It nears eight in the evening when I exit the police station. Along with a couple of bribed officers and the chief himself, we schooled Luca’s look-alike. He has to know the fabricated story of last night’s events by heart.
According to the revised version, Jonathan, the look-alike, walked into Delta around midnight high as a kite. Forged blood results are already on the prosecutor’s desk. He started the brawl, and once security kicked him out, he took his anger out on Alex—the jaw-split-open guy.
Jonathan repeated the story for four hours straight while the chief, police officers, and I corrected the statement so it sounded more believable. The hearing’s set for Tuesday, so there’s not much time to perfect his testimony.
Getting in my car, I light a cigarette, dialing Spades.
“How did it work out?” he asks.
“If he doesn’t change his mind at the last minute, he’s going down. He wants McDonald’s for dinner. Get it sorted.”
“Seriously? He can have caviar, lobster, or the most expensive steak money can buy, but he wants burgers?”
“Get him whiskey and heroin while you’re at it.”
“Heroin? Fuck. He’ll be dead in three months.”
I can’t disagree. Heroin addicts don’t last long in prison. Most overdose in their first year. Jonathan has nothing to lose or gain, no motivation to crawl up from the bottom. “Take it over to him today and another package tomorrow. I want you in court on Tuesday. And call Luca. Tell him to lay his fucking head low until this blows over.”
“No problem. I’ll make the delivery and call the dumbass.”
I make a U-turn in the middle of the road, heading back the way I came. “Did the load from Detroit arrive?”
“We’re at the warehouse, waiting. The driver called to say he’ll be here in ten. Go home, Dante. I’ll take care of it.”
Thank fuck. I don’t feel like checking the load despite doing so every time since I started working with the V brothers. I’m barely able to keep my eyes open as it is. The only thing on my mind now is a drink, a couch, and Layla whining in my ear that she’s bored because there’s no fucking way that girl can focus on a movie for longer than five minutes. Sex would be better, but I bet she’s still sore, so it’ll have to wait.
Half an hour later, after speeding down the interstate, it’s time to head home. I call my girl, hoping she has said her goodbyes to Julij and Nikolaj by now.
“Hello?” she shouts over the background noise.
“Where are you?”
“We’re bowling, or rather finishing up now. We’ve got three shots left each. I’m losing! Julij’s plane leaves in an hour, so he needs to go soon. Can you pick me up? Can we watch a movie? Or not. Let’s go to bed. I’m sleepy.”
I rest my forehead on the steering wheel, closing my eyes. She’s a little chatterbox when she’s tipsy, and I’m too tired to get annoyed. “How much did you drink?”
“Not much, just a glass of wine and two small drinks, but I haven’t eaten since breakfast. Cream of mushroom with wet bread was served for dinner… eww.”
At least she’s in a good mood.
“Where are you? I’ll pick you up.”
“Oh, okay. Tenpin on State Street.”
“I’m on my way. And baby? No more drinking.”
“I promise.”
Twenty minutes later, I enter the bowling alley. The stench of burnt fries, burgers, and beer hangs in the air. Layla’s at the back of the room in a snow-white girly dress. Loose hair frames her glowing face as she laughs, holding an orange bowling ball. She pushes her shoulders back, taking a firm stance, turning to face the lane. Instead of putting her fingers in the holes, she throws the ball as if playing basketball. No wonder she’s losing. I want to take her home but can’t let her fail like that. She needs to learn how to play properly. I pay for a few more games, ready to save my girl from embarrassing herself. Repeatedly.
“You came!” Layla jumps, wrapping her hands around my neck, her sweet lips on mine for a hot kiss.
Good thing Julij stands nearby and takes the tray of drinks from me in time, or it’d end up on my shirt.
“How are you getting on, Star?”
“Great! I knocked over three pins!”
A guy from the other lane looks at her with a frown. “Too bad they weren’t yours.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” I throw two tokens for two more games for him to catch.
He mumbles something that must be thanks, turning back to his friends.
“I’m out.” Julij motions to the screen when I start a new game, adding my name to the list. “I’ve got a plane to catch, but I want to talk to you.”
That I didn’t expect. Nikolaj and Frank go back years. I thought Julij would want to maintain their working relationship once Nikolaj dies, but the look on his face says something entirely different.
“Layla told me things are changing in New York.”
He nods, glancing at her with a fond smile I want to wipe off with my fist. I don’t like the guy, but if working with him means stealing the last ally from Frank, then I’m game. Frank is too weak to handle things on his own. He has no authority left in the world. He won’t be able to hold on for long if he part ways with New York.
Entering a business partnership with Julij will prove impossible if I start off by battering his face. Besides, Julij might not be the brightest bulb in the box, but he won’t touch Layla, knowing she’s mine. He knows it’ll end in his fucking funeral.
“I’m glad she didn’t keep the news to herself. New York will soon be under my command. I’ll decide who I’m doing business with. I hope in Chicago it won’t be Frank.” Julij is acting differently from six months ago. He’s being respectful and humble, as if he realized I’m superior.
“I’ll be in New York soon with Layla. We can talk over the details then.”
“Layla shouldn’t be involved in any of this.”
“That’s one thing we agree on. Not bad for a start.” I smirk, handing him my business card. “She’s got things to do in New York. She won’t be in the way.”
He shakes my hand and then walks over to Layla to kiss her cheek. With one last fond look at her, he leaves.
“So?” Layla grabs a bowling ball. “Shall we?”
Instead of the lighter ball she holds, I hand her the heaviest. “Put your fingers here.”
“I don’t want to. Those holes are too big.”
I drape my hand around her waist, pulling her flush to my chest. “Do as I say, Star.” With a pout, she puts her fingers in the holes, letting me move her hand back and forth. “Let go.”
The ball rolls down the lane at a turtle’s pace before hitting the middle pin that tumbles over, knocking one more on the way down. Two is better than zero.
“It’s too heavy!”
“Exactly. You won’t throw it far. Focus on the floor, not the pins, Layla. Don’t twist your wrist.”
She holds the ball in both hands, but after another pout, she slides her fingers in the holes. Eight pins fall, and Layla jumps around me, beaming. There is nothing more peaceful than seeing her happy.
“Can we go home now?” she asks, pressing herself into my chest as she rises on her toes to speak in my ear. “I want you to take me to bed.”
I gather the white fabric of her dress in a tight fist on her lower back. “Are you still sore?”
She smiles against my skin, tracing open-mouthed kisses below my earlobe. “No, but I am very, very wet.”
I exhale a shaky breath, my mind swimming with the images of last night, the way she looked when she came. “Good girl. Always tell me when you want me.” I grab her hand, taking her back to my car, eager to hear her moans.
I want to see her hooded eyes, enlarged pupils, and rosy cheeks. Her lips on my skin, nails digging into my back. I want to inhale the scent of her perfume, have her sweet breath on my cheek, and feel her fingers in my hair… the warmth of her hot, petite body, hissing, shivering and moaning. I want her to tell me she loves me.
Twenty minutes later, we’re home. The second we step through the threshold, I lift her into my arms, my mouth on hers as I climb the stairs. My shirt lands on the bedroom floor, and seconds later, it turns into a pile of clothes.
She’s so fucking beautiful naked on the bed, her face framed by a veil of dark hair. I take her hard, candy-pink nipple between my lips, my hands on her sides. I’m high on the scent of her skin and the sound of her breathless moans. Everything I feel for her rushes to the surface, boiling beneath my skin, overwhelming my mind. I’m never letting her go.
“It’ll only feel good now, Star,” I say, feeling her tense when I glide my hand lower between her legs to circle her clit with two fingers. “I’ll show you just how good sex can be. You’ll learn how to enjoy your body.”
She bites her lower lip, ghosting her fingertips over my jaw when I push two fingers deep inside, making her gasp. She was too anxious last night to enjoy sex. Time to fix that.
I curl my fingers, stroking her G-spot, watching her pleasure build higher. She gets to the edge so fucking fast… I may already be addicted to feeling her walls spasm.
“I love you,” she moans, throwing her head back as the orgasm rumbles through her in a series of intense vibrations.
“You’re so sensitive.” I bring her down slowly, pumping my fingers slower every time, and I move away to stare at her blissful, glowing face. “Get on your hands and knees.”
She cocks an eyebrow but obeys, rolling onto her stomach before she gets onto all fours, her hair draped over one shoulder, exposing the nape of her neck. I lean over, my cheek against hers, one hand snaked around collarbones, the other on the mattress, supporting my weight.
I bite her earlobe, slipping inside slowly, dizzy with the heat radiating from her body. Layla arches back, touching her head to my shoulder, her lips parted, eyes closed, hands fisting the sheets.
The most arousing sight of all—my girl in my arms, in ecstasy, in love. I let the primal hunger have its way, driving into her like I’m on a fucking mission. I am. On a mission to see her lose herself time and time again. It doesn’t take a lot to have her writhing with my name on her lips. I already know I’ll be spending a lot of time making her come on my fingers in the most unusual places just to see how fast I can get her there under pressure.
“Oh, God,” she gasps, clawing at my hand when I knot our fingers. “Don’t stop, I’m-I’m…”
“You’re almost there. Let go, Layla. Don’t hold back. Let yourself feel.”
She bites the pillow, coming so hard her knees buckle. Her orgasm triggers mine, exploding from the base of my spine, through my shaft, and into Layla. We’re both breathless when I collapse beside her, resting on my elbow to kiss her nose. She smiles, cuddling into the pillow with a soft sigh.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I tug on the sheets when she covers herself up. “You think I’m done with you? I’m not. You’re in for the most exhausting night of your life. You’ll be too fucking weak to crawl out of bed tomorrow.”
“I need to be at college by ten.”
“You need to open your legs for me, baby. You’ve got a lot to learn tonight.” I move to the edge of the bed, hooking my elbows under her knees. “Lesson one: in bed, I make the rules.” I lick her, bottom to top. “Lesson two: when I want this sweet pussy… you better give it to me.”
