by E. M. Moore
I’ll say one thing for gang men. They’re all fucking stubborn. If he wants to clean up the mess, more power to him. I step around him and head back to the sofa, kicking the bags of clothes Glo brought aside. I bet Lynette’s going to have to find a new worker. Even if they don’t kill her, they won’t let her work there again.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Magnum asks. He’s brought the trashcan in from the kitchen, sliding the sharp blue shards into the bin before grabbing the top half of the broken lamp and tossing that inside too.
I shrug, still eyeing the clothes. She definitely had it in her. I have to give her props for that. She was just a little too dumb. She didn’t think with her head, she thought with her heart. It’s a good reminder that if I’m not strategic about what I’m doing here, I could end up “downstairs” just like her.
“She fired the gun, you know,” I find myself saying. “I mean, she pulled the trigger, it just didn’t fire.”
Magnum’s face tightens. He leans the broom against the couch and drops the dustpan on the floor. It clatters before everything in the room falls silent. “She shot at you?”
“I was distracted,” I tell him, mistaking his tone.
“She shot at you?” he asks again.
I finally move my gaze to look at him. Usually Magnum has exactly one face. Determined. Stoic. Fierce. Even when we were being shot at, he looked like he had everything under control. Right now, he doesn’t look under control at all. He looks like he’s two steps away from crossing over a line. “Yeah,” I say, my voice catching.
“There were bullets in that gun. I checked it myself.”
“Guess I’m just lucky.”
“No one here is lucky, Kyla. Not unless your name is Big Daddy K.”
6
By the time Monday rolls around, I can’t stand staying in Johnny’s suite any longer. I was right about the clothes Glo brought, and I can’t help but think she’d smile if she knew how irritating it would be for me to wear these outfits. Hell, she might have even done it on purpose in case she didn’t get me. Then again, I wasn’t her target—at first, anyway.
I get up early, sliding out of the bed I now share with Johnny. Nothing as interesting as what happened the other night has happened again, but as curious as it sounds, he’s a good cuddler. In fact, since the shootout, he’s been almost a gentleman. Glo invading his space and attempting to kill me has brought out the best in him.
After showering and putting on the least risqué outfit Glo brought me, I step out of the bathroom to find Johnny sitting on the edge of the bed, his hair mussed from sleep. He cocks his head, taking me in. “What are you doing?”
“Getting ready for school,” I say, walking toward the main room. Magnum was right when he said there was housekeeping here. There’s also someone who stocks their kitchens on the regular. Johnny even told me last night after turning my nose up at the fish he was going to cook that I could give him a list of foods I liked and he would make sure we had it. Living here is honestly like living in a fairy tale. It’s the dream of all adults everywhere. You barely have to lift a finger.
Johnny’s footsteps sound behind me. “You’re not going to school.”
I stop, my jaw snapping shut. I try to keep my cool when I turn because Johnny does not respond well to fighting, but what the fuck? “You can’t keep me here forever, Johnny.”
“Keep you? You don’t like it here?”
“It’s not that, but I’m going crazy,” I tell him. I’d already watched two entire TV seasons because Johnny spends most of the day with his father working on “business”, which leaves me in here alone. “I can’t just sit still. It’s not in me. I have to go out and do things.”
He glowers. “That school is a farce, and you know it.”
“Well, it’s my…farce,” I say, stumbling over what to say. “Plus, I’m eighteen, I can’t just not go to school. It’s like the law or something.”
“Actually, you can stop any time after sixteen here. You won’t need or want for anything, Kyla. You go to school to get a job, and you won’t need one of those.”
One of those? I scoff. It’s like the real world has no place in the Heights. “But I’ll want one,” I say, trying to drive the point home. “I can’t just sit here all day.”
A smile flits over his face. He shakes his head as it grows. “You are so unlike anyone I thought I would…” He breaks off after sighing. “I guess I just thought the girl I’d end up with would be happy just shopping, getting her nails and hair done, and whatever chicks like the Kardashians do.”
I glare at him. “I am so not a Kardashian, Johnny. I’m like their polar opposite.” For fuck’s sake. Ew.
“I like it,” he says, surprising me. His face practically glows. “And I get it, you’re bored as fuck. I wouldn’t want to stick around here all day either, but I don’t think it’s safe for you to go back to school yet. Just let me put some things in place, and I’ll let you go. In the meantime, what can I do?”
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Johnny is trying. Goddamnit. Can’t we just explode at each other, so I can flee from the house? I need a good excuse to get the fuck out of here. I run my hands through my hair. “For starters, I need to get out,” I say. “I’ll go bananas if I have to look at these walls for another day. Take me somewhere. Let me do something. I can help you,” I add, thinking that whatever gets me more ingratiated to Big Daddy K works in my favor. “Also, if your dad really meant what he said about me fighting, I need to start training.”
He peeks at my leg. “What about your shin? I thought it was still bothering you.”
“Every so often, but I’m icing it and letting it rest. I just won’t do full-on contact for another week or so, but I can punch shit. I can exercise so I don’t lose muscle strength.”
Johnny’s gaze drops to my calves. I’m literally wearing the longest shorts that were in the bags of clothes, and they’re still practically booty shorts. “You don’t have to worry about that,” he muses.
Flames lick my face. I try to avoid any sexual situations with Johnny because I’m still confused if I’m supposed to want him or not. Plus, it works in our favor because I’m pretty sure his father still has that rule in place about us not fucking until Johnny officially rises to second in command. It saves us both the trouble of thinking about it.
He drags his gaze up my body until it rests on my face. “Tell you what. I have to head to one of our businesses tonight to check things over. Why don’t you come with me? People have been asking for you. I think you have a fan club.” He strides forward. “Plus, it’ll work in favor of your fights, too.”
One thing I definitely enjoy about staying at Johnny’s place is that he conveniently doesn’t wear a shirt all the time, proving even devils can be sexy. He picks up my hand and brushes a kiss over my knuckles.
“I’d be honored to have you on my arm.”
Just what I need: to be arm candy. But if it’ll get me out of here and give my fights some exposure, I’m all for it. “I’ll come,” I tell him. “As long as you check into me returning to school.”
He pulls me in for a hug. “I’ll do it today.”
Fourteen long hours later, I’m finally inside the elevator leading down to the parking lot. Being in here reminds me of Big Daddy K telling the security guard to take Glo downstairs, and I make a mental note to ask what that means one day. Hopefully, I don’t find out when I’m the one who is being hauled downstairs.
Johnny leans over, pressing a kiss to the sensitive spot below my ear. “If I haven’t said it already, you look beautiful.”
He has said it. He said it when he zipped up this tight ass dress. He said it again right before we left his suite. This time, it’s whispered with a breathy moan that starts my heart racing. It’s becoming more difficult to deny my attraction to Johnny. Especially with the way he’s been acting lately, but maybe that’s because I haven’t been allowed out into the real world, and I’m starved for any type of i
nteraction. And attention. Even Oscar hasn’t been able to come by and see me.
I squirm out of his grip with a demure smile. He sighs. “I know, I know.” He runs his hand through his hair, temporarily messing it up before he brushes his fingers through it again until it’s perfectly styled in that messy way.
“Why don’t you tell me where we’re going and why?”
“We’re headed to Candy’s.”
“And Candy’s is…?”
“A strip club.”
I snap my jaw shut as dread pools in my belly. It’s a reaction I quickly try to cover up, but it’s of no use, so I just go with it. “You’re taking me to a strip club.”
“It’s for business, Kyla,” Johnny says, threading his fingers through mine as we walk to the car. “It’s one of our up-and-coming ones, and we like to keep a close eye on it. Make sure everything is running smoothly. We check the books and watch surveillance from the tower, but it’s not the same as going there and feeling it out.”
I get in the backseat and stare straight ahead. I get what he’s saying, but if he turns this into some sort of freaky business trip, I’m not going to just sit back. I don’t care how pissed off he gets at me. I didn’t spend all fucking weekend in his suite just to be taken out to watch some girl grind against him. Or hell, even more. I know he’s not above that.
Beyond the divider, Magnum takes a seat behind the wheel. Another security guy occupies the passenger seat. I found out that the guy I told to leave the room when Glo got there was reprimanded, which I wasn’t happy about. I’m the one who told him to leave after all, but Johnny didn’t want to listen to me. He wants people to act for my safety, whether I give them an order to do the opposite or not.
Within five minutes, the sleek, black car comes to a halt. Johnny throws the door open and steps out. I slide along the leather seats, keeping my knees tucked together because in this dress, I could literally show everyone everything I have with very little effort. When I get to the end of the seat, I swing my legs out and Johnny reaches his hand back in. He pulls me up and into his hard chest. His eyes are such a contrast to the night, and in no time at all, I get lost in them. “Don’t worry so much, Kyla. You won’t have to run interference all night. We’ll see if your reputation has gotten around.” He gives me a quick wink. Despite how sexy I find that wink, his words clash inside me. I don’t want it to be me that keeps the skanks at bay. I want it to be him. I’ve never considered myself a jealous person, but when he fucked Lynette’s worker in one of the dressing rooms, he fucked with my head, too. He feels badly about it. Now. Not then. Then, he thought I was a Kardashian. Now, he knows better.
He turns, threading my arm through his. Magnum and our other guard flank us while Johnny tells me they started the strip club business venture last year. It’s brought in really good money since its inception, and since it’s been doing so good, they’re keeping a keen eye on it to see if it’s something they can replicate in another town.
Judging by how Big Daddy K and Johnny are taken care of, I imagine their business pursuits bring in quite a lot of money. The only thing they don’t have at their disposal, that I would seriously think of getting, is a cook. Who knows, they may have already thought of that but determined it was too risky. Guys like them have to watch their backs all the time. Nothing made that clearer than Glo shoving a gun in my face.
We enter through a back door and are immediately greeted by Wild Thing being pumped through the speakers. Lasers flash in the main room, lighting up the back hallway with a sharp glow. Our security detail nods at their security detail, and we’re let through without pause.
A tall, thin man in a well-appointed suit walks down the hallway toward us. He and Johnny shake hands, and then Johnny motions toward me at the same time he squeezes my arm closer to him. “This is Kyla Samson.”
“Kyla,” the man says, deliberately keeping his stare on my face. “Joe Dunnegan. Welcome.”
“Thank you,” I tell him. This place makes me uneasy. No offense, but I don’t really want to sit around watching a bunch of women take their clothes off. Now, if we were in a male strip club, I’d be all about it. Especially if the theme of the night was badass fighters. Hell fucking yes. Strip it down bare.
“We’ll take one of your private tables,” Johnny says.
“Business or pleasure?”
“Business,” Johnny says, allaying some of my concerns.
Joe turns to lead us out of the hallway. “I sent last quarter’s profit-and-loss statement in earlier.”
He doesn’t look like a guy who would own a strip club. Then again, I don’t know much about them. My knowledge comes from how they’re portrayed in movies. If I met Joe on the street, I’d peg him as an investment banker. Or maybe someone who owns a sports team. He’s a mid-thirties businessman who’s impeccably dressed with several rings adorning his fingers. In fact, he reminds me a hell of a lot of Big Daddy K.
Instead of calling a server over, Dunnegan takes Johnny and I to a booth in the back corner. It’s secluded. From here, we can see everything, but the lights aren’t shining on us. When Dunnegan steps away, I ask, “So, where’s this Dunnegan in the hierarchy of things?”
“My level,” Johnny says. “He runs this business for my dad. He gets paid a wage, but everything funnels through to the business accounts. He’s been with Dad for a long time.”
“So, you trust him?” I ask.
“About as much as we can trust anybody in this business,” he says, squeezing my thigh.
Now that we’re seated, it’s impossible to block out everything happening around us. The women delivering drinks are scantily clad. On stage, is the only place they strip as far as I can see from where we are. After watching one full routine, I have to give these ladies props. The dancing was insane. And sexy as hell. I can see why this place is packed tonight.
It might just be my limited experience with these places, but it looks as if Candy’s is on the higher end of strip clubs. The girls aren’t sloppy. They’re skilled. They may be taking their clothes off for money, but there’s a certain type of dignity to what I see them doing. Almost like an art.
A rowdy group—what looks to be a bachelor party—in the front catcalls the girl using a Victorian sofa in her dance, and a security guard promptly goes over to them to issue a warning.
Frankly, I’m impressed. I thought I was going to hate every single second of this.
A woman with a uniform that covers very little of her chest and dips low into a booty short comes over to our table to take our drink orders. She flirts with Johnny, but how could you not? He’s gorgeous. Plus, what is she supposed to do? It’s her job.
“What do you think?” Johnny asks when she walks away.
“It’s…cleaner than I thought,” I offer.
He laughs, and an alarming pair of dimples show up.
My lips part, and he immediately stops. “What?”
“You have dimples,” I say. “I’ve never noticed them before.”
“That’s because you’re too busy staring at my naked chest.”
My mouth drops further. I can’t even argue with him about that. My cheeks turn fifty shades of red. He leans forward, lips brushing my ear so he can be heard over the music. “You know what that face reminds me of? When you came with my thumb on your clit.”
His fingers dig into my thigh, and my breath hitches. Did he really think it was a good idea to bring me here? “As long as my clit is the one you’re thinking about,” I say, pushing the boundaries far too much. “I’ll blush like this for you all night long.”
He nips at my ear, and I jerk away to tease him. Is it wrong that I like how sexual he is? I just want him to be sexual with only me though. I think. I mean, that’s where I’m going with this right? It might seem wrong considering I’d gladly hop into three guys’ beds at this point, but that’s just where I stand on the subject. I’m not making a fucking apology for it.
“You make working really fucking difficult, Kyl
a.”
I slide closer to him, maneuvering his arm around my shoulders. Our waitress brings our drinks but also places a plate of chicken wings on the table. “It’s on Dunnegan. He says the best fighter in the Heights deserves some protein.”
Johnny squeezes me tighter and kisses my temple. I grin from ear-to-ear. “Thanks,” I tell her.
She nods and leaves, this time not giving Johnny any lingering looks. I smirk at that because how could I not?
“So,” I start. Now that the wings are in front of me, I’m suddenly super hungry. They smell delicious too. “If Dunnegan is high up in the Crew, how come he wasn’t at the fight?”
Johnny drops his hand to my back while I eat. “Everyone has their roles,” he says. “There are others in my position, like Dunnegan, who just work the different businesses and don’t really have to get their hands dirty. For me, I’m involved in everything because—”
“You’re going to take it over one day?”
His shoulders stiffen, then he nods once. He’s suddenly a lot more serious than he has been all night. I don’t know where the good mood Johnny came in with went, but I sit and eat my wings in silence while he stares ahead. He’s watching the girls on the stage, but I highly doubt he’s even paying much attention to them. Besides, his gaze keeps wandering to different areas of the room. I’m sure he’s watching the staff, the clientele, checking the way things are run because if anything, Johnny takes his job very seriously. He’s set to take over many very profitable businesses. He’s no slouch. What he does just happens to skirt the line of legality here and there. Or everywhere.
A few minutes after I finish and our waitress has come to replenish our drinks and take away my discarded wings, Johnny motions with his chin to a waitress in the corner. She’s letting a guy feel her up. It looks so private that I turn away. He shakes his head. “I have to speak to Dunnegan about her. No touching allowed here.”