by Kiki Leach
"I know it--"
"SGT!" Snake called out to him again, his voice cracking behind the sound of each letter spewed. "Let's get this shit going!"
"I'm on my goddamn way, motherfucker goddamn; just hold onto your dick before it goes flying back off into the hand of that woman back there!"
"Her pussy is what might lead us to the Promise Land, brother."
"A Promise Land of pussy full of cobwebs that smells like a bottle of coke filled Hennessy ain't my kinda scene out here, brotha. Never fuckin' has been." He turned from me without another word as his eyes grew dark and headed back for the club.
Rattlesnake clapped him on the back as he moved ahead of him, then eyed me with the hint of a crooked smile and jutted his chin. "You should be on your way back out there without anymore stops in between."
My eyes crinkled as my head tilted with wonder. "Who said that I would be stopping anywhere before getting back out there?"
"I'm just saying that you shouldn't."
He shrugged without further explanation and backed into the club.
I hopped back into my car and took one last look at the building before taking off from the lot and speeding back to the island.
Chapter Five
Stolen Solitude
After guiding me back into a now empty family room, the giant male guard with a set of coal black eyes and jaundice skin named 'Bolston' snapped his crooked middle finger and thumb along the right side of my face, and pointed toward the window with his knuckle as soon as we moved inside.
I took a seat at the table without hesitation and rested my hands on top while crossing my legs beneath and staring up into his now reddening face.
He glowered. "What the fuck is it?"
"Excuse me?" Asshole. "Where's Rox?"
"You mean that old man you were with before heading outta here the first time?" He lowered his eyes and clucked his thick, heavy tongue across the roof of his mouth. "He's, uh... sort of occupied now with some other shit. Sorry about that." His thick black brows arched high up on his forehead as a sharp grin thinned out his highly chapped lips. "Maybe you could see him later."
I glanced out the corner of my eye and soured. "If he's not available to see me now, why the hell was I brought back in here?"
He fixed the belt around his especially large belly and shrugged. "You'll be seeing the shit soon enough."
"And that means what?"
"You'll see." He saluted me like a modern day soldier before ducking out of the room and quickly closing the door.
"Dammit." I stood up from the bench with a pair of shaking hands and feet that felt like lead, then sucked back a heap load of air and shuffled across the room. "Dammit!"
As soon as I reached the door, it reopened with a tall, gangly man dressed in what looked to be an all white Armani suit making his way inside.
"I -- Who the hell are you?"
"Cheyenne, I assume?" He pulled his lips back over his teeth to smile, and pointed. "The importance of that will come soon enough. Why don't you retake a seat for me in the meantime--"
"No."
"I think you should. Please." His gruff, nonchalant tone and light Italian accent filled the room like a giant puff of smoke as he kicked the door shut with the base of his white suede shoe. I returned to the table and wrapped my hands around the head of a chair. "Please," he said again, lifting his hand palm side up. "Take the goddamn seat."
"Who the hell are you?" His eyes bore into mine as he flashed another quick but anxious smile without response, allowing me a better glimpse of his snow white teeth before pressing his lips back together and tilting his head forward. My eyes shifted from left to right as I attempted to remain steady. "Where the hell is Rox--?"
"Safe for the time being, which is as much as you need to know about him for now."
"What the hell does that even mean--?"
"That he's safe, just as I said." He dropped his hands inside the pockets of his pants and continued forward. "The Renegades don't want me touching him for the lack of looking after my son, so you both got lucky on that end."
"Wha...?" My hands loosened as I lifted one from around the chair and outstretched my index finger to point. "You're Chino?"
"In the flesh," he replied. He tilted his head back and winked. "Now, please."
Before his eyes shifted again, I took in just how much the hazel color of his irises had now reminded me of Nikko's, along with the thickness of his brows and blackness of his hair despite the lines of grey attempting to shove between each dark strand, then reclaimed my place behind the table.
"You called Rattlesnake pretending to be my father?"
"Not at all," he replied through a heavy chuckle while shaking his head. "I don't need to pretend to be somebody that I'm not."
"Then, how?"
"The motherfucker who called out there was in fact your old man." He brought his hand to his chest and grinned again. "It was the least he could offer up after the mess he's helped to create. Because I didn't want Snake knowing about my need to see you back out here in case he had yet to talk to you about the situation with Nikko."
"He talked to me about him," I said, "told me that your son needs a wife because of money and what you've done over the years with your businesses. I can relate to as much given the reasons I've been dragged in here twice today already."
"Your old man has been a goddamn pill for as long as I've known him, but the latest tops his previous shit."
"You don't seem to be much better than him--"
"Neither do you," he interjected with a devilish smirk. "Seems there's a chance it might present somewhat of a challenge for my boy once he's out."
"Your 'boy'? is one I'll never have a damn thing to do with."
"So you say now."
"So I'll keep saying until I no longer have to."
He glared. "Why is that?"
"Because I didn't agree to any of this with either one of you," I snapped. "Snake asked, and that's where it ended. I'm not even sure why you would want me to be part of this to begin with given Rox's indirect involvement with helping that Lena woman to bolt."
"You weren't at the top of my list, much like your old man wasn't in looking out for my son while he was in here. But there's nobody else who needs the money as much as my son needs his freedom from all this shit."
"The same 'shit' you got him mixed up in to begin with?"
He peered. "You should really watch yourself with me."
"As should you with me."
"That shit's been made clear--"
"Wonderful." I shook my head and dragged my eyes across the room; he gnashed his teeth together and snickered. "Who the hell came up with the brilliant idea of suggesting me as a potential wife to your son in the first place?"
"Nikko asked for you himself."
I returned my eyes to his and fell back from the table in shock, allowing my hands to slide from the edge and into my lap. "Why?"
"Why, what?"
"Why would he do something like that when he doesn't even know me?"
"He doesn't have to, which might be for the better."
"In what way?"
"Distance."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"My son claims he saw you in here today before all the shit that went down with the guards out there; mentioned that you saw him too."
"I did, but--"
"He thinks you'd be a good match for him, physically speaking."
My brows crinkled and I huffed. "In what way?"
"You have the kind of... look he seems to go for in a woman which would mean less questions being asked once you two got together and made things official."
"And what kind of 'look' would that be?" I questioned. He remained quiet. "Was your son aware before the bloodbath that he needed to be married in order to secure whatever is left of your money?"
"He learned when it was needed."
"Is this why you contacted Rattlesnake? Hoping that he could convince me into agreeing w
ith it?"
"There was no way in hell your old man could get the job done given the time it took you to finally make it back down here for his own shit against the club. And Rattlesnake laid it out as if you had no other options. From the looks of what I've seen, he was right as shit."
I grumbled while pushing myself up from the table, then stepped to the window and leaned against the edge, staring out into the yard and taking note that though the blood from earlier had been washed from the concrete, the stains from slaughter remained in plain sight.
"I don't have any other options," I said, dragging my fingers along the edge of my bottom lip, hoping like hell that a single touch would stop the trembling. "But marrying your son shouldn't be the only one I'm left with."
"What he did was in defense of himself."
"I believe that, at least from what I was told." I spun back around to him while lowering my hand. "And I never mentioned otherwise. Because the sins of the father constantly being thrown at the head of a child he's meant to protect is something I know far too damn well."
"Then you should understand why he was forced into finally burying this shit."
"Your shit, sure. But it doesn't take away from the callousness of how the actions took place."
He tossed a hand toward the ceiling as his face colored. "What does that shit matter, Cheyenne?! All of what you're saying here?"
"It matters a lot considering your son and that other one made Helter Skelter look like a children's bedtime story with what they did out there."
"Nobody is saying that shit's okay--"
"I'm sure you would've been fine with it otherwise, so let's not kid ourselves. But the 'being okay' isn't my problem; I told you it's the actions that took place and what I can't get past in seeing."
"Had you not seen the shit, you'd be fine with it?"
"No..." I jerked my head back while attempting to process his words to me. "I didn't say that at all--"
"Had the shit not happened at all, you'd be open to this?"
"I didn't say that either."
A wave of silence hit us dead center like the weight of a two-ton brick before he spoke again.
"You realize you're saying a fuck of a lot more than you think you are?"
"No."
He chortled while wiping a hand across his mouth to hide his growing ire, then quickly dropped it to his chest and sighed. "Maybe you need to talk to Nikko for yourself? One on one. See just how shit is with him on a personal level outside of what you saw."
"No--"
"You should." He bent forward while taking in a breath and rested his hands along the edge of the table. "I need you to realize that I've got no more time to waste when it comes to where the money I've still managed to hang onto is gonna be placed out here. Can you feel me on this shit?"
"I can, and without wanting to make it my problem on top of the ones I've already got coming out of my ears thanks to my own father. Besides, Rattlesnake said that--"
"I don't give a fuck about that son of a bitch right now either, Cheyenne; he's not in this beyond..." He stopped. "Listen, you need that 300k upfront to pay him back, you can get that shit as soon as the ink is dry on the license and all papers pertaining are signed over. You want away from my son right after, you take the rest of what'll be given and sign it to a dummy that gives a Girabaldi full access to put it elsewhere once you're out."
"I thought the point was that he couldn't touch it?"
"He can't. The bottom line to all of this shit is that you need us just as much as we need you right goddamn now in order to make it happen in the only fair and legal way that's possible."
I scoffed. "Fair and legal is a pretty amazing thing for you to say given the circumstances. But what about your son and his being in here?"
"What about it?"
"If I were to actually agree to this farce, the likelihood of our wedding taking place inside that chapel down the hall with bars and spokes all over the windows is--"
"Not fuckin' likely," he told me. "You can trust that shit."
"How?"
"Just do, and know that all I need from you right now is a willingness to meet with him in person. Talk to him about this shit and come to an understanding with the tack on of an agreement before he's out. Because I need that money locked away before I'm sent outta here for good."
"Why are you so damn desperate for it?" I asked him. "If not for Nikko, would you even care this much about--?"
"The Feds could've had it all if not for him. The twelve million that's been left untouched--"
"Twelve. Million. Dollars?" I gulped hard enough for the noise to pop inside my throat. "That's how much you're leaving to him free and clear?"
"Minus the 300k you're looking to hand over to the club." His face twitched as the whites of his eyes flushed red. "No goddamn deals would've been made in his favor and I could be thrown out to the motherfuckin' dogs and eaten alive if not for him. But I've done enough damage to the shit that led him in here to begin with. And he doesn't deserve anymore that would come after me going away if I left him with nothing."
"You told him the rest of the truth?"
"Had no other choice after this shit. Just like you didn't in finally coming back here for your old man."
Those last few words hit me straight across the face like an iron fist; I crossed the room to keep him from seeing any change in my reaction, and sighed.
"I'll meet with him," I finally said. "If only because you come off so damn horrible that I'm sure he deserves something better than what he's got." I turned back to him and leaned my head aside. "And on the condition that you realize I'm not making any promises one way or another in doing so."
"What changed your mind about it--?"
"Outside of you? Nothing. The fact that everything you've done has managed to get him so fucked up in your own mess that he has no other way out is beyond enough for me."
He nodded while tightening his jaw and clinched his teeth to hold back a grin. "Your old man and me are not one and the same, Cheyenne."
"Maybe in your own mind. But the truth is that you are, which means you should probably go on and get your son before I decide to leave without bothering to come back this time."
He eyed me with the shadow of a snarl before finally turning on his heel to leave the room.
Chapter Six
Determined Power
I finally lowered myself back down to the chair after being left alone inside that room for nearly an hour, and with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company, then rolled my eyes toward the door as soon as I heard the sound of a man's voice echoing from the other side.
"You said she's in here by herself?" A tone so deep that he made Chino sound like Mickey Mouse in comparison, I jumped back to my feet as every bit of my insides were fully shaken to the core as a result. When the door finally reopened and he stepped inside with the aid of a guard, our eyes locked almost immediately and his full lips parted into a grin so wide that his bright white teeth flashed behind them like a pair of beaming lights. "Hey there, baby." His voice was raspy as he spoke, almost as if he had just woken up, rolled over and whispered the words directly into my ear before taking my mouth into his. God. "How's it going?"
"I've been better." I swallowed back my fear as he snickered. "And you?"
"Yeah, baby, I've been a fuck of a lot better about some shit too -- especially outside of all this." He tipped his head forward while continuing to stare at me, partly curious, partly something else I couldn't explain if I tried; he turned aside as the shiner on his left cheek reflected off the light in the room. "You agreed to see me on your own? No coaxing from my old man?"
"No--"
"'Cause he's got a tendency to pull some shit like this with people he doesn't know in order to get what he wants from 'em."
"He didn't force me into doing anything when it came to you," I said. "I mean, I..." I stopped to wag my head as a sudden pile of nerves overtook, rattling me from the inside out like a plastic shake
r full of dry beans. "I wanted to see you on my own -- for myself."
"Oh, yeah?" His thick brows lifted high in delight as he straightened himself. I noticed his cock pushing against the corner of his jumpsuit; he was nearly the size of a peppermill. "Why is that, baby?"
"What?" I questioned. "Why what?" The more he called me 'baby', the more I felt like throwing myself at him like a wet cat in heat.
He grinned. "Why did you wanna see me in here, Cheyenne?"
"Oh. Because, I..." His grin deepened on the side of his face left unaffected by the bruising as he watched me struggle with what to say next. And as he rolled his bright pink tongue across the length of his full bottom lip in the manner of an animal finally having reached its overly exhausted prey, my heart jumped straight into the back of my throat. I cleared it while averting my gaze to keep from falling into the clear trap he had managed to put in place for us both, and bit back the urge to react any further than I had already. "I wanted to see you because..." I stopped to swallow again and shrugged in my own wonder. "I guess to get your feeling for all of this?"
"My feeling is that it's all bullshit, much like everything else I've ever had to put up with in regard to my old man," he replied through a soft chuckle, the echo of his words blasting across my skin in a wave of heat so blistering, it was worthy of burning down the entire room around us. This man was completely dangerous, deliciously so; being in his presence was absolutely spell bounding. "But seeing your face up close like this makes that feeling a little better for me."
"Why?"
He chortled. "Pretty fuckin' sure you can figure out the goddamn reason for that one." A sudden flutter filled my belly before traveling up to my chest like a tidal wave and resting along the edge of my tongue. I wanted to taste him. "So, uh..." He peeked over his shoulder as the guard finally moved out of the room with the door following behind him. "He told you the reason I'm in here?"
"Your father? Yes -- Well..." I lowered my eyes and exhaled. "He did in a way, but not exactly -- not entirely."
"What does that shit mean, baby?" His attention returned to my face as he peered.
"I mean that he seems to blame himself for your being in here." I raised my eyes back to his and wrinkled my nose. "I wasn't able to get much out of him in that regard, but my father told me what you did before I ever met Chino today."