My knuckles knock three times against the painted wood.
This apartment building, in the middle of downtown Minneapolis, isn’t that far from Payton’s old place, but it’s a world apart. There’s a security guard in the lobby. Nice carpet on the floors. An elevator that works.
However, that security guard can be bribed. The elevator cameras can turn off. And the soft flooring means that the other residents didn’t hear us walking down the hall. The icing on the cake is the person two doors down hosting a party, their music loud enough to muffle the sound of what’s about to happen.
I rap my knuckles against the wood, then stand patiently while I listen to the deadbolt unlock and the handle turn.
Eyes I used to be indifferent to widen when they meet mine. And I watch a range of emotions flit across her face.
Surprise. Alarm. Caution.
It’s never a good thing when the leader of the underworld shows up at your door unannounced, in the middle of the night. Unless, maybe, you’re a prostitute looking to make some cash.
Nikki––in leggings and a crop top, hair in a high ponytail, clearly not yet in bed––cocks her hip, placing one hand into the dip of her waist and the other against the doorframe.
“Nero, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Her mouth pulls up into what I’m sure is supposed to be a seductive smile. “Looking for a little birthday treat?”
I’d planned to flirt with her. To let her think I was here to fuck her. Get her to invite me in.
But when I look at her, all I see is the devastated look on Payton’s face and the way the color drained out of her pretty features.
I see the security footage of Payton running away from my party and slipping on the stairs, bruising her perfect skin.
The tear stains on her cheeks.
The packed duffel on her floor.
I see her curled up on her little bed, passed out from too much crying.
And I decide to change my plan.
Darting my arm out, I grip her by the wrist. And when she stumbles back, I shove the door the rest of the way open.
“Ne––” she starts.
“Shut the fuck up!” I snap, moving forward into her space, forcing her to stagger back.
Nikki’s lips move but she doesn’t say anything.
“Really, Nero?” A new voice follows me into the apartment. “She even looks like a bitch.”
Aspen, King’s fiery little sister, kicks the door shut after she enters and flips the deadbolt.
“It’s not like I was fucking dating her,” I defend myself, sparing a glance at the shorter woman. Her hair and eyes the same shade of golden brown as King’s.
“Hey!” Nikki forgets my command of silence. “Who the hell is this?” Her tone is filled with undeserved indignance, and it makes me wish she was a man just so I could punch her.
“This is the only chance you’re gonna get,” I snarl at her.
Keeping my grip on her wrist, I lead her to the dining table that’s set in front of a large window. She backs into a chair that was left pulled out from the table, and I keep her momentum going, until she’s seated in it, sideways.
“Stay.” Sick of touching her, I let go and take a step back.
“What’s going on?” Nikki whines, making Aspen snort.
“What’s going on”—Aspen steps up to my side—“is you fucked up.”
“I didn’t––” she starts to deny.
I lean forward. “That one chance you have will disappear if you so much as try to lie to me.”
Normally I don’t let my rage show. Normally I maintain a mask of complete indifference, even if I’m slicing a man’s tongue out of his mouth. But right now, I let it show. I let all my fury show.
Nikki bends back over the table, trying to get as far away from me as she can. Fear written all over her face.
Good.
“Ch-chance for what?” Nikki stutters through the question.
“A chance to live through the night.”
The sound of her gasp bounces through the apartment.
I can see she wants to argue, deny that there’s any reason I should want to kill her.
But I’m already here. Because I already know.
And she’s smart enough to know that you don’t cross me and live. By giving her this one chance, I’m giving her a gift that I don’t often offer. And I’m doing it because I don’t kill women. But if she pushes me, I’ll find someone who does.
“Who told you to put the invitation under the door?” I don’t specify what door. We both know what door, and I’m not saying Payton’s name here. She’s too good for this place.
Nikki’s mouth opens then closes, her eyes flicking between me and Aspen, probably wondering who she is and why I brought her.
“Tell me now,” I growl.
Nikki straightens her back. “No one told me to do it.”
My eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”
I’m confused but Aspen isn’t.
“Oh wow, that’s sad.” Aspen clicks her tongue with a laugh. “This bimbo was trying to break you and your girl up for personal reasons.” The emphasis on personal makes my stomach twist.
The thought of putting my dick into anyone other than Payton makes my balls shrivel, no matter our history.
When Nikki doesn’t deny it, I shake my head.
“Jesus Christ, how fucking delusional are you?” I’m even more pissed now. Thinking it was an enemy trying to attack me is easier to swallow than some clingy prostitute trying to fuck up my relationship by making it look like I was cheating on Payton. “How’d you find out about her?”
“The Mayor.” Nikki has the nerve to lift a shoulder, like it’s no big deal.
“The Mayor?” Every piece of information stuns me more than the last.
How the fuck did he know?
“We had a date the other afternoon.” Nikki straightens in her seat, trying to appear composed. “He said he ran into you that morning at some little café. Mentioned that you were acting all obsessive over the waitress.” She says the occupation like it’s dirt, and like she doesn’t spread her legs for a living. “Didn’t take much to get the name of the place and the girl.”
I’m gonna have to kill the mayor.
“How did you get her address?” Every word tastes like death on my tongue.
Nikki presses her lips together before answering. “I know a guy who works for the IRS. A phone call and a promise got me what I needed.”
My chest expands as I take a large breath, attempting, and failing, to calm my rage.
“Did you bring the scissors?” I ask Aspen, keeping my eyes on Nikki.
Aspen produces a pair from somewhere inside her jacket. “Sure did.”
“Cut it all off.”
“Cut what off?!” Nikki tries to push the chair away from me but I hook one of the legs with my foot.
“Your hair, Nikki.” Finally, the calm I usually achieve settles over me. “She’s going to cut off all your hair. And if you struggle, she might slip and cut more than that. So, I suggest you act smart for the first time in your life, and sit fucking still.”
Aspen circles around until she’s behind Nikki, keeping her out of the kicking and scratching range.
“Don’t!” Nikki cries when Aspen grips her long shiny ponytail. “Nero,” she reaches for my hand. “Why can’t you see how perfect we are for each other.”
I stay out of her reach. “We aren’t anything for each other.” Aspen hacks through the thick handful of hair and Nikki starts crying. “You purposefully hurt the woman I love. If you were a man, I’d slit your throat where you sit. But instead, you’re going to become invisible.” The ponytail, elastic and all, falls to the floor. “I don’t care where you go, but I never want to see you again.” Aspen grabs clumps of the longer pieces and cuts them off, close to the root. “And if you so much as look at my woman, ever again, I will make you disappear for real.”
Aspen cuts off another handful as Nikki breaks down into loud sobs.
“Grow up!” Aspen hisses, slicing through another clump.
“Nero!” Nikki hiccups, “I love you!”
“No, you don’t. You don’t love anything but yourself. And your appearance. Which is why I’m taking your hair.”
Aspen makes a few final snips before stepping back to survey her handiwork. “Done.”
I nod, pleased, and take a step back. “I’ll send my men by in twelve hours. You don’t want to be here when they arrive.”
Nikki is too busy clawing at her bare skull to respond, but I know she heard me.
I let Aspen get a few paces past me before I turn and follow her back out the front door.
There’s no one in the hallway, and no signs that anyone heard anything, so we keep our strides casual and make our way outside.
“So,” Aspen raises a brow at me once we’re on the sidewalk. “The mighty Nero has fallen in love.”
“You’ll like her.”
“I hope so,” she huffs. “You don’t seem to have the best taste in women though.”
I ignore her comment. “Where’s your car?”
“Down at the corner,” she answers, already walking that way, and I follow.
Aspen isn’t soft, but she’s here because I asked her to be, so I’m not letting her out of my sight until she’s back in her car.
A rustling sound comes from an alley as we move past, causing Aspen to sigh. “Poor guy is still here.”
I turn my head, expecting to see a homeless man, so I’m not prepared to see a scruffy dog sniffing through a pile of garbage.
Aspen keeps walking but I stop. “What do you mean still?”
She halts, coming back to look at the dog with me. “He was digging through the trash when I got here. Must be hungry.”
“Do you think he’s a stray?”
Aspen shrugs. “Probably. I wish I could bring him, or her, home. But my husband would kill me.” My head snaps over in her direction and she waves me off. “God, you’re just as bad as King. It’s an expression.”
“Better be.” King, and therefore Aspen, are the closest thing I have to a family. I know King hates her husband but if he’s violent toward her, I’ll end him myself.
Aspen rolls her eyes at me. “My idiot husband might be an idiot, but he doesn’t have a death wish. Pretty sure even he knows hurting me would get him a one-way ticket to the afterlife.”
I grunt, then turn my attention back to the dog.
