by Penelope Sky
There was no fucking way I was bringing my wife anywhere near that place. “Fuck no.”
“I just mean, she’s persuasive. She’s got this way about her—”
“I know. I married her.”
“Just an idea…”
“This guy traffics women, and you think I should bring my drop-dead gorgeous wife around?”
“He wouldn’t touch Sofia. If he wanted to hurt you, he would have done it already. You’re off-limits.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“You’re alive, aren’t you?” he questioned.
I slumped into the chair and rested the back of my neck on the back of the couch. “What’s going on over there?”
“Holding down the fort. I cranked up production and am getting ready for a drop.”
I sat up on the couch, pressing the phone closer to my ear. “You did what?”
“I’ve got the cooks working around the clock.”
“Damien, what the hell are you thinking?”
“What?” he asked innocently.
“We made a deal with Maddox.”
“And last time we spoke, we agreed not to lie down and take it.”
“No,” I hissed. “We discussed that possibility. We hadn’t agreed on anything.”
“Well…that’s how I took it.”
“Then stop everything.”
“Hades, you know I can’t do that—”
“If he finds out, we’re fucking done.”
“Not if we kill him first. That’s what we should have done a long time ago. Cut the head off the fucking snake. Come on, you really picture yourself staying home all day, bored out of your goddamn mind? That’s not you. That’s not me. We’re going to fight this piece of shit and take back what’s ours. I’m sorry I rushed into it, but I thought we were in agreement about that. We aren’t pussies. I’d rather die the victor than live as a coward.”
I returned to the bar two nights later.
I expected the same outcome, but I had to keep trying anyway.
This time, the guys behind the bar recognized me. They didn’t serve me a drink and went to retrieve Ash right away.
My brother stepped out of the hallway and looked at me, just as pissed today as he was a few days ago. His nostrils flared before he approached my table, fists swinging by his sides. He stopped in front of me and leaned over the table. “You think I won’t kill you?”
“I know you won’t.”
“I guess I’m better-looking and smarter.” He dropped into the chair. “Your false sense of immunity is stupid.”
“You won’t shoot unless I shoot first. And as always, I’m unarmed.” I raised my hands in the air so he could search me if he wanted to.
His eyes narrowed. “I thought we’d finished this conversation.”
I lowered my hands.
“I have nothing left to say to you.”
“Well, I have more to say to you.”
He slowly sank back in his chair. “You’re such a bitch, you know that?”
I ignored the insult. “You won’t kill me for the same reason I won’t kill you—because we’re brothers. I don’t approve of this disgusting operation you have running here, but I won’t oppose you. I have enough forces to tear this place down in an hour, but I won’t touch you.”
“Careful, little brother,” he said as his eyes narrowed. “Sounds like you’re making threats.”
“Just reminding you where we stand.”
He drummed his fingers on the table. “What’s your point?”
“You aren’t indifferent to me. If you were, you would kill me. I’m not indifferent to you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here now. You wouldn’t either. So there’s some allegiance between us.” I placed my closed fist over my chest. “Even if it’s buried very deep.”
His eyes steamed with hostility.
“I’m sorry for what I did to our family. I mean that.”
He continued with the same blank stare.
“I’d take it back if I could.”
“Even the god of the dead can’t bring him to life, so you can’t take it back.”
“I’m being sincere.”
“I’m sure you are. Doesn’t mean I care.”
“Father would want us to have a relationship, even after what I did.”
“We’ll never know what he wanted—because he’s dead.”
My brother reminded me of Damien. Impulsive and emotional. I ground my teeth because he was so frustrating.
He leaned forward. “What the fuck do you want from me? When did Hades Lombardi become the biggest pussy in the world? Coming here, expecting a heart-to-heart like a fucking woman? Fuck off.”
“I want to make you an offer.”
“An offer?” he asked.
“You know I’m the biggest drug lord in the south of Europe.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “Don’t expect me to be impressed.”
“But you do know. And I’m looking for a partner.”
He couldn’t hide his surprise. He didn’t see it coming. “What?”
“My empire generates billions every year. Yes, billions with a B. Join me and leave this behind.”
“Why would you offer this to me?”
“Because you can make way more money working with me than you ever could selling pussy.”
He crossed his arms over his chest.
“And we can fix this.” I pointed between the two of us. “Brothers again.”
“Back to the pussy shit…”
“Ash, I’m being serious.”
He shook his head. “I’m missing something, and you aren’t telling me what it is.”
My brother may be irrational, but he was smart.
“What is it?” he pressed.
“You aren’t missing anything, Ash. This is genuine.”
He doubted me with his eyes.
“I’m a different man than I used to be. I’m married now, and that’s changed my entire life.”
“So, you are a pussy,” he said with a chuckle.
“Loving a woman with everything I have is the most courageous thing I’ve ever done. I take care of her, I provide for her, I keep my dick in my pants even when the offers pour in. I put all of my hopes and dreams into one basket. Loving something means you have something to lose… It creates more risk. Trust me, it doesn’t make me a pussy. Maybe someday, you’ll see what I mean.”
He didn’t make any more jokes. “Unlikely.”
“Stop raping women and actually put in some effort.”
Anger emerged onto his features. “I don’t mix business with pleasure.”
“You’re still an asshole.”
“Maybe.” He shook his head. “But I don’t rape women. Let’s just get that straight. Father did that shit. Not me.”
Maybe there was a chance he could be redeemable after all. “Then stop this.”
“No. It’s just business. Plain and simple.”
“Drugs is a business, plain and simple. Not people.”
“We’re of differing opinions.”
“It’s not an opinion, asshole. What you’re doing is wrong. If something like that happened to Sofia, I would put a bullet in my brain just to make the pain stop.”
His face remained stoic. “She must be one hell of a woman to make you settle down.”
Not just one hell of a woman… my soul mate. “She is. We’re going to start a family. All the more reason you and I should work this out. We’ve lost five years. Let’s not lose any more.”
“You don’t even like me, Hades.”
“Not true. I just think you’re better than this. Father poisoned your mind. You never would have gotten mixed up in this if he hadn’t.”
He shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll never know.”
I wanted to throw in the towel, but every time Sofia popped into my mind, I kept trying. “Meet me halfway, man.”
He swept his gaze around the room, watching his men while his thoughts remained buried behind
his eyes.
“Leave the past in the past.”
“I’m an easygoing guy, Hades. Life is too short to hold grudges. But what you did isn’t a grudge…it’s a betrayal.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. “I warned him to stop at least five times.”
“What if he told you to stop selling drugs?”
“If it were that important to him, I would have.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s not bullshit. And I had to save those women. One of them was my friend.”
“A whore you used to fuck.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I snapped. “She was a fucking human being.”
“She’s doing the same thing now she was doing before—”
“Don’t tell me you really believe that. I know you aren’t that heartless. I know you aren’t that stupid.”
He shut his mouth.
I’d hit rock bottom with my brother and didn’t know how to fix it. The cards in my pile were gone, and there were no tricks up my sleeve. This wasn’t a problem cash could fix. It wasn’t a problem threats could fix. I was fucking desperate. “Have dinner with Sofia and me tomorrow night.”
Ash craned his neck awkwardly, like he couldn’t believe the words that flew out of my mouth. “I thought you didn’t want Sofia anywhere near me.”
“I don’t want her anywhere near here.”
“And why would I want to spend the evening with you?”
“She’s your sister-in-law. You don’t want to meet her?”
“Just because she has my last name doesn’t mean she’s family. You certainly aren’t.”
Now I regretted killing my father even more. If I hadn’t, none of this would be happening. “I get that you’re angry, but I don’t think you’re as heartless as you pretend to be. You’ve been sitting with me for thirty minutes now, when you have a million things to do. You give me your time when you claim I don’t deserve it. You threaten to kill me when we both know you can’t pull the trigger. You have the right to be mad at me, but at least try to be my brother. That’s all I ask.”
15
Sofia
“You want me to have dinner with your brother?” When Hades came home, he was in worse shape than his last visit. Making amends with his brother was pressing stress all over his body, making him more exhausted than he’d ever been. I’d do anything to help him, but I was surprised he’d asked.
“Yes.” He sat next to me on the couch, his arm behind my shoulders. His body was pivoted toward me, his hand resting on my thigh. His fingers lightly grazed my skin, gently touched me as he inched farther up on my shirt to my panties underneath.
“I thought you didn’t want that.”
“I’m desperate.”
“I can see that.”
“I’m not taking you to his place of business. I would never put you in harm’s way.” His shadowed jawline was sharp as a straight line. His lips were full and kissable. And his brown eyes were very persuasive.
“I know.”
“And he would never try anything either.”
“What makes you so sure?”
After a long pause, he answered. “I just know.”
“You know I’ll help you in any way I can. I just don’t know what you want me to do.”
“Just be you. Damien is emotionally stunted, and he’s an idiot. But he opened up like an uncorked bottle of champagne.”
“That’s different.”
“You have that effect on a lot of people—including me. Just be yourself…maybe you could soften him up.”
“I’m not sure how to do that, but I’ll try.”
“Thank you.” He leaned into me and kissed the corner of my mouth, his large hand cupping the back of my head to keep me in place. His fingers moved up my hip until he grabbed the lace of my thong and tugged it down. “Is there something I can do to show my appreciation?”
I remembered the night he’d ordered me to sit on his face. He ate my pussy in a way no other man ever had. There was so much heat in his aggressive kisses, so much stimulation from that strong tongue. Just the thought made my ears feel warm, made me shiver like his mouth was pressed against me at that moment.
He got my panties to my knees and let them slide down to my ankles. “I know that look.” He grabbed my hips and tugged me down, my head moving to the corner of the armrest. He pushed my thighs open, one knee pressed against the back of the couch, while the other hung over the edge. He slid to his knees and pushed up my shirt with his hands. Then his face moved between my legs, and his lips made contact with the places that ached the most.
My back arched on its own, and I released a deep sigh. “God…”
We sat side by side at the table, a small vase of flowers in front of us along with a basket of bread. I was in a one-strap black dress, my hair in loose curls with a diamond necklace around my throat.
Hades looked sexy in a black collared shirt with one button popped open at the top. His dark jeans were snug on his tight ass and muscular thighs. Even though he must be anxious about our company, he seemed calm like always.
I caught women in the restaurant looking at him. Sometimes, it angered me because he was clearly married. Other times, I couldn’t blame them for giving in to the temptation of his appearance. If I were one of those women, I’d probably be doing the exact same thing.
“Are you alright?” He asked the question without looking at me.
I was about to meet a man who forced women into slavery. I wasn’t looking forward to the acquaintance. But since this was important to Hades and he intended to get his brother out of the business, I stopped thinking about it. “Yes.”
“Because you seem uncomfortable. I would never let anything happen to you.”
“It’s not that…”
“Then what is it?”
“I’m just annoyed that every woman in here keeps staring at you.”
He slowly turned his head to me, an intense look in his eyes. He watched me like I was the only woman in that room, like none of them mattered. An arrogant smile slowly erupted on his face. “I didn’t even notice because I’m too busy staring at you.” His hand slid to my thigh under the table, and he leaned in to kiss me. It wasn’t just a simple peck on the lips. It was a deep kiss that should only happen behind closed doors, one that had a bit of tongue and lots of breath.
Instead of being jealous of them, they were jealous of me.
“Should I come back?”
I pulled away and looked at the man who sank into the chair across from me. With dark hair and deep brown eyes, he looked similar to Hades because they were clearly related. He was a bit taller, with a musculature that rivaled his brother’s. He gave me a quick smile before he picked up the menu.
Hades kept his hand on my thigh but turned his attention to his brother.
Ash continued to stare at his menu. “Red goes with steak and white goes with pasta…but what goes with scotch?”
“Anything goes with scotch,” Hades said.
Ash set down his menu. “You know what? Maybe we are related after all.” His elbows rested on the table, and he stared at me, ignoring his brother and turning all of his focus onto my face.
It was a bit creepy, but I refused to flinch under his stare. My husband was right beside me, so there was nothing this stranger could do to me anyway. Nothing to be afraid of. But I did feel repulsion toward him…because of the terrible things he did to earn money. I never liked the fact that Hades was a drug dealer, but at least he didn’t hurt innocent people.
The waitress came to the table and took our drink order, but not before giving Ash a bit of special attention. It was subtle, just a gentle bat of her eyes, but I noticed it. Ash was handsome like his brother, inheriting the same masculine good looks and potent testosterone. But he was nothing compared to my husband.
Ash continued his heavy stare, hardly blinking.
“You got a problem?” I blurted, finding his attention over the top. “If there’s something wrong with y
our eyes, you should get that checked out.”
Ash’s lips softened into a slight smile, and he glanced at his brother. “I like her already.”
“I’m not looking for your validation,” I said coolly.
“Ooh.” Now he grinned. “Beautiful and sassy… My brother has great taste.” He turned to Hades. “See, she and I could get along just fine. You should drop your last name and let her keep it. Or better yet, make her a widow.”
Hades was as calm as always. His breathing didn’t change, and neither did his rigidness. “Whether I’m dead or not, she’s out of your league.”
He grinned. “Good one, Hades.”
The waitress returned with the drinks, two glasses of scotch and one bottle of wine for me.
I wasn’t sure why Hades had wanted to bring me. My big mouth couldn’t stop insulting his brother. I was supposed to be charming and persuasive, not difficult. But…that just wasn’t me.
Ash took a long drink then licked his lips. “Tell me about yourself, Sofia.”
“That sounds like an interrogation.” I sipped my wine.
“An interrogation is when someone asks specific questions looking for specific answers. You can tell me anything you want.” He relaxed in his chair, displaying a lazy posture, unlike his brother. “Tell me about your sex life with Hades…but only if you want this to be a boring conversation.”
He was bold. “He just gave me incredible head on the couch before we left…and that definitely wasn’t boring.”
Both of his eyebrows jumped up his face, and he slowly turned his look onto his brother. “Damn.” He slowly returned his gaze to me. “Take off that ring and marry me instead.”
“Oh, I never take off my ring.”
Ash nodded slightly. “Beautiful, sassy, and loyal…you’re the whole package.”
“Your brother is the whole package too…if you just gave him a chance.” I steered the conversation where it needed to go and hoped it would stick.
He looked into his glass as he swirled the contents. “So that’s why you wanted us to get together, Hades. You think your lovely wife can do some damage control.” He set down his glass. “I’ll make a deal with you.” He leaned forward and looked at his brother. “Let me borrow her for the night and—”