by Kiki Leach
"Why do you need this too?"
"'Cause I need you, Cheyenne, and for more than just the shit we signed up for because of your old man and mine."
I leaned against the counter and crossed one of my legs over the other.
God, I was doomed.
"Okay." I lowered my eyes to the floor and rolled my tongue between my lips, wetting them as the thought of his taste consumed me. "Maybe by Friday, if I can."
"Alright--"
"But I'm not making any promises. Just... that I'll try."
"I can take that shit, baby. Better than what I had from you before now."
"Which was what?" I asked him.
"Absolutely goddamn nothing." He chuckled. "You gonna tell me what you're wearing on the other side of this phone before I gotta give it back?"
"Nikko..."
"I'll let you go once I hear the truth, Cheyenne."
I stared down at myself as my heart rate increased, and pressed my lips together to hold back a grin. "Silk red underwear and an orange sweatshirt that reaches below my knees."
"Mm." He grunted while making a sharp, whistling noise with his tongue that nearly forced me to stop breathing. "No pants?"
"Short-shorts."
"A bra?"
I cleared my throat and anxiously stared across the room. "...Not anymore, no."
"Goddamn." I heard the smile in his voice and rolled my eyes while sinking my teeth into my bottom lip. "You are sexy as fuck, baby... I really wanna see you again this Friday, Cheyenne."
"I told you that I'll try making it back out there again, and I meant it."
"Alright... What do you plan on wearing?"
"I don't... know that yet. What are you hoping for?"
He laughed. "Goddamn tease--"
"I'm not," I told him. "Only curious to know what you'd want from me given that you asked?"
"Too motherfuckin' much that I know I won't be able to get inside the walls of this place," he said. "But anything would be good with me; whatever makes you feel comfortable."
"Hard as hell to feel that way when going back up there, but... I'll see what I can pull together as a 'just in case'."
"Alright."
"What do you plan on doing with yourself once we hang up with each other?" I asked him.
"You really wanna know?"
"I'm still curious..."
"Going to sleep while thinking about you, baby."
"Really."
"It's why I called you, Cheyenne. Needed to hear your voice in my ear tonight. Needed to know what you were wearing so I could close my eyes with the image of it inside my head."
"And what do you... plan on doing with that image of me, Nikko?"
"A whole fuckin' lot, baby... Everything I plan on doing to you once I'm outta here." My God. I swallowed hard as my stomach dropped, as a hard thud hit the center of my sex. "I meant what I said in having you on my cock... slick and fuckin' wet--"
"I need to go."
A quiet laugh escaped him this time. "Can't wait to taste you for the first time, and every single goddamn one after that."
"Nikko--"
"That pussy is gonna be mine, baby... fuckin' sweeter than a goddamn sin. And for as long as I've got it, as long as I know the taste of you on my tongue..." He stopped.
"What?" I questioned, nearly breathless.
He laughed again. "Eager as fuck to know more of it now, yeah? You'll see when I'm out. 'Til then just know it's coming, and that you will be too."
"I... Nikko--"
"Sleep well tonight, baby."
After hanging up, I placed the phone on top of the table and sank into my chair.
Every word out of his mouth was lecherous and lewd.
Every word made me ache in knowing that he was absolutely right.
Chapter Eleven
Smoke (in) Mirrors
Nikko's POV
Nikko handed off his cell to another inmate before returning to his room and dropping back down to his bed. While eyeing the ceiling, he imagined Cheyenne wearing what she told him before lowering his hand to his pants and sliding it across his cock, which had become as stiff as a goddamn block of concrete before they were even off the phone with each other.
As his eyes closed, he exhaled and began to stroke himself, her name dangling from the tip of his tongue like the weight of a world he had only known through the eyes of a man outside himself; one he at some point hoped to become while being with her.
"Yo." He lowered his hand back to the bed at the sound of Dog's voice and reopened his eyes. Dog chortled. "Thinking about me in the meantime?" Nikko arched a brow and looked to him as he closed the door behind himself and dropped back against the wall. "You look like shit--"
"You ain't looking too much better out here either, motherfucker. They let you outta that tank on good behavior?"
"They let my ass out 'cause it's being removed from the island."
"What?" Nikko sat up and dropped his feet to the floor. He frowned and clutched the edge of his mattress while shaking his head. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"The shit we pulled on the yard..." Dog lowered his eyes to the floor and exhaled. "Too many of those other motherfuckers knew it was coming long before we'd locked down the rest on keeping it quiet."
"Shit. You think Elias tipped 'em off thinking it'd go the other way?"
"No goddamn doubt. That asshole wanted your ass put down no matter how the fuck it happened. Your old man must've really fucked him over in more ways than he's claiming."
"Yeah..." Nikko dragged a hand across his mouth, wrapping it around his chin and peered. "Is this why they want you gone? Fearing you'd rat on 'em to somebody else? Maybe reaching out to the Gambiano's or some shit."
"Nah, they're fearing me remaining inside would eventually get your ass to flip quicker than they think you will," he said.
Nikko lowered his hand and glowered. "Get me to flip on what?"
"Any goddamn thing they think you'd be willing to say against 'em, Nik," he replied. "In order to get 'em fucked. Without your exit date being set in stone, these motherfuckers are talking, unsure it's actually coming and what they might have to do if it doesn't."
"It's coming. I've got no goddamn reason to believe otherwise -- not with all the shit my old man has on the line. That said, it shouldn't fuckin' matter to 'em either way."
"It does matter to 'em, Nik. You staying inside fucks up a lotta shit with a heap load of other assholes beyond Elias and whatever other motherfuckers he's got on his payroll that need you gone ASA-fuckin'-P. I'm not exactly sure what the deal is, but I know that I heard some shit to do with your old man, along with the president of Rox's club."
"How the fuck would those two even correlate when before all this shit went down, my old man hadn't had a goddamn thing to do with the Renegades since his casinos?"
"Is that what he's told you?" He paused as Nikko eyed him with question. "Maybe it's not the goddamn truth -- at least not enough of it. All I know is there's some pussy involved; didn't catch the name they threw around, but it sure as fuck didn't sound like the same bitch who got your old man fucked up."
Nikko sat back and rested a hand on top of his leg; his eyes shifted as he wagged his head. "They let you back in here to tell me this shit?"
"One of 'em did, Rico; said he owes you for getting him hooked up with your old man's attorney before that soon-to-be-ex-wife of his could get to him first."
He sighed. "Yeah, Benny's alright for shit like that, especially if he knows he's getting something more out of it -- pussy, green, whatever."
"You think that old man's banging the ex-wife?"
"I think he's probably banging everything around her that ain't nailed to the goddamn floor... You know exactly where they're sending your ass?"
"Not a goddamn clue," said Dog. "Not even sure I'll actually make it to wherever the fuck I'm going."
"I'll hear about it if you don't. And I'll take care of shit accordingly if it comes to that."
>
Dog bobbed his head and bent forward as Nikko stood from the bed. He grinned. "You're like the motherfuckin' kid I never had," he told him, "you realize that shit?"
"I didn't 'til just now."
He chortled. "Just the few weeks you've been in here compared to the last six years for my ass, you're more family to me than my own."
"Same could be said about you, especially where the fuck my old man is concerned." He stopped. "Didn't think it was possible to give more than a fuck about another asshole 'til now."
Dog nodded. "Chances are you'll be getting more of that on the outside. When are you and Rox's girl planning on making this shit between you official?"
He shrugged. "Don't know yet. I talked her into maybe coming back out here in a few days to see me again before I'm out; we can talk about it then."
"She said she'd come back out here just to see your ass?"
"Yeah."
"Goddamn, asshole. You must've whipped her into something sweeter than a motherfuckin' bag of honey the first time she came around."
"I'm hoping so, 'cause I like her. Something about her... She doesn't take a lotta shit from anybody, I can tell. But something about her shifts when I'm around... even the sound of her goddamn voice, I could feel it when we talked on the phone; she gets nervous or something..." A smile crossed his lips as he took in a breath. "I don't exactly know what she's feeling beyond what she says, and I don't know if I ever really will; but I'm gonna try getting beneath the surface of all this shit for as long as I've got her in my space."
"Don't try too fuckin' hard; you don't wanna push her off, scare the piss out of her or send her ass running off elsewhere before you even get the chance to really lock her down like you want. If you really like this chick, let her show you where she wants your ass to go first."
"How the fuck am I gonna know without her telling me?"
"You'll know. The look in her eyes when she's staring you straight in the face, the goddamn way she says her shit to you... the distance she'll choose not to keep when you're together, you'll fuckin' know about it, Nik. And when you do, realize in that moment she's yours, and that you won't ever be able to let her fuckin' go; neither will she with you."
Nikko dropped back from him and smirked. "You speaking on this shit from personal experience?"
"I'm speaking out the advice I shoulda given myself long before turning your age; advice that coulda kept my ass from landing here once every few goddamn years since I was eighteen."
"You think a woman you gave a damn about coulda kept any of this shit from going down in the way it always has for you from the beginning?"
"I think a woman I gave a damn about coulda given me a reason to discourage this shit; it woulda given me a purpose outside of what I've always known. Maybe this chick can do that shit for you, maybe not, but I'd be a goddamn liar straight from hell itself if I told you not to give it a motherfuckin' try with her while you still can."
Nikko swallowed hard and lowered his eyes between them; he bobbed his head and pinched his brows. "If she's not looking for any of this shit from me...?"
"Just like with everything else, you'll know."
As the door reopened, a tall, slender man with dark white hair and green eyes stepped inside.
It was Rico.
Nikko looked to him as he adjusted the collar of his uniform, and jerked his chin. He nodded in return.
Dog crossed the room and cleared his throat. "Guess this shit means my time's up in here?"
Rico shifted his eyes to him and frowned. "They just finished up the rest of your paperwork. We gotta start heading out."
"Any goddamn word yet as to where my ass is being sent?"
"Lincoln Correctional Facility."
Dog and Nikko looked to each other as the latter arched his brow.
"That shit's for white-collar criminals," said Nikko. "How'd the fuck you manage to get him in there after what we pulled on the courtyard?"
"I didn't. Elias did."
"What?!"
"Turns out he's is in good with the warden on some other shit; got him making a few calls to someone he knows--"
"Jesus Christ." Nikko grimaced. "That asshole pulling strings to get Dog in there has gotta come with a consequence; he's gonna be looking to have him taken out at some point for what we did." Nikko peeked at Dog before turning back to Rico and gritting his teeth. "You're gonna need to have somebody on his ass as soon as he rolls up. Once my old man gets my ass outta here, I'll see what I can take care of after. But 'til then, you gotta go in thinking this shit is a motherfuckin' set-up."
Rico nodded in agreement. "I'm gonna make some calls on my own before we officially head out. But we gotta go right now."
Dog made his way back over to Nikko and dropped a hand on top of his shoulder. While looking into his face, a smile crossed his own. "No matter what the fuck happens to my ass outside of here, remember what I said on all this shit. When you see her again, you'll know."
They hugged each other before Dog backed away and left the room with Rico on his heels.
When the door shut, Nikko lowered himself back down to the bed and rested his elbows along the edge of his knees. He pressed his hands together, bent forward and deeply exhaled, realizing this shit had now become bigger than himself, bigger than the only purpose he thought he would now have once he was out.
Bigger than what he knew would now have to be done once his feet were firmly planted in a ground that had been permanently snatched from beneath those of his old man.
Marrying Cheyenne was just the tip of a goddamn iceberg ready to break the minute she signed those papers. The shit coming after was enough to make the Titanic look like a goddamn dinghy in comparison.
"Shit."
He knew at this point he was screwed.
And that beyond it, there was no going back to what was.
Chapter Twelve
All Too Willing, Hopelessly Unable
After placing a fresh batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies inside a tin can, I closed the lid and adjusted the hem of my skirt, then headed from the kitchen and out the front door.
As I reached for my keys to lock up, I felt the warmth of a hand slide up the center of my back, forcing me to push one key between my fingers before spinning around and jumping back at the sight of Taz standing just inches from my face.
"What the hell?!" I snapped. "I thought you were a pervert -- What the are you doing here--?"
"Sorry." He dropped his hand back down to his side and looked to my door. "I tried calling earlier, but--"
"I was in the shower."
"Then you saw where I called?" he questioned, eyes wide as he stared.
"I did, and ignored it." His brows pinched as he sucked in a breath. I rolled my eyes across his cut and shook my head. "I'd planned to call you back later -- What are you doing here right now?"
"I obviously needed to talk to you about some shit, Cheyenne."
"About what that couldn't wait until another time?"
"You know how much you don't ever seem to make shit easy on a muthafucka; never really have, but now...?" He trailed off and dragged his fingers along the edge of his eyebrow; he rattled his head. "Nix mentioned stopping by here a few days ago--"
"And?!"
He sighed and pushed his hands inside the pockets of his jeans; he glowered. "I'm apologizing again for the shit I said to you back at the club -- goddamn... I was pissed off in learning why it's all happening, who the fuck it's happening with... I wasn't thinking because of it."
"You were thinking pretty clearly as far as I'm concerned; you always are."
"Chey--"
"I have some place to be and don't really have time for anymore of this."
"You're going off with that tin?" His eyes refocused on my hands. "Where else do you need to be right about now, Cheyenne?"
"Minding my business away from here. Outside of that, it's really none of yours," I said. He sneered. "I need to go."
"Whoa, hey." As I
attempted to dodge past him, he jerked both hands from his pockets and lifted them between us while leaning back. "My ass rode all the way down here to say what I needed in yet another goddamn apology, Chey. The shit I'm getting for it in return ain't equal."
"What the hell do you want me to say? That I forgive you for choosing the wrong time to be an asshole about something I can't control within myself due to the situation I've been handed in part thanks to your club?"
"I want you to say that you don't hate me for the shit I said."
"I don't hate you for it; I'm still pissed off, which is entirely different."
He nodded. "Alright. I can accept that shit."
"You don't have much of a choice--"
"But I want you to tell me why it's so goddamn important for you to marry this piece of shit ahead of looking for other options."
"Here we go." I adjusted the strap of my purse and shook my head. "This is you apologizing again before going right back to the same shit with a new name."
"I'm tryna understand this bullshit motivation beyond what you keep telling the club."
"Beyond three-hundred-thousand dollars?!"
"What if I could get the money without you needing to go through all of this shit?"
"I would ask why the hell you're only telling me about it now. Was the option of getting that money to the club available before you learned about Nikko?" He clamped his lips together and gulped. I guffawed and stepped around him. "You son of a bitch--"
"Chey--"
"And I mean that!" I peeked at him over my shoulder and snarled, "You're a piece of shit."
"There's still no guarantee I can get a dime of it," he called after me, "just that there's a chance I could."
"From where?" I bounced from the last step of the complex and hit the ground toes first before turning to face him. "Another hidden piggybank inside the club? Maybe beneath a floorboard this time?"
"That shit doesn't exactly matter."
"It does. The fact that you're saying it doesn't tells me you're only pulling this rabbit out of your hat at the very last minute in fear of what you still think you've lost in what we could've been for each other before it all came crashing straight down to hell."