by Dee Garcia
A smile touched my lips at the vicious thought, my grip tightening around the steering wheel in anticipation as I eased onto I-95 from the Palmetto.
I’d been driving around for the last hour, aggressively weaving in and out of traffic in hopes to calm the erratic thrumming in my veins.
But nothing helped.
The next move was mine to make, it had been for a while, and I couldn’t seem to settle on a new attack, especially now.
I needed something that would demand her handling it herself. Something that would lead her right back to me.
And this time, I wouldn’t be confined to my desk.
Lux was about to find herself toe to toe with the King, and I could hardly wait to sink my claws deep into her pale, ink-adorned skin. Could hardly wait to inhale her scent, run my hands over her body, feel her pulse flutter wildly as I held the gun to her temple…
It was right about then, as I pulled up to my new chill spot, that I realized this was going to be more fun than I ever thought possible.
Fuck Vic and his bullshit power play.
This wasn’t about him anymore.
This was for me.
I’d have the money.
The Power.
Respect.
Soon I’d have Miami under my rule, and I’d have little Miss Lux Mercier, too.
Let the gruesome, nefarious games—officially—begin.
♫ Tag, you’re it - Melanie Martinez ♫
“I just don’t understand why he’s suddenly stagnant,” I snapped at Suki, as I stomped around my bedroom in an anxiety-induced cleaning spree.
It’d been almost two weeks since I barreled into Noir Coast, and I’d not heard a single peep from Roman.
Let’s just say, my nerves were officially at an all-time high.
“I mean, you did threaten him to get the hell out of Miami, did you not?” she pointed out from her place on my bed, as she went about perfectly polishing her toes in a villainous purple.
“Yes, but after all I’ve told you about him, do you really think he’d just heed my warning and bolt?”
“If he’s intelligent, yes.”
I stilled in my half bent over state and glared at her. “You’re not helping, Suk.”
“What do you want me to say then?” She sighed, meeting my stare with dubious eyes. “That he’s coming for you?”
“No,” I grumbled, snatching my pajamas off the floor.
“Then what?”
“I don’t know!” I blurted out, fidgeting under her scrutiny. “I don’t fucking know, okay?! It’s like, I want him to disappear, but at the same time—”
The smirk that curled Suki’s lips shut me up real quick. And I mean, real quick. I couldn’t believe I was about to admit that I wanted to play his stupid little game.
How insane would that have sounded?
Evidently, not that much considering my best friend was looking at me like she already knew what I wanted to say.
Was I insane, though, for even entertaining it? Hell, I felt like I was, and I loathed Roman that much more for making me feel this way.
“But at the same time you what?” she pressed, leaning toward me expectantly.
I shook my head and held my hands up in surrender. There was no way in hell I could tell her. I loved Suki with my whole life, but she’d never let me live this down.
“Nothing, forget it. Let’s just hope his silence does, in fact, mean he’s gone and done one,” I answered instead.
Suki hesitated only a couple of seconds before piping up again. “I see what’s going on here,” she chuckled, screwing the polish bottle shut.
“Yeah? And what is that?” I crossed my arms.
“You want him, Lux.”
My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “What?!” I screeched incredulously, heart suddenly racing into overdrive. “Are you daft?”
Suki choked out a laugh, thinning her lips and all. “No, I’m not, thank you, but you are, apparently.”
Is she serious right now?
“I do not want him,” I muttered indignantly, storming into the safety of my closet.
With shaky hands, I slammed my clothes into the hamper and huffed out a breath, trying to block out her cackling in the background.
She was way beyond daft. Totally fucking delusional. How could she even think that—
“Don’t hide from me, Lux,” she called out, shooting my shoulders up to my ears. “You’re only making it more obvious.”
Rolling my eyes, I walked back out in the bedroom with my head held high, trying to appear as blasé about the entire situation as possible.
But she wasn’t buying it one bit, sitting at the edge of the bed with her head tilted aside.
“You know I’m right.”
“You’re not,” I retorted.
“I am, and you wanna know how I can tell? Those killer cheeks of yours ran bright red when I mentioned it. Tell tale sign right there. Plus, you were on the defense before I could blink.”
I went completely rigid as a tense silence engulfed the room. The only thing I could hear was my pulse thundering in my ears.
“I know you too well for you to play dumb,” she continued, snapping my attention her way once more. “Is he hot?” she queried, waggling her eyebrows.
“Why does it matter?” My head reared, which earned me another satisfied smirk.
“Because you never told me what he looks like.”
“Because it’s irrelevant!” I bellowed, arms shooting out to my sides.
Suki chuckled and shook her head. “Judging by your reaction, I’d say it’s pretty relevant. Spill, L,” she ordered, motioning to empty space on the bed beside her.
But I didn’t move.
If I took the bait, I’d only be encouraging her assumptions, and I was blatantly refusing to believe she could even be partially right. Something was wrong with me, that’s a definite given, and it was one-hundred percent Roman’s fault. But no, I did not want him in any other way than gone, dead or alive.
I couldn’t.
I don’t.
And yet you do, whispered that bastard little voice in my head.
Shooing her away with a shake of my head, I forced myself to focus on all Roman had done up to this point. So what if he was good looking? I could acknowledge his beauty and still hate him.
Right?
Nothing but laughter greeted me, both in and out of my mind. Suki and my subconscious were enjoying quite a good chuckle at my expense.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” she snickered, and I groaned, because I was contradicting myself left and right, at every fucking turn.
My body was not at all in sync with my mind.
“Yes, he’s striking, okay,” I admitted, shuffling toward the bed and dropping down beside her in a heap. “But like I said, irrelevant. His looks don’t change what he’s done or how I feel about it all.”
“Sureee,” she drawled.
“I just want him to make a move already.”
“On you or—”
I shot her another glare. “Drop it, Suk.”
“Okay, okay, fine.” She giggled, holding her hands up. “Provoke him then.”
“What?”
“Provoke him. You want him to react, right? Fuck with him like he fucked with you. Nothing too extravagant, but enough to make it clear you’re waiting on him.”
“What do you mean clear? I was clear that night in his office. Vic and Roscoe wiped out every body on the first floor, for crying out loud.”
“Obviously wasn’t clear enough, or perhaps he just didn’t believe you. Make him believe.”
“How?” I questioned, genuinely intrigued by her suggestion.
Suki bounced onto her feet excitedly and held a hand out to me. “Wanna take a little trip?”
“Where?” I asked warily, slipping my palm in hers.
“Noir Coast, of course.”
“The distillery? Why?”
That evil Suki smile split across her l
ips. “Because we’re going to let it pour til the very last drop.”
Less than an hour later, Suki and I were hidden in the shadows on Noir Coast’s grounds waiting for Stryker. The original plan didn’t call for his assistance, but after further consideration, it was clear we were going to need another set of eyes on the lot. He wasn’t sold at first, but once he realized Suki was tagging along, too, he agreed to help us keep watch while we did the dirty work.
For the most part, Stryker did a good job at staying out of trouble for the sake of his custody battle, but the man just couldn’t resist my girl.
Suki asked.
He delivered.
Always.
No matter what.
Again, why they weren’t together yet was beyond me.
“Will you stop fidgeting?” Suki hissed from our place beneath a large tree.
“I can’t help it, bitch. I’m dying under all these layers!” I hissed back, pushing up the sleeves of my black hoodie. “Remind me why it’s necessary for us to wear all this shit?”
“Do you want to get caught on camera?”
“I don’t really give three flying fucks, Suk. The man is going to know it was me the second he opens those doors tomorrow morning. Who fucking cares if he catches us on tape?”
She glared at me like I’d lost my damn mind. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not too keen on ending up at the county jail for breaking and entering. Oh, and vandalizing, too.”
“I’d say you have a point, but you seem to forget we’re dealing with Roman. All this is going to do is fire him up and, hopefully, get him moving. I can guarantee you there won’t be any cops involved.”
“I didn’t forget, I’m just not willing to take the chance. From what you’ve told me, King is a wild card. Locking you up would make things a lot easier for him.”
She has a point…
“True,” I agreed. “But no, I’m telling you. He wouldn’t do that, not when bringing the cops into this could end badly for him as well. He’ll handle it himself, trust me.”
“Yeah, while he handles your pussy,” she quipped, voice hushed.
My mouth popped open, an only half-amused scoff bursting its way out.
This bitch.
“What the hell did you just say?”
Suki flashed me that wannabe angelic smile, batting her long lashes and all. “Oh, nothinggg.”
I was just about to backhand her arm when a formidable voice boomed suddenly mere feet away.
“Hey! You two! Don’t move!”
Gasping, Suki and I withdrew our weapons at the same, pointing them toward the source, our chests heaving.
“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot! It’s me!”
I deflated like a balloon. So did Suki.
Stryker.
Sure enough, emerging from the shadows with his hands thrown up in the air was the bastard himself.
“Jesus Christ, Stryker! What in the actual fuck?” I gritted out, re-holstering my gun at the small of my back.
“I’m sorry!” He laughed. “It was too good to pass up.”
“Wouldn’t have been so funny if one of us had shot your dumb ass,” Suki grumbled, her cheeks reddening as he pinned her with his gaze and closed the distance between us.
The closer he got, the more stiff she became at my side, sucking in a heap of air as he slid up beside her and curled an arm around her shoulders.
“How’s it going, baby doll?” he asked smoothly, cocking his head to one side.
I had to stifle a laugh as I watched my best friend succumb to his charm. She tried hardening her expression to the best of her ability, but anyone in their right mind could see the desire in her eyes from a mile away.
“You’re a dick, you know that?” The rhetorical question came with a shove to his chest.
Not that he cared.
Stryker simply chuckled and squeezed Suki closer to his side. “Not always, but I will admit, it is fun sometimes.”
“Oh, she knows. She can be a dick too,” I chimed in, grinning when she hit me with another glare.
“Fuck you, L.”
“I’ll pass, but Stryker may want a go at it.”
Both their faces paled—and flushed—right before my very eyes. I couldn’t contain my amusement, throwing my head back in a proper laugh that brought tears to my eyes.
“I’m going to bloody kill you,” Suki snarled, which in turn only made me laugh harder.
“On the contrary,” I wiped the droplets running down my cheeks, “you’ll thank me one day. But that day is not today and we have shit to do. Think you two can focus around each other for fifteen minutes or…”
“If by focus you mean on her ass, yeah, I can do that.” Stryker grinned devilishly.
Suki gasped in surprise. Her blue eyes bulged and her cheeks heated all the more than they already were, but she didn’t utter a single word.
Surprisingly.
“Are you done?” I glanced at Stryker, deciding not to ask for further elaboration.
Yet.
I’d cross that bridge once we were out of Noir Coast.
Stryker nodded and zipped his lips, motioning for me to continue.
“We need to make this quick, in and out. Stry, you pick the locks and stay by the door. Suki and I will find the barrels.”
A firm shake of his head was my response. “Hell no. I’m not leaving you two alone in there. I’ll keep an eye on things, but I’m going inside, too.”
“If that makes you feel better," I sighed, "then fine. Once we’ve gotten all the barrels, we’re out of here. No horsing around or fucking with anything else. Got it?”
After rounding the entire perimeter of the building, Stryker deemed the back entrance our easiest option. Considering it was likely that the barrels would be back here anyway, Suki and I let him do his thing. Took the man no more than five minutes to toy with the locks and pull the doors open.
Flashlights and hammers in hand, Suki and I made our way through the darkened factory in search of the whiskey barrels with Stryker looming not too far behind.
The search didn't last long.
They were right where I thought they would be, all of them neatly and chronologically organized in floor to ceiling wooden shelves.
“Do you wanna do the honors?” I asked Suki.
It was her idea after all.
“Na, you do it, babe. Leave the motherfucker high and dry.”
A delighted smile curled my lips as I tightened my grip on the hammer.
Oh to be a fly on the wall...
♫ Courtesy Call - Thousand Foot Krutch ♫
Monday morning rolled around and I was no more certain of what my next move would be than I was last week. If anything, I was all the more unsure. I’d gotten ahead of myself by taking out Lux’s biggest clients so early in the game.
Then again, I had no idea we’d be in for such an interesting turn events just days later. And unbeknownst to me, things were about to get all the more interesting.
7am.
The sun was just beginning to rise through the clouds. Punching in the passcode, I let myself into the quiet factory and took a deep breath as I surveyed the room. Usually, I’d relished the silence and enjoy a piping hot mug of coffee in the comfort of my office, before the day got started, but today… Today was definitely not one of those days.
The entire place smelled like a giant bottle of whiskey. I don’t mean the usual smells that infiltrated the factory on a day to day basis.
No.
I mean it reeked of whiskey.
Burn your nose hairs, eyes watering blindly type of reek.
With an arm to my nose, I took two steps inside to assess the problem and quickly deduced what happened. Anger consumed me in seconds. The floor was flooded in at least two inches of the amber liquid. Not a couple of random puddles here and there.
Oh no.
The entire fucking floor.
And I’d just stepped my brand new Derby’s in the mess.
; Smoke all but billowed from my ears, my hands curling into fists at my sides as I trudged through the factory to the back where Vic housed all the barrels.
Barrels that would now have to be replaced, seeing as every last one had a lovely hole smashed right through the bottom.
I knew who it was before the thought even crossed my mind.
Lux.
It had to be. I mean, who else could be responsible for this?
Ramos was dead.
His boys had long since fled. Either that, or they were doing a fine job at laying low.
In any case, this was hands down Lux’s doing.
“What in the actual fuck is all this?” Vic’s voice boomed from the front of the factory.
Wonderful.
Just what I needed.
On an exasperated sigh, I stalked out from the back, silently cursing Lux the entire way for ruining, not only my brand new shoes, but my slacks and my morning as well.
“What do you think?” I tossed back once he came into view, grappling his attention from the mess at his feet. “Or rather, who do you think?”
Vic’s already irate expression darkened all the more, his upper lip curling in a silent snarl. “Lux,” he gritted out.
“Ding, ding, ding—we have a a winner!”
“Son of a bitch!” he hissed.
Humming, I stepped around him and clapped him on the shoulder en route to the parking lot. “She’s a cunt alright.”
“Where the hell are you going? We need to clean this shit up.”
“Which is exactly why I need to change out of this.” I pointed to my suit.
“Right.” He glancing down at his own suit. “I suppose I should too. When you get back, though, we need to talk.”
My head jerked back. “About?”
“Liza,” he deadpanned.
Her name immobilized me.
I stood there like a mindless idiot, staring at the man that, at one point in time was like a brother to me, like he’d just uttered something in a foreign language or grown five heads.
Holding his stare, I clenched and unclenched my fists. “What about her?”