by Nicole Banks
Otto chuckled. “You’re right I came in here to fuck you. I wanted your legs over my shoulders while I drove into you, driving you as crazy as you make me feel.” He brought his fingers to his mouth to lick off the wetness he pulled out of her. He hummed around his fingers before letting them fall out of his mouth. “You taste just as sweet as I imagined.” His hands were back in her hair, and he kissed her with a roughness she found herself enjoying instead of being scared by it because she knew he wouldn’t hurt her.
He pulled away, resting his head on top of hers. She wrapped her hands around his arms with only their heavy breathing filtering the air around them. “You got me breaking my own rules for you. This is dangerous, Ivy.” He quickly kissed her again before he dropped his hold on her and backed up.
“I don’t know what to make of the pull that’s happening here between us,” he shrugged. “Maybe I’m a sucker and I’m reading too much into this, and maybe this is what’s supposed to happen, but….” He didn’t finish his sentence and Ivy didn’t need him to.
She was feeling the same pull and intensity he had been feeling, and she had no idea what to make of it. She had a shit load of secrets she hadn’t even bothered to share with him, and after what she would have to do to him she wasn’t sure he would be the forgiving kind, even if she got the chance to explain.
Smoke knocked on the door again. “You’re going to be late, jackass.”
Otto shook his head. “I really hate that guy.” He stepped back into her space, running his thumb across her bottom lip. “This is going to hurt, isn’t it?” he murmured the words more to himself than to her, but they hurt her all the same. She shouldn’t feel guilty for what she was about to do, but it was in the air that she breathed in.
“We should talk, Ivy, maybe you can tell me your secrets.” He dropped his hand and she automatically reached for him, intertwining her fingers with his. She looked into his eyes, which were pleading with her to be honest, but the words weren’t coming, even as she heard her heart break inside her chest.
This was going to kill her, and maybe that’s what she deserved after years of hurting other people. “We can talk later. You should go.”
Ivy dropped her hold on his hands, and she could feel the disappointment seeping off of his body as he walked toward the door. She quickly covered herself when he unlocked and opened the door, pushing past Smoke who peeked into the locker room. As soon as he saw her, Smoke stepped inside and crossed his arms over his chest. “You remember what I told you, Ivy? I really hope I’m wrong about you, but I don’t think I am.”
Ivy turned around, sitting back at her vanity. “I don’t have time for you, Smoke.”
“Why? Already planning your exit strategy?” She didn’t hear him move, but when she looked into her mirror, he was standing directly behind her. He leaned down as the girls started trickling back into the locker room. “You better pray I can’t find you, because I will hunt you down if this blows back on Gia and Sofia.”
Ivy swallowed at the sound of the threat in Smoke’s voice. It made her wonder if she should just come clean to Otto. She might have a fighting chance of staying alive and getting her sister back if he knew the truth.
Or Otto might just kill you himself.
OTTO SCRUBBED A HAND DOWN his face, trying to erase the sounds Ivy made in the locker room when he went down on her. She tasted just as yummy as he anticipated, and it only made him want her more. His balls ached and his dick was still rock hard—the taste of her was still all over his mouth, making him wish he’d just gone in there and fucked her senseless.
He wondered if she was just as mad with lust as he had been. This was getting dangerous for him. He couldn’t concentrate worth shit on the meeting with Ethan. He heard the sounds Ethan and Sofia had been making, and he guessed they were stringing words together, but his focus had been stuck on Ivy.
He saw it in her eyes tonight and the other night when he drove her home. She was struggling with something and he was starting to believe it had less to do with the dead body and Mary’s heartbreaking sobbing when she rushed into Tres, and more to do with whatever personal weight she was carrying. He wanted her truth before they went any further and he knew at this point whatever rules he had in place for his life were getting completely shoved out the window thanks to Ivy.
He was her boss, but he wanted more, and it was only a matter of time before they gave into their chemistry.
Sofia snapped her fingers in front of his face, and he heard Dom’s deep chuckle in his ear. He shook his head on a cough when he zeroed in on Sofia’s angry face. His gaze bounced around the room, and he realized Ethan had come and gone without him noticing.
Sofia stepped into his face. She had to crane her neck up to look at him, and she grabbed onto his chin, forcing his gaze down to meet her halfway. “You fucked her, didn’t you? You got the new pussy glazed-over look on your face right now.” She shoved at him.
“I didn’t fuck her,” he grumbled. “It hasn’t come down to that.”
Sofia scoffed. “You haven’t fucked her, but she’s got you daydreaming in the middle of a meeting,” she snapped at him. He wanted to defend himself, but he couldn’t. He was acting like a lovesick puppy, chasing tail he couldn’t catch.
“What I miss?” he sighed in defeat.
Dom clapped him on the back. “Ethan wants to work with us. He gave us an olive branch. It’s a list of Boris’s properties. He even circled the ones that would be most effective to hit.”
“The catch?” Otto questioned, because nothing was ever that easy.
“We’re going to send a few of the guys to check out the spots. You’re going to look at one of the locations to put some distance between you and Ivy so you’re no longer thinking with your dick. Have one of your crew watch her tonight. Aside from Mary any of the other girls get harassed?”
Otto shook his head and pulled out his phone to text one of his crew members to keep an eye on Ivy. He hated that Sofia was right, but he needed to put some space between him and Ivy. A night probably wasn’t going to make much difference, but it would give him time to think on how he should proceed with her. They were speed racing toward a collision that was probably going to hurt. He needed to figure out a way that was going to lessen the blow.
“You’re right. Tell me where you want me tonight, and I’ll check out the area. We got Nico and Bebo’s product in place yet?”
Sofia shook her head, handing him a piece of paper. “The dead bodies showing up kind of stalled that. They got a guy in the area now just scoping shit out. We should have their product in Brooklyn by the end of the week.”
Otto nodded, looking down at the address on the paper Sofia gave him. He knew the area and restaurant pretty well. “Welp, if you don’t need me for anything else.” Sofia shook her head, and he gave her a salute.
He turned to walk out when she called after him. “Be careful, Otto.” He knew she wasn’t talking about his surveillance. She was worried about the woman who was occupying his mind, and the truth was, so was he.
Bruno and a few of his guys broke into Tres the next night using the blind spot and security codes Ivy had been able to acquire for him. He had to give Ivy credit. She was always able to get whatever Bruno needed, and this job had been no different for her. The men he flashed her in front of had been too weak to deny the pretty face and sweet cunt she offered. Years of training her to be the perfect toy had come in handy. Because of Ivy, he was about to get a small taste of the revenge he wanted against Sofia and Otto.
“Where do you want the body?” One of his guys asked as they carried Eve’s dead body in behind them. The poor girl hadn’t lasted long in Boris’s care, and even though Bruno always had death on the menu for Eve, he had to imagine Eve pushed Boris past his breaking point. Where Ivy had been brought to heel eventually, Eve always had an air of defiance about her that made Bruno want to kill her as soon as he got conned into taking her. She didn’t seem worth the struggle until she was used again
st Ivy.
Bruno remembered the day Ivy and Eve had been brought to him. Ivy’s ex had owed Bruno money—a lot of it. He couldn’t pay up, and he traded the lives of Ivy and Eve for his own. Bruno still killed the idiot, but he had gotten two beautiful women that were his to do with what he wanted. That seemed like such a long time ago. It was almost sad to know Eve and Ivy were no longer going to be his.
Bruno looked Eve’s body over. There were welts and bruises all over her, letting him know she hadn’t died peacefully, and that filled him with deep satisfaction. “Put her up in the office and douse it in gasoline.”
He looked around the club. This was once his place and the only source of power and clout he had. When he started this, he thought he wanted Tres Bellas back under his ownership, but now he realized he’d been dreaming too small. He wanted to build in his own name and separate from his father, and he was going to have that. His father was knocking on death’s door, and when he drew his last breath, Bruno would be a boss. He would help Boris take out Sofia, and then the majority of New York would belong to them.
He picked up his phone and dialed Ivy’s new number. She picked up on the first ring. “Get Otto to Tres once we hang up. When I’m done here with him, I’ll give you the information on your sister.” He hung up as the rest of his crew brought in the gallons of gasoline. They set them up in prime locations, so once he took care of Otto they could knock those gallons over and set fire to this shithole club.
Bruno couldn’t wait to see the flames of Tres Bellas light up the night sky.
Ivy paced in front of Tres Bellas. The sweat was pouring off her, regardless of the cold bite in the air. She was nervous and felt sick to her stomach at what was about to happen.
She hadn’t talked to Otto since he barged into the locker room last night. He hadn’t been there to drive her home. She had taken that as a sign that she wasn’t meant to tell him the truth just yet, until Bruno called and told her they were at the end of their little job. She felt both panic and relief that this was almost over. Her and her sister were just a few hours to freedom, and that had been the fuel Ivy used to keep up the lies.
Goodbye, New York and Bruno.
And Otto.
She stopped pacing and gasped for air. The sharp pain in her chest was enough to knock her on her ass. “Get it together, Ivy. You cannot think about him,” she whispered to herself.
Her guilt in hurting Otto was its own chain wrapped around her feet. She tried to cut it off,to pretend it wasn’t there, but that was like pretending the man himself hadn’t existed.
He was in the blood pumping through her body and couldn’t be ignored. She knew this was going to hurt him. She felt his pain already because it was her own. This was killing her, thinking about the destruction her actions were about to cause, but it wasn’t enough to get her stop.
“Ivy?” He heard his voice, and her body instantly came to life as her heart pounded in her chest, making the pain worse. She turned around and instantly ran into his arms. Her body reacted on autopilot. It wasn’t until her arms were around his shoulders that she realized what she was doing.
“Hey, hey, are you okay?” his voice was in her ear as his palm made gentle circles against her low back. She hated that he kept asking her that. She would never be okay.
She pulled away from him and kissed him with everything she had, poured herself into the kiss, hoping he could feel the things she didn’t have the strength to say. She wanted to come clean with him, and she wasn’t sure how much time she’d have inside before Bruno did whatever he had planned, but maybe she could be brave and share her story with him before she ran.
Ivy pulled away from him, her nerves making her nauseous. “Can we go inside to talk?” She asked the question but refused to move. She didn’t want to let go of him. If anything, she wanted to take his hand and run in the opposite direction of the club. She wanted to forget about the war that was going on between Bruno and Sofia and make a life for herself and Otto with their sisters in tow.
She knew once she stepped inside with Otto everything was going to change and there was no going back.
“Yeah, come on.” Otto unhooked her arms from his shoulders, seeming unfazed by her heightened emotions.
The closer they got to the door at Tres, the louder her heart pounded in her chest. She felt lightheaded and was sure she was about to pass out from the stress of it all.
Otto turned toward her before he unlocked the door. “I’m glad you called me, Ivy. I’m not sure what you’re stressed about, but I’m glad you’re finally willing to talk to me.” He turned back around to unlock the doors, and Ivy felt the rush of tears in her eyes. His words were like a smack to the face. He thought she was opening up to him, and she was about to do the exact opposite.
I’m not going to survive this. If no one comes after me, surely my heart will give out from the pain.
Otto ushered her into Tres before him, and as soon as she cleared the entranceway, the lights to the club came on. She turned around to see Otto coming in behind her with worry etched on his face.
Ivy went to speak, her words finally willing to break free when she spotted a guy standing next to the bar in a black ski mask. The guy looked at her, and she could see his sinister smile as he brought his finger up to his lips to tell her to stay quiet and she did.
She didn’t even have the decency to warn Otto.
“Are you —” His sentence died on an ooof when the guy in the ski mask punched Otto in the jaw. He quickly swung back, and the two fought in front of her until another guy jumped in and tried to pin Otto to the ground. She caught a glimpse of Otto’s bloody face, and when their eyes connected she saw the second he registered her betrayal.
Another guy came out of nowhere, kicking Otto in his ribs. Each hit made Ivy flinch, and when she felt the warm hand around her neck, she almost screamed until she heard Bruno’s voice in her ear. “You did good. Now the real fun begins.”
He walked around her and knelt down in front of Otto. “You picked the wrong side, my man, and you’re going to pay for it. Get him up and on the stage.”
Otto was still fighting the three guys as they dragged him toward the stage, and he never took his eyes off of her. She could feel his hatred for her the same way she once felt his desire for her.
They threw him on stage and quickly tied him up to the center pole—the one she danced on. Ivy didn’t know what else Bruno needed from her, but she didn’t want to bear witness to what he had in store for Otto. It would be too much for her.
Bruno stood in front of the stage and pulled out a gun. “You are such an easy guy to fuck over, Otto. I knew you’d fall for her too. They all did, pretty face and the sweetest cunt out of all my girls.” He chuckled and Otto struggled against his binds until one of the guys punched him in his jaw again.
“Sofia’s going to kill you.” He spit blood, and Ivy wasn’t sure if that remark was meant for her or Bruno—probably both.
Bruno shrugged. “She’ll be too busy trying to rebuild this place.” He turned toward Ivy. “You’re free to go. Once I’m done here I’ll text you your sister’s location, and you two can meet and run off into the sunset together.” The smile he shot her way made her feel cold and instantly worried that he was about to send her on a wild goose chase for Eve.
“You’ve done your part. I really couldn’t have done any of this without you.”
He turned back toward the stage and nodded at his men who started beating on a defenseless Otto. Her feet were stuck to the floor, torn between running away and doing something—anything that would help him.
Bruno looked behind him. “I’d advise you to get a move on it, before I change my mind and you don’t get your sister back.”
Ivy spared Otto one last look before she turned on her heels and hauled ass out of Tres. She looked down at her phone, debating on whether she should call anyone. She opened the keypad on her phone and hesitated. If the cops showed up before Bruno left, he’d know it was her th
at called and she’d never see her sister again.
No. She’d stick to the plan and let the guilt of what she just did catch up with her later.
“We are finally free, Eve.”
OTTO GROANED AND COUGHED AS he started to wake up. His head throbbed and his left side hurt every time he took a breath. He blinked slowly as the main floor to Tres came into view. It was foggy, and he didn’t know if it was from the pulsing in his eyes that clouded his sight or something else.
He pulled at his arms, but they didn’t get very far. He pulled again, and he realized he was stuck. The events from the last—however long he’d been knocked out for—came rushing back to him along with the smell of smoke.
He let out a pained laugh at the predicament he was in. Nico was right, he was a sucker. The club was going to burn to the ground with him in it all because he fell for Ivy’s poison. He should have known—should have listened to that nagging voice in his head that said something was up with her, but he’d been blinded by the pull between them, hoping he was wrong about her.
When she called him crying to meet up at Tres, he came running like a fucking a fool because his instincts had screamed at him to protect her, and she played him.
She was used as a pawn to get what Boris and Bruno wanted, and it worked. The Council and the Barbati organization were going to take a hit from the loss of the club, and with him gone, there would be no one to look out for Gia and Natalya. Sofia wouldn’t be obligated to keep them safe because this was Otto’s fuck up. He brought the bomb in, got close to it because he wanted to fuck her and she fucked him with no lube instead.
You wanted more from her than what was between her legs, and that’s why this stings. It ain’t only your ego that’s bruised.
Otto shut down his inner monologue. He didn’t need to hear that shit right now. He needed to focus on his escape, if there even was one. He coughed as the smoke started to get heavier on the main floor and winced when the pain in his side throbbed in tune with his rapid pulse. He tried to pull his arms forward again with a little more strength, hoping to break the binds but nothing gave. He looked down at his feet and cursed when he saw his ankles had been zip-tied together. He looked around for broken glass—anything that would help him, but he came up empty.