by Nicole Banks
She couldn’t remember what it was like to actually be with a man she was into. She’d probably be able to go through the motions—those were easy enough to fake—she feared she’d just shut down and mentally check out like she was accustomed to. She wouldn’t know how to enjoy it, and with the connection that burned between her and Otto, she didn’t want to be anywhere else but right in the moment enjoying it.
“He’s attractive, but it’s not him that’s got me weighed down.” Ivy smiled. It wasn’t all him. “Just some family things going on.”
Mary gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “He is hot, right?” She smiled at Ivy. “I am serious about wanting to talk. I know how lonely this life can get, and while some girls can be catty here, I think it’s good to have friends to share your woes with.”
Ivy pulled her gaze from Otto and looked at Mary. She had no idea why she was being nice to her, but it made Ivy want to spill her guts to this woman. Maybe she’d have the answers to her problems, and maybe Ivy wouldn’t have to go at this alone.
It was on the tip of her tongue to blurt everything out, but she swallowed the urge. “How old are you?” she asked. It was as random as it got, considering their conversation, but this was safe territory for Ivy, and it directed the conversation away from her.
Mary chuckled. “Why? Do I appear old and wise?” Ivy nodded, and it made Mary laugh more. “I get that a lot. I’m twenty-seven, but I’ve seen things at a young age that force you to grow up faster than you should.”
Ivy squeezed Mary’s hand, understanding the sentiment all too well. “Is that why you work here? I don’t mean to sound like I’m judging, but the few interactions I’ve had with you, this doesn’t seem like your scene.”
“Yes and no. This is quick and safe money. Otto and Gia treat me like family, and while I could probably do something else now, I actually enjoy it here. They took care of me when I was down on my luck.” She shrugged. “I stay as a way to take care of them.”
Ivy wanted to ask Mary more questions. She found herself liking this woman and wished they could be friends. But they couldn’t be friends. Once this job was over, Ivy wouldn’t see any of these people again. She had to learn to put her walls up; the less attachments she made, the better she would feel about what she had to do.
“Mary, Ivy.” The rough timber of Otto’s voice hit her in her chest first before traveling down her body, leaving goosebumps in its wake as if he had physically touched her. He seemed to suck all the air out of Tres, forcing her to breathe in only him. She completely forgot about Mary sitting next to her as she and Otto stared at each other.
Neither one of them said a word verbally, but there was that silent conversation again happening behind their eyes. They were saying things they dared not voice out loud because it would seem crazy to acknowledge the potency that flowed between them.
“This is like a bomb, and it can only go one way.” —Yeah, total destruction.
“Well, I’m going to go…” Mary coughed out a laugh, “...anywhere that’s not here.”
Ivy dropped her gaze to hide the smile on her lips. Mary gave her arm another tight squeeze as she hopped off of the barstool. Her lips were suddenly at Ivy’s ear. “Maybe I was wrong,” she whispered so only Ivy could hear it.
Mary passed Otto saying something to him under her breath. He shook his head, fighting a smile as he plopped down onto the barstool next to Ivy. His fingertips brushed against her elbow, and every nerve ending was instantly standing at attention. It was like his touch kept her body in a constant state of anticipation. She was becoming addicted to it. It was such a contrast from the state of anticipation she was accustomed too. While her captors had only caused her pain, Ivy was starting to associate Otto with pleasure, and that was dangerous for her well-being.
“How you feeling?” Otto’s words were low, and the way he said it she almost believed he truly cared.
“You could have asked me that while Mary was here.”
Otto shrugged. “She left on her own, but I’m glad she did. This way you don’t have to lie to me and tell me you’re fine.”
Ivy crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed. “And what if I am fine?”
Otto shifted in his seat so his body was angled toward hers. He grabbed her arms, undoing them so they fell to her lap and kept her hands in his.
Her breath was shaky as she looked down at their joined hands. She felt like a teenager again with her first crush. It paralyzed her with both fear and joy. She was going to destroy this, there was no way around it, but if she escaped this life, maybe there was hope for her yet.
“Ivy.” The way he said her name coupled with the intensity of his stare and the way his thumb caressed the inside of her palms made it harder to stay afloat. She felt the world around her start to melt away. It shouldn’t shock her at this point, but it still surprised her that he had the ability to keep her trapped in whatever was in the air around them that seemed to jack up the level of potency she felt for him.
Ivy knew from the outside this looked oddly intimate and she should care—the new girl with her hands intertwined with the boss probably wasn’t a good look—but this was going to be over long before she was ready to end it. She was going to need something to hold on to.
“Don’t lie to me,” he whispered, and for a second she thought he was talking about more than just how she was feeling. A sense of guilt ripped through her and she quickly withdrew her hands from his.
Ivy had no idea what was wrong with her. She’d done this enough times that she was able to keep her guilt and emotions in check. She never got attached to the people she fucked over; they were all a means to an end to get her and her sister free. But something was different now.
Maybe her guilt was finally catching up to her.
Maybe because there was so much at stake she was getting caught up in all of it instead of keeping her eye on the end goal.
“Honestly, O. I’m fine.”
“Ivy,” he warned.
“Do you ask all the girls here how they’re feeling after they spent a night dancing on stage?” she snapped at him.
“Only the ones who see a dead body on said stage before they have to dance on it all night.” Ivy quickly deflated when she realized a normal person probably wouldn’t be acting like everything is fine after seeing a coworker’s dead body.
She hopped off the bar stool, running her hands through her hair. She needed to go home. This exhaustion she felt hit her on a whole new level she realized she wasn’t equipped to deal with. “You don’t have to check on me.” She turned around to face him. “I told you guys I won’t go to the cops. I’m just really tired, and I’d like to get this meeting over with.”
“My sentiments exactly.” Ivy jumped at the sound of the woman’s voice directly behind her. She turned around and came face to face with the same woman who had gotten out of Otto’s car last night. Her icy cold stare unnerved Ivy. She shivered, despite how warm her body was.
“I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure, yet.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Sofia Barbati.”
Ivy knew her name; she heard Bruno say it a few times, and she was part of the reason Ivy was even in Tres in the first place. Ivy’s part in all of this was for Otto, but Bruno was after Sofia for a much bigger price.
She shook Sofia’s hand and watched as the woman’s eyes narrowed a little bit. It was like looking into the hollows of death’s eyes. They were nothing more than a mirror to her own fate, and what Ivy saw left her with a sense of dread. She knew Smoke wasn’t the only one she’d have to worry about after this betrayal. Sofia would be right beside him, hunting her down as well. After meeting Sofia, Ivy would rather take her chances with Smoke.
Wolf made his rounds around the smaller rooms of the casino, making sure his women employees had someone to escort them home. After having to dispose of the body of one of his bartenders, he called in a little extra reinforcement. He thought after the shoot-out that happened here, he would be safe fro
m anymore heat, but he knew that was a far-fetched idea. That body was a message from Boris or Bruno letting him know he’d chosen the wrong side in the war.
Wolf chuckled to himself, but it lacked humor. He spent years of this life making allies and friends and enemies along the way. He’d seen his fair share of war even though he had kept his little slice of territory as neutral as he could. He wasn’t a spring chicken anyway and well past his time to retire from this. He had every intention of giving this up to Cree and Seven, but with everything going on, he was going to have to stay in the game a little longer.
He made his way out of the smaller rooms and wanted to check out the bigger room. He did it every night, a ritual of sorts. He hated that he had to rebuild and redesign, but it gave him a chance to keep up with the times.
As soon as he swung open the door, he barreled into a tall woman who wrapped her hands around his arms to steady herself. Her scent hit him first; it was earthy mixed with the vodka that teased her breath. As soon as he steadied them so they didn’t topple over each other, her eyes hit his next. They were mismatched, and Wolf wondered if that was on purpose or her natural eye color.
The third thing that hit him was that he was currently holding his little card shark. She looked different than any other night she had been in there. Her hair was loose down her back, and she had a dusting of freckles across her face. He wondered for a second if she had the freckles anywhere else on her body and quickly shook the thought from his mind.
“Sorry about that,” he murmured, still looking at her, wondering if this was the real her or was this another facade.
“Don’t worry about it. Should have been watching where I was going.” She quickly stepped out of his hold and tried to move past him, but Wolf grabbed her arm.
She looked up at him with as much innocence as she could muster, and it made Wolf actually laugh. He had no clue who she was trying to fool, but he’d been around too long not to know the scams. “Nice try, sweetheart.” He held out his other hand in front of her. “Wallet with the money in it and my watch back, please.”
The women didn’t even try to plead her case, she just shrugged and handed Wolf his stuff back. “I must be losing my touch. That’s usually a big success.”
Wolf grabbed his watch and stuffed it into his pocket. He checked the contents of his wallet, making sure everything was still in there—he wasn’t sure how fast his little thief’s hands were.
“This is New York, sweetheart. That only works on tourists.” He tapped her chin. “Stick to counting the cards, you’re better at it.”
He walked off, not bothering to reprimand her or hear whatever pleas she was going to try and come up with. If anything, he kind of hoped him letting her go would be enough to pull her back to the casino. He wanted to see if she would take the bait and try and up her skills here. There was a sense of thrill and challenge that clung to her in a way that excited Wolf.
She’d be the perfect distraction he needed to unwind from the upcoming troubles headed his way.
SOFIA WATCHED AS THE WOMAN in front of her squirmed under the weight of her stare. Sofia had that effect on people who hadn’t been hardened by life or who were hiding something. It made her wonder which side of the fence Ivy fell on.
Gia told her Ivy was the only one who had seen the dead body at the club and she seemed to be handing it well. Maybe a little too well, Sofia thought as she continued to stare at Ivy. Now that the lights were on, she was able to get a good look at the woman. She was gorgeous in a way that was soft and almost forgettable, but there was something there—something Sofia couldn’t pinpoint—and she found herself being drawn into Ivy’s orbit easily. It was like she was magnetic, and Sofia could easily see how men would be attracted to the beauty that she was.
Sofia’s gaze shifted slightly to Otto who was standing protectively behind Ivy now, and a small smile teased Sofia’s lips, wondering what it was about men that made them feel the need to either hurt women because they thought they were beneath them or, in Otto’s case, protect them. His hands were tight fists at his side, and Sofia could tell he was clenching his jaw as he stared down at her like he was waiting for her to hurt Ivy.
Sofia dropped Ivy’s hand and took a step back. She called the rest of the girls who were still at Tres over to have a seat. Gia told her about the missing employee files, and she was going to make sure the girls had escorts coming and going to Tres. Sofia didn’t want any more innocent dead bodies on her hands if she could help it.
She originally came in here to threaten every single one of the workers, but as soon as she stepped foot in Tres, she changed tactics. If the snake was in fact an employee, shouting to the rooftops that someone got one over on her wasn’t an option she was comfortable with. Sofia would rather have people think they got one up on her and let them get comfortable enough to let down their guard than ever prove they rattled her cages.
The ladies each took a seat on the barstools. Ivy plopped down on the seat she had just vacated, and Otto made sure to stay close. They were quite the pair, and Sofia wondered for a moment how they interacted when the club was open and Ivy was dancing on stage. If they were as joined at the hip as they were now, Sofia bet the nights here were about to get a little more interesting.
“Hey ladies,” Gia started, “the reason we asked you all to stay after tonight is because we wanted to share some information with you that will affect your safety.” There were some murmurs before Gia quickly commanded the room again. “This is just a precaution, and we want to make this as safe and un-nerve-wracking as possible.”
“What happened?” The question came from Mary. She was one of their longtime employees, and Sofia was able to gather from Otto during their cleaning house was that she’d been in a shitty situation, and they gave her a place to get back on her feet. They looked at her like family.
Gia’s gaze shifted to Sofia for her to continue the conversation. Sofia wasn’t sure how much information she wanted to give these ladies. She didn’t want them spooked or running to the cops thinking it would help.
Sofia cleared her throat. “Most of you don’t know me, but I’m sure you remember my father’s name, and if you had access to a TV in recent weeks, you have seen my face.” Sofia smirked remembering her eventful homecoming. “My name is Sofia Barbati, and I own part of Tres Bellas.”
Sofia purposely dropped that information to gauge the reactions of the women sitting in front of her. A few of them seemed to have made the connection of her last name, but the part owner information seemed to get a few shocked looks from all the women except Ivy. She tried to look surprised, but it seemed rehearsed, like this wasn’t the first time she was hearing this information.
The pieces to the puzzle Sofia was putting together on Ivy started sliding into place, but she was still missing parts and some pieces didn’t fit so neatly together. She wasn’t one to give people the benefit of the doubt, not with the nature of her business—when it’s life or death, you always assume the worst. But something didn’t feel right, and it frustrated Sofia that she couldn’t figure out what it was.
“My name draws a lot of attention, sometimes unwarranted. We discovered something that would give us cause for concern, and unfortunately, it involves all of you here. As a precaution we are going to have someone keep an eye on you ladies.”
One of the other girls spoke up. “Meaning what exactly, and if it’s that much of a concern, why not just go to the cops?” From Gia’s notes, she was one of the other new hires. She seemed a little skittish, which in turn made Sofia nervous. She didn’t need this girl quitting and running straight to the cops. She wanted to stay off their radar as much as possible, which was already proving difficult.
“Cops aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be. Not everyone who puts that badge on is a good guy. They’re just as corrupt as the criminals on the street and with a higher price point.” Sofia answered her question as honestly as she could. She remembered growing up how many cops were al
ways at her father’s house for cookouts, birthdays, and everything in between.
The girl blanched but nodded in understanding. Sofia looked over at Otto, letting him know he was up to continue the conversation. Some of his crew were going to keep an eye out on the girls until Bruno and Boris were dealt with. Otto introduced his crew to the woman they would be protecting, and Sofia crossed her arms over her chest, curious to see how Otto was going to divide the protection for Gia, Mary, and Ivy.
Otto paused, and he looked at the three guys he hadn’t assigned to anyone yet. He pressed his lips together as his gaze bounced between Gia and Mary. “D, you’re with my sister.” Otto started but was interrupted by the sound of Gia sucking her teeth.
“I wasn’t one of the girls on the hit list. I don’t need a babysitter.” Gia crossed her arms over her chest.
“For my sanity, please. You’re not any safer than me or Sofia here. Better to have the extra eyes on you, okay? Eric, you’re with Mary and I’ll take Ivy,” Otto continued quickly before Gia said anything else.
Sofia coughed out a chuckle, not surprised at all at how he divvied up the protection. She wondered if both him and Ivy realized how much of a couple they already appeared to be from the outside. Otto was attuned to Ivy in the same way Dom was attuned to her, but they had years between them that the distance only amplified. Otto didn’t know Ivy, and it made Sofia wonder if he was being led by his dick when it came to her.
She grabbed Otto and pulled him off to the side, making sure she kept her voice low. “I want to ask what’s going on between you and Ivy, but I feel like you probably don’t even know yourself. Be careful here, Otto.” Her gaze shifted behind him to Ivy who seemed a little too interested in the conversation they were having. “Wolves like to hide in sheep’s skin to penetrate the flock before they attack. Keep your big head in charge and not your little one when it comes to her because if she does more than breaks your heart, I’ll break her neck before I break yours.”