Xander backs me against a column and a glass shatters on the floor when my back slams into the ledge behind me. “I’m not playing around. What was he whispering to you?”
The sheer panic generated by Scarface isn’t enough to stop the anger from creeping into my voice. “It’s none of your damn business, asshole. You gave up the right to have a conversation with me when you blocked me and cut me out of your pathetic excuse for a life!” I struggle against him, but his grip is too tight.
Physically and emotionally, if I’m being honest.
Even after all of that time.
Dammit!
Maybe I’m the pathetic one in this scenario.
His jaw tightens and a surge of satisfaction lifts my lips into a smug smile, even though the man’s chilling words still have my stomach twisted in knots. Right now, I’m flooded with conflict and pent-up desire, so much so that I can’t even think straight...the guy’s veiled threats, Xander’s interrogation. It’s all too much.
All I can focus on is his hot breath fluttering against my cheeks and his full lips, so close to mine, forming words that are no longer accompanied by sound.
God, I want to taste…
Argh!
Snap out of it, Char! This guy? Really?
I blink fast, struggling to see clearly through my lust-induced fog.
“You shouldn’t be here alone. Where’s your boyfriend?” he snarls against my hair.
I blink at him, trying to rip my arm out of his grasp.
“I have no idea what or who you are talking about.”
“Don’t play dumb, Puppet. It doesn’t suit you. Blaine seemed pretty happy to have you back. At least that makes one person in this godforsaken town.”
“It’s none of your business. You’re the one who cut me out, remember? You don’t get to give your opinion on my choices. You’ve got no right to treat me this way. It was my life that was completely uprooted, my life that was disregarded. And when I needed you most, you bailed. You’re a piece of shit and you don’t deserve me to so much as look at you, much less talk to you!”
My gaze lands on two guys flanking Xander on either side. Holy freaking hotness. How did I miss at school how hot these two are? Their smirks indicate that they’re enjoying the show, and I won’t lie. They’re adding to the growing arousal initiated by Xander’s tight grip on my arm.
But it’s Xander’s low growl that tears me from my little salacious fantasy and dumps me back to reality.
“I want you out of here. Now.” He snakes an arm around my waist, pressing his body against mine. My skin prickles from his warmth and the familiar cologne that teases my senses. Blood rushes between my temples as my eyes slam shut. I hate how much desire floods me, and the damn X that I took isn’t helping matters either. His intoxicating scent. His ripped muscles. His commanding presence. It all consumes every inch of my body, betraying me completely. Fucking slut of a body filling with all of the desire I had a little over a year ago. I can still feel his lips on mine. Still taste them.
“Fuck off, Xander. I am not going to tell you again. My life and my choices are none of your goddamn business!” My knees tremble as he twists his arm around mine, forcing me into him, his lips centimeters away from my ear.
“See, that’s where you’re wrong. They weren’t yours before, and they sure as hell aren’t now. You’re my puppet now. I don’t take orders from you. I give them.”
Chapter 10
Xander
“Oh, yeah? You want to pull on something?” Charlotte snips, holding up her one free hand in front of my face. “Oh, wait, let me do it since your hands are otherwise occupied.” Her middle finger shoots up and the guys snicker behind me. “There’s my response, Xander.” She cocks her head to one side. “I think that makes things pretty clear, yeah?”
I grip her tighter, making her yelp. She has no fucking idea what she’s doing. None! “Get the fuck out of here and don’t come back,” I hiss against her shiny blonde hair…the hair that still smells of fresh citrus. I actually stole a bottle of it from her bathroom once. Stupid kid that I was. Like that simple scent could conjure up the girl I loved and lost when she made it damn clear she didn’t feel the same way, that her desperate words were just complete bullshit.
“Don’t you ever tell me what to do!” she screams, her piercing voice blending neatly into the background of pulsating electronica. “I hate you!”
“Fuck,” Asher says, chuckling to my left. “She sure told you, man. I think you need to discipline this one. Hard.”
I spin around, my eyes narrowed to slits. That’s all he needs to see. His hands fly into the air and he cowers to my fierce glare. His eyes widen. “Xan, relax. She doesn’t know what she’s saying, okay? She’s probably blasted.”
“And what’s your excuse?” I grunt. “Are you so blasted that you dare say something like that to me?”
“Xander, calm down. He didn’t mean anything by it. He’s fucking around with you,” Chase says, sliding closer to Asher like he can stop me.
Nobody can!
“So this is it, huh?” Charlotte asks in a snide tone. “This is who you’ve become? A nasty and controlling bastard who makes himself feel better about it by tearing down people around him? Maybe being Jase’s bitch has turned you into him.”
I flip back around, a garbled response wedged in my throat when my eyes land on her glossy pink lips. I want to tear them off with my teeth and devour her like a predator in the wild does with its prey.
And I’d savor every last bite.
Jesus Christ. I showed up here tonight on the off-chance I could catch someone on Moretti’s crew cozying up to that two-faced dickhead Lorenzo so I can take that information back to my dad and pull myself off his shit list. Instead, I get my balls handed to me, not only by Charlotte, but by my own fucking crew.
Oh yeah, and now I’ve lost my only damn lead.
The one stupid enough to hit on Charlotte.
My fists clench.
He has no idea either, stupid bastard.
“Come on, Xander,” Charlotte taunts. “You can’t deny it, can you?” Her blue eyes spit pure fire, white hot embers that scorch my blackened heart. But still I don’t loosen my grip. “You’ve turned into the very person you hate more than anyone.”
“That would be impossible,” I say in a low voice, my words dripping with every last ounce of disdain I can muster. “Since that person is you.”
She blinks fast, her expression telling me that she doesn’t quite believe what her ears have just heard.
“Oh, no response for that, huh?” I shake my head. “You know what they say. Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it.”
Her chin juts out and she shakes her hair back, obviously trying to think of a comeback. My eyes betray me when they follow its path over her shoulder as the glossy waves settle on her luscious left tit.
I remember that tit. I remember how her nipple hardened when I grazed it, how she moaned into my mouth when I went in for the other one…
Right before she blew apart my whole world.
“What the hell is going on here?”
A shrill voice has my attention, and my eyes dart to the right, my gaze colliding with the harsh one of a chick I saw at school with Charlotte earlier in the day. Can’t remember her name, though. And it’s not like she has a memorable enough rack to command my attention, anyway.
“Char?” The girl presses, her accusatory gaze morphing into a questioning one as she regards her friend…the one I currently have pinned against a wall.
Charlotte’s lips press into a straight line. “Nothing to worry about, Ellie,” she seethes, her eyes never leaving mine. “Actually, less than nothing.”
I drop her arm, and she flexes her wrist, eyeing me like I’m a roach crawling out of her underwear drawer. I didn’t mean to hurt her. But like everything else in my life, I feel the constant need to assert control in the hopes that I may actually get some.
“What the fuck is wrong wit
h you?” The girl screams at me, obviously trying to defend her friend.
“There’s nothing wrong with me. But, there’s a hell of a lot wrong with her,” I say, nodding my head toward Charlotte. “You really should be a little more choosy about your friends. You don’t want to be kicked to the curb one day because Daddy Hawthorne gets a bug up his ass.” I return my glare to Charlotte. “And trust me, it’ll happen because Char here can’t seem to figure out a way to live her own goddamn life on her terms.” I shrug. “Sooner or later, she’ll throw you out like a dirty fucking diaper.”
“I was smart to walk away from you!” Charlotte shrieks. “Go fuck yourself, Xander! Don’t you have to go suck your brother’s cock or something? Don’t let us keep you.” She slams the palms of her hands against my chest, barely moving me, but I take a couple of steps backward anyway. I just caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye, and I don’t like it one single bit.
My hand lands on her forearm one last time, our eyes locking. “Leave now. And don’t come back, Puppet. You’ve got no business being here and if this chick is the only protection you’ve got, you’re fucked next time you step through that door.”
As much as I despise her, I have to keep her from this place.
But the worst part is that I can’t tell her why.
“He’s harassing us!” Ellie calls over to a bouncer.
I drop Charlotte’s arm and grit my teeth at the pain in the ass she came with. “You’ll regret that she did that, Puppet. Mark my words.”
I raise my hands into the air as Mark, the hulking bouncer, walks over. We exchange a glance. “Nothing to see here, man. I was just saying hi to an old friend.”
Mark nods, his gaze darting between mine and Charlotte’s steely one. It lands on me last and he backs away. “I think maybe it’s time to go, ladies.”
I don’t even bother to hide my smug smirk. Finally. A shred of control goes into my back pocket.
Charlotte scoffs, flipping her hair. “That’s rich. Not only are you an egotistical douchebag, but of course, you have all of these half-wit beefcakes scared for their lives.” She eyes Mark with a quirked brow. “Half-wit seems like it might be more of a compliment.”
Egotistical, yes. Douchebag, yes.
Idiot? Hell fucking no.
I know if Mark escorts them out, there’s no way the dude with the scar will get near Charlotte again.
He folds his arms across his massive chest and I figure, even if Lorenzo is fucking with my family, at least his crew doesn’t know about it.
Silver lining.
And now I just need to get her the hell out of here so I can chase down the one link that can lead me back to Moretti.
Because I saw him with Charlotte.
Just like I watched him with a handful of other gorgeous young blondes earlier tonight.
He’s on the hunt, commissioned by Moretti.
I’d stake my life on it.
And my ‘friend’ Renzi is just letting it happen, right under his sniveling nose.
He’s gonna let that scumbag snatch that tight young pussy and sell it to help Moretti expand his trafficking business.
Renzi, I hope ya got paid well because if I can prove it, I’ll shove a roll of pennies up your ass and pull each one out of your throat.
“At least he’s smart enough to know a lost cause when he sees one.” I chuckle. “Are you still questioning it, Puppet?”
Her eyes are wild, her jaw damn-near dropping to the floor.
“Go,” I mouth, flicking my thumb toward the door. I give Mark a nod. “Show them out, will ya?”
Mark nudges Charlotte forward and she elbows him in the ribs. God, I love this badass bitch she’s transformed into. Fish and chips breathed fire into that lost soul, I guess.
Well, fish, chips, and warm Guinness.
Makes me want to fuck her that much more.
Charlotte’s friend grabs her arm and guides her out of the club under my watchful stare.
I turn to Asher and Chase. “You’ve got a job to do,” I grumble. “I hope you packed your equipment.”
They exchange glances. “Okay, where are we going?”
I square my shoulders as Mark leads the girls outside.
“We’re about to find out.”
I push through the crowd now that the girls are safely out of view. I hawk the crowd, looking for my defaced target. That ugly ass mug should be pretty easy to spot. But as my eyes dart left and right, sweeping through crowds of young, hot co-eds in short skirts and half-shirts, I realize it will be impossible to spot if he’s gone.
A chill slides through my insides.
Gone, as in, lurking outside and waiting for a potential target leave the club.
Unprotected.
And I think I’m so damn smart.
I barrel through the crowds and get right in Mark’s face when he comes back inside. “What happened to the girls you just sent packing?”
His brows furrow. “They got into a Bentley and took off.”
“Did you see anyone near their car?” My voice rises.
Mark shakes his head. “Nobody. And I watched them go.”
“Dude, what the hell is going on?” Chase asks in a low voice, pulling me away from the bouncer. “Why are you flipping the fuck out like this? What is that girl to you, anyway?”
Chase and Asher don’t know about Char. About me and Char. We weren’t friends until after Char left. I never talked about her or what happened. They didn’t deserve to know. Didn’t need to know. No one did.
I couldn’t risk them knowing.
I needed to gain their trust and respect, so telling them that the love of my life left me to appease her father makes me sound like a Grade-A pussy.
That kind of shit doesn’t command respect.
It generates pity.
And a perception of weakness.
Both of which would make me come crashing down from my seat at the top of the food chain.
“She’s nothing,” I hiss, raking a hand through my hair.
“Seems like a little more than ‘nothing’,” Asher says.
I shoot him a glare that can boil water. “If I wanted you to know more, I’d have given you more.”
“You know, I’m sick of this bullshit, Xander,” Chase snarls. “Ever since she showed up at school today, you’ve been wound like a fucking top. What the hell gives, man?”
I weigh my next words carefully, knowing Chase and Asher can’t ever find out about what I’m doing to show up my brother. “It’s been a rough week, guys. My dad has had some shit stolen from one of his construction sites a few different times this week, and I came here tonight because I got a tip on the guy who did it.”
Chase looks at me like he doesn’t swallow a single bit of the bullshit I just shoved at them. “Why didn’t your dad send someone to take care of him?”
“He did.” I raise an eyebrow. “He wants you guys. His request.”
They look at each other again, and a glimmer of excitement shines in their eyes. They think they were tagged in by the big boss and damn, it gives them an insta-hard-on. Fucking A.
Why didn’t I ever use that tactic before?
I’d better file it away for next time.
Because there’s always a next time.
With another sweep of my eyes, I confirm that ugly ass mo-fo is gone.
Unless he isn’t.
I take in a sharp breath. Lorenzo’s office.
If I catch him back there, if I hear them making plans, Dad will have to believe that the threat is real. And imminent.
I look at the guys. “I need to hit the head before we take off. Give me a minute?”
Two scantily dressed brunettes saunter over toward them and I use that as my escape, ducking down a darkened hallway with a secret doorway hidden away at one end.
Lorenzo’s office.
No security guards.
That should have been my first red flag.
Why wouldn’t Lorenzo
have his security detail lining each side of the hallway, especially if he was meeting with someone from Moretti’s crew?
I creep down the hallway, straining my ears to hear anything. On this side of the building, the music isn’t nearly as loud, so if there’s a conversation happening, I’m gonna hear every word.
Except there’s no conversation.
There are no voices at all.
No people.
Nothing.
I slump against the wall, pressing my fists to my temples.
I failed. Again.
Goddammit!
Dad and Jase wanted me to stay away from here because they knew what my presence here would say to the New York underworld. Moretti is a big-time drug dealer, weapons smuggler, and overall scourge of the Earth. He’s not stupid enough to put his livelihood out there like the skanky whores out on the dance floor who put their naked pussies on display for sport.
Dad believed that me being seen at Lorenzo’s place would make it look like we’re just chasing our tails, waiting for the hammer to drop.
And drop it always does.
Most often where the neck meets the head.
But screw that.
Because I’m the one holding the machete this time.
Chapter 11
Charlotte
My alarm blares, my temples throbbing in response to the harsh and sudden noise.
Goddamn it all to ever-loving hell!
I crack open my eyes and slam them shut immediately. They burn from the light pouring in through the slits in the floor-length jacquard drapes. I let out a groan and roll into my pillow.
Did that all really happen last night?
I rake my fingers through my matted hair, trying to process everything.
The creepy stalker that knew way too much about me, including my freaking full name.
His threatening words. His quivering lips. His gravelly voice. And that scar...the one that’s seared into my memory.
I don’t even want to think about what he did to get it...or what happened to the person who did it.
The memory sends cold chills shimmying down my spine.
Puppet: Ridgeview Prep Book 1 Page 8