down his window as I arrived at the car, and I could make out his pistol lying in his lap.
“Hey.” I gave a curt nod. “You have the information I asked for?”
“Sure do.” He stuck an envelope through the window. “Thought you might like to know the Merde family has called off all searches for your girl there.” He gestured toward my car. I hadn’t heard the door open.
Cherise stood in front of my door, one ankle crossed over the other and her arms crossed over her chest. Her hair blew around her face. The empty lot made a wind tunnel with the cool evening breeze.
She took my noticing her as leave to join us, and her heels clicked along the concrete.
“Hi.” She smiled down at Bobby and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You must be Bobby.”
“You must be Cherise,” he said, looking from her to me.
“Well, we’re just heading to dinner. Thanks for this.” I tapped the top of his car with the folder he’d handed me. Bullshit intel on a random target that I didn’t need.
“Shit, my phone.” Cherise giggled and turned away from us, digging through her purse.
“Oh, here it is.” She stepped back to the car and produced a pineapple hand grenade. With little effort, she pulled the pin and dropped it onto the floorboard of Bobby’s car.
My heart skyrocketed into my throat. Throbbing silence filled a beat, and then I grabbed her arm. We ran, my legs pumping hard to get us away from the car before the grenade went off.
“Fuck!” Bobby’s scream echoed just before the blast. The force of the explosion threw us to the ground, but I scrambled back up and pulled my naughty girl with me.
She looked over her shoulder at the fire, the black smoke billowing from the car, and her eyes widened, a small scrape on her cheek from hitting the ground with the force of the blow, a reminder of her wickedness.
“I told you to stay put,” I chastised as we rushed.
“I know.” She nodded toward the car. Even at the late hour, there would be no hiding the damage. I’d already worked on the security cameras in the lot; we just needed to get the hell out of there.
She jogged around the back and got inside, still staring at the blaze she’d caused.
I turned the ignition and peeled away, heading for the exit ramps.
“You left it in the car,” she tried to explain as I drove through the back alleys, getting us farther away faster.
“I had another in my pocket. That was the spare.” I changed gears effortlessly.
“Oh.”
“Uh-huh. Oh is right.” I flashed her a grin. Her hair blew wildly around her with the window cracked but the brightness in her eyes, the life bubbling in her grin, took most of the irritation away. Most. Not all.
“You were a bad girl, darlin’.” I turned us onto the stretch of highway that would take us to the apartment. She’d lost the privilege of a night out on the town.
“I know,” she said with a smile, her lower lip tucked between her teeth.
“And wha
t happens to bad girls?” I asked, touching her bare knee. Fuck, that dress was too much. I’d have to keep it locked up for special occasions.
She leaned over the middle console and bit down on my earlobe. “Really bad things.”
“That’s right, darlin’.”
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Valor: Cavalieri Della Morte Page 15
